Chapter 3: CH 3

A handsome young man blocked the way. He looked very young. Based on appearance alone, it was hard to tell if he was twenty years old or not. But he gave people a sense of oppression that didn’t match his age; not sure if it was caused by that pair of exceptionally sharp looks or his tall figure.

Kevin was glad that he had halted quickly. At this distance, he still needed to adjust his line of sight a little higher. If he moved forward two more steps, he would need to tilt his head to look at the man directly.

He glanced up and down at the man. In a short moment, he had sized up this youngster – From the neat brownish-black short hair, the arm and chest full of muscles to the long legs tucked in riding boots…He clicked his tongue twice in his heart. He was overflowed with a sorrowful feeling:

Who were you?

It wasn’t that he couldn’t guess who this person was. He really couldn’t connect anything between this man and the brat from that year.

Time flew freaking quickly. This kid must have eaten a feeder to have grown up this tall!

He was stunned for a somewhat long time that Oswald’s fake smiling face had changed into an expressionless face. He squinted his eyes and said, “Nobles tend to forget things easily. It seems that Your Excellency Fassbinder had already forgotten about me.”

“I remember that we spent the whole holiday together; I haven’t forgotten. I was just pondering whether I’ve been unconscious for a few years or centuries. How did you grow up to this big in the blink of an eye….” Kevin casually measured his hand at his waist position. “Previously, you had only reached here. You weren’t even as tall as a walking stick, and two ribbonfishes could make up for your height.”

Oswald, “…”

His shameless skill was still as good as ever. A proper word spoken from his mouth would sound especially no-good. No matter how long or short the sentences were, he would be able to make the listener stomp in anger.

After finishing his speech, Kevin realized that the brat had become the top boss. He immediately coughed, turned his face, and silently shut his mouth.

Oswald suddenly laughed and calmly said. “The holiday spent with Your Excellency was so pleasant that it became unforgettable. I would still occasionally dream about it till now. To meet His Excellency once again was such an extreme joy…Regardless, welcome back.”

Kevin listened until he finished speaking. He has simultaneously translated this paragraph in his heart: Lao-Zi1 remembered those days when you had easily beaten him. After being separated for so many years, you have ultimately fallen into my grasp. God really had eyes.

Oswald gazed at the subtle expression on his face and unhurriedly said, “What happened to Your Excellency’s face?”

Kevin forced out a laugh. “No problem, just a toothache. Last night’s roasted meat was too hard.”

Oswald let out an ‘oh,’ raised his head, and looked at the surroundings once over. He rushed toward the distant Mio, who was listening to gossip and said, “We have been delayed for quite a while. Let’s get on the mount. If Your Excellency doesn’t mind, you can follow me to my chariot. I’m impatient to reminisce with Your Excellency.”

Kevin didn’t even think before refusing, “No need. It won’t be proper. I’m fine with riding the hippogriff.”

Mio awkwardly shouted to him. “There isn’t any additional hippogriff.”

Kevin turned his head and squinted at him. “Then I had to wrong you. Share with me half of your seat.”

Mio patted the strong muscle on the hippogriff’s neck. “No problem. Get on then. When we pass by the Scattered Land on the way back, we can buy a new one for you. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

Kevin raised his feet and prepared to walk over there.

Hearing that, Oswald turned his head and looked at Mio. He stressed out each letter, “Fine.”

Mio innocently looked at him for a long time and suddenly understood his hidden intention. He slapped his thigh while shouting, “Ouch! It’s terrible. My leg was cramped. I can’t move. Ouch – hiss, you better get on the chariot, Kevin. I’m unable to shift and give you a seat – “

He spoke while acting. His calves were shaking, and his whole person lay on the hippogriff’s back. He occupied all the available seats while shouting in pain.

Kevin, “…”

Mio’s acting skill left him gasping in amazement. He gave out two middle fingers as encouragement, then shook his head and followed behind Oswald. His heart was unwilling, but he still had to maintain a smile.

The chariot was parked outside the forest, and three black hippogriffs pulled it. They were sturdier than the ordinary hippogriff. The manes behind their backs were thick and curly, covering the entire back of the hippogriff’s strong and beautiful wings.

Kevin just realized that not only the elite squad of the Bronze Army came but also fifty more heavily armored soldiers. They were divided at both sides of the chariot, giving off a deep sense of seriousness.

Kevin, “…” Did they come to find a person or rob others?

He bafflingly glimpsed at those soldiers, but Oswald pushed him into the back of the chariot.

“Why did you deploy this kind of troops?” Kevin subconsciously turned around and asked this question.

“A person who had been dead for seven years suddenly sent out a distress signal at a place between the Scattered Land and Giant Beastman Clan area. If this was you, would you believe it?” Oswald slammed the chariot’s door using the back of his hand. “This was the result of my thoughts after I changed the plan.”

Kevin let out an ‘oh’ and asked, “What was the original plan before it was changed?”

Oswald supported himself by the chariot’s roof and glanced up and down at him. “Let the Wujin Iron Army sweep this place. No matter who played the trick, they would catch that person first and later question them about the mastermind. If they didn’t want to cooperate, then immediately kill them on the spot.”

“…”

“Wasn’t there the Priest Monastery? At least they could make a rough guess first.”

“The Priest Monastery?” Oswald let out a bitter laugh. “Half a month ago, Carpente spent a whole night at the observation platform; yet, who knew what kind of terrible things he saw to become crazy suddenly. He went on a rampage with messy hair. Fortunately, he didn’t tumble down the ropeway and fell to death. Nowadays, he only stays the whole day inside the Wan Temple. He will bite whoever he sees and won’t say anything. The entire good-for-nothing crowd left in Priest Monastery couldn’t even predict anything without him. The matter of the sand messenger yesterday had scared one into fainting. If I expect them to calculate a specific situation, it might as well be faster to have a dream.”

Kevin clicked his tongue. He wasn’t sure if he should feel pity or anything else.

A moment later, he responded in suspicion. “If you didn’t even know the situation, why would you change the plan?”

Oswald paused upon hearing this. He stared at the small table inside the chariot without saying a word, as if he had a great interest in the silver cup on top of the table.

Kevin squinted his eyes.

This picture was exactly the same as when he was a child. Every time Oswald showed this kind of expression, it would indicate that he had a little guilty conscience.…

As Kevin recalled how fierce he was when he was a child, he impolitely poked him using the handle of his short knife. He urged him with a blank face, “I’m asking you.”

“…”

Oswald didn’t respond for a while. He unconsciously opened his mouth when he was poked. “I led some people to trample your grave after receiving the information from the Priest Monastery.

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Kevin, “…”

Oswald, “…”

Both of them were silent for a few seconds. Kevin sneered with a dark face, “You actually became so capable after ten years of not meeting! You had even learned to dig graves and lift coffins, didn’t you?!”

Oswald answered back without hesitation, “Otherwise? Should I boldly rush out without confirming anything? Why are you so amusing?”

“I’ve always been so amusing-” Kevin raised a leg to kick him.

Most of the people in the troops knew that hoping for him to be gentler would be the same as dreaming. Except for Kevin’s soft face that could deceive people, there wouldn’t be a second place on his body that could be related to ‘gentle.’

Kevin had just raised his foot when he suddenly turned his body back from the habitual movement. “…” I was done for. With my sole pointing at the emperor, how could I place it down as if nothing happened….

“…”

Oswald also finally remembered his current identity. He gazed at the sole facing him for a while and mocked, “After losing consciousness for so many years, Your Excellency Fassbinder’s leg could still kick so high. It must’ve been difficult for you. ”

As Kevin and Oswald looked at each other with dismay, somebody knocked thrice at the chariot’s door. Kevin wordlessly put down his leg, turned, and opened the door. “Who- “

Before he finished asking, he saw the little lion from before climbing up the chariot while whimpering. “That curly hair won’t let me go and let me climb up on the hippogriff, but he didn’t chase me away when I climbed in here.”

“Curly hair? Which curly hair?” Kevin stretched his head outside and looked. He only saw that Mio, at the front, turned around and waved at him.

Not bad; at least you still had a conscience.

Kevin muttered in his heart and wordlessly dragged the boy into the chariot.

Oswald clicked his tongue and wrinkled his brow with disagreement. “What happened that you wouldn’t be bothered by a little cub anymore? You were leaving but still needed to take along one, weren’t you?”

The boy blinked and didn’t seek a seat. He directly leaned against the corner and sat down cross-legged. “No, I had even been beaten by him a few times yesterday.”

Kevin, “…” Why would you act up in front of a stranger?

The boy turned around and sneezed toward the door. He rubbed his somewhat itchy nose and spoke with a muffled voice. “Yesterday, he even boasted that I wasn’t the most miserable one. He used to look after a little child as old as me, and he was more miserable than me. Who knows which unlucky man it was?”

The unlucky Oswald, “….”

Kevin casually grabbed a sour berry from the fruit tray and impolitely stuffed it inside the boy’s mouth to seal his mouth tightly.

The boy was soured until his cheeks streamed with tears. As expected, he wouldn’t be able to stir up trouble.

Oswald slowly said, “Boasted….”

Kevin, with a solemn face, “Not at all.”

Oswald snorted briefly, brushed by his shoulder to bypass him, and settled himself firmly on the seat. One of his hands was placed on his knee, and the other picked up the map spread on the table. He continued studying the map and didn’t bother with Kevin anymore. This person sat in a firm position, his knees spread out overbearingly as if he would wrong his legs by closing them a little.

To put it briefly, he occupied the entire horizontal seat alone, which was the only place inside the chariot that could be seated.

Kevin swept back and forth over his posture and directly leaned on the chariot’s door, saying, “May I ask the Revered Majesty, you insisted on squeezing me inside the chariot, but where did you plan to arrange for me to sit?”

Oswald lifted his eyelids, raised a cup of half-filled fruit wine on the desk, and drank it. As he opened his mouth to speak, the chariot’s wheel made a sealed sound twice, and the chariot’s body suddenly jerked.

Because the hippogriffs pulling the chariot were too robust, they couldn’t fly. Instead, that pair of giant wings was actually the best assistance in moving forward. When the pair of wings were lifted, strong winds were created, and the chariot would be able to speed along.

Kevin, who was leaning on the chariot’s door, was caught unprepared. He was thrown by the inertia and knocked on the table. He directly fell onto Oswald’s body and unfortunately bumped the silver cup in his hand.

Kevin quickly supported his body and stood up. He tried adjusting his balance as quick as lightning.

He had stood firmly with difficulty, only to find out that the fruit wine was knocked with not even a single drop left. All of it was poured on Oswald’s crotch area, probably in retribution for spreading his legs and occupying two person’s seats.

Oswald’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. “…..”

He looked down and glanced, then expressionlessly said to Kevin, “Did you leave your cerebellum somewhere else? Why don’t you aim a little further and directly fall out of the chariot?”

Kevin subconsciously wanted to say, “Did your skin itch again2?” But fortunately, he was dragged back by his rationality.

He hardly got back his face and didn’t hope for Oswald to give him any part of the seat anymore. He might as well copy that boy, lean against the chariot’s wall, and sit on the floor. He closed his eyes and pretended to be dead while anxiously thinking: I couldn’t always want to hit the emperor. This wouldn’t be good.

The wheels spun at lightning speed. Kevin jolted for a while, and unexpectedly he really fell asleep.

By the time he woke up again, the outside sky had already turned dark. A blanket covered his body at some point, and it was even the kind of thick fur blanket used in winter. He was covered so tightly from neck to feet that he let out a layer of sweat. He was almost insane from the heat.

Kevin, “…..”

This kind of wicked thing, apart from Oswald, there wouldn’t be anyone else capable of doing it!

Kevin rolled his eyes and lifted the blanket, wanting to smother him with it. However, he saw that the young emperor, originally seated inside the chariot, had gone without a trace. Not only that, but the boy sitting in the corner had also gone missing.

He frowned, braced his nerves, and listened while holding his breath for a while. He just realized that it was too calm outside the chariot.

This wasn’t right. To be precise…it was too quiet – where the sounds of wind had also disappeared without a trace; the kind of quietness that made people couldn’t help having goosebumps.

I (used arrogantly)

Asking for a beating

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