The flame of the oil lamp in the room flickered, causing the light and shadow on Crete's face to move slightly. His handsome face gave people a vivid feeling. Combined with his simple yet detailed description, it was easy for the audience to enter the world of the story.
Even when Luo Ling was sitting in front of him and listening to him narrate his experiences, she felt that she had experienced the same thing.
"Hawke took me to their secret base, and then introduced me to Lorenzo, the 'teacher'. I understood that this was all prepared by them, and if I wanted to know more, I had to do as they said. So, I followed Lorenzo to learn that 'magic', and then I had this in my hand." Crete stretched out his hand in front of Luo Ling.
Luo Ling looked at the tattoo but couldn't tell what it was. She asked, "You were walking alone with them at the time. Weren't you scared?"
"Scared!" Crete smiled a little embarrassedly, "But being afraid doesn't mean you have to run away, right? My father always told me that our ancestors were knights. Knights will be afraid, but they won't run away." Crete paused, as if recalling something, "I'm not a good kid. I have run away many times before, but after my father passed away, I don't want to disappoint him again."
Luo Ling didn't expect this half-grown child to give such an answer. She read the details on his face, and these words seemed to be sincere.
She then asked, "Why didn't you want to tell Catalina the truth?"
Crete was stunned and replied, "I know that sister Catalina cares about me, but I don't know her. We just met on the day my father died. A person looks like a good person, but it doesn't mean he is really one. We have seen too many pretending to be good people among slave traders and slaves. And the man named Ji Yijun beside her, I don't know him either, so I didn't say much to them. 'The loudest bird dies first.' My father always told me that if you are not sure about something, then don't say anything and wait and see. I think those people are everywhere, and any stranger could be one of them. I can't tell them apart, so I can only trust the teacher's advice and trust you alone."
"Then why did you wait two days to come to see me?"
"Because Lorenzo told me that he can not only talk to me through this magic mark, but also see what's going on around me. You know, this is a very scary thing. Is he watching everything I do? Does everything I say to others escape his ears? Although he said he was protecting me, I know that I'm already under his nose. How can I dare to come to you before I figure out how he's monitoring me? In the past two days, I've pretended to be a little boy who knows nothing and can only complain. I've done some stupid things and said things I shouldn't have said, secretly observing whether he can find out."
"You are so thoughtful." Luo Ling sighed. She felt at this moment that she could not treat this boy as an ordinary child. She didn't know how much he had experienced in the past to become so mature at this age.
Moreover, he is a natural actor, whether singing, acting or telling stories, it is an innate instinct for him. No wonder those guys who are ready to make a move will easily believe his complaints.
He was only fourteen years old. Perhaps, Xiao Chen had gained more than just a magic apprentice...
"First, when I was alone, I said to the air: 'Teacher Lorenzo, the guards seem to be targeting me.' Then I said: 'I found the camp guards talking about your party.' But they didn't move. Then, when I was talking to the light ball Lorenzo, I complained to him that there was no response when I called for help.
They were not too wary of a kid like me, so I finally figured out the function of this tattoo. I found that Lorenzo could only know what was happening around me when he conjured a ball of light. Like now, he didn't know what was happening around me. And he usually contacts me twice a day. He just contacted me before I came out, and I guess he won't contact me again today. "
"Then why do you want to dress up as a woman?"
Crete said, "Because I found that someone has been following me secretly these days, I didn't dare to go to your office. In order not to attract other people's attention at night, I had to dress up as a woman and come to your dormitory."
"Well, the people following you include Catalina's mercenary companions and my people. But we cannot rule out the possibility that Lorenzo has also sent people to keep an eye on you." Luo Ling said, "However, Catalina and Ji Yijun are trustworthy, and they really care about you."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I know their background. There's no need for them to do anything sneaky."
"That would be great." Krete looked happy. He didn't want Catalina to have any problems. He looked at Luo Ling anxiously and asked, "What should I do next?"
“You don’t have to do anything.”
"What?" Crete's face was full of confusion.
"Krete, you are a very smart and brave child. I doubt how many adults in this school can do what you do. But you have done enough. If a child like you is required to be a lone hero, then we adults are too incompetent." Luo Ling stood up, walked in front of Krete, put her hands on his shoulders, and said seriously, "You are very good at hiding your emotions, but I can feel how scared and lonely you were at that time. I believe you regretted it more than once and felt that you had gone too far, right?"
Crete stared at Luo Ling in a daze. He opened his mouth, but it took a while before he uttered, "I... There were times when I felt I was too reckless."
"So, I don't want you to take any more risks, and I don't think Xiao Chen will agree to let you take risks either. I'd like to ask Morey to take a look at the magic circle in your hand. If there's nothing serious, we can go and capture the group led by Hawke and Lorenzo."
"But there are people behind them. I even heard that there are people among the guards and mercenaries who are very close to them."
"We can slowly interrogate the people behind us, but you have already done enough. I don't believe that these rabble can escape our sudden attack. We have a saying called 'cut the Gordian knot', which is sometimes more effective than following the clues. As long as we cut off all their outstretched claws, even if there are some that slip through the net, they should be gone." Luo Ling seemed very confident when she said these words.
Crete thought silently for a while, and finally said firmly: "But, but I still want to continue dealing with them."
"Why?"
“I don’t want to do things halfway.”
"This is not a good reason." Luo Ling said decisively.
Crete thought for a moment and said, "You also know that the safest way is to deal with them. This is the only way to pull out those bad guys who hide the deepest. I hate all the bad guys hiding in the dark. If it weren't for these people, my father wouldn't have died. You are afraid that it will be dangerous for me to deal with them, but if I don't catch these people, when they retaliate, won't I be in greater danger?"
"Although there is some truth to it, it is not enough. It is not enough for a person to risk his life. Moreover, these situations are just hypotheses. I can also say that the earlier the strike, the less harm there will be." Luo Ling and Crete looked at each other. After all, Crete was just a half-grown boy. He felt a lot of pressure under Luo Ling's scorching gaze.
Is this the spiritual power of a magician? Crete had a feeling that he was about to be seen through. He really didn't like this exposed state. He gritted his teeth and said slowly, "I want to prove myself. I want to stand out. I want others to know that as a magic apprentice, I am qualified. This opportunity should belong to me, not be a charity in exchange for my father's life."
"Does it make any difference to you? As long as you have enough spiritual talent, you will eventually become a mage. Why take the risk?"
"Lord Luo Ling, there are many kinds of slaves in the slave camp. Some slaves don't even have enough food every day and have to work in the mines. If they are disabled or crippled by accident, they will be fed to dogs by slave traders. Some slaves have some skills and can help slave traders do some crafts. As long as they are not too lazy, they may not live worse than the farmers outside. Some slaves have special features on their bodies. They are either superb martial arts like Knight Roger; or beautiful, good at singing and dancing; or like me, they have a particularly good voice. In order to sell us at a good price, the slave traders provide us with food and drink that is even better than ordinary people in the town. In order to protect my voice, they will prepare special herbs for me to eat. In fact, in order to let my father take care of me, they exempted him from mining.
However, it was not like this at the beginning. I was just a little slave who could die at any time. You know, little slaves are worthless and they die the fastest in the camp. In order to keep me alive, my father tried every means to find different places in me. I still remember that night when he found out that I could sing well, he cried with excitement. He shared his food with a bard slave and asked him to teach me to sing, but he himself was half thin due to starvation. He kowtowed to an old dancer with a weird temper just to let her teach me a few performance moves. Every day he recalled the interesting tunes in the places where the merchants had passed by before, and then he used the symbols he invented to record the tunes and lyrics and carved them on the wall with stones. Then he let me learn whenever he had time.
It took me a year to attract the slave traders who passed by our cell with my singing. It took me another year to make me valuable enough for them to pull my father out of the mine. When I saw him, he looked ten years older than he had a year ago!
From that time on, I understood that slaves are different from slaves. And now, I believe that mages are also different from mages. I will not miss any opportunity to fight and prove myself. "
To prove his ability? To prove his worth? To prove that he was worthy of investment? Luo Ling could read his intention from his face. In the final analysis, he was a man who was unwilling to be mediocre. So she asked, "Don't you regret putting yourself in this?"
"No regrets." Crete did not hesitate, his face full of stubbornness from the inside out.
"Oh, you are still a child." Luo Ling walked over, hugged him gently and touched his head.