The Law of the Silent Gentleman

Chapter 21 – River Talk

The four of them ran on horseback all night, and the rain gradually stopped after dawn, but they dared not stop for fear that the Ponto city guards would catch up.

They dared not take the road, so they got into a wood and followed the stream, so that the water covered the horseshoe marks. It was almost noon when the two steeds were tired and could no longer walk, so they stopped to rest. The stream gradually widens here, listening to the sound, there may be a waterfall in the distance.

The four got off the horse and let the horse go to drink water and graze by itself. Antoine lit a fire by the stream, and it was daytime anyway, not afraid that the light of the fire would reveal their tracks. The four people were drenched by the heavy rain, and their clothes were not dry until now. They took off their clothes and spread them on the stones to expose them to the sun. They gathered around the fire, hoping that the handful of small flames would dry them out as soon as possible. If an outsider strayed into the forest at this moment, he would be shocked by the sight in front of him, thinking that he had encountered four naked perverts.

Giuliano deliberately stays with the bard, away from Enzo and Antoine. The young swordsman had no choice but to sit upright beside the assassin. Enzo looked indifferent, holding a branch in his hand to stir the fire. Bards are also very laid back and unflappable. He opened Baoqin’s cloak and took out his lute. Thanks to the protection of the cloak, Jean didn’t get wet at all. He sat cross-legged, put the lute on his knees, and plucked the strings twice. The pleasant melody flowed out.

Just as Giuliano was about to say, “It sounds so good, let’s play it again,” but Enzo, who was on the other side of the fire, suddenly snorted strangely: “Aren’t you afraid that the sound of the piano will attract soldiers?”

The poet slammed down the strings to stop the sound: “Sorry, I shouldn’t be playing.” Then he put the lute aside.

Giuliano’s chest felt tight, like a boulder was blocked. It is located in the depths of the dense forest. Who can hear the sound of the piano except them? Moreover, there are waterfalls nearby, which can completely cover other sounds. Enzo must have targeted Lexi on purpose, trying to embarrass him. No, just after the assassin ran out on the poet, he started to get close to Antoine.

“Antoine, you have a good sword.” The assassin picked up Antoine’s saber with intentional admiration.

The young swordsman quickly said: “No, no, no, it’s just an ordinary sword. Your sword is also great!”

Enzo took out Antoine’s saber and looked at the beautiful lines of the blade against the sun: “What a beauty.”

Antoine blushed, and was honored to hear others praise his sword. “It’s called ‘Girissa’.”

Enzo raised his eyebrows: “Is there such a cute name?”

“Well, my teacher took it. In fact, this is not my sword, but the teacher lent it to me before I left. When I return to my hometown, I have to return it to him.”

“Oh? I see that your skill is first-class, so the commander must be a great swordsman, right? I don’t know his name? If possible, I really want to visit him.”

“I don’t know what to do with your praise. If you don’t mind, of course you can come to my house as a guest. The teacher must be very happy, because your swordsmanship is very good, and you are my savior. I guess you also have An excellent teacher, huh?”

Enzo’s face changed slightly: “I do have… I used to have…”

“What? Could it be that Master is dead… Uh uh, I mean… that… Forget it, I shouldn’t mention it…”

“It’s okay, it was a long time ago.”

If eyes could kill, Antoine would have died a thousand times at this moment, because when he was chatting with Enzo, Giuliano kept staring at him fiercely, his eyes were like a razor, and he slashed on his neck again and again. But Antoine was immersed in the conversation with Enzo, completely unaware that there was a pungent gaze cast on him.

Giuliano decided to ignore them altogether after seeing that the eyes couldn’t stop them from growing closer. He turned to the bard. “May I see your harp?”

The poet nodded and handed him the lute. Giuliano holds the piano and observes the rose engraved on the piano closely. He stroked the smooth engraving of the rose, feeling the unevenness under his fingers. For a moment, he felt that he had returned to the past, back to the comfortable aristocratic life surrounded by silk, wine and music all day long.

“Sure enough, it is the work of Master Ignacio Antillion.”

“You actually know?” The poet’s eyes lit up, like a gold digger discovering a gold mine in a river.

“This mark.” Giuliano pointed to the rose on the violin, “Antillion’s mark. His works are priceless and hard to find. You must not be an ordinary person.”

Lei Xi took the lute back with a smile. “You praise me too much. I’m just a poor, wandering bard. This violin was passed down from my ancestors.”

“Your ancestor must have been a remarkable man.”

“It is said that the ancestors followed Darien the Great to conquer the world, and later received many awards, but in my generation, this piano is the only one left.”

Giuliano thought, it turned out that Leixi was a declining nobleman, and his situation was somewhat similar to his own. He must have had a hard time wandering around performing for a living, but even then he didn’t sell his lute. It was a family relic, how could it be sold? Leixi has his own persistence in his heart, the pride of the nobility, just like…just like him…

On the other side of the fire, Enzo glanced at them, and immediately asked Antoine enthusiastically, “Can you ride a horse?”

“Yes, yes, but… I have only ridden the plowing horses in the village, and my riding skills are very poor, not as good as yours.”

“Then let me teach you.”

Antoine was surprised: “Ah? This… I… thank you for your kindness, but I don’t think it’s necessary…”

“Why isn’t it necessary?” Enzo hooked Antoine’s shoulders, “Riding is a basic skill for a man to go out and about. It’s very simple, you can learn it once you learn it.”

Antoine shuddered. No matter how dull he was, he could still feel the terrifying gaze from the other side of the fire at this moment. Giuliano’s eyes were so terrifying that he wanted to strangle him to death. What on earth had he done, and why was Giuliano so hostile to him? Could it be that he did not want him to learn how to ride a horse? The young swordsman scratched his head. You have to come up with an excuse to say no!

“Well… I don’t think so. You see! We’ve been running all night, and the horses are tired, so let them rest! We’ll talk about it later, later!”

After that, he timidly looked at the dark-haired young man. As soon as the two of them made eye contact, it was as if a keg of explosives had exploded. Giuliano angrily threw a twig into the fire, and with a “poof”, the flames sprang up and sparks flew everywhere. He got up angrily, turned around and grabbed the half-dry clothes that had been spread on the rock, and put them on.

“I’ll go ahead and have a look,” he growled, “There seems to be a waterfall ahead, I’ll go find the way.”

He put on his clothes in a sloppy way, and even buttoned the front buttons wrongly, but he didn’t care, and walked up the stream angrily. The woods were dense, and although it was autumn, the leaves had not started to fall, and his figure quickly disappeared among the yellow and green branches and leaves.

“Hey, Giuliano forgot to bring his sword. Will he be in danger by himself?” Antoine knew that he must have annoyed the other party (although he couldn’t figure out the reason at all), and asked Enzo tremblingly. The blond man sat there for a while, as if enjoying the autumn sunshine, then slowly got up and put on the clothes that hadn’t dried yet.

“I’ll go find him.” He said, Shi Shiran also went upstream.

As soon as he was gone, Antoine crawled to Lexi’s side on all hands and feet. “Mr. Poet, Giuliano seems to hate me. Did I do something wrong?”

The poet, with half-closed eyes, strokes the strings of the lute. “Isn’t this normal?”

“how do I say this?”

“You can’t make everyone in the world like you. Even if you are a sage, there are always a few people who hate him. So, is it normal to meet someone who hates and is hostile to you?”

Antoine was very wronged. “I admit that what you said makes sense, but I still don’t understand. Where did I anger him? Also, are Giuliano and Enzo having conflicts? It seems that their relationship suddenly became bad. What the **** happened?”

The poet continued to play with his lute. “Isn’t this normal?”

“how do I say this?”

“Even parents and children, brothers and sisters, couples, and couples quarrel occasionally. How can there be two people who get along in complete harmony and have no conflicts and disputes in the world? So is it normal for them to have unhappiness?”

“I admit that what you said is reasonable, but…” Antoine scratched his head, feeling that this kind of conversation seemed to have been carried out once before, “Oh! You are well-informed, but I can’t say no to you! I am shallow-minded!”

The poet gently blows off a few particles of dust on the body of the piano. “Isn’t this normal?”

“how do I say this?”

“Because my knowledge is broader than yours.”

Sure enough, there is a waterfall upstream of the stream.

The white water falls from the cliff like a dancing silk, the water falls into the deep pool under the cliff, and then turns into several streams, flowing into the woods. There is still a distance from the waterfall, and the sound of the rumbling water gave Giuliano a headache, and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like under the waterfall. Probably, he guessed, like endless thunderbolts exploding in his ears.

The sound of the waterfall was so loud that he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps behind him. When he noticed something strange, the man had already come behind him and patted him on the shoulder abruptly. Giuliano gasped, thinking that he was being attacked by the enemy, and subconsciously touched his waist with his right hand, only then remembered that the swords were all put where they were, and he hadn’t brought them with him at all. With a quick lunge, he rolled sideways, creating distance to prevent further enemy attacks. When he got up, he realized that it was none other than Enzo who was sneaking up.

“What are you doing here?” He straightened up, wiped the dust off his clothes, and asked angrily.

The assassin found a tree and leaned lazily on it. “This is not your home, why can you come and I can’t?”

Giuliano put his hands on his hips: “Strange! Mr. Reticent is busy with his affairs, so he has leisure time to explore the way? Aren’t you going to accompany your new favorite Antoine?”

Enzo rolled up his strands of blond hair: “Your Excellency Sacon, you have been flirting with that bard all the time. I wonder why you are willing to leave him.”

Giuliano’s face was hot: “You, what are you talking about!” He justified himself, “Lei Xicai and I didn’t…We’ve been talking about art! Do you understand art!”

“Then Antoine and I are just gossiping, why are you excited?”

Gossip? ! Aren’t the silent ones incapable of lying? How can this man open his eyes and talk nonsense! What does he call “gossip”? They all started to inquire about each other’s school of inheritance, can this be considered “homely”? If the “gossip” continues, does he plan to take Antoine directly as an apprentice?

Giuliano was shaking with anger and could not speak. Enzo moved away from the tree and approached him. He took a step back, clenched his hands, and raised his arms slightly, ready to punch Enzo in the face. As soon as the assassin entered his attack range, he punched out. Enzo dodged slightly to avoid his attack. Everything happened in a blink of an eye! The assassin patted the inside of his arm, easily removing his strength, then grabbed the arm joint and twisted it in the opposite direction. Giuliano screamed and had to turn around. Before he had time to fight back with his left hand, Enzo firmly restrained him.

“let me go!”

Not only did Enzo not obey, but he clamped down even tighter. He clung to Giuliano’s back, one hand pressing down on the apprentice’s hands, and the other around the apprentice’s shoulder, lifting his chin. He moved closer to Giuliano’s ear and gave a low laugh. The magnetic voice shook the apprentice’s eardrums, like an anesthetic dripping into his blood vessels, making him suddenly weak and his legs go limp.

The assassin blew into his ear. “Tell me,” he asked half teasingly, half provocatively, “what are you excited about?”