novelhk Page 80
Page 80
The only response she received was the sound of the lord's long boots.
The knights dared not move in the face of the desolate scene; it was too gruesome for even seasoned warriors like themselves.
Blood was everywhere—on the walls, the floor, and on the two people. What was horrifying was the gradually healing wound on Solita's face and the desperate look on the servant's face.
Finally, the lord arrived. He pushed aside the knight and looked inside.
Hiss, the usually solemn man couldn't help but take a half step back, sweating as he looked at the horrific scene.
Fortunately, the knights around him gave him courage, and his expression was no longer calm, but rather filled with deep fear.
"Arrest her! The rest of you, come with me to find some ancient texts and see if there's any way to destroy this demon!"
It must be said that this lord was indeed a good lord. He possessed enough composure and decisiveness, and was not tempted by Solita's immortality.
In his mind, the fact that Solita was alive was the greatest disaster.
The lord's traditional and unquestionable mindset cost Solita her last chance.
The knights exchanged glances and, relying on their armor, boldly surrounded Solita. However, to their surprise, Solita did not offer any resistance.
She simply lowered her hands, letting them lock her shoulders and arms with metal gloves.
Solita was still just a 15-year-old girl. No matter how strong her will was, she couldn't gain the knowledge to solve everything, and besides, she had lost her strength.
Mom...why, why did you send me here?
I want to go home... I want to go back home and eat a piece of hard, sawdust-covered black bread...
As she murmured in her mind, Solita could no longer resist the exhaustion and fainted. However, the death aura around her grew stronger, indicating that her magic power was beginning to increase.
……
……
The lord did not hesitate for long. He found many ways to deal with demons in the books, including throwing them into the ocean and tearing them to pieces.
However, he preferred the simplest method, which was also the one that best showcased his power.
Fire.
He wanted everyone to see how the immortal demon would be reduced to ashes under his leadership, so he had the knights hang Solita on the fire rack.
This was a pyramid-shaped fire pit with a large amount of wood piled up underneath, and Solita was locked on a wooden frame that was crossed in a cross shape.
The lord specially lifted the curfew today, intending to allow more people to come and witness this scene, especially caravans, so they can take their stories to farther places.
Go and prove that he is a good lord.
It was still afternoon, but there were quite a few people gathered around the fire pit.
They had long heard that the lord had captured a strange girl, but they never expected that she would be the legendary demon.
They whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with deep contempt.
"You know, it's really wicked that a demon can disguise itself as us. Thank goodness we have our wise lord."
"Exactly, otherwise who knows how many people would have died!"
And so the news, whether true or false, spread throughout the surrounding territories, including to Jiang Kehan, who was working in a field.
"Kehan, there will be a ritual to burn demons in front of the lord's mansion. Do you want to go and see it?"
The lord even gave the other party a name, something like "witch"?
The older woman waved enthusiastically towards Jiang Kehan in the field, her enthusiasm almost matching her own weight.
Jiang Kehan was about to refuse, but Yue*yi (three) D Lingqi Er Er 4 Ba Si (unable to resist the other party directly dragging her hand and forcibly taking her away.)
"You're such a quiet person, you should have left a long time ago. I'm not trying to be mean, but how come such a virtuous girl doesn't like to talk?"
"You have to be like an older woman, talk a lot, just like a 4-year-old, to be charming!"
The woman laughed and patted the muscles on her chest. Yes, muscles. She was as strong as a bear, and it looked like she could lift Jiang Kehan up with one hand.
"Okay, I got it." Jiang Kehan smiled helplessly, which was considered as agreeing to the other party's invitation.
Beneath the bonfire, the scorn of others coalesced into flames, waking Solita from her unconsciousness.
She looked at the people below and heard the cacophony of insults around her. Her lifeless face revealed nothing of her thoughts, except for a single, silent tear that fell onto the woodpile below.
Chapter 117 Who says village girls have to be burned?
The sun tilted slightly, its light piercing into the deeper darkness, leaving the place shrouded in the fading glow of the setting sun.
It was already dusk, and the time for ignition was not far off.
More and more people gathered around the fire, and from above, Solita, who was tied to the wooden frame, looked like a tiny sesame seed trapped in an anthill, surrounded in the middle.
The surroundings were far from quiet; people were talking amongst themselves, venting all sorts of speculation and malice, while Solita simply kept her head down, preventing others from seeing her face.
Jiang Kehan, standing in the crowd, was dressed in very simple clothes and wore a headscarf used for sun protection and wind protection while working in the fields. She looked like a weak and helpless village girl.
But the older woman leading her was a true hero, casually pushing aside the people in front of her and leading Jiang Kehan to a closer position.
"Little Kehan, you finally got to come out, so your auntie has to show you around properly, otherwise where will your auntie's face be?"
The older woman turned around with a cheerful smile, her tone conveying an unquestionable sense of concern for the child's well-being, while also sounding like she was coaxing Jiang Kehan.
"After all, it's rare to see a girl as beautiful as you, and you're so kind to me, often coming to help me with chores. I can't let you suffer any injustice!"
Jiang Kehan felt the strength coming from the other person's arm and felt somewhat helpless.
She usually helps this elderly woman who is lonely because her children are not at home, and the woman sees her as a source of emotional support.
She just really didn't like joining in the fun, especially such bloody scenes; she found them rather disgusting.
"I understand, thank you, auntie." Jiang Kehan kept the matter separate from the fact that she had shown concern for the auntie and expressed her gratitude.
But she always felt that she shouldn't thank others so casually. Was that just her imagination?
Upon hearing Jiang Kehan's gratitude, the woman's smile deepened, her movements became more energetic, and she led Jiang Kehan into the innermost part of the house.
Only after they could clearly see Solita's figure did the two stop.
Jiang Kehan looked up; she was still very curious about the witch with strange powers in this story.
But when she saw the other person's emotionless face from below, and the tears falling on their own, she was stunned.
The other person's hemp clothing was covered in bloodstains and filth mixed with dust and "water," making her look less like an evil witch and more like a homeless child.
A strange twitch began to dance in her heart, accompanied by a deep-seated heartache that made her very uncomfortable.
What's wrong with me... Jiang Kehan wanted to reach out and touch the other person's face, wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then hug her in her arms.
But she was just a village girl, while the other was a witch tied to a fire; the distance between them was not something that could be bridged by hand alone.
"Kehan, what's wrong?" The older woman sensed something was wrong. She looked down at Jiang Kehan with a worried tone.
Jiang Kehan skillfully concealed her emotions, forcing a smile to prove that nothing was wrong.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little surprised that she's like a child."
The older woman looked up at Solita, her brow furrowing. "Is this child really a so-called witch? Or can she mimic our emotions?"
Jiang Kehan was unaware that she was clutching her chest, trying to attribute the emotional impact to the other person's mysterious power, but she couldn't convince herself otherwise.
She was heartbroken for the other person, a heartbreak that seemed to have no real cause.
"Maybe." Jiang Kehan's tone was low. She glanced around and, seeing the people surrounding the area and the knights maintaining order, she temporarily abandoned her idea.
She was just a village girl; how could she possibly touch the witch hanging on the fire stand?
As the time drew to a close, the people below began to shout in unison, seemingly deliberately guiding their emotions.
"Burn her to death!"
"Burn her to death!"
Their tone grew increasingly agitated, and their contagious emotions made them unwilling to think any further, unleashing their animalistic instincts.
But the lord, who should have come out to raise the torch and light the bonfire, failed to appear, causing their voices to gradually fade.
"Wasn't it said that we were supposed to light the fire at this time? Where is the lord?"
The commotion spread among the crowd until someone ran out of the lord's manor, sobbing.
It was Hall, the steward of the lord's manor.
His tone was mournful, as if he had encountered something unbelievable, as he shouted to everyone.
"My lord, the lord is dead!"
The crowd erupted in chaos. They all felt a profound unease. How could the lord have died? How could he have died at this time?
How could I die with them around?!
Jiang Kehan was also puzzled. She subconsciously moved closer to the older woman to protect her, but the older woman half-covered her and held her in her arms.
"Kehan, let's go." The old woman looked at the turbulent crowd around her. She didn't want Jiang Kehan to get involved. The lord's death was no small matter.
Just as she suspected, the people here had begun to riot in an attempt to prove their innocence.
Suddenly, someone shouted, and a torch was thrown at the fire stand.
"It's a witch! It must be a witch who harmed the lord, otherwise it couldn't be such a coincidence!"
"Burn her to death!"
Immediately, more people, in order to prove their innocence, threw torches at the fire stand, echoing the other side's claims.
"That's right, it must be the witch's revenge. Let's all burn her!"
The firelight revealed the bloodshot eyes and tension in their expressions as they tried to pin all the blame on each other to prove their own innocence.
The crackling sounds grew louder and louder as the flames intensified, as if mocking them.
The flames made the place as bright as day, illuminating everyone's expressions and swaying their shadows, but their hearts remained unseen.
The knights no longer cared about this place; they surrounded the butler, trying to get clearer information.
"What exactly happened?" they demanded of Hall.
Hall's panic was not something he needed to hide; he was still reeling from the shock of killing the enemy alongside Ed, the lord's most trusted captain of the guard.
"I don't know either, the lord just died suddenly."
"By the way, everyone, hurry up and come with me to protect the lord's wife and the young lord!"