Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

lantern.Every household has a lantern, which may be hung on the window, perhaps on the door, or hung on the side of the road.The lanterns on the high places are all fiery red, like dazzling lighthouses; while the lanterns on the low places all emit hazy fireflies—they are green, blue, dark yellow, orange, cyan, and white... …Isrit has never seen such rich colors in her life.As if there is an elf living in each lantern, countless colors adorn the streets on both sides of the river.

"It's so beautiful." An academic witch sighed obsessively.That person was Asha, a reserved witch, and Isrit had never seen her smile before.

"Let's go, find an inn." The cuckoo witch said.

So they walked down the river.

The river at night is filled with a second green mud city.

The dots of lights are reflected in the dark river, and the black water makes these brilliance even more dazzling.Whether it's a lamp at a high place or a firefly at a low place, Xiaohe treats them all equally.It carries another colorful world with its body.

Just like the galaxy.Isrit stared at the dotted water waves, there were several small boats on the water surface, and each small boat was also lit with lanterns.The boatman with a big bamboo hat was supporting a bamboo pole, singing folk songs that she couldn't understand.Often it is you who sing a sentence, and I will answer it, and occasionally people on the shore will sing along.The simple singing voice was everywhere, as if it was circling around her ears.

Passers-by also came to say hello to them. People in Qingni City love to wear straw hats and straw sandals, and there are happy smiles on their faces no matter men, women or children.

I really want to come with Haven.She stared at the lantern boat on the waves, imagining that she and her husband were on this boat—just the two of us, I would row the boat, and he could lie on my lap to rest, and we were among the stars Slowly rippling, admiring this quiet small town, and then silently turning into a little starlight in the city.

"Here we are." Witch Dujuan stopped in front of a stilt house, "Move your things in, and stay here tonight."

Blue Bird Hotel.She looked up at the signboard, and there was a little bird engraved under the four words on the signboard, but her eyes were crooked, which was very funny.

What a lovely city, she thought.

They were all too tired, so they went to rest immediately after entering the hotel.Isrit shared a room with Gerrit, and then the witch went downstairs to buy some food.

"Try this mushroom duck!" Zhe Lite held a large bowl of stewed duck with eyes shining, "Israet, let me tell you, I don't even feel sorry for you committing suicide next to me while I'm eating this duck!" !"

Yisruite responded with a wise smile, and then grabbed the bowl, seeing the heat rising, the smell of meat and mushrooms mixed together, it was enough to dispel all distracting thoughts, leaving only one "eat" Character.

After taking the first bite, she felt that the tiredness in her whole body disappeared.At that time, a funny idea popped into her mind: How about I stop going to the south to study, isn't it good to stay here and eat duck every day?

Hai Wen did not miss money for them, but there was little room for expenses along the way. This time, the two decided to spend a little extravagantly. They rewarded the servant with two silver coins and asked him to collect a table of vegetables and bring them into the house.The inn boy was a capable young man, and it didn't take long to get the job done.

People in Qingni City like nightlife, so many small restaurants only open at night, and Yisrit and the others coincidentally arrived at the right time.After a while, the tavern boy brought many dishes.Chicken, duck, and fish are all served in large wooden bowls, which exude a burst of meaty aroma.Especially the fish, it smelled burnt, and the smell was even a bit choking.Isrit looked down and saw that there was a lot of pepper in it. She was startled at the time and asked the price of the fish.However, the price quoted by the boy was unexpectedly low. Only then did she realize that this place was close to the pepper producing area, and the price of this thing would not be as bizarre as that in the Gulf.

In addition to the three meat dishes, there are many stewed mushrooms, roasted mushrooms and some unnamed fruits.There is no bread, people here eat noodles made of rice, and there are a lot of spices that Islet can't name in them—oh my god, don't all the spices in this place cost money?She shed tears while eating - it was spicy.

This grilled fish is so delicious, I really want to give Mrs. Haven a taste, and Israet had this idea in the middle of eating it.But the idea quickly disappeared—he took one more bite and I took one less bite, forget it!

I'm such a bad woman.She thought so, laughing, crying, and continuing to eat.

Author's message:

ps: I feel that as the pov progresses, the other protagonists also begin to plump up - I don't know if you have this feeling?

In addition, the description of the scenery in this chapter I think is very good, referring to some Jiangnan water towns and the feelings of fishing boats singing late.

[I kind of want to travel in my own fantasy world]

There will be more rich and interesting worlds presented to you in the future, so look forward to it.

Finally, if you are satisfied with this book, you can vote, reward, leave a message, or recommend it to your friends.Either way will do.

Thanks for your support.

Estherite felt that her life was complete, three

Estherite felt that her life was complete, three

"Isrit." Zhe Lite called her in the middle of eating, and said in a joking tone, "You always say you want me to be a lady, look at the way you eat now, do you look like a lady?"

Isrit ignored her, but took the chicken wings from her bowl with a fork.

"Ah! You sneaky little bitch!" Zhe Lite yelled, and then laughed loudly. Isrit laughed and cut the chicken wing, returned the wing to her, and left the tip of the wing to her. own.

"I'll give it all to you." The witch smiled dotingly like a mother, "I'll be happy if you eat more. You are too thin, how will you have children in the future?"

She choked when she heard the word, and she took a quick gulp of cider. "I... I'm not as thin as I look. I'm very strong!"

"I can see that, after all, you are my apprentice."

"Ah?" She was taken aback, do witches also teach strength?

"So I've decided to pass on my unique skills to you now..."

Isrit knew what it was, "I don't learn!" she said loudly.

"Are you really not learning?"

"Teacher, I'm afraid I don't have time to learn the shoulder throw, and I won't be able to use it if I learn it."

"Who said I'm going to teach you to fall over your shoulder as a witch?" Gerrit stared at her with surprise.

"Then what do you want to teach me?" Isrit put down her fork and looked at Gerrit.

She raised her index finger with a serious face, "You have to learn from the witch's back throw first."

"what?"

"First learn the witch's back throw, then the over-the-shoulder throw, and then the witch's one-inch punch, the witch's capture technique, and the witch..."

"It has nothing to do with witches, does it?" Esriter inserted the fork into the plate, "Why are you proficient in this kind of thing, Teacher?"

She raised her head with a look of recalling the past, "Because life in the forest is very difficult." She murmured, "You must have never tried to wrestle a gorilla? That guy...is very powerful. I didn't even It’s not an opponent. Later, I exercise every day and eat a lot of meat. After about a year, I will be able to compete with chimpanzees. Oh, here I have to thank one person, that is, the ranger who took the blame - Ravitch .”

"Ranger with the pot on his back? Do you know him?" Estherite has seen the deeds of this man in the biography of the ranger. He is a strange man who travels around the world with a big pot on his back.

"Once he came to the Witch's Wood to pick mushrooms, and we happened to meet. We shared a big pot of mushroom soup that night, and after eating he ate the bark as a barbecue and ate a tree and a half, while I was in the woods. I have been chasing the dragon for half a night."

Don't eat mushrooms indiscriminately!Isrit covered her eyes and let out a dry laugh.

"And then the next morning we became very good friends - 'You have eaten my cooking, we have been friends for life!' He told me like this. I guess you know it too, back to the blame ranger Traveling around with a pot, during the period, in addition to being a chivalrous man, he was searching for delicacies from all directions. He is the greatest gourmand among the four principalities, and he is also a strong Hercules."

"So he taught you a series of witch's...fighting skills such as shoulder throws?"

"No, I learned the moves by myself. He just taught me good living habits - going to bed early and getting up early, eating more and exercising more."

"Oh..." Isrit kept smiling.

The dishes they ordered were too much for two people to eat.So Estherite went to the Cuckoo Witch and asked the academy witches if they would take some untouched vegetables away?However, the cuckoo witch said that the traveler could not eat these things during the days of practice, and could only eat bread, water, salt and herbal tea.Isrit didn't understand their behavior of penance, but respected it.

After returning, Gelieta had already fetched hot water.There is no condition for full body bathing here, but it is still possible to wash hands and feet.Isrit had an injury on her feet and couldn't get wet, so she cleaned her face with hot water and wiped her body with a hot towel; while Gerrit soaked her feet with the remaining water, and continued to let out an unbearable moan of pleasure- Moan.

After washing, it was about nine o'clock in the evening. Unlike the Bay Area, people here slept very late, and the street lanterns outside the window were still on.There was also a lantern in their room, but it was not lit. Isrit wanted to ask for some lamp oil, but Gerrit stopped her and said, "Knock the lantern and it will light up."

She did so dubiously, and then saw the wonderful fluorescent light coming out of the lantern.She vaguely saw a few glowing bugs covered in the veil, and she asked, "Is this a firefly?"

"It's a lantern worm unique to Qingni City." Zerette said, "People trap them in lanterns for lighting; each lantern has a small bowl of tree honey, and the lantern worm can survive for a long time after eating this. And there are always two lantern worms, one male and one female, and they build a family here, and then continue to reproduce."

"Then these little fellows are a bit pitiful." Isrit murmured looking at the lantern.

Zerette shook her head, and said, "That's not the case, Isrit. This kind of bug can't survive on its own. They use fireflies to attract the opposite sex to mate, but they also attract all kinds of natural enemies. It used to be fine. After all, there are not many meat-eating birds in the south, but later, the northerners came here on an expedition and brought black pigeons. Those black pigeons who came with the army settled here, and that kind of pigeons can not only coo, but also eat Meat. They almost wiped out lantern bugs, and they can't be seen in the wild. Now this kind of bugs must rely on human protection to survive. So it doesn't mean that freedom is good. For some things, a stable habitat It’s more important than anything.”

Is she hinting at me?Isrit wasn't sure. "But I think whether freedom is good or bad depends on the wishes of the parties involved. If lantern bugs like peace, then living in a lantern is good; but if they yearn for freedom, then let them be free—even if the end is death, they Willing to pay the price."

"Insects don't have this kind of consciousness." Geralte looked at her and said.

"There are people." Isrit looked out of the window, the street was as bright as a galaxy of fireflies, but what she saw were the twinkling stars in the sky.

Gerrit nodded silently and said, "It's time to rest."

So they went to bed.As promised, after they lay down, the lanterns outside the window gradually went out, and those who sang were also quiet.The huge Qingmu City became completely silent, only the cries of frogs remained.

Isrit was very tired physically, but mentally she didn't feel much sleepiness.Lying flat on the bed, looking at the dark ceiling, she couldn't help but think about what Geralte had said before—freedom and tranquility, must my choice be the right one?I left my husband, shirked my wife's responsibilities, and came to the south alone.Master Haiwen didn't want me to go, he said he couldn't bear me, he said he would miss me, he also said...

What is he doing now?Is he sleeping with Hyacinth, or is he still working?Maybe... he is also staring at the same darkness with me, so loneliness is inevitable?

Thinking of this, she suddenly cried, tears streaming down without warning.I may have done something stupid, she thought, how could I abandon my husband?

I should go back, maybe it's not too late to go back now!The face of her lover appeared before her eyes, replacing the darkness.Then the memories related to him rushed into her mind, she felt hot and unbearable, she wanted him.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I'm leaving tomorrow!This crazy idea swelled in her mind, but there was still a rational voice saying to her: Isrit, you can't do this, you can't forget your original intention!

She was conflicted for a while, and then tiredness came to her mind again, and she closed her eyes.

I'll decide tomorrow, she thought in the last of her thoughts, hoping one night would be enough to calm me down.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already the next morning.

What woke her up was the woman screaming outside the door.

Then, seeing the cuckoo witch knocked open the door, Isrit sat up in fright, and Gerrit jumped out of the bed and picked up the knife.

"What are you doing!" Gerrit shouted, holding a knife.

Witch Cuckoo looked at them with a pair of cold eyes, "I just want to see if you are alive."

Geralte said: "Of course we are alive, and we are living well!"

"Really?" Witch Cuckoo nodded, and then said something that made Isrit feel cold all over her body:

"But someone died—we had a witch last night, and she was disembowelled, as dead as the horses."

Chapter 14: Haven's Verdict, I

Chapter 14: Haven's Verdict, I

Today is the day of the lawsuit.

Haven respected the law, and since the Great Charles wanted to file a lawsuit, of course he agreed.

Although there are many unreasonable things in the laws of the Gulf, the current "Gulf Code" is the only law that the local people can follow.Haiwen must strictly abide by the code in order to restrain his people and maintain his rule.He also thought about writing a more reasonable "Bear Mountain Law" by himself, but on the one hand, he does not have this power, and on the other hand, this kind of behavior will make Bear Mountain become his one-word house, and then everything will be in jeopardy. There are no guidelines to follow.This will make the Xiongshan people think that Earl Haven is handling the case according to his own preferences, and the law will lose its due dignity.

After deciding to file a lawsuit, he told the people around him about it, and issued a notice to allow Xiongshan people to come to the court to listen.His subordinates were unanimously opposed to this, and Smiley Cat first said to him: "The bastard is killed with a single knife, and this thing is still necessary? If it is not convenient for you, my lord, I will do it for you."

Hyacinth and Violet also said that Charles should not be given this chance, especially Violet, she was very annoyed by this. "You shouldn't give a murderer a chance, kill him for life! You saw him kill with your own eyes, you should sentence him to death immediately!"

Hai Wen said to her: "Of course I know that murder pays for life, but even a death row prisoner has the right to the fairest trial."

"However, many 'condemned prisoners' are whitewashed after finishing their lawsuits! My lord, the court is a dyeing shop for nobles and rich people, no matter how black it is, it can be said to be white. I am worried..."

"I will enforce the law impartially." Haiwen said to her with the code in his hand, "Although the Great Charles has made great contributions, every penny counts for every penny. I will not bend the law for personal gain."

Violet nodded and said, "Well, I believe you, my lord."

There are also people who support his trial——

"I think this is very good!" Master Tang De'en's voice was full of enthusiasm, "Lord Haiwen, since you served as the guardian of Xiongshan, you have been lacking a chance to talk to the people. Now there are many rumors that are not good for you in Xiongshan. They Say you are a lawless butcher, say that you have killed your own vassals in public, and a public trial can just clear up this rumor. I suggest following the old way, start a jury of [-] people and the elders' seat, so that this trial can be completely Openness and transparency. Since ancient times, the lords who have opened the jury system are clean and fair people, such as the Chauvin family, such as the Bekalai family. This system symbolizes peace and freedom in people's hearts, my lord."

The jury is a group of one hundred legal citizens, and the elders' seat is a group of ten prestigious elders. The wishes of these two groups will determine whether the prisoner is guilty or not, and the reference value of the sentencing level.Then the judge will try again.It can be said that the jury system is a way to restrain the power of judges and nobles, and it is a relatively simple expression of democracy.

If the jury disagrees with the elders, then a vote will be held to determine the final result.But either party can file a complaint, which is ultimately left to the local lord to decide.

In any case, the final arbiter is me.Haven thought to himself.

"I promise you." He said to Tang De'en, "You come to form the jury and the elders' bench, and invite all famous people."

"Yes, my lord."

Haiwen hasn't tried a case in Xiongshan yet. He needs a ceremony like the Snowy Night Trial to help him establish his dignity. He wants everyone in Xiongshan to know that he is a lord who upholds justice and is a person who acts according to the law.

The trial of Charles Jr. began this afternoon in Bear Mountain Court.

The Bear Mountain Court is a hall big enough to accommodate 500 people. It was built just below the castle, halfway up the winding mountain road.No one has used it for a long time, because the case of Xiongshan is basically decided by the judge and the earl, and there is no chance of a lawsuit.Haiwen ordered people to clean up in advance, and replaced the rotten tables and chairs with new ones. They had to be cleaned up before they could be used.

Before the court session started, the court was already full of people.According to the original arrangement, the judge stood on the central platform, with the plaintiff on the left and the defendant on the right.Then the remaining sides and in the hall are the jury's seats.

However, not only the jury members came here today, ordinary people were also watching at the door.Haiwen set up [-] auditorium seats, but this was far from meeting people's needs, so many people gathered around the gate of the court to listen.

According to the rules, the judge is the last person to appear.Once the judge appeared, it meant that the trial should begin, so Haven waited for everything to be ready.If the jury is counted today, there are thousands of spectators. After this trial is over, the results will soon spread throughout Xiongshan.Afterwards, people knew whether the new Lord of Bear Mountain was a clean and honest person who acted according to the law, or an overbearing dictator.

Haven changed into the judge's black robe and top hat at the back, and took the thick law code.At this time, the servant told him: "My lord, Master Tang De'en said that the outside is ready, and you can start the court at any time."

"it is good."

So he went out the door.

The moment he opened the curtain, the crowd below cheered loudly.In the dock sits Charles Jr., and Charles the Great sits next to him as advocate; there is no one in the plaintiff's seat, because the plaintiff is Haven himself.Smiley Cat and Violet stood beside the plaintiff's seat as witnesses.

A jury of [-] people stands behind the plaintiff's seat. These people have signed up voluntarily. There are no requirements for the jury, as long as you have not broken the law and you are a local male resident, you can sign up.So among them were the muddy peasants, the stout cooks, the shopkeepers, the blacksmiths, the masons, and the tailors, who undoubtedly represented the lowest ranks of the people.Some of them whispered, some cheered and whistled, but some of them took themselves very seriously. There was an old man with gray hair sitting upright with a serious face, and a young scholar took off his hat and bowed to Hai Wenxing present.

On the right is the ten-person elders' seat, including various famous old bachelors, wealthy businessmen, and two knights. Master Tang De'en himself was also present.

At the end is the excited crowd.People shouted meaninglessly, just because they saw the excitement they hadn't seen for a long time.The lifeless Bear Mountain needs entertainment, and a public trial is a joy for the people.

At this moment, Haven stepped onto the rostrum, knocked on the alarm bell beside the wooden table with a hammer, and shouted: "Silence!" As the people gradually became quiet, he said loudly: "Now I announce that the case of Manto Charles is officially Open the court!"