Sixteen Smile

"What does this mean?" Ashu Rufate asked. "Please forgive my ignorance, because I have been too short to get to the respected Archbishop."

"Very respectable?...ha...haha..." The bard was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, and punched the table with his fists while laughing. Although the guard was not so exaggerated, the ironic smile on his face was also obvious.

"Did I say something wrong?" Seeing the poet laughing so hard that he couldn't help but ask.

"If that person is a god, a power, a talent, a wisdom, etc.," the poet finally stopped laughing and poured the last bit of wine from the cup into his throat. "But 'respectful'... it's not the turn!"

"Ah...why..."

"That person, although he is a man who is favored by God, has a very bad moral reputation... It is said that he needs more than five women to serve him every night, and it is said that he likes a lot of abnormal things... In short, the female thief who fell into his hands... is really worth regretting."

The guard spoke in agreement, which shows that what the poet said was not nonsense.

"But then again, no matter whether it is male or female, the thief is going to be exiled to the south. It will be a life-and-death death to go there, and there is no difference." The poet smiled slightly. Ashu Rufate noticed that although he had drunk a lot, he was almost drunk. The guard was about to stagger when he walked.

"Ah, sorry, I have something to do with you, I'm afraid I'll have to take a step first. My name is Neil, but others usually call me 'Golden Finger Neil'. Today, I'm welcome to you. If you meet again later, I'm willing to ask you two to have a good meal."

"My name is Ashu Rufate." Ashu Rufate replied, and they shook hands.

"My name is Ada." The guard replied. But he drank a lot and was irritated. He was now confused and could not stand up for a moment, let alone shake hands and say goodbye.

"Ah, Ashurufat, if possible, I hope you can send him back to the Great Temple. Our friend may have drunk too much." Before the poet left, he seemed to have made this suggestion inadvertently.

After Neil left, Ashu Rufate quickly helped Ada leave the tavern. The distance between the tavern and the Grand Temple was not too far, so Ashu Rufate didn't take much time to help this friend he just met into the main entrance.

Just like the last time he came, the security forces outside here were as relaxed as ever. The people on duty at the door recognized Ada and let Ash Rufat in directly, without even asking about his identity.

Without any extra effort, Ashu Rufate came to the Archbishop's private residence, outside the door of an independent mansion. During the chat in the tavern, he already knew that the Archbishop had something to do when he went out today, so it was the time when he was most easily invaded. In fact, there was no other defensive force here except for a sleepy guard at the door.

Although this seems weird and incredible, that's the truth.

But when he sneaked in, he understood why there was only one guard here. On the surface, it was considered an independent double-storey and quite beautiful building, but in fact there was nothing inside. The rooms here were locked, but the doors were either empty or filled with dust. Or like those dormitories used to entertain guests, there were only the simplest furniture and furnishings.

In other words, this is just the "nominal" residence of the Archbishop. As for where the Archbishop really lives, it is not something that the lower-level guards can know.

Eshu Rufate no longer prying open the door of the room one by one, but walked towards the stairs and wanted to go up the second floor. But the door of the last room attracted his attention. This door seemed to be unique because the door was made of iron, and usually only very important rooms would use iron doors.

"Master, there is a life reaction in the room." Carrie said as he walked to the door.

The iron door was locked very strongly, but it was pried open under the sword of withering that was cut like mud. Ashu Rufate pushed open the door, and then he saw the person he was looking for.

"Battle Leaf!" Ashu Rufat shouted in a low voice.

Xiangye was wearing a hoodie and was hanging on a "Y"-shaped shelf without moving. However, after hearing Ash Rufate's voice, she raised her head slightly in the direction of the door.

"Sir?" she asked in a very slight voice. "Ah...you are finally here..."

Ash Rufate quickly took two steps forward and wanted to use a sword to pry open the chain of the Wanye. However, this was actually completely unnecessary. The chain was locked with a very simple buckle, which could be opened with a light pull. When Ash Rufate opened the buckle, the Wanye's body lost its support and completely limped. At this time, he noticed the abnormality in the body of the Wanye.

On her wrist, there was an ominous red pattern on the surface of her fair skin. It was not something painted with red pigment, but it appeared from the inside of the body to the surface of the skin, like blood. Ash Rufate found that this pattern appeared on the skin of the body from below the neck. Overall, it looked like the appearance of blood vessels caused by poor blood flow, but the blood vessels were blue.

"What's going on?" Ashu Rufat asked. Shanye was wearing only this blouse, with naked body underneath, not even underwear. Moreover, in addition to the bloodshot marks, there were many bruises and abrasions on her body, and some were obviously whip marks.

"It seems... sir, you are a step late..." Xiangye replied in a low voice. "But... I am still very happy. Because you didn't lie to me... You are still here... Although I asked for a resident who was willing to take me in that day, I seemed to be too confident. No one there was willing to help... and then I was caught..."

"Master, this is a late sign of a... high-intensity biochemical neurotoxin attack. Her nerves in her body were eroded and destroyed!" Carrie replied in her mind. "She has not much life left, and it shouldn't last more than twenty hours."

"What should I do?" Ashu Rufate asked anxiously in his mind.

"The nerve cells have been damaged irreparably, and there is no way. Her touch is now more sensitive than imagined. You will feel a lot of pain when you hold her like this... Master, my suggestion is to kill her. This is kind of kindness!"

Ashu Rufat gently put the bay leaves on the ground. As Carrie said, even if he just hugged Bay leaves very gently, it would make her feel very painful.

"Who did this?" Ashu Rufat asked. "Archit Carl? Why did he do this?"

"He... took some strange medicines... and then ravaged me for three days..." Xiangye smiled hard, but could not show her smile. "And when he left, he told me that I would die soon... that medicine would make my body very sensitive... so that he could enjoy it... But that medicine is also very poisonous to me... but... it seems that I am not the first woman to receive this treatment..."

Ash Rufate's face turned pale and could not say a word.

"But I am still very happy... because... sir... you fulfilled your promise. After all, you came to me..." Xiangye said, a wave of severe pain made her eyes dissipate and her vision blurred. "A long time ago... it seemed that my parents also made similar promises to me. They asked me to escape alone and said they would come to me... It was really strange. At that time, I was obviously a child, but I knew they were lying... Speaking of which, I could not escape at that time, because many soldiers were searching for me later... If Captain Chris had not hidden me under the seat in the car, I would have died with my parents. I could have lived for so many years and be able to know so many people in the troupe, especially those who could meet you... I should have no regrets. Even if this is a dream, it would have made me very happy..."

"I... am not a good person." Ashu Rufate replied, even I am not a human being at all.

"It seems like I'm really going to die...Is this the feeling of death?"

"Don't say such stupid words, I will find a way to save you. Since that Archbishop has poison, there will probably be corresponding antidotes, if possible..."

His voice stopped as Baba pressed a finger against his lips.

"Sir... Although I know this is a lie with good intentions, I don't want you to lie to me. I hate others lying to me... No matter what kind of lie it is... If there is an antidote, I will not be thrown here..."

Ashrufat's lips twitched. "Is there anything I want to do but can't do? If possible, I'm willing to help you fulfill your wish."

"Can people like me have any other wishes... If possible, can I show you your smile?"

"Smile?"

"Although I've been together for a long time, I've never seen an adult smile sincerely..."

Haven't I laughed? Ashu Rufate never noticed this question on weekdays, so he didn't know how to answer it for a while. After a while, he tried hard to mobilize the muscles on his face and tried to smile.

"What I want to see...is not this kind of smile. Sir, it seems that you have never really smiled. Is there anything that takes away your smile?"

"Because something happened...I don't want to mention. Because of my incompetence, my cowardice, and my responsibilities, some innocent good people died." After a long time, Ashu Rufate replied. "Maybe it's because of this reason, I can't laugh now."

"Then let's make an agreement. If one day, when you can freely smile in your heart, please sing a song for me with a smile..."

At the moment when Ash Rufate was a little surprised, Xiangye suddenly grabbed his wrist and grabbed it very tightly.

"Now... sir... can you send me a ride?"

"I……"

"For me now, living is a simple torture." Xiangye smiled sadly, the kind of laughter that made people shed tears. "I don't want others to do it... to help me relieve this pain."

"Master, this is..." Carrie reminded in her mind, but was yelled back by Ashu Rufate. "I know, you need to say nothing more!"

He put the Withering Sword to the heart of Xiangye's chest. This was the first time he felt his hands trembling since he held the sword.

"Yanye, can I ask you a question? What kind of mood did you save me at that time? Is it just because of Captain Chris?"

"I don't know... maybe... it's because I'm a little bit into you."

...

This is the tenth day when Captain Chris is restless.

They are now temporarily camping in a small town two or three days away from Oren City. The situation is completely unexpected. Ashu Rufate and Shanye suddenly lose their news. If they are caught, then Oren City is unexpectedly calm and nothing is wrong. If they have successfully escaped, they have no way to find her.

Could it be that... the two of them elope and never look back. If this happens, Captain Chris feels that he has suffered heavy losses, and a pillar and a cheap bodyguard disappear.

The only thing worth comforting is that the troupe is quite popular in this small town. This made Chris determined to pay more attention to the satellite towns of these big cities in the future. After all, the stage of the big cities is the goal of everyone paying attention to, and the competition is too fierce. With the current strength of "Summer Night Dream", we must compete with those large-scale troupes, and we still have no choice but to compete with those large-scale troupes.

When the settlement was settled that night, Captain Chris was a little surprised to find that the performances of these three days had already earned her a month's salary for the entire troupe. Although it was not a big deal to get rich, it was also quite impressive.

It seems that there are still some problems with my past business ideas... It seems that the next goal of the troupe, the plan to buy a super big tent, should be realized within one year. However, it is a pity that I cannot participate in the Oren City Festival... And that damn Ashu Rufate actually kidnapped Baby Leaves...

A troupe's troupe came in from outside the door, and Chris quickly stuffed the account book and money into the drawer (she was in the troupe's RV at the moment).

"Is there anything?" Chris asked with the unique majesty of the leader.

"Someone wants to see you."

"Who? Are people outside?"

"This... he also asked someone to pass on the message. He said he would wait for you in the mill by the river outside the town."

For some reason! Chris was about to ignore this matter and continue to settle the accounts. The servant handed over a small bag.

"What's this?"

"He said, after seeing this thing, you must be willing to meet."

Captain Chris opened the small bag curiously, and her eyes immediately stared. There was a gold coin in the middle of the bag! The money she earned in the past three days was just a gold coin!

More than ten minutes later, Captain Chris came to the mill. She had already estimated several possibilities in her heart. The danger should not be as dangerous as robbers and other methods. The biggest possibility is that someone (at least a rich man) intends to propose to her!

If it is a side room, it would be fine if you are a concubine or something, just refuse to leave. But what if it is a main room? If it is a rich and status nobleman, and his appearance is not too bad... Ah, this situation is really difficult to deal with...

Next to the mill, there is a figure holding a horse, and it looks familiar. Is it really my admirer?

Taking advantage of the moonlight, Chris approached the other party. Because of her nervousness, she didn't know how to speak out for the moment. However, this problem was solved immediately. The mysterious figure turned around and Chris immediately recognized the other party.

"Ashu Rufate?!!!"

"It's me, the leader." Ash Rufate replied.

"What does it mean to give me that...?" Several thoughts flashed through Chris' mind, and the most likely one stayed. "Do you want to exchange my bay leaves with such a gold coin?" she roared.

To her surprise, there was no embarrassing expression on Ashu Rufate's face, but instead, it was a disturbing calm.

"I'm sorry, leader..." After a long time, Ashu Rufate finally spoke. The tone of his speech made Chris feel a chill in his heart. "Ganoye is dead."

"Dead? How is that possible! I remember that at that time, we were not very safe to leave..."

"Battle was caught by Archbishop Carl..."

"Impossible, I have sent someone to the city! There is no movement!"

"She was caught, but not treated as an ordinary criminal. Archbishop Carl enjoyed her body and then killed her."

"What..." Shocked, a sad expression filled Chris's face. After a long time, she murmured. "This is fate...it's fate..." Ashu Rufate clearly saw Chris turn his head, unwilling to let Ashu Rufate see her face clearly. But the action of smearing her eyes hard could not be hidden from others.
To be continued...