Richard looked at Ruth and said, "I won't explain the working mechanism of 'Little Dehydration Technique' to you, because if I do, there's a high chance that you won't understand it. But you should be fully aware of its effect." I feel it, yes, it’s just what you thought.”
"You!" Ruth looked at Richard with wide eyes and gritted her teeth, "You - a gangster!"
"Whether it's a gangster or not, my dear Princess Ruth of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom, you should pay more attention to yourself." Richard said calmly, "It's not long since nightfall, and there's still more time before dawn. I can wait with you for a long time. I wonder if you will persist until dawn as you said before."
"Just wait and see!" Ruth said loudly, her body shaking constantly. She didn't know whether it was because of anger or something else. "Even if I, Ruth Jane Elsa, die, I will die in this house. Even if I hit the wall, I will never give in to you! I will keep persisting, I swear!"
"That's good." Richard nodded with appreciation and said nothing.
Silence fell on the room for the second time.
time flies.
After a while.
Ruth sat on the chair and twisted and kept twisting. Her face was as red as if it was on fire. She slowly bent down and huddled up. She made an unconscious "beep" sound from her mouth and looked at Richard's eyes. His gaze seemed to be murderous, but Richard ignored him at all.
Another half a moment passed.
Ruth couldn't sit still anymore, and tried hard to stand up from the chair, but was suppressed by Richard and couldn't do it at all. Ruth was angry and anxious. She opened her mouth and bit Richard's hand, but she didn't bite. Instead, she bit her own tongue, which was so painful that tears flowed out.
Another half a while.
Ruth was on the verge of collapse. The skin all over her body turned pink and her whole body felt weak. However, the two legs were clamped tightly together, almost touching each other.
As soon as Richard let go, Ruth slid down from the chair and squatted on the ground with a twisted expression.
Looking at Richard, Ruth seemed to be biting her teeth into pieces, but she still gave in due to physical torture, and said with a trembling voice: "You... you bastard, don't you want my help? I can't help you." Well, but...but you have to let me out for a while first."
"I'm afraid not." Richard shook his head.
"Why!" Ruth shouted, "I promised to help you!"
"But... I don't believe in your credibility." Richard said seriously, "So, help me solve the problem first, and then I will let you out."
"You!" Ruth looked at Richard angrily, and at this moment she hated Richard to the core. In her opinion, as a noble princess, she had already given in, and Richard was still fussy about it, which was simply abominable. "
Ruth really wanted Richard to know that she was not someone to be bullied, that she had principles, that her help was a gift, not a compromise, that she...
But in the end, she looked at Richard angrily for less than three seconds, then hugged her belly and said, "Okay, you're being cruel, I... I promise you, I will help you first. Your favor is not a song or anything. Is it a folk song from the Black Spirit Empire? What is it? Tell me quickly and I will translate it for you."
Richard glanced at Ruth, his eyes flickered, and he didn't care about the other person's attitude or tone. He let out a breath, walked to the wall on one side, and tapped the wall with his fingers.
"There is a section of the song with a rhythm like this, bang, tap tap tap, tap, tap tap tap... The pronunciation of the lyrics should be... weep, gunnilingwu, sacrifice, henger yingyu... "
After listening to it, Ruth blinked and rolled her eyes in her sockets, as if thinking, and the next moment she said aloud: "I... I don't know this song."
"Huh? Don't know? Really don't know?"
"I really don't know, why did I lie to you!" Ruth shouted, "Let me out quickly!"
"No." Richard coldly rejected Ruth's request, "If you don't know, you can't leave this room."
"You!" Ruth said, "Am I going to die here if I don't know?"
"It's not that serious, but I want you to stay here for a while."
"But you know, my..."
"Dear Princess Ruth of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom, if you have any problems, you can solve them yourself. I won't help you, just like you won't help me."
"But I don't know, I really don't know!" cried Ruth.
Richard said: "Um, really?"
"I..." Ruth's body trembled violently, and she knelt on the ground with a "pop" sound. However, she was not begging for mercy from Richard. It was purely because her physiological needs had reached the limit. Her face was no longer red, but turned white. He clenched his teeth to hold on.
"Okay... okay..." Ruth's face was covered with sweat, and she said with a cry, "I... I can't tell you, this song is a folk song from the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom a long time ago. My mother sang it when I was a child. You even sang it to me, as if it was a story about a captain. I can’t remember the beginning and end clearly, but the part you sang in the middle should be like this:
…
Oh, my captain!
Oh, my captain!
The perilous voyage has ended,
The ship has weathered many dangers safely.
Thousands of people cheered loudly,
The eyes are waiting for us to return to Hong Kong and tie the rope.
But,
My captain you,
has fallen,
dead,
Oh, my captain!
The flag is flying for you,
The horn will sound for you.
For you. The shore is crowded with people
For you, countless ribbons and garlands.
The bustling crowd is calling,
How many eager faces are turned.
You will sleep in your grave,
You will rest in eternal sleep.
…”
After Ruth finished speaking, she looked at Richard and shouted, "I told you, I can leave."
"Wait a moment." Richard raised his hand and walked around the room.
"Why, you agreed before..." Ruth said dissatisfied.
Richard stretched out his finger and made a silent gesture: "Shh! I want to think about something!"
It was a good thing that Richard didn't say this. When she heard Richard's "shh" sound, Ruth's expression changed again, her kneeling body tilted, and she fell directly to the side, unable to speak.
Richard didn't pay much attention to Ruth. He was rarely quiet, pacing and thinking.
Ruth had just sung it directly after translation. The tune was similar to that of the woman in the Salt and Fire Tavern, and even more standard. The possibility of forgery could basically be ruled out. In other words, it is certain that the key information about the secret of the White Stone Tower and the Black Spirit King is hidden in this ballad.
But... what is the key message
This ballad tells the story of an unknown captain and is very common in this medieval-like world. After all, the combination of songs and stories makes them easier to remember and spread.
So, what does this very common ballad and the story in the ballad want to illustrate
A captain, a dead captain
Could this secret be related to the dead captain
Wait a minute!