The Journey of the Demon Hunter

"Just don't let people see you." Marianne's voice was a little lost, she lowered her head and sighed. "I once helped a friend of mine. His name is Anders. You know his deeds. If I can figure out what he is going to do before helping, I am afraid that there will be no such terrible things later."

"Are you all right, Marianne?"

"Of course I am fine, after all things have passed so long, I just sighed." She moved her shoulders. "I just want to remind you that before doing anything, it's better to investigate clearly. If something goes wrong, there is no point in regretting it."

A tabby cat lying on a pile of wood basking in the sun raised his head, looked at the two people passing by, and opened his mouth to shout at them. Marianne turned her head and looked at the cat's yellowish eyes. After a few seconds, she meowed after learning the cat's voice. Then the tabby cat pricked its ears, made a hissing noise, jumped off the wood pile, and disappeared into the bushes in the blink of an eye. Marianne rolled her eyes and walked quickly to follow Zelin.

When Zelin returned to the humble tavern, the three jackdaws had already ordered food and drinks. When Zelin was surprised, there was a large pot of mutton soup on the table, emitting bursts of onions and coriander leaves. It was fragrant, and several cooked fish were placed on different plates, and the three jackdaws held one of them and beckoned to Zelin.

"Come here and sit down, please forgive me for not waiting for you to come back, I ordered lunch. But I think in this era of this land, this lunch has been called a rich meal."

"Of course." Zelin sat across from the three jackdaws and picked up a string of grilled fish. "I didn't expect this kind of food in this village. In other places, people either have no food or are trying to store food."

"Because the Mayor of Lloretto here only cares about whether you can collect enough coins, instead of letting you hand in the fish you catch with the domestic sheep." The three jackdaws took a graceful bite of the grilled fish and swallowed. After going down, he added. "Oh, this is what our elf friend Sevik told me. He is a peculiar elf. I originally wanted to invite him to come with him, but he insisted on continuing to pay attention to the situation in the forest from the observation deck. Let's eat Lamb, this temperature is just right."

The two Serekania female fighters had already filled themselves with beer, and also poured a glass for Marianne.

"If you agree, let's return to the topic just now. People pin their hopes on something that doesn't exist or fantasize. But for things that have hurt them, there are still people who pin their hopes on that? Just take it. For the example of beer in front of us, everyone knows that drinking too much beer will have a bad effect on the body, but everyone likes to pin their hopes on beer when they are sad. This will only make them worse."

"I don't know what to say about it." Zelin said casually while selecting the mutton pieces in the big bowl. "We can also give an example. The Empire attacked the North seven years ago and caused a massacre in the Hinterlands. Then three years ago, it launched another attack and slaughtered the citizens of Van Geborg, but obviously there are still many. People think that the empires will conquer the Northern Council and the governor sent to rule them will be better than the king. Of course, I suspect that there may be no difference between the two, but who can say good or bad for change. Maybe better, also It may be worse. No one can predict the future, so this leaves room for illusions. Are you a scholar of knowledge, Brock? From Serekania? I have never seen someone like you, And there is no patriotism in the question."

Demon hunters don't mind chatting with some people who think differently. Only by learning more about other people's views from different angles can you not be blinded.

"Does this have anything to do with my origin? Can you understand this feeling? Look outside the window. Two cats are fighting for a garbage dump. One cat is very thin, short and vulnerable. The other cat Strong, tall, mighty, and extremely sharp claws. Then, because of sympathy or some other reason, someone decided to go up and help the skinny cat so that it would not starve to death." The three jackdaws took a sip of their beer. , Staring at the window dreamily. Outside, a tabby cat is standing by the garbage dump, as if looking for today's dinner. "Then suddenly, one of the cats spoke. It said that he has the most pure and innocent pedigree, so he has the right to decide the life and death of any cat. You said, for humans, What is the significance of a cat’s pedigree? What is the difference between a noble cat and an ordinary cat? Maybe the markings are better, but in essence, it is no different from other pets."

"What on earth are you trying to say, Brock?" Zelin asked suspiciously.

"You see, I'm a traveler." The three jackdaws smiled and stroked their beards lightly. "I want to go to Forge to study the lives of the dwarves, but there is fighting there, so I want to hire you as my guard, how about?"

Chapter 1784: The Bard of the Floating Harbor

"Guard?" Zelin raised his head unexpectedly, and then slowly put down the grilled fish in his hand. "Um... I'm sorry, I may have other things to do during this time. I don't recommend visiting the warring area when the situation is unclear. If you are unlucky, you may enter the city the first night and wake up the next morning. , An army has arrived under the city wall, ready to attack. When the army breaks the city, they don’t care whether the people in the city are citizens, soldiers or travelers."

"Oh, don't mind, I will stay in the floating port for a few days, because there are things here that are attracting me." The three jackdaws savoured the mutton on the plate. "For delicious food, you should taste it. Anything can be said like this, wonderful music, exquisite artwork, and beautiful beauties." As he said, he glanced at the two Serekania girls beside him. The elder one raised his chin proudly, and his chest was held up with the back of his hands behind him. Zelin doubted whether the thread stitching his chest would break in the next moment.

"Good things should be appreciated, and some bad things, such as a deformed monkey, you will also stop, trying to figure out what power is that makes a normal creature twist into this look."

Another female soldier swept across the others in the tavern with a malicious smile, looking provocatively, as if the temperature had dropped a bit in her gaze. Zelin was pretty sure that if someone continued to stare at her and another girl with rude eyes, something bad might happen today. Not only him, but other people also noticed this, so they turned their eyes back to the food in front of them.

"So what do you mean?"

"This world is full of contests between order and chaos. As a warlock I know often said, these two forces fight each other in places that many people can't see. Sometimes their boundaries are blurred, and sometimes they are visible to the naked eye. I like to observe. I won’t stay in one place for too long, but I won’t leave immediately after stopping. So my invitation is always valid until I leave. Don’t rush to give me an answer. Maybe after a while, you Will change his mind." The three jackdaws rubbed their hands. "So, why not let us fix these delicious foods as soon as possible?"

They immediately set out to solve the lamb chops in front of them. The elf food here is essentially the same as humans. In fact, if it were not for long ears, the elf villagers here were no different from the human villagers in other places. Marianne wanted to have a chat with the two Serekania fighters, but unfortunately, apart from the three jackdaws, no one else understands what they are talking about, and the desert fighters also Not known for superb social skills.

"Chaos and order. At that time, the general of Culina told me that your city is full of chaos and disorder." Marianne put down her wine glass and hiccuped her cheeks with reddish cheeks. "Yes, it was indeed very Oops, there are poverty and injustice everywhere in the city, but I never think that directly hacking everyone to death with force is the best choice. We could control the situation and make the humans who occupy the servants of the elves pay the price. The city brings more chaos... what is this?"

There was a commotion at the door. Zelin turned around, just in time to see a tall man taking off his hat with a rooster tail feather inserted in the back and bowing to the waitress who was cleaning.

"Salute to you, beautiful lady, you are as lovely as a beautiful little cat, please accept my sincerest regards."

The elf maid showed an unpleasant look, but fortunately, before she clenched the broom in her hand and treated it as some kind of non-lethal weapon, she was called away by another elf who looked like a cook.

"She's gone, how long will you still stare at that girl's thigh?"

"Don't strain your face like this, I have a treat today, so why can't you just relax."

"But you have no money."

"No, in Novigrad, every tavern owner feels honored for me to visit their shop, and take the initiative to waive the meal, and those wealthy businessmen are also... tavern owners, the most famous in this country The bard, Master Dandrien, has come to your messy tavern! Now the poet wants to drink beer! Why haven't I seen cold beer?"

"I'm sorry," a thin elf said dryly. "I don't know you."

"I knew it right away. Wait, who did I see?"

The familiar voice made Zelin raised his eyebrows slightly. When he saw the man raising his head and putting on his hat again, revealing Dandrien's face, he turned around again and set his eyes on the half-eaten lamb chops. . But Dandrien's eyes clearly know how to spot unusual targets among a group of ordinary people.

"Oh, when I was outside the door, I smelled the onion aroma of roast lamb, and my stomach told me that something good would happen today. What do you think, Zoltan? Stop frowning and let us sit down together. For a drink, I haven’t tasted the meat for almost a month. It’s so fragrant, we must have given you a surprise, Zelin. I think you are banqueting a friend? Boss, bring two more bowls of mutton soup to this table."

"I don't know what the ingredients are like, but I am really surprised that you will come to such a poor country."

Zelin moved his body to the side and gave up a space. Dandrien directly sat up and gently touched the lute in his arms, while Zoltan moved a small chair from another place. Sat down to the other corner of the table. "But you are wrong. Master Bullock is hosting me. You should seek his consent first."

"Sir, don't forget, just call me three jackdaws." The three jackdaws wiped off the oil stains from the corners of their mouths with a handkerchief. "I've heard of your name. Please sit down with us and share your experiences and stories. Don't have two bowls, boss, one more bowl, and we are almost out of here."

"Thank you, good sir. Salute to you, beautiful desert warriors." Dandrien strummed a brisk tone, then looked at Hawke. "And you, sir, please accept my tribute."

The corners of Marianne's mouth twitched. "Thank you for your tribute, poet, but it would be better if you could pay tribute to a lady. My name is Marianne, Marianne Hawke."

Dandrien glanced at Hawke's flat chest unexpectedly, then smiled apologetically again. "No, I call you sir because you have both the beauty of a woman and the handsomeness of a man. I have never praised a person like this."

"Hi, Dandrien, you praised a male elf like this when you were in Novigrad." Zoltan murmured. "I shouldn't have listened to you, otherwise I could catch up with the last caravan going to Forge yesterday, and start a new life in the mines and taverns."

"What's wrong with you, Zoltan?" Zelin asked curiously. "Last year you were in Vizima, saying that you would rather continue to live in a non-human settlement than go back to Mahakam and be controlled by that stinky stone Hogg."

"This thing is like this." Dandrien said slurredly while chewing on a piece of lamb. "Our friends are experiencing a certain kind of cognitive reconciliation, a certain unpleasant chagrin accompanied by two different cognitive conflicts, including perceptual and rational judgments, appearing in one person at the same time..."

"Speaking of people."

"As an old boy, Zoltan finally realized that his destiny is to consume the rest of his life around the mine, house, and an ordinary woman." Dandrien raised his head, took a sip of wine, and then Coughed. After a few seconds, he slowly exhaled. "As a result, the wedding had some trouble and was forced to cancel. This was a big blow to someone who finally decided to settle down. So in just three days, he had already planned 13 different things for his future. Of course, each choice lasts an hour and is forgotten."

"I really want to go to Fojian to make money, I'm not kidding." Zoltan wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Because some tongue-in-cheek people said that I participated in Vizima's uprising, the Breckenrigues family cancelled the marriage contract. My original mother-in-law didn't want a rebellion instigator to join their family."

"Ten days after the turmoil subsided, I went to Mahakam with Zoltan and bought Zoltan the most gorgeous corset, a pair of traditional pointed shoes, and one that was just like a fist. The big jade is going to be given to Zoltan’s fiancé Eudora. Oh yes, I wanted to go to see your castle with Zoltan at the time, but this...the lady wouldn’t let us in, and you were not there. "

"You look around like a thief." Marianne rolled her eyes. "And no one can prove your identity, except for the dwarf friends around you, but I don't know either of you."

"It's not the time to struggle with this question." Dandrien immediately changed the subject. "Later, I took Zoltan to a farewell bachelor party. The next day we went to Breckengris's house. They welcomed us in. Everyone sat down and chatted. Starting from the superiority of Mahakam’s mining skills, It’s dinner. Just when I thought I had a deeper understanding of the Mahakam dwarves than before. The old Brecken Gris suddenly stood up and said that a good dwarf should dedicate his life to mining, not chasing fame on the battlefield. Chasing profit. Then they served duck blood soup! As black as tar, I dare say that they used the whole coal to cook in the pot, and then brought two large bowls of things like shit, forcing us to put all these things. Eat it and get out."

"I hope that the mine will fall on that old bastard's head!" Zoltan smashed the table angrily, attracting people around him to look at him. "When they threw us out, they didn't forget to touch the jade stone!"

"This is normal." Zelin shrugged. "For a stodgy person, seeing someone not doing things according to tradition is as uncomfortable as seeing their house on fire."

"But when making money, they never care about telling them in traditional habits to be honest and trustworthy." Zoltan said dissatisfied. "I'm going to Fojian to start a new life, completely forget about Mahakam. It is a free city, Hogg's commands and influence are limited, and there are not so many troublesome rules."

"You? Are you alone?" Zelin raised his eyebrows. "From here to Fojian? It's not safe."

"Of course it's not just me." Zoltan sighed. "I have some friends, they are also planning to go to Fujian, we will be together. Moreover, Ze Lin, a person you know, he is also near the floating port recently."

"I know? Don't tell me it's Geralt, he's still guarding Foltest."

One more thing Zelin came back this time was that Ye Naifa, who had lost his memory during the fight against wild hunting, is still receiving recovery treatment in Erithusa Academy. He didn’t ask about it. It was a matter for the female warlocks. He came back just to ask Francesca. If Ye Naifah has recovered her memory, maybe she can be sent to Vizima to talk to Geralt. Poly.

"No, no, not him." Zoltan shook his head. "It's the elven poet."

Poet?

Zelin didn't react for the first time, but soon, he came back to his senses and realized who he was talking about.