At dawn, a drizzle of rain fell again under the egg-blue sky, and an iron-gray mist floated between the sky and the earth, which filled the castle, watchtower, turret, woods, and lakes of the Mesoko Manor.

With the sound of the long wind breaking through the clouds and mist, a pair of wings stretched out and dozens of feet long swept through the air, and in an instant, the shadow was blurred in the rain and mist. But Lin Yuqing knew that after a while, the pair of wings would whizz over his head again.

This is the fallen spirit of Sir Giant, which has been hovering over Mesoko Manor all morning.

Its shadow can't help but shuttle through this vast land, and together with small groups of guards, it forms a double search for fallen spirits and fugitives. In order to avoid being sensed by it and another group of fallen spirits behind them, Lin Yuqing and Ida summoned their fallen spirits back early, and they didn't even have time to ask the white fox about the situation.

However, without the fall of the spirit, the two children could not move an inch.

The few entrances and exits of the manor were blocked by the guards led by low-ranking knights, and the sound of horses' hooves of patrols continued to sound on the main roads leading to the gates. These private soldiers of the Mesoko family were carefully searching for the last Mesoko in the drizzle—in just three years, Romandan had already established a commanding guard here.

Perhaps because of the high seat, Ida felt that the place looked very strange.

She sat motionless in a recess formed by the branches of a few branches, and the trees of the manor had grown for centuries, thick and extensive. The canopy of trees obscured her figure, but cast her gaze far away, enveloping the castle in the distance. She didn't know where her focus was, as if the gray mist in the sky had seeped into her eyes.

She had been sitting like this for a long time without saying a word—the branches and leaves around her were also silent with her, no matter when Lin Yuqing turned her head, from the gap between the layers of leaves, all she could see was the pale white that seemed to be solidified.

He tried to say something several times, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them all back. There is not a word that can be said at this time without appearing hypocritical and pale, and perhaps the history of mankind is too short to develop such wisdom—all Lin Yuqing can think of are words that people think are appropriate.

When the patrolling soldiers walked through the woods for the third time, Ida was the first to break the silence.

Her voice was thin and tight, reminiscent of a very thin piece of ice, as if it could break at any moment, bursting out of countless tiny ice ballasts. The few words that came out of her mouth flashed away, and Lin Yuqing didn't hear it clearly for a while, so she couldn't help asking: "What?"

"I said," Ida raised her voice slightly, "it turns out that the Mesoko family is his orange. ”

The boy looked at her white shadow that had been shredded by the branches and leaves, and did not understand.

"I didn't understand that before. A man with a secret, an unfulfilled wish, and an orange?" said Ida softly, "but I just figured it out, his orange is us—juicy, round and fat, but without a single thorn, and can be eaten by peeling off the skin." When you go on the road, whether it's for yourself or for others, it's very thirst-quenching. ”

Without waiting for Lin Yuqing to respond, she continued: "He is right in one sentence, Mia - Mia is really ignorant and gullible. How could she not know, how could she not know, what did she do?

I can't go on with the rest of the words. Lin Yuqing thought she was crying, but when Ida suddenly gently brushed away the branches and leaves, she revealed a pair of dry eyes—blood red, but no tears.

"Those wings, they haven't been seen in a while. She suddenly changed her words, and for no reason, Lin Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly felt a sense of guilt, as if this breath made him sorry for Ada, and he looked up at the sky and replied, "Really, is it running out of power? After all, it has been flying for an hour or two." ”

"If that's the case, it will definitely have to go back and replenish it with spirit stones. ”

"How long will it take?" Lin Yuqing immediately sat up slightly, feeling that this might be an opportunity - when they called out Nagarjuna and the White Fox, even if they were inspired by the other falling spirits in the manor, as long as the pair of wings couldn't immediately locate them, maybe they could take advantage of this gap to break through the blockade and escape.

"I don't- I guess, it's going to get better for a while, right?" Ida paused, "but...... What if this is their plan to lure us out?"

The two children were already frightened birds at this time, and they didn't dare not think of everything as a far-sighted plan for Romandan.

In a panic last night, they rushed all the way into the woods outside Chongsen Castle, behind which was the outer wall of the manor. Since the Fall 2,000 years ago, the moats of early history have been abandoned, and the two children have a chance to escape the Free City by climbing over the outer wall – but not easily.

Another tradition has been preserved: a small lookout rises every mile or two on the façade. Sitting on this tree and looking out, Lin Yuqing couldn't see the inside of the lookout, which didn't prevent him from imagining the soldiers inside and how they walked up to the wall to change their guards.

"If only we had cat leaves on us," the boy sighed, "I knew that chewing up and spraying out cat leaves would make those fallen spirits weak, and I should have brought a big bundle of them." ”

"I don't know where Baijiu found so many," Ida thought for a moment and asked, "Maybe it's the head of the manor?"

Baijiu is the falling spirit that looks like a white fox.

"Probably not – we call it cat leaves because the plant only grows in the mountains and forests where night cats haunt it, because the night cat's droppings carry its seeds. ”

"How did you get that Baijiu?"

It's a pity that they didn't dare to summon the white fox, otherwise they would have understood everything by asking it...... Ida lowered her head and watched the spiritual weapon on her waist flow slightly. Last night on the run, she was bent on figuring out what had happened to her father and sister, but when she finally got the answer, she wished she hadn't asked.

Ada couldn't even remember when she recalled the fallen spirit or how she climbed the tree. There was only one detail that stuck in her mind: just as they were hiding, a group of guards walked through the woods with torches, passing their feet, and by the dim light of the fire, she looked down and saw a stain of blood on the corner of her skirt, which had been scratched out of nowhere.

"Ada, look," Lin Yuqing suddenly whispered.

As soon as she looked up, she recognized the man who had walked into the woods.

Wrapped in a linoleum cloak, Shi Lao had to reach for the hood that had slipped off his forehead every few steps. He turned his head and looked around, standing still under a tree.

The rain drifted in the air, and the trees looked like a layer of iron had floated. Shi Lao grasped the edge of the cloak tightly with one hand, and the hood was half dry and half wet from the rain, sticking to his neck, which was very uncomfortable. But thinking about his master's situation, he sighed in his heart, feeling that he had lost the right to complain.

He is over 50 years old this year, and he has not married since his second wife also fell ill and died, and naturally he has no chance to have children of his own. Over the years, he had gotten used to it, and even when he saw children, he no longer thought about what they would be like if he had them—now, when he thinks of them, he remembers the face of his master when he was young.

It's too reckless, Shi Lao thought in a daze. How dare Miss Ida break into the Overseer's bedroom in the middle of the night? If she hadn't gone, none of this would have happened......

Thinking of this, that deep line floated on the side of his mouth again. He is old, and he only thinks that everything can go on smoothly and peacefully.

His thoughts drifted so far that when the footsteps came to him, Shi Lao suddenly realized that he hurriedly lifted his hood and looked at the comer.

"You asked me out, why did you come so late?" he couldn't help but grumble.

"There were too many guards on the road, and I was interrogated several times," said the visitor, taking off his hat, revealing first a large nose, and then a young round face.

"Why did you ask me to come here? Aren't you supposed to be preparing for the Earl's funeral?"

"Almost every guard asked me this question - this is the least crowded part of the manor. The young man smiled bitterly, "Although I am an attendant of the Earl, they have not let me near the bedroom since the Earl's death. The last time I saw him, he wasn't dead at that time, and he drank the hot milk I had prepared for him...... Later, it ......"

Schlau listened silently, waiting for him to cut to the point.

"There's one thing that has always been in my mind, but I don't know who to turn to...... The people around Lady Mia are equivalent to the people of Lord Romandan, and when I think about it, it seems that there is only you. The young man said this, a hint of nervousness rising on his round face, and he looked around, "I suspect—I suspect that there is something wrong with the death of Lord Earl." ”

He lowered his voice: "Last night, after Lord Romandan left, after a long while, a few guards and maids suddenly came, saying that they were sent by Lady Mia, and they wanted to invite Lord Earl to come over anyway. I argued with them for a few words, but I still couldn't get it, and as soon as I opened the door, I ......"

Of course, there is no need to talk about the rest of the matter, Shi Lao nodded at him and comforted him, but he thought in his heart that this boy is really not very smart.

Count Mesoko, who had been sick for several years, had died at the brink of last night, and even the newcomers were vaguely surprised—but no one had mentioned it. Now that the boy has come to make these things clear to himself, and he doesn't want to think about it, what can he do?

Shi Lao sighed again, feeling the linoleum cloak on his body sink even more, wetting against his bones. As he sent the young man away, the latter whispered, "Do you know the whereabouts of Miss Ada? ”

This immediately made Shi Lao vigilant. He didn't know where Ida was, so he responded, "If you see Miss Ada, be sure to let me know." ”

The young man nodded, leaving Shi Lao alone in place, and thought for a long time.

As he was about to leave, a soft voice called out to him behind him: "Shi Lao!"

He jerked his body and his eyes widened. The dirty boy who looked like an Oriental man was poking his head out from behind a tree at the moment, no cleaner than when they first met—Shi Lao's face turned pale with astonishment, and he stammered, "You, it's you!

"We parted last night," Lin Yuqing said a lie in a low voice, not approaching out of caution. He didn't know if there were any guards behind Shi Lao, and he didn't know if he believed it or not, so he asked from a distance of seven or eight steps, "Why did you come here?"

"They asked me to come over," Shi Lao couldn't recover from his surprise, and looked around, not knowing whether he was looking for Ida or his fallen spirit, "I didn't expect you to be here! Why did you and Miss Ida get separated? Didn't you run away together?"

"There were too many pursuers last night, so we ran separately and had a better chance of escaping. "It's true, they did it last night, but after a while, the two children were reunited. Lin Yuqing didn't dare to tell the truth, so she only said: "But I made an appointment with her, we will meet at the east gate tonight, and after everyone sleeps, we will find a way to rush out." ”

"My young master," sighed Shi Lao, "do you know how many guards are arranged in the manor?

"But as long as the Fallen Spirit Messenger sleeps ......"

Shi Lao was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help nodding: "Yes, if they are not there, you can break out." ”

Nagarjuna was still weak, but Ada still had a few spirit stones removed from the artifact, enough to allow it to replenish its strength somewhat before making a move.

However, when the fallen spirits were really recalled, and when the lords would go to sleep, the two children hiding in the woods naturally did not know. Lin Yuqing urgently needed a pair of Senborg eyes so that they wouldn't rush to someone's mouth—he glanced at Shi Lao, hesitantly not knowing whether to ask him for help.

Shi Lao made a decision immediately.

"I'll help you," he said, pausing again and starting to think. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "I...... I can't help much. I can only keep an eye on you and see when the lords will rest......"

"That's enough!" Lin Yuqing said immediately.

"Those lords always have to rest, after all, it's not their family business. A line appeared on Shi Lao's mouth, "When the time comes, I will go to the east gate and stand for a while, and you will know that it is time when you see me." But don't come out, go when you see me, go to another gate, I'm afraid that if someone follows behind me, it won't be safe. ”

Lin Yuqing didn't expect him to say this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he said again: "After you go out, where can you go?"

"I don't know," the young man's voice was a little low, "the Holy Alliance probably can't stay any longer." ”

"No matter where you go, you have to have money. Shi Lao lowered his head, untied the money bag from his waist, and threw it far away at the young man's feet.

Lin Yuqing picked up the money bag, but still didn't approach. Shi Lao waved his hand, "I'm leaving, if I don't leave, I won't be able to explain it if someone finds me with you." ”

Before the boy could say anything more, he had already hurried away—the morning rain and mist rolled through the trees, and the vast expanse of white was in the field of vision. When his back was engulfed in the mist, Lin Yuqing looked around, made a detour, and instead of returning to the tree where he was hiding before, he went up to another tree. After waiting for a while, seeing that there were no soldiers in the woods, he climbed the intertwined branches of the woods and returned to Ida with ease.

It seems that after a lifetime of waiting, the Mesoko Manor waited for the night.

The night slowly deepened, but as Sloy said, there was no sign of decreasing the number of night watchmen at any gate.

Shi Lao wore an earthy yellow burqa, the brightest color of a retinue in his fifties. Straw walked alone on the road, and was questioned several times by the patrolling soldiers along the way, and finally came to the east gate - there were three entrances and exits to the Mesoko manor, and this one was located behind the heavy forest fort, and the location was remote, so it was used the least. If it weren't for this, the east gate might not have had such an honor to see so many soldiers coming and going.

Although the boy had been instructed not to go through the east gate in the afternoon, when Shi Lao stood in the corner, he began to secretly wonder if the two children would show up. He waited silently for a long time, but he did not see the shadow of Miss Ida coming from nowhere, and sighed, and Shi Lao did not know whether he should be happy or not, and estimated that the time was almost up, and turned back to Chongsenburg.

His bedroom was in the corner attic on the side of the heavy castle, with a long, narrow window, and the night breeze blew in and made people chill for a while. He sat at the foot of the bed, looking out of the window, not knowing in which direction the commotion would come, and not seeing it himself—Shi Lao's heart was pounding, and his mouth was dry and his throat was itching.

The initial tension and heaviness were gradually diluted as time passed, and only the tiredness that gradually came up remained. He couldn't help but remember that when he was young, he used to go hunting with the lord, and often went for a few days at a time, and he didn't feel tired at all.

Not anymore......

When he was in a daze and was about to fall asleep against the window, the door of the bedroom was kicked open with a sudden "bang" - Shi Lao was startled and hurriedly got up from the bed. Before he could stand firm, an angry shout had already smashed his head and face: "You old fool!"

"Luo, Lord Romandan......"

Standing in the door of this narrow bedroom, Roman looked taller. He threw down a few guards behind him and strode in, pressing one hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and a rare anger rose on his face: "If I knew this, I should have thrown your useless thing into the mouth of the wild boar! Because of your help, now they have run away!"

Shi Lao was shocked, fell to the ground and raised his head, unable to speak.

"I took the lords to guard all the entrances and exits, but they didn't approach any of the gates at all," every muscle on Romandan's face tensed, but his face throbbed slightly: "They called out the falling spirits on the outer wall, and it only took less than a minute to break through the guards, and by the time we arrived, it was too late!"

Shi Lao's face was pale, and he looked at him blankly, and it took a while to regain his voice: "How, how can it be...... We've said it......"

Romandan bent down suddenly, and a handsome and upright face immediately enlarged in his eyes—it was a picture of Shi Lao who had seen it since he was a child.

"You old fool - do you know what I'm in now? I'm finished! You have been with me to the Mesoko house for three years, and it has not worked at all! Now you can run back to the Lancers, and tell them that the little son they have always disliked has not worked out!"

When Romandan had finished speaking, he was not in the mood to say a word more, and turned to go—the wind of his robe fell on Shi Lao's face, and brought him back to his senses.

He hurriedly followed, only to see Romandan's back rushing down the stairs, getting smaller and smaller.

Shi Lao clung to the edge of his sleeve, and the bitter line sank deep into his mouth. Now his guilt for Miss Ada was gone, but his master's youthful face seemed to be floating again: bright brown curls, beautiful eyebrows, but rarely smiling.

My poor child...... He thought, what should Romantan do next?