Chapter 25: Mountain Worship (3)
Many cheesy romantic stories started with the heroine being forced to marry some random guy she didn't know. The underlying reason behind why she would have to go through such an unreasonable marriage was often to save her family from going bankrupt. In a way, it was the same as her family selling her off for money.
While it seemed cruel, it wasn't uncommon for an individual or minority to be thrown under the bus for the good of the greater masses. In fact, it was the most logical way to resolve many issues that couldn't be overcome with normal means. Still, it angered Vincent that neither his mother nor his sister even came to bid him goodbye. It was almost as if they were avoiding him like the plague.
"Just you wait.... you bunch of heartless beasts. I will make sure to tell aunt Vivian all about it. We will see who will be laughing then."
Nora shook her head at the unresigned Vincent. He had been cursing his family and planning how to get back at them without rest since the journey started. Looking at him now, she couldn't make sense of him. Initially, she had thought that he was an amazing wizard who could be trusted. But now, after having known him for a few days, she came to realize that he was a lazy person who was also incredibly petty.
"It can't be that bad. Your family loves you."
"No, no, no. It's worse than you think. Have you ever heard about quokkas?"
"You mean the small creatures that are always smiling? I heard that they are adorable."
"That's right. That's the one. Did you know? The mother quokka will abandon her children when she is in danger."
"That can't be true." The ghost girl replied in disbelief. "I heard my uncle say that they were the cutest animals he had ever seen."
"Tsk tsk..... Let big brother teach you a life lesson. Appearances can be deceiving. The mother quokka abandons her young hoping that the sound produced by the young will attract the predator. In short, she will throw away her baby in order to save herself. My family aren't much different from them. I don't know what this specific deal is that my father mentioned, but it can't be good for me.
Essentially, I am no different than a hostage."
"It cant be....." Nora looked shocked. Until just a while earlier, she was thinking of this as just an unexpected vacation. Now that she had learnt the truth, she grew worried. "Don't worry. I am sure there's some good in this as well. My mother always told me that you have to make the best out of a terrible situation."
"Your mother was right. Maybe I should use this opportunity to court a beautiful and mature Houjin lady. I heard they were very passionate and proactive."
"You pervert. That's not what I meant."
Nora shouted at Vincent and flew inside a simple pendant he was wearing. It was an artifact he had bought after rescuing the ghost girl. Its function was simple, to house a spirit. Still, the material it was made up of was rare and had cost him a hefty sum of seventeen gold coins.
While it hurt his pocket quite a bit, it was something absolutely necessary. After all, it would be problematic if others saw her. In addition to hiding her, it also allowed her to withstand the sun, which quite harmful for spirits.
Vincent let out a sight at the little ghost girl's antic. Turning his head, he looked at the scenery outside through the carriage window. Almost three hours had passed since they departed from the castle and the trees had gotten a lot thicker and taller when compared to those near the Renn castle.
According to some scholars, the flora and fauna near the forest in the north grew larger than their normal counterparts because of the forest possessing some nourishing energy. The theory was supported by many savants but hadn't been proven. Vincent was a little interested in this topic. Should the opportunity present itself, he would definitely try to understand the true cause.
As he began fantasizing about earning great fame by finding the answer behind the larger size of these trees, a smile unknowingly crept up his lips. His mood improved a little and he began thinking that it wasn't so bad to be here.
But his happy thoughts were short lived. The group stopped in front of a cabin and everyone began getting off. A guard came up to the carriage and knocked on it softly. "Young master Vincent, we have reached the end of the road. We will have to walk from here on."
"I understand." Vincent replied normally but he was already feeling exhausted on the inside.
The group of twenty-five, ten Houjins and fifteen guards and servants began walking into the forest. It was all right at first, but soon, the plants began getting even bigger and they grew much more closely.
The Houjins navigated through the outgrowths with smooth movements and barely had to put in extra effort. Vincent and the rest however had to hack down the plants in front of them to advance. Because of this, their pace slowed down quite a lot.
The Houjin warriors directed a few contemptuous looks towards the outsiders but remained silent and patient. The guards were faring a little better but the servants were having trouble because of the plants and insects that would hurt their feet every once in a while. Still, the one who was having the hardest time was Vincent.
He already had terrible stamina. But adding the rough terrain on top of it, he ran out of gas very quickly. Thankfully, the cloth he was wearing had good defensive properties and protected him from scratches and insects that were bothering the servants.
The tattooed man, who was the leader of the Houjins stopped to look at the gasping Vincent and spoke. "Hang on. We can rest once we get to the burned settlement."
Vincent nodded in appreciation and pushed through the exhaustion. And just like the man had said, the group reached a flat place where the forest had been burned clean. Some remains of houses were still standing, unfortunately they weren't functional anymore.
A somber mood had come over the Houjins and they all gathered behind their leader and got on their knees. Touching the ground with their foreheads, they began praying.
From their actions, Vincent concluded that this was the settlement which had been massacred recently. Looking around, he could see traces of magic which was used to start the massive fire. The thing which interested him the most however was the abundance of death energy in the surrounding.
He even began wondering if the culprits who did this here were not the ones who massacred the hamlet. But considering the timing, he dismissed that line of thought.
'They also massacred this Houjin settlement but did not harvest death energy? Why? Is there goal not to harvest enough death energy after all?
No, that can't be right. Their goal is definitely to collect enough energy. If so, why did they not harvest the energy here? Because of the mountain worship? Are they scared to antagonize the Houjins?'
Vincent made several more conjectures but couldn't draw a solid conclusion. Still, looking at how the energy here hadn't been harvested, it left a bad feeling in his heart. After all, with how skilled and coordinated the culprits seemed, the only reason why death energy was still here was because they planned on leaving it as is.
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