“Then please let Mr. Lawrence make the judgment.”
Count Brian spoke.
“He’s a traveling merchant who goes all over the kingdom, specializing in monster trades. As an expert on Manticores, his verdict on the cause of death will be the fairest.”
“My son died in the Manticore’s jaws… and that greatsword was right next to him!”
Kailuosi reiterated.
Xue La sighed deeply inwardly—she had indeed been treating this world like a game before.
There was no way she could admit now that she had crippled Kai Dong and fed him to the Manticore as bait.
She could only hope for that expert named Lawrence.
“Oh, right.”
Count Brian immediately asked about his daughter.
“That boy named Luo Yi you mentioned—I’d like to see him. Mr. Lawrence will probably take some time to get here… That kind of man is always busy.”
***
“Old Luo, my condolences.”
A kind neighbor woman handed the old man in front of her a piece of dark bread and a basin of hot water.
“This child… May the Moon Goddess bless him.”
Xue La was the daughter of a noble house, so once rescued, she was sent straight to her family’s manor for proper care.
But what about the other surviving children?
They were nothing but lowly serf brats—just thrown onto some cart, hauled like cargo, and dumped at their doorsteps.
To House Linde, they were merely talking property.
Parents who wanted their children back even had to bribe the cart driver!
Unfortunately, old Rodrick couldn’t offer much of a bribe.
He was just a useless old man.
After much pleading, he gave the driver a boiled egg, and only then was the unconscious Luo Yi handed over.
Rodrick did have some reputation among the neighbors—he was built strong, could lift immense weight, and every year during the harvest, his reaping and carting were fast and steady.
Everyone said that since he’d once been a soldier under Grand General Bali Saihe, he couldn’t possibly be mediocre.
But Rodrick knew that was all in the past—empty praise on the surface.
Politics were that cruel.
One lost battle could get a kingdom’s Grand General convicted and imprisoned, stripped of honor and wealth…
Even his eyes gouged out, forcing him to beg in his old age!
That was the heartless kingdom.
Men like Rodrick couldn’t avoid being caught in the fallout.
The once-proud legion was disbanded, the brave soldiers dismissed.
Not a single coin—after returning home, they found only barren fields.
To fill their stomachs, they had to sell their land and become tenants for the nobles, trading their labor for a meager meal.
He had lost his son in that war, and when he crept back in disgrace, his gold-digging daughter-in-law abandoned her grandson and left.
Grandfather raised grandson, holding on for over a decade.
And then that Manticore snatched away his only hope.
On Harvest Festival day, the chaos in the streets separated the old man from his grandson.
By the time he came to his senses, he learned that his boy had been taken by the beast, fate unknown—while Count Brian?
That lofty noble only cared about his daughter’s life.
The hot water in the basin had gone cold.
Then, a commotion came from his shack.
“Rodrick! The lord wants your child.”
Nobles only had to lie around in their manors drinking tea and collecting rent.
It was the feudal lord’s enforcers who truly made the fields outside the manor run.
Like this gaunt steward with a monocle, riding a brown stallion barely fatter than him, flanked by two guards, swaggering up to Old Man Rodrick’s door.
The steward was a bit afraid too—that old man… didn’t look old at all.
Even though he was ancient, with white hair and beard.
He still stood half a head taller than the steward and guards.
His coarse linen clothes couldn’t hide a warrior’s broad back and muscular frame.
After all, he had once been a soldier under old General Bali Saihe.
“What is it?”
Rodrick spoke, his clouded eyes showing no warmth—he didn’t want to waste time on outsiders.
Inside the house, his only grandson was still unconscious in bed!
All Rodrick could do was wait.
From his rough experience in military service, he could tell that his grandson had been through a fierce battle in the cave, and someone had performed simple first aid afterward.
Though crude, Luo Yi’s bones weren’t broken, and his wounds had been bandaged with good cloth.
The only problem was the poison.
Rodrick guessed it was Manticore venom—that stuff was tricky! Not something ordinary people could handle…
But a poor, bankrupt farmer—where would he get money for medicine and a doctor?
So he could only use folk remedies: boiling water, adding garlic, dill, and other cheap herbs.
The superstitious belief among country folk was that these could drive out poison.
The rest was left to the gods.
Rodrick prayed to the Sun God Helong, for he was the God of War and King of Kings, ruling over justice and truth.
Luo Yi was the last hope of a dying old man.
O God Helong, please pass judgment.
My grandson’s life…
Rodrick also prayed to the Moon Goddess Lu’anna, for she was the Goddess of Mercy, ruling over life and love.
Luo Yi was an innocent child attacked by a Manticore.
O Goddess Lu’anna, please open your arms and heal your child.
Rodrick even prayed to the Star Child God Yisita’er, for they were the offspring of the Sun and Moon, representing hope and miracles.
At least give this old man some hope…
But the steward and guards who came to disturb him clearly brought none of that.
They were just carrying out orders, to take the old man’s grandson away by force.
It was impossible to avoid trouble.
Xue La had expected this.
She knew who Luo Yi’s grandfather was—a warrior who had once fought bravely under the kingdom’s general, but fell victim to the war’s defeat and court intrigue.
His only obsession was his grandson Luo Yi.
If she didn’t appease the old man, there would be trouble sooner or later.
***
Luckily, she arrived in time.
She had asked her father, Count Brian, to personally invite Luo Yi and his grandfather Rodrick—because Luo Yi was the brave who had saved Xue La.
Count Brian didn’t fully understand what had happened to his daughter inside the Manticore’s cave, but then again, a heroic youth who killed a Manticore—letting him waste away on their land would be a loss.
He would decide on compensation later.
Count Brian, skeptical but willing, arranged carriages and an escort.
At the door of Luo Yi’s grandfather’s house, the worst happened.
“My grandson is not a sack of oats for you to order around.”
Rodrick shoved and shouted.
“Leave us in peace.”
Before the old man lay two unconscious guards.
What did “still sharp despite age” mean?
This was it.
That broad, calloused hand of the old man swatted across—few could withstand it.
Even the steward was torn.
Yes, nobles had absolute power over serfs, but pushing so hard, taking away an old man’s last hope?
Better not.
The church scriptures all said to be kind to others.
“Luo Yi is not a sack of oats, Grandpa Rodrick!”
A carriage stopped abruptly on the muddy roadside.
The window opened, revealing a delicate, carved face.
Xue La leaned out and shouted to the old man:
“Luo Yi is the brave who saved me from being eaten by the Manticore!”
Those words made the old man loosen his angry grip.
Brave…
He hadn’t heard that word in a long time.
Xue La got out of the carriage willingly and bowed deeply toward Rodrick.
“We’re here to save Luo Yi—he’s my savior!”
Xue La said.
“We’ll arrange the best doctor…”
Yes, she had been too busy admiring herself in the mirror.
According to the game’s story, Luo Yi was the future brave.
He couldn’t just die like that!
Especially not for protecting… herself.
In all conscience, Xue La had to do something.
Her first aid back then had been crude.
Luo Yi’s “poisoned status” had only been alleviated, not cured…
That was bad.
It meant Luo Yi wasn’t out of danger yet.
And without a witness, the credit for killing the Manticore would fall to flatterers and liars.
She wouldn’t accept that ending.