The noise of hawking outside the window reached Ness's ears, and although it was already noon, it was still like morning from the inn because the whole village was built in the woods, and the tall trees blocked the sunlight.

Ness went down to the first floor of the inn, the tavern was full of people, everyone was surprisingly quiet, the singer was whispering "Alice by the water", behind her a musician played a flute accompaniment, the sound of the flute was melodious and clear, and another musician held a mandolin in his hand and gently patted the body. Fern was already sitting at the table by the wall, beckoning Ness.

Fern poured Ness a cup of hot jasmine tea for Ness. "Wallis could hardly find a better bard than this, only in Paradais. ”

Ness combed her freshly washed hair last night and listened to the song intently.

"Alice my love,

I'm going away,

And you are my eternal nostalgia.

In that spring season,

Where you and I are separated,

At the water's edge,

We will see you again. ”

As soon as the song was finished, the tavern burst into applause, and Fern and Ness couldn't help but applaud. The singer got up and bowed, and went to the kitchen for a short rest. The tavern was noisy again, and all kinds of conversations and laughter mingled.

The bell on the door jingled, and another traveler walked into the tavern. Fern's eyes quickly moved to the newcomer's body, her black cloak hanging down her calves, her hood hanging behind her back, and her long pure black hair draped over her shoulders, in sharp contrast to her pale face, which looked a few years older than Ness, and her black eyes were staring at Fern and Ness.

There were a few whistles in the tavern at once, but the traveler ignored them and walked straight to Fern's table. "Don't mind adding another person, do you?" her voice was cold and penetrating.

"Of course. Fern shrugged his shoulders and motioned for the other to sit in the empty seat across from him.

The woman asked for a glass of cold water, then glanced at Fern and Ness, "Mage and swordsman, perfect combination." ”

Fern ignored her, and Ness asked with interest, "What about you, traveling alone, not afraid of danger?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at Ness, "I'm a mage too. With that, he placed a wand on the table. "The danger is always there, but I don't trust mercenaries and would rather be alone. With that, he glanced at Fern.

Fern was still unmoved, and Ness was even more interested when she saw that the other party was also a mage, and continued her topic, "I didn't expect to meet another mage here, in fact, I haven't gotten the mage ring yet, so ......" Speaking of this, Fern quickly interrupted her and motioned her not to reveal too much.

"So you need to complete the trial, right? I happen to be on a spiritual trip, so why don't we be companions?" the woman asked with a smile.

"It's still not possible, and there are generally problems with the ones you send to your door. Fern refused before Ness could speak.

Nessy wasn't satisfied, but she still couldn't argue with anything, she knew that Fern had a lot more experience than herself, and he must have a reason for saying that.

"Very well, swordsman, good alertness is the minimum quality of a mercenary, but blindly rejecting a strong helper is not a wise choice. The woman was not angry, but still said in a cold tone.

The battle in Sheepfold Village had left Fern feeling overwhelmed, and the journey was far more difficult than expected, and they did need companions. "I needed a reason to be able to convince myself. ”

The woman smiled, leaned forward slightly, and stared into Fern's eyes, a charming fragrance rushed into Fern's nose, "I know what happened to Canrito. She slowly retracted, her eyes still looking at Fern, "Is that enough?"

Fern and Ness were taken aback, but Fern remained silent, staring at the pale, but still charming mysterious woman in front of him and asked, "How did you know we were interested in Canrito?"

The woman smiled again, and it seemed to her that everything was under her control, "Didn't you come back to Canrito after you came out of Sheepfold Village?

Fern narrowed his eyes and asked in disbelief, "Are you following us?"

"Surprised, isn't it? In fact, I've been following you ever since you left Canrito to go to the sheepfold. The other party said proudly.

"Hell, I didn't even notice someone was following us. Fern muttered in frustration.

The woman was a little carried away, "That's it, it's enough to be your companion." How's that, did it convince you?"

Fern looked at her employer helplessly, and Ness nodded slightly in agreement, in fact, she had already agreed in her heart. "Okay...... , I hope this decision is the right one, this is Ness, and I am Fern. Fern nodded, and Ness nodded to the side.

"You can call me Rui, and as you can see, I am a mage. The woman nodded in return and drank the cold water from the cup.

At this time, Ness suddenly remembered something, "Fern you just said that you didn't expect another person to be following us, could it be that there is anyone else besides Rui?"

"Yes, there are others. Fern glanced quietly into a corner, "Maybe it's in the tavern." ”

Rui looked surprised, apparently unaware. Ness was about to look around when she was stopped by Ferne, "Don't look, so as not to startle the snake, we don't know where he came from for the time being, he probably doesn't know that I've noticed him, we'd better wait for him to show the rat's tail first." ”

"Why is he following us?" asked Ness, uneasy.

"It's too early to tell, he's been with us in Deville, and he is undoubtedly well planned. Fern tried to comfort Ness, "But don't worry, I don't think he's a threat to us, he thinks he's in the dark and we're in the light, but it's actually the opposite." ”

Rui disagreed. "Don't be overconfident mercenary, have you forgotten your experience in Sheepfold Village? ”

Fern was embarrassed by Ray's words, but fortunately, the singer began to perform again after the break, and everyone's attention was drawn to it. This time, the musician played "Happy Tramp", and the cheerful tune of the mandolin excited everyone. The singer walked into the crowd and invited everyone to get up and dance, and Fern and the others joined in. At this time, the mercenary was keenly aware that the man in the corner was getting up and leaving the tavern, he quickly whispered a few words to Niss, and quickly followed the man out of the tavern.

Although it was still early, the light was almost as light as dusk in Paradis. Fern walked behind the man at a decent distance, turning a few corners into a small alley at the edge of the village. The man stopped at the end of the alley, as if waiting for someone, but Fern didn't dare to get too close, so he had to watch from behind the fence of a courtyard around the corner.

The man paced up and down, looking around uneasily, and the waiting person never appeared. After a long time, as the sky grew darker, the footsteps of another man reached Fern's ears. In the faint light, Fern saw the man talking to a cloaked figure. The man didn't even dare to look up at the other man's face, but he just said something, and finally he took something from the other person's hand and quickly ran away from a small fork in the road as if fleeing.

Fern stared at the figure in the distance through the gap in the fence, only to see him slowly turn around and look straight at Fern. In just a few seconds, cold sweat broke out on Fern's forehead and back, his hands and feet trembled, and he couldn't help but feel fear, he knew that this was not a normal reaction, and time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Fern took a few deep breaths, trying to stabilize his emotions, but his trembling hands still didn't listen, and his heart beat violently as if it was about to jump out of his chest. Fear gradually consumed him, and Fern even began to feel a little out of breath, his brain was chaotic, and he could no longer think clearly. "Could it be...... Is this what death feels like?" a wave of despair welled up in his heart.

At this moment, the voices of several people approached the alley from far and near, and the figure in the distance paused, turned around and disappeared at the end of the alley, and a group of merchants who had arrived at the market in Paradeis happened to pass by the intersection in front of the alley. Fern came to his senses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and was glad that he was still alive and well. He didn't dare to stay here longer, so he hurried back to the inn in three steps and two steps.

Nice and Rui were enjoying a delicious dinner at the inn when they saw Fern running back in such a panic and knew something must be wrong. "What's wrong Fern, did you find anything?" Ness asked quickly.

Fern glanced around to make sure the man wasn't there, and then approached Ness and Ray. "We have to go as soon as possible, as soon as possible, and leave tonight. ”

Ness was visibly frightened by Fern. "Did you find out by that person?"

"Worse, I'd rather be found out so I could kill him. Fern took a sip of water and gasped, "Meet in the stall behind the kitchen in fifteen minutes. After saying that, he immediately asked the innkeeper to tell him.

Ness and Rui glanced at each other, not daring to slack off, hurriedly finished the rest of the dinner, and hurried upstairs to pack up their salutes.

In the stable, Fern was ready to go, munching on hard bread and cheese for dinner, chatting with the innkeeper. Rui first arrived at the stable, and found his horse, which was a chestnut northern horse with long limbs.

"Horse good, are you from the north?" Fern finished the last piece of cheese and helped Rui carry his bags onto the horse.

Rui stood aside and didn't answer directly. "What's the matter, the mercenary still has a casual and elegant chat? Could it be that the panic just now was all pretended?"

Fern wanted to take the opportunity to find out about Rui's reality, but he knew too little about Rui, but he didn't expect to be blocked back, so he had to pretend to check on the horses. Ness also walked into the stable, and the smell of horse manure and feed made her wrinkle her nose, and Fern took her bag and threw it on the mare's back. "It's a little choking, isn't it? you'll get used to it. ”

Rui didn't want to let Fern go just yet. "Yes, you get used to it, but not everyone can eat at this smell. ”

Fern, who was too lazy to take care of her, took his horse, spoke a few words to the innkeeper, and finally took out a gold coin and stuffed it into his hand. "Remember, just say we left overnight, don't say anything else. Then he turned back to his companions, "Go, follow and watch your feet." ”

"Where are we going?" Ness asked Fern as she took the reins.

"You'll know when you get there. With these words, Fern stepped into the darkness outside the house.