Quinton and Xavier followed the large group of villagers and climbed up several slopes to reach Dragos, which was on the top of the mountains. The place of their negotiation was a flat ground at the entrance of the village, which stood at the top of a cliff. Both Quinton and Xavier had initially disliked each other, but now, they had become allies."Damn, these people really are cavemen! Be careful, I wouldn't know how to explain it to Renee if you fall and kill yourself." Xavier grumbled as he pulled Quinton away from the edge of the cliff.Quinton glared at Xavier and whispered, "I was just looking for escapes in case they go back on their word and attack us.""I don't think they'd dare to. After all, the village head's daughter is in our hands!""You forget that they don't think like us, and I doubt they'd be merciful considering Stefan has disrespected their God. They worship that dragon, so they might just sacrifice Silas' daughter to take revenge." "What should we do then?
"Okay, Mr. Drago." Although the villagers could not understand Silas, they unconditionally obeyed him."If it weren't for you, I would have thought everyone here were cavemen!" Xavier casually sat on a stool, still looking like a rich CEO despite being in the wilderness.Quinton looked around. He knew that they were being put on the spot, and fighting their way out would be courting death. Hence, he decided to see how things went. He said to Silas politely, "Mr. Drago, I'm sure you see our sincerity. We aren't bad people, and neither is Stefan. It was an urgent matter, and my sister was on the verge of death, which was why he violated your clan's sacred laws.""You don't have to talk to me about your innocence. All those who came looking for the dragon's saliva had an urgent matter, and wanted it either for wealth or health. I've seen many kinds of people at my age, and you both aren't the most innocent ones," Silas remarked casually as he sipped the tea served by his villager.Qui
Finally, Silas revealed his request. Dragos was beyond the reach of society, and had survived on its own with its own clan laws away from the rest of the world. They never caused trouble to anyone… but that didn't mean they could have peace. The dragon's saliva was their clan treasure which blessed their land, but its rarity and value had brought them a lot of danger. Over the years, the number of greedy people that tried to attack the village had increased, each more scheming than the other. It was clear that the dragon's saliva brought them more trouble than blessings, so the villagers of Dragos had to find something to protect them if they wanted to survive. Silas had been worried sick about such things until he met Stefan. Although Stefan was rude, he was different from the others who had come to the village. Silas could tell he was a refined person, and that had given Silas hope. On that day, the guards at the memorial chamber had caught Stefan, tied him up, and left him in the
Hence, the negotiation helped both parties reach a compromise, and they were no longer at odds with each other.Silas fished out a contract, and both Quinton and Xavier put their thumbprints on it. It meant that they would cooperate to protect Dragos and help the ancient village thrive. "Okay, we've agreed to your request. Can you let him go now?" Xavier asked impatiently as he wiped away the red ink on his thumb."Gentlemen, come with me." Silas led Xavier and Quinton to the memorial chamber, the most sacred place in the village. Generally, only men of the village could enter it, and outsiders could not approach it, but an exception was made for Xavier and Quinton since Stefan was locked up in the innermost part of the memorial chamber."Ugh… This place is so strange!" When Xavier entered the memorial chamber, he saw the large stalactite statues using the dim lamp Silas had given them, and marveled at the extraordinary craftsmanship of nature. It amazed Quinton too. "I've seen
"He escaped?" Xavier was initially confused, but when he walked over to where Quinton was standing and looked up, he saw an air vent around seven meters above the ground in the dark room. It was about the size of a well, and though it was quite small, an agile person might be able to escape through it. Additionally, there were some footprints on the wall."Those look like Stefan's!" Xavier observed the footprints, realizing they were from a pair of hiking shoes Stefan had worn before leaving home."He escaped from here?" Silas looked up at the narrow air vent incredulously. "No, it can't be. This air vent is so small, and it'd be hard for someone to crawl out of it. Plus... it's a straight cliff beyond this passage without anything to lean onto. If anyone tried escaping, they'd surely fall to their death!" "What... What did you say?" Xavier's eyes grew wide, and he quickly crawled into the passage and punched open the iron grill on the air vent. Dim light entered the room, making i
"We don't know what happened, and there's no point in fighting. We need to find him first!" Quinton sighed. "Nothing's confirmed yet. I was supposed to die at sea back then, but I'm standing here in front of you, aren't I?"Xavier glared at him, but gradually calmed down. "You're right, nobody knows what happened to him. He's an amazing person, so I'm sure he's fine!"After he had calmed down, he discussed the situation with Quinton and the villagers, and they started looking for Stefan around the mountains. They must see him even if he was dead. If not, it meant that there was a chance that he was still alive.-A week had passed.Renee took the medicine on time every day in Beach City. She was getting better, and could now get out of bed on her own and eat. She could even walk up and down the stairs. Owen gave her a check-up and smiled happily. "It's good news, Ms. Everheart! Your body mass index is back to normal. If everything goes smoothly, you won't even have to take the m
Both Leia and Renee walked to the back garden, where the warm sunlight and fragrance of flowers seemed to make the world a better place.Leia finally decided to bring up Stefan when she saw Renee so gloomy. "Don't worry, Ren. They're probably not back yet because that place is far away. Since we haven't heard anything yet, it's probably good news. Plus, Stefan isn't an ordinary man, and Quinton and that dog Xavier have gone to help him. I'm sure they're fine.""I know... I know they'll be fine." Renee nodded and forced a smile. "I just feel like… the weather's so nice, and the flowers will wilt if he doesn't come back soon. It'll be a waste of good time.""It's okay. Flowers will blossom again even if they wilt. It's fine as long as you're happy and healthy when you welcome him home," Leia said brightly, hoping to cheer Renee up. She felt bad because Renee was sulky all the time. "Are you worried about Xavier?" Renee asked curiously."Why should I be worried about a dog?" Leia sc
Renee chuckled. "Of course I'm happy to have you with me. I don't find you annoying. I just feel that you guys have been taking care of me all the time like I'm a baby, and it made me rely on you. I don't want to keep on being like this. It's time for me to face the world alone." "What did you say? What nonsense is that?" Leia asked anxiously, frightened by Renee's words. Both Stefan and Quinton were not around, so Leia was responsible for taking care of Renee. What if something happened to Renee, or she became even more unhappy? If that happened, Stefan and the others might hack Leia into pieces, and she might even kill herself."Do you remember the last time I left Everheart Manor?" Renee asked Leia vaguely."Let me think about it..." Leia frowned contemplatively, and realized that it had been a very long time since Renee had gone out. "It was probably the time when Shirley's fans attacked us, but that wasn't your fault. I was careless, and it gave them the opportunity to attack