But I can’t remember exactly what I dreamed about.
I only remember that in the dream I seemed to be lying in a warm place, someone was singing melodious songs in my ears, an unknown white bird flew in the sky, and there was a sweet smell in the wind blowing towards my cheeks...
Everything is very comfortable.
I really want to stay in this dream forever.
But things went counterproductive.
I know...I have to wake up.
"You're awake."
Just as the boy's eyelashes trembled, he heard the voice of "that man".
"……Um."
The young man responded casually, his opened eyes did not turn to "that man", he just stared at the plastered ceiling, but his thoughts had drifted further away.
"Why not kill the horned beast?"
The man's tone sounded like a question, but in fact it was harsher than a question. The young man knew that he could not remain silent, even if he resisted the man in such a subtle way, it would bring him a lot of trouble.
"You just don't want to kill. Didn't you say that in this fair fighting arena, the winner can decide the life and death of the loser?"
"But what you were fighting was a life-and-death fight, and it had to be divided into life and death."
"But doesn't this go against your golden words? Master Feng Ze, I should have the right to choose."
The young man turned his face away and saw a pair of men's hands in his sight. There was a half-foot-long scar on each of the rough hands. Each thick finger was wearing a ring set with various jewelry.
Such a pair of hands that should belong to a warrior, but with such rich and tacky jewelry, looks very out of place.
"Oh? What you said is not unreasonable."
Baron Feng Ze smiled and put his right hand to the young man's forehead, like a doctor who wanted to take a temperature measurement.
"Well!!"
But when he put his hand on the young man's forehead, he exerted extremely brutal force on it. The metal ring pressed on the young man's forehead, leaving deep bloodshot marks.
"But rules are still rules, and it's true that you disobeyed me."
Baron Feng Ze held the boy's head firmly in his hands, as if he were grabbing a bowling ball. He laughed when he saw the boy's painful expression.
"Do you realize your mistake? My child."
The man who ruled Iron Feather City smiled like an elegant gentleman. He lifted the young man, who was bandaged all over and was a seriously injured soldier, into the air. Then he looked at the young man in this posture, with a gentleman's expression on his face.
Smiling, waiting for the boy's reply.
"Uh! Me!"
Is there any point in not giving in? The young man asked himself.
He found that he could not answer this question immediately.
He really wanted to maintain an unyielding attitude and let Feng Ze crush his head like a coconut, causing all kinds of paste to flow out.
But...he just remembered something in his dream, something that would allow him to survive like a "horned beast" with all his might.
Although the reason in my mind is quite humble, it is so humble that speaking out will only make people laugh.
There was nothing great about the reason for him to live, it was all his own selfishness.
But it was such a humble and insignificant reason that made him a greedy person.
Luxurious dignity is worthless in front of people who are greedy for life.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry, Mr. Feng Ze."
Yes, he knows.
Only by obeying can you survive.
The entire Iron Feather City, whether slaves, guards, residents or even travelers, must obey this man's orders as long as they are in Iron Feather City.
No exceptions.
To be precise, it is not that exceptions have never appeared, but all the "exceptions" that have appeared have been wiped out by this man.
So there really are no exceptions now.
Boom!
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Feng Ze let go of his hand, and the back of the boy's head hit the thin feather pillow and made a sound against the bed board.
"Next time, you won't be so lucky if you do it again."
Feng Ze's warning did not cause any disturbance in the young man's heart. He turned his gaze to the ceiling again and said feebly: "I understand."
"Well, I hope you're smart enough."
Feng Ze didn't care whether the young man listened to him seriously or not. Anyway, he had given an ultimatum and he was responsible for all the consequences.
"Your next game is in five days. Recuperate well and don't die before the game."
After saying that, Feng Ze picked up the crutches on the bedside and walked slowly to the door, and the armed guards standing at the door also left.
But if you only give me this little time, my injury may not heal, right?
"..."
But the young man just watched the man leave without expressing his doubts.
Because he knew it, he had no choice at all.
The young man understands his position. He is now just a tool for Feng Ze to make money in the fighting arena. He is a clown on the stage who performs swallowing knives. Even if the knife edge cuts his esophagus, he still has to smile and swallow the blade and blood together.
As long as the audience wants it, he can do anything.
This is his position.
"It's really..."
have no choice.
The young man sighed and closed his eyes, wanting to return to the continuation of that dream.
But for some reason he couldn't fall asleep.
Obviously those annoying guys have left, and the injuries on his body are no longer so painful, but he just can't have such a safe dream again.
"What's wrong? Young man, you look sad."
A hunchbacked old man wearing a shabby gray robe came from outside the door and came to the boy's bed with a tray. He coughed twice before placing tea and a plate of bread on the bedside table.
The young man stared at the old man's movements and asked him with a tired face: "Mr. Watts, do you have any ideas to help people fall asleep faster?"
"Yes! There are so many ways to make people unconscious."
As the old man spoke, he took the tray to the table by the window and mixed the medicine with the medicine jars on the table.
"For example, hitting some special parts of the body, eating some sleeping grass, or drinking Kukal... Oh, Kukal is not recommended. You will become addicted if you taste a little bit of it. Although it can give people hallucinations like beautiful dreams,
It can also be used as a powerful analgesic, but it is expensive and can easily lead to dependence..."
At this point, the old man suddenly changed the subject.
"Want some kukal? Boy."
The old man turned his head and smiled sinisterly at the young man on the bed.
"No, I just want to dream about what I was dreaming about just now."
Kukal is a medicine that can be mixed with wine and taken. It has many effects such as sleeping and analgesia. It seems to be used by many gladiators in the fighting arena.
The side effect is that it is easily addictive. Although it does not have a great impact on the body, too much dosage may make people unable to wake up. Feng Ze acquiesced in using this medicine as a product to relieve slave stress and let slaves use it.
The young man knew that that kind of thing was considered a soft drug and had never planned to touch it.
"Haha, you are quite smart. I thought you also wanted to be my 'customer'."
This hunchbacked old man, whom the boy called Mr. Watts, is one of the suppliers of Kukar's medicine. Of course, he is also a pharmacist in Iron Feather City, responsible for treating sick and injured slaves, and his medical skills are considered to be relatively advanced.
"I don't have that many steel coins, and I remember that a slave hanged himself because he couldn't get the steel coins to buy Kukar, right?"
Mentioning Kukar, the young man couldn't help but talk about a piece of news he had heard before.
"Well, yes!"
Woz did not deny it. He also added: "I dissected that guy's body. His stomach was full of mud and grass roots. It seemed that he hadn't eaten for three days and all the money was used to buy Kukar."
"Really? This is a bit..."
"What an idiot! I can't even get out of this dream."
Before the boy could say anything, Woz, who should be considered the instigator, started to lament.
Steel coins are the currency issued by Iron Feather City, and they are also the only currency that can be circulated in Iron Feather City. Outsiders who want to buy items in Iron Feather City must exchange their gold and silver for steel coins.
Not only ordinary residents of Iron Feather City, but slaves can also earn steel coins. Although the income is very low, they can still gain wealth through the work they do in Iron Feather City.
Of course, this kind of "steel coins" are only circulated in Iron Feather City. Even if you have thousands of steel coins, if you take them outside, they will still be wrapped in scrap metal.
This method successfully prevented most of the slaves from escaping from Iron Feather City. They could barely live in this Iron Feather City. Regardless of the difficulty of escaping from Iron Feather City, even if they were lucky enough to escape outside, they would not be able to survive.
No one will recognize him as a slave from Iron Feather City from the slave mark.
In fact, it would be okay to be recognized as a runaway slave, but it would be very fatal if he was a runaway slave from Tieyu City.
Tieyu City "purchases" the heads of slaves who escaped from Tieyu City for fifty standard silver dollars each. This price can make many people sell their consciences.
A few days after successfully escaping, the head of a slave who yearned for freedom was hung on the high wall of Iron Feather City. This kind of thing is not uncommon.
From the wall of the main entrance of Tieyu City, you can see the dried heads, swaying in the wind like gauze curtains hanging in front of the dancers' accounts in the tavern.
"Don't be immersed in your dreams! Boy, it's better to see the reality clearly."
Old Woz sighed and gave the young man a piece of advice.
This old man who looks like an unscrupulous businessman actually gives me advice.
The young man was a little surprised, but he still said: "But this reality really makes people want to dream."
"Haha, you won't want to dream about it later, kid."
Woz brought the tray to the boy's bedside, and the boy's expression changed as he looked like he didn't care about anything just now.
Those bottles and jars that exude pungent smells, as well as various medical tools that shine with cold light, make the young man's heart beat faster after going through mountains and seas of fire.
The young man asked with a livid face: "Can you be gentler later?"
"Hey, young man, don't be afraid, old man, my skills are guaranteed."
Old Woz laughed heartily, and stretched out his skinny hands towards the boy's bed.
"Are you older and experienced?"
The young man smiled awkwardly at Old Woz. When the other party stretched out his hand towards him, he pressed the corner and tried to struggle. However, Old Woz was much stronger than the injured boy.
Old Woz laughed, lifted up the boy's quilt and said, "Haha, that's the reason. There is no better pharmacist than me in the entire Iron Feather City."
"Can it not hurt this time?"
Knowing that he was doomed, the young man took the initiative to lift up his shirt, and with trembling hands, exposed his injuries to Old Woz.
"I feel you will feel much more comfortable, after all, this is not your first time (taking medicine)."
As he spoke, Old Woz stretched his index finger towards the boy's abdomen, pressed his black nails against the skin of the affected area, and then poked hard.
"ah!!"
Suddenly the boy's shrill screams passed through the window and reached the sky above Tieyu City.