Above the Seven Towers

Chapter 18: The road back to school

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The sunset in this world seems to be no different from that on Earth, lazily hanging in the dim sky, dyeing the whole world dark red. But the people watching the sunset have completely different emotions.

The team returning to school was much larger than before. Not only did Xiao Chen, Luo Ling and Liu Yisheng join in, but there were also two more ox carts. An ox was also harnessed to the original flatbed cart, and it was driven by three hired drivers, loaded with food, and headed to school.

Luo Ling sat on the back of an ox cart, her back leaning against a pile of grain, her arms resting on her head, her feet dangling with the shaking of the cart. This posture was not really ladylike, but it had been such a fucked-up day, so who the hell was it

Dusk always reminds people of home. Seeing those clouds that look like fire, she feels uneasy. Luo Ling wants to curse, but there seems to be no one to blame. Luo Ling wants to cry, but there is no shoulder to cry. Some results cannot be changed or escaped. A feeling of despair surrounds her heart. She told herself that she couldn't sink so low. It was not the first time she was trapped in the darkness. She had gritted her teeth and got through it before. This time, she hoped to smile more. Luo Ling raised her tired body. She wanted to find someone who was reliable to talk to. But she saw Li Jia who was following the car.

The latter was secretly looking at her, and was caught by Luo Ling's gaze, and avoided her gaze in a panic. Luo Ling thought it was quite interesting, many boys of this age were old and experienced, so where did this innocent boy come from

Luo Ling watched him for a while and found that Li Jia was worried. He kept staring at the ground in front of him while walking, and his mind would wander while walking. It was unknown what he was thinking about. During the time Luo Ling was watching him, he tripped twice.

"Li Jia, Li Jia?"

"Ah, ah? Mr. Luo, you called me."

"Don't call me teacher. Today is different from yesterday. Everything has changed. Just call me Luo Ling."

Li Jia smiled shyly, as if she didn't know what to answer.

"You and Xiao Chen look very different. You don't look like you are the same age." Luo Ling stared at his face. Li Jia's eyes met hers and then he looked at the ground. As if Luo Ling's eyes were burning him, he scratched his head and replied, "Xiao Chen is older than me. After graduating from college, he worked as a reporter for a few years and then came back to study for a master's degree."

"Ah?" Luo Ling covered her mouth with her hand, looking very surprised. "I thought you were older than him. You look very serious and formal. You can be a director just by carrying a briefcase. Unlike that guy, he is always smiling and playing like a little kid."

"Cough, cough," Li Jia coughed a few times, "Maybe I look a little old."

"However, he is quite accurate in his words and deeds. It's not an exaggeration to say that he looks like a man in his thirties. You can't judge a person by his appearance. Could it be that he is actually an uncle who can even help a child?"

"No, no, he's only 28 and he doesn't even have a girlfriend."

"Oh. I see. What about you?"

"Me? Of course not." Li Jia answered somewhat dejectedly.

“It’s a blessing not to have one.”

"Huh?" Li Jia looked at Luo Ling in confusion.

"You don't have to experience the sudden separation of life and death. You don't know how lucky it is." When Luo Ling said this, her eyes were looking up at the sky, as if she wanted to see beyond the sky. However, there was no point in talking about this topic, so she patted the empty seat on the car and said, "Come up and sit for a while."

"No, no, I am walking just fine. This much food is heavy enough, I won't add to the burden of the old ox."

"In fact, we have to thank the Earl for having so much food." Luo Ling picked up a handful of wheat from a bag and said, "Although the farmers here are resisting taxes, they are not actually short of food. They were prepared to pay the grain before that scarred man started trouble, so they have so much stock. However, the temptation to destroy the Earl's attempt to increase taxes is too great."

"Well, today is just the first deal. Now that we have reached an agreement, we will buy all their surplus grain. Not only the grain here, I heard Zhang Hong ask that there are other villages and towns around, and they should all be included in our food supply plan." Luo Ling found that Li Jia seemed to have become a different person when talking about these plans. He completely threw away his previous shyness and replaced it with excitement.

However, the key to whether such a plan can be implemented lies in what role we will play. Thinking of this, Luo Ling turned around and looked at Xiao Chen, who was walking side by side with Xi Luo, with some concern.

"You want me to provide protection for your town?" Xiao Chen's fingers tapped lightly on the sword hanging at his waist. He was in much better spirits than before. Except for being a little tired, there was nothing serious. However, Xiluo's request made him feel a headache again.

"Yes, sir. Under the instigation of that fool Scarpas, everyone really drove the count away. But I know the count will be back soon, and I don't know whether these ignorant villagers can save their lives. Rather than letting the count go on a killing spree, it is better to seek your protection."

"I told you, something went wrong in our experiment, so we ended up here. Do you think a magician who suddenly came here can compete with the Earl's family that has ruled here for nearly a hundred years?" Xiao Chen understood their idea of clinging to someone powerful, but they could not protect themselves.

"How could you have such a strange idea? You are a magician. Under the sky, except for kings and emperors, who dares to claim that he is nobler than a magician? Although I don't know what it is like in other parts of the world, and I don't know how people in your hometown treat magicians. But here, in the Kingdom of Iberia, all real magicians will receive royal courtesy. As long as you are willing to serve the kingdom, you will become a noble and have your own fiefdom. What's so scary about being a count then?" Xiro said eagerly, as if he himself would be the noble.

"But will the king accept a magician of unknown origin, as well as so many others?"

"Which magician is not mysterious? My lord, although I am just a small merchant in the countryside, I have seen some of the market with my father. When I was in my teens, I went to the capital several times with my father. At that time, His Majesty the King was still a prince, and I saw the magician's awarding ceremony with my own eyes. The magician drifted here from the territory of the sea tribe and was hunted by his enemies. The old king not only decided to protect him, but also made him a third-class magic knight and gave him a place called Bird Valley as his fief. You underestimate your own value. As for others, magicians always have many apprentices and servants."

Xiao Chen smiled bitterly in his heart. He knew whether they were magicians or not. "No, no, they are not my apprentices and servants. Many of them are my classmates and teachers."

"Your teacher?! And classmates!" Xi Luo was even more respectful. "No wonder the castle you live in is so huge and magnificent, even more majestic and magnificent than the palace in the royal capital. It turns out that there are so many magicians living in it. There is no need to worry about the earl or anything like that."

Xiao Chen: “…”

When they were still about one kilometer away from the school, Wang Jiyuan asked Xiao Chen to invite Xi Luo and the coachmen back, and asked Xiao Chen and others to put away their wizard robes. After all, they each had some things that could not be exposed too early.

When they were a few hundred meters away from the school, he saw a large group of people looking at them from the high slope at the school gate. When they got closer, they saw three carts full of food, and the crowd cheered! They shouted non-stop on the high slope, and then many people who couldn't wait climbed down from the steep cliff and ran to greet them.

The one rushing in the front was Ye Zi. She stretched out her hands nimbly, faster than several PLA soldiers, and was the first to climb down. She shouted as she ran: "They are back, no limbs are missing, they are all back!"

Soon, Wang Jiyuan and his group were surrounded by people rushing down from above, and everyone asked them about their trip.

"Okay, everyone, stop arguing, and work together to transport the food on the truck before dark. As for the transaction, I will report to Principal Guo first, and then ask him to convey it to everyone." Wang Jiyuan asked everyone to be quiet, and then said to the soldiers who ran down from above: "You guys, together with Li Zi and the others, do a good job of defense and protect the food transportation process."

"Senior, did you fight with the natives this time?" Ye Zi quickly found Li Jia, pulled him aside and asked.

Li Jia looked at the girl's excitement and felt she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Do you really want to fight?"

"Don't beat around the bush. Did they fight or not?"

"The gun was fired, but it was mainly to warn people. No one was hit." Li Jia recalled the critical moment and still felt a little weak. He didn't want to dwell on this issue. "Aren't you helping them with rescue? Why did you come to pick us up?"

"Hey, they are organizing people to serve as patrol teams to guard the perimeter of the school. I signed up. Our team is assigned to assist the instructor in guarding the main gate."

"It seems like everyone except you is a boy?"

"Originally, we didn't accept girls, but I proved to the instructor that three or five boys are no match for me. So I came."

"prove?"

"Well, Instructor Li said he could handle three or five boys, and then I handled him, didn't that prove it?"

Li Jia took a look at the instructor with a pair of panda eyes who was accepting the task next to Wang Jiyuan, and suddenly realized.

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Xiao Chen and Luo Ling were looking at the campus at this time. Although more than half of the campus was missing and some houses were damaged, the first time they saw it, they still felt a warm current echoing in their hearts.

Luo Ling said with some emotion, "Anyway, with these people, the situation is much better than we originally imagined."

"Well, we're finally home."

"No, it's not home yet. Home is where feelings stay. Now for me, this is just a place to stay..." Having said this, Luo Ling suddenly supported her head and fell down staggeringly.

Xiao Chen quickly supported her and helped her sit on the ground. He nervously felt her pulse and breath. She seemed a little weak, her face was pale, and her lips were purple.

"It's okay... It's just that I'm too tired today." She opened her eyes slightly, but couldn't resist the exhaustion that surged over her. Suddenly, she felt like she was sinking into a dark abyss. Her head fell heavily on Xiao Chen's shoulder, and she fainted.