The bright moon is hanging high, the lake is swaying, and the clear water reflects the moon and stars in the sky.
The white-haired boy and the silent man looked at each other.
--curious.
Others may think this term is nonsense and confusing, and may even think that Ian who dissects people for this reason is very scary.
But the old knight knew that this was a very valid reason.
Especially for him, and for all those who practice the power of 'true form' and 'bloodline', being curious about one's own body structure can even be considered a bonus.
"Anatomy, I can understand it." Nodding slightly, the old man continued to ask: "But why are you here?"
"You made such a bloody mess at home?"
Ian shook his head and complained: "Do you want to tell everyone clearly that I was the one who killed you? Not to mention that you need water to clean the knife and hands. After the tossing, the smell of blood is so strong that even the neighbors next door can smell it."
Without pausing, the old man asked again: "Is it a spur of the moment, or is there a plan?"
Ian said without thinking: "It's both. I only came up with this idea after killing my uncle. After all, throwing away such a big piece of meat is a waste. Why not let me study it."
At this moment, the old knight was quite satisfied.
But he still raised his eyebrows and asked the last question: "Even if the lake and forest are safe, aren't you afraid of attracting wild animals if you dissect like this?"
He said somewhat meaningfully: "If I were not here to help you drive away the wild beasts... what would you do?"
"In order to attract... let's eat this offal first."
Looking sideways at the bloody corpse beside him, Ian turned around and smiled casually: "What's more, I'm not without means. It's not certain who will eat whom."
There is sleeping powder in his arms, and ordinary wild animals are just delivering food.
Even if a large pack of wolves or tigers and leopards came, it would at least be enough for him to leave the body behind and run to a safe place.
The old knight was silent.
At this moment, he had already made a decision in his mind.
"Why do you dare to invite me?"
But the old man still lowered his eyes, and he said calmly: "Ian... Even if your spiritual power can really see that I have good intentions, with your intelligence, you can also know that if necessary, I will not let you worry about a child.
life."
"It's not a thank you, nor a win-win situation. When you saw me, you already made plans to invite and fail - please tell me the reason behind this adventure."
And Ian raised his head silently.
He looked at the starry sky above his head.
The sky in the world of Terra is extremely dim compared to the earth. Except for an overly bright moon, there are only a small area of the entire sky with stars, and they are very dim.
This is obviously not a normal starry sky. The secrets in the sky of Terra are just as puzzling as the secrets on the earth of Terra.
Also...curious.
——Just like a question longs for an answer, he longs for it without reason and wants to know.
"Except for one uncle."
Lowering his head, Ian looked at the old knight's face seriously. The boy explained his thoughts smoothly: "I also need a guardian, a teacher who can tell me more knowledge."
"Although my uncle is a scumbag, without him, no one would be able to teach me the writing and other knowledge of this world. Besides, there are no adults in the family, so it would be very troublesome in Harrison Port."
"Indeed." The old knight nodded and agreed: "It's very bad if there are only children at home."
This is the custom of the empire. When a child's parents die in a border area, the family's inheritance will be taken away and the fields will be distributed. Even the child himself is property, and no one knows his future fate.
"You can take his place - the first time I saw him, I knew that this was my best opportunity, and it was also an opportunity that could change my future life."
"An opportunity to gain more knowledge."
Ian smiled at the serious old man. He had already found a suitable area and started digging holes and shoveling the soil: "And this requires your consent."
Originally, the boy planned to bury his uncle, but due to an accident, he needed to bury an additional native and a forest leopard, which doubled the workload.
However, just when Ian was digging a few shovels, a hand stretched out and took the shovel from Ian's hand.
The frowning old knight motioned to Ian to stand aside, and then started to smoothly demonstrate the movements and skills of how to correctly use a farm shovel to dig soil - the movements were obviously more skillful than the boy who had never used a farm shovel before or in this life.
If you look at him, you can tell that he is proficient in farm chores.
After demonstrating for five or six minutes, the old knight had already begun to dig the pit into shape.
Then, he handed the shovel back to Ian, and Ian took the shovel smoothly and continued digging holes by imitating the old knight's previous movements.
"There are very few children in the empire who want to read and write like you... They don't even know the meaning of knowledge."
Observing Ian's movements, and opening his mouth to point out the boy's power techniques and correct unqualified movements, the old knight said solemnly: "Even the children of nobles and bachelors are like this. They regard knowledge as something boring and worthless.
, rather than studying and learning to write their own names, they want to practice martial arts, make achievements, and become a member of the empire's government."
——Even so, they will not allow the spread and diffusion of knowledge. He thought silently in his heart.
"Understanding a civilization begins with words."
The pit was big enough to put down several corpses. The boy pushed the corpses of his uncle, indigenous people and forest leopards into it, and then shoveled the soil to bury these guys who intended to kill him: "Only when you learn to read and write can you truly understand a civilization.
A world."
Breathing a little tiredly, Ian said lightly: "Similarly, they are also needed for the journey of exploring the unknown, whether it is interpretation or recording, regaining or pioneering."
"Your name? My teacher, if you agree, my exploration of the future will begin with the knowledge you impart."
He raised his head and looked at the man, and the old man looked into those light cyan eyes again.
He heard the child's tender and clear voice: "I want to know."
--curiosity.
The knight stared at the light in Ian's eyes.
Pure curiosity that wants to know something, wants to explore something, wants to go to distant places and explain the unknown.
This is a child with endless possibilities.
Or rather, human beings.
He may become an adventurer who kills evil beasts, buries monsters, and walks in the wilderness; he may also become an explorer who crosses thousands of mountains and rivers and travels the entire continent of Terra.
He may study the mysteries of psychic energy and explore the truth of the world left in the dust for mankind; he may also dig into the source of human genes and analyze and ascertain the divine power given to all living beings by pre-era civilizations.
He may become a hero, he may become an explorer, he may also become a pioneer of a generation... He may even be unknown, just an ignorant child on the border, with his hands stained with the blood of his relatives, and his future is uncertain.
Or even worse. Become a crazy monster driven only by his own curiosity.
And all these futures and possibilities depend on your own choices.
Just like what my king had entrusted to me fifty years ago.
[——Hilliard, my knight... take ‘it’ as far away as possible, leave the imperial capital, leave the Quinault Plain]
[——When everything is over, you can use it yourself, or give it to anyone, or bury it, it doesn’t matter... As long as you don’t let those rebels get it, there is hope for everything in the future]
[——Humanity...still has hope of returning to the stars]
hope……
curiosity……
And, the courage to choose.
"My name is Hilliard. Hilliard Lacy."
Teacher, knight.
The tired man raised his head, his gray-brown eyes facing his cyan eyes.
Hilliard looked at Ian seriously and answered his student's question: "Don't worry. When all this passes, I will teach you whatever you want to learn."
"Thanks!"
Then he saw the boy smiling happily, and Ian's expression was not hidden at all. He smiled whenever he wanted, because he was really happy.
A golden halo reflected in the boy's eyes, a color that only Ian could see.
The wind blows across the land by the lake, causing the waves to roll, reflecting the trivial and dim stars.
The hot summer wind is still surging among the forests, and its brilliance is dissipating one by one, just like the torch that lights up and suddenly goes out on the earth.
Raising his head, Hilliard could only see the dark sky and the bright moon. Although there were no dark clouds, the dark shadows were still covering the stars, stripping away the things that represented eternity and distance from human eyes.
In Terra 766, most of the stars that could be observed in the Terra star field were obscured. Except for the sun, moon and the few remaining planets, humans could only see darkness when they looked up at the sky.
Fourteen great star warlocks jumped from the Cloud View Dome Tower at the Star Observation Tower in the Capital of Knowledge and committed suicide; the aftermath of the death of the imperial tyrant during the civil strife in Dark Moon twenty years ago has now gradually subsided; the major local nobles and various
The forces of the other side remained stationary at the border, and the undercurrent was surging.
The Huaiguang Church's exploration team returned from the Endless Ocean and the New World, bringing ominous signs, while the farmers of Quinault Plains complained about the lack of rainfall, and the sea descendants of Whale Song Cliff were waking up from their dreams and looking into the depths of the deep sea.
, my heart was full of vigilance and fear.
The fishermen on the frontier celebrated a good harvest, and the old Khan of the Cangtian Palace began to hold a birthday party for his ninetieth birthday.
Everyone in the world has different sorrows and joys, and the Star Prison has taken shape.
The channel for humans to return is gradually being blocked, but no one knows it.
But there are still people who look up to the stars.
"I don't know if this is right."
He started to help Ian shovel the soil and bury the body. Hilliard closed his eyes.
But those eyes were reflected in his mind. The fire burning in Ian's water-colored eyes was not just the brilliance of spiritual energy, but a curiosity that was more dazzling than the sun. It was a desire that was more dazzling and dangerous than anything else.
.
Just like him in the past and His Majesty in the past...
That is, the light of hope.
[If he meets the conditions, then I will give him all my knowledge and the key to the future]
"If I did something wrong, I won't say sorry." Only the starry sky could hear his words.
…
Harrison Port, next to Ian's house.
The moist and warm night wind blew through the street, and the ever-burning lamp at the intersection swayed slightly, causing the light of the fluorescent algae oil in the lamp to dim.
A short figure emerged from the shadow of the house and walked out from the cover of the vegetation. He had an obsidian knife at his waist, and his dark brown skin had dark lines and a vaguely eerie sheen.
There were several vague figures following him.
They arrived at the door of Ian's house in silence.
The door was opened and the figures stepped inside.