The important source of food and economy in Harrison Port is fishing. When the fish tide comes in April, in order to process the large amount of caught fresh fish, most of the entire port's labor force will come to help and process and salt the fish on the assembly line in front of the long table.
When a live fish is served to the table, the first person is responsible for cutting off the head and passing it to the second person. The second person cuts open the belly of the fish and removes the internal organs, and then gives it to the third person. The third person removes the bones and leaves only the remaining fish.
The fish body with the flesh removed was thrown into a large bucket filled with salt water and blessed by the priest of Huaiguang Church to marinate for a whole day.
Finally, the marinated fish will be sent to open areas to dry in the next few days and sold to various chambers of commerce.
Oceana is very familiar with this process. When his sister and brother-in-law were still alive, he was often asked to help and get some rewards.
Although his sister would nag him that he should save more money to take care of himself when he gets old in the future, he never paid attention to it. He quickly used the reward money to buy black mushrooms and spent it all in a short time.
.
And now.
The stench of fish blood and sea salt mixed into the nose, and only the lingering buzz of mosquitoes could be heard in the ears.
When Osenna woke up, he found that he was firmly trapped on the long table used to process salted fish at home. His hands, feet and even his eyes were tied up with ropes and cloth straps, making him unable to move.
The reason why he discovered the latter was because he heard the sound of mosquito wings flapping in his ears. Osenna subconsciously wanted to swat the hateful flying insect to death. This is the instinct of any human being.
But this movement could not be started at all. The tough and water-soaked rope locked him tightly on the long table, so that he could only listen blankly to the flying mosquitoes lingering and buzzing in his ears.
It is simply the greatest torture.
The long table where God knows how many fish had been handled still had a strong fishy smell and a faint rancid smell. Being tied to it, Osenna almost wanted to vomit, but because his mouth was also tightly blocked by a ball of linen cloth,
So he could only whine and make a dull, almost inaudible sound.
At this moment, he was just like a sea fish that had been processed by his own assembly line in the past, placed on this long table and allowed to be slaughtered.
——What's going on? What happened to me?
For the first time, Oceana didn't understand his situation, but soon, with the fragrance of flowers still lingering in his mouth and nose, he recalled what all this was about.
Yes...it's my nephew, Ian!
That brat made a sneak attack with his own sleeping powder and knocked himself down by throwing lime packets!
He tied himself to the table, not knowing what to do...
After confirming that it was Ian, Oceana became confused: "How on earth did he find my sleeping powder?"
You must know that sleep powder is a rare material that plays an important role in many situations. It is an imperial controlled product and is quite rare. Ordinary hunters cannot use it at all.
If you really use it, the value of a hunt may not be as high as sleeping powder. It is a material that is only used for those rare and exotic animals whose fur cannot be damaged by a knife.
I was able to obtain a lot of money through my connections with the indigenous people, and I usually hid it very tightly for fear of being discovered.
That secret cabinet... not even the best hunter in town can find it!
But he didn't know that in Ian's precognitive vision, the big bag of sleeping powder seemed to be highlighted and see-through, making it easy to find it.
"woo woo woo woo!"
At this moment, Oceana was still struggling. He felt that the rope at his wrist was somewhat loose. After all, he knew that the ropes at his home were all old goods that had been used for seven or eight years.
Rather, in the past, he had always used some second-hand gadgets from his sister, Ian's mother, and never bought them himself.
After the decline of Ian's family, Orsenna, who was unable to find any wool, did not renovate these little things that were not commonly used.
"How dare you plot against me..."
Oceana gritted his teeth with hatred in his heart. The reason why he bullied Ian was because the child could not pose a threat to him. Even if he resisted, he could easily be beaten down. He would not worry about this when he started, but would feel quite at ease.
But now, his nephew, who he originally thought was harmless, suddenly showed his fangs and bit him. This feeling made him feel embarrassed and afraid at the same time.
"If Ian just wants to avoid being beaten, then you can agree to it first. He is just a child anyway, so just lie."
Oceana rubbed hard against the rope in his hand, intending to break it, but this obviously took some time.
However, he has made up his mind that no matter whether he can break the rope or not, he will definitely kill him after he tricks Ian into untying him - then the body will be sold directly to the group of forest natives, and he will just say Yi to the outside world to avoid it.
Well, I ran out of the port to play, but disappeared!
Anyway, since the guard team that Ian's father belonged to disappeared en masse in the torrential rainstorm eight years ago, the entire Harrison Port guard system has not been completely rebuilt. The collapsed walls have not yet been repaired, and only the towers in each district are still intact.
But the tower is closed to the inside and outside. In this case, it is not unusual for children to sneak out. A few years ago, there were cases of children being snatched away by wild beasts by the river. No matter how hard you prohibit it, it will be useless. Someone will always run out.
.
Just like himself. If not for this, he would not have been able to quietly hook up with the natives outside the city.
Thumb, thump, thump.
At this moment, footsteps could be heard on the old wooden board.
Oceana opened his eyes subconsciously. He wanted to roar or say something, but at this moment he realized that his mouth had been completely blocked and he could not make any sound. No matter if he agreed to the conditions,
He can neither cheat nor beg for mercy.
It wasn't until this moment that Osenna suddenly felt a sense of terror——
Ian blocked his mouth. Did he not intend to communicate with him at all?!
"Woooo!!"
Oceana immediately struggled violently, moving up and down. He squirmed his body like a worm. The man tried his best to break free from the rope on his wrist. Although this was difficult, it was not impossible...
Then, he felt a sharp pain coming from the center of his palm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dull sound of hammers and wooden nails was heard. The nails penetrated the flesh and blood, going deep into the depths of the wooden table, and nailed the hands that were already tied but still intent on causing trouble to the spot.
"Woo!!!!"
Oceana's eyes widened. If his mouth hadn't been filled with cotton wool, the severe pain might have caused him to bite off his tongue. But even so, his breathing became disordered. He rolled his eyes and fainted briefly.
passed.
And when he woke up again, what he heard was a sound that frightened him even more and drove him crazy.
That was the sound of sharpening knives.
Click, click, click.
The fish-separating knife was being sharpened, and for a moment, Oceana even had a scene in his mind of sea fish being neatly chopped off, then disembowelled and deboned.
In an instant, he was so frightened that he became incontinent.
"well."
Only then could Orsenna hear a childish sigh: "You shouldn't wake up, uncle. It's good to just walk away in a daze."
It was just a sigh, the sound of sharpening the knife continued, but after breaking the silence, Ian seemed to start talking.
"I really didn't expect you to solve it so easily, so I still have plenty of time, so don't worry."
While sharpening the knife, the boy said in a rather cheerful tone with a little fear and emotion: "To be honest, I was really nervous before I tied you up... It's such a fluke, so lucky, better than me
It is ten thousand times smoother than I imagined. After all, no matter how meticulous the preparation is, the success rate is not 100%, and I will die if I make even the slightest mistake."
"I originally planned that you would not inhale the sleeping powder, so I specially repaired the corridor and made a wooden trap."
Wooden board trap? Even though his palms were in sharp pain and his whole body was trembling with fear, Oceana couldn't help but picture the scene in the corridor of his home in his mind.
——Indeed, there was a wooden board in the middle of the corridor that was soaked and damaged by water, and there was a sunken mud puddle underneath. And because he had a disabled leg, if he accidentally tripped, he would definitely fall hard.
He originally planned to find a time to ask Ian to repair it, and if he couldn't fix it, he would beat him up for fun...
"In addition, I also placed a stumbling rope over the kitchen, which is enough to deal with you."
Interrupting his uncle's delusion, Ian's voice came slowly again, but because Oceana's heartbeat was too fast and distorted, he couldn't hear clearly: "If you are smart enough, sleeping powder, puddles and stumbling ropes
If you see through them all and dodge them, then in the end I can only try to use a pitchfork to stab you to death by taking advantage of your inconvenience of turning around."
"I was a little worried that the skin of adults in this world was too tough, so I specially sharpened it a little bit."
Pitchfork…
Oceanna still remembers a few Ascendant jokes told by some elders who once lived in the imperial capital when he was a child, including the story of a demon hunter who was killed by a few farmers with a pitchfork...
Although it was just a joke, the demon hunter was not simply the result of being pitchforked, but it was enough to show how powerless human flesh and blood was when faced with a pitchfork.
"Actually, even all the preparations cannot kill you... I have also prepared the means to die together."
Finally, the boy said faintly: "Do you smell the algae oil lamp? There is also a brazier for storing fire. I will put it in the living room. If you really escape all the traps and the pitchfork can't kill you, I will light it."
This house will perish with you."
After finishing speaking, Ian's sound of sharpening the knife stopped.
The boy stood up.
"Whoa! Whoa whoa!!"
Indeed, he smelled the sea-like smell of algae oil, and the temperature of the brazier came with it. Endless fear immediately flooded Osenna's heart, and he suddenly knew his end.
——A man who has prepared so many plans and wants to kill his nephew even if they die together, how could he give himself even the slightest chance to escape and even the slightest chance of surviving?!
He said all this just to test his own reaction, to confirm whether he had any accomplices and whether he had any back-up plans... He was already sure that he wouldn't be in too much trouble even if he died!
Then, the man began to struggle violently, and the wooden table creaked, as if he wanted to say something.
——I'm still useful! I also know a lot of things! Why are the natives anxious for blood sacrifices? Why is Harrison Port's defense so weak recently? Why are there fewer and fewer caravans coming recently? Why is the Viscount so depressed lately? The scene eight years ago
storm……
He really knows a lot.
But it's of no use.
"Are you scared? Feel free to be scared."
The boy's chuckle gradually came closer, even with a hint of soft relief: "Don't worry, uncle, I won't give you any chance to ask for help. Don't say a word of all your secrets, I won't listen.
I can dig it out myself."
Even though his eyes were covered, Orsenna still seemed to see a pair of indifferent blue eyes, staring calmly at his body, just like a butcher staring at a pig, or like a scholar staring at his experimental target.
Water-colored eyes flashed in the darkness, and what followed was a blade.