It's been a month, and the search for that terrorist prisoner is still in full swing. Groups of guards could be seen searching the streets at all times. Portraits have been plastered on the streets and alleys, and people are talking about the prisoner above. Some say it's a spy sent by an enemy nation, others say it's a new kind of orc, and others say it's a cultist of the Necronomic Guild.

Asa followed the old man Sandru and a few vegetable vendors around the butcher's shop, and listened to the boss foaming at the mouth about how the cultist drew talismans in his hands, and shouted, and all the people in the prison were suddenly in different places, and blood flowed profusely. Several vegetable vendors exchanged ears and agreed to go to the church together to ask for holy water protection.

"Holy water must be sprinkled on a close place, and it is most effective on underwear. Old man Sandru said to a few vegetable vendors.

A patrol of guards passed by Assa, several of whom glanced at him curiously.

It's just a glance. Even Asa didn't dare to look at himself when he saw the mirror. His face now looked like an ugly face made of wax that had been halfway roasted by fire and then solidified again, pitted with oily sarcomas, his facial features deformed and distorted, and even his eyes were torn apart. Even a half-orc or big-eared monster was ten generations more handsome than him.

Of course, this is just a mask. A mask that is very well done, you can still see the pores, the blood vessels on the tumor are looming, and it is as elastic as real skin to the touch. Old man Sandru had good craftsmanship and didn't feel any discomfort when he wore it, but Asa didn't dare to ask him what he was made of.

Bend over, carry a cushion, limp again when walking, and put on a shabby robe that covers the whole body, which is completely suitable for appearance. After two days of following Sandru on the street, several people on the street were familiar with him, and they all knew that he was Sandru's hunchbacked assistant.

Old man Sandru was actually a member of the Academy of Magic, and the big house full of corpses also belonged to the Academy of Magic, which somewhat surprised Assa. Even in his Kalendo countryside, miners and blacksmiths who indulged in bad liquor and prostitutes had to look respectful at the mention of the Academy of Magic. It was the most important institution of the Church, and in many people's minds, it was almost the center of the Church, where magic was studied, and priests and magicians were trained. Talking about royal or other militaristic affairs to low-class civilians feels like an ethereal concept, far less interesting than street rumors. But once you are hurt, or you have done something wrong, you have any anxiety or guilt, but it is the priests of the magic academy who come to help. Therefore, in the minds of ordinary people, it is a sacred and noble place.

But just like a woman who looks holy is just a human being, and if she is a human being, she will go to the toilet. Since the Academy of Magic wants to study healing magic, it has to study the human body, and it must have a special place to store corpses.

Of course, given the sanctity of the Church, this kind of research is only done as quietly as possible when necessary, and such a place cannot be in the Academy of Magic. The house was built in a remote corner on the west side of the city, and the only living creatures in it were Asa and Old Man Sandru.

Old Man Sandru's job was to keep and sort all kinds of organs and limbs, and he was very leisurely, and sometimes he would go to the market. But in general, I always like to stir up corpses, such as reassembling different parts of several people into a human form, using some inexplicable magic on corpses, cutting an organ into dozens of small pieces, soaking them in dozens of different medicines, and so on. It's a corpse-consuming hobby, so Sandru has a good relationship with the city jailers and guards, and will sell him any inconsequential or unclaimed corpse for a few copper coins. Asa's job is to carry and assist in dividing the body, chopping up organs, going to the market to buy daily necessities, and settling the diet of the two.

The big house is usually not approached at all. But in addition to the three wild cats in the neighborhood, there is also a guest every two or three days. He was also an old man, dressed in a black robe, with thin cheeks as if he had never eaten a full meal in his life, and there was a black circle under his eyes, as if he had never slept well, and every time he came to Sandru at night. Whenever this happens, Sandru would let Asa go into the hut to read by himself. Two old men lit candles in a large room full of corpses and organs, chatting until midnight.

Two months ago, from the mountains of the western wilderness, he watched his unit annihilated, and then was chased by orcs, and died in the lizard swamp, nearly screwing his head..... Then he came to the royal capital, and inexplicably became the most unheard fugitive in the entire royal capital.... Now in a big house full of corpses, he accompanies an eccentric old man to fiddle with corpses. Thinking of what happened during this time, even I feel incredible.

It stands to reason that he could sneak away while Old Man Sandru was not looking, and with this mask and his current popularity in the city, he would definitely be able to pass unimpeded. But he never did.

There were many reasons not to run away, such as learning magic was an unattainable wish since he was a child. Sandru's house has quite a few books on magic. And here he is also waiting for Bracada's convoy to send Xiao Yi back. This seems to be the only turning point in this predicament. The Duke's order to 'be executed on the spot' gave him no chance to clarify himself, not to mention that he did not know the reason for it at all. The only hope is to wait for her to come back and see if we can clear up the misunderstanding.

Asa always thought that the Duke would be wanted like this because of some misunderstanding between him and Xiao Yi. In the current situation, he can only guess like this.

But that's not the most important thing. He didn't run away because Asa didn't feel anything wrong with his strange life.

It was probably because I experienced so much blood and cruelty that night two months ago, and now I don't feel disgusted to live surrounded by corpses and organs.

Probably in the lizard swamp countless times to get close to death almost literally, and now looking at the search force all over the street, I don't feel nervous at all. Sometimes, when I see groups of young soldiers working so hard for themselves, I will have an inexplicable affection for them, and I want to go over and hold them, invite them to sit on the street stalls and eat something, and bitterly advise them not to waste any more energy.

Probably because the old man Sandru is used to contact with corpses, so he treats people as corpses, without the slightest vigilance, and it is very convenient to get along. He never asked Asa about it, not even Assa's name, anyway, there were only two living people in the big house, and as soon as the other party opened his mouth, he knew that he was talking to himself. Instead, Sandru named the three wild cats who often came to the house looking for something to eat. The two seem to be old friends who have long since exhausted their mutual curiosity.

What's more, daily magical learning and meditation drew all his energy. Feel like you're improving every day. From the simplest to stop bleeding, to the real sense of recovery, from the most basic to light a candle with two fingers, until you can bake a fish with your bare hands.

He also found a dusty book from behind Old Man Sandru's bookshelf. The pages are made of leather, very old and undamaged. It's a strange book, and from the table of contents above, it contains a staggering amount of magic and various skills related to magic. But with the exception of the table of contents and the opening chapter on meditation methods, they are written in a script that Asa did not recognize. Asa didn't ask Sandru about it, and he just practiced meditation every day, following the method written in the first article he could understand.

That's how every day is studying, practicing, meditating. He began at the age of five in a life of complete immersion in his own progress, which for him was the most tranquil and serene. Everything came so naturally, without the slightest tension and deliberateness. Asa spent a month unknowingly in this mundane life full of corpses and hunts.

Ordinary life always makes people feel relaxed, and after a long time, people's feelings seem to completely melt into every detail of this life, and they no longer want to have any fluctuations and changes. But he also knew that this would not work, after all, some things could not end like this, and he could not be a fugitive for a lifetime inexplicably, and he could not live in the shadows for the rest of his life. Although there was no danger now, the last thing he could bear was that there was something to limit him.

And we can't let so many people die in vain on the mountains of the wilderness to the west. With a strange intuition, Asa had a vague sense that what he had reported in the Duke's palace had not really reached where it should have been.

"Hey, let's go, what's the matter?" said the old man Sandru, who stuffed him with a bag of things he had bought. Asa took the things and limped away.

That night, after meditating, Asa was drawn to the light from the window, and walked out of the house to see the full moon so bright for the second time in his life.

Exactly two months before the last sighting, on that hill in the western wilderness. It is also a soft but dazzling moon, and no star dares to sweep the beauty in the sky. The moonlight brought Asa's memories back to that time, reliving the night of killing.