Hope

The moon was high in the sky, the lake was swaying, and the clear water reflected the moon and stars in the sky.

The white-haired boy and the silent man looked at each other.

—— Curiosity.

Others might think this word was nonsense, quite confusing, and even think that Ian was very scary for dissecting people for such a reason.

But the old knight knew that this was a very legitimate reason.

Especially for him, for all the sublimators who practiced the power of "true form" and "bloodline", being curious about their own body structure could even be considered a plus.

"Dissection, I understand." Nodding slightly, the old man continued to ask: "But why here?"

"Why did you make such a mess of blood and meat at home?"

Ian shook his head and complained: "Is it obvious to tell everyone that I killed the person? Not to mention that water is needed to clean the knives and hands, it is so messy, and the bloody smell is so strong that 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 thought without hesitation: "Both, I had this idea after killing my uncle. After all, it would be a waste to throw away such a large piece of meat. 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 Hu Lin is safe, aren't you afraid of attracting wild animals by dissecting like this?"

He said meaningfully: "If I am not here to help you drive away the wild animals...what will you do?"

"Attract them...they will eat the debris on the ground first."

Looking at the bloody corpse beside him, Ian turned his head and smiled casually: "Besides, I am not without means, and it is not certain who will eat whom."

He still had sleeping powder in his arms, and ordinary wild animals were just food.

Even if a large group of wolves or tigers and leopards came, at least it would be enough for him to abandon the corpse and run to a safe place.

The old knight was silent.

At this moment, he had made a decision in his heart.

"Why do you dare to invite me?"

But the old man still lowered his eyes, and he said lightly: "Ian... Even if your psychic power can really see that I have good intentions, with your intelligence, you can also know that if necessary, I will not care about the life of a child."

"It's not a thank you, nor a win-win situation. When you saw me, you had already made plans for the invitation and the failure in your heart - 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 of the Terra world is particularly dim compared to the earth. Except for an overly bright moon, there is only a small area of ​​the entire sky with stars, and it is very dim.

This is obviously not a normal starry sky. The secrets above the Terra sky are just as puzzling as the secrets above the Terra land.

Also... curious.

-Just like a question longs for an answer, he just longs for no reason and wants to know.

"Except for an uncle."

Ian lowered his head and looked at the old knight's face seriously. The boy fluently explained his thoughts: "I still need a guardian, a teacher who can tell me more knowledge."

"Although my uncle is a scumbag, without him, no one can teach me the writing and other knowledge of this world. Besides, there are no adults in the family, which is very troublesome in Harrison Port."

"Indeed." The old knight nodded and agreed: "It's bad to have only children at home."

This is the custom of the empire. When the parents of children in the border areas die, the family inheritance will be taken away, the fields will be distributed, and even the children themselves are property. No one knows their future fate.

"You can replace him - when I saw him for the first time, I knew that this was my best opportunity and an opportunity that could change my future life."

"The opportunity to gain more knowledge."

Ian smiled at the serious old man. He had found a suitable area and started digging and shoveling soil: "And this requires your consent."

Originally, the boy planned to bury only his uncle, but because of an accident, he needed to bury an additional native and a forest leopard, which more than doubled the workload.

However, just when Ian had just dug a few shovels, a hand reached out and took the farm shovel from Ian.

The frowning old knight motioned Ian to stand aside, and then took action, fluently demonstrating the movements and skills of how to use the farm shovel to dig the soil correctly - the movements were obviously much more skillful than the boy who had never used a farm shovel in his past and present lives. It was obvious that he was proficient in farm chores.

After demonstrating for five or six minutes, the old knight had already dug the pit into shape.

Then, he handed the shovel back to Ian, who took it smoothly and continued digging the pit by imitating the old knight's previous movements.

"In the empire, there are very few children like you who want to read and write... They don't even know the meaning of knowledge."

Observing Ian's movements, and instructing the boy on force techniques and correcting unqualified movements, the old knight said in a deep voice: "Even the children of nobles and scholars are the same. They regard knowledge as boring and worthless. Compared with reading and learning to write their own names, they want to practice martial arts, make achievements, and become a member of the imperial government."

-Even so, they do not allow the spread and diffusion of knowledge. He silently said in his heart.

"Understanding a civilization starts with writing."

The pit was big enough to hold several bodies. The boy pushed the bodies of his uncle, the natives and Lin Bao into it, and then shoveled the dirt to bury the guys who wanted to kill him: "Only by learning to read and write can you truly understand a civilization and a world."

Ian panted a little tiredly and said lightly: "Similarly, the journey of exploring the unknown also needs them, whether it is interpretation or recording, whether it is to regain or open up."

"Your name? My teacher, if you agree, my exploration of the future must start with the knowledge you teach."

He raised his head and looked at the man, and the old man looked into the light blue 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, wanting to know something, wanting to explore something, wanting to go far away, to solve the unknown curiosity.

This is a child with infinite possibilities.

Or in other words, 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 all over the Terra continent.

He may study the secrets of psychic energy and explore the truth of the world lost in the dust for mankind; he may also dig out the source of human genes and analyze and explore the divine power bestowed on all beings by the pre-era civilization.

He may become a hero, an explorer, or a pioneer of a generation... It is more likely that he will be unknown, just an ignorant child on the border, with the blood of his relatives on his hands and an uncertain future.

Even worse. Become a crazy monster driven only by his own curiosity.

And all these futures and possibilities depend on his own choices.

Just as his king had entrusted him with fifty years ago.

[——Hilliard, my knight… take 'it' away, the farther the better, away from the imperial capital, away from the Quinor Plain]

[——When everything is over, you can use it yourself, or give it to anyone, or bury it… As long as the rebels don't get it, there is hope for the future]

[——Humanity… still has hope to return to the starry sky]

Hope…

Curiosity…

And the courage to choose.

"My name is Hilliard. Hilliard Lexi."

Teacher, knight.

The tired man raised his head, his gray-brown eyes facing the blue eyes.

Hilliard looked at Ian seriously and answered his student's question: "Don't worry. When all this is over, I will teach you whatever you want to learn."

"Thank you!"

So he saw that the boy smiled happily, and Ian's expression was not concealed at all. He laughed when he wanted to laugh, because he was really happy.

The golden halo was reflected in the boy's eyes, a color that only Ian could see.

The wind blew across the lake, causing the waves to roll and reflecting the trivial and dim stars.

The hot summer wind was still surging among the forests, and the light in the sky gradually dissipated, just like a torch that lit up and suddenly went out on the earth.

Looking up, Hilliard's sight was left with only the dark sky and the bright moon. Although there were no dark clouds, the dark shadows were still covering the stars, depriving 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 covered. Except for the sun, the moon and the few remaining planets, humans could only see darkness when looking up at the sky.

Fourteen great astrologers of the Observatory in the City of Knowledge committed suicide by jumping off the Cloud View Sky Tower; the aftermath of the death of the tyrant of the empire in the Dark Moon Civil War twenty years ago has gradually subsided; the major real nobles and various forces have remained on the border, and the undercurrent is surging.

The exploration team of the Huaiguang Church returned from the Endless Ocean and the New World, bringing ominous signs, while the farmers of the Quinor Plain complained about the lack of rainfall, and the sea people of the Whale Song Cliff were awakened from their dreams, looking into the depths of the deep sea, their hearts full of vigilance and fear.

The fishermen on the border celebrated a good harvest, and the old Khan of the Cangtian King's Court began to hold a birthday party for his ninetieth birthday.

All the joys and sorrows of the world are not connected, and the Prison Star Prison has taken shape.

The passage for humans to return to the sky is gradually being blocked, but no one knows.

But there are still people looking up at the stars.

"I don't know if this is right."

Helping Ian shovel the dirt and bury the body, Hilliard closed his eyes.

But the eyes in his mind reflected that the flame burning in Ian's watery eyes was not just the brilliance of psychic energy, but a curiosity that was more dazzling than the sun, a desire that was more dazzling and dangerous than anything else.

Just like him in the past, and His Majesty in the past...

That was the light of hope.

[If he meets the requirements, I will give him all my knowledge and the key to the future]

"If I do something wrong, I won't say sorry." Only the starry sky can hear his words.

...

Harrison Port, next to Ian's house.

The warm and humid night wind blew through the street, and the ever-burning lamp at the intersection swayed slightly, making the light of the fluorescent algae oil in the lamp dim.

A short figure emerged from the shadow of the house and walked out from the cover of the grass and trees. He had an obsidian knife on his waist, and dark lines on his dark brown skin, faintly flashing with a strange luster.

And several blurry figures followed him.

They came to the door of Ian's house, silently.

The door was opened, and the figures walked in.