There was the sound of crackling rain outside the house.
Vivienne carefully placed the low stool in front of the stove, then bent down and grabbed two handfuls of brown rice from the rice bag next to it. There is not much food in the bag, and my brother just stole a piece of silver jewelry from the pier last month in exchange for this bag of brown rice. Even though she had calculated carefully many times in the past two weeks, the dwindling amount of food still made her feel a little panicked.
There is no food left.
They will be hungry in a few days at most!
Vivienne glanced at the small bed in the dilapidated house with red eyes, and a comatose young man could be seen on the musty quilt. My brother still hasn't woken up to this day, and the pastor sister who was willing to help them seems to have given up hope. After all, Bishop Fair is not willing to go out of his way to save a thief.
Vivian wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes firmly, and climbed down from the low stool carefully.
She's only eight years old, and she looks petite because of some malnutrition, and things like lighting a fire and cooking are still difficult for her. Holding a few pieces of chopped firewood in both hands, she broke off some branches picked up during the day and threw them into the stove. Because of the continuous heavy rain outside for half a day, the firewood was covered with a trace of moisture, and it ignited very slowly, accompanied by A thick, choking smoke. Vivienne didn't care about the sore eyes, and blew desperately with her small mouth. She waited until the firewood inside was lit, and then gently rubbed her eyes.
"elder brother!… "
"You must wake up!... Vivian misses you so much!..."
"do not leave Me!… "
A drop of crystal teardrops fell, and Vivienne sat by the stove and wept softly. After a while, she wiped her cheeks with her small hands, and two white marks appeared on her blackened face. There was still some salt in the house, but it was eaten up last week. She wanted to steal some like her brother, but was almost caught by the fat shop owner. The proprietress picked up a broom and whipped her on the back, Even now, the back is still blue and purple, and it will feel hot and painful when it is slightly touched.
"Wow!"
An old black and yellow dog walked over. Even though he was a little old, it could be vaguely seen that it was originally an excellent hunting dog. Vivienne stretched out her small palm, and the old dog walked to her side silently, looked up at the position of the stove, and whimpered softly.
"Heath."
Vivian hugged the old dog in her arms, as if discovering the longing in its eyes, sobbed softly, reached out and stroked its back gently, and murmured: "There is not much food left."
"It must be left for my brother to eat. Vivienne is also very hungry. You can go outside to find something to eat after the rain stops."
"sorry!"
"Is Vivian very useless?"
"There is no way to steal anything, and there is no way to save my brother, and I always like to cry..."
The old dog with cloudy eyes seemed to understand her words, silently looked away, stuck out his tongue and licked her palm, then lay down at her feet, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
There was a sound of footsteps outside the house, and it seemed that they stopped at the door for a while, and there was a faint voice.
The black and yellow old dog, who was originally a senile man, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked fierce like a hungry wolf for a moment, whined fiercely, and barked loudly towards the outside.
"Damn it!"
"Sooner or later, I will kill you, this old dog!"
A man's angry voice came from outside, and then the footsteps gradually faded away.
Vivienne's frightened face calmed down a little, she stretched out her small palm to touch the old dog's head, and said in a low voice, "Heath."
"If he dares to come in, you will bite him!"
"My brother is unconscious now, only you can protect me."
The old dog arched gently in her arms. Although he looked old, he still carried a hint of fierceness.
It's a Corashound!
In the prime of life, it can even fight leopards. According to folklore along the Manau River, it is the offspring of the crossbreeding of the three hell dogs.
Too bad it's very old.
The smell of rice porridge wafted from the stove, and the old dog sniffed his nose, then lay back on his stomach.
Vivienne's stomach gurgled, but she still climbed up the low stool carefully, filled the rice porridge in an old pottery bowl with a corner missing, blew it lightly, and then used a wooden spoon to eat rice porridge little by little. It was fed to the young man on the bed. She was really too small, and she didn't have much strength, so she couldn't help her brother up, so she could only feed him so slowly.
"elder brother!"
"Hurry up! You'll be fine after you eat! … "
"everything will get better."
As the little girl talked, tears fell again. She reached out to wipe away the tears, put down the bowl and climbed out of bed to close the door.
This is the slums of Amber City.
A place full of thieves, robbers, and human smugglers. It is difficult for her to survive as a helpless little girl here. If she is not careful enough and Heath is around her, she may be kidnapped by bad guys in broad daylight. , just cover her mouth and nose with a wet towel soaked in drugs, and soon she will lose consciousness, and then be put into sacks and sold to those traffickers. Many little girls in the slums disappeared in this way, and sometimes even pretty women were kidnapped.
"Heath!"
Vivian fed it little by little, and waited until the man on the bed had swallowed most of the bowl, then took a few sips in a hurry, washed his little hands and cheeks with clean water, and shrunk his petite body into the mouth that smelled of mildew. Smell inside the quilt. Because of the wound on her back, the little girl couldn't help sobbing in pain, then she hugged the young man's arm with both hands, and said to the old dog at the door: "If anyone comes, you can bark!"
"I know what they're thinking."
"They think that my brother is unconscious now, so they want to sell me to that woman of Socia!"
"This can be exchanged for a sum of money."
She grew up in the slums since she was a child, and she knows far more than her peers. Socia is the biggest human trafficker in the slums. She will pick out beautiful little girls, and then train them into prostitutes and send them to the big brothels in Amber City. .
It is impossible for an eight-year-old girl to survive in a slum.
There was a hint of determination in the corner of Vivian's eyes, and she leaned over and gently kissed the forehead of the young man who looked like a vegetable on the bed, and said in a low voice, "Even if I want to sell it, I will sell it myself!"
"Then take that money and hire a real priest, maybe he can save my brother."
She knew what kind of fate she would face!
The woman in Socia will raise her for a few years first, and then teach her how to serve men. If she is beautiful enough, she will be given to some nobles in the city, otherwise she will have to be sent to those dirty brothels.
But for my brother.
She is willing to do anything because she has only one relative.
There was a sound of killing outside the house.
Vivienne couldn't help shrinking into the bed, and the old dog at the door had a fierce look in his eyes.
It was Kelun and Savi in the slums who were fighting for territory. Since his brother was seriously injured by a terrible wizard, many thieves in the slums had died. The original bosses all died on the street, and the remaining people have fought many times to fight for the territory. There are no guards here at all, because this is the forgotten corner of Amber City.
They are competing for the neighborhood of activity, and they are also fighting for the children in the slums.
Because no matter which gang it is in, it is necessary to train children to steal things. At the beginning, my brother became a thief in this way in order to support her.
Vivian's memory of her parents is very vague!
All I know is that my mother once had a husband who was said to be an excellent thief, but unfortunately he accepted a mission and died in a wizard's tower in the end.
Since then.
The wizard became the most terrifying existence in her young mind!
That man was my brother's biological father. Although she hadn't been born at that time, she had heard it mentioned by her brother.
later.
The mother took her young brother through a period of ups and downs. Because of the pressure of life, she even worked as a waitress in a tavern. In fact, she was a part-time prostitute. Vivienne knew this, she knew far more than her peers, and this life continued until her mother met a mysterious adventurer.
Soon, she was pregnant again.
The adventurer didn't marry her, but raised her as a prostitute, and that man was Vivian's biological father.
Also said to be a powerful professional.
Heath was his pet, and then he disappeared strangely.
Only the old dog remained with them.
My mother lost two men in a row, and she became mentally disturbed. She even suffered from a mental disorder for a while, and finally died of illness.
She was only three years old at that time.
My brother is twelve years old.
The two young children lost their parents and soon lived on the streets. At that time, the elder brother often fought with others in order to compete for some meager food.
Later, my brother joined the gang and became a qualified thief.
At that time.
Their lives gradually stabilized, and there was a place for them in the chaotic slums.
There was a shrill scream.
Vivian trembled in fright, and hid in the arms of the young man. The old dog at the door also stood up suddenly, looking fiercely at the alley in the distance.
Someone died there!
It is normal for people to die in the slums, and even the priests of the Temple of Dawn will not care about the life and death in the slums.
People nearby slammed the doors shut.
Someone even picked up the door bolt and locked the door firmly. Vivienne also got up and struggled to set up a door bolt.
According to her common sense of living in the slums for many years, if someone dies, the problem will soon become bigger, and the fight will definitely be more severe in the future, which may affect the people nearby.
fear.
The fear in her heart made the little girl hug the old dog tightly, and brought it to the foot of the bed.
"Heath."
She looked outside in horror, and she could see figures in the rain fighting together with weapons in hand.
Blood flowed all over the alley and was washed away by the rain.
You can vaguely smell a bloody smell!
Vivian leaned over and touched the old dog's head, his young body couldn't help shaking slightly because of fear, and whispered: "You will protect me, right?"
"Aw!"
The old dog barked suddenly.
The little girl was startled, but then she realized that Heath was not barking outside, but at the young man on the bed.
"elder brother!?"
Vivian turned around in surprise, and found that the young man on the bed had opened his eyes, and his lips moved slightly.
All the pressure and fear burst out in an instant!
The small figure threw himself into his arms, and big and big crystal tears rolled down his immature cheeks.
…