Upon hearing this, Kiara was satisfied and walked out confidently with graceful steps.
Before leaving, she instructed the little boy to watch the man on the bed and not allow anyone to enter.
“If anything unexpected happens, you, this filthy thing, don’t need to appear in front of me anymore. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I… I understand.”
As soon as Kiara left, the man on the bed immediately took action. He got up swiftly, his sharp eagle-like eyes staring at the little boy in front of him.
Their eyes met, and both remained inexplicably silent.
Just as the little boy was about to call for help, Kelvin quickly jumped off the bed and covered his mouth.
A hoarse, gentle voice sounded in his ear.
“Shh… Don’t scream. I’m not a bad person, nor do I want to trouble you. If you stay quiet, I’ll let you go, okay?”
Rowan hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
In fact, lurking in the shadows these days, he had seen Kelvin several times, and Kelvin hadn’t done anything bad. Kelvin even helped his wrestling brother.
“I won’t call for help. Uncle, can you let me go?”
“Okay.”
Kelvin kept his promise and released his hand, casting a glance at the child in front of him.
There was a hint of tenderness in his heart.
Although Mountmend was in the south and wasn’t as cold as the north in winter, the temperature should only be around ten degrees. Even adults would need to wear a padded coat.
But the little boy was only wrapped in a very thin shirt, with several holes in the cuffs and chest where the cold wind could easily blow in. His feet were bare, covered in a thick layer of mud and dried blood, with frostbite, red and swollen, due to the cold.
“How old are you?”
“Six… I’m six years old.”
“Just one year older than my son.”
Upon hearing this, the little boy’s eyes visibly lit up with envy. This uncle looked so handsome; his child must be very happy.
Kelvin had been pretending to be unconscious during this time, and he had heard the conversation between Kiara and the little boy just now.
He was the son abandoned by Kiara, and his biological father had died. Continuing to stay in the village, he could only live such a miserable life.
Even though he was still in a dangerous situation himself, he wanted to help this little guy a bit.
“Do you want to leave here? If you’re willing… I can help you escape from here.”
“I can adopt you, raise you until you grow up, and everything will be according to your wishes without any coercion.”
To be honest, little Rowan was deeply moved. He had always yearned for the outside world.
But…
After all, he had his biological mother and grandfather here, as well as his brother and sister who had been sold out by grandma before. What if they suddenly came back one day?
“Thank you, uncle, but I’m just a dirty thing. It’s the same to me wherever I am. I don’t want to leave.”
When Kelvin heard those three words, he furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice:
“Remember, you’re not a dirty thing! Your name is Rowan. I heard your conversation with that woman just now.”
“When faced with adversity and challenges, true heroes can demonstrate extraordinary strength and talent.”
“Perhaps you’re still too young to understand what this means, but it’s okay. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
Kelvin didn’t know what these words meant to a child who wandered in the darkness with scars all over his body.
At least at this moment, little Rowan regarded him as a god.
“I remember, thank you, uncle.”
He reached out and gently stroked the little boy’s hair, his movements quite gentle.
“Rowan, can you help me with something?”
“What is it?”
The little one looked at him with curious eyes as Kelvin took out a key from his pocket and handed it to him.
“I need you to take this thing out and give it to an uncle named Uriel.”
“As for what to do, I believe he’ll understand when he sees the key.”
Rowan reached out his dirty little hand and took the silver key, clutching it tightly.
“Uncle, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it in a moment. My mom will be back soon, so you take care too.”
“I, I will. You too, be careful. If you can’t find Uriel, give the key to an aunt named Alisha.”
Of course, he only held half hope for this second option.
“Okay.”
After watching Rowan leave, Kelvin quietly left the room too.
He knew Kiara had gone to discuss things with the village chief, and it would take a while for her to return. This was the perfect opportunity to uncover a secret.
During the past few days staying here, he had seen the village chief with leaves of Dragonblood Herb on his feet several times.
This stuff only grew in the bamboo forest behind the mountain. It wasn’t hard to guess that there must be a big secret hidden in the bamboo forest to make the village chief check on it personally so often.
With an idea in mind, Kelvin soon spotted a patch of Dragonblood Herb in the bamboo forest, but the terrain around it was flat, and there seemed to be no place to hide secrets.
Unwilling to give up, he took a few more steps forward until he reached a pile of dried leaves. Just as he stepped on it, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way.
His body lost weight as he fell.
It turned out there was a hole here, deliberately covered with dried branches and leaves, making it difficult to notice from a distance.
By the time Kelvin realized what was happening, it was too late. He could only close his eyes tightly and protect his head with his hands.
It felt like several minutes before the sensation of weightlessness stopped, and he found himself lying on an empty ground.
Opening his eyes again, everything around him was familiar… spider webs overhead, fallen idols.
“Magic Temple?”
Huh?
Coming out of a cave in the back mountains of the village chief’s house led to here? But wasn’t this dilapidated temple abandoned long ago?
As Kelvin pondered his next move, a group of people in the distance was approaching, getting closer and closer.
“Hurry up, stop dawdling. We’re all gonna die sooner or later anyway. Better die early and maybe get a good position in the next life!”
The man spoke fiercely, his whip mercilessly striking the frail women.
The short-haired girl who was struck immediately had her skin split open, a long bloody mark appearing on her back.
Her weak body couldn’t bear such pain, and she fell to the ground.
Because of her mishap, the procession ahead slowed down, with people in the front stopping to watch and those behind trembling in fear.
But the man had no mercy, only more brutal whipping.
“You useless wench, can’t even walk this short distance? Do you think you’re a pampered princess?”
“Get up quickly and keep moving!”
“I… I really can’t, it hurts… sob…”
The woman weakly protested.
“Hurts? Then I’ll whip you ten more times and see if you still dare to feel pain!”