When Hawke returned to the camp after work, he saw that there were many people gathered under the wooden platform more than one meter high in the small square of the camp.

A simple T-frame was pressed against a wooden platform, and a stout man was shackled to it. His face was downward, and his gray hair was drowning from him, but from the bulging tendons and flesh on his body, it was clear that this man must have had a lot of strength, and he was certainly not a nobody in the camp. The man was undressed, revealing his scarred back. Fresh scars crisscrossed his back, embedded in the undulating muscles.

Three mercenaries guarding the camp stood around a wooden frame, one holding a whip and the other two holding spears on either side. Standing in the middle of the wooden platform was Ji Yijun, holding a blank piece of paper in his hand, and was announcing the man's guilt to the people around him in a non-standard lingua franca.

Hawke sat down on a fenced stake a little farther away, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and watched the play as he swallowed the clouds.

“...... Rhodes made a fuss in front of the Laogai mine and tried to meet with the prisoner Kara. When stopped by the guards, he pushed and beat the guards, causing three minor injuries...... The camp management office read that he had behaved well on weekdays and showed remorse afterwards, and sentenced him to seven days of confinement and ten lashes...... , now that the confinement has ended, the caning is openly accepted. Ji Yijun was reading on the stage, and the people in the audience were also talking.

"Isn't Carla the woman who was caught for child abuse?"

"What child abuse...... She is a spy for the Temple of Nature. I heard that the magicians of Montenegro are at odds with the Temple of Nature. ”

"So what does Rod have to do with Kara. ”

"I heard that they are concubines. Don't look at Carla as serious on the surface, but in fact she is very prodigal. I know several people have climbed into her bed. ”

"Then Rod can't go to her, isn't that looking for death?"

"Hey, I heard that Rod is a dead brain, and I see that I was really fascinated by that dead woman. ”

"Carla, I've seen a very ordinary woman, what is it worth him to do? This Rhodes is usually quiet, and he is bold enough when looking for a woman. ”

"You know the, the more silent people are, the more they can do frightening things. ”

"I can't see it, I can't see it. It turned out that he was locked up, no wonder he hadn't seen anyone else for a few days. I broke the plow and went to the camp next door to fix it. ”

Hawke listened to these people's discussions, and the corners of his mouth showed a hint of mockery. Kara he knows, and she's just a stupid woman who can only deceive foolish men and fools. If such a person could have become a spy for the temple of nature, the temple would have perished eight hundred years earlier. This Rhodes can be released after seven days, I'm afraid it has nothing to do with the Temple of Nature, maybe not even a believer. Eighty percent just fell in love with that crazy woman. Hawke thought back to Kara's face, which was fatter and older, but still generally well-looking. Although he can't raise the slightest interest, a middle-aged man like Rhodes may be just the right one.

"Do you know what he's yelling at the door of the labor camp?" said one spectator mysteriously.

"What, what?" the others leaned over curiously. Even Hawke craned his ears to listen.

"He yelled, 'Let that woman out, she can still have a baby.'" What a waste to throw in the pit!'"

"What?

"It's true, of course, a cousin of mine who was working nearby heard it with his own ears. ”

"Oh, if you want a woman to die!" everyone snickered.

"Usually he doesn't talk much, but it's really slippery to please women. ”

"Actually, that's the reason! A man sighed.

"You want to be whipped too?"

"I'm not as fierce as him, this is a bad man!"

Hearing this, Hawke smiled slightly, what a good person. He likes to deal with this kind of foolish person the most.

At this time, there was a snapping sound on the stage.

"Yo, here we go. ”

The whip was whipped on Rod's back again and again, leaving a clear scar on each whip. But the gray-haired man was whipped alive and did not say a word.

"Anyway, this Rhodes is a tough guy. A spectator said. caused the people around to nod frequently.

Gradually, the discussion became quieter, and it was easier for tough guys to gain the respect of others wherever they were.

After ten lashes after a while, Rod was escorted down by the mercenaries, and when he walked down the steps, Hawke saw his face and caught the resentful gaze he looked at Ji Yijun.

Hawke flicked the ash of his cigarette and smiled thoughtfully.

——————————————————

After dark, before curfew.

Hawke was carrying a bundle of green blades of grass as he walked down the road to the camp, and seeing that no one was paying attention around him, he swayed into a fork in the road and walked towards the blacksmith's shop.

Hawke had previously gone to a blacksmith to repair shovels. In the days since those strange magicians appeared, everything was different from the outside at the foot of the Black Mountain to the town of Floro. Let's talk about this blacksmith shop, this is not so much a blacksmith shop as a maintenance workshop.

It was a separate house, with two floors, with a workshop for striking iron below and a bedroom on the upper floor, with a furnace and anvil in it, and some basic tools that would allow the blacksmith to repair broken farm tools and knives, but nothing more. The blacksmiths here, including Rhodes, never needed to do anything new, and almost all the ironwork was made in the factory outside the camp.

When Hawke came to the door of the blacksmith's shop, he saw a bright light shining through the cracks in the windows on the first floor, and he settled down at the door, pushed the door open, and entered.

Rhodes sat next to the anvil as he pulled out a lump of black ointment from a clay pot and rubbed it on the wound on his back. Probably a backhand touch on the back of the wound, he showed a grinning expression that was much more vivid than his face when he was whipped.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Rod glanced at the door with his peripheral vision and said in a rough voice: "Don't go to work today!"

"I'm just here to visit you. Hawke walked into the room and placed the blade of grass on the table beside Rod, "This is the herb from the lumberjacking team, chopped and boiled into a sauce with water, and treated with trauma." ”

"I don't know you well. Rod glanced at the herbs, put on a coat, and looked Hawke up and down, "Look at you, you're a steward, aren't you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm a person, and I admire people who have the ability and courage the most. Rod, we're the guts in this camp, and you're the one. Hawke gave a thumbs up and said to the blacksmith with a grin.

"You're laughing at me?!" Rod jerked to his feet, clenching his fists.

"No, no. Hawk waved his hand repeatedly, "I don't dare, you go and ask anyone in the camp who dares to laugh at you." Most people don't even dare to fart in front of the camp guards, like you, who has the audacity to ask them for women. ”

Rhodes squinted at him, as if to discern the meaning of his words, and the eyes reminded Hawke of a wild boar in the hunting grounds. Fierce, direct, I don't know what hesitation is.

"Hmph. Rod exhaled, took a piece of cloth on the table, and wiped his hands covered with black ointment, "You people who have been in charge have too many crooked thoughts, and it must not be good to run to me in the middle of the night." Before I could find a target to vent my temper, I hurried out. ”

"It's the same, why don't you talk a few words. I've got some good stuff here. Hawke pulled two cigarettes out of his arms, one in his mouth, and handed the other to Rod, "I'll roll it myself." Try. With this, the injuries on your back will also be less painful. ”

The cigarette was lit, and the room was filled with a spicy and fragrant mixture. In the midst of the mist, Hawke felt that the other party's eyes were a little more friendly to him.

"Why can't you get along with the prison guards for that woman?" asked Hawke, flicking the ash on the ground, casually.

"My woman, of course I have to protect it. Rod grimaced.

"Those guards, many of them are mercenaries, and they are very black, and if you are not careful, you will put yourself in. Hawke said, "Is it worth it?"

Rhodes took a drag on his cigarette, bowed his head and did not speak.

"However, there are many women in the camp. Why are you staring at that one?" said Hawke, puffing out a puff of smoke, "I heard that in a few months, you can apply for marriage, which one do you like, and you can go and fill out the form together, and you can live together." ”

There was a glimmer of brightness in Rod's eyes, but then it dimmed again, and he said after half a salary: "My woman may be pregnant with my seed." I just want her, nothing else. ”

"Hey, you'll have to figure it out quickly. The labor reform mine is not a good place, and the two injured and dead people are carried out in three days. Even if you don't die of exhaustion, one day the tunnel collapses, the wall falls, and the person is gone in the blink of an eye. That man is very lucky, let alone a woman. Hawke babbled, while looking at Rod's expression, he saw the green scripture on the blacksmith's forehead, jumped to the ground, and the anger in his eyes was about to erupt, "Even if she is released alive, that child will definitely not be saved." ”

"I don't need you to teach me!" said Rod viciously, pushing the cigarette in his hand to the ground.

"Caught and beaten by them again?" Hawke sneered, "That Ji Yijun said that you will be punished lightly for your first offense." If you do it again, believe it or not, you'll be locked up in the mines?"

"What can I do? You say, what can I do? I'm just a blacksmith, I can ...... except to raise my fist and roar a few times" Rod hissed a few times, suddenly stopped, squinting at Hawke, "You...... Is there a way?"

"Hehe, they all say you're good, I think you're quite clever. Hawke laughed, snuffed out the cigarette butt on the anvil, leaned his head closer to the blacksmith, and said in a low voice, "There are many people in this camp who are not satisfied with the mercenaries, and some are planning to make a big one." ”

Seeing the blacksmith looking at him inexplicably, Hawke said in a softer voice, "Riot ......"

"You mean, it's like a tax ......"

Hawke nodded: "As long as you get out of the way and scare those magicians, won't you be able to negotiate conditions? ”

"But if they are ruthless. Rod put his hand at the base of his neck.

"Isn't there no way around it? With so many people with you, could it be worse?"