Yaleriga and Debovilal haven't known each other for a long time, but she has observed many details of each other's lives. Villar's hair is always unkempt and his clothes are as bright as new, revealing his actual ability in the second peak. The blood of the Trickster alone is enough to make him more noble than millions of people—— The biggest difference between the Silent School and the White Tower is that they never believe that intelligence is the inner core of celestial power, nor is it even an inevitable element. The journey to the stars through fire is meaningless, because blood is closer to the mind, just like the land is closer to the stars.
She could roughly conclude that Deborah had never been in such a situation. To be driven away with such contempt by a prisoner in a dark prison was definitely not something Villar could understand. Even Kumao raised his tail in surprise, but quickly put it back because of Yaleriga's gaze.
They all stared at Villar's back, wanting to see how he would react. Yareliga quickly considered several ways he might punish the offender, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried about the new prisoner, but it didn't really bother her.
She does like cubs, but that doesn't mean she has to care about the life or death of a little thing who calls her a "monster". And since he provoked Villar so recklessly, either the boy did have someone to rely on, or he would die sooner or later due to other stupid things.
Villar's shoulders moved slightly. He lowered his head and looked at the boy in the cage. When he spoke his voice wasn't angry, more strange.
"Child," he asked, "who are you?"
His back blocked Yaleriga's sight, preventing her from seeing the expression of the young man in prison. She had no choice but to lean as close to the wall as possible and look over Villar's arm to observe the situation.
The boy in red had a cold face and did not answer Villar's question. His expression didn't look like he was afraid, but rather he didn't bother to tell the other person his name. Villar waited for a while, probably feeling that his behavior was funny. He chuckled softly. That kind of laughter was something Yaleriga was familiar with in the past, and it often appeared when Villar mentioned someone he hated.
"You have no idea who I am, kid." He said, "Who imprisoned you in here? Qin Mao? Mrs. Dead Leaf?"
He asked Kumao to call a jailer in. After a while, Sati came, walking in small steps, appearing respectful but smiling in front of Yaleriga.
"Sir." He bowed slightly and said, "What are your orders?"
"Who is this kid?"
"We don't know his name. Just yesterday, Master Manrostila just sent him in. He told us not to touch him, and didn't say anything else."
Sati smiled softly and endearingly, but there was a malicious glint in her eyes. Yaleliga understood after a moment's thought: Dufu had burned his hand yesterday. It was impossible for Sati to be unaware of this matter, but he deliberately did not mention a word to Villar. It is said that Sati is the favorite of Mrs. Dry Leaf. Yaleriga is not sure how true this rumor is, but based on the attitude of the satyrs towards Villar, she feels that this is indeed very possible.
Villar raised his head slightly. He stopped talking after hearing Aconite's name and just thought quietly. The young man standing in the cell seemed to have lost interest in him. He walked towards the depths of the cell and sat cross-legged facing the wall, leaving a short but arrogant figure to outsiders.
That attitude made Villars laugh again, half out of rude annoyance, half out of genuine amusement. He did not order the black knights to escort the boy in red from the prison and hang him to the abyss outside the prison with a cursed silver chain, nor did he ask Saty to bring the skinning or armor-removing torture tools from the cell below. It seems that his respect for the aconite is greater than the maintenance of his own dignity.
"I will ask Deleven personally." He said to Sati in a cold manner, "Since he has told you so, then you should keep an eye on this child and don't do anything mean and boring."
"Okay, sir."
Villar just left. Since the young man in red interrupted his enjoyment, he left at least an hour earlier than usual, which satisfied Yaleriga. She was somewhat grateful for the weird and bold child, but at the same time she knew very well that he wouldn't live long.
Sati stood between the two cells, looking left and right thoughtfully. Finally, he turned to Yaleriga and said, "Hey, beauty, what happened to your ex-lover? Why are you asking about a kid?" ?”
Yaleriga stretched her waist, turned her back to him and fell asleep. Until Sati disappeared, she moved her body slightly and quietly observed the prisoner opposite without touching the iron chain on the corner.
She really didn't have much choice. She had seen everything in this small area countless times. She could escape into the maze of her own mind, but it wasn't without risk. In contrast, the appearance of the new prisoner was fresh and striking, and she regarded it as a temporary diversion.
The boy in red was motionless. He had been like this for most of his time in prison, making it difficult to tell whether he was awake or asleep. Until the evening, he brought food and water to the two of them, and Yaleriga didn't see even the slightest tremor in his back.
The daily rations were, as usual, raw meat and fishy water filled with offal. Since yesterday, the boy in red has not touched his own portion at all. Yaleriga doesn't know whether he is forcing himself to endure it, or whether he is like an elf who drinks dew from flowers and does not need to eat anything. She finished her portion with her usual fortitude, then curled up on the cold floor and fell asleep.
She escaped from the prison in her dream and was still wandering in the endless wilderness. Some places are hospitable and will give her generous hospitality and care, while other places are disgusted by her appearance and try to drive her away with stones and iron forks. She didn't really care about their attitudes, because there were too many similar things recorded in the complex maze, and they were just fleeting dust particles.
The white grass as long as the human face kept parting in front of her eyes, like some unknown wilderness she had walked through in the past, slowly withering in the cold autumn frost. She heard a bird murmuring somewhat sadly, following her along. Ten steps, fifty steps, a hundred steps. She suddenly realized that the scream was not part of the dream.
Yaleriga opened her eyes and turned to look at the cell door. The room was dark and cold, and the ghostly mountain wind squeezed through the small window and wreaked havoc along the corridor in the middle of the cell. All this told Yaleriga that it was still late at night, but a bird was calling lowly.
She followed the sound. Through the moonlight, which was as light as mist, she discovered that the boy in red across from him was leaning on the edge of the cell, leaning his side against the railing engraved with incantations. Less than a hand away from him stood a gray titmouse outside the cell, looking up at him.
It didn't look like a special species, but when the boy in red stretched out his finger towards it, the titmouse spread its wings, jumped up lightly, and then jumped to the boy's left shoulder. It flapped its wings and lay on top of the boy's shoulder.
Yaleriga was not sure whether she had made a mistake. She thought she heard some sympathy in its chirping, as if it was grieving for the boy's situation - not only the plight of being in prison, but also the boy's mutilated left arm. From time to time, the tit will brush its feather tips there, as if to confirm that there is really nothing under the red sleeves.
The boy grabbed the raw meat thrown aside, pinched a small piece and fed it to it. The tits pecked at each other, and from time to time they rubbed the boy's face affectionately. It ate for half an hour before it flew out of the skylight with a snap of the boy's fingers.
Yaleriga had a panoramic view of the entire process and felt as if she had had a strange dream. She watched silently in the darkness until she fell asleep unconsciously. When she woke up from the cold the next morning, everything she saw last night had become difficult to distinguish between true and false.
But soon she knew what was true.
The boy in red was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the prison. He no longer closed his eyes and fell asleep like he did two days ago, but instead chewed something as if no one else was watching. Yaleriga found the slightly moved piece of raw meat on the edge of his cell, while a bunch of fresh berries stained with dew lay on the boy's lap.
Soon the aconite came. Probably because of what happened to Villar yesterday, he came to check on the status of his prisoner. When he walked to the cell door, the boy in red spit out a fruit core the size of a tooth and hit him on his old cheek.
"Who fed him?" Wutouwen asked the jailers loudly. No one dared to answer, and Du Fu's legs began to tremble.
The young man moved his cheeks and looked at the people outside the prison with contempt. He picked off a wild fruit and continued to hit the aconite with it, forcing the old witch doctor to dodge.
"Catch him out." Wutouweng ordered.
The boy in red sneered at him, then picked up another wild fruit. When Wu Touweng was about to retreat again, he waved his hand towards Du Fu.
"Hey," he said expressionlessly, "come and eat."
