The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The warhorse grazed nearby, occasionally glancing at the man and woman on the grass.

Arya glanced in the direction of home, reluctant to stop if she wasn't worried about the children running out.

Blackstone's face was beginning to swell on both sides, from Arya's slaps.

Arya began to put on her dress.

"You're the Mountain's cavalry now?" Arya didn't use honorifics, directly calling Gregor by his infamous name, 'The Mountain'.

"Yes."

"Let's sell the armor and longsword and go south."

"I've sworn allegiance to Lord Mountain."

"He'll kill you when he's unhappy."

"No, he won't."

"You trust the Mountain?"

"I swore an oath."

"We have a warhorse to ride, we'll take the coastal road, sell the Mountain's longsword and armor, and we'll have capital to open a small shop in the Reach. The southern lands are more fertile than the Westerlands." Arya tied up her dress and began to put on her clothes.

"The longsword and armor are my own, and the warhorse too, they're all ours, not Lord Mountain's," Blackstone said.

Arya's hands paused, her eyes looking at Blackstone in confusion.

"The horse, the sword, the armor, the helmet, they're all our private property." A smile appeared on Blackstone's face. "I swore allegiance to Lord Mountain, and these things were given to us by Lord Mountain, not issued by Lord Mountain."

Arya's paused hands began to move, putting on her clothes faster.

"Then it's not illegal to sell the armor and longsword, sell them, let's go quickly."

"How much can we sell them for?"

"I don't know, about seven gold dragons. Adding the one gold dragon the Mountain gave us last time, we'll have a lot of money. We can go south and find a noble to rely on, reclaiming wasteland is safer than staying here."

Blackstone grabbed his underwear, shook it, and coins jingled.

Arya's hand on her corset stopped again.

Blackstone tossed the underwear at her.

Arya caught it, feeling the weight. She reached in and pulled out several gleaming gold dragons, and there were more in the pocket. She took out all the gold dragons and counted them: ten.

A large sum of money, enough for their family to live comfortably for many years.

"Where did all this money come from?" Arya's voice changed.

"Lord Mountain compensated us for the losses from growing poppies before."

Arya froze, staring blankly into Blackstone's eyes.

"He really compensated us with money?" Her voice felt ethereal, unreal. It was like a dream.

"Lord Mountain compensated all eleven households with ten gold dragons each." Blackstone walked over, picked up his clothes, and began to dress quickly. "I am now a mine guard under Lord Mountain. — And salt, snow-white fine salt, I've tasted it, you can eat it directly with rice, it has a very delicious taste, not bitter at all, and no grit."

Salt was a rare commodity for Arya.

"Where's the salt?" Arya asked. As she asked 'Where's the salt?', Arya had already started rummaging through Blackstone's bag.

Brown kraft paper wrapped several pounds of white salt, making Arya's eyes light up.

No matter how rich the nobles of the Westerlands were, rich enough to rival kingdoms, most of the commoners in the Westerlands were still poor.

Arya had seen salt sold in the large city of Lannisport, yellowish salt with a bitter taste, often containing grains of sand. This salt, as white as snow and as fine as sand, was the first Arya had ever seen.

She touched a little salt with her finger and put it in her mouth. Her brow furrowed, her face twisting slightly, so salty and delicious.

"The Mountain gave us this salt?" Arya used honorifics when referring to the Mountain, adding the word 'Lord'.

"Yes."

"Where did this salt come from?" Arya had never seen such exquisite salt.

"According to the scribe and the maester, Lord Mountain bought the salt and then refined it using secret methods. Only the people of Clegane's Hold have this salt."

"Is Lord Mountain going to sell salt back at Clegane's Hold?"

"This salt is not sold to outsiders. Lord Mountain only sent this salt to Duke Tywin, and then to the people of Clegane. Lord Mountain promised that we can eat this fine salt for free from now on. Maester Harry said that his teacher, Archmaester Potter, wrote to him, telling him that Duke Tywin had given this salt a special name: Snow Salt."

"Lord Mountain is giving us Snow Salt to eat for free?" Arya couldn't believe it.

"Yes! Lord Mountain not only gives us Snow Salt to eat, but also swore an oath in front of the statues of the Seven Gods to protect us. From now on, if anyone from other territories bullies us, Lord Mountain will come forward to seek justice for us. Just like Thomasman's little daughter, Julie, even though the other party is a Charlton noble, little Julie cannot be violated."

How could such a good lord be the infamous Mountain? Arya herself had always been worried, afraid that one day the lord would suddenly break into her house with a gang of vicious guys and rape her. Her little daughter was four years old, and she raised her with constant worry, always uneasy.

"We all know about little Julie's matter. People in the nearby territories are saying that little Julie is also named Clegane, but has not sworn an oath in the sept under the auspices of the maester."

"Little Julie will soon swear to be named Clegane."

"Really?"

"Really. Maester Harry is responsible for inviting craftsmen from Lannisport to build a sept in Clegane's Hold. In the future, we will have a place to pray for harvest, pray for health, pray for the growth of our children, and pray for victory in battle. We no longer have to go to other lords' septs."

"That's great," Arya said excitedly.

"There's even better news."

"What news?"

"Outside his castle, Lord Mountain is not only building a sept, but also a Clegane village. When the houses are built, all eleven of our households will move into Clegane village to live. We don't have to pay gold dragons for the houses, Lord Mountain is paying for the construction. Wells, livestock pens, chicken coops, stables, underground storage rooms, firewood sheds, walls, all will be built. Our stone houses will be more than twice the size of our current thatched houses."

Arya looked at her husband, her mouth wide open in surprise.

"Arya, do you still want to escape to the south?" Blackstone put on his clothes and pants, put the armor on the horse's back, and hung the longsword on the saddle.

"Lord Mountain... will he still rape... women?"

"Lord Mountain swore an oath with us in front of the statues of the Seven Gods that he will only protect the people of Clegane's Hold from now on, regardless of men, women, old, or young. Any commoner or noble from other territories who bullies us will only have one painful feeling, and that is regret."

"Just like the Charlton family."

"Yes, just like the Charlton family."