Merlin watched Yol walk away.
Yol lowered her head and looked at the pale skin exposed on her stomach. Before she knew it, her earlobes had begun to warm.
Kneeling on the hay, she reached out and rubbed Lami's head. Her voice was gentle as she said:
"You must be very hungry by now. Your Brother Merlin brought you some food."
Lami nodded obediently, then looked at Yol with hesitation and fear in her eyes.
"Are my parents and brother dead, like all those people outside?"
Yol's movements stopped. Sadness appeared in her eyes, but her expression remained exceptionally gentle.
"Your parents entrusted you to Merlin. They'll always watch over you from heaven.
"You're very clever, Luo. Even though we don't know what's going on right now, you have to believe that you'll all meet again someday."
Lami lowered her head. Then she looked up, her eyes red and wide, and asked with newfound resolve:
"Sister, I want to know why this place became like this."
Yol fell silent. She didn't want the little girl to learn such a cruel truth so soon, so all she could say was:
"I'll tell you when you're older, all right? For now, you just need to grow up healthy. When you're older, you'll understand."
Lami looked at the sadness in Yol's eyes and fell silent. A few seconds later, she forced a smile and tried to please her.
"I'll do whatever you say, Sister. I'll be good from now on. Please don't leave me behind, okay? I only have you now."
Bitterness flashed in Yol's eyes. They had seen all kinds of hellish scenes along the way. Without realizing it, Lami had already grown up, becoming so obedient it broke Yol's heart.
She pulled Lami into her arms and nodded firmly. "Mm. I'll take good care of you as you grow up."
Lami wrapped her arms around Yol's neck, but she could no longer hold back her tears.
Merlin walked lightly through the passage, counting his steps. Every so often, the way ahead plunged into darkness.
His pupils continually dilated and contracted.
He familiarized himself with the surroundings in the dark. Fifteen minutes later, he reached the end of the passage.
A stone wall blocked his way, but at its base was a section that looked distinctly different: a one-meter-wide stone slab, with an iron chain attached to its center.
Merlin studied it, then planted both hands against the slab and pushed. With a burst of strength, he forced the stone outward.
His eyebrows lifted slightly as he continued pushing.
After it had moved about a meter, Merlin saw light spilling in from outside.
Most of his body was now inside the opening. He listened warily for any sounds outside. More than ten seconds passed, and the other side remained quiet.
He continued pushing, and before long, he climbed out of the opening.
He had reached the space beyond the stone passage.
The place was piled with hay, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. It looked a bit like a root cellar.
There was plenty of room.
Crouching, Merlin surveyed the area, then looked up. In the corner to his right stood a wooden ladder, with a bluestone cover at the top.
Merlin quickly climbed the ladder and carefully shifted the stone cover. An opening large enough for him to climb through appeared.
He climbed up and found himself inside a hollow haystack.
Poking his head out of the hay, Merlin soon realized in the night that he was in a pasture.
He recalled that Viscount Mela seemed to own a livestock business. Then he thought of how hidden this passage was. Looks like he has secrets of his own.
But that had nothing to do with him.
He replaced the bluestone cover, covered it with hay, and crawled out of the stack.
He plugged the gap behind him with fodder and looked around.
Merlin realized that this was a dairy farm on the northern edge of Flevance, near the mountain border and the coast.
But now, the pasture reeked of smoke from explosions, and dead dairy cows lay scattered everywhere outside.
His gaze shifted. Merlin quickly reached the edge of the pasture, climbed over its two-meter wall, and went outside.
An apple orchard stretched beyond. Merlin soon made his way through the trees, then crouched on the inner slope of a high mound.
He stared into the night at the border, three hundred meters away, fenced off by iron railings.
Under the moonlight,
about thirty meters beyond the border,
Merlin saw bonfires burning at intervals of roughly a hundred meters.
Soldiers in Protective suits patrolled there, carrying guns.
Beyond them stretched a range of mountains that rose gradually, along with a dense forest. On the other side of the mountains lay Fultons, a neighboring country whose economy depended mainly on livestock.
It was also one of the neighboring countries surrounding and slaughtering the people of Flevance.
Thoughtfulness appeared in his eyes.
After watching for a while, he quietly withdrew and began scouting around the border.
The city outskirts, the plains' edge, the port—soldiers patrolled everywhere.
Two hours later, breathing slightly hard, Merlin stood at the edge of a five-story rooftop near the port, thinking:
There are only a few escape routes. The plains' edge and the port are out. We'd be sitting ducks if we tried to run from here.
*That leaves the mountains, but soldiers are guarding them too.
Then I'll have to use a diversion: make trouble somewhere else and draw them away, opening a gap so I can get the girls out.
Merlin was glad he came from Huaxia. The Thirty-Six Stratagems passed down by his ancestors had certainly stood the test of time.
A little later, Merlin killed a three-man purge squad in the city and took their three rifles and two hundred rounds of ammunition.
He also took seven grenades.
That brought him to fourteen grenades in total.
Then he picked up some fishing line and rope from a fishing tackle shop. At an inn, he found a bedroll and some provisions and bundled them together.
After that, he returned the way he had come.
Around one in the morning, Merlin made his way back to Viscount Mela's villa, carefully avoiding detection.
Before long, he spread the bedroll over the leveled hay and told Yol his escape plan.
After listening, Yol answered without hesitation, "I'll go with you. That way, we can watch each other's backs."
The kind nun had a barely perceptible glint of hatred in her eyes.
Merlin considered this, then asked, "I remember you know how to use a gun?"
Yol glanced at the three rifles and the small pile of ammunition nearby, hesitating.
"I know how, but I'm not very accurate."
Merlin nodded. "All right. Starting tomorrow, you'll come with me."
Yol let out a breath of relief. She didn't want to be a burden and leave everything to Merlin as if it were only natural.
She was an adult, after all. And she didn't feel comfortable letting Merlin take on such a dangerous task alone.
She knew that with Merlin's abilities, he could easily escape on his own.
But he hadn't abandoned the two of them. She was grateful to him, and that made her even less willing to let him face danger alone.
Going together would also let them look out for each other.
If something went terribly wrong, she could stay behind and cover their escape.
Just then, Lami asked nervously, "Brother Merlin, what about me?"
Merlin looked at the little girl, hesitated, then rubbed her head.
"You can come too!
"But you must stay close to Yol. Don't get in the way."
Lami nodded seriously, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "I'll do as I'm told."
Yol opened her mouth, then closed it again. She wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Lami here alone either.
Merlin turned to Yol.
"Spread out the bedroll and go to sleep with Lami. I'm going to set a few grenades. I'll be back soon."
With that, he picked up two grenades and the fishing line and headed down the passage.
Lami stared at Merlin's retreating back until he disappeared, then murmured, "Brother Merlin is so reliable.
"Much more reliable than my brother."
Yol covered her mouth and chuckled.
Before long, Merlin reached a spot twenty meters from the end of the passage.
Twenty centimeters above the floor, he used his dagger to carve a small hole into each wall. He looped fishing line around the grenades' safety levers and partially pulled out their pins.
He wedged the two grenades into the holes to hold them in place, then tied fishing line to each pin and stretched a taut, transparent line across the passage.
It was a simple tripwire booby trap.
He had learned it from the resistance war films he'd watched in his previous life.
Anyone who passed and caught the line would pull out the grenade pins. The resulting explosion would collapse the passage and alert him.
After all, Merlin couldn't guarantee that no one would discover the secret passage.
Once he had finished, Merlin put out the oil lamps nearby.
Then he returned to the cave on the other side. Lami was already asleep, but Yol was still awake, sitting on the neatly laid bedroll.
Merlin asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Yol replied softly, "I'll keep watch."
Merlin shook his head. "Go to sleep. I'm a light sleeper. Any movement nearby will wake me.
"There's no need to keep watch. Get some proper rest and save your strength."
Seeing how serious Merlin was, Yol obediently nodded. Then she pointed to the bedroll beside her. "Then you sleep here."
Merlin nodded. He was already exhausted. He lay down on the bedroll, covered himself with one of his clothes, and used his backpack as a pillow.
Before long, he had fallen into a light sleep.
Yol lay on her side beside Merlin, watching his profile in the dim firelight. Before she knew it, her increasingly heavy eyelids had closed.
As the rumble of explosions and the crack of gunfire sounded outside now and then,
inside the cave, on the bedroll,
the slow, steady breaths of one man and two girls rose and fell.
Before you continue