A Wizard's Survival Guide to the 20th Century

Chapter 106 51. Ai Lian (4000 words, two chapters in one)

William walked over slowly and looked down at her. The girl didn't react at all, like a rag doll sitting on the ground.

She seems to be blind?

William thought with some surprise, but the breath in his nose did come from her body. This breath had a slight fragrance, like a small white flower that broke out of the ground in the woods after the rain.

William lowered his head and looked at the paper cup in front of her. There were several metal objects in it, a beer bottle lid, a can ring, and a dead beetle.

William silently picked up the cup and poured out the contents. The blind girl heard the movement and raised her head. William felt that her gaze seemed to penetrate the cloth, and a pair of smart eyes were staring at him.

William reluctantly smiled at her and put in four quarters.

The girl looked surprised as if she could see it, and then heard the sound of William putting the cup back.

"Sorry, I just spilled it."

William was a little embarrassed and said: "The people you met today are all very nice. There are four coins in it..."

"Really?" the girl laughed, "When I had the iron bowl before, I could still tell that they gave me something, but then the small bowl was stolen and I couldn't tell the difference clearly."

William was stunned. He took a serious look at the girl. She was very thin, sitting on the ground, so delicate that it seemed that he could push her down at will by stretching out his hand. The clothes on her body were as loose as a few rags hanging on it.

Is this... the female parent they are looking for?

If the person he was looking for was stronger... no, even if he was just slightly healthier and had a decent job, William wouldn't feel so unbearable.

Even from such a girl who has nothing, do you want to take away more?

William hesitated and asked, "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course." The girl nodded, "You gave me the coin, didn't you?"

William smiled sheepishly and squatted next to her.

"What's your name?"

"Ailian." The girl said, "I don't have a last name."

"You...do people usually give you money?" William's eyes moved, trying to find a topic.

"When I sing, more people will throw coins." Ailian said, "Sometimes it's one point, sometimes it's five points... Unfortunately, I had a fever a few days ago and I can't sing now."

Only then did William notice that there was a slight hoarseness in her voice, which made her sound as if she had just cried. But this hoarseness didn't appear unexpectedly on her, as if she was born with such a voice.

"What's going on with your hair?" William couldn't help but ask. She had elf-like white hair, which made her stand out from other people even when she was sitting on the ground.

"Well..." Ailian accurately twirled her hair with her fingers.

"They told me it was albinism."

Albinism... William bit his lip and then said: "What about the eyes?"

"Would you believe me if I told you?" The girl raised her head seriously and asked.

William was stunned for a moment when he heard her words, and then lowered his head, his expression becoming complicated.

Until just now, he still had the thought in his mind that maybe he had found the wrong person.

"It seems she is the one." The potter, who had been silent in William's heart, suddenly spoke.

"Do you want to take her away now?"

"No, no, let's hear what her abilities are first." The potter chuckled.

William nodded and said, "I believe it."

"Really?" The girl smiled, "Most people would not believe me so much. You are lying to me and want to hear my story."

"No, I'm the same as you." William said with a wry smile, "I can smell all kinds of smells, not the ones ordinary people smell. In my brain, everything smells completely different. , and as clear as lines, I can even follow these lines to find what I want..."

William said while paying attention to Ailian's expression. He then noticed that the latter's face gradually showed a vivid expression. That was...a surprise?

She grabbed her hand.

"Then, you are just like me!" Ailian said in surprise, "Me too, just like you."

"You know, I can see into people's souls!"

Ailian said excitedly: "In my eyes, people's souls are all colorful. The souls of good people are as beautiful as rainbows, the souls of bad people are as turbid as stagnant water, the souls of strong people are shining like the sun, and the souls of timid people are as bright as the sun." The human soul is as dim as a candle.”

"Some people's souls are gray-green, some people's souls are blazing red, some people..."

William listened blankly, he did not expect Ailian to be such an eloquent person.

"See ■■?" the potter said, but part of his voice seemed to be erased.

"Interesting witchcraft."

William cheered up: "Do you want to keep her?"

"No." The potter's voice seemed to contain visible sarcasm, "She's not enough. Besides, your nose can do almost the same thing, right?"

William wilted.

He turned to look at Ailian with pity again, and the latter seemed to feel his expression and let go of her hand.

"Ah, sorry, I'm a little excited." She said sheepishly, "You won't be scared, right?"

William shook his head.

"But why did you cover your eyes?"

Ailian paused and lowered her head: "Do you want to see it?"

William noticed something was wrong, but nodded anyway, and then remembered that she seemed invisible, and said, "I think."

Ailian smiled this time, took off the cloth from her eyes, and raised her head.

William's eyes suddenly widened, and he stopped breathing for a moment.

On her face, where her eyes should have been, there were only two empty blood holes at the moment.

The blood inside had scabbed over, and William could see that the fracture there was not smooth, but messy. There are also pieces of broken muscle tissue and pieces of meat stuck together.

The eye socket was now rotten and smelly, making it look extremely ugly. But William could see that her eye sockets were very big, and there should have been a pair of big eyes there, maybe green, maybe blue or other colors... In any case, there should have been a pair of smart eyes there.

But at this time, there was only a pair of bloody holes.

"This...is this?" William felt that his mouth could no longer speak.

"I gained the power...to see souls a few months ago." Ailian's smile was bitter.

"I was very excited to tell my father and mother, but..."

She pointed to her eye sockets.

"Their expressions were as if they saw a monster. I was slapped to the ground by my father, and the teapot in my mother's hand was knocked over. I saw myself in the water on the ground."

"A second pair of pupils grew in my eyes."

"My father angrily called me a monster. It's no wonder... I was born from an affair between my mother and my uncle. My uncle ran away the night he was found out. The only reason my father raised me was because my mother begged me that when I grow up, You can sell it to merchants with unique tastes and get a good price.”

"My father beat and kicked me from that day on, until, until I told him that Aunt Jenny betrayed him..."

William was stunned for a moment before he understood what she meant.

"Did you use your witch...power to see it?"

"Yes, her soul turned gray and purple, which is a sign of deception." Ailian said.

"But...but my father said that all this is because of me, and it is the curse I brought."

"He pushed me down on the table and slashed out my eyes with a knife."

"After I lost my eyes, I definitely wouldn't be able to sell them for much. Then...then I was kicked out." William reached out his hand in surprise, trying to touch her eye sockets, but he still stopped in mid-air.

Ailian lowered her head as if she hadn't seen it and tied the cloth again. A few traces of blood flowed from the corners of her eyes.

"So, do you have anything else to do?" Ailian smiled softly.

"No, I, I..." William waved his hands in confusion, and at this time, his eyes saw the cheap cafe behind them.

As if he thought of something, William turned around and said, "You haven't eaten yet, right?"

"Eh? That's true..."

"Then, let me treat you to a meal, although it will be in the cafe behind."

"But……"

"Just think of it as a gift in return for telling me your story." William pulled her to stand up and smiled...

However, a dull voice sounded.

"William."

William's smile froze.

"No, no, Mr. Potter, I just..." William said in a panic, but he found that the potter did not continue speaking and seemed to be interested in listening to his explanation.

"He's testing me?"

William tried to calm down.

"I'm just thinking that her current body is too weak and she is not a suitable female parent. Maybe we can let her eat something first?"

Only then did the potter's voice respond.

"Haha, that's a good excuse." As always, I couldn't tell whether it was a sarcasm or a compliment, "Then go ahead."

William was pleasantly surprised, and his consciousness sank back to reality, while Ailian no longer made excuses. After all, she had not eaten for several days, and just lowered her head silently.

They found a corner spot.

William picked up the menu and said: "You can eat whatever you want... Oh yes, you can't see it, then I'll read it to you..."

In the end, Elaine only ordered a mutton stew with potatoes and two pieces of bread.

But William could tell she wanted something else.

"I want to eat something sweet..." The girl bit her lip and said in a weak voice, "I'm sorry... but I haven't had anything sweet for a long time."

So I added a baked Basque cake.

Ailian grabbed the air twice before getting the spoon. She held it unskillfully and dipped the bread into the soup.

She ate very slowly at first, taking small bites, and then faster and faster. William carefully noticed the changes in her emotions. In his nose, the smell of Aileen was dyed from a small flower in the white soil. A few drops of rain make the taste moist.

If she hadn't lost her tear ducts, she would definitely cry at this moment.

She dipped the bread into the last bit of the broth and ate it in one bite. Then, as if she had remembered, she reached out her hand and touched it carefully in the air.

William thoughtfully pushed the cake over.

Ailian was startled, and then used a spoon to take out a small piece as if she didn't dare to dig too much. She gently brought it to her mouth as if she was afraid of losing it, and then put it into her mouth together with the spoon.

Then her voice broke.

"Thank you...you, you are such a kind gentleman..."

But after hearing this, William silently put away his smile and his face turned sad.

"No, no need to thank..."

He is the same as that group of people, he is not doing this out of pure good intentions, he is just atonement for what he is going to do...

"Hey, why did the color of your soul turn blue?" Ailian said suddenly, "Are you sad? For me?"

William looked over in surprise: "Can you still see souls?"

"Yeah." Ailian nodded, "Although I don't know why."

"Then can you look at me?" William suddenly asked, "What color am I? What does my soul look like?"

Ailian raised her head and leaned her head closer, as if staring carefully: "Your soul is like the gentle moonlight, not so dazzling, not so dark."

"The main body is fresh green, like a field of flowers in the jungle, but it is covered with a layer of blue. Although it is difficult for me to describe,... this color is like the autumn sky, or a calm lake, or... A mint, a soda..."

"Really..." William was in a daze, "Thank you."

"No, no, this is nothing compared to what you gave me." Ailian waved her hands quickly, then nodded her head and made a sound.

"Sorry." Ailian lowered her head and said, "I'm a little sleepy."

William came back to his senses and glanced around. There was no one around, and they happened to be sitting on the sofa.

"It's okay, just sleep for a while." William said, "There's no one around now. I'm watching you here. If the clerk comes, I'll wake you up."

"Is it really okay?" Ailian asked a little awkwardly.

"Well, go to sleep." William smiled.

Ailian leaned back carefully and curled up. William looked at her quietly, watching her breathing gradually stabilize...

This gave William an inexplicable desire to protect himself, and he felt as if he had been given some kind of responsibility, just like...

"What now? Have you had enough of being a hero and saving beauties?"

However, a voice brought William back to reality. His soul seemed to be awakened by the voice and he realized what he was going to do.

Yes, yes, he is not a guardian angel sent by God to protect her, he is just a person who hurts her in order to survive.

Yes, I came to hurt her.

At the same time that he realized this, William felt a force invading his consciousness, and his eyes gradually became dim.

"No..." William resisted subconsciously, "Maybe, maybe let her sleep a little longer? That would also be good for Metalia's witchcraft..."

The potter smiled playfully.

"So, this is the reason why you dare to resist me?"

"William, am I too soft-hearted and let you gain too much freedom?"

William suddenly recalled the day when he first became aware of the wizarding world, and fear and trembling came over him again.

"No, I don't dare..."

"Then what are you doing now?" the potter said with a smile.

William was silent. He slowly gave up the resistance slightly reluctantly, then closed his eyes, and tears flowed from his eyes.

He glanced again at Aileen, who was sleeping harmlessly like a curled up rabbit.

sorry Sorry……

But...it's not my fault.

The notebook seemed to come alive and penetrated into William's brain. The next moment, William... the potter opened his eyes.

　I’ll have some testimonials on the shelves soon~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)