Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

At this time, the big bell rang: "When——!"

The sound of the bell echoed over Mustang Town, sweeping away the laziness of the afternoon. Many people exclaimed and ran towards the Council Hall.

"when--!"

When the second bell rang, many people had gathered in the square. The baron knelt on the ground and struggled for a while, while Ramon pressed his neck hard from behind.

"when--!"

People in Yema Town looked at the big clock, and saw that the muscles of this big man were tense, and he swung the bell hammer and hit the big clock with all his strength, as if he wanted to smash the big clock to pieces.

"when--!"

Hai Wen stood under the square of the big clock, only to see more and more people in front of him.At first it was the idle spectators, then the women and children, and gradually the old and the grown-up came out; diners ran out of the taverns, and the shops closed.

"when--!"

That voice contained excitement and anger, and every sound seemed to knock on people's hearts. Every loud noise echoed, echoed, echoed in the small town-the reverberation didn't stop, and the next sound came one after another.Birds circled in the sky and screamed, and people gathered in the square, as quiet as a pool of stagnant water.The bell rang twelve times, and Haiwen shouted to the soldier, "It's all right!" The man nodded and sat down in the bell tower exhausted.

Now the square was full of people, and the people of Mustang Town looked at the stage with uneasy expressions.Everyone knew Haven, they knew he was the King of the Mustangs, and they knew he had been exiled by the Baron, but no one knew why he came back.Everyone knew the Baron, knew that he was the owner of Mustang Land, and knew that he had once exiled Haven, but no one knew why he was tied here.

There was no sound in the square, and people were waiting for Hai Wen to speak.

At this time Ramon shouted: "The person who came to Mustang Town today is the vassal of the Mondalia family, the guardian of Bear Mountain appointed by the Marquis, the king of wild horses, the murderer of fierce demons, the person who holds the truth, the cold-blooded judge The exile, the guardian of Bear Castle—Haven Ambleside!"

After saying this, the crowd burst into exclamations with a "boom".Although ordinary people don't know much about etiquette, as long as they are people in the Gulf region, they know that those who can sing the trumpet when they go out must be vassals with a high enough status-the Baron of Mustang is not qualified to sing the trumpet!Then someone chanted "King of the Wild Horses".Haiwen waited for more than ten seconds, then opened his hands and said loudly: "Quiet!"

The room fell silent immediately, and he continued, "My friends in Mustang Town, my people! I, Haven Ambleside, have finally returned!"

People cheered loudly, and many people threw their hats high.Haiwen continued: "Now I am the Guardian of Bear Mountain, which is equivalent to the Earl of Bear Mountain. But I am still your mayor, and I am still what you say-the king of wild horses!" Then the square ushered in the third cheer , Haiwen heard someone shouting: "The king of wild horses is back, and we can have enough to eat again!" "Master Haiwen, my land has been taken over!" "Master Haiwen, the master from the west has robbed my daughter." !" "My brother is in jail and he didn't do anything!"

For a while, the crowd was excited, and there were countless people who filed lawsuits and redressed their grievances.Haven had to control the scene again, and said: "Everyone will get a fair trial, everyone! After I finish dealing with the affairs at hand, I will reopen the government hall in Mustang Town and arrange new officials. I will let you Spit out all the grievances you have suffered this year, and I will give you justice!"

"Justice!" An old man raised his arms and screamed first, and then others followed suit. "Justice! Justice! Justice!" Justice roared wave after wave, wave after wave, sweeping through Mustang Town like an unstoppable tsunami.Haven glanced at the shivering baron, and said: "Now, the trial begins! Baron of the wild horse, Closso Dia, you face at least four charges, and now I want to publicly try your crimes!"

Haven's Arrangement, II

Haven's Arrangement, II

Ramon let go of the Baron, and Baron Mustang looked up at all this.The crowd shouted again, and some shouted: "Hang him!" Others said: "He took all my food!" Then a thin woman screamed and rushed to the high platform, and rushed towards the baron with teeth and claws. The guard next to Haiwen blocked her, and Haiwen said to the woman: "Ma'am, the trial has not yet begun, and there will be no crimes that should be punished!"

"He killed my son!" After saying this, the woman burst into tears, "He killed my son! My son! He killed my son!"

Haven nodded and said, "I will judge him."

At this time, the woman raised her head and shouted at Haiwen: "He is a baron, you are an earl, I heard that nobles will protect each other! Is that true?" Her words also aroused the doubts of the people below, many people Go along with it.At this time Ramon shouted loudly: "Master Haiwen has always been fair, have you all forgotten the trial on the snowy night last year?"

Haiwen immediately said: "I know you are all in a hurry, but please wait a moment, the trial has just begun. A fair trial must have the plaintiff and the defendant, witnesses and evidence, the defender and the judge. If I only If you hang the baron at the thought of it, it would be a disregard for human life! The sanctity of the law cannot be trampled on, and even the heinous people have the right to the fairest trial!" At this time, he looked back at the baron and said coldly, "But It does not mean the slightest tolerance, everyone is equal before the law, nobles and beggars are no different!"

So people quiet down, waiting for this trial.

At this moment Baron Mustang raised his head and asked Haven, saying, "My lord, what did I do wrong? Where are the four charges?"

However, Haiwen looked at the people below, and said, "The defendant in this trial is the baron of the wild horse, Coloso Dia. The plaintiff is me, and..." Haiwen glanced at the people below, and asked : "Anyone of you who wants to be the plaintiff, just raise your hand!"

"Me! Me! Me!" Immediately, the people below raised their arms high and shouted frantically.Haven saw everyone raise their hands, so he said: "Then I am the plaintiff, and all the people of Mustang!" People cheered, and then Haven continued: "I am the judge, and I am the defender. Now we start This trial."

The baron cried out: "I want an advocate! I have the power!"

Haven nodded and said, "Then go find it! According to the law, you can invite anyone present to defend you—who is willing to defend him? Who?"

Laughter broke out below, and a drunk with a bad nose shouted, "I'll defend! I know, the Baron fucks himself every day in the castle!"

The baron shouted: "This is not legal, this... this..."

"What law is this against?" Haven asked him.

The baron was dumbfounded.

Haiwen said: "As a lord of a land, you don't even understand the basic laws. What do you use to govern your fief?" The baron lowered his head, his expression contorted in pain, and then he began to retch violently.The people below laughed again.

Haven asked Ramon to untie the guy first, so that he wouldn't die of fright on stage, and then Haven began to read the crime: "Croso Dia! You are charged with four counts, the first It’s corruption! I accuse you of embezzling public funds many times and misappropriating the tax money used for building facilities and disaster relief and poverty alleviation for private use! The second item is abuse of power and extortionate extortion! I accuse you..." At this time, the people below shouted Said: "We also accuse him!" Then many people shouted together, "We also accuse him!"

So Haiwen changed his words: "I and everyone present accuse you of abusing your power! You abused the power of the nobles to bully men and women, suppressed the people with the army, and collected taxes far beyond the law, which made the people poor and helpless. Without food and clothing, this indirectly caused many people to starve to death and freeze to death, leading to the death of children. This is indirectly..." Haiwen tried his best to control his emotions, but the anger was burning in his heart, making him become fanatic, " murder!"

"Murder!" the crowd yelled.

The baron gasped in fright at this moment, rolled his eyes and fell back. Ramon hurried up to help him up, and then splashed him with cold water.Haven went on to say: "Yes, it is murder! The third charge is murder! I and all the plaintiffs accuse you of directly or indirectly murdering civilians. You kill men, women, children, and every poor person who starves to death or freezes to death in Mustang, You have nothing to do with it! Finally, I accuse you of framing, and you framing me, saying that I was lawless, abused my power, despised the nobility, and illegally exiled me and my family and confiscated my property , Sell my house! Now, the four charges are over, I ask you, do you plead guilty?"

The baron shouted: "You kill me!"

"Bastard!" Haiwen roared, "How can I kill people for no reason? The trial is not over yet, you have no right to die! If you die now, it is a crime, and you will be more guilty! I ask you , do you plead guilty!?"

"No!" Baron Mustang roared with red eyes, "I don't plead guilty! Everything I do is what a nobleman should do! I am in my own territory, and everything I do is taken for granted!"

The people below booed a lot, and Haiwen said to the baron: "I just need evidence. If you can produce witness and material evidence to prove your innocence, then of course you are not guilty. But if there is no evidence, you can cry as long as you want." Noise is useless."

"Every nobleman does this, some are worse than me, you shouldn't judge me!"

Haiwen said loudly: "I just want evidence! I accuse you of four crimes, and I have witnesses for each of them, and I have also found the corresponding physical evidence in your castle! And you? Human evidence? Physical evidence? You What can you come up with?"

"I..." The baron froze in place.

"You have no evidence!" Haiwen said loudly, "Who is your witness? Is it a weeping mother, or a scrawny serf? What is your physical evidence? Is it a bloody account book, or a basement full of people's blood? Everything you can take out is stained with blood and sins, and they are all evidence of your crimes! Confess your sins!"

"I——!" The baron opened his mouth wide, and the word "I" turned into a distorted scream with a burst of breathlessness, and everyone shouted in unison: "Confess! Confess! Confess!" The wave of voices seemed to sweep the entire area. Wild horse land, pull down the sky and turn the earth over.

The baron yelled in horror: "I won't..."

"Confession! Confession, confession! Confession, confession, confession!" The voice became more and more urgent, like a drum beating to death.

Haven's Arrangement, Three

Haven's Arrangement, Three

When thousands of people shouted the same word in unison, the coercion, the sense of urgency, was enough to strangle a person.

Haiwen himself stood on the opposite side of the wave, feeling faintly out of breath.I am so uncomfortable, let alone the Baron?He looked at the old man, the baron was kneeling on the ground, he was an old man who had been hollowed out by wine and sex, his face was yellow and thin, without the majesty of an aristocrat.At this moment, he was so frightened that he burst into tears. Looking at him like this, Haiwen couldn't help saying: "Plead guilty, you have no other choice."

The baron's eyes widened. He looked at Haven and shouted hoarsely: "I am a nobleman! I am the king of Mustang Land, I am, I am..."

"You are a sinner!" Hai Wen said, "It is a matter of course for sinners to pay their debts, there is no problem."

"Confession! Confession! Confession!" The sound drowned them out, and the baron looked at the crowd below in fear.The group of people who were numb in the past showed fanaticism at this moment, maybe in the next second, they will come up and tear the baron to pieces.

"I plead guilty," he whispered.

Haven nodded. He came to judge crimes, not to insult people.So Haiwen opened his arms and said, "He has already confessed!"

"Oh--!" The crowd cheered loudly, and many people shed tears with excitement.It was an unprecedented victory for Mustang Township,

"Very good, admitting your mistakes is the first step, and the second step is to wash away your sins." Haiwen pointed to the crooked neck tree and said, "This is the only place where you can wash away your sins. "

"No!" cried the baron. "I have money. I want to redeem myself with money. I pay, I pay! It's legal, you can't refuse!"

Indeed, Gulf law allows someone to buy off criminals with money to reduce their sentences.

Haiwen said to him: "Your criminal property has already been confiscated, unless someone else pays for you." He turned his head and asked the people below, "Are any of you willing to buy his life?"

A bald old man shouted: "I'll give you three gold coins, please hang him immediately!" A thick woman shouted: "Then I'll give you five!" : "I only have copper coins, I will give you all! Please hang him!"

Haven looked at the baron, his face was ashen.

"Hang him," Hai Wen said.

After saying this, two soldiers carried the baron down, and the baron shouted loudly: "You can't hang a nobleman! I'm a vassal of the Gulf, you can't do this to me!" However, his voice was fast Overwhelmed by people poking him, cursing at him, and throwing stones and mud at him, two soldiers quickly took him to the crooked neck tree and began to noose him.At this moment the Baron cried out and begged for mercy, but it was too late.

Haiwen didn't have the time to look at what happened next, he turned around and looked at the Yizheng Hall, feeling extremely calm.Not long after, there was a burst of cheers from behind, and then someone shouted: "Dead! Dead!" Looking back, Haiwen saw the baron's body hanging on the crooked neck tree, swaying in the wind.

Haiwen said: "He is not qualified to be buried. Wrap his body in asphalt and leave it here to warn the world!"

People chanted "King of the Wild Horses" again, but this time there were different voices: "King of Bear Mountain! Guardian of Bear Mountain!" "Earl of Bear Mountain!" "Cold-Blooded Judge!" "Savior!" Method one by one to count.He asked everyone to be quiet, and then said: "Next, I will restart the various systems in Mustang Land last year. Besides, there are many things to do. My people, please be more patient, this year may be a little difficult, But next year you will have better days."

Then people began to complain to him. Over the past year, the baron ruthlessly plundered Mustang Town and wiped out the little wealth that Haiwen had accumulated with great difficulty, but Haiwen has nothing to do now.He not only wants to manage Mustang Town, but also the entire Bear Mountain.He now has the three towns of Mustang Land, Bear Mountain City, Pinewood Castle, Antler Pass, and White Water Bay.He has to come one by one, and no one can be left behind.

So he calmed down the crowd temporarily, and then brought Ramon to the political hall.Then Charles the Great came to him, and said, "My lord, I have caught my brother and the captain of the police."

"Very good." Haven had imposed martial law on Mustang Castle three days ago, and he was afraid that this would spread.Now it's finally time to catch all the people who want to be arrested.But Haiwen is not in the mood to interrogate these little people now. He waved his hand and said, "Shut up first, and bring them back to Bear Mountain for interrogation—Big Charles, you are in charge. If these two people escape, I will hold you accountable."

Big Charles nodded quickly and said, "Yes, my lord!"

After finishing this matter, Haven and Ramon said: "Ramon, I plan to keep you here and let you be the mayor of Mustang Town. I will leave pigeons for you to communicate, and then you will manage Mustang Town and The three major farms outside. You have the same power as me last year."

Ramon was not surprised, he just pondered a little, and then said, "My lord, I'm too young."

"It doesn't matter if you are young, I will help you establish your majesty—I just want to know, would you like it?"

"I……"

"Don't rush to answer." Haiwen interrupted him, "You are the mayor, and the mayor is a person who serves the people. In terms of identity, you are no different from masons, tailors, and dung pickers. They are all servicers. You Just managing it, not owning it, you know what I mean?"

Ramon looked at the Crooked Neck Tree outside, then nodded and said, "I think I understand."

"Very good." Hai Wen said, "You have done a lot for me and helped me a lot, and the mayor of Mustang is not a good job. If you don't want to do it, you can tell me."

"I don't think there are any good jobs under your command." He smiled. "After all, you yourself live a hard and tiring life. How can the people below you have any 'good job'?"

Haven also smiled, "So are you willing?"

"I do, my lord."

After that, Haven explained various things to Ramon.Such as who can use it, who can't use it, how to deal with the relationship between superiors and subordinates, and how to manage the town.Haven's request to Ramon is to restore the production system established by Haven in Mustang Land, start agricultural production first, and then consider other things in the second year.

Haiwen was short of time, so he didn't visit his brother, not to mention that his brother had surrendered to the baron and swore to sever ties with Haiwen. This was undoubtedly an act of betrayal.Although Haiwen could understand him, he had to express his attitude, so he left two letters for Ramon to pass on.A letter told Gelumon Ambside that he should hand over all his powers and submit to Ramon's management, and the rest can be done by himself; a letter praised old Kurit and others for sticking to their principles, saying that they would be given more bonuses in the future , and gave Van Derry another commutation.

After explaining everything, he gave another speech to the people of Mustang Town. On the one hand, he introduced Ramon, the new mayor, and on the other hand, he reassured everyone, and by the way, he gave Ramon a platform.

He set off early the next morning, and now he was going back to Bear Mountain—with the Baron's large sum of money, he was finally able to drive the oilless chariot of Bear Mountain City.

But Mustang Town alone wasn't enough.Haiwen thought to himself, I still need to perform an operation on Xiongshan, a major operation.

Isrit felt wise, a

Isrit felt wise, a

Another horse died tonight.

This is the last horse.

These horses died silently, and all of them died tragically.It was as if an invisible demon was chasing them.

Witch Cuckoo has been keeping vigil in person. This woman is energetic and very sensitive. Any disturbance at night cannot escape her eyes and ears.But even that doesn't stop the horse from dying.

"I just blinked my eyes!" The old woman's terrified croon caused others to palpitate. "Just for a moment, when I opened my eyes, the horse was already dead. Before that, I kept staring, always Stare."

How is this possible?Estelle surveyed the scene, but found no clues.They found nothing but the horse carcass, which had been torn to pieces.Isrit asked Gerrit and Owlman, "Didn't you watch the night that night? Did you find anything?"

Geralte said, "I fell asleep!"

And Ye Xiaoxia said: "Cuckoo, cluck cluck, cluck cluck!" (Me, me too, I fell asleep!)

how could be?It's fine to say that Lord Geerite can sleep at night, but Night Owlman was born as an owl, how could this night owl doze off at night?Estelle felt that this matter was becoming more and more strange.

After the horse died, they had to rely on walking, and the luggage on the carriage had to be carried by people.The cuckoo witch ordered people to discard the luggage they didn't have, and set off after taking the necessities of life.They want to take a shortcut, pass through the canyon in front, and then walk a section of mountain road.Although this road is difficult, it can save them a day or two of time.

So they set off.The canyon is located on the edge of the vast desert, but fortunately they don't have to cross the desert, but just follow the trade road to the south.There is still some green here, and the climate is not too dry.

The team of academic witches was already silent, but it became even more lifeless at this moment—since the murderer could kill a horse silently, he must also be able to kill a person silently.As a result, people's emotions changed from doubt to fear, and they all silently quickened their pace, wanting to leave this ghostly place as soon as possible.

The cuckoo witches have already planned the follow-up route. Their next location is Qingni City in the Southern Principality, where they will transfer supplies, and then go to Hummingbird City.

Qingni City is a city located in the wetlands. It is built on blue-black soil, surrounded by reeds, shrubs and moss, and there are swamps everywhere outside the city.There are rich paddy fields, rich ducks and geese, and various freshwater fish.The sky here is cloudy all the year round, and the air is extremely humid. Clothes will become moldy after two weeks in the box.

The cuckoo witches suspected that they were entangled by some mountain spirits, so after arriving in Qingni City, they had to buy spell-casting materials and invite a southern witch doctor to exorcise the demons—forest witches can communicate with nature, but they are not good at dealing with anything Mountain essence and water ghost.Spirits and monsters are the job category of witch doctors, just like looking for a witcher when encountering a monster.

If they want to go to Qingni City, they have to cross the canyon, walk a steep downhill road, and then enter the acid frog swamp.Qingni City is on the edge of the Sour Frog Swamp, next to the Mother River that runs through the two duchies, and they will be there in about three days.

On the way, everyone didn't say a word, just walked like this.Because her pace was much faster and her luggage was carried on her body, Estherite soon felt that she couldn't do it anymore.Her feet hurt badly, and her waist and legs were so sore. They took a short rest at noon and then started marching again in the afternoon.Isrit was not good at hiking, and the food she ate these past few days was not oily, and in the afternoon, she felt exhausted.

She looked at the people in front of her, and those academic witches still didn't intend to stop. These people were all academic lorewalkers, and they must have been used to traveling long distances.

But Estherite couldn't do it anymore, the closer to the valley the more rugged and difficult it was, and there was a large rocky beach to walk on, the ground was full of gravel, every step of Estherite felt like she was walking on the tip of a needle .Every step she took would cause severe pain.The shoes are probably worn out, she thought.But she didn't have time to stop and watch, because if she stopped, she would lose track of the team.

She was tired, thirsty, hungry, and in pain, and she couldn't move an inch.At this moment, she suddenly felt her knees go limp, and she just fell into a pile of gravel.She didn't trip over something, but her legs gave way and she fell down.She forced herself to raise her head, her face, knees and palms were all scratched by stones.Blood oozes from the palm of his hand, and several small stones have penetrated into the flesh.

Yet the procession continued on, and no one paid any attention to her except Gerette.The forest witch shouted angrily: "She fell! Can't you see?"