under the field

Scarlett

I feel like I have almost no secrets from Otis.Because since Warwick was on the road, he has been habitually asking me to get to the bottom of it, and even asked me how many servants there are in Dindalk Manor.I suspect that there is actually an old lady who is good at inquiring about other people's gossip and private affairs in this big man's body. Now, adhering to the spirit of "a confidant should talk about everything", he started to discuss my life-long events. "Did your mother ever say what kind of man she wanted you to marry?"

I stroke Ollie's hair beneath me. "She wants us to spend the rest of our lives with the people we love, just like her and my father."

"What kind of identity and what kind of background are not required?"

"Do not."

"It's really strange. Generally speaking, to be worthy of the daughter of the Hesting family, she should have a status, at least a title."

"My oldest sister only married an ordinary merchant, and he didn't have a prominent noble status."

"That Patmore?" Colin asked. "Yes."

He smiled and shook his head, not quite agreeing with my words: "The person who can do business on a quarter of the land in Carolina is not an ordinary businessman."

I tried to justify, "My second sister married the illegitimate child who was the least valued in the family."

"The Merritt family is a viscount family that has existed since the last century."

Once again I couldn't argue, so I had to keep my mouth shut.

Otis pointed the finger at me again: "So what is your ideal type?" I was a little wary of this big man's often frightening intuition: "I don't know."

Otis hates iron and steel: "To be more specific, do you like Joffrey?"

I frowned, "I don't like it."

He asked like a cannonball: "Then hair color? Eye color? Skin color? How tall? Foot size?" Hearing more and more confused, I replied: "Size doesn't matter."

The air was silent for a moment, and I saw Colin and Otis laughing together immediately. Otis stretched out his paw and patted the back of my head, laughing loudly: "Madam, how can size not be important?"

It only took a moment for me to understand what the two men were laughing at.I have been with a group of men for too long, and it is inevitable that some men’s hobbies will be interspersed in the team, especially Nigel, who claims to be experienced, completely refreshed my new cognition. At first I was embarrassed, and he would laugh and shamelessly Said to me: "Welcome to the new world, Hastings girl."

I habitually ignored the boring men laughing behind me, and took Ollie to the front.When walking on a narrow path, Ollie suddenly raised her front hooves anxiously. I grabbed the rein so as not to fall off, and comforted her, "Easygirl..."

"Hasten girl." Colin called from behind, his voice revealing an unprecedented tension and warning.I look ahead and see where Ollie's unease comes from.In the forest not far from me, three wolves were slowly approaching us. "Stand back..." Colin blocked me behind him.The three of us didn't dare to act rashly in place, until the wolves surrounded us, and the atmosphere in the wilderness was as tense as an arrow on a string.Colin's hand slowly reached out to the knife pinned to his waist. I touched the crossbow-arrow behind my back and heard Colin say, "Don't move, it will disturb them."

"We're going to be a midnight snack for the wolves." I whispered, and Otis didn't forget to reply, "Please, it's only noon!"

"Girl Hastings, go behind the tree next to you." Colin ordered, I pulled up the rein and moved slowly, the wolf at the front started to howl when it saw my movement, Colin ordered slowly: "Bury down Your body..."

"Otis." Colin motioned, and he immediately followed behind knowingly, but the leading wolf didn't want to do anything, the howling became stronger and stronger, and the other wolves were ready to pounce on them at any time.

There was a gunshot in the distance, and a bullet hit the circle of the wolves suddenly, and they ran away immediately, followed by a group of people in the distance running up to us, pointing their guns at the wolves approaching Finally, the wolf was unwilling to leave, and disappeared into the depths of the woods with its tail between its legs.There were five or six of them, speaking a language I couldn't understand, and almost all of them were carrying shotguns.Colin and Otis went up to talk to the leading men. They glanced at me, turned their heads and talked for a while, and then the men started to form a team and walked ahead of us.

"Come on," Colin ordered.When I walked up to him, he pulled my hood over my head.He told me that these people are the villagers in the stone bed, this is on their way home, and they can show us the way into the village.We followed the road map drawn by Jess all the way to this forest, but we had no way of knowing where the specific village was located.

Colin and Otis knew their language, and they talked with the leading man along the way. They were somewhat enthusiastic, which coincided with the image of the village that welcomes outsiders that Jess said.With the villagers leading the way, we walked out of the woods smoothly and followed a small stream to the legendary Stone Bed Village.The village was originally located in a remote location on the outskirts of the woods, with a high stone wall built outside, which looked particularly peaceful and quiet in this bleak autumn scene.It can be seen from the outside that this is a large-scale village. Our group passed through the high-walled arched wooden gate pulled up by the outermost guards, and saw villagers inside working beside the hay-strewn carts outside the house.

Our arrival attracted the attention of the villagers.No matter men, women, young or old, even if the village has welcomed foreign tourists many times, they all feel novelty about the visitors.Facing the eyes that cannot be ignored along the way, we walked into an area that looked like the center of the town. In front of us was a row of majestic pointed blue-roofed houses. We walked across the stone-built wooden bridge in the center, and we could see the gurgling water under the bridge. The water flowed, with a few yellow leaves falling alone on it.We stopped at the stable next to the house, and the leading man turned to look at me and spoke a few words to Colin.

Colin walked up to me and said, "They say that outsiders entering the village must first meet with the lord here, but women are not allowed to enter the lord's house, please wait for us outside." I nodded and said yes , got off the horse, and stood outside the stable to comb Ollie's hair.Colin and Otis followed the men in the team.

The eyes that have been there since I entered the village just now made me feel at a loss. I realized that someone was staring at me from behind. I turned around and saw a group of children running to Ollie to play with it.I walked over and squatted in front of them.They were laughing and speaking in a language I didn't understand, "Hi." I put down my hood and said hello.Then one of the children turned around and yelled something, and a woman in local dress came over, looked at me, and then called her other partners.A group of women looked up and down around me. Someone came over and asked me something, but I didn't know how to reply.Then her eyes lit up, as if she had discovered something, they excitedly started chattering and discussing loudly, and some men and women began to be attracted.

Surrounded by strangers like being a rare species, I subconsciously wanted to retreat into the house, a woman stepped forward and grabbed my hand, I was at a loss, and then I heard children laughing louder, the villagers were very excited, I began to be attracted The people around me walked forward, and they all followed behind with great enthusiasm. We left the stable and walked on the broad stone road.Someone in the line was yelling something, and people from the houses passing by happily put down their work and joined the lineup.

For some unknown reason, I was pushed and shoved to walk at the head of the team. When my vision was finally exposed, I started to have a bad feeling. In front of me was a mirror-like lake with a mist like blue smoke. Weishan, you can vaguely see the gray mountain shadow.The cold wind blows, the lake is calm, but it makes people feel that it is hidden and turbulent. A tall tree with withered leaves stands next to it. Ropes hang from the crooked and bare branches on the high place, and the knots are tied to a bamboo cage on the ground. "God..." I couldn't help but say, "What the hell is this going to do..."

They grabbed me and pushed me involuntarily into a cage big enough for three women my age, and I struggled with their excited laughter and a language I couldn't understand.

"Let me go." I pushed hard, but helplessly, the door of the cage closed.Before I could think for a long time, I felt my feet start to leave the ground. The villagers were all below. Beside the lake, a fat man was struggling to pull the rope. Accompanied by the cheers of the crowd below, I rose slowly with the cage. I could see the lake water when I looked down, and the biting chill filled my body. I didn't dare to think about what they were going to do, because the lake water was calm, contrary to the people on the shore.I yelled for them to put me down.The people below didn't seem to hear, they were laughing and watching a play, and I was the trapped animal in the cage, suspended above the lake, at a height of 10 feet, I grabbed the outer rail of the cage, screaming loudly, Seeing the crowd below gradually shrink, it reminded me that the cage was still rising.

My legs were shaking, and I knew it was partly from the cold and partly from the fear of what was to come.

During the slow ascent of the cage, I already knew what they were going to do next. They were going to immerse me in the lake. I didn't know why they did it. Their eyes were red, revealing carnival and joy.

When the cage was in mid-air, I started to pray, and I thought about many ways that I would die, including drowning, but definitely not being imprisoned in a cage and soaking to death like I am now.

Suddenly the center of gravity began to drop. Unlike the slow ascent process, the rope suddenly loosened, and the entire cage fell down instantly. I didn’t have time to think about it. I wanted to stop myself from yelling to prevent drinking too much lake water. I only felt the biting chill all over my body, the icy lake water wrapped my whole body, and the shouts of people on the shore were all isolated from the water, I clenched the railings tightly, too much lake water poured into my mouth and nose, and I didn’t struggle much , I felt the cage being pulled up again.

It was still the slow process, I leaned weakly on the edge of the cage, the knuckles of my fingers holding the railing turned white, that was the only place I used my strength, I felt the cage was tilted, shaking and rising.I crouched by the cage, I looked at the people, they seemed to be urging the fat man pulling the rope to move faster.

I began to grope around the cage railing, hoping to find the door valve, but I had no strength, and my eyes were fixed on the same place. When the cage was finally fixed in the air again, I saw Colin and Otis rush to the front of the crowd, and they pushed away Those who stand in the way.People seemed annoyed at the intervention of the two men, who were apparently out of town by their clothes, and some of them started grabbing him.Another pair of men and horses also came to the front of the crowd. I recognized the man who was leading the crowd just now. In front of him was an old man with white hair.

I saw Colin struggling to shake off the two men who were close to him. After he said something to Otis, Otis began to jump at the fat man pulling the rope. He couldn't catch the rope because the rope shaft began to rotate violently, and the cage Rapidly descending again.At the same time, my hand caught the handle of the iron gate valve, I closed my eyes, and pulled it hard.