"It would have been possible 30 or 40 years ago," Wood said. "It's not possible now, and it won't do any good except torture yourself."
Hitzfeld knew why he said that—because with the advancement of industrial technology, industrial shops such as blacksmiths, which were run by individuals or families, were rapidly being replaced by factories.
If it weren't for the fact that some factories in remote areas are too lazy to even do business there, the blacksmith profession in these places would have disappeared.
"So it's not just Sind Village. If we go north along this line until we reach Wayne, there won't be any villages and towns without early-rising blacksmiths?"
"I can only say that if it were me, I couldn't think of a reason to work at two in the morning."
Wood was still very nervous and stuttered a little when he spoke. Hitzfeld let him go after he finished recording, and then leaned against the bookcase to read the contents of the records during this period.
The three-legged barrel stove emitted hot air, and through the wind, looking at her shadow, she could vaguely see something squirming inside.
"Get up and move around when you wake up." Hitzfeld suddenly looked at the bed. "Isn't it uncomfortable to stay in the same position all the time?"
The arched quilt shuddered, then suddenly flew open, revealing Ashley's flushed face.
"How did Heath know I wasn't asleep?"
"I do not know."
"What about what you just said?"
"I just talked when I had nothing to do. I didn't expect you were really awake."
Ashley was greatly irritated by her rogue behavior and rogue logic, but Hitzfeld argued: This was to cultivate her vigilance so that she would not be fooled so easily.
"That's not fair!" Ashley refused to accept this theory. "I was very careful! I resumed my vigilance on the island a long time ago!"
"That's for outsiders, not for me."
"Since I have completely accepted a person and regarded her as a relative and a friend, why should I continue to be on guard against her in my daily life?"
"Because something might take on my appearance, speak to you with my face, my voice, and my tone." Hitzfeld walked quickly to the bed, put his knees on the bed and looked down at her. "...If you want revenge, you will have to face these things in the future."
She wasn't sure if this was quick success or if it was forcing things to happen. But she didn't want to regret not doing anything when tragedy had already happened.
Ashley was obviously stunned by this possibility, and she was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses.
Just when Hitzfeld suspected that she might have been overwhelmed, she asked in a low voice: "Then, Xia Sha also..."
"Yes, they could become like her, too."
"What about my mother?"
"..." Hitzfeld stopped talking.
She was beginning to regret discussing this topic with Ashley.
"Your mother's chances are very low." She said after thinking for a moment, "After all, your identity... most of the people outside who know your identity are already dead."
Ashley Skye, this name was an absolute disgrace to the Skye family. In addition, it also involved cooperation with the Eclipse Church. Hitzfeld suspected that Baron Skye had not told anyone about this matter.
With the death of the Baron, Ashley's identity and background, whose daughter she is, this matter may only be found out from the sealed files of the Security Bureau, and the authority level must be at least 7.
So the possibility is very low.
Even if Niriku has connections within Sara, they would not waste resources on such a place.
Ashley's eyes dimmed.
"Your thoughts are very dangerous." Hitzfeld frowned fiercely.
She saw what Ashley was planning. This little lunatic actually hoped that someone would actually turn into her mother and deceive her?
It took a lot of effort for Hitzfeld to get Ashley to accept this point of view and make her promise to be wary of any temptation from anyone in the future.
Raising children is more troublesome than I thought...
Hitzfeld finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She was even a little glad that she and Xia couldn't have children.
"What did Heath just ask the butcher?"
Skipping this topic, Ashley thought about what she had just heard while pretending to be asleep.
To be honest, she didn't quite understand.
Although she could tell from the man's reaction that Heath was very powerful, this power was undoubtedly beyond her understanding, and she had no idea how Heath guessed it.
"What do you mean?"
Hitzfeld picked up the water bag and drank some water, then sat down on the chair, crossed his legs, and looked at the girl with interest.
"Why... why are you sure that someone among those people is missing..."
"Some of the meat Wood put out on his stall in the evening had a wrong structure." Hitzfeld interrupted her, "The cut surface and muscle texture are very similar to human thighs. In addition, he burned the epidermis, so I think it was to remove leg hair."
"But why..."
"No one in the village is missing, so it can't be a nearby resident. Considering the behavior of those village thugs, I think there is a high probability." The girl propped up her head lazily, "After questioning, this was confirmed. It is even more certain that the deceased is their leader's right-hand man, but their leader has not behaved abnormally these days."
"So what would you think? A leader, even if he leads a group of hooligans, but if he is not willing to stand up for his subordinates, no one will follow him anymore."
"So they must be outsiders?" Ashley was stunned. "It must be one, or some outsiders. They didn't let the villagers know they were coming, but old Sind and his gang knew..."
"And he's very powerful." Hitzfeld nodded and added, "So powerful that even the people who killed old Sind didn't dare to lose their temper."
Ashley was still in a daze.
She stared at Hitzfeld. Never before had she felt that she was so mysterious.
Hitzfeld continued his analysis: "The outsiders did not disturb the villagers, which means they were not trying to seize territory, which rules out gang fighting."
"It so happened that a foreign envoy was hiding on a train that passed by the day before yesterday, and there were some people who didn't want him to get on the ship back to the south."
“It’s very interesting to connect all of this together.”
"I..." Ashley stuttered a little, "I can't tell."
"Oh, that's what conjectures are like. You have to use your imagination to see if there's any evidence to satisfy them."
Hitzfeld, however, was consciously developing her reasoning abilities.
"Don't say you can't tell... just guess!"
"I suspect someone killed the messenger!" Ashley said after a long while, "And they have been preparing for it!"
This is still easy to understand - from what Heath said, she felt that the outsiders in Xinde Village were directly related to the murder case on Line 4. Considering that the other party found old Xinde and his gang two days ago, this preparation would of course be earlier.
Although she still couldn't see the connection.
Didn’t that man named Temple die in the car?
When he died, the car was still moving and the speed was relatively fast. What was the point of laying out villages and towns on both sides of the railway in advance?
“It’s very useful!”
That's what Hitzfeld said.
"If it's what I think it is, it's indeed a brilliant plan..." she said.
"But I still don't understand how they put the bugs in there. Even if there is a crazy attractant, the bugs can't be obedient."
"Heath..." Ashley was helpless.
Heath is good in everything except that when doing things like this, he easily falls into his own world and ignores everything else.
Oh, Xia Sha is the only exception.
"Ashley," Hitzfeld called her suddenly, reaching into his sleeves and pulling out two newspapers.
"If you can't sleep you can read these and then go ahead and tell me what you think."
A copy of the Blackwood Daily and a copy of the Wayne News.
"Wayne News" is larger in size. It is a newspaper from the royal capital. Blackwood City is very close to Wayne, so its influence can easily cover the entire Blackwood.
She bought both newspapers while chasing along the railway line and passing several intersections. In addition to checking the real-time news, she also planned to roll them up and put them in her sleeves as arm guards.
A very cost-effective little trick, combined with cloth, it can protect against most light weapons cuts.
???
Ashley was confused by her.
But she really couldn't sleep. Her thoughts were thoroughly aroused and she became a little excited. She spread out the newspaper and read it carefully, trying to find any news related to the case.
She soon found one.
Or maybe it can’t be called a discovery… This is simply the first line of the second page, with bold fonts saying: [Who is he? ]
[A ranger, a hunter, a wanderer, a dirty man...]
Ashley read the characters one by one, pressing her finger on them.
[I know many people have heard of his deeds. He once killed a poisonous dragon in the South China Sea, tamed a giant eagle to fly in the sky, and saved his employer from the most dangerous glacier avalanche... He is famous all over the country. He is Aman Anluo!!!]
Matching this text, there is a black-and-white photo about four inches in size. It shows a long-haired man wearing leather armor, holding a steel dagger in one hand and a short musket in the other. A dog is lying at his feet, looking up at the camera.
Ashley looked at the man carefully and judged that he was no more than meters tall. His short legs made his lower body look very low, and his arms were obviously more prominent than the average person.
"He is very suitable for using the longbow," she said.
"His best weapon is indeed the longbow." Hitzfeld nodded in affirmation, "He can shoot a giant eagle with a longbow, and his pulling force has not been surpassed in the south to this day."
"Who is he?" Ashley put down the newspaper and asked the same question as the title.
Mainly, I don’t understand…what’s good to report about this?
She had read newspapers—Hitzfeld often forced her to read newspapers and even recite the entire article in order to improve her reading and writing skills. So she certainly knew that not every piece of news or every person could appear in the newspaper.
It has to be valuable, and the newspapers will think it can boost sales, and only then will they consider publishing you.
And what is the value of this Aman-Anro?
She looked left and right, and he was just a sloppy hunter.
Well... maybe his bravery was a little bit outstanding, and Ashley admitted that such a person was worthy of being in the newspaper.
But at least it shouldn’t be in this position, shouldn’t be so close to the front page, and shouldn’t be accompanied by such a large photo…
"Don't you think this group is very similar to you?" Hitzfeld raised his lips. "One person, one dog. What did those people say when they begged you for mercy?"
"......?" Ashley opened her mouth but didn't respond.
She remembered that when the village thugs realized they couldn't beat her and wanted to beg for mercy, they did use this excuse, saying that they mistook her for a wanted criminal, and that the wanted criminal was also dressed in a similar outfit and had a dog with him...
So what they say is true?
Isn't that just a made-up excuse?
Is there really such a wanted criminal?
Then she quickly thought of a loophole: "I've never seen a posted portrait of him?"
If there really was such a, uh, wanted criminal, she couldn't have walked along the railroad tracks without seeing the reward flyer.
It's the kind of thing that's printed on the cheapest straw paper and pasted casually on walls, the ground, and even lamp posts. It not only contains various advertisements, but the most conspicuous and eye-catching positions are always various rewards.
"Yes." Hitzfeld nodded, "I didn't see it either."
"Then why would they say that?" Ashley asked her.
"Yes." Hitzfeld also looked at her, "Why?"
Even if Ashley was slow-witted, she realized that her mother Heath was deliberately testing her reasoning ability.
reasoning……
reasoning……
What was it they were talking about before this happened?
Oh, it's the "outsider".
An "outsider" found Lao Xinde and his gang. They might have discussed some kind of cooperation. Lao Xinde was very afraid of him and did not dare to make it public even when his brother died.
Then they found her, and when they backed off, they made excuses saying they had found the wrong person, that there was a wanted criminal dressed like her, and also had a dog with him...
"The old man outside is looking for them to inquire about Aman's news?"
Suddenly looking up, Ashley asked Hitzfeld with wide eyes.
"Not bad." Hitzfeld nodded approvingly. "Go on... tell me what else you see."
"But we didn't see any reward for Aman at all." Ashley lowered her head and whispered, "And he just put it in the newspaper! In such a conspicuous place! The reward is fake! They are still lying!"
