Chapter 63 - 62: Escape Through the Woods

Chapter 63: Chapter 62: Escape Through the Woods

"Who knows?" The man didn’t directly answer her question. "Perhaps... it depends on my mood."

He rested for a moment, stood up from the ground, and reached out a hand to Lilia.

Lilia tilted her head, seemingly puzzled.

"Do you want me to carry you over my shoulder?" the man asked indifferently. "We don’t have much time. We need to move to a safe place before those people find this spot."

A safe place... Lilia knew full well that this so-called "safe place" was only safe for him. To her, it was far from guaranteed. But she was equally aware that if she didn’t follow him, she would likely end up like the corpse outside, skewered right through.

So, after a moment’s thought, Lilia raised her hands. Her wrists were still bound.

"If we are going to run... could you untie this first? That way, I won’t hold you back."

Silence.

After about five or six seconds, the man flicked his dagger, severing a section of the rope. Lilia immediately shook off the remaining bonds and stretched her sore, numb wrists. Having been tied up for nearly two hours, her originally fair skin was now covered in dark purple bruises, a shocking sight to behold.

Yet, she didn’t show much of a pained expression. Instead, she looked at the man and asked, "Are we leaving now?"

The man pushed the door open again, answering her with his actions. The two stepped over the corpse at the doorway and made their way through the dense forest. Lilia followed closely behind him, occasionally asking him questions.

"That person earlier said someone was looking for us. Was it Lucian?" she asked.

"You hope it’s him?"

"It has to be him."

"Hmph... You certainly trust him a lot. Are you that sure he’ll come to save you?"

"The facts prove I haven’t trusted the wrong person. He really did come to rescue me."

"That depends on whether he can even track us."

They walked in silence for a moment.

"Can you tell me now? Who hired you?" Lilia pressed.

"I honestly don’t know. Those big shots never meet directly with bottom-feeders like us."

"...You dare work for someone without even knowing who they are?"

"Does it matter who the employer is? A mercenary only cares about the pay."

Lilia fell silent.

"Are you calling me an idiot in your head?" he asked.

"Of course not. I’m helping you curse out that untrustworthy employer of yours."

They continued deeper into the woods.

"By the way... where are you planning to take me?"

"We’ll hide out for a while, and then I’ll use you to negotiate terms with the Beaumont family."

"If that’s the case, why not just hand me over to Lucian directly? As long as I survive, they probably won’t hold my kidnapping against you."

"That’s not a guarantee. Besides, do you really think everyone searching for you works for Williams? My employer doesn’t just want to kill me; you’re on the hit list too. If our luck is bad and we run into someone who isn’t one of Williams’ subordinates, you might just end up as a sacrifice buried alongside me."

"...Then you better take me into hiding."

"Are you really that opposed to dying with me?"

"I just don’t want to die."

They traveled without stopping. Lilia’s Constitution had never been good to begin with, and she hadn’t had a single drop of water since morning. At first, she could still chat with the man—or rather, probe him for information. But as they pressed on, all the man could hear from behind was the young girl’s rapid, heavy panting. She sounded so exhausted that she might hack up her lungs at any moment.

He stopped and glanced around, as if trying to get his bearings.

Lilia also stopped, her legs trembling. "Are... are we there yet?"

"Not even close."

The man’s voice remained cold, but upon closer listening, a faint tremor could be heard. It was as if he were enduring intense pain.

Panting, Lilia glanced at his injury. His initial first-aid had been hastily done, and after walking for so long, the strenuous movement would surely tear the unhealed wound right open again. Although his trench coat obstructed the view, the cloth bandaged around it was likely already soaked through with blood.

The man turned his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the girl’s trembling calves. "Can you still walk?"

Lilia nodded. "I can..."

"Don’t push yourself."

He grabbed her wrist. Lilia inhaled sharply. He had grabbed precisely where the dark purple bruises were. It was fine if left alone, but even the slightest pressure caused excruciating, stinging pain.

The man paused, shifting his hand up to grip her forearm instead.

"About half an hour more. There’s a wild beast’s lair ahead," he said, resuming his pace.

Being pulled along by him, Lilia felt a significant burden lifted off her legs. "...A beast’s lair?"

"Are you wondering if it’ll be dangerous?"

Lilia nodded.

"It will," the man replied casually. "But only in a place like that can we evade the search parties." Seeing that the girl behind him didn’t respond, he added softly, "Don’t worry, I won’t deliberately lead you to your death. I want to live even more than you do."

Lilia fell silent. She could only hope so.

Another half hour passed. Just when Lilia could completely walk no further and would have had to be dragged the rest of the way, they finally arrived at their destination.

It was a fairly spacious cave. Hearing it was a beast’s lair, Lilia had half expected to see wild animals resting inside... However, looking at it now, it was more apt to call it an "abandoned beast’s lair."

The man was clearly familiar with the place. He pulled a backpack from a corner, rummaged through it for a moment, and tossed some items to Lilia.

Lilia, resting against the wall, saw the cloth-wrapped bundle land by her feet and reached down with some effort to pick it up. Upon opening it, she found a flatbread and a strip of dried meat. She tapped it with her knuckles. Judging by its rock-solid texture, it had probably been sitting here for a century.

Lilia looked up and saw that the man had already bitten off a piece of his own flatbread and was chewing it slowly. Was this thing... actually edible?

Harboring such doubts, Lilia cautiously took a bite and gnawed at it with her teeth.

...She couldn’t bite into it at all.

"If you can’t bite into it, soak it in water until it softens before eating," the man’s voice came at the perfect moment.

Lilia glanced at the waterskin by her feet. "...With cold water?"

"You can use hot water too, provided you can find a suitable container."

Lilia stopped talking. Forget about finding a container; given where they were right now, if she went out alone, she would likely get lost within a few steps and end up as a snack for a passing beast.

After eating, the man took out some medical supplies from the backpack, re-treated his wound, and discarded a pile of blood-soaked bandages. Once the medicine was applied, the bleeding barely stopped, but the wound still looked horribly gruesome. Enduring the pain, he gathered the discarded medical waste into a pile.

SNAP.

With a snap of his fingers, flames danced to life. The coppery scent of blood that had just begun to spread was entirely masked by the smell of burning fabric.

"Done," the man sighed in relief. "Rest up. Now we just have to pray... that the people searching the mountain don’t find us."