Alien Knights

Snowy hills, red tiles and yellow walls, light green pastoral.

The horse-drawn carriage was driving on the rolling country roads, the fields exuded the fresh and sweet smell of melting snow, and the sea of ​​clouds hugged the stone enclosures of the houses in the small town.

Todd stuck his head out of the canopy, enjoying the spring breeze on his face. What you see in front of your eyes is like the fantasy and reverie in novels and movies, like the oil paintings of famous masters that have been passed down for thousands of years. All of this is unimaginable for modern people living in the steel jungle.

The coachman, who has received a high salary, is in a particularly happy mood. The busy farming anecdotes, festivals, and household routines of the nobles in the Silver Ring Kingdom, which originally sounded boring and dull topics, have become lively and full of jokes after passing through his mouth.

Karin concentrated on listening to the witty words of the driver, laughing from time to time and leaning back, completely forgetting the unhappiness just now.

As if to let the guests appreciate the beauty along the road, the driver deliberately slowed down the horse. It took 40 minutes to drive from Baima Station to Shouwang Town.

After finally arriving at the destination, Todd got out of the carriage, reached out to catch Karin, and looked at the towering mountains and the castle with deep walls in the distance.

"Watch Fort" is close to the Luoxing Mountain Range, and it was built in 366 AD, and its history is even earlier than the Silver Ring Kingdom.

Originally, there was no fort here, only a barracks and a camp surrounded by a wooden fence. At that time, this place was called "Watch Post".

In the following hundreds of years, in order to resist the barbarians from the northern mountains and snow fields, the kingdoms of the past dynasties and the Church of the Heavenly Father jointly built fortifications such as fortresses and stationed troops here. With the increase in the number of soldiers in the fortress, the families of the sergeants and traveling merchants who discovered opportunities gradually gathered and settled on the side of the fortress, forming today's "Shouwang Town".

Todd got off the carriage, walked out of the post station, stretched his waist, raised his head and looked ahead.

The whole town is built on a hilly area, and it is patchwork with the ups and downs of the mountains. If Shouwang Castle is a model of solemnity and solemnity, then Shouwang Town is a fine art combining commerce and culture. The planning and design of the town is very perfect and exquisite. Although you can finish shopping in half a day, there are noisy taverns, ancient churches, quiet gardens, lively markets, and all the facilities and entertainment you can think of. It is no wonder that this place has become Karin's first choice for travel.

It was close to 11 o'clock in the morning, and the hungry two first had to find a place to eat.

Walking slowly along the commercial street, Karin stood at the door of a high-end tavern named "Liduo" with elegant decoration and gorgeous accessories. With her right index finger against her lower lip, she watched the customers coming and going at the bar. After tilting his head and thinking for a while, he turned and pointed to a mobile vendor in the middle of the street selling "seafood cakes" (seafood, minced fish, and vegetables baked in wheat cakes), and said, "Eat that."

Todd touched the bridge of his nose, laughed, took her hand, and walked into the door of "Lidor Tavern" without any explanation.

They found a table near the window with excellent light and ventilation. Under Karin's surprised gaze, the other party pulled out a chair and invited the girl to take a seat first.

The waiter quickly came to the table, looked at the clothes of both parties, raised his eyebrows and put down the wooden menu, put his finger on the bottom, and said, "Today's special offer is 'Potato Fish Steak'."

He quietly picked up the menu and handed it to Karin, and Todd motioned for her to decide.

This abnormal behavior made the waiter look at the girl twice more.

The gorgeous rhetoric of the dishes, and the high price marked on the back, made Karin dazzled and froze her face.

Reluctantly handing the menu back to the opposite side, the girl gestured covertly, hoping to leave here immediately.

Picking up the wooden board, pretending not to notice the other party's movements, Todd began to place an order: "The appetizer soup is fish and mushroom soup in sour sauce, the cold appetizer is pickled herring, the main course is lamb with lamb with mashed potatoes, and the dessert is baked apple pie. By the way, what brand of pre-dinner liqueur do you have here?"

The waiter was stunned, maybe he didn't react, maybe he didn't keep up with the speed of the guest's speech, and quickly apologized in a low voice: "Sorry, sir, please say it again..."

After ordering, Karin looked at the other side dumbfounded, and asked in a low voice, "Have you ever been to this kind of place?"

In his previous life, almost every week, Todd would accompany the corporate representatives of the project sponsors to dine in a western restaurant, report on the research progress, and compare the financial statements. Speaking of which, he prefers full-bodied Chinese food to such a rigid place. Of course, there is no way to tell her these things, so she can only smile and shake her head: "I just heard it from others."

The girl was dubious, with question marks on her face.

The dishes were served quickly. Todd picked up the knife and fork, and naturally used the fork to fork the meat from the left side, and then used the knife to cut the meat along the right side of the fork. When using a knife, the strength of the shoulder, the curvature of the wrist, and the height of the elbow should be just right.

The guests who were originally sitting at the table next to him, dressed as merchants, saw this set of impeccable dining etiquette, and unconsciously imitated the usage of knives and forks, and even slowed down their dining speed.

Todd looked across, Karin was a little at a loss, looked at the lamb chops in front of her, gestured for a knife and fork, but didn't know how to do it.

He brought the other person's plate closer to him, gave her a reassuring look, then picked up the spare knife and fork, carefully helped her cut the food into small portions, and handed it back.

The girl lowered her head, pursed her lips slightly, and gave him a grateful look.

After finishing the meal, the girl came out of the tavern. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, raised her arms high, twisted her waist, and said with satisfaction: "It's delicious! The cooking skills are much better than that of the circus cook, Uncle Bogo!"

Todd looked at her slender figure, felt the breath of the sun, closed his eyes, and sighed in his heart, he couldn't remember how long he hadn't enjoyed such a comfortable and relaxed life...

Holding the hand of the person beside her, Karin happily pointed forward: "I know there is a puppet show stage in the square! Different stories will be performed every day!"

Todd looked at the little hand in his palm and nodded with a smile. Just when he was about to take a step, a familiar figure suddenly passed him by.

Gray robes, old steps, and a crooked body.

With a tense mind, he stopped and looked behind him in astonishment, but there was no such shadow in the crowd.

Realizing that his expression was wrong, Karin also turned to look behind, and asked sideways, "What's wrong?"

Todd frowned, took another deep look at the distant street, shook his head and said, "It's nothing, maybe I was wrong..."

The episode was quickly forgotten, and the two walked into the square talking and laughing.

The mountains in the distance, the snow-covered peaks, the dark clouds cover the sun, and the shadows spread.