Shadow of the Evil God

Gouzi blinked, saying nothing more. She simply turned around and continued walking briskly. Suddenly, she stepped over a pile of rocks, but he wasn't paying attention. His foot caught on the rocks and he stumbled, his left leg slipping off the cliff and dangling in mid-air. If she hadn't held onto his hand tightly, he would have fallen down the side of the slope into the underground river, being swept into the rapids again.

Cesar steadied himself by pulling the dog to his feet, clutching the rock face as he gasped for breath, his heart racing. Only after he regained his composure did he notice the strange outline of the object holding his foot. He dropped to his knees, his back against the wall, and after groping for a long time, he finally pulled a figure from the rubble and dust. The faint glow of the figure's metal breastplate barely illuminated the dark, narrow slope.

It's Granley.

Cesar took a breath and reached out to check on Granley's life or death, but Gouzi fished out a metal bottle from the Templar's possession and handed it to him. He was about to decline, wanting to see how the man was doing first, but a chill ran through his body. He immediately took the bottle, unscrewed the cork, and downed the contents.

Only after swallowing several mouthfuls did he help Granley up and lean him against the wall. It had to be said that the wine was strong, burning him like a fire after it went down his throat, quickly dispelling the chill in his body.

Cesar removed Granli's visor and found him still breathing. Thanks to the well-protected armor, he showed no visible injuries. The Templar Knight had fallen unconscious, likely from the impact of the fall. However, seeing no blood oozing from his mouth, his internal organs were likely fine.

"How about letting me eat him?" Gouzi suggested. "I can be Granly, and I can be a better one than he is."

She spoke as if the Templar Granli wasn't a person but an identity, a position called Granli, just as the blacksmith in the lower town of Noyen was a position. It was obvious that she meant it; if she wanted to, she could kill the original blacksmith in the forge, eat the corpse, pick up the hammer and do the work herself, and she would always do a better job than the original blacksmith.

Perhaps different human individuals, in the eyes of the dog, have different identities and positions. As long as she kills the original employees and obtains their memory of how they pretended to be herself in this identity, she can use this vacant identity.

Isn't this also a way of looking at people and the world? Cesar thought, although it was indeed a bizarre and absurd way.

"No," Cesar denied her idea, "I said I wouldn't consider letting you be someone else for long."

"Then what should I do? You're asking me to give up my identity as Libio."

"The Count won't shut down the mines. Wait patiently in the mine tunnel until the early morning hours, when the night shift begins and the early morning miners hand over their shifts. Then, blend in with the crowd and make your way out. Once you're out of the mines, find out where I'm staying and take Libio's token to the Knights Templar. When the time comes, just say you're my servant."

"Ok."

Thinking of Libio, Cesar felt that it was absurd. "At that time, everyone in the party recognized you and thought you were Libio's abducted lover. Now things have changed. That guy's reputation will probably change from greed and lust to sacrifice for his beliefs..."

"So what do you think of my portrayal of him, Master?" asked the dog.

Cesar thought for a moment and said, "It sounds ridiculous, but you are pretending to be

Libio is better than the original Libio. People will think he is a respectable old warrior, his juniors will think he is a good predecessor who has not forgotten his martial arts after retirement, even the Knights Templar will pay him respect and write a few articles.

At this moment, all the rumors will turn into false slander and defamation, adding more color to his legendary story."

Gouzi nodded, a smile on his lips. Though she hadn't meant to reinterpret a dead person, she was delighted by his sincere admiration. To express her feelings, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a lingering, wet kiss. Honestly, his tongue was slightly sore, numb from the liquor he'd just consumed, but her kiss had a unique flavor. While liquor warmed the body, hers warmed his tired, chilled spirit, even better when paired with fine wine. He saw the blush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes, and knew that holding him and kissing him like this was like drinking, leaving her feeling ecstatic.

However, he felt a little uneasy when he thought about himself being intimate with the demon that the Knights Templar were trying to conquer above their heads.

Cesar didn't know how to treat injuries. After a moment's deliberation, he lifted Granli up, using the dim light of his armor to guide him. When the throbbing torrent beneath the ground was almost inaudible, he and Gouzi carried the man down the narrow ramp and finally to a trapdoor. He knocked on the trapdoor overhead, puzzled, but without further ado, he simply grabbed his mace and smashed the wooden door to pieces.

They lifted the Temple Knights up to the top, then climbed in one by one, and found that this was a tunnel filled with broken sacks and waste ore. Several old and ragged miner's clothes were piled on a broken cart, which was perfect for pretending to be local miners. Now it seemed that the priests would escape here during their pleasure because of this secret passage.

If they hadn't taken the temple's property, they might have been able to escape from Noien successfully. However, since they took it, they fell into the eyes of Earl Sean, a man with ulterior motives. They couldn't blame anyone else for their eventual fate.

"Let's split up here," Cesar said. "If we go any higher, we might run into mercenaries looking for people."

"What about this passage?"

"Keep it, maybe it will be useful later."

......

While staying at the inn where the members of the Hier Temple were staying, Cesar discovered that after struggling for so long to find a way out of Lower Neuen, they had ultimately returned to Upper Neuen from Lower Neuen. After Gouzi left, he supported the Temple Knights throughout the night, walking through narrow mine tunnels and wide stairs until they reached the mine entrance, where they discovered the mercenary group. They were actually on their way back, but soldiers sent by the Count blocked their way.

Not only did these soldiers block the mercenaries' path, they also spotted Cesar, whose name was on the arrest warrant. If the Knights Templar hadn't fought back the soldiers, despite their discomfort, Cesar would have been forcibly taken to jail, his life uncertain the next day.

These damn mercenaries didn't even want to rescue Granli who was buried in a landslide, so how could they possibly fight against the city lord and ensure his safety?

Of course, in the final analysis, Granli was not the one who paid them, but the high priest who took Libio's donation.

Cesar carried the Templar Knight along, through the broad streets and the inner city gates, and under the gaze of the crowd, entered the courtyard inn where the high priest was staying. It was an elegant villa, a stark contrast to the architecture and atmosphere of Lower Neuen. After escorting Granli to the high priest, Cesar took Fils to a small room. Some things were better conveyed by others when he was not present.

"Will we decide our fate tomorrow? Or will it be today?" Phils asked after he closed the door.

"You talk as if we were prisoners waiting to be hanged."

Chapter 24: If You Lick My Feet, I'll Go to Sleep

Before they could continue their conversation, a servant from the Temple of Hierar knocked on their door, bringing them rags and oil for cleaning and maintaining their metal weapons. Cesar felt a sense of moral depravity when he thought about how he had reduced Libio's well-preserved sword to tatters, and how the Temple Knight, after only a day with him, had expected him to care for a mace. He unwrapped the mace and attempted to clean it thoroughly. Meanwhile, the servant put away his change of clothes and bowed before leaving.

"At least the Temple has a good attitude," Cesar told her. "There's no need to be so desperate."

"It's not despair, it's just... I don't know how to deal with it," Firth said softly. "I wanted to abandon everything and escape to Itris, but it ended up like this. I can't imagine standing in the castle and facing them both."

"You just need to confirm the rumor."

"I don't know how..." She glanced down the hallway, perhaps worried about hearing things, so she didn't mention the rumor she was acting out. "You know what I mean," she muttered. "You always do things so well, but I just dealt with it numbly, like a puppet. When I saw a chance to get away from them, I impulsively ran after them."

Phils walked to the fireplace and lit a fire, illuminating the masonry hearth and the elegantly styled room. The ceiling was decorated with intricate stone reliefs, the walls were covered in gilded leather wallpaper by a court master, and the backs of the easy chairs were covered in red velvet. A dessert plate, a bottle of wine, and several glasses sat on the round wooden table beside him. Snow fell heavily outside the shutters, and the fireplace crackled.

, exuding a lazy and comfortable atmosphere.

This courtyard hotel in Upper Neuen has wooden pipes to provide warm water. By opening the lattice in the wall, you can lower the wooden pipes and lead the water into the wooden barrel.

After hanging up the clothes, Cesar heard her bury herself in the water and spit out a lot of bubbles to the surface.

"If you were planning to drown yourself, you could have warned me first, otherwise I would have gone around the screen to confirm whether you were drowning in the bathtub." Cesar shouted after a while.

Phils reached out and grabbed the screen, sticking half of her head out: "Why should I drown myself?"

"Don't you always want to dig a hole and bury yourself alive?"

"That's just..."

"Just talking?" Cesar took off his tattered lining, revealing his upper body, which was covered in mud and blood, and then put his boots on the stool by the fireplace to dry. "You talk too much."

"Of course I'm not just talking. It's obviously you who are the weird one..." Phils looked annoyed and subconsciously wanted to put her fingers to her mouth, but she had to hold on to the screen and couldn't bite her nails, which made her even more annoyed.

Cesar looked at her. "If you think I'll do everything I can to follow through on any idea or statement I make, then maybe I just don't express unfounded ideas. You make far too many unthoughtful statements, some of which even involve important promises."

"I will keep my promise!" Phils immediately retorted, "It's just that when I said it, I didn't expect so many difficulties."

He took a damp towel and wiped himself clean with warm water from the small wooden basin. "For example, drawing us a route out of Noyen? Back in the dog pit, I felt like you weren't good at it. The more you did, the more painful it became. But with me watching, and you couldn't afford to lose face, you pushed yourself to do it. So many days passed, and there were no solid results. And you were so anxious you couldn't sleep. Back then, you covered the walls with crumpled blueprints. Looking closely, it felt like the handwriting was cursing someone to death."

"I...I didn't mean to curse you," she muttered.

"Are you still cursing yourself?"

Phils' eyes widened. "Can't I curse myself?"

Cesar wanted to laugh. "You're always in this state of inexplicable self-loathing."

"It wasn't baffling at all," Firth denied. "When the time came, I realized I had no idea how to do it, but I had to do it. After all this effort, I was still going to fail. How could I not feel sick? In the dog pit, I didn't know what I was doing. I just scribbled on the map of the downtown area, filled it with some decent information, but I had no idea how to use it. My mind was clearly blank, but I had to pretend to be thinking hard."

She finally admitted it, Cesar thought. She subconsciously wanted to do everything better than everyone else, but when she actually put it into action and realized she wasn't doing it well, she felt guilty, yet she forced herself to keep going. As a result, things naturally went wrong the more she did, her emotions grew increasingly anxious, and her spirits grew darker and darker.

Cesar put down the wet towel and poured himself a drink from the wooden table. "You looked like a shadowy ghost in the dog pit, but you ended up fighting yourself? At least we had escaped the Count's castle. Couldn't you have a little more hope and think positively? You talked to me about Itris for so long, didn't you use Itris to encourage yourself?"

"You don't need to tell me! But I've already thought about everything I could think of. For years, I've wanted to go to a distant place, to get away from Corini and this castle. However, someone like me simply can't cross the endless wilderness alone, nor can I integrate into a strange city."

"Well......."

Before Cesar could respond, Fils counted on her fingers. "Either I'll be found by the Earl's soldiers on my way to escape, captured and thrown back into the castle, where my life will be even worse than before. Or, because I have no idea how to survive alone in the wilderness, I'll be surrounded by wild beasts in my sleep and torn to pieces and eaten. Or, the guards of a distant city will mistake me for a suspected spy and hang me on the city wall, leaving my body to be pecked at by crows. No one will listen to my explanation, and I never make excuses anyway."

"You're too pessimistic," Cesar said politely.

"No, I'm not pessimistic. I force myself to learn everything I can, just so that I can find an opportunity to escape one day. But Connie refused to teach me any useful knowledge. I met so many people, but I couldn't trust any of them."

Seeing Cesar unbuckle his belt and continue wiping himself, Phils retreated his head and hid behind the screen to wash himself. He naturally had no intention of competing with Phils for the bathtub. When traveling abroad, conditions were often scarce, so using a wet towel to wash oneself in a small basin was already a common practice.

"Why do you feel you can't trust anyone?" Cesar said to the girl behind the screen. "Aren't the nobles from the Dominican capital chasing you everywhere? Do you think their love is unreliable?"

"How can I be reliable? Everyone has their own family and beliefs, their own allegiances and worship. How can I understand their true thoughts and know their attitude towards people like me? In other words, you are a...

Well, you know what I mean."

Cesar knew what she meant, and wanted to make a few jokes to lighten the mood, but when he thought about the fact that they were in the open air of Upper Noyen and the many people in the courtyard inn, he kept silent about the outside world, rituals, and Analik.

It's better to keep the words in mind. After scrubbing himself, he put on clean clothes and sat comfortably in the easy chair. He took a piece of snack to eat and drank the remaining wine in the glass.

For a long moment, Phils remained silent, with only the faint wisps of white steam rising from the screen. Cesar wanted to ask her how long she wanted to bathe, but then he realized that with her health, soaking in hot water for so long would probably cause her to become unwell.

"I'm going to go over to the screen now," he said. "If you have any objections, please speak up."

Phils said nothing. Cesar thought she was a stubborn person, and when he got around the screen, she was lying unconscious on the edge of the tub, her cheeks flushed, her body weak, her eyes a little vacant, and she looked bewildered when she saw him coming.

Cesar bent down, lifted one of her hands, and waved it before her eyes. "Do you understand what's happening to you, Phils?" he asked.

"I...I don't know. Why are you here?" Her eyes were still unfocused.

"Because you were nearly fainting and didn't say anything, and you didn't bring a change of clothes and didn't say anything. Do you think it would be too humiliating to say that you were in trouble?"

"Uh......"

Cesar helped Phils to her feet. Seeing that she was unsteady on her feet, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her from the tub to the wooden table until she sat dazed. He wiped her wet hair with a long towel, wrapped it around her naked body, and then went to pour water with a glass. As soon as he returned, he saw Phils put the glass of remaining wine to her lips and drink. A flush spread across her face, and her eyes became more and more vacant.

He stood there for a moment, and Phils looked from him to the mace. It had been rewrapped and was leaning against the table leg. She shook her head vigorously and asked, "What did you say?"

"Do you know what you're drinking?"

"I don't know, but it tastes sweet." Phils held the glass with both hands and drank it like a child, taking another sip.

Cesar sat down in the easy chair and broke off a piece of pastry for her. She finally put down her glass and silently nibbled at her dessert. She swung her shapely legs lazily below her knees, her toes bent, sometimes lightly tapping the table leg, sometimes kicking his arm. Her feet, with their slender joints and long, slender toes, were somewhat disobedient. The snow-white insteps were beaded with water, and her toenails had a few small cuts from the day's trek.

"Can you clean yourself up and go to bed?" he asked after she finished her snack.

Firth shook her unconscious head, flicking the water droplets from her hair all over his face. "Of course I would, but I can't wipe them off when you're staring at me," she murmured. Her tone was unclear, as if she still didn't understand the situation.

"You can ask me to look away," Cesar said.

Her brow furrowed. "Why are you just turning your head away? Why don't you just wipe it for me?"

"Of course I can, because I was the one who carried you here and found a long bath towel to cover your body. If I hadn't, you would have fainted in the bathtub. The next day, the news that the city lord's witch assistant had drowned herself in the bathtub would spread throughout Noyen and become a joke passed down by word of mouth."

"I don't care even if you see me!" Firth immediately raised her voice, as if she was angry out of embarrassment. "Besides, why should I go to bed again? I will never waste my precious time sleeping. I want to study magic. I-"

"Then what will it take for you to go to bed?"

"I'll go to bed if you lick my feet." She glared at him.

Chapter 25 You must be overthinking it

Honestly, if he could kiss the arch of her foot, why wouldn't he want to? However, even so, whether she knew what she was doing, whether she could figure out what she was thinking, was probably unknown. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Phils suddenly stretched out her right foot to his open hand and stepped on his palm.

Cesar stared at her in silence for a long moment, then in response, he took hold of the tender little white foot in his hand. After soaking in the tub for so long, the foot was warm and soft to the touch, as if boneless. The skin was a rosy red, translucent, and seemed to ooze water if you pinched it.

Phils didn't react at first, just leaned forward and stepped hard on his hand, as if this would restore her self-esteem. Later, Cesar pressed his thumb on her heel, slid down along the curve of her arch, and before she could react, he pressed hard into the soft flesh of her sole.

Her face flushed crimson, her body lurched, and she nearly fell. Her slender, curved foot curled inward in his palm, and a few drops of water flowed down her calf, slid over the instep, and dripped onto his palm along her tightly pressed toes.

Cesar smiled at her. "You can tell me about that topic again when you're more alert. See if I agree." He used his left hand to support the frightened little foot and carried it back. With his right hand, he reached for the remaining snack on the plate, tossing it into the air before catching it with his hand. It landed in his palm with a soft clatter.

这 是

A rich, baked confection of nut paste, pine nuts, almonds, and syrup, a thing he had only seen in his long career as Cesar at the inn in Upper Neuen.

Phils stared at him with her dreamy eyes, her gaze shifting from her feet to his hands.

It landed back in his palm. Suddenly, she stepped on his left hand and leaned forward, snatching the snack he wanted and snatching it into her own hand. This made her completely lose her balance and fall forward. He had never seen her so agile before.

Cesar subconsciously stretched out his right arm, grabbed her by the waist, and pressed her knees with his left arm to prevent her from falling directly to the ground.

When he finished, he noticed that Fils hadn't moved, having fallen suddenly silent, like a stiff puppet. It seemed as if she had finally regained her composure amidst the fall, just as a person suddenly awakens from a dream of falling off a cliff. He held her waist and lifted her up, and her gaze drifted off into the distance, as if a demon lurked in the corner. Seeing that she didn't struggle, he released her waist and removed his arm from her knee.

"If you want to sit on me for a while, I'd be happy, but if you want to go to sleep, that would be even better," Cesar said.

Phils tried to control her emotions and adjusted her sitting position, her round little butt moving on his knees for a long time until she was facing him and finally sat firmly. "Is this what happens when people are drunk?" she said with forced composure.

"That's true, but when people are drunk and crazy, they won't remember what they did when they sober up. Do you remember?"

"Uh, I'm just dizzy," she said vaguely.

"Then you're not drunk, you just soaked yourself in the hot water until you were dizzy," Cesar said. "Besides, this isn't a strong liquor that can easily knock you out."

"Is... is it?" She muttered while grabbing the snack, but the bath towel began to fall down, and her bud-like breasts emitted a warm light in the candlelight.

Cesar brought the shirt over. Seeing that Phils didn't resist, he put the dessert back on the plate and put the thin lining on her. However, the thin shirt didn't blur the outline of her petite figure; instead, it made it even more distinct. Her hands, intertwined and clasped together, rested on her lap. The clear, soft shape of a pear bulged between her arms, seemingly undisguised.

He handed the snack over, and she subconsciously opened her mouth and took a big bite. Her soft lips brushed against the tip of his index finger, and then she pursed her lips. He felt as if his heart had also been gently bitten by her.

"At least we don't have to pretend, don't you think?" Cesar took a bite of the dessert himself and frowned. "This thing is too sweet."

"I think it's fine," she muttered her objection, grabbing his wrist and taking another big bite, biting down to his finger.

"I wish you could remain so calm in the Count's castle," Cesar said bluntly. "I know you just haven't fully recovered yet."

Firth's face flushed again, clearly realizing the truth of what she said was undeniable. Since letting the rumor come true was crucial to their future, she couldn't afford to get away with it. She had to clarify the situation, detailing every detail. "Is there no escape for us?" Her thoughts immediately drifted away. "If I had followed you, we might have already left the city through the mine tunnel by now."

"Don't worry about the past—it doesn't matter at all. Let's talk about the present." Cesar immediately brought the topic back from the past. "It's definitely better to complicate this matter than to run away in silence. It's unrealistic to leave the past behind. In the days to come, we will always have to face the problems of the Count and Corinne. Only by laying the matter out in the open and involving all the people and forces that affect the entire system can we sit down at a table with them in the sun and negotiate. You don't want to be a rat, hiding in the gutter all your life, do you?"

"Maybe I'm better at hiding in the gutter like a rat." Phils put her thumb to her mouth, wanting to bite her nails, and her dark gaze drifted to the corner of the room.

Cesar grabbed her thin wrist, pulling her gaze back. "If you want, I'll go live with you in the slums. Living with stinking, rotten herbs and a house full of bugs and lice isn't a problem. I don't have anywhere else I want to go anyway." (Group 6x#999Four:9jThree6One!999) But, do you want to keep living in a place like a dog pit? Are you going to Itris or not?" he asked.

Phils opened her mouth but no words came out.