Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Lisa

Risa cried all night. This is a very common thing, but tonight she was not scolded by her mother, but because of the screams - the magic seal of a certain family failed, and she couldn't tell who it was, and the screams of fear and pain Echoing in the darkness, thick smoke filled the air.The smoke reflected the flames of the monsters in the center of the earth, and the whole village was shrouded in sparkling orange light. Residents in the logging depressions have not dared to go out to rescue for the time being.There was nothing they could do but pray to their creator that the fire would not be carried by the wind.Although the houses in the logging swale were some distance from each other, strong winds had the potential to blow flames.

Even if the fire does not spread, the ashes and smoke in the air may form a greasy dirt covering the magic seal, opening the gap that the monsters in the center of the earth are desperately looking for. There are no geocentric monsters testing the magic seal next to Lisha's house.This is not a good sign, perhaps they have found easier prey in the dark. Riza felt helpless and terrified, and there was only one thing she could do: cry, for the misfortune of the dead, for the pain of the wounded, and for her own helplessness.In a village of less than 400 people, any departure would make her sad.

Lisa is thirteen years old, with outstanding beauty, shiny black hair and light blue eyes.She hadn't had her first period yet, so she wasn't married, but she was engaged to Gard Carter, the handsomest man in the village.Gard was two years her senior, tall and well built.The other girls would scream as he passed, but it was clear to everyone—he was Riza's, and he would make her have strong babies. As long as he gets away with it tonight. Her mother barged in without knocking. Regardless of appearance or figure, Ilona is very similar to her daughter.Over thirty years old, she is still beautiful, with black hair draped over her proud shoulders.Her beautiful figure envied all women; it was the only thing Liza hoped to inherit from her.Her breasts have only just begun to develop, and there is clearly a big gap compared to her mother.

"That's enough, you worthless child." Ilona scolded and threw a rag to Lisa to wipe away her tears. "What good is it for you to cry alone? Wetting your pillow won't bring the dead back to life," she said. After closing the door, Lisa was once again left in the orange light that fell from the cracks in the window leaves. Do you have any humanity at all?Lisa was suspicious. Her mother was right when she said tears couldn't bring the dead back to life, but wrong when she said that crying didn't do any good.For Lisa, crying has always been a magic weapon to face difficulties.Other girls may think that Lisa's life is perfect, but that's because they have never seen Ilona's face when she is with her biological daughter.Everyone knew that Ilona wanted a son, and both Liza and her father had to endure her disdain for not being a son.

But she was still angry and wiped away tears.She expected that the sooner the first menstruation would come, the sooner Gard would take herself out of this house.The villagers would build a house as a wedding present, and Gard would take her by the hand and cross the sigil, making her a woman to the cheers of the crowd.She will bear her own children and never treat them the way her mother treated her. When her mother knocked hard on the door, Lisa had finished dressing. "You must go out when the morning bell rings," Ilona said. "Don't complain to me about being tired! I don't want anyone to see that we are not doing enough to rescue the disaster."

Li Sha is well aware of her mother's personality, and knows that the word "seeing" is the key point.Actually, Ilona doesn't want to help anyone but herself. Under Ilona's stern gaze, Liza's father, Ernie, was already waiting at the door.He is of medium build, not even strong; he does not have a strong heart, and is an honest man who never speaks loudly.Ernie was a decade or so older than Ilona, ​​with thinning brown hair on top of his head and thin-rimmed glasses he had bought from the messenger a few years ago; he was the only one in the village to wear them. In short, he wasn't Ilona's ideal husband, but since the fine paper he made was in high demand in the Free Cities, his wealth made her fall for her.

Unlike her mother, Lisa genuinely wants to help her neighbors.As soon as the earth core monster left, before the morning bell rang, she ran out of the house and ran towards the burning place. "Lisa! Don't run around!" Ilona yelled, but Lisa turned a deaf ear.With the suffocating smoke everywhere, she raised her apron to cover her mouth and did not slow down. When she arrived at the fire site, several townspeople had already arrived.Three houses have been burned, two are still burning, and the fire may spread to the next-door neighbor's house at any time.Riza screamed when she discovered that one of the houses was the Galders'.

Smith, the owner of the hotel and grocery store in the town, is organizing the rescue.Schmidt had been their mayor for as long as Lisa could remember.He's never been one to call the shots, preferring to let people deal with their own problems.But everyone wants him to organize. "...the water from the well can't be drawn fast enough," Smit was saying as Lisa stepped forward, "We have to queue to pass the buckets between the creek and the other houses, or the whole village will die before dark." Burn to ashes!" Gard and Steve rushed over at this time, looking extremely embarrassed, their faces covered with smoke, but fortunately they were not injured.At only fifteen years old, Gard was already taller than most of the men in the village.His father, Steve, was even more of a giant in the village.After seeing them, the heavy stone in Li Sha's heart finally fell to the ground.

Before she had a chance to greet Gard, Schmidt pointed at Gard and said, "Garde, push the cart to the stream!" Schmidt looked at the others. "Lisa, go get water with him!" Lisa ran at full speed, but even with the heavy cart, Gard reached the small river before her.It is a small river that rises deep in the mountains, and may be regarded as a tributary of the Angels River.When he parked the car, she rushed into his arms.She had thought that seeing him alive would erase the horrible images from her mind, but it made them clearer.She wondered what life would be like without Gard.

"I'm so scared—" she whimpered, crying into his chest. "I'm fine." He hugged her tightly and whispered, "I'm fine." Soon, the two unloaded the buckets from the cart, started filling them, and passed the buckets around when others arrived.After a while, more than a hundred villagers formed a dense team between the creek and the fire site, passing full buckets and empty buckets back and forth.Galder was ordered to push the cart back to the fire, where a strong arm was needed to water it. Soon, the cart came back, this time it was the pastor Michelle who was pushing the cart, and there were still several wounded people lying in the cart; this scene made Lisa feel mixed feelings in her heart.It hurts her heart to see the wounds on the familiar villagers, all of whom are her neighbors; but the survivors of the demon attack are rare, and she thanked the Creator for protecting their lives.

The priest and his entourage, Jonah the Deacon, placed the wounded to the west.Michele left the young acolyte to appease them, and pushed the cart back to pick up more wounded. Li Sha turned her eyes away and concentrated on filling the water.Her feet were numb from the freezing water, her hands were growing sore, but she was concentrating on her work until a whisper caught her attention—"Here comes Bruna, the old witch." Liza looked up instantly.That's right, the old herbalist came from the other side, led by her apprentice, Daxi. No one knew exactly how old Bruna was.It is said that she was already so old when the old people in the town were still young, and most of those old people were delivered by her own hands.She outlived her husband, children, and grandchildren, and she has no relatives in the world. Now, she is as thin as a stick, like a candle in the wind, with a layer of wrinkled skin covering her rickety frame.She was half-blind and walked very slowly, but Bruna's voice could still be heard loudly throughout the village, and when she lost her temper she could swing her cane with surprising strength and precision.Like everyone else in the village, Lisa was terribly afraid of her. Bruna's apprentice was an ordinary-looking woman of twenty, with thick hands and feet and broad cheeks.After Bruna's previous apprentice died, many young women in the village went to learn from her.Under the strict requirements of the old woman, everyone ran away except Daxi. "Ugly and strong, like a cow." Ilona teased Daxi secretly, "How could she be afraid of that bitter old witch? Bruna will not chase away the man who proposes to her." Bruna squatted beside the wounded, stretching out her steady hands to check their injuries, while Daxi spread out a heavy cloth bag, which was full of small cloth bags, each bag was painted with symbols, tools, Vials or sachets.Wounded villagers moaned and wailed as she healed, but Bruna paid no heed.She felt the wound, then put her finger to her nose and smelled it, and despite poor eyesight, she was able to diagnose accurately through touch and smell.Bruna did not bow her head, her hands fumbled in the pockets on the cloth, mixing herbs with a mortar and pestle. Daxi started to light the fire, then looked up at Lisa who was standing in the stream and staring blankly. "Liza, fetch some water, quick!" she called. Lisa quickly fetched water, while Bruna stood up and smelled the medicine she had just crushed. "Stupid girl!" Bruna screamed.Lisa was taken aback, thinking she was talking about herself.But Bruna threw the mortar and pestle at Darcy, hitting her hard on the shoulder, spreading the herbs all over her. Bruna fumbled on the cloth, pulling out the herbs in each pocket, sniffing like an animal. "You put the stinky grass in the pig's root pocket, and you also mixed up all the germanium and tempu grass!" The old woman swung her knotted cane and slammed it on Daxi's shoulder, "You Are you planning to kill these people, or are you too stupid to understand the symbols?" Lisa has seen her mother's furious appearance. If Ilona is as terrifying as the monster in the center of the earth, then the old witch Bruna is simply the ancestor of demons.She began to distance herself from both of them, fearful of getting into trouble. "I will not allow you to be so humiliated forever, you wicked old hag!" cried Darcy. "Then get out!" Bruna said, "When I die, I would rather wipe out all the magic seals in the town than leave my medicine bag to you! This way the townspeople can suffer less!" Daisy laughed. "Go away?" she asked. "Who will help you with the medicine jar and tripod, old woman? Who will help you light the fire, cook for you, wipe the drool off your face when you cough? When you can't stand the cold, Who is pushing your old bones to run around? I don't need you, you need me!" Bruna swung her cane, and Darcy sensibly ran away, only to bump into Lisa, and both of them fell to the ground at the same time. Bruna took the opportunity to swing her cane again.Lisa rolled to one side in the dust, dodging the attack, but Bruna struck with precision.Daxi yelled in pain and put her hand on her head. "Get lost!" Bruna yelled again, "I have to take care of the wounded!" Daxi roared loudly and got up.Lisa was afraid that Daxi would attack the old woman, so she just turned around and ran away.Bruna cursed a series of obscenities towards Daxi's back. Lisa held her breath, lowered her body, and slowly moved to the side.Just when she thought she was safe, Bruna noticed her. "You, Ilona's daughter!" She pointed at Lisa with her cane and said, "Continue to light the fire and put my foot on the fire." Bruna then turned back to diagnose the wounded.Lisa had no choice but to do as she was told. For the next few hours, Bruna yelled various orders at the girl, complaining that she was moving too slowly as Lisa ran around.She fetches water, boils it, grinds, decocts, and mixes ointments.Every time she finished anything, she was called to do the next thing by the elderly herbalist, so she was forced to speed up to complete the task.Patients were brought in one by one with burns and broken bones from the collapsed houses, and she feared that half the houses in the village were burning. Bruna brewed herbal teas to ease the pain of some wounded, and drugged others to sleep so she could slit open their wounds with sharp instruments.She worked tirelessly; stitched up wounds, applied medicines, and bandaged wounds. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Li Sha suddenly realized that all the wounded had been treated, and even the team passing the buckets had disbanded; only she, Bruna and a bunch of wounded were left. Under the effect of Bruna's herbal medicine, The critically injured patient stared ahead in a daze. A burst of exhaustion that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly struck, and Li Sha knelt down, taking a deep breath.Her whole body ached, but the pain brought her a strong sense of satisfaction.Some injured patients could have died, but now they survived, partly because of their own efforts. But the real hero is Bruna.She suddenly found that the old woman had not given an order for several minutes.She turned her head to find Bruna lying on the ground, dying. "Help! Help!" Lisa yelled, "Bruna is sick!" She squeezed out the last strength in her body, rushed to the old woman, and helped her sit up.Bruna was surprisingly light, and it seemed to Lisa that there was nothing under the thick shawl and woolen skirt but bones. Bruna's whole body convulsed, and saliva slowly flowed from her mouth.There is a milky white film in the dark eyes, staring at his trembling hands in confusion. Risa looked around in panic, but there was no one nearby to help.She continued to support Bruna, grabbed the old woman's trembling palms, and rubbed the tangled muscles. "Oh, Bruna!" she begged, "What should I do? Please, I don't know how to help you! You have to tell me what to do!" Feeling helpless like a knife, Lisa couldn't help but let out her voice cry. Bruna pulled her hand suddenly, which made Lisa scream loudly, fearing that the other party would convulse again.But with her help, the old herbalist recovered a little strength, reached into the shawl, took out a small cloth bag, and pushed it in front of Lisa.The violent cough made her weak body tremble violently, causing her to break free from Lisa's arm, and she threw herself down. Every time she coughed, she was like a big fish bouncing on the ground.Lisa held the cloth bag in her hand, terrified. She looked down at the cloth bag, squeezed it lightly, and felt a bunch of crushed herbs inside.She sniffed it, and a scent of mixed spices hit her nostrils. She thanked the Creator.If there was only one herb in it, she would never be able to guess the dosage, but she had helped Bruna make many medicines and teas that day, and she knew exactly what was in it. She rushed to the medicine pot that was smoking on the tripod, put a thin cloth on the cup, then took out the medicinal herbs from the cloth bag, and spread a thick layer.She slowly poured the boiling water over the herbs, filtered the concentration of the medicine, then skillfully tied up a thin cloth and threw the medicine bag into the water. She ran back to Bruna and blew hard a few times.It would be hot to drink now, but she didn't have time to wait for the potion to cool completely.She lifted Bruna up with one hand, and put the cup to her saliva-filled lips. The herbalist was shocked and spit out a little potion, but Lisa forced her to drink it, and the yellow liquid dripped from the corner of her mouth.She was twitching and coughing non-stop.But the symptoms were significantly reduced.When she stopped trembling, Li Sha felt relieved and couldn't help crying. "Liza!" she heard a scream.She looked away from Bruna and saw her mother rushing forward, followed by a group of townspeople. "What have you done, you useless piece of shit?" Ilona snapped.She rushed to Liza's side before the others could get close. "I don't have a son to fight the fire. It's bad enough that I have only your useless daughter. Now, you actually killed this old woman?" She raised her hand, trying to fight, but Bruna raised her hand like a skeleton. Withered hands grabbed Irona's wrist. "The old woman is alive because of her, you idiot!" Bruna said hoarsely.Ilona's face turned pale, and she quickly pulled her hands, as if Bruna had suddenly turned into a monster in the center of the earth.Li Sha saw it in her eyes, and felt very happy in her heart. At this time, other townspeople had gathered around and asked what was going on. "My daughter saved Bruna's life!" Ilona shouted before Lisa and Bruna. As the remains were thrown into the last burning house, Reverend Michel held up the Canon with the magic seal on its cover so that all could see the holy book.The townspeople took off their hats and watched, bowing their heads and listening.Jonah threw incense into the fire to try to drive away the stench of burning bodies. "Before the liberator comes back to lead people to get rid of the demon plague, we must remember that the first demons came to the world because of the sins of mankind." Michelle chanted loudly, "The sins of adulterers, liars, thieves and usurers! " "The sin of those who clamp their assholes," Ilona whispered.Someone next to him snickered. "People who leave this world will be judged." Michelle continued, "Those who follow the will of the Creator will enter heaven, and those who disobey God's will, and those who are stained by sins of material or lust will be forever in the Demon Realm. Burn!" He closed the scripture, and the surrounding villagers bowed their heads in silent mourning. "While we should mourn the dead," Michelle said, "we should not forget those who survived under the care of the Creator. Let me open the barrel and offer a toast to the dead. Let us tell the stories of those we love, and repay Smile, because life is too precious to be wasted; we save our tears till we go home tonight." "This is our priest," murmured Ilona, ​​"and drinks at every opportunity." "Honey," Nieu said, patting the back of her hand, "he also means kindly." "Of course a coward will help a drunkard out." Ilona said, pulling her hand away. "Steve would rush into a burning house to save someone, but my husband would just hide around a woman." "I'm delivering water to put out fires!" protested Nieu.He and Steve had always been rivals, and everyone said he had won Ilona's man with his wallet, but not her heart. "Like a woman." Ilona said, looking at the burly Steve on the other side of the crowd. This has always been the case, and Lisa wished she didn't have to witness this scene.She hoped that it was her mother who was killed by the earth core monster, not the seven good people.She hoped that her father could stand up and resist once, if not for his daughter, then for himself.She wished she had had her period so she could leave with Gard and never see the two of them again. Those who were too old or too young to take part in the firefighting prepared a sumptuous dinner for the other townspeople, and served it when they all sat down exhaustedly at the table and gazed heavily at the ruins. The fire has been extinguished, the wounded have been bandaged and treated, and it is still several hours before sunset.The pastor's words erased the sins in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough not to die.Schmidt's Hollowland Ale swept the rest of the gloom away.Some say Smit's ale cures all wounds, and there are too many wounds in town to heal at the moment.Soon, people began to talk about the life story of the deceased, and laughter gradually appeared on the long table. Gard sat at the next table with his friends, Len, Flynn, and their wives, and another friend, Alvin.The boys were all lumberjacks, all older than Garder, but except for Len, all of them were smaller and smaller than Garder.Obviously, Gard will be stronger than Lun when he grows up.Alvin was the only one in the group who wasn't engaged, and despite his hot temper, there were plenty of girls interested in him. The older boys liked to tease Galder, especially about Riza.She didn't like being forced to sit next to her parents, but she hated sitting at the boys' table listening to Ron and Flynn's lewd jokes and watching Alvin go around looking for fights. After the meal, Pastor Michelle and Deacon Jonah stood up and took a large plate of food to the church, where Darcy tended to Bruna and the other injured.Li Sha voluntarily left the meeting and went to help.Gard noticed her move and got up to find her, but as soon as she stood up, she was immediately surrounded by her boudoir friends Brianna, Sierra and Miley. "Is it true?" Serra asked, pulling her left arm. "Everyone says you knocked out Darcy and saved the life of the old witch Bruna!" Miley said, pulling her right arm.Lisa looked back at Gard helplessly, and was pulled away by them. "Let the grizzly bear wait," Brianna said to her slyly. "Even after marriage, your status is still inferior to those girls, Gard!" Lun cried.The buddies at the same table immediately burst into laughter and slammed on the table.The girls ignored them, sitting on the grass with their skirts up, away from the men who were drinking more and more. "Garde hears that jest a lot these days," laughed Brianna. "Ren bet five times that Carla said he wouldn't kiss you before sunset, let alone try to—" She was sixteen now, Has been a widow for two years, but there are many suitors around her.She said it was because she knew the art of being a woman very well.She lived with her father and two older brothers, all of whom were loggers, and played mother to all the men in the house. "I'm different from someone, and I won't let every man who passes by touch me." Li Sha said.Brianna's face darkened. "If I'm engaged to Gard, I'll let him do it," said Serra.She was fifteen, with short brown hair and a freckled chipmunk face.She got engaged to a boy last year, but both the boy and his father were brutally murdered by a monster in the center of the earth one night. "Wish I was engaged," Miley grumbled.She was fourteen years old, thin, with sunken cheeks and a straight nose.She was fully developed, but no matter how hard her parents tried, they couldn't help her find a partner.Ilona called her Scarecrow. "No man would want to put a child in between such withered thighs. Afraid the scarecrow would split in two when the child was born." "You will be engaged soon," Lisa said to her.At thirteen, she's the youngest of the group, but everyone else seems to center on her.Ilona said it was because she was prettier and her family was richer, but Risa never believed that her friends were so superficial. "Did you really hit Darcy with a stick?" Miley asked. "That's not the case," Liza said. "Dasi made a mistake, and Bruna hit her with a cane. Dasi tried to back off and hit me. We fell to the ground together, and Bruna continued to hit her." until she escapes." "If she hit me with a cane, I'd fight back right away," Briana said. "Papa said Bruna was a witch and would have sex with demons in her hut at night." "Nonsense!" Lisa retorted loudly. "Then why does she live so far from town?" Serra asked, "and how is it possible that her grandchildren are still alive and well?" "Because she's an herbalist," Lisa said, "herbs don't grow in the town square. I helped her all day today. She's really amazing. I thought more than half of the injured would die, but she saved Live everyone." "Did you see her cast spells on them?" Miley asked excitedly. "She's not a witch!" Lisa said. "She saves people with herbs, knives and stitches." "She cut people with a knife?" Miley asked with a look of horror. "Witch," Brianna said.Sierra nodded. Lisa glared at them displeasedly, and everyone immediately fell silent. "She's not hacking people. She's treating them, which is... I won't explain. She's very old, but she's doing her best to heal everyone, as if she's on willpower. She treats the last patient Immediately after that, he collapsed." "And you saved her?" Miley asked. Lisa nodded. "She handed me the antidote before she started coughing wildly. Really, I just helped make it. I held her until she stopped coughing, and then everyone came." "Did you touch her?" Brianna grimaced. "I bet she smells like sour milk and weed." "O Creator!" Li Sha shouted, "Bruna saved more than a dozen people today, yet you all just mock her!" "God," Brianna continued to taunt, "Lisa saved the old witch, and her breasts suddenly became too big to accommodate her sister's opinions." Flat breasts are her biggest sore spot. "That's what you used to say about Bruna, Liza," Sara said. "Maybe, but never again," Liza said. "She may be a mean old woman, but we shouldn't say that about her." At this time, the deacon Jonah came to them.He was seventeen, short and too light to swing an ax or pull a saw.Jonah spends most of his time writing and reading letters to illiterate villagers. Lisa is one of the few literate children in the town, and often runs to him to borrow Pastor Michelle's books. "Bruna called me for arraignment," he said to Lisa, "she wants..." Before he could finish his sentence, he was suddenly pulled from behind.Even though Jonah was two years older than him, Gard turned him around like a paper doll.Pulling up the cloth robe on his chest, he pulled it so hard that their noses almost touched. "I told you not to talk to a woman you're not engaged to," Gard yelled. "I didn't!" Jonah protested, his feet an inch closer to the ground. "I just—" "Garde!" Lisa yelled, "Put him down!" Gard looked at Lisa, then at Jonah, his eyes wandered to his friend, and then back to Liza's face.He let go, and Jonah fell to the ground, scrambled to his feet, and hurried away.Brianna and Sierra giggled coquettishly, then fell silent under Lisa's stern gaze, who turned to Gard. "What the hell are you going crazy about?" Lisa asked. Gard looked down. "I'm sorry," he said, "I just... I haven't had a chance to talk to you all day, so I can't stand seeing you talking to him." "Oh, Gard," Lisa caressed his cheek, "you don't need to be jealous, I only have you in my heart." "Are you telling the truth?" Gard asked. "Will you apologize to Jonah?" Liza asked. "Yes." Gard promised. "Okay, I believe you." Lisa said, "Now go back to the table and sit down, I will find you in a while." She kissed him, and Gard immediately left with a smile on his face. "I think it's no different from training a bear." Brianna said with a serious face. "A bear sitting in a bramble field," said Sira. "Don't speak ill of him." Lisa said, "Garde is not malicious. He is just too strong, and there is a little..." "Clumsy!" Brianna finished for her. "Stupid!" Sira added. "Stupid!" Miley suggested. Lisa hit each of them and laughed together. Gard sat beside Lisa like a flower guardian, and he and Steve came to sit with Lisa's family.They were engaged, and she would have liked him to put his arms around her, but it was inappropriate to do so until she was of marriageable age and officially recognized by the priest.Even then, they were technically limited to holding hands and kissing on their wedding night. Still, Risa would let Galder kiss her when she was alone, and regardless of what Brianna thought, she kept the kissing boundaries.She wanted to keep the tradition alive and make their wedding night one they will never forget. Of course, Clarissa's precedent is also one of the reasons.She loves to dance and flirt, and has taught Lisa and her friends to do their hair.She has outstanding looks, and there are many suitors around her. Her son is three years old, but no man from Logging Hollow has yet come forward to claim to be his father.It is generally believed that this person must be a married man, and during the months when her belly gradually grew, Pastor Michelle never forgot to remind her and women like her in every crusade, even if it is Such evils aggravate the plagues sent down by the Creator—"The demons outside are the mirror of the demons in the heart," he said. Everyone loves Clarissa, but when the pregnancy comes to light, attitudes change in the town.Women avoided her and whispered to each other when she passed by; men refused to look at her when they were around their wives, and made nasty stories about her when they were not around. Immediately after the birth of the child, Clarissa left with a messenger to Lexenberg, never to return.Lisa misses her very much. "I don't know why Bruna called Jonah here." Lisa said. "I hate that little dwarf." Gard said loudly, "Every time he looks at you, he looks very obscene, and I don't know what he is thinking." "Since he just thinks about it," Li Sha asked, "why do you care about him?" "I won't share you with anyone, not even in other men's dreams," Gard said, placing his large hand on hers under the table.Lisa sighed softly and leaned against him—let Bruna wait. At this time, Shi Mite stood up suddenly, his legs were shaking from drunkenness, and he put the wine glass heavily on the table. "Everyone! Listen to me, please!" His wife, Stephanie, helped him onto the bench, keeping an eye out for him to fall.The townspeople fell silent, and Schmidt cleared his throat.He may not like giving orders, but he loves giving speeches. "Difficulties bring out the best in man," he began, "and it is these moments that give us the opportunity to prove our worth before our Maker; ; to prove that the evil of the night cannot take away our resolve to protect our family." "Because this is the Logging Bowl," continued Schmitt, "one big family. Well, we quarrel and squabble and pick sides, but when the heart monster shows up, we treat the family entanglement like a spinning machine. The thread that binds us all together. No matter how much hatred we have for each other, we will never give up anyone before the devil." "Four houses lost the protection of the magic seal last night." Shi Mite said to the townspeople, "Thanks to the ruthless devastation of the monsters in the center of the earth. But under the heroic resistance of the people, only seven people were killed." "Nicolas!" Smit yelled, pointing at the brunette man sitting across from him, "run into the burning house and rescue his mother!" "Joe!" He pointed to another man, who jumped up, "Two days ago, he was chasing and fighting with Dave, and the two had a big fight. But last night, Joe took an ax and attacked the wooden demon-- A wooden demon—buy time for Dave's family to enter his family's Sigil field!" Smit hopped onto the table, nimble in spite of his drunken euphoria.He walks up and down the table, calling out the townspeople by name, revealing their heroics of the night before. "There are plenty of heroes during the day too," he continued. "Gard and Steve!" he yelled, pointing at them. "Despite the fire in my own home, I was busy helping to put out the fire in the houses that had a better chance of stopping the fire! Because of their efforts and others, only eight houses were on fire, and the fire could have spread to all houses in the town!" Shi Mite turned around and suddenly focused his gaze on Lisa.He raised his hand, pointed a finger at her, and she felt like she had been punched. "Lisa!" he called, "only thirteen years old, and she saved the life of the herbalist Bruna!" "Every resident of Logging Hollow has a kind and strong heart!" said Schmidt, waving his hand across all of them, "Goblin test us, tragedy tease us, but Logging Hollow is like Milne's chains , will never give in!" The villagers cheered loudly.The bereaved screamed the loudest, tears streaming down their cheeks. Smit stood amidst the noise of the crowd, immersed in excitement.Not long after, he clapped his hands, and the townspeople fell silent. "Pastor Michelle," he said, pointing, "has opened the church doors for the wounded, and Stephanie and Darcy have volunteered to stay there tonight to care for them. Michelle is also helping the homeless." Provide the sigil of the Creator." Smith raised his fist. "But a hero should not lie on a wooden bench in the sanctuary! Not when the family surrounds them. My tavern can accommodate ten people overnight, and more if necessary. Who would share the family's sigil and bed?" Everyone was shouting loudly again, this time louder than before, and Schmidt was all smiles.He clapped again. "The Creator smiles on everyone," he said, "It's getting late, so I'll designate..." Ilona stood up.She also had a few drinks and was slurring her speech. "Ernie and I will take Galder and Steve," she said, and Ernie turned to her immediately. "We have a room available, and Galder and Risa are engaged, so we're basically relatives." "You are so generous, Ilona." Shi Mite said in surprise.Ilona is rarely this generous, and usually only when it can be profitable. "Do you think this is appropriate?" Stephanie asked loudly, and everyone immediately focused on her.When she wasn't working at her husband's tavern, she was volunteering at church or studying the Kanon.She hated Ilona—it made a good impression on Riza, but she was also the first person to criticize Clarissa publicly after she became pregnant. "Two engaged children living under the same roof?" Stephanie asked, but her eyes were on Steve, not Galder. "God knows what inappropriate things might happen? Maybe you still It's better to keep the others, and keep Gard and Steve in the tavern." 伊罗娜眯起双眼。“我认为三个父母管得着两个小孩，史黛芙妮。”她冷冷说道。她转向加尔德，捏捏他宽厚的肩膀。“我未来的女婿今天一个人抵五人用。”她说，“还有史蒂夫，”她伸手戳戳醉汉魁梧的胸口，“抵十个人。” 她转头面对黎莎，但是小小地绊了一跤。史蒂夫哈哈大笑，在她跌倒之前一把扶住她的腰。他的手掌在她的纤腰前显得格外巨大。“就连我……”她吞下“一无是处”这几个字，但黎莎还是听见了，“女儿今天的表现都十分英勇，我不会让我心目中的英雄在其他人家里过夜。” 尽管史黛芙妮皱起眉。但其他镇民都认为这件事已讲定了，于是继续出面收留有需要的人。 伊罗娜再度摔跤。整个人笑嘻嘻地坐在史蒂夫大腿上。“你可以睡在黎莎房间。”她对他说道，“就在我房间隔壁。”她最后一句话是压低音量说的，但她喝醉了，因此所有人都听到了。加尔德眼色一红。史蒂夫哈哈大笑。厄尼则垂头丧气。黎莎很同情父亲。 “我希望地心魔物昨晚就抓走她。”她说。 “对任何人都不能说这种话。”厄尼严峻地瞪着黎莎，直到她点头。 “再说，”厄尼哀伤地补充道，“它们或许会立刻把她还给我们。” 在分配好住宿事宜，大家都准备回家时，人群突然骚动，众人纷纷让道两旁。老巫婆布鲁娜一拐一拐地走了过来。 约拿辅祭扶着老妇人的手臂一同走来。黎莎连忙起身，扶起她另外一只手臂。“布鲁娜，你不该起床，”她劝道，“你需要休息！” “这都是你的错，孩子。”布鲁娜大声道，“有些人比我更严重，而我需要我家里的草药才能治愈他们。如果你的保镖，”她瞪向加尔德，他吓得立刻退开，“原来让约拿来叫你过去，我就可以给你一份药品清单。但现在天色已晚，所以我必须带你一起跑这趟。我们可以在我家过夜，明天一早再赶回来。” “为什么找我？”黎莎问。 “因为镇上其他蠢女孩都不识字！”布鲁娜叫道，“他们会把药瓶上的标签搞得比那头木牛妲西还乱！” “约拿识字。”黎莎说。 “我愿意去。”辅祭才刚开口，布鲁娜立刻一拐杖戳在他的脚上，他痛得叫出声来。 “草药师是女人的工作，女孩。”布鲁娜道，“教徒在我们工作时只能站在旁边祷告。” “我……”黎莎开口，回头看向父母，试图找借口脱身。 “我认为这是好主意。”伊罗娜说，终于离开史蒂夫的大腿，“在布鲁娜家过夜。”她将黎莎往前一推。“我女儿很乐意帮忙。”她笑容满面地说。 “或许加尔德也该一起去？”史蒂夫说着踢了他儿子一脚。 “明早你们需要壮丁帮忙把草药和药水抬回镇上。”伊罗娜同意，拉起加尔德。 年迈的草药师看看他，看了看史蒂夫，最后终于点头。 前往布鲁娜家的旅程十分缓慢，老巫婆步履蹒跚，如同爬行。他们直到日落时分才抵达小屋。 “去检查魔印，小子。”布鲁娜对加尔德道。他奉命离开。黎莎领她进屋，带她坐在铺着椅垫的椅子上，然后拉了块有衬里的毯子给她盖。布鲁娜大口喘气，黎莎很怕她随时又要开始咳嗽。她在壶里装满清水，在壁炉中添加木柴和引火的秸秆，四下找寻火石和贴片。 “在布幔上的盒子里。”布鲁娜说。黎莎随即注意到一个小木盒，她打开盒子，但里面没有火石和铁片，只有末端裹着某种黏土的短木棒；她拿起两根木棒摩擦。 “不是那样，女孩！”布鲁娜大声道，“你从来没有见过火焰棒吗？” 黎莎摇头。“爸在店里混合化学原料的地方放了一些，”黎莎说，“但他从来不让我进去。” 老草药师轻叹一声，指示黎莎来到她面前。她拿起一根火焰棒，抵在干瘪的大拇指上。她轻弹拇指，火焰棒的末端立刻燃烧起来；黎莎惊讶得眼睛都快蹦出来了。 “草药学可不只与植物有关，女孩。”布鲁娜边说边在火焰棒烧完前点燃一张纸媒，并以纸媒点燃油灯，然后将纸媒交给黎莎。她高举油灯，照亮积满灰尘的书柜，以及满满的书籍。 “哇！老天！”黎莎惊呼道，“你的书比米歇尔牧师的还多！” “这些可不是教徒杜撰出来的故事，女孩。草药师是世界上古老知识的守护者，来自大回归时代恶魔焚烧大图书馆前的古老知识。” “科学？”黎莎问，“不正是科学的傲慢导致大瘟疫的吗？” “那是米歇尔的愚见。”布鲁娜道，“如果我知道那个男孩长大以后会变成这样一个傲慢的混蛋，我就会把他留在他妈的两腿之间。第一次驱逐地心魔物的是科学，同时也是魔法。传说中只有伟大的草药师能够治愈沉重的伤势，并且混合出威力强大的药剂，以火焰和剧毒击毙恶魔。” 黎莎还想发问，但加尔德刚好进屋。布鲁娜指向壁炉，黎莎点燃炉中的柴火，将水壶挂在火堆上。不久把水烧开了，布鲁娜在长袍内许多口袋中摸索，在自己的杯中加入特别的配方，然后在黎莎和加尔德的杯中加入茶叶。她的动作十分迅速，但黎莎仍然注意到老妇人在加尔德杯中添加了别的东西。 她在杯中倒入开水，接着他们一起在尴尬的沉默中喝茶。加尔德很快就喝光一杯茶，接着就开始揉眼睛。不久后，他颓然倾倒，沉沉睡去。 “你在他茶里下什么药？”黎莎惊问道。 老女人呵呵大笑道。“潭普树脂和天英草粉。”她说，“两样药草分别有很多用途，但混在一起，只要一丁点儿就能让一头公牛昏睡一晚了。” “为什么要这样？”黎莎问。 布鲁娜露出十分吓人的笑容。“当做防护措施。——不管有没有婚约，你都不能相信十五岁的少年会安分地与年轻女孩共度一宿。” “那为什么要他跟来？”黎莎问。 布鲁娜摇头。“我劝你父亲不要娶那个泼妇，但是她晃晃胸部就把他迷得神魂颠倒。”她叹气。“醉成那个样子，史蒂夫和你妈不管家里有什么人在都会乱来。”她说，“但加尔德不该听到那些声音，这个年纪的男孩没听到那种声音就够糟糕了。” 黎莎瞠目。“我妈才不会……” “话可不能乱说，女孩，”布鲁娜打断她道，“造物主不喜欢说谎的人。” 黎莎垂头丧气，她知道伊罗娜是什么样的人。“加尔德可不是那种人。” 布鲁娜嗤之以鼻。“等你当了村子的接生婆再看看说不说得出这种话。” “只要我月经来了，这一切就毫不重要。”黎莎说，“到时候加尔德就可以和我结婚，我就可以和他做所有妻子该做的事。” “跃跃欲试，是吧？”布鲁娜似笑非笑地问道，“我承认那不是坏事。男人除了挥动斧头、搬运重物之外还有其他用处。” “为什么我的月经还没来？”黎莎问，“赛拉和麦莉十二岁时就已经染红她们的床单，而我今年已经十三岁了！到底怎么了？” “什么问题也没有。”布鲁娜说，“每个女孩初经的时间都不一样。你或许还要再等一年，甚至更久。” “一年！”黎莎惊呼。 “不要急着摆脱童年，女孩。”布鲁娜道，“长大后，你会怀念童年；人生不是只有躺在男人下面帮他生孩子而已。” “还有什么事可以和生孩子相提并论？”黎莎问。 布鲁娜指向书柜。“挑一本书。”她说，“随便一本。拿过来，我让你见识见识世界有多大。”