Evetrona's old stories

Marco's words made Eve very angry.Eve untied the shoulder strap of the sword, and with the sword with the scabbard, stabbed the horse's belly suddenly, and the horse rushed forward quickly, almost shaking Marco to the ground.This move was indeed a bit dangerous, but the old knight didn't panic at all, and even turned his body and curled his lips at the girl behind him.

Yod Yurien and several knights who pursued the assassin returned without success.They rode their respective mounts, ran across the snow, crossed the long queue, and went to the commander's position to report the situation.

These knights passed by Eve like the wind, and she was dazzled by the galloping horseshoes and the blowing snow mist.In such a chaotic scene, Marco even stopped a person from the team.

"This is an old friend." Marco and Eve briefly introduced this person, and then asked him, "Brody, what happened just now? Can you explain to us why the head of that 'honest man' exploded 'bang'?"

In the Knights, people are used to calling informants "honest people", which is a kind of slang.

The old friend Brody wore snow goggles on his face, a pipe dangling from his mouth, and a gray beard on his broad chin. This look was quite cool.He bit his pipe, and his words were a little unclear: "It just exploded." He puffed out the cigarette, "First saw the explosion, and then saw the figure on the mountain. We went after the shadow, but we didn't catch it. There were no footprints on the ground, which is very strange."

"No footprints?" Marco looked back at Eve, and asked him again, "Did you really see someone there? Could it be the kind of fake... like the ones seen in the desert... What is it?" Marco forgot what the word was called for a moment, and was scratching his head and thinking.

"Mirage? Impossible, that person is approaching, and he was still provoking this way before leaving."

"Still provocative? What kind of provocation?"

"Just...waving." Brody sniffed hard, then spit thick phlegm into the snow, the pipe on his mouth remained motionless. "Like your old mother waving goodbye to you for the last time—get out of here, son. Hahahaha...Really, this kind of thought suddenly popped into my head at that time. That person's back is so hunchbacked, I don't know if it's a man or a woman, he's wearing a purple robe, he looks like an old hag."

"This matter... seems a bit unlucky." Marco said, "Are you going to write a report again when you go back?"

"Yeah, 'again'." Brody looked at Marco, the two smiled tacitly, and he continued: "But this time the responsibility is not on me. I can prevent him from backstabbing or spells, like Such a sudden mouthful of brains, who can bear it? It's very bad luck!"

"Did it really go into your mouth?" Marco's face was slightly surprised and secretly happy.

Brody nodded sadly.After receiving confirmation from the other party, Marco gloated and laughed.

"Like raw fat, greasy and smelly." Brody added.

Brody didn't stay here for too long, even after he left, the smile on Marco's face didn't fade for a long time.

"Is this guy interesting?" Marco said to Eve, "He used to be a teammate of our team, but now he has been promoted and transferred to the court. Speaking of which, he is still from a training school, and he can be regarded as a cultural person, just like you young juniors...he has a future, which is really enviable."

"Then how do we deal with this matter? Is it difficult to deal with the informant's death?" Eve asked.

"Probably, it should have an impact on the trial. I don't know much about it." Marco sighed with a smile, and then said, "However, if one person was killed in full view, the Knights would feel ashamed."

Eve glanced back and asked Marco, "What about the corpse? Do you want to take it back?"

"It depends on the situation. If you are regarded as an outsider, you can just throw it in the wild and cover it with some soil and snow at most. If you are one of your own, you should take it back. Just like the brothers who died in battle, they should pile up the fire and put the ashes away. Put them on the west bank of Shuobanhai, or give them to relatives directly." When Marco said this, his voice was a little weaker.

"I don't know what's going on?"

"I don't know that her nameless husband is actually a bandit in the mountains." When Marco said this, there was a rare sympathy in his tone.

When Eve heard what he said, his face suddenly became a little weird.She asked cautiously and tentatively: "You... the knights also kidnapped his wife and children?"

"Ha!" Marco laughed, "How can you think of the Knights in such a dark way? At most, it's just to scare him. It's not easy to investigate this matter. Think about it, if someone suddenly finds you out of your old background, why don't you be scared on the spot?" Marco shrugged.

Eve found that Marco really liked to make fun of the Knights.

There were no more waves along the way.After the knights returned to the camp, they began to find places to rest.Since the informant in the team was assassinated, everyone has been silent a lot, and they have been affected to some extent. Although they did not participate in the pursuit of the assassin's easy escape, as members of the Knights, they share honor and disgrace.

Eve didn't wear a cloak, and she rode a horse on the road. She was shivering from the cold wind, but she still walked the distance with strength.Once back at camp, she headed straight for the coal fire.

[106] Winter Wind (24 of [-])

Not long after, an orderly found Eve and told her that the commander wanted to see her.

Hearing that Huo Lien wanted to see her, Eve didn't feel too nervous.Following behind the orderly, she came to a temporary tent on the west side of the camp.

The lights were turned on in the tent, and Huo Lien was the only one inside.He sat behind a small square table, and when he saw Eve, a kind smile appeared on his quiet face.

"Please sit down." He gestured for Eve to sit on the stool opposite.

The north wind howled, and the dry snow particles hit the tarpaulin of the tent, making a rustling sound.

"To be honest, when Lotilan filled in your name in the form, I didn't think highly of you." Hollien put his arms on the table, and the kerosene lamp cast a small area of ​​shadow on his face, "But if you only look at your performance this time, I think Asd may not be as good as you."

Eve was a little confused.

Huo Lien saw her doubts, and he said again: "Aster is my adopted son, and also one of your competitors, one of the candidates. He is now following Luotilan to carry out another...some dangerous mission."

"Competitor? Competing for what?" Eve had vaguely figured out the answer herself, but she didn't dare to think about it.

"Competition for what?" Huo Lien smiled, lowered his head and lit a cigarette for himself, "Did neither Lotilan nor Maoqi tell you about this?"

Eve shook her head.

"Of course it is—to compete for the only noble status in this country, the owner of Benlong Castle."

Eve is just an ordinary person.But because of the ordinaryness, when she heard Huo Lien's words, her heart would be shaken.

She never thought that such a thing would happen to her.At this time, Huo Lien's words did not surprise her, but made her at a loss.

Power is what satisfies people's hearts the most—people always say that freedom and equality are the best, and no one commands or commands anyone.They also said that having power means taking responsibility, and that if you make a mistake, you will bear the corresponding consequences, and those in power are not safe.But no matter how you say it, when the opportunity is really in front of you, who can categorically refuse it?

Those in power will not think about "what is the meaning?"His life is full and rich, with different things to do and problems to solve every day—is he tired?Tired, but he never tired of it.A group of people revolve around him, without him, the world will never revolve again.Does the meaning of life matter?People listened to everything he said, people temporarily changed the dishes at the banquet for his taste, and people would be cautious and respectful whenever his name was mentioned... He was sure that he really existed, he was sure that his existence was real and weighty, he was responsible for himself and others, and he never had any concerns about the "meaning of life".

This is his fantastic and legendary life.Whenever future generations mentioned his deeds, they would say seriously and earnestly: "The count eats bacon every night, so he lived a long life. This is really wise."——Everything he did is worth singing, just because he sat in that position.

"Rotilan didn't tell you about this, I can fully understand it. After all, Asde only found out about it this winter... Both of you are qualified people." Huo Lien said, "But I didn't want to talk to you today, I just wanted to tell you that you passed. Originally, because of your first mission, it was originally planned to give you a qualification test later, but this time your performance was...unexpected, so I don't think there is any need for any tests. Although you still have a lot to learn, if you are delayed by this matter If the progress is slow, the loss outweighs the gain.”

"Thank you." Eve also heaved a sigh of relief after hearing what he said.

"Calm down, don't be restrained because of your identity, I hope you can perform as usual like this time in the future." Hollyn continued, "Both Tobin and Laningoff have reported to me about you—Miss Eve, before discussing this matter, please forgive me. In order to clarify what you did in this mission, you may have received some special...attention in the past few days. For a girl, this behavior may not be polite, but...no intention to offend."

"I understand." Eve nodded quickly.

"Very well, then let's talk about the business." Hollyn continued, "The two of them reported to me about... six or seven times in total, and I think there are three things worth mentioning. One is that you stopped the witch from escaping, which is considered a great achievement, but I think it's nothing to talk about, so let's skip it. Later, the advance team did find something, and Orekin said it was very useful—you should also credit it to me; the third thing was that Laningov reported to me before the departure, saying that you “very skillfully” cheered up Pulong and others during the brunch time—this is Laningov’s own words—although it is a small thing, I appreciate your actions...you are obviously very talented in some aspects."

"I didn't think too much about it at the time, I just wanted to help out."

"So it's a talent." Huo Lien nodded slightly, "Courage, observation, and compassion—these three things are now displayed in front of my eyes."

"You praised me too much, it's just luck." Eve was overwhelmed by his praise.

"Miss Eve, you have to show a little confidence, otherwise——I may need to re-evaluate your performance." Hollien said, "Lotilan gave you a temporary apprentice knight status before departure, do you still have that license?"

Eve quickly took out the booklet from her pocket and offered it with both hands very respectfully.

Seeing her cautious appearance, Huo Lien couldn't help shaking his head with a smile.He turned the knight passport to the side page, signed his name on it, and then took out a small black box from his pocket, poured a pinch of light yellow powder on the dried handwriting, and said silently spell.Like ignited gunpowder, the powder gave off a brief but intense flash, and a dense white mist rose up, then dissipated, leaving only the hazel burn marks on the booklet and the golden signature handwriting.

He returned the knight passport to Eve, and said, "Miss Eve, you are now a member of the knight order, congratulations."

The conversation was not long.After the half-hour conversation ended, Eve walked out of the tent, feeling a little ecstatic.It's nice to be recognized, especially by someone as big as Hollyn.

In the open space below the camp, many people could be seen busy at this time.Eve put away the booklet and walked down the path along the path, intending to see what the group of people were doing.

The snow was cleared aside, and the knights neatly placed dead branches and firewood in the center of the open space, and built several square platforms. Some people splashed liquid around the platforms, possibly kerosene.

Eve soon found Marco, who was sitting under a dead tree behind the snowdrift, probably taking the opportunity to be lazy again.

"What are you doing?" Eve knelt down and asked him in a low voice.

"Probably preparing for a celebration banquet and a barbecue meeting." Marco replied casually.

"Huh? This atmosphere is not like it."

"En." Ma Ke leaned on the rough trunk, took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily.He felt like something was pressing on his chest, making him a little out of breath.

El Tanzin, the old comrade in arms who had been with him for many years, was dead - Marco didn't seem to realize it until now.

Ma Ke didn't know what the old friend's death meant, but whenever this kind of thing happened—when life and death were staged again and again, he always felt that in the dark, there was an inexplicable and terrifying thing slowly approaching, as if to hold him in his hands.

How lively it is during the carnival, how lonely it is when it leaves.

Soldiers are getting old. 20 years old, 30 years old, 40 years old... Marco suddenly realizes that he will be 60 years old in a few years - playing around, more than [-] years have passed like this.

"Let's go out and have a look." Marco came back to his senses. He got up from the ground, waved his hand to Eve, resumed his usual foolishness, and walked out from behind the snowdrift.

The bodies of the dead were carried onto the pyre one by one. Their faces were covered by white cloaks, and some of them had shocking bloodstains.Consh and Huweed were also among them, and the old knight shook his head and sighed as he spread the bag of minced meat marked with the name of the deceased on the pyre.

But generally speaking, the scene of the open-air cremation was not as painful as expected.Hollyn and Tobin came too, and they stood in the shadows at the bottom of the slope talking gravely.The knight with the barrel in his hand was busy pouring the clear, high-strength liquor to his companions.It was just after three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun had not yet set, but some people were already pale or unconscious.

The clerks in the regiment held a list, and under the guidance of the knights, verified and read out the age, identity, and concise family information of each deceased.No one whispered, as if every word the clerk uttered was important and worth chewing over and over again.

Pu Long also came. He stood at the outermost edge under the watchful eye of a knight, leaning against a tree trunk with a thick bowl, wrapped in a thick cotton coat.His cheeks and eye sockets were sunken due to thinness, and in the dim light, his pale face looked sinister like a skeleton.

The sky gradually darkened, and the torches illuminated the solemn faces of the knights. Everyone took off their hats, and their tall, short, fat and thin heads crowded together.Holly held the torch himself, and lit all the firewood stacks in the open space one by one. He seemed to be talking to himself as he said goodbye to the dead, with a very easy-going voice as usual.The flames shot up into the sky, and billows of smoke rose in the howling wind, engulfing the shadow of the corpse.

"Every time they have to wait until the end to eat." Marco whispered to Eve, "But if they smell this smell, won't they really feel hungry? I think they should eat before doing this kind of thing."

Indeed, a cremation seems to smell just like a barbecue, if not stronger.

After hearing what Marco said, Eve's already uncomfortable stomach became even more uncomfortable. After this incident, she hadn't eaten barbecue again for a long time.

Huo Lien and the officials left one after another, and the knights returned to their lax state just now, and they all surrounded the fire.Eve heard them talking about which of their friends was burning hotter. Some laughed and poured wine into the burning fire, and even made wisecracks with the dead.Eve has already seen the attitude of the Kriging people towards death, but now it's not surprising.She could understand their behavior, but she couldn't relate to it herself.

Standing in front of the pile of flames that belonged to Ertansin, Tandorf was tall and strong, holding an old harp in his hand. His thick fingers pressed on the fingerboard, and the strings vibrated due to his scraping, making several low dissonant notes.

Eve noticed the chord, and she left Marco, who was drunk beside her, and walked to Tandorf.

"Do you want to burn this violin too?" Eve asked him.But Tandorf was still watching the flames and didn't seem to hear her.

Eve stood beside him quietly for a while, feeling bored, and turned to leave, when she heard Tandorf speak.

"Eve, I want to ask you a question." His voice was very low.

Eve turned around again, and Tandorf was still looking at the flames.

"I want to ask you, are you an atheist?" he said.

"Me?" Eve was surprised that the other party would ask such a question.

"Sorry, this question is really a bit abrupt, I shouldn't ask you - I just want to say, in fact, I am an atheist, you can understand the thinking of an atheist, right?" Tandorf's eyes finally looked at her.

In this day and age, there are very few atheists, and even fewer such people can frankly admit that they are.

Atheist - not even a polite term at this point.Eve nodded, of course she would not discriminate against atheists like others.

"Laningov and Dukama just said a lot to Eltansin's body. Two of them, one is a reformed Zhengyu believer who believes in the existence of heaven, and the other is a native animist who believes that people still have souls after death." Tandorf shook his head slowly. "Most people think that death is not the end. They say to the dead—'see you above' or 'see you below'. No matter where they meet, they believe that there will be a day when we meet again, do you think? There will be that day Is it?"

"I...don't know, but I hope so."

Now, Eve is not sure which one is right.Because she thought of Iftrona—is the woman not dead, or is she living in another way after death?

"Death...should be a very serious matter." Tandorf's tone was flat and relaxed. "In my opinion, death is death. It means that one's eyes are black and one cannot sleep. And these people, they are always avoiding the fear brought by death, unwilling to admit that death is the end. They talk around the dead, thinking that death is just another place to live."

In Tandorf’s view, the group of people in front of them didn’t have a deep understanding of death, and their fears were limited to three points—possible physical and spiritual pain before death, reluctance to give up the old world, and uneasiness when they were about to face unknown things in the new world.

[107] Winter Wind (25 of [-])

"There's nothing wrong with it. If people are too realistic, they will inevitably be unhappy." Eve said.

God promises to the world that as long as they are willing to become white lambs and refrain from doing evil, they will be resurrected after death, and under the guidance of the messenger, they will go to the paradise created by Him.And in the end, both the promiser and the promisee fell into silence at the same time, the dead left peacefully, and finally turned into a cloud of dust, leaving only the living mourning.They firmly believe in the existence of the new world, but they don't know why there is nowhere to express their depression.

The end of the day has been long-awaited-they envy the dead to get rid of the suffering in this world and go to a new paradise, but at the same time, they are extremely afraid of this day, after all, they try to live-it is the most primitive life. instinct.

Fools get a lifetime of satisfaction from empty promises, but sober people persuade them to return to reason and pull them into the abyss of reality. In the eyes of these believers, atheists are a group of bandits. They rob others of their happiness and tear them to pieces.Believers are not willing to be stupid, they just want to be immersed in false satisfaction, live a life in a daze, and die with a smile on their faces.

"I'd rather be unhappy and live sane," Tandorf said. "I'd rather live my life thinking sane than a fictional person come and tell me he's going to take my life for me." Bottom line—this is not real living. Human problems can only be solved by human beings, and life is by no means a test before crossing the gate of heaven.”

Eve nodded, but sighed again.

After coming to Krigin, Eve sees a new world.This seems to be a society that covers both religious morality and differential order. Most people believe in the existence of gods and value the connection between people.In Feimeng City, even though not many people understand the law, and there are no monitoring facilities all over the streets, people can still abide by the social order well.They believe that there is always a pair of invisible eyes watching everyone on the ground-good people will be rewarded, and bad people will be punished eventually.God is omniscient and omnipotent, and everyone fears His power. God is not a rigid camera, and will not be taken advantage of by people to do bad things.

A theistic world is a world where gods are responsible for human beings, while in an atheistic world, people are responsible for themselves.

When moral constraints become more and more shallow, it seems that the law has become the bottom line of people's behavior.They are accustomed to emphasizing the huge benefits certain behaviors will bring to themselves in a utilitarian way of thinking, but never reflect on how such "not illegal" behaviors will harm others.Therefore, in a godless world, the biggest risk is that some people may tend to think that the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest are the normal state of social civilization. People step on other people's heads to climb up with peace of mind, and gradually lose empathy in improper competition.They always think that honest people deserve bad luck, and those who make mistakes deserve death.And the pastime of the rich was no longer hunting and collecting—accumulating money became their chief pastime—they were happy to participate in the greatest game that ever existed.Just like a gluttonous beast, what satisfies them is not the stomach, but the mouth. They are insatiable and need to keep eating until they turn the world into barren and destroy themselves.

But no matter what, man must abandon God to exist alone.In a catastrophic development process, sacrifices and mistakes are inevitable, and all difficulties need to be solved anyway.And in the end, human beings will still face their own problems: either learn to understand each other and live in harmony; or isolate each other and never invade - the former is impractical, while the latter... may be a dead end.

Tandorf raised the piano in his hand and placed it in front of Eve who was staring at the fire in a daze.

"Can you play a song before you burn it?" Tandorf begged.

"What do you want me to play?" Eve took the piano.

"Mion Minor who crosses the lake."

"Are you kidding me?" Eve raised her head and looked at the tall man, "Playing this kind of music on this occasion, are you sure I won't be beaten up?"

"If it was possible in the past. Marco once encouraged El Tanzin to play this song at the funeral of a comrade-in-arms, and ended up getting a fat beating." When talking about this past, Tando A nostalgic smile appeared on the husband's face, "Ertansin likes this piece, everyone knows it, and with me here, what are you afraid of?"

Eve sat on a solid round wooden stake, crossed the piano on her lap, and tried to pluck the strings.

Only when the performer is in a passionate mood will the piece sound full of power. "Mion Minor Crossing the Lake" is a light and bright piece, and Eve needs to try to brew some emotions first.

In fact, she was still a little apprehensive. After all, she had heard from Laningov that Tandorf was also one of the "three out-of-shape brothers". Maybe the other party was lying?

The crisp sound of the piano sounded amidst the whimpering flames, and Eve deliberately slowed down the playing speed, giving this traditional Kriging piece a different flavor.

Vaguely, someone heard this familiar melody, and he hummed along with the melody for a while before he suddenly remembered what the melody was.He looked at his partner beside him, and the two looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.