The Cloud Hunter suddenly turned his back, as if he was about to disappear in front of everyone in the blink of an eye.

The whispers of the other soldiers had unconsciously joined together, like the sound of intermittent waves.

"In the Valley of Heroes, the status of the Cloud Hunter is noble and unattainable, like the brightest star next to the bright moon in the night. A soldier whispered to his companion the truth, his tone faintly envious and anxious.

"Indeed, he who has known the old lord for a long time, he does not need to ask, he is enough to ascend to the top of the elegant hall. His companion replied lightly, his gaze revealing the fortitude and strength that he should have as a guard of the Eagle Valley.

Hayes looked at his distant back and couldn't help but sigh softly.

Is it really over? I can't question your loyalty because of my father, but I can't fully agree with your one-time solitude... Cloud Hunter.

Beside him, a green vine spreading from the valley quietly stretched its sturdy waist and caught Hayes's gaze impartially.

"O valley that has endured, thou hast responded with the glory of all things. The firm will of the Gray Valley family will protect the meaning of your existence for generations, just like the vines that spread all over this place, and it will still be evergreen after the wind and rain..."

He turned away, but suddenly a shrill cry rang out in his ears.

"You're tasked with fetching water, but why are you spilling the stream to the ground?" Hayes noticed that it was the butler's voice, and followed the sound to the outside of the training ground.

With a keen eye, he soon spotted a shivering young man huddled in a corner, dressed in a coarse cloth man's village robe, who did not look like a man from Eagle Valley, but whose face was covered with a large patch of bleak black ash, which also made the shape of his facial features difficult for people to fully observe, and beside him stood the butler Eric, a bucket tilted to the ground, and the clear stream sprinkled on the ground.

He didn't seem to notice the oncoming valley lord, his gaze was still indescribably flustered, and his thin body trembled as if he had touched some kind of taboo. Eric the butler frowned slightly, then turned to salute Hayes.

"My lord, this man's name is Pol, and he is a newly recruited handyman, and I am about to admonish him about the buckets that the soldiers have worked so hard to fill. He told the truth, but he didn't notice the way Hayes looked at him, as if he didn't really care about what he said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted to—" Pol apparently didn't know who he was, and his voice was choppy like a frightened bird's cry.

Hayes asked unhurriedly, "Where are you from, and why did you come to our Eagle Valley to make a living?"

Pol, the handyman, looked up, but did not reply.

Eric the butler was about to have a seizure, but was stopped by Hayes with a quick gesture.

"If you're genuinely loyal to Ashenvale, why don't you trust me as a lord?" said Hayes calmly, and there was a faint sense in his eyes that he seemed to care about the young man in front of him.

"A day ago, our guards unexpectedly spotted him while sweeping the dust in front of the gates of Ash Valley. Eric's voice was a little remorseful: "He said that he was homeless, so he volunteered to join the ranks of the Ashdale guards, but we saw that he was thin, so we arranged a job for him to carry water, but even this matter, he can mess up." ”

"Then why is he still dressed in the outfit of a farmhouse outside the Grey Valley?" asked Hayes with a blank expression, leaving everyone scratching their heads for a moment.

"That's because this guy insists that this garment is their ancestral treasure, and even if it is dead, it will not be easily removed. Eric looked at the handyman angrily, and answered the lord's question respectfully, "Even so, we still allowed him to gain a foothold in the Valley of the Eagles. ”

"You're doing a great job, Eric. Hayes looked at the handyman Pol with a look of surprise that was not blame: "Since you lack the strength, then go to the herb shop to help pick up the herbs." Also, I've made an exception to allow you to wear farmhouse clothes in Eagle Valley, and that's a big tolerance. ”

Pol looked up, his gaze calm, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

Eric looked at Hayes Grey Valley with a look of astonishment, as if everything in front of him was beyond his imagination.

"It's not appropriate, is it? The herb house is an important place related to the health of the old lord's wife, and it really wants to take in such a peasant boy of unknown origin?"

"It was my decision because he gave me a sense of déjà vu. Hayes said, and then turned to leave, when the butler heard the departing lord muttering to himself.

"I didn't expect this man to have a pair of gray-brown eyes, not bad. To be honest, it really looks like the person he used to be... It's just—" his lips twitched, "but the past of it all is long gone... So what am I thinking about now?"

His voice was fleeting and distant, hiding a faint sorrow like snowflakes, and at the same time, the bursts of tenderness and reedness that could be seen but could be felt, but like those bright past events like iris in the wind, were once again reborn and bloomed in everyone's hearts.

"It seems that since that major accident, the originally cheerful and harmonious Gray Valley family has suddenly undergone an obvious transformation. Eric looked at Hayes's generous back, and secretly pondered in his heart, as an elder who had witnessed the ups and downs here for twenty years, his mind seemed to suddenly return to the quiet night ten years ago.

When Hayes's father, Riddle Grey Valley, decided to leave the Valley of the Eagles and go to Pompeii, the imperial capital, even if he was as wise as him, he must not have foreseen how the anxious eyes and figures behind him would follow him to the outside world without hesitation.

It wasn't until the years of impermanence that the pearl-like precious family affection that had been lost for many years was finally completely buried, and then all the members of the Gray Valley family finally reluctantly accepted the doomed end that Ruoya was no longer alive.

On that night ten years ago, Hayes's youngest sister, and at the same time the most beautiful and favored lord of the Ashengu family, suddenly drove her secretly made canoe and sailed down the 'Quiet Stream' in the castle alone, trying to catch up with her father until she reached Pompeii, the imperial capital, thousands of miles away.

It is worth mentioning that the name "Quiet Stream" is due to the fact that the water flows very slowly almost all year round, with a few exceptions.

In the first month of early spring, the melting of the winter snow at the source causes the water level to rise sharply, causing the water to surge unusually fast, and often to set off shocking waves.

It is only at that time that the source of life will briefly transform into a paradise for murderous demons.

Unfortunately, however, Ruoya and her canoe unbiased became the first sacrifice of early spring.

After discovering Ruoya's departure, Hayes and the others rushed to the turbulent Xixi River in a panic, but only saw the overturned canoe, and the pure gray-brown eyes of her sister Ruoya, and the last deep gaze on her family.

Her cries even drowned out the sound of the crashing rocks, but the helpless members of the family could only watch her figure fade away: for the waves of the stream were too fierce, and the young were so weak that everything was frightening and terrifying.

"Farewell..."Ruoya's lips moved vaguely, as if an angel said goodbye to the world, and in an instant, the waves flooded her whole body, and everyone's stunned eyes were frozen in an instant at the moment when everything passed...

A bright smile is like a beautiful flower in the world, but it is susceptible to inducements, and there will be a moment when it will wither and close. Hayes' tears, helpless and sad, fell like a raindrop of sadness on the soil of his former homeland, which was full of joy for the first time in his life.

For ten years, he questioned his own abilities and at the same time turned his grief into strength, he was hungry for learning, he just didn't want this to happen again, he wanted to protect everything, so his swordsmanship and bowery skills improved by leaps and bounds, and he believed that one day, he would be able to reveal the answer to it all.

"But do you regret it? For a long time, he often whispered to himself: "You may wonder why we have been unable to let go of all this, in fact, it is because we already know and understand your unwillingness and despair when you are leaving, and also understand your unchanging wish that we can continue to walk..."

"Unless you say no, we will always be proud of you. ”

"But why? Countless nights in the past ten years, no matter how hard I try in my dreams, I still haven't seen you once? am I impetuous, or are you in a hurry in another world?"

"I believe that never giving up is the belief of the Gray Valley family, and this must be the warmth that you can easily know in heaven. ”

"But my dreams are still insulated from you. ”

"It's like... You're still living in this world..."

The words of mourning interpret the unchanging thoughts.