The young man's words seemed abrupt, and none of the guests in the quiet shop could understand.
When Aunt Sofia heard this, she just seemed to smile a little, with a slightly weird smile, and looked at the young man: "Ah, did your father send you to ask me to blame me? Hmph... He should know that I don't like to watch by nature. The expression on other people's faces, not even your father's. If he wants to ask the guilt, let yourself come to me."
At this time, after hearing Aunt Sofia's words clearly, the one-eyed sitting in the middle of the shop threw the Maqin in his hand, walked over with a displeased expression, and stared at the young man at the only one. One eye, looking for trouble. When he walked to the front, he first lowered his head and spat on the ground, his face twitched, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted: "What are you doing! Do you know where this place is?! I want to come and find it. Are you happy? But I know that my one-eyed store, no one in this town dares to be presumptuous here..."
As he spoke, he tugged up his sleeves, as if he was about to step forward.
One-eyed only took half a step forward, but Aunt Sofia, who was standing behind the bar, had already appeared in front of him. She gently raised her hand and pressed her husband's shoulder to stop One-eyed's movement.
Looking at his wife with one eye, Aunt Sofia looked at the one eye with a gentle face, and said softly, "Honey, don't interfere with this matter, let me solve it, okay?"
The tone was soft and smooth, but the one-eyed frowned slightly when he heard it. He looked at the young man and asked his wife in a low voice, "Are... those friends from your past?"
Aunt Sofia pursed her lips and said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, dear, tomorrow I will cook you your favorite mutton soup, okay? You can leave this matter alone, clean up, and go to the back to rest first. ."
As she said that, she gently pulled her husband, hesitated for a moment with one eye, finally sighed, and walked in sullenly towards a small door behind the bar.
Sofia War stood in front of the bar, looking at the customers in the store. At this moment, these guests are watching here curiously.
Aunt Sofia sighed, then raised her smile again, clapped her hands, and said with a smile: "Okay, everyone, tonight's happy hour is here for the time being! We have to make a pretense in advance... Uh, please pay for the drinks. Pay and go, come and drink again tomorrow... Hey, I'm talking about you, old Buck, you still owe the money for yesterday's wine."
A filthy alcoholic who had slipped along the wall to the door turned back and smiled shyly: "I owe another day, and tomorrow I will pay you back when I take the money... Well, Aunt Sofia, it's not like you don't know, my family is home. That mother-in-law is too cruel..."
Everyone laughed when they heard it, and then everyone put down their wine glasses one by one, some put a few coins directly on the table, some walked up to Sofia and put the coins in her hands, and others Before leaving, he carefully looked at the young man a few times, and then gave Sofia a "let me know if you want to help" before leaving slowly.
After the whole room had dispersed, the shop that had been bustling before soon became deserted, leaving only the table in the corner, where poor poor Adeline was still sitting somewhat helplessly. She lowered her head lowly, but she didn't know what to do as she watched everyone leave.
She wanted to go out with the crowd and leave, but if she wanted to leave, she would definitely pass by the guy's side, fearing that he would recognize him. But sitting here, after all the people are gone, this huge store is sitting alone, which is even more eye-catching.
Finally, the eyes of the young man at the door fell on Adeline. The young man saw Adeline clearly, as if he was stunned at first, and then the corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a strange smile. The originally slender eyes narrowed into a line, flashing an inexplicable light.
Aunt Sofia had turned around and walked to Adeline's side, gently pulled her up, and smiled softly: "Okay dear, if you're full, go upstairs to rest, yours The bedroom is in the innermost room on the second floor, the doorknob is a little rusty, you can push it hard and it will open... Rest early, my child, go quickly."
When it comes to the last word "go quickly", Aunt Sofia's tone seems to have a complex taste that is difficult to detect.
Adeline hurriedly stood up, grabbed her hat and lowered her head, and ran up the stairs in the shop.
In the lobby, Aunt Sofia and this young man were finally left.
"Okay, now you can explain your purpose." Aunt Sofia stretched her waist and muttered in a low voice, "Alas, the Hannigan family are troublesome, I should have understood this long ago. "
The young man was still standing there, looking at Aunt Sofia with a calm expression: "What is my purpose... Can't you guess?"
Sofia frowned and looked at the young man: "You... shouldn't it be that hellish trial mission of your Hannigan family? Ha! How old are you?"
The young man pursed his lips - when he smiled like this, the smile on his face made Sofia's expression seem a little weird. Immediately, Aunt Sofia listened to the young man smiling: "I am exactly thirty-one years old this year."
He only answered Aunt Sofia's question about age, but did not directly answer the first question... Now it is the default.
"Thirty-one years old?" Aunt Sofia seemed to be stunned: "Damn... It really is a perverted family."
She looked at the young man: "When your father was on the trial mission, he seemed to be less than four years younger than you are now, right? Hmm... You have achieved such an achievement at the age of thirty-one, in the history of your Hannigan family. Come on, you can also rank in the top 20."
"It's the fourteenth." The young man's tone was calm: "At the age of 31, I can only be tested at the age of 14, but to me, such a ranking is meaningless... I His father was tested at the age of twenty-seven, and that age was only the sixth in the family history. However, his father's final achievements and strength were the most powerful in the family's history, so such a ranking seems to be It doesn't make much sense."
Sofia looked at this guy and pouted: "Sure enough... as arrogant as your father. Hmph, the way you laughed just now looks exactly like your father when he was young."
"If you don't have a bit of arrogance, how can you challenge the strong." The young man's expression became solemn, and he said solemnly: "Continuously challenging the strong, it was originally the ancient tradition of my Hannigan family, and it was this way. Inheritance, our family will become stronger and stronger."
"... The stubborn one is just like your father." Aunt Sofia spread her hands: "Well, you came for the trial mission... It's ridiculous, I'm just curious, why did you come to me. Could it be... "
The young man smiled and said, "Men of every generation in our Hannigan family have to go through a trial mission after they reach adulthood. Only when the trial mission is successful can they be qualified to compete for the throne. You know this very well. Yes. As for the content of the trial…”
"Of course I know the content of the trial." Aunt Sofia stared into the young man's eyes with a stern face: "Why don't you challenge a strong-level master!"
Challenge a strong-level master! !
Although Sofia's tone was a little disdainful, when she actually said it, the content was shocking enough! !
The content of the trial is to challenge a strong-level master! !
House Hannigan... The royal family of God-Emperor Odin! ! For thousands of years, such a cruel and almost perverted, arrogant and almost arrogant iron law has been set!
Any prince who participates in the struggle for the right to inherit the throne must first pass the trial and challenge a master who is killed by a strong man! ! Such a perverted high standard ensures that the emperor of the Odin Empire, the emperor of each generation, is the top powerhouse in the continent!
"I'm just curious... Why didn't you find me, but chose me instead?" Aunt Sofia's expression was already a little unhappy, and she pointed to her nose: "In the eyes of you and your father, the strongest people in the world today are Am I the weakest in the ranks?!"
"… Yes."
This is almost frank and almost ruthless, which suddenly made Aunt Sofia's expression even more weird. She stared at the young man: "Are you sure?!"
"Sure."
"You... your goddamn old man thinks so too?!" Aunt Sofia's eyes began to show anger.
"It's a pity... Yes." The young man's expression was still calm and calm: "My father once said... In the battle 30 years ago, the top ten powerhouses joined forces to suppress my father and forced my father to reach that covenant with you... In the past, there were a lot of masters and talents on the mainland. But after all, time has passed. After 30 years, some strong people have withered away, but new strong people may not be able to really rise to the top. In addition... There are also some old people, but their strength is not enough. No breakthrough."
"Hmph, the last sentence is about me." Aunt Sofia snorted without curiosity.
"My father said that among the masters today, the first person who can catch his eye is undoubtedly the 'Saint Roland Garros' who lives in the ancient city of Babylon on the east side of the mainland. His father also once He said that the talent and strength of that Saint Laurent Garros are all he has seen in his life, and he can be said to be a lifelong opponent. Besides, among the other masters on the continent, Lord Merlin of Landis, has a sloppy personality. But the more temperament is, the more breakthroughs can be made. I haven't fought again for 30 years, but my father believes that with the assiduous and enterprising temperament of Lord Merlin, his strength has improved by leaps and bounds. I am afraid that today, 30 years later , has already broken through the realm of the strong and entered the Yuan realm. There are also three great magisters of the Byzantine Empire... I heard that the Great Master Zelan passed away more than ten years ago, it can be said that there is one less strong man on the mainland. The remaining two great masters, due to age restrictions, were already nearly seventy years old at that time, and after thirty years, I am afraid they will be even older. Well, it's not bad if it doesn't drop too much. There is also the self-proclaimed swordsman who lives in the southern part of the Chaos Territory, but his father dismissed his swordsmanship back then, saying that his temperament was too extreme With such a temperament, when he was young, his strength naturally improved very quickly, but he was too impetuous. I am afraid that after the age of fifty, his strength will reach the top, and it will be difficult to make breakthroughs. If he can't settle down and cultivate, he will never become a father in this life. The real opponent. Besides... There are many masters in the world today, and my father has their own evaluations... Finally, it comes to you... "
"Speaking of me." Aunt Sofia sternly.
The young man smiled and said, "Do you really want to hear it?"
"Nonsense!" Aunt Sofia was displeased and said coldly: "Since you have said so much, why don't I continue to listen? Besides... hum, I would also like to know how your perverted old man evaluates. mine!"
The young man seemed to sigh, and then continued: "When my father mentioned you, he was very sorry for you."
"Sorry, regret?"
"Yes, it's a pity." The young man said sternly: "When my father mentioned you, he once said that in terms of intelligence and talent, you can rank in the top three among the powerhouses of the human race today! Second only to father himself. And the Lord Saint Laurent Garros. Especially your intelligence, even in the evaluation of your father, even higher than that Lord Merlin. With your talent and intelligence, your original strength should also be a master of the human race today. One of the top three. It’s a pity…”
"What a pity." Aunt Sofia's face suddenly calmed down.
"It's a pity... Well, that's what my father said: It's a pity that people who are too smart tend to be too clever in doing things, and they always like to use some tricky methods to achieve things that ordinary people can't do. But you know, the world Not all things can be tricky, such as cultivation, perseverance and perseverance are the most important things. , No matter how smart a person is, I'm afraid they won't be able to achieve anything really important. For example, you... You used to be ranked in the top five among the top ten powerhouses, but now... over the past 30 years, the other masters have They are all continuing to practice, but you are the only one living in this wildfire town, living a comfortable and comfortable life, but also seems to have lost the desire to be enterprising and pursued. Thirty years of time wasted in vain, your strength... If It's not easy to keep the previous level, and as for progress... that's not to mention at all! My father said that he had never heard of anyone sleeping with their eyes closed every day, living leisurely, drinking and drinking. Bathe in the sun, and you can also become a peerless master.”
When Aunt Sofia heard this, she did not look angry, but became more and more calm.
She lowered her head and pondered for a while, and then suddenly sighed, the smile on the corner of her mouth was slightly bitter: "Yes, yes, that old man of yours said it well. Hmph, although the words are a bit ugly, they are all To be honest. In the past 30 years, my life has been too comfortable, I even forgot, when was the last time I practiced. Hmm... After 30 years, your father said that I am a strong man in the mainland now. The weakest among them is not a curse, it is the truth."
The young man was stunned for a moment. He didn't seem to expect that Aunt Sofia would be so happy to admit it - and, just now, he was a little angry and angry. In a blink of an eye, this anger disappeared, as if the other party was relieved by his own words. General.
"Unfortunately, although what your father said is right, I still have to say: he is still so arrogant... and still so ignorant, so stubborn, so perverted!"
The young man frowned: "Your Excellency, please don't insult my father..."
"Insult? Hahahaha!" Aunt Sofia laughed a few times: "Even if Sol is standing in front of me, I would say the same thing! Hmph, your father is a perverted and arrogant guy... Hmph, he commented on the masters of today's mainland , the words seem to be good, but in his mind, there is only cultivation, continuous cultivation, how to make himself stronger, continue to be strong, non-stop, endlessly walking towards the road of becoming stronger... Life is too short In less than a hundred years, even a strong person can only live a few decades longer than ordinary people. If you come to this world alone, if you are like your father, you will keep cultivating since you are sensible. Constantly getting stronger, every day, every night, every moment, like holding a whip and constantly beating myself, urging myself, constantly urging myself to do asceticism, not willing to relax for a moment, and at the same time, my mind has to keep on going. Thinking about how the other masters on the mainland are doing... In such a day, your father has been like this since he was sensible. After so many decades, he has always been like this! Even after ten or twenty years, In another hundred years... As long as your father lives in this world for one day, he will live like this! Forcing himself like this, torturing himself like this!! The only thing he did in this world was to cultivate! How many times did he cultivate? Ten years, 100 years of cultivation... But what happened in the end?! When the day when you die, with a kick of your legs, won't everything turn into nothingness?! No matter how powerful you are, so what? If people live like this, are they still called people?!"
Speaking of this, Sofia's tone gradually became sharp: "Yes, I don't remember when I last practiced penance, I have lived too comfortable and carefree these years... But, what qualifications does your father have? Come to make fun of me? I don't remember the last time I was doing penance? I want to ask, when was the last time your father really laughed? When was the last time your father was drinking? You When was the last time my father sang and cheered? He only has the word 'strong' in his head every day and every moment! There is no fun in such a life, even if he is number one in the world, so what? Even if my strength is not as good He, but I live happily every day, have a happy life, have a husband who loves me and love me, have a group of friends who drink together carefree every day, laugh every night, don't think about those annoying things Every day I lie on the bed and fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow. The next morning, when I wake up, there will be a smile on the corner of my mouth... Has your father experienced what it's like in such a day? He really understand?"
Young man: "… "
Sofia said at the end, sighed deliberately: "Life is like him, it is really boring. Let me say one thing: If the day I die, I can be sure that I have many friends who will sincerely cry for me, My husband will be truly saddened by my passing, and my friends will also reminisce about the happy days we had together. But... What about your father? He is God Emperor Odin, the most powerful man in the mainland. … But I can guarantee that on the day he died, no one in this world would really shed a tear for him! Even your sons, you were already ruled by the perverted rules of the Hannigan family. It's cold-hearted and dehumanizing!"
When Aunt Sofia said these words, the young man immediately fell into deep thought. He lowered his head and thought for a while. When he raised his head, he let out a long sigh, looked at Aunt Sofia, and smiled sincerely: "I admire it. My father said that your intelligence is rare in the world, but I still don't believe it, but now that I see your intelligence, I really admire your intelligence... Jia Lin is convinced."
"Galin?" Aunt Sofia heard this: "Your name is Garin? Thor's eldest son, Garin?"
The young man smiled bitterly: "Otherwise you think I am..."
Aunt Sofia sighed and said lightly: "I heard that among Sol's sons, his youngest son named Ke Kelan is the most talented. As for the eldest prince, Galin, I have always heard that there is nothing too big. The brilliant place, even if it is the competition for the throne, is faintly threatened by Ke Kelan. If it wasn't for the support of some old people of the tribe, Ke Kelan would have overturned it... It turns out that you are the first prince Jialin. , you are not simple, I am afraid that you are more powerful than that Ke Kelan. If you want to come to those rumors, there is another inside story. "
After a pause, Sofia squinted her eyes and looked at Garin: "At a young age, I knew to keep a low profile and deliberately show weakness. It seems that the Hannigan family is the Hannigan family, and every generation of young people will have a few bad guys. A little genius or something."
"Thank you for your compliment." Garin bent over and gave a salute: "I admire your wisdom. Just now I deliberately said my father's evaluation of you, I really wanted to disturb your mind, but you just restrained yourself at will. I was not moved by my words, but the words I said in reverse almost shook my own heart... The wise Sophie is indeed extraordinary."
Sofia's face was stern: "I don't need the name Sophia for a long time! Now my name is Sofia, you kid, don't call it wrong again."
Jia Lin smiled, stood there and looked at Aunt Sofia: "I came from a thousand miles, you already know my purpose, so... Can we start? I also really want to see you earlier and let my father like it. Unstoppable stunt."
"Are you going to do this?" Sofia smiled, but looked lazily at the messy shop in the house: "You see, I am such a big shop, because of your arrival, all the guests were driven away by me, now a shop The mess always needs to be cleaned up... Hey, you have to do it, and let me put away the wine money on the table, right?"
With that said, Aunt Sofia rolled up her sleeves, took out a rag from the table, walked to the side, wiped the tables one by one, and occasionally put the wine money thrown by the guests on the table into her apron pocket.
She just made things in front of Garin so carelessly, but it made the eldest prince Odin stunned.
Aunt Sofia finished cleaning a table and looked back at Galin: "If you want to start with me earlier, you might as well come up and help me. The two of you will work together, and the speed will be faster."
Saying that, she actually dropped a rag and threw it over, but Garin subconsciously reached out to take it, but stayed there instead.
"Hmph, you've grown so big, haven't you ever held a rag? Alas, I recognize the way you hold the rag, this is the Thunder Roar swordsmanship of your Hannigan family... Hmph, poor child."
"One, do I have to wait until this is done before I can do it?" Jialin was able to maintain a calm aura in front of Sofia until just now, but at this moment, he finally showed a bit of helplessness.
"Of course not." Aunt Sofia turned her head: "I'm not like you perverts of the Hannigan family, who either practice or hone every day... I still have business to do, and a family of things to do, I still need Selling vegetables and cooking, brewing wine and settling accounts... Hmph, you want to try with me, you can, then follow me, after two days, when I'm done with work, I'll naturally start with you."
"Well, in two days..." Garin's expression finally changed.
"I'm really impatient." Aunt Sofia sneered: "When you came in, your aura, your demeanor, and even the tone of your voice were like your old man, but... the imitation is too heavy, but it's a bit false. Meaning. And, it seems, your patience is much worse than your old man!"
After a pause, she chuckled in a low voice: "If you want to challenge me, you want to beat me, and now your strength is probably not enough... Even if you have spied the door to the realm of the strong, how can you compare to us in terms of realm? This kind of old guy who has been immersed for decades? Sigh... I understand it, your father asked you to come to me for the test, but it's not because I'm the weakest one in the current competition... But I'm also thinking about it. , because only I can truly make you understand the essence of the trial."
When she was talking, she never put down the rag in her hand, and while she was working, she said indifferently, "Since you can challenge me, then I believe that your strength must be good, I'm afraid that you already have peace and harmony. I have the confidence to challenge the board. But the essence of the trial is not simply the strength of hands-on! It is the understanding of the realm! Even if your strength exceeds mine, if the realm is not enough, your future achievements in this life will be limited. That's great. Hmph, that old fellow Sol, sure enough, he was thinking about taking advantage of my family again..."
"You, you said..." Garin froze for a while.
Aunt Sofia's eyes seemed to be dazed for a moment, and she whispered: "Do you know how long it took your father to test? Humph... Twenty-six months in total! The trial is not for you to put Martial arts training is tyrannical, and then find a strong man, just beat the other party down! Instead... Keep verifying the realm with that strong man, hoping to learn something from it. Your father used to be, and The object of his trial has fought a total of 109 times! He lost 108 times, and finally defeated the opponent in the last time. This is the end of the trial... However, the profound meaning of the realm he has learned is not. There are far more wins and losses than one trial! What really taught him was not the last one he won, but the one hundred and eight previous losses!"
Jia Lin was a little surprised: "Father... How did you know about the trial back then... "
"How did I know?" Aunt Sofia seemed to smile, but the smile was bitter and seemed to contain a lot of deeper things...
"...How did I know, hum, a ridiculous question..." Aunt Sofia turned to look at Garin: "Because when your father was trying, I witnessed the whole process with my own eyes. I am much younger than you are now... The object of your father's trial challenge is my father - the famous 'Thundercloud Warrior' in the Odin Empire in the past! Twenty-six months of your father's trial, They all live in my house, how could I not know? Ridiculous!"
Garin listened and stayed there completely!
※※※
Poor Adeline trembled upstairs and ran to the door in the corner. After pushing the door in, it turned out to be a clean room. It's just that how could she dare to live here at this moment
She recognized the young man who came in tonight downstairs! I remember when I was a child, I knew this young man when I lived in the Odin Empire! And...and a terrifying memory!
When she entered the room, the whole body trembled, and she immediately searched for a way out, and quickly pushed the window open to reveal the street outside.
The building is not high, and Adeline jumped down the window sill on the second floor. When she landed, she twisted her ankle a little bit, but she didn't dare to cry out for fear of disturbing the person inside. He limped and jumped up.
She felt bitter in her heart... She lost her horse to the guy in the shop, and it was already in the backyard of the shop. If she wanted to go in and lead the horse, she might be in danger of disturbing that guy.
In desperation, she could only grit her teeth, gave up the horse, grabbed her own baggage, staggered, and ran quickly towards the town entrance.
There is no curfew in Wildfire Town. In this area, the gate of the town is not closed even at night.
Adeline went out of the city gate smoothly, and then she felt a little more relaxed.
Without a horse, she could only bite the bullet and walk all the way to the north, hoping to meet a passing caravan on the road, and then buy a horse to travel.
This way, she walked northward and entered the area of Wildfire Field. She hurried as fast as she could. She walked in the middle of the night without encountering any pedestrians. Fortunately, it was not the first time for her to come here. The days of walking together are not too scary.
After walking in the dark all night, when it was almost dawn, Adeline was finally too tired to bear, and stopped outside a sparse forest. She had already digested all the food last night, and she was very thirsty, but she didn't. See what water source.
Leaning against a tree to breathe, Adeline couldn't help thinking: I won't meet that guy again, will I? Alas, how could that terrifying fellow run to the south too
Just thinking of this, she suddenly heard a voice that made her whole body fall into an ice cellar!
"My poor little sister, why did you come here? Hmph... Although I knew you were going to run away, but you only walked all night after running all night, you are really incompetent!"
Adeline turned her head, and saw Garin standing there, no more than ten steps away, looking at herself with a cold smile.
"you you… "
Jialin approached Adeline step by step, he frowned: "I was surprised to see you... It's just that I still have important things, I wanted to let you go last night, but I didn't expect you to be such a waste. I gave you time to escape all night, and I can meet you here."
Garin walked in front of Adeline and squeezed Adeline's chin. Adeline seems to be resisting, but where is Garin's opponent
"Trash is trash." Garin stared at Adeline's eyes at close range, his eyes were cold, even with a hint of hatred: "This place is only less than five miles away from Wildfire Town... You only walked out in one night. Is it that way?"
Five, five miles? !
how is this possible? !
Adeline almost called out!
I have been running desperately, and I haven't stopped much all night, how could I have walked less than five miles? !
But when Garin saw Adeline's expression, he immediately understood, and couldn't help laughing: "I understand! You must have fled in a panic at night. There was no reference in the darkness, and you actually took a detour! You ran all night thinking that you were walking in a straight line, but in fact you accidentally went around in circles! Hahaha! Trash is trash! You have Byzantine blood on your body, and you are as incompetent as the Byzantines."
"You... are you chasing me?" Adeline sighed: "You... you are so unwilling to let me go? After all these years, I... I haven't done anything to be sorry to you, Why do you have to treat me..."
"Hmph, I have no intention of chasing you." Jia Lin's face suddenly became strange: "I already wanted to let you go last night... This morning, I just came out... I came out... I didn't expect to meet you here."
The first prince of Odin was holding an axe in his hand!
"...You, are you here to chop wood?" Adeline looked at the axe in the opponent's hand, and it was clear that it was not the battle axe used by Odin warriors, but an ordinary axe for chopping wood.
"...Humph! So what?" Garin frowned: "This is one of the contents of my trial..."
After speaking, he looked at Adeline coldly: "It's you, do you want to go to Odin?"