"Haha, of course I'm not dead."
Hicks propped himself up with his walking stick and walked towards them laboriously. He chuckled. "Did you forget that we had our fortune told in the tent? I will live a long life."
Gleeward made a disgusted expression that said, "Who would believe you?"
"As for you, Drew …" Hicks maintained his usual smile and cast a glance at the stunned Thales. Then, he looked at Gleeward again, who was in the wheelchair. His gaze lingered on Gleeward's missing legs for a moment.
"I can see that you've 'lost' quite a bit … Little Hedgehog, I really miss the days when we ate sand together in the desert …"
The effect of this sentence was quite impressive. Thales, who was held hostage, and Guy, who drove the carriage, were both stunned.
'Little Hedgehog?
What Little Hedgehog? Who's Little Hedgehog? '
Gleeward twisted his body in the wheelchair and coughed unnaturally.
"Cough, cough, alright, alright …"
But Hicks continued to speak in a seemingly sentimental manner, "I still remember that you were forced to be with those Barren Bone women in the tent …"
At that moment, Gleeward's face turned the color of a pig's liver.
Only the darkness of the night could conceal it.
When the other two people shifted their admiring and skeptical gazes to him, Gleeward interrupted Hicks' cheerful chatter in exasperation. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Old man! "
Hicks shrugged.
Gleeward stared at him with an unpleasant expression. He panted as he pondered about something.
"Guy, thank you for sending him over. Now, you should go further away … "
Gleeward paused, as if he felt that it was not safe. He narrowed his single eye and warned Guy in a soft voice, "Um, you don't want to hear that I'll kill you if you find out, do you?"
Guy trembled slightly.
He looked at the dying teenager in his chief's arms and squeezed out a terrified and strange smile. "Alright … chief."
After Kayle left, Gleeward exhaled.
The veteran looked at Hicks in displeasure.
"Very well, Old Crow, since you're in Dragon Clouds City, very well, I'll treat you to a meal … As long as it's in my territory, you can choose the location …"
"But …"
Gleeward's expression changed. He changed the topic and said fiercely, "You are not allowed to mention the past … Not even a single word!"
He looked very serious.
Thales listened to their conversation suspiciously, but he had already guessed some things, so he preferred to remain silent.
Leave everything to Hicks.
"Really? What a pity. "Hicks sighed. "Those precious years can't be easily forgotten. In the Desert God's Beast Cage, we were reduced to slaves and lost all our dignity. You, on the other hand, swallowed fresh blood and fought against human or inhuman opponents. You fought for the last mouthful of stinky food and clenched your teeth to survive …"
"Until …"
Gleeward's expression changed again.
"Oh my, I'm so f * cked …" He closed his eyes in pain and annoyance.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"I told you not to mention it again!"
Hicks nodded with a smile. He placed his hands on his walking stick and coughed softly.
Once Gleeward made sure that Hicks did not speak again, he slowly exhaled, as if he had just avoided a great danger. He waved Thales' hand. "Alright, finish what you wanted to say. I'm still in a hurry to get rich …"
When Gleeward said this, his words came to an abrupt halt.
The veteran frowned. He looked at Thales, who was no longer struggling and was trying his best to recover.
Then, he looked at the newcomer, Hicks.
Hicks still had that mysterious smile on his face as he stared at him quietly. "Then, Gleeward, I would like to ask you for a favor."
Gleeward's expression froze on his face.
In the next second, Thales felt his body loosen. Gleeward had let go of him.
"F * ck, Old Crow." The veteran looked at the hostage in disbelief, then at his old friend. "You didn't ask to meet me in this strange place on a whim, did you?"
Thales lay on the ground. He felt that his limbs were sore and powerless after being deprived of oxygen for a long time.
"This brat didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere because of a coincidence, did he?"
In the face of Gleeward's bewildered question, Hicks shook his head.
"Of course not."
He walked forward slowly, leaning on his walking stick.
"That's right. I want to ask you to help him." Hicks' expression slowly became serious. "Please send Prince Thales out of Dragon Clouds City in secret and safely to the designated place, despite the many layers of security."
"Gleeward."
The three of them sank into silence.
Thales propped his arms up from the ground and stood up with great effort. He flashed a smile that was rarely seen that night.
'As expected.
The contact Putray had spoken of …
'It's Hicks.
'Him, no, their mutual, well-respected teacher.'
"It's you, teacher." Following Putray's instructions, he flashed a friendly and grateful smile at Hicks.
"I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye to you before."
Hicks returned the smile and winked playfully. The eyeballs behind his monocle flickered back and forth. "It's not too late now."
Thales could not help but laugh and shake his head.
'So, the way Putray mentioned to get someone to help the Prince of Constellation leave the city in secret is …'
"No way!"
Gleeward's rude voice rose again.
Thales looked at the veteran in front of him with a puzzled expression.
Gleeward's expression was angry and his breathing was rapid. He stared at the Old Crow in front of him. "For the sake of our past friendship, it's not a problem for me to treat you to a meal or something … but this?"
Gleeward pointed at Thales in exasperation. "This is not a 'favor', it's a huge problem!"
Thales raised his eyebrows.
"If I send this prince out of the city, once I'm discovered …
"But they won't be able to discover it, right?" Hicks interrupted him with a smile. "Just like before, we are very good at running away, whether it's the cages or the Barren Bone people's tents."
Thales thought of something. 'Barren Bone people.
And … the Desert God? '
Gleeward looked as if he was choking. He opened his mouth and twitched for a few seconds before he finally waved his hand. "Don't talk about the past … Also, this is not a matter of whether they discover it or not."
The veteran turned to Hicks with a displeased expression. "This is too risky. It involves the lives and deaths of so many of my subordinates. Do you know how the Star Killer will fix Shield District if he finds out? Forget about him, that Lisban and those rotten people in the disciplinary hall are full of evil tricks … "
With every sentence Gleeward said, the old Hicks nodded slightly.
It was as if he was listening to him pour out his troubles.
Gleeward snorted in dissatisfaction. "You don't know how chaotic Dragon Clouds City became after Nuven died … Do you know what will happen to my brothers once I fall?
"I just want to stay as far away from this stupid matter as possible …" Thales coughed.
Thales coughed. "You wanted to exchange me for the bounty just now …"
Gleeward's expression stiffened. Exposed, he glared at Thales fiercely. "Shut up! Brat! "
He turned his head again and said to Hicks, "Help him? And he's a Constellatiate? No way. "
"No matter how great our friendship is!" Gleeward's final tone was firm and brooked no room for doubt.
Hicks sighed, but did not say anything else.
The atmosphere turned cold again.
A few seconds later …
"Speaking of which, Old Crow." Gleeward snorted coldly and gestured at Thales with his chin. "For your sake, I won't take him for the bounty. Take him to someone else. The further away from me, the better.
I'll pretend that I never saw you. "
Thales' expression darkened.
'What?'
Hicks' eyebrows slowly furrowed. His skinny hands, which rested on the walking stick, trembled slightly.
But immediately after, he relaxed his brows.
"Alright, Gleeward." Hicks put on a smile again. "Before I leave, I only ask you to do one more thing."
Gleeward widened his eyes, tilted his head, and put on an expression that said, "What else do you want?" "Hey, hey, you …"
Hicks' expression changed instantly. He shook his head regretfully. "You know, sometimes, when I dream about our time in the Flying Squirrel Tribe …"
Gleeward's expression changed again.
"Alright, alright, alright …" Gleeward cut him off as if he was begging for mercy.
"If you have anything to say, just say it." The veteran stared at the Old Crow in pain again, then looked elsewhere. He waved his hand in despair. "I'll just pretend that I accidentally inhaled when I passed by a cesspool."
Hicks' satisfied smile appeared on his face again.
He nodded and said softly, "Look at his eyes."
Once he said this, both Thales and Gleeward were stunned.
"What?" The veteran in the wheelchair blinked and scratched his head in confusion.
"Whose eyes?" Thales, who was equally confused, asked.
Hicks took a deep breath.
He took a step forward, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared. It was replaced by a rare coldness and sternness.
"Drew Gleeward, on account of the countless times I treated and saved you in the Desert God's Cage when you were on the brink of death," Hicks said, enunciating each word clearly, "Look carefully at this child's eyes."
When he heard this, the first person to be stunned was Thales.
'My …
'Eyes?
'Wait.
'Wait, wait, wait … More than one person in this world has told me about his eyes …'
"Alright." Perhaps Hicks' rare stern expression had an effect, but after a few seconds of puzzled gazes, Gleeward gave in. He pushed his wheelchair and approached Thales with a reluctant expression.
* Slap! *
Thales, who was still in deep thought, felt a pain in his arm. Gleeward pulled him towards him.
He raised his head and saw Gleeward's ferocious single eye.
It reminded him of the One-Eyed Dragon Duke Koshder Nanchester in Constellation. In the Hall of Stars, he was far more aggressive than the veteran in front of him.
Gleeward still looked displeased, but under Hicks' stern gaze, he still approached Thales. He narrowed his single eye and scrutinized the prince's eyes under the dim moonlight.
Thales felt rather uncomfortable under Gleeward's stare. He coughed softly and tried his best not to blink.
The prince took a deep breath. He did not know what Hicks was up to, but he still chose to believe in his teacher.
It was just like what Gilbert had told him.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
At that moment, Thales saw something, a little surprised.
Gleeward's expression changed.
The displeasure and disdain on his face had already disappeared without a trace.
What was left was only shock and astonishment.
This made Thales think of something.
The veteran turned his head abruptly. "Light —"
But before he finished speaking, as if he knew what he wanted, Hicks picked up a burning torch from the ground and tossed it to Gleeward from afar.
Gleeward frowned and glanced at the indifferent Hicks.
He waved the torch to make it burn brighter. Then, he moved closer to Thales.
The heat and glare of the flame made Thales involuntarily shrink back, but Gleeward held him firmly.
"Don't move, child."
With the light from the torch, Gleeward scrutinized the corner of Thales' eyes again. This time, his expression became more solemn, and he also became more incredulous.
"Don't blink either."
Thales could clearly see that as he observed Gleeward's face, Gleeward's expression changed subtly.
His expression changed from surprise to hesitation, from hesitation to stupefaction, from stupefaction to excitement, and from excitement to dejection.
Gleeward's eyebrows trembled. His single eye was filled with complicated emotions: conflict and pain, gratitude and relief, remorse and regret, sadness and indecisiveness.
Thales was secretly shocked as he watched.
'How …'
A long time seemed to have passed.
Finally, Gleeward slowly moved the torch away and lowered his head deeply.
"Impossible."
In the darkness where no one could see, Gleeward propped himself up on his wheelchair, bent over, and spoke in a muffled voice.
His voice seemed to be separated by a layer of fog, and it was a little indistinct.
Hicks sighed softly while leaning on his walking stick. "Do you understand now?"
Thales turned to the Old Crow in surprise and bewilderment, but he could only see the sorrow and desolation on his face.
The prince instinctively said, "What's going on? My eyes — "
"No!"
The veteran in the wheelchair interrupted him.
"No." Gleeward's head was still lowered, but his voice began to tremble. He stuttered, and it was even more intense than when he was roaring just now. "No, no, no …"
He held the torch in his right hand and the arm of the wheelchair in his left. His shoulders rose and fell.
Hicks shook his head. "You saw it."
Gleeward raised his head swiftly!
Thales stared at his face in surprise. The veteran's eyes were wide open, and he shook his head in disbelief, like a detective who had just discovered a cruel truth.
The prince touched his eyelids. He looked at Hicks, then at Gleeward.
A strange sense of panic spread in his heart.
'They know something.
'Only me.
'Only I don't know.'
"No." Gleeward trembled and blinked his single eye. He panted violently while he gritted his teeth and said, "This is just a coincidence … There may not be many people like this, but there definitely are. You only need paint —"
"Thales!"
Thales shuddered and turned to Hicks. "Teacher Hicks?"
The Old Crow, who interrupted the veteran, snorted softly.
"My friend may be highly skilled, but he doesn't care much about the high-level politics of the neighboring countries …"
His words were flat, and there was no inflection in them.
It was a stark contrast to Hicks' usual lively and interesting demeanor when he taught.
"So, can I trouble you to tell him?" Hicks did not look at any of them, but stared firmly at his walking stick.
"What is your full name?"
'Full name?'
Thales shuddered!
He knew.
He knew what they were conflicted about.
'That is …'
The night returned to silence.
Only the torch in Gleeward's hand continued to crackle.
"Thales," Thales answered subconsciously. His gaze was fixed on Gleeward's obviously abnormal body. "My, my full name is …"
"Thales TherrenGirana Kessel Jadestar."
* Thud! *
The torch fell to the ground and rolled into a pool of blood beside it, struggling helplessly.
Gleeward sat in his wheelchair in a daze. He stared blankly at Thales, who was also absent-minded.
His right hand was still in the air, still in the position of holding the torch.
But he still did not move.
It was as if he was living in a dream.
Gleeward spoke softly.
"This is impossible."
The voice that was once rough, hot-tempered, and extremely unpleasant to the ears sounded as if it came from a distant mountain at that moment. It was gentle and calm.
It was as if he was afraid of disturbing someone's sweet dreams.
Hicks slowly flashed a tired but sincere smile.
"That's right, Drew."
The Old Crow raised his head slowly. The meaning in his eyes was complicated and profound.
"This is Lady Theran's son.
He is her bloodline. "
* Sizzle. *
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