Chapter 207: The Inn

Chapter 207: The Inn

After leaving the Northlands, Bran had always been in a twisted position when dealing with the outside world. From strangers, what he always got was betrayal, deception, and fear. The Dragon Riders, whom he once had a good impression of, had shown him the treachery of human hearts.

Earl went from fear to loyalty, but Bran believed that was just submission, adaptation, and habit under the pressure of power .

The White Robes, like Pachu, were a kind of exchange. He had not forgotten the purpose these people had when they first entered Northland City. They only revered the power of Wizards and hoped to gain it through their loyalty. But such a utilitarian exchange made him full of wariness and vigilance.

He harbored no goodwill toward the Anya People, which stemmed from his first impression of them—arrogant and overbearing. But while traveling through this land, he saw another side.

A few scattered soldiers still hid in the forest, but as he passed, Bran sensed no malice from them. These men still clung to a sense of pride in their hearts, they disdained attacking and plundering a mere youth. Bran wondered if he himself, if he were in such a desperate situation, could also hold onto that last shred of pride.

Bran’s own pride was backed by the power he now possessed. He had no faith, and no particularly firm convictions. He had once been surrounded by the fear of the unknown, so he understood the taste of fear. He had felt a chill that went deep into his bones, and because of that, he admired these defeated soldiers.

Here, the Hell Knights showed him a different side. They held back their pride and faced those around them with humility. Both the woman traveling with them and the middle-aged man in the carriage made him feel many differences.

…

As they moved forward, a roadside inn appeared amidst the trees. It was a simple single-story wooden cabin, its greatest advantage being its fairly spacious size. In front of the building was an open area with only a few wooden posts for tethering guests’ horses. There was no prepared courtyard wall or troughs for fodder.

Bran stopped with the small group. The Knights began tending to their horses. They removed the saddles and bridles, gave them water, and finally hung feed bags over the horses’ heads.

Bran walked into the house alone and sat down in a relatively clean corner. However, the young woman did not want to leave him alone and came over again. Before she could even sit down properly, the middle-aged man called her back. “Lui, don’t bother others.”

As the Knights filed into the room one by one, the sound of their laughter and chatter began to fill the air. After a few mugs of murky wine, the laughter gradually turned into uproar. Lui once again sidled up to Bran, placing a steaming plate of meat in front of him. “Hungry?”

Bran shook his head. Lui gave a mischievous grin. “How about a mug of wine?”

She thought boys his age liked to do things that broke the rules, but Bran still shook his head.

“I guess you probably forgot to bring any money, so…” But before she could finish her sentence, a few glittering gold coins clattered and rolled onto the table with a thud.

Bran sighed. “I just think this place is dirty.”

This made Lui feel very embarrassed, and her face flushed red. She looked back at her father who was eating and drinking with the accompanying Knights, and retorted resentfully, “Are you so clean?”

Bran didn’t explain. He merely raised one hand. That hand was spotless, still gleaming even in the dim light of the room, like emerald green leaves bathed in sunlight after rain.

This made Lui unconsciously withdraw her own calloused hands. As a Knight, she spent her days with weapons and armor. The oils used to maintain weapons and armor gradually seeped into every corner of the body. Just looking at these hands, just smelling the lingering greasy odor on oneself, it wasn’t hard to guess her profession. Someone who spent years with weapons could never wash all that away completely.

Lui stiffened her posture and reassessed the young man before her. She began to understand why she had helped him, why she wanted to get close to him. Even though his clothes were very ordinary, with nothing to indicate his status, his very cleanliness made people regard him more highly.

“What are you going to the Royal Capital for?” Bran casually changed the subject, interrupting Lui’s scrutiny of him.

“To plead for mercy, to ask for forgiveness, to request pardon for my brother.”

“What happened to your brother?”

Lui seemed both ashamed and annoyed. “He abandoned his glory and duty and became a deserter.”

Bran asked callously, “Is glory that valuable?”

“You! He brought shame upon our family.”

Bran found this strange. “Do you wish he had died with glory?”

“That’s better than living in disgrace.”

Bran didn’t say more. He didn’t want to, nor would he, argue about such things. Sitting in this small inn, no matter how much one fantasized about their own bravery or scorned others’ cowardice, it was all rather pointless. Life, death, honor, shame—who could truly explain or define them clearly?

Bran’s sudden silence made Lui feel somewhat awkward, so she found an excuse and returned to her father’s side.

The collapse of the Anya Defense Line affected a wide area. Several more groups of Knights arrived one after another. The inn gradually became crowded, and several tables were claimed by different groups.

The clamor of the many male and female Knights rose and fell, which Bran found somewhat amusing. These people clearly acted without fear; they didn’t seem like petitioners seeking forgiveness at all.

The inn door was pushed open again. Three young Knights—two men and a woman—entered. This time, the inn clearly quieted down for a moment. Bran heard someone whisper—Royal Family. After that, everyone resumed their conversation and laughter, not showing much constraint.

…

Jenny walked into the roadside inn with her two brothers. This trip had been rather exciting and fun. They had ridden hard, sneaking all the way to the Anya Defense Line, saw the Demon Clan camp, which had turned into a ghostly domain, from the city walls, and then hurried back.

She somewhat admired that Great Wizard from the Northlands—what a monster! But she preferred the rumored young woman warrior, which gave her a sense of triumph.

Although the inn was crowded, they were lucky. Because in the corner, a young man was occupying a large table all by himself, which was obviously a bit of a waste.

She and her brothers walked over there. One brother teased, “Little friend, you don’t mind if we sit here, do you?”

The young man didn’t acknowledge the teasing. He simply reached out and picked up the black cat that was squatting on the table, holding it in his arms.

After sitting down, she and her brothers boorishly shouted and clamored for wine and food. While waiting, she became interested in the young man beside her and couldn’t help but study him closely. Yet she found that no matter how she tried, she couldn’t see his face clearly.

The young man before her kept his head half-lowered, his hood seeming to become a shadow enveloping him. She should have been able to see his face by changing her angle, even if not completely. But she tilted her head, adjusted her angle several times, and still gained nothing. Her actions caught her brother’s attention. So he copied her, tilting his head from side to side, changing his viewpoint.

Finally, Jenny’s curiosity and her innate penchant for trouble overcame her reason. She couldn’t help but reach out her hand to lift that annoying hood. But she found she simply couldn’t reach the young man. An invisible force filled the space inches in front of him, a force that made her heart flutter with fear and panic.

The young man slowly turned his head toward her, granting her wish. But what was that? Beneath the hood was only empty Darkness.

She let out a scream of terror, “Ah—!”

The surrounding noise vanished, leaving only the faint echo of that scream…

She and her brother scrambled away from that young man. But the young man remained indifferent, still sitting there with his head slightly bowed.

After a long time, they barely managed to calm down. Pointing a trembling hand at the young man, she stammered “he” multiple times, unable to sort out what she wanted to say.

Finally, her brother voiced her thoughts with terror in his tone—Monster!

People looked at them in astonishment, hoping for an explanation. Summoning her courage, she shouted at the young man, “Lift your head!” But all she got in return was utter disregard.

She quietly moved her hand toward her sword hilt but heard a derisive snort full of warning. This sent a slight chill through her heart, and she dared not make another move. Others also sensed something was wrong, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Someone called out loudly, “Who are you?”

The response, however, was a soft murmur tinged with faint regret: “It’s getting dark…”

Following this seemingly unrelated statement, the black cat jumped from the young man’s arms onto the table. It first stretched its body in a big yawn, then sat down quietly, watching everyone. Darkness began to spread from that young man, starting to swallow all light and warmth around.

Jenny felt very cold. She felt the sky had truly turned dark.

…

Lui, in her terror, felt her body gradually cooling, as if she were a corpse that had just lost its life. She fought to keep her eyes wide open, looking at the clean young man, and shouted with all her strength, “Who are you?”

The young man paused, then turned his head toward her. Even under the Darkness, Lui could feel he was smiling. As he smiled, the Darkness began to recede, and the firelight flickered back to life.

She heard a voice beside her ear say, “Wizard Bran.”