Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Warm Winter

Snowflakes are flying all over the sky, and there is a vast expanse of whiteness everywhere between the sky and the earth. The second heavy snowfall since the beginning of winter follows the footsteps of the first heavy snowfall, and a thick layer of snow is sprinkled on the snow that has not yet melted. layer. In the slums, in Old Bond's old log cabin, the fog is dense, and the sour smell that cannot be removed from the meat aroma makes the smell a bit weird, and the heavy seasoning smell can't cover up the pungent sour smell . Old Bond and Phyllis gathered around the big iron pot, looking at the tumbling soup in the iron pot, and the tumbling meat pieces from time to time, a rare sense of comfort appeared in Old Bond's eyes, he picked up the iron spoon, Scooped up a little soup, blew a few mouthfuls, took a sip carefully, didn't care to wipe off the soup stained on the beard, and said loudly: "It's so delicious, hey...Felix, be careful, don't wait a while Swallow your tongue."

Phyllis smiled and said, "Uncle Bond, you should be more careful, right? You seem to have tasted a lot in a while, don't be afraid, I won't snatch it from you, don't be too anxious , I will burn my tongue, but I won’t be able to eat a piece of it.” "Boy, don't underestimate my old Bond. I traveled all over the world when I was young, and I don't know how many good things I ate." Old Bond raised his face and said solemnly, but he couldn't hide his smile in his eyes. "Fortunately, I had the foresight to keep these ostriches. It seems that we will grow a few catties of meat this winter."

Old Bond laughed and said: "Phyllis, tell me, how about we open a small shop in Casey City in the future? It specializes in cooking ostrich meat, hehe... it's so delicious now, wait for us to If you accumulate some experience and get some good seasonings, it will probably be delicious. Those who are used to eating pigs and beasts may like it, and the ground ostrich without hair is very cheap. At that time, we can make a lot of money, eh. ...sold ten a day... no, a hundred! Haha..." Phyllis looked at Old Bond with a smile, and there was joy in his eyes. This was the first time that Old Bond laughed in so many days. Since the last incident, Green and several bounty hunters have quit the union , no longer engage in the bounty hunter profession.

And Huntby and the others also used this incident to mock Old Bond from time to time. Due to the decrease of locals, outsiders have become the main force in the hunter union. If they choose first, it means that these locals have no tasks to take on, and they have no other income except for some pitiful union subsidies every month. Phyllis has also become more and more integrated into this world. He is obviously less dull than before, and his whole person is much more active. In recent days, he has even spoken more than Old Bond. "Uncle Bond, I think your idea is good, and I absolutely support it."

Phyllis gave a thumbs up and exaggeratedly said: "At that time, no matter where I went, I would miss Casey City, Uncle Bond's local ostrich soup shop, hehe." "Are you leaving?" old Bond asked in surprise. "Uncle Bond, I can't always be in such a daze. I will leave here sooner or later, looking for something. Maybe, those things will let me find my old memories." Phyllis smiled lightly. "Is it the sigh of the gods and the fallen angel wings that you have said many times?" Old Bond asked, and then said: "These two things are unusual just by their names. I don't know why these two things are so deeply rooted in your heart, but you forget everything now, but you still remember them , it seems that maybe they will really become the keys to your memory gate."

Old Bond's eyes lit up suddenly and he said, "Why don't I go find it with you? You came back with me, and it's my responsibility to help you find your memory." "Aren't you a bounty hunter anymore?" Phyllis laughed. Old Bond waved his hand and said, "Don't do it, don't do it, I've been doing it for decades, and I'm tired of it. Besides, I feel disgusted when I look at the faces of those bastards now!" "You don't want to open your local ostrich broth shop?" Phyllis asked narrowly. "Why do you drive? If you let me be the boss and sit in the same place every day, I will be suffocated to death! Besides, I will go with you as an investment. What if you are the young master of a noble family or a big consortium? What about the heir? At that time, you won't let me leave with nothing in my pocket? Hey...Maybe I will make a fortune from you."

Old Bond said again: "Well, the more I think about it, the more I feel that this decision is right. You are in a daze now, and you know too little about everything. If you are alone outside, you will be deceived. I can't get the benefits at hand. No, in the end someone else took advantage of it, right? Haha..." "Uncle Bond...you are smarter than that fat guy from the trade union..." Phyllis showed an exaggerated expression very cooperatively, which made Old Bond burst into laughter. In fact, how could he not know what Old Bond was thinking?It's nothing more than worrying about him, and worrying about him leaving Casey City alone.

Boom boom boom... A knock on the door interrupted the laughter between Phyllis and old Bond. Old Bond stood up curiously. He couldn't guess who would come to his house in such a weather. The door opened, and Old Bond was surprised to see that Mr. Lanter of the Lord's Mansion was standing outside the door with a gloomy face. "Mr. Lanter, why are you here?" Old Bond asked in surprise. Mr. Lanter didn't answer, he snorted coldly, and moved away. Behind him, Sophia, the lord lady, was wearing an exquisite feather cape, looking at Old Bond with a smile. "Little...Miss...you...how did you come here..."

Old Bond was so surprised that he stuttered a bit. "Uncle, won't you let me enter and sit down?" Sophia said with a smile. "Oh...please...please..." Old Bond hastily got out of the way, and hurriedly lifted the iron bucket with the ground ostrich meat pieces aside. Phyllis stood up and looked at Sophia suspiciously. Sophia smiled and said, "We meet again. Your name is Phyllis, isn't it?" "Yes, Miss Sophia." Phyllis said lightly. "Just call me Sophia, don't call me miss, I listen to it countless times every day, and my ears are almost full of cocoons."

Sophia said playfully, and then said exaggeratedly: "What are you cooking? It smells so good." Old Bond said embarrassingly: "The meat of the ground ostrich..." "Is the meat of the ground ostrich edible? No wonder you keep it, it's really delicious, uncle, why don't you invite me to eat some too? I will pay for it." Sophia said. "No...don't want money..." Old Bond said hastily. Lante said: "Miss, it's better not to eat indiscriminately. The meat of the ground ostrich is not edible. Let's go back." "Can't you eat it? But, Uncle Lante, don't you smell the fragrance? Hee hee, let me stay a little longer, my father finally let me out today, if I go back so soon, it will be a waste of time for me Good words."

Sophia giggled. At this time, her graceful and noble temperament disappeared, replaced by the playfulness of a completely different little girl, this is the real her, that kind of grace and nobility is not suitable for her age. "Then I'll wait for you outside. I hope you hurry up. If His Royal Highness finds out that you are here, he will definitely be angry." Mr. Lanter said. "I'll be there soon, Uncle Lante, and I'll do my best for you." Sophia nodded with a smile. When Rand closed the door, Sophia asked, "Uncle, is there a seat for me?" "Yes, yes." Old Bond hastily grabbed a wooden box, wiped the mud on it carelessly, and finally felt uneasy, so he simply put one of his clothes on it. "Phyllis, use a knife to poke the best piece of meat for Miss Sophia." said old Bond. Phyllis picked up the knife on the side, poked a piece of meat that looked fat and thin, and brought it to Sophia. Sophia smiled sweetly, took the knife, pouted her mouth, and blew a few times. He tentatively took a small bite. "Wow, it smells so good. You even said that the meat of the ground ostrich is not edible. It's obviously delicious." Sophia praised. Old Bond smiled and said: "Compared with pigs and beasts, the meat of ground ostrich is of course not delicious." Phyllis interjected from the side: "The main reason is that Uncle Bond's craftsmanship is very good." "Phyllis, you can actually laugh?" Sophia said with an exaggerated expression, and after she finished speaking, she burst out laughing first. Old Bond laughed loudly and said: "His laugh is also a recent learning." "Do you still need to learn to smile? Phyllis, you look good when you smile, and you are even more handsome. It is much better than the cold one before. At that time, I was still thinking, is this person a piece of ice, or is he pretending to be cool? But even if he It’s not bad to be cool, it’s natural for you to pretend to be cool, much better than those oily nobles.” Phyllis smiled with a blushing face. He was still a little unaccustomed to interacting with women, and even a little at a loss. "Phyllis lost his memory, everything is learning from new..." Old Bond said in a low voice. "Did he really lose his memory? It seems that the Juggernaut Thor is really powerful. No wonder he broke through several defenses that day and frightened me." Sophia frowned. "Miss Sophia, do you believe that Felice killed Juggernaut Sol?" Old Bond asked in surprise. "I believe it, why not?" "But Mr. Lanter..." "Uncle Lante doesn't believe it, and it's for my own good. I trust you because I can see the kindness in your eyes." Sophia said. Then, Sophia said mysteriously: "I'll tell you a secret, don't tell anyone. In fact, my mother grew up in such a poor area, and then met my father, and finally had me, and I, before the age of five, also grew up in such a place." Phyllis and Old Bond suddenly realized that they began to understand why Sophia was different from other nobles, and they also understood why Sophia had such sympathy for lowly bounty hunters, and only those who have suffered can understand the pain of suffering people better. Bitter. Sophia continued: "At that time, my father also had an uncle like you. His grandson treated me very well and protected me like an older brother, preventing those older children from bullying me...It's a pity that a war broke out there, father Take us back to Qianji Country, maybe, I will never be able to go back there in my life, maybe it has long been a ruin in the flames of war." "That villain, Juggernaut Sol, wanted to bully me, and Phyllis, you killed Juggernaut Sol, and you were hurt by him until you lost your memory...Brother Henry used to be beaten by those big kids to protect me. of……" Sophia seemed to have fallen into the Changhe of memory, her beautiful eyes showed the blankness of reminiscence. Phyllis didn't like this feeling very much, and said lightly: "I am not your brother Henry. I killed Sword Master Sol, and I also got your bounty." Sophia came back to her senses and said hastily: "I don't think of you as a substitute for Brother Henry, please don't get me wrong." Old Bond also blinked hurriedly at Phyllis. Phyllis said with a faint smile: "Miss Sophia, I didn't misunderstand. I just want to tell you that you don't need to feel any guilt for my amnesia. You have already rewarded me with rewards for what I paid. .” "Come on, let's eat meat, the fire is about to go out, and the broth won't taste good when it's cold." Phyllis continued to speak, and after finishing speaking, he poked a piece of meat with a knife and gnawed on it. Sophia ate the meat in small bites, and glanced at Felice from the corner of her eyes from time to time. She was full of doubts, why did she suddenly want to come here to have a look?Why do you want to run to the Hunter's Guild when you hear that a bounty hunter has died?Why would you tell the secret of your life experience?Is it because of curiosity about this man?Or was it really like what he said, was he arousing memories of his childhood, and subconsciously regarded him as a substitute for Henry's brother? In the process of eating the ground ostrich meat, the old Bond used his humor and told a lot of interesting knowledge, but in the end it didn't make the atmosphere really lively. He didn't understand why Felice was so kind in front of him, but how could he be so cold to this kind noble lady? Old Bond naturally didn't expect that when he first saw Phyllis, it was because of his familiar aura that Phyllis had a good impression of him, and followed him back to Casey City, except for old Bond Besides, Phyllis has a subconscious wariness about anyone. Sophia took out an exquisite silk scarf with a faint fragrance from her arms, wiped the corners of her mouth, then threw the silk scarf into Felice's arms involuntarily, and said, "Wipe your mouth quickly, lest other people I don't know if you have eaten meat? Hee hee..." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Phyllis to react, Sophia stood up and said to Old Bond: "Uncle Bond, thank you for your hospitality, I am leaving." Old Bond took Sophia out, and when he closed the door, he saw Phyllis holding Sophia's silk scarf in a daze, and he couldn't help laughing: "What? Do you regret your attitude towards her just now? Strange, although Miss Sophia is very kind, but Why are you so nice to you? Hey... I don't think I've fallen in love with you, right? I heard that many ladies in the upper class pay attention to feelings. There is a word called... It's called love at first sight..." "She is very kind, as kind as you." Phyllis said with a smile while holding the silk scarf. Old Bond said with an exaggerated expression: "Hey, is there any mistake, how do you compare me with Miss Sophia? I am an old man, and Sophia is a kind, noble and stunning lady...I said Phyllis, are you Have you lost your memory so much that you even forgot the difference between a man and a woman?" "Hey, old man, there's still so much meat in the iron pot, can't you keep your mouth shut!" Phyllis imitated the old Bond and said, said. Old Bond looked at Felice like a monster, shook his head and said, "It's over, it's over, you're over..." While speaking, he sat by the iron pot, threw away the knife, grabbed a piece of meat, and gnawed on it. With Sophia present just now, the rather refined way of eating made him very unsatisfactory. While chewing his mouthful of meat, Old Bond murmured vaguely: "Hey... I finally understand why the lord failed to ascend the throne. It seems that he is not too humble, but that even if he does not You can't become a king even if you are modest... A royal family who married a poor woman is no longer qualified to win the throne... Your lord seems to be really a passionate man..." In the beautiful, generous but not extravagant carriage, Sophia is holding a silver heater. The fire element magic circle in the heater condenses moderate fire elements, and the small jumping flames sway its heat, making the not-so-big space as warm as it could be. spring. Sophia's pretty red face is even more charming, and various expressions are changing in her big clear eyes. What's wrong with me?Sophia couldn't help asking herself, years of aristocratic education allowed her to show her aristocratic restraint to the fullest, and even the older ladies in the imperial capital praised herself secretly, but today, she seems to have returned to Before the age of five, he became so talkative, and his true self was naturally shown, and all the restraint and nobility disappeared. Sophia thought about it, and burst out laughing, seeing what she was thinking about?It must be that she came into contact with those nobles every day, and unexpectedly met this man who looked like Brother Henry, which reminded her of her childhood memories. "Uncle Lante, let the carriage go quickly, my father will blame me for coming home late." Sophia lifted the blond hair hanging from her forehead, and her voice rang out like a pleasant bell. The carriage quickly accelerated, the wheels made a slight cracking sound as they rolled over the thick snow, the two ruts were quickly covered by falling snowflakes, it was cold outside, but the girl's heart was warm, this time The warmth may come from the pot of hot broth, or from the man who is also sitting next to the soup pot...