Chapter 27 Chapter 26 Angels

"Giselle!" Scott yelled when the old herbalist came by with a bowl, "why don't you get your apprentice to wipe it for me?" He pointed to Lisa, who was helping another man change his clothes. one time. "Ha!" Giselle laughed.She was a stocky woman with short gray hair and a booming voice. "If I asked her to bathe the patients for treatment, at least half of the people in Angels would be sick and hospitalized within a week." Lisa shook her head when they laughed, but she also laughed helplessly a few times.Scott meant no harm.He was the messenger who fell off his horse outside the city, and it was very lucky that he survived, because he still managed to retrieve his horse and climb back into the saddle with two broken arms.He had no wife, so he had no one to care for at home, and the Messenger Guild paid for him to stay in Giselle's clinic until he recovered from his injuries.

Gisele soaked the rag in a bowl of warm soapy water, lifted the other's bed sheet, and began to wipe the bath skillfully.The messenger screamed as she finished wiping, and Giselle couldn't help laughing and said, "It's a good thing I did the shower for you," she said loudly, looking down. "We don't want to disappoint poor Liza." The patients in the other beds were amused and laughed.All the beds are full, and all the patients are panicking from boredom. "It's a different size if she's in the shower," Scott muttered, blushing.Giselle just smiled again.

"Poor Scott is interested in you." Giselle said to Lisa later when she was grinding the medicine in the medicine room. "Interesting?" Katie, the youngest apprentice, laughed. "He's not only interesting, he's already obsessed with you to the point of obsession!" "I think he's cute." Lonnie joins in the discussion. "In your eyes, everyone is cute." Lisa said.When Lonnie first came here, she would throw a fit when she saw a man. "But I hope you don't have bad taste enough to fall in love with a man who begs you to take a bath."

"Don't indoctrinate her with some messy ideas." Giselle said, "Lonnie is already a duck to water, and she has wiped out all the male patients in the clinic." All the girls giggled, and even Lonnie didn't refute. "At least know how to blush." ​​Li Sha told her, and the girls laughed again. "That's enough! Get out, all you smirking girls!" Gisele laughed. "I want to talk to Lisa alone." "Almost all the men who come here are interested in you," Gisele said after waiting for the others to go out, "it won't kill you to talk to them about topics other than your physical condition."

"It sounds like you're looking more and more like my mother," Lisa said. Giselle suddenly put the pestle on the table. "I'm nothing like your mother," she said, because she'd heard all about Ilona over the years. "I just don't want you to die a spinster for revenge on her. It's not a sin to like men." "I like men." Lisa protested. "I can't tell," Gisele said. "So I should take the initiative to help Scott take a shower?" Lisa asked. "Of course not," said Gisele. "At least not in public," she added with a wink.

"Now you sound like Bruna." Lisa moaned, "Those obscenities alone are not enough to win my heart." Lisa heard Scott's demands too much.She has her mother's figure, which is extremely attractive to men, whether she likes it or not. "Then what's going on?" Giselle said, "What kind of person can pass through your heart seal?" "A man I can trust," Lisa said. "A man I can kiss on the cheek without worrying that the next day he'll be bragging to his friends about how he fucked me in the barn." Gisele snorted. "The chances of encountering a friendly inner monster are a little higher," she said.

Lisa shrugged. "I think you're just scared," Gisele accused. "You've waited so long for the first time that you can't let go of some things, even if it's the joke that every normal girl likes to make..." "It's ridiculous," Lisa said. "Really?" Gisele asked. "I've seen you react when women come to ask about sex, nervous, guessing, red like a pig's liver. You don't know anything about your body Know, what qualifications do you have to guide others?" "I'm sure I'm going to put something somewhere." Lisa said coldly.

"You know what I mean," Giselle said. "Then what advice do you have?" Li Sha asked, "Just find any man and just grit your teeth and go there?" "Not a bad idea either," Gisele said. Riza stared at her, but Giselle returned her gaze firmly. "You have guarded your flowers for too long, and you can no longer see any trustworthy men in your eyes." She said, "No matter how beautiful a flower is, what's the point of hiding it from others to see? Remember its beauty?" Lisa suddenly whimpered, and Giselle immediately stepped forward, hugging her tightly as she cried. "Okay, okay, baby," she comforted Lisa's hair softly, "it's actually not that bad."

After having dinner, checking the magic seal, and sending the apprentices back to the study, Lisa and Giselle finally had time to make a pot of herbal tea and open the package that the courier sent in the morning.On the table was an oil lamp, filled with long-lasting oil. "See a doctor during the day and read the letter at night," Giselle sighed, "It seems that we herbalists don't need to sleep." She turned the letter bag upside down and spread the letter on the table. They quickly sorted the letters.Then Giselle picked up a stack of letters and looked at the recipient. "These are yours." She said and handed the letter to Lisa, then picked up another stack and opened it to read.

"This letter is from Jingbai." After reading it for a while, she continued.Jing Bai was another apprentice she sent away, in Nongdun Town, a day's journey south of the city. "Cooper's rash is getting worse and spreading again." "The way she cooks the medicine is wrong, I dare say it's the problem again." Lisa muttered, "She always refuses to soak the herbs for a long time, and then wonders why the medicine is not effective. If I want to go to Nongdun Town to help If she cooks medicine, I will beat her head hard!" "She knows that." Giselle laughed, "That's why she wrote to me this time!"

The laughter was contagious, and Lisa couldn't help laughing along with it.Lisa loves Giselle.She was as stubborn as Bruna when necessary, but she always had a good laugh. Risa missed Bruna terribly, and this thought turned her attention back to the letter in her hand.It was the fourth day, and messengers came from Nongdun, the Logging Bowl, and other southern points.The top letter in the stack was from my father. There was also a letter from Wika, Lisa opened it first to read, her hands were clasped tightly as usual, and she was finally relieved until she was sure that Bruna, who was too old to be old, was still well. "Wicka's here," she said. "Boy named Jem, six pounds eleven ounces." "This is the third baby?" Giselle asked. "Fourth child." Lisa said.Wicca married Jonah the Deacon shortly after arriving in the Logging Hollow, and immediately began to help him bear children. "Then it's unlikely that she will ever go back to Angels." Gisele sighed. Lisa laughed. "I thought after she had her first baby she wasn't coming back." It is hard to imagine that it has been seven years since she exchanged studies with Wika.What started as a temporary rotation has become a permanent foregone conclusion, and Lisa doesn't have much resentment about it. No matter what Lisa did, Wika would stay in the logging depression, and she was more popular than Bruna, Liza, and Daxi combined.This brought Lisa a freedom she never dreamed of.She had promised to return to the Logging Hollow one day, to make sure there was a competent herbalist in town, but the Creator had already arranged for her; her future was all her own. Her father's letter mentioned that he had caught a bit of a cold, but Wicca was taking care of him and should recover in a short time.The next letter was from Miley, whose eldest daughter was menstruating and engaged, and Miley would soon be a grandmother.Lisa sighed. There were two more letters in the stack.Lisa wrote to Miley, Wicca, and her father nearly every week. Her mother wrote infrequently, and usually in a bad tone. "Are you all right?" Giselle asked, looking away from her letter and looking at her frowning. "It's my mother," Lisa read the letter. "The tone is better, but the message is the same: 'Come back and have a baby before the Creator takes your fertility away.'" Giselle grunted and shook her head. There was another note attached to Ilona's letter, theoretically written by Gard, but in her mother's handwriting, because Gard couldn't read.No matter how hard she tried to make it look like Gard dictated the contents of the letter, Liza was pretty sure her mother had made up at least half of it herself, maybe all of it.The content of this note has never changed from the letter from her mother.Gard is fine, Gard misses her, Gard is waiting for her, Gard loves her. "My mother must think I'm very stupid." Lisa said coldly while reading the letter, "only then can I believe that Gard will try to write a poem, and it's a poem that doesn't rhyme at all." Giselle laughed, but stopped laughing when she realized that Lisa wasn't laughing. "What if she's right?" Lisa asked suddenly, "Although Irona has no worthwhile ideas, I do want to have a child in the future. Everyone knows that the time for me to have a child is getting shorter and shorter." No, you said it yourself that I was wasting my best reproductive years." "That's not what I said at all," Gisele replied. "But it's still true," Lisa said sadly. "I never bothered to find a man; they always found a way to find me, whether I wanted to or not. I just always thought that one day a man who would fit me would find me." Come on, not a man who expects me to adapt to him." "We've all had dreams like that, dear," said Giselle. "It's a nice fantasy when you're all alone looking at the wall, but one can't pin one's hopes on fantasy." Li Sha pinched her palm lightly, the letter paper in her hand was slightly crumpled. "So you're thinking about going back to your hometown and marrying that Gard?" "Oh, Creator, no!" Lisa cried, "Of course not!" Gisele grunted. "Fine, so I don't have to bother hitting you on the head." "No matter how much I long for children," Liza said, "I won't be born a virgin until I die. The problem is he'll teach any man who comes near me in the logging swale." "It's easy to solve." Giselle said, "It's good to be born here." "What?" Liza asked. "Wicka is in the logging depression." Giselle said, "I trained her with my own hands, and her heart belongs there." She leaned forward and put her fat palm on Lisa's. “Stay,” she said, “make Angels my home, and take over the practice when I retire.” Lisa's eyes widened, but she couldn't speak when she opened her mouth. "Over the years, you have taught me as much as I have taught you." Giselle continued, "I don't feel comfortable handing over the clinic to someone else, even if Wicca comes back tomorrow." "I don't know what to say." Lisa reluctantly responded. "Don't rush to make a decision." Giselle said, patted Lisa's palm, "I don't plan to retire any time soon, you should think about it." Lisa nodded.Giselle spread her hands.Liza threw herself into her arms, hugging the elder herbalist tightly.After parting, the shouts from outside the house startled the two of them. "Help! Help!" someone yelled.They turned to the window at the same time, it was already dark. In the Angels, it was a crime punishable by whipping to open the shutters after dark, but Liza and Gisele unlatched the window without thinking twice and watched as three guards came running down the boardwalk, two of them with each other on their bodies. carrying a man. "People in the clinic!" yelled the lead guard, seeing the light behind the shutters. "Open the door! Help! We need shelter and healing!" Lisa and Gisele rushed to the stairs at the same time, nearly crashing into a ball and rolling down the stairs.It's winter, and despite the efforts of the magic sealers in the city to clear the snow, ice and dead leaves from the magic seal net, there are still a few wind demons sneaking into the city every night to hunt the homeless beggars, and wait to boldly break the law , Curfew-defying idiots go out late at night.The wind demon can fall from the sky without a sound, and then suddenly spread its wings and claws to tear the internal organs of the prey, and then grab the corpse with its hind claws, fly to the sky, and escape from the city. They rushed downstairs, opened the door, and watched the man outside gradually approaching.There is a magic seal painted on the door frame, even if the door is opened, it will not endanger the safety of them and the patients. "What happened?" Katie yelled, poking her head out of the second-floor balcony.The other apprentices followed her out of the room. "Put on the apron and go downstairs immediately!" Lisa ordered, and the young girls moved quickly. The people outside are still far away, but they are running fast.Hearing a sharp cry from the sky, Lisa felt her abdomen tighten.The nearby wind demon has been attracted by the light and human voice. The guards approached so fast that Lisa thought they would arrive at the clinic unharmed, until one of the guards slipped on the ice and fell hard.The man on his back immediately fell to the wooden floor. The guard with one person on his shoulders yelled, then lowered his head and ran quickly.The guard who was not carrying the man turned back and rushed towards his fallen companion. With a sudden flapping of wings, the unfortunate guard's head fell and he rolled rapidly on the wooden floor.Katie screamed.Before the wound started to spurt blood, the wind demon grabbed the corpse and flew into the sky with a howl. The man-carrying guard passed through the magic seal and put down the man on him.Li Sha looked back at the man who was still struggling to get up outside, showing a firm expression. "Lisa, don't!" Gisele yelled, grabbing her.But Lisa avoided it sideways and stepped onto the boardwalk. She weaves forward, and the cry of the wind demon can be heard in the icy night sky.An earth core monster rushed towards her, but it missed her at all, the difference was only a few inches.The Demon slammed onto the boardwalk, but got up quickly, the impact completely absorbed by the thick shell.Lisa quickly turned around and sprinkled a handful of Bruna's blinding powder on its face.The demon roared in pain, and Risa moved on. "Save him, not me!" the guard yelled as he approached, pointing at the man lying motionless on the ground.The guard's ankle is clearly broken at an unnatural angle.Lisa looked at another prone man.She couldn't carry both of them on her back at the same time. "Don't save me!" the guard yelled as she approached. Lisa shook her head. "I have a better chance of helping you back to the clinic." She said in an indisputable tone.She took his arm and helped him up hard. "Lower your body." The guard panted, "The wind demon is less likely to attack prey that is too close to the ground." Risa walked as stooped as she could, stumbling under the man's weight, knowing that with or without her body bent, at this speed they would never reach the clinic. "Now!" Giselle yelled, and Lisa looked up to see the other apprentices rushing out the door, covering their heads with the hem of the white sheet.Sheets were flying everywhere, and the wind demon had no way of determining the location of the target. Under the cover of sheets, Gisele and the first guard quickly came to them.Giselle helps Lisa, and the guards carry the unconscious man.Fear gave them strength, and they rushed into the clinic, closing the door behind them. "This man is dead," said Gisele, her tone cold. "I estimate he has been dead for more than an hour." "I almost died for a dead man?" cried the guard with a broken ankle.Lisa ignored him and walked to another injured man. Judging by his round, freckled face and slim figure, he looked more like a boy than a man.He had been badly beaten, but was still breathing and had a strong heartbeat.Li Sha quickly checked his injuries, cut open the brightly patched colored clothes and groped for the broken bones, looking for the reason why the performance clothes were stained with a lot of blood. "What's going on?" Gisele asked as she examined the wounded guard's ankle. "We found these two people on the way back to the post after patrolling." The guard gritted his teeth and said, "Looking at the clothes of bards lying on the boardwalk, they must have been robbed after the performance. They are still alive, but they are seriously injured It was late at that time, but it seemed that both of them had to be treated immediately, otherwise they would definitely not survive tonight. I remembered this clinic, so I rushed over as soon as possible, walking along the eaves, trying to avoid the wind demon's pursuit." Giselle nodded and said, "You did the right thing." "Go tell poor Qiang Xin." The guard said, "O Creator, how should I explain to his wife?" "I'll worry about that tomorrow morning." Giselle said, picking up the flask and putting it to the man's mouth, "Drink it." The guard looked at her suspiciously. "What is this?" he asked. "Sleeping stuff," Giselle said. "I have to set your bones, and I promise you you don't want to set them while you're awake." The guard immediately swallowed the potion. When Li Sha was cleaning the wound of the young patient, the young patient suddenly woke up gasping for breath and sat up.One of his eyes was too swollen to open, but the other was a bright green, and he looked around immediately after opening.He called out loudly: "Master Jackaber!" He struggled hard, and it took Lisa, Katie and the last guard to push him back to the bed.He turned his intact eyes to stare at Liza. "Where is Master Jacob?" he asked. "Is he all right?" "The old man with you?" Lisa asked.He nods. Lisa hesitated for a moment, thinking about what to say.But this response has answered the other side.He screamed and struggled again.The guard pressed down hard on him, looking him in the eyes. "Did you see anyone who did it?" he asked. "His condition is not suitable..." Li Sha had just opened her mouth when the guard glared at him. "I lost a brother tonight," he said. "I have no patience." He turned to the boy. "See it?" he asked. The boy looked at him with tears in his eyes.Finally he shook his head, but the guards held him down. "You must have seen something." He pressed. "Enough." Lisa said, grabbing the guard's wrist and pulling it hard.He resisted for a moment, then finally let go of the boy. "Go to the next room and wait." Li Sha ordered.He frowned, but obeyed. Lisa returned to the boy, only to see him crying loudly. "Throw me back into the street," he said, holding up a mutilated hand, "I deserved to die a long time ago, and everyone who tried to save me died in the end." Lisa held the crippled palm and stared into his eyes. "I'm willing to take the risk." She said, pinching his palm lightly, "Those of us who survived must take care of each other." She put the sleeping potion to his mouth, then held his hand and gave it to him Strength until he closed his eyes. The music of the violin filled the clinic.The patients beat to the beat, and the apprentices danced as they went about their business.Even Lisa and Giselle felt that their steps were much lighter. "Young Roger is worried that he won't be able to pay his bills," Giselle said as she prepared lunch. "I want to pay him to entertain patients when he recovers." "Patients and girls adore him," agrees Lisa. "I found out you can dance when no one's looking," Gisele said. Lisa smiles.When he wasn't playing the violin, Roger would gather all his apprentices around his bed to listen to his stories, or to teach them some tricks of makeup that he claimed to have learned from the Duke's whore.Giselle often showed him motherly care, and all the apprentices loved him very much. "Then give him a particularly thick piece of beef." Lisa said as she cut off a piece of beef and placed it on a dinner plate filled with potatoes and fruits. Giselle shook her head. "I don't know where the boy's food went," she said. "You and the other girls have been feeding him big meals for over a month, but he's still as thin as a bamboo." "Lunch!" she shouted.The girls came in to serve trays.Lonnie went straight to the most stacked plate, but Lisa picked it up and refused to give it to her. "I'll serve this plate myself," she said, grinning at all the disappointed faces in the kitchen. "Roger needs a break and something to eat, and instead of you helping him chop the beef, he's going to tell you stories," Gisele said. "You can try to please him later." "Intermission!" Li Sha yelled when she walked into the ward. Actually, there was no need to yell. As soon as she appeared, the bow had already slipped from the strings, and a sharp note was issued.Roger smiled and waved, knocking over a glass as he put down the violin.His broken finger and arm have healed, but the cast on his foot is still hanging from the bed, making it impossible to place the violin smoothly on the bedside table. "You must be very hungry today." She smiled, put the dinner plate on his lap, and took his violin.Roger looked at the plate suspiciously, then smiled up at her. "Should you help me cut the beef?" He said, raising his crippled palm. Lisa raised her eyebrows. "Your fingers seem to be very flexible when playing the violin," she said. "Why can't you eat?" "Because I hate eating alone." Roger laughed. Li Sha smiled, sat down on the side of the bed, and took out a knife and fork.She cut a thick piece of beef, dipped it in gravy and potatoes, and put it in Roger's mouth.He smiled, gravy dripping from the corners of his mouth.Lisa couldn't help chuckling.Roger felt embarrassed, his pale cheeks were as red as his hair. "I can carry a fork myself," he said. "Do you want me to cut the meat for you and leave?" Lisa asked, and Roger shook his head vigorously. "Then shut up," she said, forking another piece of meat and feeding it into his mouth. "It's not my violin," Roger said after a moment of silence, looking at the instrument. "It's Master Jaccab's. Mine was smashed that day..." Lisa frowned as his voice gradually faded.It had been a month since the incident happened, and he still refused to talk about the situation at that time, even under the pressure of the guards.He had sent for his belongings, but as far as she knew, he hadn't even contacted the bard guild to tell them what had happened. "That's not your fault." Li Sha watched his eyes drift into the distance, so she said, "It wasn't you who hit him." "It's like doing it myself," Roger said. "What do you mean?" Lisa asked. Roger looked away. "I mean... I didn't force him to come back. He wouldn't have died so badly, if he hadn't..." "You said he told you that coming back from retirement is the happiest thing he has done in twenty years." Lisa argued, "No one has ever been able to meet the Creator without complaint or regret. We who live in this world The time may be long or short, but no matter how long it is, we have to be satisfied." "But the people who have anything to do with me seem to have suffered misfortune." Roger said with a long sigh. "I've seen a lot of people who died early and never heard of Roger Half Palm." Lisa said, "Are you going to blame yourself for their deaths?" Roger stared at her.She stuffed another mouthful of food into his mouth. "Closing off one's life because of a disturbed conscience does not make life any easier for the dead." When the messenger arrived, Lisa went to open the door with her arms around her clothes.She stuffed Wicca's letter into her apron and put the others aside.She had just put away a change of laundry when an apprentice ran up to tell her that a patient had just coughed up blood.After that, she attached an arm and gave lessons to the apprentices. By the time she finished her day's work, the sun had gone down and the apprentices had gone to bed.She lowered the wick, turned the oil lamp to a faint soft glow, and made a rounds of the beds, making sure the patients were sleeping soundly before going upstairs to rest.She met Roger's eyes as she passed by, and he gestured for her to pass, but she smiled and shook her head.She pointed at him, clasped her hands together in prayer, resting her palms on her cheeks, and closed her eyes. Roger frowned, but she pretended not to see it and left quietly, knowing that he would not follow.His cast has been removed and the injury has healed, but Roger still declares that the wound is painful and weak and wants to spend more time. Walking back to the room, she poured herself a glass of water.It was a warm spring night, and the water jug ​​was covered with condensation.She was wiping her hands absently on the apron when she heard the crunch of paper.Thinking of Wika's letter, she took out the letter from her apron, opened the seal with her thumb, and turned the letter to the oil lamp while drinking water. After a while, the water glass fell from her hand.She didn't notice, and she didn't hear the shattering of clay cups.She clutched the letter paper and rushed out of the room. When Roger found her, Lisa was crying alone in the dark kitchen. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, leaning on his crutches. "Roger?" she choked out. "What are you doing out of bed?" Roger didn't answer, but went to sit beside her. "Bad news from home?" he asked. Lisa stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "My father had a cold," she said, waiting for Roger to nod that he knew about it. It's fine if you get it, but the weaker people..." She began to sob again. "Anyone you know?" Roger asked, cursing himself as soon as the words came out.Of course there were people she knew.Everyone in the small village knows each other. Lisa didn't notice his gaffe. "My teacher, Bruna," she said, with big tears dripping on her apron, "and a few others, and two kids I didn't get a chance to know. There were more than ten people in total, and half the town Bedridden; my father was the sickest of all." "I'm sorry," Roger said. "Don't pity me, it's my fault," Lisa said. "Why?" Roger asked. "I should have stayed in the town," Lisa said. "I'm no longer Giselle's apprentice. I promised I'd go back to the Logging Hollow when I finished my studies. If I kept my promise, I'd be in town now, perhaps……" "I've seen people die from the flu in Lynchtown," Roger said. "Are you going to blame yourself for those deaths? And those who died in this city because you couldn't afford it." Heal everyone?" "That's different, you know it very well," Liza said. "Isn't it the same?" Roger asked. "You said yourself that shutting up your life because of a disturbed conscience doesn't make life any easier for the dead." Lisa looked at him with moist eyes. "What are you going to do?" Roger asked. "Waste time crying, or start packing?" "Packing?" Lisa asked. "I have a courier's portable sigil," Roger said. "We can set out for the Logging Hollow early in the morning." "Roger, you can't even walk steadily!" Lisa said. Roger raised his crutches, placed them on the cooking cabinet, and stood firmly on the spot.He took a few steps stiffly. "Fake a sore foot for a warm bed and a woman who dotes on you?" Li Sha asked. "No!" Roger blushed. "I'm just... not ready to go on stage again." "You have a way to go all the way to the logging depression?" Lisa asked. "Maybe a week without riding." "You don't have to do backflips on the road," says Roger. "I can do it." Li Sha crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, I forbid you to do that." "I am not your apprentice, and you cannot forbid me to do anything," said Roger. "You are my patient." Lisa retorted. "I can prohibit you from doing anything that will affect your condition, and I will hire a messenger to send me back." "Good luck," said Roger. "The weekly southbound courier departs today, and at this time of year most couriers are hired away. It will cost a fortune to convince the courier to drop what they're doing and take you to the logging depression, and besides, I can use the violin Drive away the monsters in the center of the earth, no messenger can do that." "I'm sure you can," Lisa said, though her tone sounded skeptical. "But what I want is the fast horse of the messenger, not the magic violin." Ignoring his protests, she drove him back to bed, then went upstairs to pack. "Are you sure you want to go back?" Giselle asked the next morning. "I have to go back," Lisa said. "Wika and Daxi can't handle it." Gisele nodded. "Roger seems to insist on going with you." "I don't want his escort," Riza said. "I'll hire a courier." "He's been packing all morning," Gisele said. "His injury has not fully recovered," Lisa said. "Huh!" said Gisele, "it's been nearly three months. I saw he wasn't using a cane at all this morning, and I think he's only staying here to find a reason to be near you." Lisa's eyes widened. "You think Roger...?" Gisele shrugged. "I'm just talking, not every man will be willing to go out of the city to face the monsters in the center of the earth for you." "Giselle, I'm old enough to be a mother!" Lisa said. "Ha!" jeered Giselle, "you're only twenty-seven, and Roger said he was twenty." "Many of Roger's words are unreliable," Lisa said. Giselle shrugged again. "You say you're different from my mother," Liza said, "but you both have the knack for linking every tragedy in your life to my love life." Gisele started to speak, but Lisa cut her off with a hand. "If you don't mind," she said, "I'm going to hire a courier." She left the kitchen in a hurry, and Roger eavesdropped in the doorway, barely slipping aside in time to hide. With the money from her father plus Giselle's remuneration, Lisa proposed a coupon of one hundred and fifty mil enjinyang coins from the Duke's bank.For the average Angels resident, this is a wealth that cannot be imagined, but the messenger does not take risks for money.She hoped the money would be enough, but Roger's words sounded like a prophecy, a curse even. Spring is a time of great trade, and even the most unreliable couriers are employed.Scott had already left the city, and the assistant of the Messenger Guild directly rejected her request.The most they could do was arrange for her a courier to go south next week, and that would have to wait another six days. "In that case, I'll just go by myself!" she yelled at the guild secretary. "Then I suggest you leave now." The other party replied coldly. Lisa suppressed her anger and left angrily.If she had to wait another week before leaving, she thought she would lose her mind.If her father dies this week... "Lisa?" A voice came from behind.She stopped abruptly and turned around slowly. "It's really you!" Malick yelled, striding forward with his hands up, "I didn't know you were still in town!" Lisa let him hug her in shock. "What are you doing in the guild hall?" Malick asked, taking a step back and appreciating her.He is still handsome and has the eyes of a wolf. "I need someone to escort me back to the logging swale," she said. "There's an epidemic in the town and they need my help." "I think I can take you there." Malick said, "It shouldn't be a problem for me to find someone to take over my errand to Heqiao Town tomorrow." "I have money," Liza said. "You know I don't charge money as a flower protector." Malick leaned forward and stared at her lewdly, "I'm only interested in one payment method." He put his hands around her Behind her, with a pinch on her ass, Liza resisted the urge to push him away.She thought of those who needed her, and what Gisele had said about beautiful flowers that no one could see.Maybe reuniting with Malick today is the arrangement of the Creator.She swallowed hard and nodded to him. Malick pushed Liza into a dark alcove off the corridor, pressed her against the wall behind a wooden statue, and kissed her deeply.After a moment, she returned his kisses, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, the warmth of his tongue in her mouth. "I won't have the same problems this time," Malick assured, pulling her hand over his firm cock. Lisa smiled shyly. "I'll meet you at your hotel in the evening," she said. "We can... spend the night together and leave after dawn." Malick looked around, then shook his head.He pressed her against the wall again, and undid her belt with one hand down. "I've waited too long," he murmured, "I'm ready now, and I won't miss this opportunity!" "I don't want to do it in the corridor!" Lisa whispered, pushing him away, "I will be seen." "No one will see," Malick said, leaning in to kiss her again.He pulled out the hard dick and started lifting her skirt. "You appear in a dream," he said, "and this time I am in a dream. What else do you need?" "Privacy." Lisa asked, "A bed, a pair of candles, anything!" "Want a bard singing outside?" Malick teased, fingers between her legs probing for the entrance. "You sound like a virgin." "It was!" Lisa exclaimed in a low voice. Malick pushed her away, the thing still in his hand, looking at her contemptuously. "Everybody in Logging Hollow knows you've fucked that gorilla Gard at least a dozen times," he said. "It's been so long and you're still lying?" 黎莎脸色一沉，膝盖对准他的下体狠狠顶了上去，趁马力克还在地上呻吟时冲出了公会会馆。 “没人愿意护送你？”当晚罗杰问道。 “除了必须用我的身体去换的人。”黎莎咕哝一声，没提起自己真的打算这么做。即使到了现在，她还在担心自己是不是犯了大错。她心中有点希望让马力克得逞，但就算吉赛儿说得没错，就算她的第一次不是世上最珍贵的东西，至少也不该在走廊上失去。 她太晚闭上双眼，挤出了本来不希望落下的泪水。罗杰伸手触摸她的脸颊，她看着他。他微微一笑，伸手向前，动作像是从她耳朵后方取出亮眼的手帕。她忍不住笑出声来，接过手帕擦眼泪。 “我还是可以护送你去。”他说，“我曾经从牧羊谷徒步走来这里。既然那不成问题，自然可以送你前往伐木洼地。” “真的？”黎莎抽噎问道，“不是什么类似杰克·鳞片嘴那种瞎掰出来的故事，或是你可以用小提琴迷惑地心魔物什么的？” “真的。”罗杰说。 “你为什么愿意为我这么做？”黎莎问。 罗杰微笑，将她的手握入自己残废的手掌。“我们都曾死里逃生，不是吗？”他问，“有人告诉我死里逃生过的人应该要互相照顾。” am I crazy?离开安吉尔斯城门后，罗杰问自己道。黎莎为了这趟旅程购买了一匹马，但罗杰没有骑马的经验，而黎莎只会一点，他坐在她身后，她则驾马，以仅比两人步行稍快的速度前进。 尽管僵硬的腿被马震到疼痛难忍，罗杰并没有开口抱怨。如果他在安吉尔斯离开视线范围前抱怨任何事，黎莎一定会决定折返。 你本来就该折返，他心想。你是吟游诗人，不是什么信使。 但黎莎需要他，自从第一眼看见她起，他就知道自己没办法拒绝她的任何要求。他知道在她眼中自己不过是个孩子，但等他平安护送她回家，她就会改变观点。她会知道他并不只是个孩子，他有能力照顾自己，也有能力照顾她。 再说，安吉尔斯有什么值得他留恋的东西？杰卡伯死了，吟游公会应该认为他也死了，而这种情况或许比较好。“去找守卫队，他们会吊死的人是你。”杰辛如此说。而罗杰心里明白，如果让黄金嗓知道自己没死，他绝对没有机会把真相告诉任何人。 然而望向前方的道路时，他感到腹部一阵绞痛。就像蟋蟀坡，骑马只要一天就能抵达农墩镇，但伐木洼地就远多了，就算骑马也要四个晚上。罗杰顶多只有连续两晚露宿野外的经验，而且还只有一次。艾利克死时的情形历历在目。如果连黎莎也死了，他能够承受住打击吗？ “你还好吗？”黎莎问，“你的手在抖。” 他看向放在她腰上的双手，发现她说得没错。“没什么。”他说道，“我只是突然感到一阵寒意。” “我最讨厌那样了。”黎莎说，但罗杰几乎没有听见。他凝视自己的双手，试图用意志力征服它们。 你是演员！他暗骂自己。表演勇敢！ 他想起自己故事中的勇敢探险家马可·流浪者。罗杰讲述这个男人事迹的次数多到数不清，对他的人格特质和言谈举止一清二楚。他挺直背脊，双手停止了颤抖。 “累了和我说。”他道，“把缰绳交给我。” “我以为你没有骑过马。”黎莎说。 “身体力行是最好的学习方式。”罗杰说，引述每当马可·流浪者遇上新奇事物时会说的台词。 马可·流浪者从来不会惧怕任何自己未做过的事。 缰绳交到罗杰手中后，他们赶路的速度变快了。尽管如此，他们还是差点没能赶在黄昏前抵达农墩镇。他们将马安顿在马厩中，然后朝旅店走去。 “你是吟游诗人？”旅店主人看着罗杰的表演服问道。 “罗杰·半掌，”罗杰说，“来自安吉尔斯，以及西方小镇。” “没听说过。”旅店主人咕哝道，“但只要你愿意演出，我可以免费提供住宿。” 罗杰转向黎莎，看到她耸肩点头后，他面露微笑，取出惊奇袋。 农墩镇是个小地方，由许多沿着魔印木板道而建的建筑和房舍组成。与罗杰造访过的其他城镇不同，农墩镇民夜晚也会出门，任意行走于各建筑物之间——只是步伐较快。 因此，导致旅店中挤满欣赏演出的人，罗杰感到十分开心。这是数个月来的第一次演出，但一切都很自然，不久所有观众就开始鼓掌大笑，听他讲述杰克·鳞片嘴和魔印人的故事。 回到座位后，黎莎的脸颊因为喝酒而微显红润。“你表演得太棒了。”她说，“我就知道你是个很棒的吟游诗人。” 罗杰眉开眼笑，正打算说点什么，两个男人带着好几杯酒走了过来，他们将一杯酒递给罗杰，另一杯递给黎莎。 “谢谢你们的演出。”带头的男人说道，“我知道一杯酒算不了什么……” “很好喝，谢谢你。”罗杰说，“请和我们一起坐吧。”他指向桌旁两张空位。两名男子坐下。 “你们路过农墩镇有什么事吗？”第一名男子问道。他身材矮小，胡须浓密。他的伙伴比较高壮，不太说话。 “我们要去伐木洼地。”罗杰说，“黎莎是草药师，要赶去那里帮助他们治疗传染病。” “伐木洼地路途遥远，”黑胡子男人说道，“你们晚上要怎么办？” “不用为我们担心。”罗杰说，“我们有信使的魔印圈。” “携带式魔印圈？”男人讶异地问道，“那一定花了你们不少钱。” 罗杰点头。“比你想象中还多。”他说。 “好吧，我们不耽误你们休息了。”男人道，与他的伙伴一同起身，“你们一早还要赶路。”他们离开，走到另一桌与第三个人会合。罗杰和黎莎把酒喝完，回房休息。