Wizard: I brought the wrong system.

Chapter 364 The Poetic Sentiments of a Young Man

"Don't be so nervous, Hami," the one-armed old Charles said, leaning on his worn-out scabbard, his steps unusually swift. "We've only been clearing out for a short time, and those monsters won't replenish their numbers so quickly. Moving faster will make us safer."

"Where am I nervous!" the boy stubbornly insisted, then glanced at the desolate, silent surroundings, swallowed hard, quickened his pace, and approached the old man, asking casually:
"Didn't you tell us to collect the fuel before coming over? Why are you coming earlier now?"

The old man glanced at the taut veins on the back of the boy's hand, but didn't say anything. He simply said, "I've thought about what you said before carefully, and it does make some sense."

"Which sentence?"

The boy suddenly remembered something, his steps faltered, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said:
"You're not thinking of... running away with me alone, are you?"

Old Charles turned his head away, silently continuing on his way, too lazy to answer such a foolish question.

"I need to make this clear to you beforehand! Although my father wants me to listen to you, I will absolutely not agree to something like this!"

Hami followed closely behind the old man, muttering to himself.

"Old Man Charles, do you still remember Mrs. Winling's rye bread?"

"She would often bring us freshly baked, piping hot rye bread with an enticing aroma of wheat. We never got tired of that taste, no matter how many times we ate it!"

Hami swallowed hard and described it carefully: "When you first taste it, you will taste a slightly sour flavor that whets your appetite. When you bite into it, it is chewy like a piece of meat. The more you chew, the more fragrant and sweet it becomes. Your mouth will involuntarily water up, and before you know it, it will be drooling from the corners of your mouth."

"And there was the girl who lived next to the mill. She was exceptionally beautiful and liked to wear a long blue floral dress. Her big, watery eyes were so alluring, they seemed to speak volumes. In the summer, she would practice her organ under the mill windmill every evening, and I would go to the river to turn over stones and catch fish at that time."

A glint of light shone in the boy's eyes as he continued, as if reciting a poem:
"Stepping on the smooth, wet pebbles, slowly wading through the gentle river, the cool river breeze brushes against my hair, bringing with it the tender, melodious sound of a young piano..."

"Enough!" Old Charles interrupted mercilessly, "We don't have a river here!"

The boy grumbled in dissatisfaction, "I was embellishing it so that you could more clearly understand how I felt at the time. I can't exactly say that I spent every day rummaging through stinky mud pits for loaches just to get a piece of meat, can I?"

"Is there anything wrong with saying that? Isn't being able to freely go out and search for loaches every day a blessing?"

Old Charles paused, turned to look at the boy, and said, "Hami, put away your cleverness."

If we continue with the topic of Hami, whether it's his joking, poetic way of speaking or his discussion of the girl he mentioned, we've actually fallen into a little trap set by the boy.

"Hami, you can think of the world as vast and you can go anywhere, you can speak like a wandering poet, you can speak without restraint and say whatever comes to mind."

"There are so many things you can do, perhaps so many that you don't even care about them."

"But in reality, everything you just mentioned—food, freedom, even dignity—all stems from the Earl's benevolence!"

"Mrs. Wenlin gave us rye bread because she believed I had saved her family's lives!"

"Actually, I only received orders from the Earl's mansion."

"Also, that little girl you've taken a liking to, they were originally from the Saint Fernando Empire, fleeing all the way to the Earl's territory. Her grandparents died on the way." "Including us, why are so many people risking their lives to come here?"

"It's because the Earl pardoned all the serfs; within the Earl's territory, there are only nobles and free men,"

"It's because the Earl has opened up all the wasteland. As long as you are willing to cultivate it, you can get twenty years of free use, which is enough to raise the next generation until they get married and have children."

"It's because the Earl has greatly reduced the agricultural tax here. Even the normal agricultural tax is only one-thirtieth, so everyone can eat without worry."

Old Charles's face was wrinkled and he looked unusually serious. He said, almost word by word, "Hami, Earl, it's worth it. We'll fight to the death for him!"

Hami's previously frivolous expression froze. After a moment of silence, he suddenly noticed that Old Charles was still looking at him. He then deliberately made a frivolous laugh and replied meaningfully, "Yes, we should indeed... fight for our territory."

Similar words, yet containing different nuances.

Old Charles scrutinized the boy with his cloudy eyes.

The boy, barely grown up, acted like an adult, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, full of longing for the future and vibrant energy.

Old Charles was momentarily stunned.

After a moment, old Charles avoided eye contact and continued forward on the half-sand-covered path, explaining calmly, "Let's hurry over there and see if we can get their bodies out. If we're too slow, they might turn into monsters and get mixed up with the previous skeletal monsters, making them harder to find."

"Old Man Charles, what's your plan to say to Lord Claire? Didn't he say there were further arrangements? If you let the men rest early this afternoon, won't the rest of the schedule be thrown into chaos? Will Lord Claire punish you?" Hami naturally followed up, asking with concern.

Old Charles frowned: "That's why I only gave a few instructions and came over quietly. As long as no one else knows, even if Lord Claire wants to punish someone, she will never implicate anyone else."

"Then... what about me?" Hami asked timidly.

Old Charles gave him a half-smile: "Didn't you come here on your own?"

Seeing that the old man wasn't going to defend him, Hami was so anxious he almost jumped up. His eyes widened, and he shouted, "Hey! Old man, I came along because I was worried something would happen to you! You can't get me into trouble!"

Old Charles did not respond.

Hami ran back and forth on either side of Old Xiaer, his expression anxious but his steps inexplicably light, as if he had put down a heavy burden.

As they playfully bickered, the two gradually approached the battlefield from before.

"Wait!" Old Charles suddenly stopped and grabbed Hami, who was jumping around beside him.

"What's wrong?" Hami slowed his pace and asked in a low voice, puzzled.

"There's movement ahead!" Old Charles replied in a low voice, as he slowly crouched down and pressed his ear to the ground.

(End of this chapter)