The so-called ‘relatives’

Maple Village was a little different than usual tonight. Every house was brightly lit.

The village was full of people, and the mayor, Billy, and the village head were standing at the front of the village.

Locke Senior had accidentally let slip the news that he was going to be conferred the title of a knight, and the whole village knew about it.

Coupled with the soldiers' affirmation, the entire Quarryton was in an uproar.

Locke was the first noble to walk out of Quarryton! Billy burped and thought with a smile, 'If there's a first, there'll be a second. Who knows, maybe it'll be my family.'

Apart from the famous people in town, there were also people from other towns who came to congratulate them. Locke Senior's family had been in the limelight for the past few days.

Perhaps Locke Senior didn't let it slip by accident, but purposely did.

Locke only had two drinks with a few soldiers he was familiar with before he went out of the village to have some peace and quiet.

At night, the river outside the village flowed quietly. Locke sat on the bank and played with stones, splashing water everywhere.

In the past, no one helped his family when they were in trouble. Now that they were rich, all kinds of strange relatives came to their door. There was even a man in his thirties who called Locke uncle. This guy was from Luoxia Town, which was more than a hundred miles away from Quarryton. Locke Senior had no idea how he managed to bring his family here.

The most speechless thing was that Locke Senior took out the family genealogy that had been sealed for many years and searched for a long time. In the end, it turned out that this guy was really Locke's nephew. However, the two families were separated by five generations.

Locke Senior felt a chill down his spine when he saw the man calling him uncle. He had no choice but to leave quickly so that Locke Senior could meet his' nephew '.

He heard that the nobles valued the family bloodline very much. Locke wondered if he would have to accept these relatives after he became a knight.

Locke could still recognize the relatives in Quarryton. At least, they lived close to each other and had some friendship over the years. As for the others, Locke shuddered when he thought of the man and decided to stay as far away from them as possible.

Out of nowhere, Kane and Hans came to Locke with two bottles of wine each.

"Everyone's looking for you. The mayor even asked you to give a speech." Hans sat on Locke's right and handed him a bottle of wine.

"I'm not going!" Locke took the bottle and took a sip. Although this beer did not have the aroma of Suzanne's malt wine, it was long and memorable.

"What's wrong?" Kane sat on the other side of Locke and took a sip.

Locke didn't answer. He just took a sip of wine from time to time.

Seeing this, Kane and Hans didn't say anything. They picked up their bottles and drank with him.

A bottle of beer quickly went down his stomach, and Locke's cheeks were slightly red. He didn't use impetus to cleanse the alcohol, so his low alcohol tolerance made him a little drunk.

He threw the beer bottle in his hand away and stared at the full moon reflected in the river. "I wonder when we'll meet again?"

Kane and Hans' expressions darkened when they heard this. Hans finished his beer in one gulp and threw the bottle away like Locke. Kane drank two mouthfuls of wine and stopped drinking. He placed the bottle at his side and lay on the grass by the shore. He supported his head with his arms and looked at the bright moon in the sky.

The three of them fell into silence.

In the quiet night sky, the sound of tiny insects could be heard. The three men lay side by side like children.

"I might not come back this time." Locke was the first to break the silence.

"I'll go to Felor first, then to Aomar. After that, I don't know where I'll go," Locke said.

Kane and Hans listened quietly. It was impossible for Hans to go with Locke. His family had just arranged a marriage for him last month. It was a young lady from a certain family in town, and they were going to get married before the New Year.

Kane was the same. He was born an orphan and had been wandering for years. It was time for him to find a place and have a good rest.

Kane wasn't stupid. He could tell that Lia wasn't interested in him. He rarely appeared in front of her in the past two months and only watched her from afar.

He planned to stay in Maple Village for two to three years before going on an adventure to find his true love.

"I'll come and find you in two years!" Kane said.

"Don't!" Locke stopped him. "Do you know how far Faustian is from Aomar? With your strength, I'm worried that you'll die on the way! "

Locke wasn't trying to scare him, but it was the truth. Faustian and Aomar were separated by three kingdoms, and they would pass through several different countries along the way. It would be difficult to reach the destination without following a large group.

Unless he had the strength of a high-rank Knecht, he wouldn't be able to deal with all kinds of emergencies on his own. Kane hadn't even practiced impetus yet.

"I'll come back!" Locke said. "In five years."

Hans and Kane smiled bitterly when they heard the number. Five years, another five years. How many five years were there in a person's life?

Due to the long distance between Faustian and Aomar, it would take four months for the convoy to reach Aomar from Felor. Therefore, it was unlikely that Angelina would return to Faustian while she was studying abroad.

A Lehrling's course was usually five years.

They opened another bottle of wine and continued to get drunk. Only by numbing themselves with alcohol could they slightly reduce the pain of separation.

They didn't know how long they had been drinking, but the bottles that Hans brought back and forth were all empty. The three burly men grabbed each other's hands and feet and rolled together without any care for their image. They lay drunk on the riverbank.

...

Locke's head hurt a little and he struggled to open his eyes. A stinky foot was poking the tip of his nose. After a moment of confusion, he quickly slapped the stinky foot away. It belonged to Hans, who was hugging Kane and talking drunkenly.

Locke freed his hands and feet from the entangled limbs of his two brothers and stood up to clear his head.

A gust of wind blew past and he shivered, suddenly getting goosebumps all over his body.

It was late at night and everything was quiet. Even the insects on the branches of the trees had moved back to their nests to sleep.

He washed his face with the river water and sobered up a little. He turned around and kicked Kane and Hans, but they didn't move and didn't wake up. Locke couldn't be bothered with them anymore. After all, they had been in the army for a few years. They wouldn't freeze to death even if they slept outside for a night.

He staggered towards the village. He could use impetus to circulate in his blood and force out the alcohol, but he didn't do so. He wanted to remember this unforgettable night. Tomorrow, his family would set off for Felor.

When he walked into the village, he could still hear the sounds of people chatting. Maple Village was too small and there weren't enough rooms for everyone. Many of them could only sit in the courtyard outside. Since they couldn't sleep, they could only chat.

Everyone who saw Locke greeted him cautiously, just like how he treated Master Solon. Although he was drunk, he was very satisfied with this feeling and a seed of desire sprouted in his heart.

He smiled back at every commoner who greeted him and walked towards his courtyard, leaving a group of people whispering to each other and talking about him.

As soon as he got close to the courtyard, he heard a noisy quarrel before he even knocked on the door. There seemed to be someone crying, but the sound was very soft.

He listened for a long time outside the door and suddenly realized that it was his sister crying. He ignored the noisy quarrel and kicked the door open. He used so much force that the door hinge broke.

The sudden sound of someone kicking the door woke up the quarreling people in the yard. A man who looked like a thin bamboo pole was proudly pulling Lia's shoulder. On the other side, a tall and skinny man who looked like his father and a middle-aged woman kept saying something to Locke Senior and Tia. Locke could vaguely hear, "My son and your daughter are a match made in heaven. So on. "

The so-called relatives at the side also chimed in, trying to persuade Locke Senior and Tia to agree to the marriage. Locke Senior and Tia were extremely anxious, but they couldn't get close to their daughter.

"Are you rebelling?!" Locke shouted. Because he was drunk, he subconsciously used impetus. His voice was so loud that it woke up the whole village.

The people in the courtyard were the first to bear the brunt of the sudden roar. Everyone in the courtyard was shocked by the sudden roar. Locke Senior and Tia took the opportunity to run to their daughter's side.

Locke was even faster than them. He flexed the muscles in his right leg and instantly appeared next to the bamboo-looking man. He punched the man's right rib with full force. The bamboo-looking man was like a kite with a broken string or a chopstick that had been broken. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organs and rolled to the side. It was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

The people in the courtyard screamed in horror. The skinny man's parents ran to their son and looked at him with concern.

The whole village heard the commotion in Locke's courtyard. After a while, everyone rushed over to see what was going on.

Cain and Hans, the two fellows who were sleeping by the river outside the village, were the first to arrive. Both of them rushed in with their longswords, followed by countless soldiers with swords. They all heard Locke's roar.

Dozens of soldiers surrounded the people in the courtyard. Although they weren't wearing any armour, the cold gleams of their swords and the soldiers' gazes made the people who were surrounded burst into tears. They kept explaining and calling Locke Senior and Tia over to plead for them.

Yoshk was the last to walk in. He glanced coldly at the people in the courtyard, then looked at Locke's family who had been comforting Lia. He ordered the soldiers, "Take them away!"

A group of soldiers carried the so-called relatives of Locke's away from the courtyard.

Yoshk gave Billy a look, and under the mayor's orders, the onlookers left in an orderly manner.

Locke grabbed Lia's hand and was about to comfort her, but Lia hugged him tightly and refused to let go.