Ming Na looked at the other person carefully again, but still didn't recognize him: "I don't recognize you. Have I seen you before?"
Young Vasily smiled, took out two fresh and juicy red apples from somewhere, and played a game of toss and catch. Ming Na looked at it and opened her mouth: "You...are you that clown?!"
When she was seven years old, she followed her grandfather south to the Magic City. When passing through the small town of Ori, she once called a clown to perform. She remembers that the clown was very handsome and skilled, and he gave her a flower in a very graceful manner. Water taro lotus.
Seeing that she recognized him, Vasily stopped what he was doing with a smile and gave one of the apples to her: "There is no water taro today. I think you don't mind using delicious fruit instead?"
Ming Na ignored the apple and immediately asked: "Aren't you a clown from Shaonan? Why are you here? And dressed like this?" She looked at the other person in a mercenary costume: "Also, why did you say you Did you know my grandfather? Did you know who we were then?"
Vasily scratched his head in embarrassment: "Uh... Well... In fact, I have heard about Earl Xiao since I was a child, and I admire him very much. When I first met you, I recognized you at the first sight. But I think you might You don’t want your identity to be disclosed, right? And I was still working at that time, so it was not convenient to say hello to him, so I had to give him a flower to show my respect."
He smiled at Ming Na: "As for why I changed from a clown to a mercenary, it's a long story. Although I am from East, I have lived in Shaonan for many years. Originally, I was a clown. Very good. But many people think that I am not suitable for this profession, probably because I am too handsome?" He made a face, "So I had no choice but to change my profession and go out to see the outside world. I became a mercenary. In the past few years, I have been active in Weisha, and occasionally served as a caravan guard. But now I am homesick and plan to return to Yidong. I heard the priest told you about you, so I volunteered to take you with me. Let's go together." He winked. He reached out and touched Ming Na's head.
Ming Na took a step back, avoiding his hand, and stared at him: "How do I know if what you said is true? And mercenaries are not reliable. Who knows if you will really send me away?" Go home." In Tuli's camp. Six Chengren were mercenaries, and she knew very well how despicable these people were.
"You can rest assured about this. The organization I work for now was actually founded by your grandfather, so you are considered one of our own." Vasily lowered his voice. His eyes quickly glanced around.
Grandpa initiated the establishment? She asked: "Are you from the Xiao Family Trading Company?"
"No, no." Vasily denied quickly, with a bit of a squeak, "Anyway, you just need to know that I respect your grandfather very much and will never do anything to hurt you. By the way, I heard the priest say, You told him that Earl Xiao did not die, but just went to a distant place. Is this true?" He suddenly changed his serious look. Ming Na was startled and immediately said: "Of course it's true! I saw him go there with my own eyes! He met a girl from the same hometown. She said that his parents were very sick and they left. Grandpa definitely didn't die!"
Vasily breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. We are all worried. If something happens to Earl Xiao, the enemy will be too scary. Did the Earl mention when he will come back?"
Minna glanced at him sideways, silently stepped away, pulled Riddle aside, and asked in a low voice: "Father, is this person really reliable? I think he is a little strange."
Riddle smiled and said: "Don't worry, although Vasily is a bit mysterious, he is a good man. Every time he passes by here, he will give us things and donate money when he has spare money. In fact, he himself does not Generous. The people from Mengli Temple also said that he often gave them things. So, Vasily is a kind-hearted child. I have known him for a long time and I also know his parents. Don’t worry. Since you believe me , why don’t you trust one more person?”
Minna was dubious and glanced at Vasily, but he smiled brightly and stopped raising the question. Occasionally, he spotted a group of boys and two little girls peeking behind the door. He hooked his fingers at them and touched himself. Somehow, he pulled out two handfuls of candies to seduce the children. They stepped forward and said, "I'm giving you a gift. Do you like it?"
Some of the older boys had met him several times and were already familiar with him. When they heard this, they cheered and rushed forward with the others, surrounding Vasily tightly. In fact, there are two brave people who are still touching him here and there, wondering where he took out so many candies. Vasily was not angry either. He smiled and let them touch it all over and found nothing. However, he winked and "transformed" seven or eight more candies with a flip of his hand. The children snatched them away again with a whimper.
Riddle kept smiling and watching them fight, while Minna always looked at Vasily with suspicion. The latter turned around and saw her standing quietly on the side, and did not come forward to play with everyone. He touched his head and guessed that it was because of him, so he let the children play by themselves, got away and walked to Minna's side. Jin lowered his voice in her ear and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. Your father and I are colleagues."
Huh? Ming Na opened her eyes wide and turned to look at him: "Are you also a knight? Then why do you want to be a mercenary? Just now... you said that you were working for an organization established by grandpa."
Vasily coughed a few times: "Uh... Well... In fact, when I return to Ito, I will change my career to become a knight, so your father and I can be regarded as colleagues. In short, you can just follow me without any worries."
Ming Na tilted her head to look at him and nodded reluctantly: "Okay." But she secretly thought that she should be more careful and never trust others blindly again.
Early the next morning, Vasily took Minna on the road. Riddle led the children to the outside of the city and returned all the money collected that day to Minna. Ming Na thought for a while and decided to keep only two silver coins and about twenty copper plates for use on the road, and gave the rest to the temple. Two new ground dye recipes are also left.
She whispered to Riddle: "Father, with this money, the straw mats can be sold even better. Don't you stop asking people for money? After I go back, I will write to grandpa and ask him to send it to you." Here’s the money, okay?”
Riddle smiled and stroked her head, and said: "Good boy, thank you for your kindness, you don't have to worry about me. If you encounter children as unfortunate as Xueli and the others in the future, please help as much as you can." "
Ming Na nodded, feeling her nose was a little sore.
Next to him, Xueli presented a newly knitted straw hat and woven lace with dyed mugwort: "This is for you. Sha... no. Mingna, you have to remember us and come back to see us when you have time."
Minna nodded. He took the hat and thanked him with choked sobs. Everyone was very reluctant to give up. Vasily looked on with a smile, and when he saw that it was getting late, he whispered to her to get on the horse.
Saying goodbye to everyone again, Ming Na finally got on her horse and started on her way home. Seeing the figures of Riddle and others gradually blurring, Mingna couldn't help but shed tears. Although I have only been with them for less than a month, it feels like I have known them for a long time.
Vasily comforted her softly behind her: "Don't be too sad. Life is always full of reunions and separations, even if you are sad for a moment. Don't forget to move on afterward."
Ming Na wiped away tears. He curled his lips and said, "What are you talking about? I didn't forget it. Aren't we on our way?"
Vasily laughed dumbly. With the addition of a whip, the horse speeded up.
They left the east gate of Encore City, passed the bridge to the other side of the river, and ran directly to the east and south. In less than half a day, the land that was originally half loess and half green grass gradually became warmer, and they set foot on a green field. The grass on the roadside is luxuriant, and occasionally a few brightly colored flowers pop up. From time to time, girls and children in white gauze skirts pass by.
Ming Na knew that this must be in Shaonan. She couldn't help but ask: "Aren't we going back to East? Why don't we run along the border? Isn't it closer there?"
Vasily said: "The mountain road is difficult to walk and not very flat. It is better to turn south and pass through Shaonan. There will be places to stay along the way and supplies will be convenient." He raised his hand and pressed the hat on Minna's head: "Wear it securely. The sun is shining brightly now. Don't get sunburned."
Ming Na pursed her lips. She had been exposed to too much sun and didn't care about the sun. However, the other party was caring about her, so she didn't say anything.
Facts have proved that Vasily's approach was correct. As they headed east, they could find a place like a village or a small town to spend the night, and their meals and sleep were well arranged. Ming Na suddenly remembered that she had not done such a relaxing trip for a long time.
The innkeeper's youngest daughter was kicking the stilts with two other girls, and she accidentally kicked Ming Na. She raised her foot lightly as a reflex and kicked the stilts back. There was another wave of excitement in her mind. Trance. When was the last time she played with another girl like this
Turning to look at Vasily at the other end of the table, the handsome young man attracted a circle of young girls around him, but looking at the distress on his face, it seemed that he couldn't stand the enthusiasm of the beauties. Ming Na snickered secretly, and felt that this situation was so familiar.
After riding for four days, they arrived at Water City. This is a border city located at the junction of the three countries of East, Shaonan and Van Azerbaijan. It is also the economic center of western East. In addition, it also has a special identity: it was once the fiefdom of Xiao Tianjian, and it was also the place where he made his fortune.
Ming Na looked at the Water City gate not far in front of her, and her eyes suddenly turned red. After entering this door, she returned to East, and she was indescribably excited.
"What's wrong?" Vasily asked softly, "Are you happy? We have returned to our homeland." He took a deep breath and smiled brightly: "Let's go into the city and find a place to stay. Earl Your Excellency made his fortune here, and the nearby Yaluo Forest is his hometown. Although I can’t take you to see it, if you take a few glances when you pass by, it can be regarded as paying homage to your ancestors, right?”
Ming Na glanced at him and said in her heart: "That's not grandpa's hometown."
Entering the city, the streets were no less prosperous than those in big cities such as Matt and Doro. But along the way, Minna discovered that there were countless restaurants selling "Earl Xiao's Barbecue", "Earl Xiao's Blacksmith Shop" or "Earl Xiao's Snacks" Shops with signs such as "shop" are very strange. I remember my grandfather once said that he moved almost all his business to Ito, leaving only a few pubs and restaurants to be taken care of by friends. But later, as his friends retired, only one was left. The tavern is owned by the mercenary union. Why are there so many stores named "Earl Xiao" here
Vasily held her hand tightly, walked across the street, and walked into an inn. Minna noticed that the decoration here was very exquisite, and the price might not be cheap, so she whispered to him: "Actually, you can find a cheaper hotel." Damn it, it doesn’t matter to me.”
"The environment here is good and safe." Vasily said hastily and went to the counter to ask for a room. Minna looked around again and admitted that what he said was right. This inn is located on the edge of the most prosperous area in the city. It is not very expensive, but because the city guardhouse is diagonally opposite, there is not even a gangster nearby.
This hotel not only has a good environment, but the beds and meals are also very satisfactory, and the price is also within an acceptable range. Vasily stayed in the store to accompany Minna as much as possible, and asked the store owner to help take care of her when he went out. Ming Na realized that the other party cared about her and was a little touched, but she was just a little curious about some of his mysterious actions.
He seemed to be going to meet someone, but before going out, he changed clothes and put on a wig. Mingna even found that there were two other sets of clothes and a wig in the bag he brought with him.
Out of curiosity, her adventurous heart was rekindled. She quickly put on a small vest, loosened her braids, locked the door, and then carefully followed Vasily out of the inn, turning in behind him. An alley and then…
Vasily stood in front of her with a wicked smile: "Xiao Mingna, my uncle is an expert in tracking. Do you want to do something in front of me? You are overestimating your capabilities."
Ming Na coughed lightly and looked at him sideways: "You can't blame me. Who told you to be so sneaky? What on earth are you going to do?"
"What are you doing? Nothing." Vasily said with an understatement, "I just want to see my old friends."
Ming Na snorted disdainfully: "Who wears wigs when meeting friends? And there are three wigs!"
Vasily's face was a little troubled. He also knew that his excuse was too bad. He was about to find another one, but suddenly he noticed a figure flashing not far away. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Ming Na: "Did you see it?"
Ming Na also raised her eyebrows: "I saw it."
There was a figure running past the alley just now, carrying several small bags in his arms. The fabric and pattern of one of them looked like the one she had sewn for herself in the temple, while the other one was made of brown leather. At first glance, it looked a bit like Vasily’s purse that held his money bag, which he had just thrown into the room.
There is a thief? !
"There is actually a thief in that store. It seems that I can't completely trust him." Vasily sighed, "I didn't expect that this new outfit would be used to chase thieves first."
"What are you talking about? I have all my money with me. If I don't chase him, you will be the one who suffers!" Minna grabbed Vasily and ran in the direction where the thief escaped.
(Some book friends complained that they have been abused recently and there is no relaxing plot. Today is a relaxing moment)