NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 3: Chapter 3
On ordinary days, the curfew in Shates City is like an insurmountable iron barrier, firmly restricting the nighttime outings of ordinary people. Except for the robed church friars on their sacred missions and the armed defenders safeguarding the city's peace, anyone who steps out of their home at night will face severe punishment.
Walter carried a full bucket of water and briskly walked into the Arthur family's small courtyard. Before he could even put down the bucket, he heard Alice's slightly urgent voice coming from inside the house: "Walter, don't go sell pickled vegetable cakes today. Come and help me make some meat pies. Tonight is a great opportunity to make money!" The Arthur family has always lived a tight - fisted life. Pickled vegetable cakes and the exquisitely crafted wooden utensils made by Ailis are their main sources of income. But the pressure of life is like a heavy mountain, often making it hard for them to breathe. So, the two of them often have to take on odd jobs to barely make ends meet. In this era when commoners are struggling to survive, the leisure time at night is like a clear spring in the desert, extremely precious. Once people have free time, they will unhesitatingly plunge into revelry. As for who the person on the stake about to endure the painful torture is, they don't care. And Alice, this hard - working and simple - hearted woman, is only thinking that tonight the curfew is lifted, and it's the perfect time to sell snacks like meat pies. Everything else is pushed to the back of her mind.
Walter steadily placed the bucket in the corner, patted the water droplets off his hands, but his heart was full of curiosity about the person on the stake. Those who are mercilessly called "beasts" by the church, in his eyes, all have mysterious and special identities. He knows very well that he is not the only Heterospecifics longing to cross the Roya border wall and seek freedom and peace in Greenland Kingdom. This seemingly peaceful Shates City may well have many others like him hidden in the dark corners. If he could get in touch with them, his escape plan might have a better chance of success, but he just can't think of a suitable way to make contact for the time being. His eyes look into the distance, and he secretly wonders: Will these Heterospecifics risk being discovered to come and watch this cruel execution by fire?
With the joint efforts of Walter and Alice, one fragrant meat pie after another was carefully placed in the woven basket. At this time, the sky was like an ink bottle overturned by an invisible big hand, gradually darkening. Ailis was also ready. He picked up the basket full of meat pies, with a simple and honest smile on his face, and beckoned everyone to set off. Yara, like a lively little deer, skipped along behind the adults, and her laughter was especially clear in the quiet night.
When they arrived on the street, they found that there were already quite a few people gathered there. People were chatting in groups, talking animatedly about all kinds of neighborhood anecdotes. Laughter and conversations intertwined, filling the entire street with vitality. Walter carried the basket and carefully weaved his way through the crowd. He keenly noticed that there were some soldiers maintaining order with vigilant expressions, and some people's eyes were scanning the crowd like hawks, as if searching for something. Seeing this scene, Walter's heart sank. He understood that under such strict surveillance, the possibility of meeting other Heterospecifics was extremely slim. After all, not every Heterospecifics can hide their true identity as skillfully as he can, and seem no different from ordinary people in daily life. Under the church's strict and mysterious inspection methods, the abnormal features of most Heterospecifics are like lights in the dark night, hard to conceal.
Take werewolves for example. Silver is their natural nemesis. In his transformed state, Walter has a self - healing ability far beyond that of ordinary people. When scratched by an ordinary knife, the wound starts to heal rapidly even before the blood has a chance to flow out, as if there is a mysterious force driving the body to repair itself. But if it is a wound inflicted by a silver - made weapon, the situation is completely different. Not only will the self - healing ability be instantly suppressed to the minimum, but the body will also be like being poisoned, falling into weakness and pain. If it is a werewolf who has been transformed later in life, even if they accidentally touch silver in their human state, their skin will be immediately burned, leaving indelible scars. For this reason, many sheriffs always carry silver items with them, like holding a deadly weapon against werewolves, making it hard for many werewolves to find a hiding place in this city.
"Looks like it's not likely to meet other Heterospecifics tonight." Walter silently sighed in his heart, but he wasn't too disappointed. He clearly knows that he has hardly ever had any real contact with other Heterospecifics. All the information about them comes from those ancient and mysterious books. When his own strength is not yet strong enough, rashly contacting other Heterospecifics is like groping in the dark, and he may fall into a dangerous situation at any time. It may not be a wise thing to do.
Soon, the sky was completely engulfed by darkness, and the flickering torches in the night sky were like stars twinkling. People seemed to be attracted by an invisible force and flocked towards the street corner. Walter stood in the crowd, and the torches around him made his face flicker in the light and shadow. An inexplicable fear welled up in his heart. Perhaps one day, he would be like the person about to be executed by fire in front of him, mercilessly placed on the stake, becoming the object of public scrutiny, enduring endless pain and despair.
The smell at the scene was very complex. The smell of sweat, the aroma of food, and the noise of the crowd were all mixed together. When the person tightly wrapped in a sack was roughly brought onto the high platform by the soldiers, Walter wrinkled his nose slightly and keenly caught a faint smell of herbs. "Could it be a witch doctor?" His brows furrowed slightly, and he secretly guessed in his heart. Witch doctors are a special existence in this world. They engage in a gray - area profession, and most of the practitioners are humans. They are like a group of mysterious magicians who can use all kinds of strange materials and go through complex and mysterious refining processes to create magical potions. Some of these potions can cure injuries and illnesses, and some can enhance strength, with remarkable effects. For this reason, the church friars usually turn a blind eye to the existence of witch doctors and take a tacit attitude. Under normal circumstances, only those who have committed unforgivable crimes will be sent to this stake symbolizing death and punishment. And witch doctors, under normal circumstances, would not be subject to such cruel punishment, unless they are recognized by the church as no longer human, but as Alien colluding with evil forces.
Walter's eyes were firmly fixed on the high platform, watching the soldiers firmly tie the suspected witch doctor to the wooden frame. An old white - bearded man in a gorgeous friar's robe slowly stepped forward. There was a haughty dignity on his face. Holding a yellowed piece of parchment in his hand, he began to read out the crimes of the person to be executed by fire: "The sinner Butis, who made magic potions by evil means, is extremely wicked. The South City Church sentences him to death by fire!" His voice echoed in the night sky, as loud as a great bell.
"Burn him! Burn him!" As soon as the verdict was announced, the on - looking crowd was like a powder keg that had been ignited, and they immediately shouted frantically. There was a twisted excitement on their faces, as if at this moment, they had become the executors of justice, determined to completely eliminate this so - called "sinner." The person tied to the stake was still struggling desperately. His eyes were filled with fear and despair, and he let out indistinct shouts from his mouth, as if pleading for himself or making a final protest to the world. At this time, a friar, holding a torch, walked firmly to the edge of the high platform. His figure looked extremely tall in the light of the fire.
Walter mingled in the crowd. His heart was pounding involuntarily. Looking at the dancing flames on the torch, he tried hard to suppress the strange emotions in his heart. He knew that he had to pretend to be an ordinary on - looker and not let anyone notice his true thoughts. So, he also shouted along with the crowd, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice. Just as everyone's eyes were attracted by the torch about to be thrown, a figure suddenly rushed out of the crowd like a bolt of lightning.
The person's eyes were flickered with an eerie green glow. As he rushed out, it was as if he had been enchanted, and black - gray hair quickly grew all over his body. His muzzle also instantly elongated, becoming sharp and fierce. In an instant, the whole person transformed into a giant human - shaped wolf. His upper - body clothes were torn to pieces by this sudden change, and the fragments fluttered in the air like snowflakes. With a wave of his huge palm, he pushed aside the people in front of him. The werewolf let out a deafening howl and rushed wildly towards the high platform. In an instant, Walter felt as if his body had been hit by an invisible force, and the blood in his body began to stir slightly, as if there was a primitive instinct driving him to transform at any time and howl along with this werewolf.
"Could it be that because my bloodline is approaching maturity, my control over the transformation ability has weakened?" Walter pondered in his heart. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he tried hard to control his body so as not to let that impulse take over.
The sudden appearance of the werewolf terrified the surrounding on - lookers. The women let out ear - piercing screams, the children hid behind the adults in fear, and the men looked horrified and stepped back one after another. Just as Walter was about to scream along with the crowd, he heard the white - bearded friar who had read the verdict earlier shout loudly: "Calm down!" This voice was like a bolt of lightning across the silent night sky, and also like the sound of a drop of water falling in the quiet night. It instantly attracted everyone's attention. Everyone seemed to be under a freezing spell and involuntarily followed the command of this voice. The crowd that had been in a panic due to the appearance of the werewolf instantly quieted down. And the seemingly unstoppable werewolf rushing towards the high platform hadn't even touched the person tied to the stake when a young friar rushed out from the side like a cheetah. The ceremonial sword in his hand was unsheathed with a golden glow. That glow seemed to contain some mysterious power. In a trance, Walter even heard the faint sound of rules, as if the order of this world had been touched at this moment.
The angle of this sword was extremely tricky, like a golden bolt of lightning, directly piercing through the werewolf's throat. A large amount of green smoke emerged from the werewolf's throat. The green smoke seemed to be mixed with the aura of pain and despair. His huge palm waved twice, as if making a last - ditch struggle. As the young friar pulled out the ceremonial sword, he fell heavily on the high platform like a collapsing mountain.
"Friar Fula." Walter whispered softly. A flash of surprise flashed in his eyes. It turned out that this young friar was none other than Friar Fula, who had previously thought highly of him and generously lent him The Holy Scripture. Walter really didn't expect that the usually gentle and refined Friar Fula would have such high - level strength. His eyes flickered twice, then he moved his gaze away from Friar Fula and looked at the werewolf's corpse. The corpse's eyes were wide open, and there seemed to be a lingering look of despair in the empty eyes, as if telling the world his unwillingness and pain.
From the wound in the corpse's throat, a large amount of black smoke wafted out. The black smoke seemed to be driven by some evil force and hovered in the air without dispersing. The werewolf's corpse quickly shriveled, like a flower devastated by a strong wind, gradually returning to a half - naked human wearing only underpants. Seeing the person's appearance, Walter lowered his head, seemingly not daring to look directly at the corpse. In fact, he was covering up the corners of his mouth that couldn't help but turn up. He had indeed felt sympathetic to the fate of his kind before. That feeling of kinship had filled his heart with pain. But at this moment, the other party's despair was like a ray of light shining into his dark world, allowing him to see more hope.
The reason why Walter was delighted was that this was a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity for him. Although he didn't know how to tap into the power of his bloodline, he was very familiar with how to conceal the abnormalities of his bloodline. "Those heterospecifics who have lost their ways to cover up their abnormalities and are unwilling to flee must be in need of a new shelter." He thought silently in his heart, with a firm look in his eyes, "And I can be that shelter!"
The execution by fire still proceeded as scheduled. The gagged witch doctor didn't disrupt this "bonfire execution party." The chaos brought about by the werewolf's attack gradually subsided under the friars' divine magic, and everything seemed to return to normal. Walter, while selling meat pies, gradually moved away from the stake behind him.