Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 971: Has the favorability decreased?
"Then I'll go first, Mr. Ling!" Standing at the intersection down the mountain, Songtaya held the basket in one hand and waved at Ling with the other hand, with a bright smile on her face: "Regarding my answer just now, please tell Dad!"

"Yes." Ling Ge nodded gently and answered in a voice that she could just hear: "I will tell him the truth, don't worry."

"That's good!"

The girl was satisfied, carrying her small bamboo basket, and skipped down the mountain. Although she could see her father after she returned, she didn't dare to tell him about it, fearing that her decision would disappoint her only relative, so she entrusted Lingge to do it for her.

But in fact, she didn't need to worry at all. Based on Ling's understanding of Chief Wilhelm, he knew that no matter what decision she made, the taciturn man would not be dissatisfied at all. Because he was a good father who knew how to understand and respect the wishes of his children.

It's really strange, it seems that every parent Linger met since he embarked on the journey was reasonable, always putting their children's wishes first and fully respecting their opinions. From Rorona's mother, Queen Amyra of Nereides, who turned a blind eye to her daughter's unauthorized escape, to Xino's father, the paranoid Reynard who charged at the windmill, bravely challenged an extremely powerful enemy in order to give his daughter the right to freely choose her life path...

Then there is Sontaya's father, Chief Wilhelm, who seems strict on the surface but is actually an open-minded man. Without his guidance and tolerance, I'm afraid Sontaya would not have grown up to be an optimistic and cheerful child.

Sure enough, are those unreasonable, rigid and stubborn patriarchs in novels and scripts just images deliberately created by writers in order to intensify plot conflicts?
After watching the girl's back disappear at the end of the mountain trail and gradually become an inconspicuous black dot in the snowy valley among the mountains, Ling Ge retracted his gaze and landed on a towering cedar tree. He said in a calm tone, "How long do you want to hide? Do you want to come out on your own or wait for me to pull you out?"

There was a moment of silence, no response, and the surroundings were so quiet that you could even hear the sound of snowflakes falling.

Lingge remained indifferent, still staring at the big cedar tree, and silently counted down in his mind: three, two, one...

"whispering sound!"

A familiar snort came from the treetops, followed by a rustling sound. The branches trembled and the snow fell off. A small head with messy white hair emerged from the dark green branches and leaves. It stared at Ling Ge fiercely and asked in a stern voice, "My disguise is perfect. How did you find me?!"

Lingge was speechless and pointed behind her. Leticia turned her head and found that her bat wings had been exposed at some point. The dark bat wings were set off by the grayish-white snow, making them very conspicuous.

The little bat's cheeks suddenly turned red, like an apple in midsummer. She silently folded her bat wings, then bared her sharp fangs at Lingge to intimidate him, but she didn't look very fierce. On the contrary, she looked a bit timid.

"You're lucky!" She still hadn't given up her stubbornness and said stubbornly, "I won't let you find out next time. Just wait for me!"

If you say yes, then so be it.

Lingge was too lazy to care, but before that -

"Before that," Ling Ge looked at her, "Shouldn't you explain why you are here? If I remember correctly, you should have returned to Yunjingkong Island with Xiaoxia and Xinuo, right?"

"Uh!"

Leticia groaned, then turned her head away, her eyes wandering, not daring to look the young man in the face: "Well, well, there are actually very complicated reasons. Those who understand will naturally understand, and those who don't understand won't understand even if I tell you. I can see that you don't understand very well, so there's no need to tell you. When you understand, come and ask me again..."

Ling'er's face turned dark: What a mess?

Leticia knew that her answer was unreliable, and she was a little worried. Could she say that she sneaked here under the pretext of losing something? Although it was the truth, it seemed to make people more angry.

But then I thought, why should I be afraid of Lingge getting angry? What does it have to do with me if he's angry or not? If I'm too afraid, wouldn't it make me seem like I care about his feelings? Who would care about a guy like that?
Once this idea came into her mind, it was difficult to stop. With the support of the theory, she regained the psychological advantage over Ling'er. She immediately held her head high and chest out, pointed her chin at Ling'er, and had an arrogant expression that said, "What can you do to me?"

Ling Ge: “…”

Where did she get her confidence from? Did Alice give it to her?
"Come down." Ling Ge raised his eyebrows at her.

"I won't!" Leticia expressed her dissatisfaction: Why should I come down just because you say so? Doesn't this make me look very embarrassed?
Lingge didn't want to argue with her over such a small issue, so he used his ultimate weapon directly: "If you don't come down, I will tell Miss Nevill everything that happened here today - yes, every word is missing."

The little bat's expression suddenly became extremely ugly: Damn it, she actually used her grandmother to pressure me! What she said was not missing a single word, the subtext was that if I didn't cooperate, there might be some extra content?

What a despicable person!
Unfortunately, although he was so despicable, Leticia had no way to fight back. She could only climb down from the tree in frustration, using her stubborn eyes, unyielding mouth, and disdainful expression as her last act of resistance.

Lingge asked directly: "Well, how much have you heard?"

“Not a single word is missing!”

Leticia replied in a stiff tone, deliberately using Ling's original words to try to anger him.

Unfortunately, Linger managed his expression very well, and remained calm and composed without any change: "You should know that some of these words cannot be said, especially to Metien, understand?"

"Why?" Leticia expressed dissatisfaction: "What if Metien has a way to solve her problem?"

Linger looked at her strangely: "Why do you feel this way?"

"Because that guy's situation is similar to Miss Livia's. Miss Livia was influenced by Medien and decided to join Yunjing Sky Island. Then Songtaya can do the same!" Leticia vowed. Her tone was indeed convincing, but the arguments were not so sufficient.

Influence... Hearing this adjective, the young man's mouth twitched slightly. Although he wanted to correct it, he inexplicably felt that it fit the actual situation. In the end, he could only force himself to ignore it and shook his head to reject Leticia's proposal: "It's useless. The situations they face are not the same, so the method that works for Sister Livia may not work for Songtaya."

Sister Livia was betrayed by the True Spirit Sect first... or sacrificed, and also learned the truth about the artificial monarchy. When her faith was strongly impacted, she regarded Metien as her last straw. But Songtaya never encountered these things. She was well protected by the tribe from beginning to end, so she was willing to devote her strength to the tribe.

This kind of concept cannot be changed simply by saying one or two words.

"So you just gave up?" There was a hint of contempt in the little bat's eyes. "Just because you think it's difficult, you ignore those who need help? I'm going to tell Metien about this! Let her know that her brother is actually a coward!"

"Don't tell her."

The young man rubbed his brows, feeling quite troubled, but not because of Leticia's threat, but because: "When did you become so concerned about her affairs? I remember your relationship was not very good, right?"

The "she" here, of course, refers to Sontaya. Just now, the two little girls were playing a bullfighting game in front of Lingge, but now, Leticia has changed her stance and started to care about Sontaya. Could it be that they have a very good relationship? Lingge remembered that Alice had a word that could be used to describe this situation very aptly: "Are you a tsundere?"

"Who is so-and-so, who is the tsundere!"

Leticia's face flushed red on the spot, with an angry expression of how could you slander someone's innocence out of thin air, and at the same time she defended herself fiercely: "Of course she and I are enemies! Who is friends with that fierce and rude mountain bumpkin? But, but, it is precisely because we are enemies that I should care about her even more!"

What kind of fallacy is this?
Ling Ge raised his eyebrows slightly to express his doubt.

"You don't understand this!" Seeing that she had stumped Linger, Leticia couldn't help but feel proud. She clasped her two little hands together and said in a teaching tone: "Grandma once said that caring about the enemy is to show your magnanimity, and it is also the margin of the strong. Because only the strong who are invincible are qualified to care about the enemy. Obviously, my concern for Songtaya is the compassion of the strong for the weak. It is upright, kind, and full of righteousness! Do you understand?"

"I roughly understand." Ling Ge said expressionlessly: "It seems to make sense, but it's just an excuse."

"That's not an excuse!" Leticia was furious and bared her fangs at him: "Be careful or I'll bite you!"

Are you going to resort to words when you can't win the argument? Ling Ge has every reason to believe that this is influenced by Shemi, because that little goblin likes to use his mouth when he can't win the argument, and in those times, Leticia is often the victim, but now she has transformed herself into the perpetrator.

What a sad transformation.

"Hmph, it's good that you're scared!" Leticia mistook Ling's silence for fear. She was satisfied with her own deterrent power and mercifully let him go. After all, teaching Ling a lesson was not the most important thing right now. The important thing was: "It's okay not to tell Metien. I have other ways!"

"Oh?" Ling Ge asked subconsciously: "You have a plan too?"

"Of course! Don't compare me to Stinky Alice!"

Leticia was very dissatisfied. It seemed that Alice's reputation as a wise general was already known to everyone on Yunjingkong Island. Lingge listened attentively to her lofty views, but he heard the little bat say proudly: "It's very simple. Just let her drink a drop of my blood, and everything will be solved, right?"

What kind of proposal is this?
Ling Ge was slightly surprised: "You are willing to share your blood? It seems that you really like Songtaya."

"Nonsense!" Leticia sneered at the result: "When did I say I was unwilling to give up my blood? It's obviously you who refused, okay?"

Lingge then remembered that when he first arrived on the island, Leticia had offered to share blood with him, but he refused on the grounds that it was unhygienic. Not only him, but others also rejected the proposal, unwilling to make Leticia's curse worse.

So it seems that the little bat is really generous. As long as she likes someone, she will not be stingy with even a drop of blood. It's just that there were too few people she liked in the past. Did Songtaya develop feelings for her because of the competition?

"It's enough that you have this intention, but to be honest, it's not a very good solution."

Linger shook his head and rejected her proposal. Seeing that Leticia still looked unconvinced, he explained a few more words: "First, Miss Nevill will definitely not agree. Your curse has finally been alleviated. You should refrain from doing such things. Secondly, Sontaya will definitely not agree. The reason she refuses is probably the same as the reason you want to help her. Finally, even if both of them agree, it is probably useless, because before Sontaya is sacrificed as the core of the ritual, her soul will first be refined by the God of Conception. Even if your blood can bring her back to life, who can be sure that you are saving the original Sontaya or the refined Sontaya? If it is the latter, it is better not to save her."

"Hmm!" Leticia frowned deeply.

Although the last sentence was cruel, it was indeed impossible to refute it.

Living as a refined believer of God is actually a very sad thing, and it is difficult for any human with normal values ​​to accept it. At least, based on Leticia's understanding of Sontaya, she knows that she will definitely not accept it.

"Then," she bit her lower lip unwillingly, "Am I just going to watch and do nothing?"

"This is her own choice. How can we interfere?" Linger hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked Leticia's head. The latter did not resist, but silently accepted this comfort: "Also, don't be so pessimistic. After all, the holding of the ceremony of inviting the gods is only a small probability event. Chief Wilhelm said that Songtaya had three predecessors of the same nature as her, but they all died normally before they could play their role as the core of the ceremony. Therefore, Songtaya may also live out her life peacefully like them."

After hearing what Lingge said, whether it was mostly for comfort or he really thought so, at least Leticia felt better: You're right, that stupid and violent mountain bumpkin might be killed by a rabbit while hunting one day? With her IQ, this is very likely to happen!
After figuring it out, the little bat stopped worrying and turned his attention to another thing: "Hey!"

She bared her fangs at Lingge and spoke in a fierce tone, but for some reason, there was a faint blush on her fair cheeks: "How long are you going to keep your hand on my head? Be careful or I'll bite it off!"

"..."

Ling Ge silently withdrew his hand and thought, what a fierce little girl.

I have decided not to hide it for her. When I return, I will tell Her Majesty the Countess everything that happened here, so that this impolite little bat can receive a new education in love.

"Humph!"

Leticia, who had no idea what Lingge was thinking, snorted cutely from her nose, like a warning, but also like a protest. I don't know why, besides being angry, she was actually a little happy. But why did she feel this way? It must be because I defeated Lingge again and made him lose face?

The little bat thought so, with great certainty.

Give me some meow