Chapter 10: The teenager

A few days later.

A young man is trekking through the woods with difficulty. He is wearing rough and shabby clothes. There are still a lot of blood and stains on the clothes. The sweat on his forehead and back has wetted the clothes.

He carefully flipped the fallen leaves beside the tree roots, looking for some edible mushrooms, but often in vain. After searching for a long time, he could only find a small group in his clothes pocket.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he licked his thirsty lips, returned to the creek passing by before, suddenly buried his head in the stream, took a sip, then raised his head, revealing a slightly childish face, probably Only about 17 years old.

Took out the flint from his pocket, raised a fire near the stream, and baked a few mushrooms on the stone. Obviously, this was his dinner.

After eating a few mushrooms, the teenager was about to rest, but it didn't take long for him to roll on the ground, his body arched, his forehead gushing out of sweat, his expression was very painful.

In the distance, Stella stood on a branch, silently watching the food-poisoned teenager. After hesitating for a while, he chose to go over and take a look.

Next to the orange-red fire, the young man was panting violently while clutching his stomach, his face turned purple, and he let out low roars.

Light-colored shoes stepped on the fallen leaves, and Stella approached the boy.

"You, okay, can you hold on?"

A soft female voice came, and the boy opened his sweat-soaked eyes with difficulty and raised his head. A pair of clear and transparent purple pupils appeared in his field of vision.

beautiful...

Is this an illusion before death? I once heard Uncle Mook say that mushrooms in the forest should not be eaten randomly. Otherwise, they will be poisoned, and some will have hallucinations. I didn't believe it before, but it turned out to be true. of.

Thank you, Lord God, for allowing me to see such beautiful eyes before I die. Thinking about this, the boy's consciousness gradually blurred, and the pupils in the firelight became faintly wrong.

Wow——

A cool stream of water fell from the top of his head, awakening the boy's consciousness.

"Open your mouth."

The boy instinctively opened his lips, and then a few pieces of fresh fruit fell into his mouth. After chewing thirsty, a sweet juice filled his mouth. Not long after he swallowed his stomach, the pain in his stomach was greatly relieved.

Only then did the young man slowly get up and look at the benefactor who saved him in front of him.

She has long black hair like a waterfall, two strands on her chest, and the rest falls behind her shoulders, all the way to her waist.

Wearing a pure white corset dress, although it is not very gorgeous, the same white stitching outlines the delicate patterns on the skirt, making the dress elegant and graceful.

The long skirt covered the knees, revealing only the light-colored leather shoes and the same white silk stockings on the feet.

The beautiful face is dreamlike, with a very unreal feeling. If the goddess in the church had this look, I am afraid that people of faith would flock to it, the young man suddenly thought.

Then he hurriedly lowered his head because it is very impolite to look at women in this way. I heard that if common people in big cities dare to look at those noble ladies in this way, they will have their heads broken.

"What is your name, where do you come from, and where do you want to go?"

As soon as the girl spoke, she asked the three most important questions in life.

The boy's name is William, from the remote village on the edge of the khaenri'ah

William said that he had been walking eastward from home without stopping, and it took about 7 days to get here

"I made a mistake, so I escaped."

After hesitating in silence for a long time, the boy said why he appeared here, but he did not explain what he had made.

At this point, his eyes are a little dim, and his voice is low unconsciously.

Looking at the boy who became silent again, the girl guessed that there might be something difficult to tell.

Stella stopped asking the bottom of the matter and asked another question.

"Where are you going in the future?"

"I...I don't know, maybe I will find a place to live in the forest, or maybe someday will be eaten by a beast passing by."

There was a wry smile on the boy's face, and he buried his face in his arms on his knees.

The yellow bonfire crackled in the night, dispelling the chill of the mountain night, the smell of burning wood permeated the surroundings, and occasionally, the sound of insects in the distance could be heard.

The forest at night is not safe. Moreover, this is the inaccessible Starsnatch cliff. Traces of monsters with extraordinary powers can often be seen. Fortunately, the pyro slime that hunted nearby died soon, and other monsters have not spread the chassis over. So it's fairly stable recently.

The boy believes that ordinary people like himself are looking for death when entering the forest.

But, he has no other way out.

Why did you come to this point? I am a timid person, and I just want to be an ordinary person who helps others raise sheep.

If you want to talk about the biggest dream, it is to please the village head, Aunt Sandy, and let her agree to marry Joanna.

Although Joanna has a few freckles on her face, she really likes her lively look. Unfortunately, Aunt Sandy is a tailor, and her family is much better than her own. She can occasionally eat white bread. And he has only eaten half of white bread in his whole life, which is still the smaller half that his cousin got when he got married.

The young man stared at the campfire in front of him blankly, lost in memories and thoughts.

"Have you never considered how to survive?"

Stella looked out a few fruits and put them on the side of the fire, ready to wait for them to be roasted before eating. The green fruits were similar to the citrus in memory, with a sweet and sour taste.

"I don't know...."

There is a flame of hatred burning in the boy's heart, but he feels lost for his weakness.

"Well then, can you tell me about the outside matter?"

"You...no, hello, honourable eldest lady. Thank you for your help. Ask, and I will tell you everything I know."

"Don't be so respectful. Just call me Stella."

"This, let's call you Miss Stella. Otherwise, it would be too rude."

"Well, you care about politeness. Has anyone taught you?" Stella was a little curious.

"No, I just saw that everyone in the city called those noble ladies like that."

"Well, have you ever gone to school?"

"No, civilians like us are not qualified to go to school and don't have that much money. In our village, only the head of the village can read, and the rest only know a few important numbers."

"Well, what age is it now?"

"It should be more than 500 years in the after the archon war. I don't know the details. I just heard the pastor who passed by the village say."

"Which countries are there on the mainland now?"

"Sorry, I don't know, I have only been to Spring Vale the furthest away from home before, only knowing that I am from khaenri'ah."

"In other countries... I have only heard of Mondstadt, which seems to be a country of freedom. I've seen some carrage and fancy looking clothes in the way.

Stella talked for a while later and got a rough idea of ​​the current situation outside. Although Pullman doesn't know much, judging from the daily life, customs and work he described, the current world should be similar to the situation in medieval Europe, with limited production capacity of the people and the nobles to rule their own territories.

It's very weak. Although Stella himself is only level 10, because she studied under Celastrina, a powerful figure in Celestia, in Celastrina's description, level 10 is just for learning. At most, it is also an aid, and the warriors of Celestia start with level 20 at least.

Even the most elite combat unit in Celestia is level 50 with all members.

There is no way. At that time, with the accumulation of thousands of years of elven nations, the combat effectiveness per capita was very high, and soldiers who did not have the strength of level 20 were not qualified to play cannon fodder.

What exactly has the world of Teyvat experienced in these 500 years? It actually degenerates to this point, and the elves actually did not counterattack. Although the silver elves were exterminated, there are still a few of the forest elves, and all of them have been moved. The ice elves heading to the deepest part of the northern continent, they are intact.

There are still many questions, but today, it is impossible to understand clearly. Let's go out and understand later, the girl stopped asking.

"Where does Miss Stella come from. Like you, she should be a lady from a noble family."

From the poor insights of a young man, one can only imagine that the young lady of the great noble family can have such a look and dress, and the girl's fingers are white and there is no trace of work at all. This is not what ordinary people can do.

"No, I'm just an ordinary person... Well, I lived with my teacher in the forest since I was a child, but the teacher passed away not long ago."

After a little thought, the girl replied in this way, which is basically true.

"The injury on your body is okay, I see blood on the clothes."

"It's okay, I won't die for a while, but... some things I'm afraid I will never be able to do."

The voice of the boy was a little choked.

"What's the matter?"

The night breeze in the forest swept through, the bonfire kept swaying, and the boy began to tell an ordinary and sad story.

William's home is in Sprout Village. The village is close to the mountain forest. It is very remote, and it is estimated that there is no record on the map.

The only speciality in the village is gooseberries originating from the forest. The bright red grape-like gooseberries are rare berries with a sour taste. Some nobles love to eat this, so every year merchants come to the village to buy it. This is also the first in the village. The biggest income of the year.

It happened this year when merchants came to buy.

The most important thing about fruit is freshness. Lord Mike will come to Sprout Village one or two weeks in advance at this time of the year and sell the gooseberries produced in the village this year in several batches to nearby cities. This kind of fruit sells well. In order to show their status, the wealthy people in the city often purchase some hospitality to show their superiority and wealth.

Moreover, it is not expensive to purchase. Give these silly villagers a basket of mora coins, and they are very happy. After he was transported to the city and washed, he could sell a basket of 60 mora coins on a white plate, which was a huge profit.

The high-end shops in the noble district of the city, these dusty hillbillies will never have the opportunity to go in, and naturally, they will not know what prices these fruits will sell. Master Mike has been doing this business for many years.

Halfway through, I happened to meet William's sister Lily.

Lily is 14 years old this year. She just came back from a shower by the river. Her youthful and beautiful face immediately attracted Master Mike's attention.

William's younger sister was taken by the merchant Mr. Mike, and he told his parents that he could take her sister to the city to be a maid for the nobleman.

Being a servant for a nobleman can live a much happier life than ordinary villagers. It is stable and will not starve to death. In this dangerous world, it is a profession that many civilians yearn for.

So William's parents happily agreed, so Mike also gave William's parents a sum of money, and William was also very happy.

After all, my sister has a good job, and he vaguely feels that if he has the money, he can discuss his marriage with Joanna.

But what he didn't expect was that he hadn't seen his sister since then, who was a little thin but obedient.

After my sister left, two months later, he went into City to find out the address of the nobleman's house. He wanted to see his sister but was stopped by guards.

He was just a commoner boy, so naturally, he couldn't enter the courtyard of the nobleman, so he guarded the opposite side and asked the servants who came in and out of his sister.

But the strange thing is that no one knew his sister. In the end, he felt something wrong. One day, he sneaked in the dark. Because he was unfamiliar with the terrain, he was quickly caught by the guards.

In the khaenri'ah, the lives of civilians are not worth much. Moreover, he still broke into the mansion privately and was soon tortured. Fortunately, he was indeed a teenager from a nearby village. Many people recognized him and gave him a severe warning.

But he still didn't give up. Kneeling on his bruised knees, he kept begging the guards to let him see his sister.

Finally, a young guard really couldn't stand it anymore. When he left, he quietly said something in his ear, you could go to the barren mountain in the south of the city to find it.

When he staggered to the barren mountain, what appeared in front of him was a small mound of exposed bones.

This is a mass grave.

A bad expectation appeared in his mind, he rummaged around, and finally found only a corpse with a similar concrete shape.

But it is still recognizable from the torn clothes, this is his sister.

That's right, the noble master wanted a maid, but it was not the kind of maid that everyone imagined, but a plaything that could be thrown away at any time.

The young man was shaking his hands, unable to accept the fact that he just sat beside the corpse for a whole day and night, and finally cried to dig through the soil and buried the thin body in the soil.

At this point, the boy's voice was a little choked, and regret filled his heart. It would be good if he persuaded his parents at that time, and if he hadn't indulged in fantasies about Joanna.

Why, why is it so that their family just wants to make their lives better! Isn't such a small wish not allowed?

"Do you want revenge?"

The clear voice of the black-haired girl came from across the fire.

"I think, but I don't have the strength, and my parents don't allow me to do this."

The teenager's parents also vaguely discovered the truth afterwards, but maybe considering the huge gap in strength, the hardship of adult life, or maybe they didn't care about this daughter. They didn't seek revenge from Mike and were prepared to calm down the matter and let William feel at ease.

"Why? Why can they be so indifferent."

The boy clung to his knees tightly, his voice puzzled and angry.

In the eyes of children, parents are heaven, aren't they omnipotent?

Just as Stella was preparing to enlighten the boy, the mechanical voice of the system appeared again.

[New task: Answer the doubts of the young William, and get rewards based on the degree of completion, at least 70%. (Current progress is 0%)]

[Reward: Every time 20% of the progress is reached, you will get a chance to draw a lottery. When the completion is 100%, you will get an extraordinary creation formula.]

Well, does this system still carry real-time emergency tasks?

Stella began to think carefully about the boy's experience and the possible doubts in his heart.

"Perhaps parents also have their considerations."

Stella began to explain to William the difficulties of adult life, not only to support the family, nobles and merchants are powerful, even if they complain, they will die without disease, but also have to consider the future survival of the only son, Pullman, and so on.

But the boy was still a little dissatisfied. He couldn't accept the result. The progress showed that he was stuck at 26%.

Stella also understands that such a gentle explanation is not enough to convince the other party. In other words, she probably finds it difficult to listen.

Then tell him the cruel truth.

"Because you have no power."

The girl moved the fire, added a few dead branches, and watched the extinguishing flame grow bigger again.

The boy stayed, then lowered his head again.

"Yes, I can't beat that nobleman."

"No, I'm not talking about this power. The nobleman doesn't have to produce, and his body is probably not as strong as you. One-on-one, you should be stronger than him."

"Does that mean?"

"Have you ever thought about why some people do nothing but have more wealth than you, and they can act unscrupulously, oppress and plunder."

"I, I don't know."

A question that had never been thought of appeared in the boy's mind.

"Their fields are planted by civilians, their clothes are woven by civilians, their food is taken care of by civilians, and they let civilians serve as escorts to protect them. Why can they do this?"

"Because they gave the money?" The boy hesitated for a while and answered.

"Where does their money come from?" the girl asked rhetorically.

"Their money..." In his mind, the boy desperately recalled what he had experienced in his short life.

"Their money comes from collecting taxes, collecting rents, and working for him." The girl answered for William.

"Yes." But there seemed to be a problem, and Willaim couldn't tell.

"Let's talk about collecting tax and rent first. Don't you think it's strange that the civilians work for them, and they give the civilians money."

"Why are they getting richer and richer, even without work."

"Probably because of labour and production more money?" The boy replied in doubt, and then the progress began to move forward.

Stella gave a secret compliment and then began to recall that era in my memory. Countless people worked hard, even did not have any entertainment overtime, and why still can't afford a house.

"Yes, this deal is not completely fair. You produced more money, and they only gave you part of it."

"This....."

"Is it really that simple? Why don't civilians produce it by themselves?"

You don't know the answer at all at this time, yeah, why not?

"Because they have resources that civilians don't have. This resource can be a lot of things, it can be a cow, it can be a shop, it can be a special relationship, it can be a certain right."

"You don't have these scarce and necessary things, and you have to rely on them so they can enter into this unfair deal."

"Yes." The boy's voice was a little low.

"Could they always be like this? Can poor people like me have to work for them forever?"

"This is not always the case. To maintain such behaviour requires good order, provided that everyone is reasonable."

"You should have heard of robbers, the kind of unreasonable people who take everything from you and don't give you anything."

"So, they will spend part of the money to hire guards. Although these guards do not engage in production and do not generate money, they can guarantee the long-term existence of benefits."

The young man seemed to understand a lot, and he didn't seem to understand anything. The world appeared before him in an unprecedented appearance.

Watched the progress on the system advance to 68%, and then stopped again.

Stella sighed slightly in his heart. It seemed that he had to finish speaking.

"They hold 10,000 moras in their hands and only use 10 gold coins to hire guards. Why don't these guards steal themselves?"

Stella's voice gradually became more formal.

"Because there is a kingdom as the last guardian of order, and those who violate laws and systems will be suppressed, annihilated, and put to death."

"Why does the kingdom protect these people, even if they do evil, why are they tolerant of each other, and why the law not on your side?"

"Because they are the masters of this country, they are nobles and wealthy merchants, not your common people."

"Of course, they have to protect the interests of their own class."

"Even if you kill this nobleman, as long as this environment exists, this kind of thing will still be repeated."

Speaking of this, Stella paused for a while, waiting for the boy to think slowly.

Pullman was silent for a long time before slowly asking.

"I still don't understand. Can this be unfair? Is it always like this?"

"The country, to a certain extent, is the embodiment of justice and order. If justice is lost, the foundation of the country will be shattered."

"Do you want to ask me how to change all of this, that is, to build a country where all people are equal, a country that is fair and just, wise and firm, rich and powerful."

Fortunately, this country is struggling to build in wind, rain, and suffering. Where did this country come from, how was it established, what mistakes we have made, and how to resolve these contradictions, we clearly told every citizen.

Perhaps it is not perfect, and there are still many problems, but it is undeniable that its greatness, our warriors, and sacred beliefs will never be obliterated.

*******

Hello guys, i'm back!!!

I's been long time since i updated cause its been busy for me to cause our sport fest came up and I'm one of the atlete so I have no time to update soo to make to you guy i've give extra long chapter

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that's all. See you in the next chapter