Perdica's figure had long since disappeared, and Minna still stood there blankly. The more she thought about it, the more she felt aggrieved. She couldn't help but kick up a few small stones, but unexpectedly one of them hit an old lady passing by. The other party started nagging: "Whose child is so naughty? How can he kick stones randomly?"
Ming Na blushed and wanted to apologize, but when she heard the old lady muttering about bad tutoring and lax discipline, she became angry again. The anger just now filled her heart, and she turned around and ran away without saying anything. explain.
After running a long distance, she slowed down, looked down at the purse in her hand, and gritted her teeth: "Even without your help, I can go home by myself!" Thinking of this, she felt that there was no need to be angry just now. She originally planned to use the slave trader's carriage to get to Anchor City, and then find a way back home. Anke is different from Mengli. There is a Xiao family branch here, and the manager is a kind old man. The boatman Uncle Bao Deman also takes good care of her, whether she is returning to China with the caravan or going south by boat. It is very convenient to find Teacher Sauron and Uncle Hanlin in the Magic City. It would be much easier if Sarah's family was willing to take her away, but if she thought about it carefully, she didn't actually know which country Sarah was a princess, right? If they were Nogar, what would she do? Therefore, it is better to rely on yourself.
Thinking of this, Ming Na felt much better. In addition, now that she had money, which was not much different from the original one, she felt much more confident. She looked around and saw no one, then lowered her head and counted the silver and copper coins in her purse. She felt that there were enough to hire a good ship and go south. Holding on to the money, she began to consider whether to go to the Xiao family branch first or hire a boat directly.
Someone seemed to be approaching quickly from behind, and Mingna quickly ducked to the side. Then she saw a thin shadow passing by, and then the money bag in her hand tightened, and with a hiss, the bag broke open on both sides, and large and small coins fell to the ground, scattering everywhere. Minna was stunned. The word "thief" comes to mind.
The thief was a teenage boy. She looked not much older than Ming Na. When she looked back and saw this situation, she felt a little stupid. She seemed to be unable to believe that someone had avoided him, and she couldn't believe that not only did she not steal the money, but she also tore the purse. Stay there for a while.
Ming Na woke up from her shock first, pointed at the boy's nose and shouted: "Thief! You actually stole my money?! Even the children are not spared. How shameless!"
"I, I, I..." the boy stammered, but quickly came to his senses. "Who... who said I was a thief? Huh. The clothes you are wearing don't look like a rich man. With so much money, I don't know if it was stolen. I just... I just want to help the victim get it. It’s just money back! Everyone said, right?”
Seven or eight voices of approval came out from the roadside, and Mingna realized that a group of boys had appeared around her at some point. The youngest was six or seven years old, and the oldest was a whole head taller than her. surrounding her. All of them looked like "you are the thief", and they were obviously on the same side as the boy.
Ming Na was almost furious. She had just managed to suppress her anger, and now someone actually stole her money and called her a thief? How could she bear it? When she was a child, she often fought with boys. During the two years in school, although she became well-behaved under the influence of her grandfather, she was not someone who was willing to tolerate bullying from boys. In a fit of anger, she started talking to those boys. They began to yell at each other, which soon developed into a group fight, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
When children fight, they don't care about any swordsmanship or swordsmanship. They just want to see who can punch fast and strong enough. After a meal, Ming Na has two bruises on her face and a few blood marks on her arms, but But all the boys in the group were beaten with bruises and swollen faces by her, and many of them were in tears. The leader, the tallest boy, said harshly with a black eye socket: "We'll see next time!" and led the others away.
Ming Na snorted: "I'll beat you up next time!" She patted the dust on her clothes and suddenly remembered the money she just dropped. She hurriedly turned back to pick it up, only to find that there was only one silver coin and five or six copper coins left on the ground. , the others are gone.
Those brats!
Ming Na gritted her teeth and cursed the thieves and robbers. She wrapped the remaining money in the rags of the purse and put it back in her arms. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of a boy on the corner of the street peeking at her. When she saw it, she noticed Himself, turn around and run. Ming Na shouted: "Don't run!" and hurriedly chased after him.
She stayed closely behind the boy, no matter how many obstacles he created along the way, she did not lose him. She thought in her mind that as long as she found these thieves, she could get the money back, and she would also need to use the money to hire a boat. .
The boy ran half a circle around Anchor City, but before he could get rid of her, his feet gradually became unable to support him, and his speed became slower and slower, stumbling all the way. Ming Na was so proud when she saw this, she shouted loudly: "You brat, why don't you stop quickly? Tell me where your accomplice is."
The boy ignored her and reluctantly turned the corner. Ming Na snorted and followed, but unexpectedly found that his figure disappeared. Looking around, I found that this road looked familiar. Wasn't it the place where Perdica left her? The road was deserted, with only a few houses on both sides. On the left was the small Temple of Light. The door was closed and no sound could be heard.
Minna looked at the door hesitantly, and when there was no movement, she focused her attention on the alley diagonally opposite. The place was narrow and dimly lit, making it a good place to hide. Just as she was about to walk over, she suddenly heard a faint murmur from the temple door behind her, which seemed to be the sound of clothes rubbing together, and then the low murmur of a child. Minna turned around and took two steps toward the temple, and the voice disappeared again.
She squinted her eyes, feeling that the door was really suspicious. She took two hurried steps and pushed it, but it didn't move at all.
Strange, the temple should be open to the outside all day long, right? Why would you lock the door in broad daylight
Ming Na rolled her eyes, then moved closer to the crack of the door and looked inside. She only saw a faint shadow flickering, and then there was no movement. She became more suspicious and looked around. Seeing a big tree not far from the gate, with thick branches extending into the wall, she immediately had an idea, ran to the tree, put the cloth bag containing the money, and climbed up the tree.
She has been very good at this activity since she was a child. In a blink of an eye, he climbed up the tree. Clinging to a thick branch, I peered over the wall and suddenly became very angry.
The previous group of thieves, including the boy who just disappeared, were all hiding behind the door, bending over, kicking their buttocks, and looking out through the crack in the door. He was probably looking to see where he was going, but he couldn't find anything when he looked left and right. Ming Na gritted her teeth with hatred: not only did she steal her money. He also deliberately played tricks on her. After leading her all this way in vain and then hiding to watch her laugh, she must teach these brats a lesson!
She grabbed the branch and jumped off the wall, shouting: "Thief! Bad guy! Give me the money back!" The boys were startled. When they turned around and found that she had actually entered the yard, they were all speechless: "You, you, what are you doing?" Where would they come in?!" The tallest one looked at the branches that were still swaying, and suddenly realized: "It turns out they came in over the wall..." After a pause, he squinted at Minna: "Why do you say we stole it? Your money? Ivan just accidentally knocked off your purse. Did you see us taking the money inside?" "That's right. You can't talk nonsense if you didn't see it." Other boys also agreed. .
Ming Na's face turned red with anger: "Besides me, you were the only ones on the road at that time. After I finished fighting with you, the money disappeared. Who else was there if it wasn't you?!"
"Someone must have picked it up secretly without us seeing it. We didn't take your money." The boy at the head refused to admit it, and the others also bit him to death without doing anything. Ming Na was so angry that her eyes were red: "You...do you want to be beaten by me again?!"
A hand was put on her shoulder, and a hoarse voice came from behind: "What happened? Who wants to beat whom?" Ming Na shouted, "Of course someone should be beaten if they steal money and refuse to admit it." He turned around to see who was standing behind him, but was shocked.
The man was wearing a coarse white robe, with a bald head, no eyebrows, pale skin, a flat nose and yellow teeth, and a pair of black eyes with red eyes. He was staring at the boys coldly. The boys who had just talked back to Ming Na confidently were now dejected and obediently making confessional gestures.
Mingna couldn't help but take two steps back and avoid this terrible person's hand: "You...you...who are you?"
"I am the monk in charge here. My child, did they steal your money just now?"
Ming Na swallowed her saliva and stammered yes, but she felt an urge to run away. This man looks so scary, his eyes and expression are like a devil!
Speaking of which, he seems familiar. Have you seen him somewhere
Ming Na thought hard for a while, and finally remembered that more than four years ago, when she and her grandfather first came to Anke City, they met the priest outside the city. The priest once gave them a bottle of medicine and gave them a gift. Healing spells were used on her. I remember that his name seemed to be Riddle, he was very ugly, and he had conflicts with his grandfather. His grandfather hated him very much and once said that he was not a good person.
Ming Na secretly watched him scolding the boys, thinking that no wonder her grandfather thought he was not a good person. The other monks of the Light Cult were all very gentle and kind, but he was the only one who looked so scary, and he also raised a child. Lots of thieves and robbers!
No, she had to leave quickly. This man was at odds with her grandfather, and she didn't know if he would harm her. After finally escaping here, she couldn't afford any more accidents.
On the other side, after hearing the boys' confessions, Father Riddle's face became even darker: "Why are you doing this? Have you forgotten everything I taught you?" He turned to the boy who stole things: "Ivan, you already have a place to work and will be leaving in a few days. Why do you want to go back to your old job at this time? If your future employer finds out, you will never be able to make a difference in your life! "
Ivan lowered his head: "I'm sorry, Father, I just... I just saw how hard you were working so hard and wanted to help you." He whispered: "I was also afraid of being known, so I specially found someone from outside..."
The tallest boy interrupted: "Father, this is all my idea. Ivan just did what I said. Please punish me. We... really don't want to see you running around every day and not being able to have a good rest even when you are sick. And I have to endure the ridicule of others.”
"So you would rather go against my wishes and do evil things?" Riddle snorted through his nostrils, "I took you in to live in the temple and taught you how to read, not to make you become thieves and beggars again! Holding the money I got through unfair means feels as uncomfortable as being burned! Take the money out." He said the last sentence softly.
The boys looked at each other, took out the money from their pockets, and put it into Father Riddle's hand.
Ming Na glared at each of them: She said she didn't steal it, so what was that
However, the boys didn't notice her eyes, they all lowered their heads in confession.
Riddle looked at the coins in his hand with some surprise: "There are actually so many?" He turned to Minna: "Child, these are all yours, right? Count them, are there any missing?"
Ming Na quickly counted the numbers, held them over and turned to leave, but was stopped by the other party: "Wait a minute, kid, I can't let you go out alone with so much money. Where are your parents? Why aren't they there? Don’t you have any elders with you?”
Ming Na rolled her eyes and said, "My parents passed by here with the caravan, and I'm going to find them right now."
"She lied!" Ivan suddenly raised his head and said, "I just saw a man on horseback leave her at the door of our temple and leave. She even cursed the man loudly. She must have been abandoned by her family!"
"That person is not from my family!" Ming Na retorted angrily.
Riddle asked: "What about your parents? Are they here? Take me to see them."
Mingna looked at him warily: "Why do you want to see them?"
Riddle said: "You are still a child and you have so much money with you. How can I let you stay outside alone? There are many people with evil intentions who are specifically targeting children. You can stay here for the time being. , I will help you contact your parents, and when they arrive, you can go back with them. Tell me what is your name? What is your surname? Where are your parents? Do you know anyone in Encore City?"
Ming Na blinked, didn't he recognize her
In fact, it was more than four years ago that she met Riddle, when she was not yet seven years old. Now she was dark and thin, with a hoarse voice, and she was still wearing Weishan clothes. Compared with then, she was almost completely different. Father Riddle had only seen her twice, so of course he couldn't recognize her.
Since you can't recognize it, don't let him know. Mingna kept her grandfather's teachings in mind and did not believe the priest. She said "No need to trouble you" and ran away. Unexpectedly, before he could reach the door, his body was suddenly frozen and unable to move. Ming Na was shocked and tried hard to move her hands and feet, but failed.
What's this? Is it magic? Or witchcraft
Thinking of magic, she tried to activate the magic power in her body. Suddenly, her limbs felt relaxed and she could move again. She didn't bother to figure out what happened just now. She raised her legs and ran, but after just two steps, something came from behind her. A "Huh?" came and she was frozen again.
Who did it? ! Is it Riddle? She knew he knew light magic.
Riddle came over and led Minna back. Minna was shocked to find that her limbs seemed to be controlled and moved on their own. No matter how much she wanted to stop, they would not obey her orders. Even though her legs were broken by slave traders while she was sick and she was given a mute drug, she never lost control of her body. This feeling of being unable to resist and being manipulated was really terrible. Ming Na was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. Although her eyes were fierce, she glared at Riddle with a hint of pleading: "What do you want?"
"Stay here until your parents and relatives come to pick you up." Riddle curled his lips, revealing his jagged teeth, and his face became even more terrifying.