Nol's relaxed mood disappeared instantly when he saw the knight. He took several steps back and leaned against the wall, retching violently.
This reaction was purely instinctual, with his reason not even having time to respond.
Whether it was the corpse of a giant dragon or a clean skeleton, the impact was nowhere near that of a "deformed living person".
The young Temple Knight lay in the sewage. He had lost both eyes, his tongue, most of his skin, and all his fingernails. The bones of the knight's limbs pierced through the skin, bending in different directions, like a puppet toy broken by a child.
The gentle halo of the armor was covered in blood, and if it weren't for the faint rise and fall of his chest, anyone would believe he was dead.
Nol forced himself to stop retching and knelt beside the disfigured knight. He threw healing spells at him as if it didn't cost anything. When his MP was drained, Nol took out the pigments he bought from the grocery store and swallowed them all—those pigments contained magical materials that could replenish a tiny amount of MP.
After the third time he drained his MP, the knight's breathing finally stabilized.
Only then did Nol come to his senses. His mind was almost blank, only thinking of "saving someone". He gasped for breath in hindsight, supporting himself on the ground as his scalp tingled—born in a time of peace, Nol had rarely seen severe wounds, let alone witnessed someone severely tortured.
The warm and damp smell of blood mixed with the strange smell of the sewer and the stench of excrement made everything feel so real.
This wasn't his game. Nol felt a strong sense of reality for the first time.
Even in "Harry Potter", the Unforgivable Curses only inflict pure mental torture or instant death. Not to mention "Tahe", a game where Players have a light-hearted first-person perspective.
It was still within his mental tolerance seeing Teest covered in minor wounds and the villagers in the novice village turned to dust. But this was too much… Absolutely unacceptable. It was inhumane.
"You really are a kind-hearted person," Teest whispered. "This level of healing is sufficient for now. We can at least move him."
Nol didn't have the strength to respond. He slowly dug his hands into the ground, and the mud between his fingers felt cold and greasy, like the entrails of the dead.
...
It must be said that the church of the Temple of Life was quite nice.
Its reception room was simple and cozy, without rigid religious decorations, not even idols. The surrounding walls were a warm earth tone, wooden tables and chairs emitted a gentle light, and they were covered with green plants and flowers. Fruits in wicker baskets exude fragrance, and herbal tea with honey at just the right temperature.
No doubt, it was a good place to relax.
Nol's mood improved slightly. To be honest, as a Lich, he really didn't want to get involved with the Temple. But after handing the injured to the church staff, they insisted on inviting them into the church, and refusing would be even more suspicious.
At the moment, the knights weren't present, and only Nol and Teest were in the reception room.
"You chased the thief so hard just for these?" Teest rifled through Nol's bag, sounding skeptical.
Nol was busy rinsing his mouth with tea. He had swallowed quite a bit of paint and didn't want to show off his colorful teeth to others.
"The most important thing is this." After rinsing carefully, Nol took out a ring box from his pocket and tossed it over. "Here, for you."
"I remember we already have rings," Teest replied, catching the box.
"Open it and see."
Teest opened the box with suspicion, carefully picked up the thin wing, and raised his eyebrows. "This is…"
"Come here. Let me put it on for you." Nol stood up.
The "Fairy's Prank" hid items with system privileges, and Teest couldn't use the system. Nol feared that Teest's curse might suddenly strike, making this hard-won treasure ineffective.
Teest nodded. He locked the reception room door and then came to Nol, lifting his hair for him.
Stripping the fake pearl and adhesive, Teest's earlobe looked slightly red and swollen, revealing the gold of the Player's earring. Nol cast a healing spell, then used "Fairy's Prank" with the strongest vine glue to stick it to the earring pendant.
The logo of "Tahe World" was obscured and distorted by the thin wing and glue. The next moment, it vanished into the air like a wisp of smoke.
This prototype item from in-game purchases was amazingly effective. Only a specially made potion could wash it off. Of course, if Teest still wanted to show off the Player's earring, he could easily get a fake one made by a goldsmith and wear it when necessary.
It was just perfect.
Nol reached out and rubbed Teest's earlobe. On the soft earlobe, there was only a regular earring hole left. Not to mention invisible, he couldn't even feel the game earring.
This was too miraculous. Nol couldn't help but pinch and play. The poor earlobe, which had just faded its redness, was twisted pink again by him.
"…Have you had enough fun?" Finally, Teest couldn't help but speak.
"Alright, alright." Nol quickly backed off.
Teest glanced at him with a complicated look, quickly took off the earring from his right ear, and then gathered his long hair, tying it up with a leather strap, perfectly revealing both ears.
Only after adjusting every detail did he unlock the room door.
As it turned out, Teest's efforts were in vain. The captain of the Investigation Knights knocked on the door properly and waited politely until they opened it themselves.
"Hello, sir, we meet again. I didn't introduce myself last time. I'm the captain of the Fifth Brigade of the Investigation Knights, Eugene Malloy."
Knight Eugene smiled very cordially, without any air of superiority.
"Thanks to the timely rescue of both of you, Knight Manley—our precious comrade—was saved." He sincerely saluted the two of them. "May the Great Goddess bless you forever."
"It's strange. My friend just happened to bring a healing potion. I always objected to him buying such expensive stuff." Teest spoke first. "Now it seems, maybe it's the guidance of the Goddess."
'Wow, such smooth bullshit.' Nol marveled in his heart. Teest's cautiousness had returned. He obviously didn't want the Temple to discover the fact that a "companion can use recovery magic".
"May I have the honor of inviting the two of you to a banquet? If it's inconvenient, we have prepared the rewards in the room next door." Eugene, seemingly not noticing anything odd, smiled even more cordially.
"Let's see the rewards first." Teest was straightforward, acting as if he was just an inexperienced cook.
Eugene didn't show any disdain. He nodded and led them personally.
In the next lounge, there were two silver plates. One had hundreds of gold wheels, and the other contained two brand new identity proofs.
"We have verified the situation of the two with the guards," Eugene said. "Replacing identity proof is a hassle. This way, you can save a lot of trouble."
Nol raised an eyebrow.
Eugene probably found their names from the work contract of the caravan. But the caravan's contract was just a regular one, where names could be falsified. Would an Investigation Knight be so careless?
"There's a reason why the Investigation Knights are called so." Eugene seemed to see through his thoughts. "I'm glad that under the gaze of the Goddess, both of you didn't lie."
That meant they had a special means of identification.
Nol wasn't daunted. He nodded and said, "Sir, I'm just a little curious. With such a guarantee from the Temple, what if we were criminals using our real names?"
Eugene paused, then burst into laughter.
"A Temple certificate is no different from a regular one, unless you are members of the Eternal Church." Eugene continued with a laugh, "However, since both of you saved our people, you can't be members of the Eternal Church—they would never do such a thing."
Nol showed a politely puzzled expression. How is it impossible? Haven't there been undercover stories throughout history?
"Because the Goddess doesn't choose the wrong people."
Eugene's smile was radiant.
"Whether it's our God or theirs."
...
In the end, the two put on robes and attended the church banquet. Regarding this matter, Teest convinced Nol with just two sentences—
The first: "It's said that the City Lord will come, and we might be able to get some information."
And the second: "Although wearing the same style of robe is a bit strange, the second piece is half price."
Nol was speechless.
Why hadn't he noticed before how frugal this guy was? Sitting at the dining table, he mused. The two, looking extraordinary and wearing identical silver-trimmed gray robes, attracted a lot of attention.
Nol wasn't fond of crowds. He focused all his attention on the food. The banquet of clergy and knights had nothing to do with "luxury". The table was filled with common meats, fruits, and bread. Butter cookies with jam were the only dessert.
But admittedly, the chef's craftsmanship was excellent. They looked quite tempting.
Perhaps to provide an opportunity for these two commoners, Eugene seated them next to the City Lord. Before the banquet began, Teest and Nol successfully saw the Lord of Whitebird City.
He was a handsome middle-aged man. He was tall and sturdy, with black hair streaked with silver and brown eyes full of pain and anxiety. His chin was covered in stubble, and there were dark circles under his eyes, showing he hadn't rested well for a long time.
"'Jonah Swain. You two can just call me Jonah."
But facing the two distinguished guests, the City Lord's actions were graceful and standard. He turned to the two, forcing a smile. "Mr. Eugene has told me everything. You both are commendable. The cost of training a qualified Investigation Knight is enormous. They are worth their weight in gold."
There was something odd about the City Lord's tone. It was hard to tell if he was praising or displeased. Nol guessed it might be related to the fact that he couldn't find his beloved daughter. However, that topic was sensitive, and neither he nor Teest mentioned it.
After a few words, the City Lord seemed to lose interest in them, or perhaps he was just too tired. He barely kept his eyes open, looking at the Investigation Knights not far away. This nearly two-meter-tall, muscular man ate even less than a street pigeon.
Nol noticed the flask at his waist. It was roughly shaped, with a crooked angelic carving on its surface. It was securely attached to the City Lord's belt, but there was no smell of alcohol on him.
"It was a gift from my daughter." Noticing Nol's gaze, Lord Swain spoke unusually. He caressed the silver flask, tears forming in his eyes. There was a sloshing sound from inside.
"My little Maggie, she carved this silver flask with magic when she was seven and gave it to me as a birthday present. When she turned eight, she kept urging me to quit drinking. After that, I only dared to fill it with rejuvenation potions."
"I'm sorry for bringing up such memories." Nol took the opportunity to continue the conversation. "We'll also help look for Miss Swain. If you have any specific clues, please let us know."
When a child went missing, anxious parents wouldn't be choosy about who they sought help from. If not for the language barrier, they'd even question every cat and dog on the street.
Sure enough, Lord Swain seemed more spirited. "She's always been a good and obedient girl, but before her disappearance, she'd go out often and come back in a daze. She once mentioned the 'Mad Monk', and I thought…"
Pausing, he swallowed hard, as if trying to push down the pain. "I thought she might have gotten involved with something bad, so I consulted a psychiatrist…"
"Forgive me for being forward, but why didn't you inform the Temple at that time?" Teest gently asked. "Regarding the 'Mad Monk', the Temple would surely intervene immediately."
Lord Swain looked down with a wry smile. "Young man, Whitebird City relies on those merchant caravans for income, and the leaders of those caravans are all overly sensitive. If they knew that the 'Mad Monk' was in Whitebird City… No, even hearing about the presence of the Investigation Knights would make them detour through Dogtooth Bay."
"Maggie was only fourteen, and she only mentioned it verbally. No one else could confirm it. Otherwise, I would never… Haa."
The City Lord put down his cutlery, unable to eat anymore.
"It's not your fault. Please take care of yourself," Teest said gently. "We'll do our best to help."
"Thank you. If you have any news about her, you can always come to see me." The City Lord sighed.
...
The children were walking in the forest outside Whitebird City as it gradually got dark. They carefully observed the woods, and the woods observed them in return.
This wasn't a metaphor.
At this moment, five children, led by Hannah, had ventured deep into the forest.
The sky here was fragmented by the canopy. Numerous broken dolls of different sizes and styles lay or sat on branches, some with only heads left. Their hair stuck in the trees, and their heads swayed in the wind like bizarre fruits.
The dolls' eyes moved within their moldy sockets, watching the children closely.
Hundreds of meters behind the children, skeleton rats moved through the bushes. Every few hundred meters, one would curl into a bone ball and bury itself in the ground.
Not far away, a doll with only one eye left stared from a tree hole, silently watching everything.
And deeper in the forest, a damaged skirt fluttered slightly. A girl—or rather, a doll girl—stood up from a rocking chair.
She looked around eighteen, with two flaxen braids and a delicate and pretty face closely resembling a real person. However, there was a glaring crack on the right side of her forehead, and her eyes lacked reflection. Her hands and arms had clear doll joints, but they moved just like a living person's.
"Hannah and the others have returned," the doll girl said in a hoarse voice.
"May the Goddess bless them," a younger voice replied. "Miss Witch, are they okay?"
"It's hard to say if they're fine," the doll referred to as the "Witch" responded. "Someone is following them, and they seem to use magic."
"A mage from the Temple of Life?"
"Definitely not."
"So what should we do…"
The witch moved her joints. "If someone dares to approach, I'll be there to stop them. Don't worry."
After speaking, she unnecessarily took a deep breath. "Call everyone in. It's time for dinner… What's with that look on your face?"
"Uh, it's my first time seeing someone stir-fry tomatoes with bird eggs."
"Margaret, trust me, it won't taste bad."
The author has something to say:
Holy scrambled eggs with tomatoes! (×
Suddenly, it feels like having Player and traveler IDs without surnames saves so much trouble (^ρ^)
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Congratulations to the two of you for completing the couple's matching outfit achievement!
Who can resist the second at half price…