Chapter 154
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Listening to the stuttering explanation of the guard captain, Rhode finally understood the little girl's life experience .
She was indeed a resident who was born and raised in High Cliff Village . However, her birth wasn't a result of love but was a result of a horrible story from more than ten years ago . A long time ago, there was a beautiful, well-known young lady in this village . Many young men had crushes on her, but she would reject them all . And after she had slowly grown older to an age suitable for marriage, her parents started to worry and hurried their daughter to find a good man . But, her answer gave them a huge shock .
"I already have someone who I love . "
Everyone was stunned . They were very clear of her life . She usually didn't even leave the village and had rejected the confessions from every men in the village . Logically speaking, she shouldn't have anyone that she loved . Her parents didn't believe her words and demanded her for the man's name, but the obedient young lady resisted their inquiries time and time again . Feeling helpless, her parents could only lock her up in her room and not let her leave .
But after this happened, odd things started happening .
Although they locked their daughter up in her room, every time when night fell, their daughter would suddenly disappear without any trace . Initially, they thought their daughter had left home in anger and hurriedly activated the whole village to search for her . However, they didn't manage even to find a trace of her . Just as they dragged their tired bodies back home, they found their daughter sleeping quietly on her bed, appearing as suddenly as she disappeared, as if she didn't leave before . And when they woke up their daughter, she would say that she had been sleeping all these while without leaving the room .
Both parents thought they might have made a mistake . However, the same incident kept repeating itself which made them panic . In the end, they requested the guidance of a respected bishop to check on her, and after the bishop's careful examination, he said something that frightened everyone .
This maiden had been possessed by a devil!
This result shocked many people . Never could they imagine how this maiden managed to be possessed by a devil . But no matter what, they helplessly begged the bishop to help them drive the devil away from the maiden's body .
But what happened afterward, nobody knew .
The only thing they knew was, the very next morning, the villagers once again gathered in the front door of the maiden's home . The whole house was coated in pitch black as if been burnt down by flames . At the side of the house laid the horrifying corpses of the bishop and the two elderly . The maiden's body covered by fresh blood, quietly sleeping between the bodies .
The villagers didn't know what to do . When the maiden woke up, she started to bite anyone she saw, just like a crazy wild dog . The villagers could only choose to lock her up in the cellar while thinking of a better solution .
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But ever since this day, maiden's stomach started to grow bigger and bigger .
She was pregnant .
After three months, the maiden gave birth to a baby girl . However, the maiden had already expended all her life energy . After the villagers came to the cellar after hearing the cries of a baby, they witnessed the maiden's stinking, rotted and pitch black corpse .
Of course, no one wished to adopt this baby . They were afraid to end up like that old elderly couple . In the beginning, they chose to leave the baby in the deep mountains and let her die on her own . But odd things started to happen again . The next day, as they opened their doors, they would discover the baby in the middle of the square, alive .
This made the villagers fearful, and they wished to kill her . But they were afraid of getting the curse after doing so . Everyone pushed the responsibility around, but no one was willing to do it . They had seen the terrifying scene of the old couple's death, so nobody hoped to end up the same .
Eventually, the village chief stood out and adopted this baby .
As the little girl grew up, the villagers' fear did not dissipate but was intensified instead . Nobody taught her how to write, but was able to write beautiful words . Her voice was crisp and sweet but would occasionally blabber some unknown language . This deepened the villagers' fear of this monster . They treated her as a disaster and made her stay in an abandoned wine cellar . At the same time, they wouldn't allow their children to come into contact with the little girl . In their eyes, one of these days, this little girl would become like her mother .
"I see . "
Rhode frowned when he listened to the explanation . Marlene and Anne were also stunned by the story . Marlene, as a mage, naturally expressed disdain and anger to the ignorance of the villagers . And as for Anne, she could understand the feelings of the little girl ---- just like herself, she was abandoned in the mountains by others and grew up with beasts . She angrily puffed her cheeks and stared at the guard captain with her sharp, beast-like eyes . The guard captain didn't dare to look them in the eye and lowered his head as he stared at the ground . On the side, Lize cupped her hands and placed them on her chest . She lowered her head and started to quietly pray .
"So, what's with the mask on her face?"
The guard captain paused to think for a while and continued, "About this… this… I heard from the village chief . This girl was weird . She had been saying baffling things that could not be understood . Like, "You're the next target" or something like that… then that person would find themselves to be under the attack of the undead . Everyone felt it was her doing, so they made a mask and bound it on her face, preventing her from speaking . After doing so, no undead creature would attack us . "
"So it was useless in the end, wasn't it?"
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Marlene stopped the guard captain's words abruptly .
"If that was the 'solution', we wouldn't be needed here, right?"
Marlene sneered . Facing her sarcastic remark, the guard captain didn't have anything better to say . He could only smile and lowered his head .
"In other words, that mask was just to stop her from speaking? Are there other meaning to it?"
"No, nothing else…"
"Okay, I understand now . "
"So then…" Rhode nodded and stretched out his hand, "Key . "
"Eh?"
After hearing Rhode's orders, the guard captain and village chief were surprised .
"Didn't you hear me? Give me the key . One of you should have the keys to the mask . "
"It's with me, but Sir, if we get cursed by…"
"That's your concern, not mine . Now, hand the key over . "
Rhode's eyes turned cold .
"Or maybe I'll just retrieve it from your corpse . "
It was a direct threat .
The village chief's body shivered a little as he quickly reached into his pocket and respectfully gave a small copper key to Rhode . Rhode received the key and passed it to Marlene .
"Remove the mask from the little girl and get her something to eat . "
Following Rhode's orders, the village chief led them to a pub that Rhode designated as the mercenaries resting point . At the same time, the little girl tagged along behind the group . After witnessing how the villagers treated her, no matter if it was Rhode or the three maidens, no one was willing to let her out of their sights .
"Yes, Mr . Rhode . "
Marlene took the key and hurriedly stood up . She nodded to Rhode and quickly beckoned the little girl to follow . Anne and Lize accompanied her out . Since there was an opportunity to avoid those irritating villagers, naturally they would choose to back off .
In an instant, the entire pub hall was deserted with the exception of Rhode and Celia . He was sitting on the chair nonchalantly while Celia silently stood behind him . In front of him, stood an old man filled with sweat, and a guard captain who was looking towards the floor .
After noticing the angel standing behind Rhode, their doubts about Rhode's identity were washed away . Her pristine, white wings spread open, shining brilliantly under the sunlight that peeked through the windows, releasing a radiant aura .
"Now we can talk about the undead creatures… or maybe, you have other matters?"
Rhode looked at the village chief expressionlessly .
"This…"
Hearing Rhode's question, the old man shivered and raised his head a little to look at Rhode . He lowered his head again and gritted his teeth before speaking, albeit having a slight stutter in his voice .
"T-This… dear Sir, please forgive my rudeness… May I ask, where did you come from?"
"The Northern Mountains . "
Rhode casually answered and frowned, showing a slightly irritated look on his face .
"Is there any problem?"
"N-No no no, no problem at all . "
The old man once again lowered his head, and hurriedly continued, "Just… that… did any of your family members visited here before?"
"No . "
Rhode shot down his inquiry, his tone obviously reflecting his impatience and irrelevance to the issues at hand . He thought the old man's questions were silly .
"Is this all you want to ask?"
"Yes, I am very sorry…"
The old man wiped his sweat and took a few steps back, indirectly signifying that his turn to speak was over . Rhode observed him for a while and turned his head toward the guard captain .
"Next, let's talk about the undead creatures . "
The guard captain began his explanations .