The early winter sun shines through the blue sky and falls on the vast expanse of the land. The withered yellow weeds on the ground curled up with shriveled leaves, shivering in the cold wind, making a gurgling sound. The withered branches of the silver dove flower still stand tenaciously in the field, as tall as in the middle of summer, but the withered yellow branches have long been empty, the gorgeous and dazzling flowers that bloomed in the middle of summer have long since withered and fallen, and the remaining tenacious dead branches are spread in the wind, densely scattered in the boundless fields. At the edge of the grassland, the majestic and precipitous mountains stand like a barrier, separating the whole land. The year-round snow on the top of the high mountain stretches to the mountainside, and under the sunlight, it is like countless huge gems set on the top of the mountain, emitting a crystal light.

At the foot of the mountain, a meandering river flows slowly, dotting the withered yellow earth like a ribbon. The dry and cold winter weather has been dry and cold for many days, and the original rushing river has gradually dried up, revealing a large gray-black riverbed.

"Hey, Poole, what do you say is above the sky, what does the end of the earth look like, is there really a legendary beautiful god realm and a terrifying endless abyss?"

With his hands behind his head, a yellow grass stalk in his mouth, and his legs crossed, Ete lay comfortably on the slope of the riverbank, squinting at the white clouds floating in the sky. Although the wind that blows from time to time is still wrapped in a trace of cold, the midday sun still brings warmth to the body.

"You're asking these stupid questions again, what the hell are the damn thoughts in your head...... But the places described by the troubadours must have existed, otherwise how could there be so many moving legends? damn it...... I don't think you'd better be lazy, come and help me brush these damn plates, or Uncle Esther will be nagging again......"

A chubby boy in a brown and yellow linen blouse was squatting on the edge of the riverbed, scrubbing a large stack of white iron plates, his hands were red from the cold water, and from time to time he looked back at the boy lying on the riverbank in the same costume.

"Hmm...... Poole, tell you, Lord Wink didn't often say that hard work can make people smarter, you see, I'm smart enough, but what about you, even your dad calls you stupid Poole, so you have to work harder, be hardworking, so that you can slowly become a smart person like me. You should be grateful to me, after all, I gave you so many opportunities to be smart. ”

Itet turned over slightly, changed to a more comfortable sleeping position, and admonished earnestly.

"Woo...... You can say that you are lazy so high-sounding, and you are really a smart person, although I still feel that you are shameless......"

Poole lowered his head in resignation and scrubbed hard.

"Well, who called us both neighbors and friends...... By the way, Poole, let me ask you a serious question, don't you like Sally, and will you marry her in the future?"

As if she had suddenly thought of something, she threw away the grass stalk in her mouth, sat up, and stared at the young man who was brushing the dishes.

Poole was stunned for a moment, then blushed and twisted.

"Woo, it's so annoying, why are you asking this question, so shy...... But how do you know I like Sally? a fat, ugly stupid girl with a lot of freckles on her face, and I don't like her......"

"Don't like it, let the ghost go...... Ducible guy, you still cover up with me. I ask you, who stammered and couldn't speak at the sight of Sally? Who was it who kept wandering under the window of Sally's house at night? And once this summer Sally and Eliza went to bathe in the brook behind Wink Castle, did you lie down in the grass and peep at it?"

Ite's lips pursed disdainfully, mercilessly exposing Poole's clumsy lies.

"Yike...... How do you know...... I remember there was no one else there...... How do you know I peeked at Sally taking a shower ......"

Poole was shocked.

"Hmph...... Keep an eye on the grass around you, I'm in the tree next to you, stupid, it's less visible under the cover of the leaves, and you can see it more clearly......"

Ite triumphantly teaches the art of voyeurism.

Stunned, Poole suddenly understood something, threw away the plate in his hand, and pounced screaming.

"Ah...... I'm going to kill you, and you dare to peek at my lovely Sally taking a shower......"

"Woo...... Said I missed my mouth, ah...... That Poole, listen to me...... Well, I actually went to peek at Eliza, not to see Sally, it was an accident...... Didn't you say it too, a fat and ugly stupid girl, with a lot of freckles on her face, who would peek at it......"

Ete jumped up from the ground with agility and ran off into the distance.

"You are not allowed to slander my beautiful Sally, I said that she was like when she was a child, but now it is different...... In my heart she is a beautiful angel......" Poole gritted his teeth and chased after her.

Panting on the grass, Poole finally didn't catch up with the nimble Ate, looking at his companion who was sitting not far away, Poole threatened viciously: "Don't peek at my Sally in the future, or ...... Otherwise, I won't be friends with you......"

Ite gasped for breath, lay on the ground and looked at Poole, and said innocently: "I said that I was going to peek at Eliza, Sally was just an accident, besides, Sally looks similar to you, you are willing to squat on the tree and wait for so long to peek at her, it is better to watch you take a bath, woo, it is too sad to break up with me for a girl......"

“......”

Ite turned over and lay on the soft dry grass, squinted at the sky, and said faintly: "I heard that Aunt Simon is going to send Sally to Wink Castle to be a maid for Miss Mo'er after we come here, and by the way, she will learn etiquette and housekeeping with Miss, speaking of which, Sally is also fourteen years old, the same age as us, and she should be married in two years, but we are going to stay for five years, will she always wait for you?"

Poole was also silent, and Xueite also lay on the ground with his hands on his back, squinting at the clear blue sky, and said softly: "When I came, I decided that I must be like Lord Wink, and fight for a meritorious feat on the front line, even if I can't confer a title like Lord Wink, at least like Uncle York in the town, become a great honorary knight, so that everyone can respect, so that I can be worthy of my beautiful Sally when I go back." Tsk, it's exciting to think about, Ite, can you imagine, when I was dressed in shining armor, riding a majestic war horse, and wearing a cloak embellished with silver fir leaves, to the cheers of the crowd, I rode to Lisa, who was holding a beautiful flower, and ......"

The more Poole spoke, the more excited he became, dancing with his hands and spitting everywhere.

Then you slowly climbed off the horse with your only remaining leg, limped forward, hugged your angel tightly with your arms that were missing a palm, and kissed your angel passionately with a big mouth that was missing half of your lips, right? Stupid, you think that Lord Wink and Uncle York were easy to get their feats, they were paid for on the battlefield, Lord Wink was cut off a leg by a minotaur warrior, think about it with your wood-like head, he used to be a squadron leader of the mighty Silver Fir Knights. Didn't Uncle York also have an arm bitten off by the wolf and almost die......? At the very least, we have to become an honorary knight, we are only the lowest-level warrior apprentices, not even real warriors, once a war breaks out, let's go back first, this is the forefront of the defense against orcs, and recently the captain has not always said that the orcs have significantly increased their attacks on the border, so that we must always be vigilant, who knows when those hateful orcs will come over. But seriously, if the orcs really fight, I don't know how many kingdom warriors will die on this land, and it is estimated that no one like us two warrior apprentices who have just arrived will be able to escape......"

Ate's words were like icy water, instantly extinguishing the fanaticism of Poole's dreams and returning to reality, so the two teenagers lay on the grass with deep sorrow, looking at the sky speechlessly, and fell into a messy thought.

"Ate, Poole, you two lazy little bastards, does it take that long to wash the dishes? Where are you going crazy? The captain is looking for you......"

A loud shout suddenly broke the silence of the dry yellow grassland, and also woke up two teenagers who were thinking about life from their contemplation.

"Yike...... It's Uncle Esther, it's over, and there are still a few dishes that haven't been washed......"

Poole sat up in fright, his face was bloodless and panicked, and when he was in a hurry, he suddenly found that his companion on the side had lost his trace, and in a panic, he turned his head and saw the cunning Iter was bent on his waist, and with the cover of the dead reeds on the river beach, he quickly ran towards the plates scattered on the riverbed, and couldn't help but wail, learning the movements of his companions, pouting his buttocks, and crawling towards the river beach with his hands and feet, he was very depressed in his heart, was he really not industrious enough, why did he react half a beat slower than the kid of Iter when he encountered everything?

"Well, Uncle Esther, there are still two plates, and I'll finish brushing them soon...... Poole, why are you still there, come and help me......"

Ate, who had rushed to the destination first, squatted by the river, picked up a dirty dish and pretended to wash it, turned back to the chubby Esther who had appeared on the riverbank, smiled obediently, and then pretended to be extremely aggrieved and shouted loudly to Poole who was crawling out of the reeds.

"Woo, shameless guy......"

Poole slowly poked his head out of the withered yellow reeds with a helpless face, and explained to the angry middle-aged fat uncle with a smile that was more ugly than crying: "That...... Uncle Aster, look...... I ate too much for lunch, and my stomach hurt, so I ran here to make it easier, but I didn't know that I squatted for a long time, and my feet were numb......"

"Eat, eat, you know to eat, in addition to eating is pulling, why don't you pull you to death, look at the people's Ete, look at how diligent they are, eat less at noon can die, stupid is stupid, don't hurry up and help Ete brush the dishes, ask the two of you to work together, you know how lazy ......"

Esther angrily wiped the corners of her mouth with the cuffs of her oil-stained blouse, and scolded the bitter-faced Poole, then turned her head again, squeezed out a little smile on her oily fat face, and said softly to Ete: "Hurry up and brush, the captain wants you to go to the hillside to collect some dead branches as firewood, and the firewood stored in the fortress is almost insufficient." ”

"Okay uncle, I'll go right away after brushing these last few plates. ”

Ate's smile replied, well-behaved like an honest good boy.

Esther was satisfied with her hands behind her back, her slightly fat belly, and she walked towards the stone castle on the cliff in the distance, not noticing the helplessness and grievance in Poole's eyes with a bitter face.