When Hawke finished work and returned to the camp, he saw a lot of people gathered under a wooden platform more than one meter high in the small square of the camp.
A simple T-shaped wooden frame was placed on the wooden platform, and a sturdy man was shackled and tied to the frame. He was facing downward, and his gray hair covered his face, but from the bulging tendons on his body, it can be seen that this man should be quite strong and must be no unknown person in the camp. The man was shirtless, revealing his scarred back. Fresh scars were crisscrossed on his back, embedded in the undulating muscles.
Three mercenaries guarding the camp stood around the wooden frame, one mercenary holding a whip, and the other two holding spears on both sides. Standing in the middle of the wooden platform was Ji Yijun, holding a piece of white paper in his hand, announcing the man's crimes to the people around him in a not-so-standard common language.
Hawke sat down on a fence post a little further away, took out a cigarette, lit it, and watched the show while puffing.
“… Rod was making noise and causing trouble in front of the labor camp mine, attempting to meet with prisoner Kara. When he was stopped by the guards, he pushed and beat the guards, causing minor injuries to three people… The camp management office, considering his good behavior and remorse afterwards, sentenced him to seven days of confinement and ten lashes of the cane… Now the confinement has ended, and he is openly accepting the lashing.” Ji Yijun was reading on the stage, and the people below were also talking about it.
"Isn't Kara the woman who was arrested for child abuse?"
"What child abuse... She is a spy from the Temple of Nature. I heard that the magicians in Black Mountain are at odds with the Temple of Nature."
"Then what is the relationship between Rhodes and Kara."
"I heard they were lovers. Don't be fooled by Kara's serious appearance. She's actually very promiscuous. I know several people have slept with her."
"Then Rhode can't go find her, right? Isn't that courting death?"
"Hey, I heard that Rod is a stubborn person. It looks like he is really obsessed with that damn woman."
"I have seen Kara. She is a very ordinary woman. How could he do anything for her? Rhodes is usually quiet, but he is very bold when it comes to finding women."
"You know nothing. The more silent a person is, the more likely he is to do something shocking."
"I can't tell. I can't tell. It turns out he was put in solitary confinement. No wonder I haven't seen him in the past few days. I broke my plow and had to go to the next camp to fix it."
Hawke listened to these people's discussion, with a hint of ridicule on his face. He knew Kara, a foolish woman who could only deceive foolish men and women. If such a person could become a spy of the Temple of Nature, the Temple of Nature would have perished eight hundred years ago. This Rhodes was able to be released after seven days in prison, so he probably had nothing to do with the Temple of Nature, and he might not even be considered a believer. He probably just had a crush on that crazy woman. Hawke recalled Kara's face. Although she was fatter and older, she was generally decent. Although he himself had no interest in her, a middle-aged man like Rhodes might be just what he wanted.
"Do you know what he yelled at the entrance of the labor camp mine?" an audience member asked mysteriously.
"What? What?" The others came closer curiously. Even Hawke stretched his ears to listen.
"He yelled, 'Let that woman out. She can still have babies. It's a waste to leave her in the mines!'"
"What? Did you really yell like that?"
"Of course it is true. A cousin of mine who was working nearby heard it himself."
"Wow, you value women more than your life!" Everyone snickered.
"He doesn't talk much normally, but he's really good at talking to women."
"That's actually the truth! What a waste." A man sighed.
"You want to be whipped, too?"
"I'm not as tough as him. He's just a jerk!"
Hawke smiled slightly after hearing this. It was good to be a fool. He liked dealing with such fools the most.
At this moment, there was a snapping sound from the stage.
"Oh, it's started."
The whip hit Rhodes' back again and again, and each whip left a clear scar. But the gray-haired man took it all without making a sound.
"Anyway, this Rhodes is a tough guy," said a spectator, causing the people around him to nod frequently.
Gradually, the discussions died down, and it was easier for tough guys to gain respect wherever they went.
After ten lashes, Rhodes was taken away by the mercenaries. When he walked down the stairs, Hawke saw his face and caught his resentful look towards Ji Yijun.
Hawke flicked the ash off his cigarette and smiled thoughtfully.
—————————
After nightfall, before curfew.
Hawke was walking on the road in the camp carrying a bundle of green grass leaves. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he turned into a fork and walked towards the blacksmith shop.
Hawke had been to the blacksmith shop to repair a shovel before. In the days since those strange magicians appeared, everything in the area from the foot of the Black Mountain to the town of Frollo was different from the outside. Take this blacksmith shop for example. It was more of a repair workshop than a blacksmith shop.
It was a separate building with two floors. The lower floor was a blacksmith's workshop, and the upper floor was a bedroom. There was a furnace and anvil in the workshop, as well as some basic tools that allowed the blacksmith to repair damaged farm tools and knives, but that was all. The blacksmiths here, including Rhodes, never had to make anything new. Almost all the ironware was made in a factory outside the camp.
Hawke came to the door of the blacksmith shop and saw light coming through the window on the first floor. He calmed himself at the door, pushed it open and walked in.
Rod sat next to the anvil, taking out a lump of black ointment from a pottery jar and applying it to the wound on his back. Perhaps he squeezed the wound when he touched his back with his backhand, and he showed a grinning expression, which was much more vivid than his face when he was whipped.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Rhodes glanced at the door with his peripheral vision and said in a gruff voice, "No work today!"
"I just came to check on you." Hawke walked into the room and placed the grass leaves in his hand on the table next to Rhodes. "This is the herb I got from the logging team. Chop it up and boil it into a paste with water. It's specially used to treat external injuries."
"I don't know you well." Rhodes glanced at the herbs, put on a coat, and looked Hawke up and down. "From your appearance, you look like a manager, right? What do you want to do?"
"As for me, I admire people who are capable and courageous the most. Rod, you are the bravest person in our camp." Hawke gave a thumbs up and said to the blacksmith with a smile.
"Are you making fun of me?!" Rhodes stood up suddenly and clenched his fists.
"No, no." Hawke waved his hands repeatedly, "I wouldn't dare. Go ask who in the camp dares to laugh at you. Most people wouldn't even dare to fart in front of the camp guards, let alone you, who has the guts to ask them for a woman."
Rhode squinted at him, as if trying to discern the meaning of his words. Those eyes reminded Hawke of wild boars in the hunting grounds: fierce, direct, and without hesitation.
"Hmph." Rhode exhaled, picked up a piece of cloth on the table, and wiped his hands covered with black ointment. "You people who used to be managers have too many evil thoughts. You come to me in the middle of the night, and it must be up to no good. Get out now before I find someone to vent my anger on."
"Since you're here anyway, why not chat for a while? I have some good stuff here." Hawke took out two cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth and handed the other to Rhodes, "I rolled them myself. Try them. With this, the pain on your back will be less."
The cigarette was lit, and the room was filled with a mixture of spicy and fragrant smells. As Hawke puffed out smoke, he felt that the other person's eyes were looking at him a little friendlier.
"Why are you picking on the prison guards over that woman?" Hawke asked casually, flicking the ash on the ground.
"Of course I have to protect my woman." Rhodes said with a gloomy face.
"Many of those guards are former mercenaries, and they are very ruthless. If you are not careful, you will get yourself into trouble." Hawke said, "Is it worth it?"
Rhodes took a puff of cigarette, lowered his head and said nothing.
"But there are a lot of women in the camp. Why are you staring at that one?" Hawke said as he exhaled a puff of smoke. "I heard that in a few months, you can apply for marriage. If you like the one, tell her and fill out a form together, you can live together."
Rhode's eyes flashed with a hint of light, but then dimmed again. After a while, he said, "My woman might be pregnant with my child. I want her and nothing else."
"Hey, then you have to think of a solution quickly. The labor camp is not a good place. People are carried out injured or dead every few days. Even if they are not exhausted to death, the tunnel will collapse or the wall will fall down one day, and they will be gone in the blink of an eye. It's a dangerous job for a man, let alone a woman." Hawke said naggingly, while looking at Rhodes' expression. He saw the blue veins on the blacksmith's forehead jumping up and down, and the anger in his eyes was about to burst out, "Even if she survives until she is released, the child will definitely not be saved."
"I don't need you to teach me! I will go there tomorrow!" Rhodes threw the cigarette in his hand to the ground and said viciously.
"Will they catch you and beat you up again?" Hawke sneered. "Ji Yijun said that since it's your first offense, you'll be given a lighter punishment. If you do it again, do you believe you'll be locked up in the mine?"
"What can I do? Tell me, what can I do? I'm just a blacksmith. Besides shaking my fists and yelling a few times, what else can I do..." Rhodes yelled a few times, then suddenly stopped and squinted at Hawke, "You... have a solution?"
"Hehe, they all say you're stupid, but I think you're pretty smart." Hawke laughed, put out his cigarette on the anvil, put his head close to the blacksmith, and said in a low voice, "There are many people in this camp who are dissatisfied with the mercenaries, and someone is planning a big one."
Seeing the blacksmith looking at him in confusion, Hawke said in a lighter voice: "Riot..."
"You mean, like protesting taxes..."
Hawke nodded: "As long as we risk it all and scare those wizards, we can negotiate terms, right? Those who want women can get women, and those who want money can get money."
"But what if they are so cruel?" Rhodes put his hand on the base of his neck.
"Isn't there anything you can do about it? With so many people accompanying you in making trouble, is it going to get worse?"