The caravan was a little quiet. Perhaps it was because they were close to the Qiusangze River, but there were always some unsettling legends in the nearby forest, not to mention that something like that had just happened.
Na Xin looked around and took off the leather waterskin from the saddle of the workhorse. He pulled out the cork and drank the remaining water in one gulp. He then frowned. The water tasted a little rancid. Fortunately, they should be able to reach the Qiusangze River before nightfall and replenish their water supply there — if there were no accidents.
He stroked the strong neck of the beast and used his hand to grab the leather strap of the harness and put the dried waterskin back in. The workhorse snorted. This was an old horse with more than twenty years of teeth. Ever since he had made a living on the long border with his head on his belt, this old fellow had been chewing grass under his hands.
The sky was getting dark, and the already gray sky was covered with a layer of dense fog. There was a thin layer of fog in the distant forest, and the corners of a few abandoned houses could be seen. Above the ribbon-like clouds, a few stars twinkled, embellishing the faint red color of the horizon.
Na Xin stared in that direction. The place where the sun set was the land covered with the flag of the Black Rose. Beyond the Kingdom of the Undead and the vast ocean, there was a prosperous human world.
The strange phenomenon in the western sky had happened three days ago. On that night, the caravan stopped at Tormlo. Everyone was drunk, and it was only the next morning that they learned about the strange phenomenon that happened that night from the locals. However, he witnessed the scene of golden raindrops falling from the sky and falling below the western horizon.
That scene reminded him of the disaster that happened seventy years ago. After the stars fell from the sky, it was not long before the 'monsters' appeared. They formed groups and began to attack the villages and towns. From then on, the Rose Kingdom's border began to be abandoned, and gradually became an uninhabited wilderness.
Fortunately, if that was not the case, there would be no value in the lives of people like them. Ever since the spirits began to retreat to the west, the desperadoes in this uninhabited land became more and more prosperous.
Regardless of whether it was Rosaleen or the Black Moon Lords, they all needed this fragile lifeline. If the skeletons did not have an eternal rest, they would need all kinds of materials. Many people were smuggling corpses and skeletons. On the surface, the Rosaleen Lord strictly forbade such activities, but everyone knew that Rosaleen's border guards were the biggest smugglers.
It was a pity that this business was about to be cut off.
Na Xin looked at the withered villages in the forest and did not find it strange at all. There were too many such villages at the border of Rosaleen. Previously, under the invasion of the spirits of the dead, humans could still survive in the forest, but the appearance of those things changed everything.
Now, if the people here had not moved back to Rosaleen's Wall of Sighs, if they had not crossed the strait to become refugees in Jiufeng, then they would have turned into a pile of bones.
The activities of the monsters had become more frequent, and the spirits had retreated to the east of the Sea of the Dead Moon. Now that this fragile trade route had become longer and more dangerous, the number of people who walked on this route had become fewer and fewer.
"Na Xin." A middle-aged man rode a horse and caught up from behind. He let his horse pace and slowed down beside Na Xin. When the shadow covered Na Xin, he raised his head and looked at the man. The man sitting on the horse's back had a serious face under his flat forehead. On both sides of his straight nose, there were two sharp eyes that made one's heart palpitate. The vicissitudes of life in his eyes seemed to hide many stories. He looked weather-beaten, but his exposed skin was well maintained. He did not look like a desperado who rolled on the tip of a knife. He looked like a person who had lived a pampered life.
People like him were usually nobles or Knights from the north of Rosaleen. Na Xin looked at his warhorse. It was a real warhorse, not a mixed breed like a draft horse. The horse was as tall as a person from its back. It was slender and strong, and its fur was glossy. When the horse stood still, the perfect lines of its muscles were like a living work of art to Na Xin.
Na Xin did not know how much this horse would fetch in Rosaleen, but she knew that it was not a matter of money, because this was a typical ghost chariot. In the Nine Phoenix, only the most righteous knights would be able to use such a mount.
Therefore, he did not dare to have any thoughts about this horse. The real desperadoes might have evil thoughts about the nobles of the Nine Phoenix, but he was just a street sweeper, not a butcher on the dark road.
The middle-aged man was wearing a thin gown. His half-length black hair hung over his shoulders and was tied into a thin ponytail behind his head. He wore a black leather eyeshade that covered half of his face. A scar that looked like an earthworm peeked out from under the eyeshade, like a tattoo engraved on the right side of his face.
His hand, which was wearing a mink leather glove, was always holding the reins. His other hand was never far from the hilt of the long sword hanging on the saddle. It was a bronze sword in the shape of a Pixiu swallowing its mouth. It was very different from the other sword styles in Wohnde.
Under the control of the Knight, the horse snorted and puffed out a thin mist from behind the reins.
The middle-aged man looked down at him and said, "Do you still have water?"
Na Xin looked at him respectfully and replied, "The water is a little rancid. Is Miss Phoenix Flame thirsty? But the Qiu Sang Ze River is just ahead. Mister Liu?"
"It's the person you picked up."
"He's awake?"
Na Xin asked with a little surprise.
Three days ago, after the strange incident, he picked up the young man from the streets near Tormlo. When they found him, the young man was lying under a low stone wall. He was wearing a strange overcoat and was unconscious with his face down.
Na Xin knew that the place used to be the main road for the farmers of Tormlo to herd their sheep. However, ever since the monsters started wreaking havoc, the herdsmen had migrated to the west of Tormlo, leaving behind an uninhabited area. They did not know how long it had been since they last met a traveler who was not one of them.
However, he concluded that the young man was most likely not a Scavenger. First of all, the young man did not look like the people in this area. His hair was not black, but a beautiful dark chestnut color. His nose bridge was very high, his lips were thin, and his skin was very white. He was a rather handsome young man. Na Xin had seen the dark nobles among the undead a few times before. He subconsciously felt that the young man was very similar to those people, but he did not have a cold aura.
Although the young man's clothes were badly worn, he could see that the workmanship was very fine. The shirt inside was actually made of silk. This surprised Na Xin. He had never heard of a Scavenger being so extravagant.
"Not yet," the middle-aged man shook his head and replied, "But at least he is reacting to the outside world. Miss Huang Huo is taking care of him. Find a way to get some water."
"Then there's really no way, Mister Liu," Na Xin replied. "We can only replenish the water supply when we reach the Qiusangze River. The remaining water has been contaminated. It's fine for us servants to drink it, but that young man is obviously from a privileged family. His body is weak now. If he drinks the remaining water, I don't know what will happen to him."
The middle-aged man called Mister Liu looked at the man who was called 'Scavenger' or 'Vulture' by the citizens of Rosaleen. The latter's body was a little hunched. It was unknown whether he was forced to live a busy life or he was just a coward.
However, Mister Liu did not look down on the young man. He had been to many places and seen many things. He was not like those nobles who took the outside world for granted. He knew that although stealing and selling corpses to the undead was not something to be proud of, sometimes it was more important to live than to respect the dead.
Some of these people were really depraved. They did things like robbers in the wild. He had heard of the butchers in the underworld. However, there were also some who were forced to survive. The young man in front of him was obviously one of them.
When Na Xin saved the young man, he did not expect him to be a follower of the Blind Goddess. People who still had faith in the underworld were more worthy of respect than those who were completely depraved.
Therefore, when Miss Huang asked to take care of the young man, he did not stop her.
Moreover, he was also curious about the young man's identity.
Unlike Na Xin, who had shallow knowledge, he knew very well about the human kingdom on the other side of the Sea of Dying Moon. Although the Nine Phoenix was isolated, it still maintained intermittent trade with Saint-ausol and Erouine through the sea route of the Sea of Dim Light.
He touched his leather gloves and suddenly thought of another matter, "Na Xin, I heard that you encountered a flood when you passed by the Qiusangze River on your way here?"
Na Xin was stunned.
It was as if a layer of haze covered his face when he mentioned this matter.
"To be honest, Mister Liu, this matter is indeed a little strange." He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and replied, "You know that I am a follower of Goddess Irene. This bad omen has made me uneasy for a long time …"
To be exact.
This was Na Xin's last job. Although he had not saved enough money, it was enough for him to live in Rosaleen with dignity. As for returning to the Nine Phoenix, he had to think of another way. It was said that the Rosaleen Lord had already made preparations to retreat to the other side of the strait. The monsters would not cross the sea to attack the Swift Plains.
As for where the Undead creatures would retreat to, that wasn't his concern. The news from the frontlines was that the 12 Black Moon Overlords were in a standoff with the strange creatures in the Field of Bones. It was almost a war. Although the spirits of the dead had already started to retreat, they would not lose the entire battle. He could not help but think so.
"At that time, it was like this …"
As Na Xin spoke, she recalled the situation back then.
…
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