It hurt badly, as if every muscle in her body had been thoroughly and evenly pounded with a meat tenderizer. The more she moved her leg, the more it felt like it was about to tear apart, but Lux didn't dare slow down. She ran, ran, running with urgency, worry, and a sliver of fear for what might be.
A familiar turn, and finally, passing through a narrow passage, Lux 'landed' out of the alleyway that flowed like a river of darkness and filth. Before her stood a three-story flat building nestled between crowded houses. It had an ordinary wooden door and windows covered with tattered cloth. A broken wooden sign hung by the door, reading "Fresh Bread" with a charcoal drawing that resembled a loaf. This was an ordinary bakery, and also the place where Lux and her younger sister, Mitty, lived.
Lux cautiously approached the door, sniffed the air, and then exhaled in relief before pushing it open.
"Welcome!" A crisp and lovely voice, like a light bell, came from inside. Though it was just a sound, it carried a faint fragrance and sweetness, like newly opened chrysanthemums.
"Brother, you're back! Wait, brother, how did you get so badly hurt?" It was a cute girl wearing a purple cloth dress, a headscarf covering her long brown hair. Her face was tender and fair, like a snowdrift sprinkled with sunlight, and her light yellow eyes reflected a world that was warm and as moving as the chirping of birds in spring. This beautiful girl was Mitty, and at this moment, she immediately put down the basket filled with freshly baked bread that she was about to place on the tablecloth. Taking off her cotton gloves, she quickly ran to Lux.
"Brother, your face is bleeding so much. Let's go upstairs quickly," Mitty said with concern. She immediately went to the door and flipped the sign, revealing the words 'Something's come up, closed for now, sorry,' and then, after closing the door, she pulled Lux upstairs.
"Mitty, slow down, oww, it hurts." As Mitty hurriedly dragged Lux upstairs, the pain, as if it were late, all clocked in for work now. Lux immediately grimaced.
"Sorry, brother, but first, please sit still and take off your clothes," Mitty said, closing the windows tightly and locking the room door before coming to Lux.
Lux took off her outer coat, shoes, and trousers one by one, including the long cloth used to bind her chest and the long scarf used to cover her throat, revealing her skin covered in bruises. Lux sat down on a wooden chair with a patched-up fur rug underneath. This rug was made from the corpse of a young bear that Lux had bought from the fighting pits. Because the cub's entire body was torn apart and its fur was in tatters, it was exceptionally cheap, so Lux gave it to Mitty, who was practicing her sewing at the time. Of course, the rug was poorly sewn, but Mitty couldn't bear to throw it away, so she kept it.
Mitty looked at Lux's skin 'blooming with the colors of pain' and bit her lip with distress. "Brother..." Then she placed her hand on Lux's injured skin, and her palm emitted a faint glow. The damaged skin instantly recovered as if by magic under the gentle light. Lux felt a warm current spread through her body, like a stove lit in the depths of winter, and the pain melted away completely.
"No need to do my face. If this heals, it'll be too obvious. I'll just wrap it with a cloth," Lux said, holding Mitty's hand, which was about to touch her face.
"Tell me what happened. Who hurt you, brother? How did you get so badly injured?" Mitty asked with great concern. She wanted to touch Lux's face, but her hand stopped less than half an inch away, tracing Lux's facial contours from a slight distance.
"I ran into some bastards on the way, but I beat them all to the ground. They won't dare come again," Lux said, waving her hand as if she had dealt with a trivial matter.
"Really, how can I let you go out like this?" Mitty pouted, feigning anger. She went to boil some hot water and picked up a towel to wipe Lux's body.
"Wait, I still have injuries that haven't been healed," Lux said. "Oh? Where?" Mitty's eyes scanned Lux's body, looking closely.
"You're looking in the wrong place. It's here," Lux pointed to her forehead. "It's seriously injured. It needs a kiss from Mitty to get better." "Silly brother," Mitty still kissed Lux's forehead. "Then brother should stay home today. I'll buy some chicken later and make you a pie."
"That won't do, because I have a surprise for you right now." Lux smiled, then used both hands to make a triangle, and then moved them down to form a square. "Guess what this is."
"Is it a cake? Could it be a new cake from Milan Cake House?" Mitty blinked, her eyes seemingly sparkling with light.
"No, no, wrong guess. Here's another hint, and this too." Lux spread her hands flat in the air and then drew a circle in the air, then used her hands to mimic an animal jumping around inside the circle.
"Hmm... that's hard to guess. It's not something scary, is it? Like cockroach cookies or something?" Mitty looked troubled.
"No, and there's no such weird and disgusting thing as cockroach cookies," Lux crossed her arms in an X, revealing the answer helplessly. "Remember our old dream? To buy a small manor and raise some cows and sheep, and grow grapes and olives."
"I remember, brother. Could it be...?" Mitty's small mouth formed an "ooh" shape, as if she was about to jump up.
"Yes, today I made a lot of money. We've saved enough. Soon we can leave the city and buy a small ranch in a nearby town." Lux happily announced the news, and was even happier to see Mitty's joyful expression.
"Yay, brother is the best!" Mitty hugged Lux and kissed her on the uninjured side of her face. "But did you get hurt today because of this money?" Mitty suddenly thought of something, and her expression turned worried again.
"No, it wasn't because of that. It was just an accident," Lux shook her head and then patted Mitty's head. "Don't worry. Once we get to the farm, we can raise some sheepdogs, and we can make cheese and raisins. At night, we'll watch the stars together in the fields, and we can buy two horses. Then we can ride along the river."
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"Brother, I'm afraid of dogs. Let's skip the sheepdogs," Mitty said. Lux remembered something and nodded.
"And neither of us knows how to ride horses. We might fall off," Mitty said, putting her hand on Lux's head, mirroring Lux's gesture.
"Then we'll ride sheep. It won't hurt too much if we fall off a sheep, my white sheep princess," Lux said with a smile.
"Pfft, I won't ride anything. The first thing I'll do when we get out of here is buy some fabric and sew some clothes for us. I'm tired of only wearing purple here," Mitty stuck out her tongue and expressed her thoughts.
"Oh, but don't embroider flowers on my clothes, and I like red, please, my master Mitty," Lux said respectfully, knowing her sister liked sewing flowers and the color green.
"Hmph, they're pretty, okay?" Mitty puffed out her cheeks. "I'll sew them on the inside, so only you can see them, brother."
"Alright," Lux shrugged, indicating her acceptance.
"Yay, then I'll prepare some delicious food. We'll celebrate with Grandma Mabel tonight. Grandma Mabel is probably still out shopping," Mitty started thinking about what to make for dinner.
"Mitty, how about we go take a look at the farm today? We can celebrate later," Lux suggested. "What? So soon? Shouldn't we wait and tell Grandma Mabel?" Mitty asked, puzzled.
"Well, it's better to go to the farm sooner rather than later. I heard about it a few days ago, and it might be sold to someone else if we wait too long. We can just leave a letter for Grandma Mabel and come back in a couple of days once we've settled in," Lux explained.
"Wait a minute." Mitty stared at Lux like a cat spotting a moving ball, then approached and sniffed the air. "Brother, you're lying, aren't you?" "Alright, Mitty, your nose is even better than my skills," Lux shrugged. "I'm sorry I can't explain, but I think it's better if we leave as soon as possible, preferably today."
"Brother... what about Grandma Mabel? Will she be in danger? And she only has me as an employee. I wanted to stay a few more days until she finds a new one," Mitty said with concern.
"I think Grandma Mabel will be fine with or without us. This is a street managed by Boss Johnny. No one will come looking for trouble with Mabel," Lux reassured Mitty. "And we can leave some money for Grandma Mabel as thanks for taking care of us orphans."
"Okay, brother. But I think Grandma Mabel will definitely get angry if she sees this money. It's better if we visit her more often during festivals and bring her some gifts, like the cheese and wine we make." "Alright, let's talk about that later," Lux said. "And thank you for trusting me, Mitty."
"Silly brother, of course I trust you. We're family, after all," Mitty smiled and took Lux's hand. "Family who will always be together." "Yes, we'll always, always be together," Lux said, hugging Mitty tightly.
"Mm-hm." Mitty patted Lux's back and rested her head against Lux's neck.
"Right, I need to go prepare some things. I'll be back soon. You should start packing too, Mitty," Lux said. "Okay, brother. Be careful on your way," Mitty nodded.
Lux walked down the somewhat old staircase. The third floor was the room Grandma Mabel had given them, with very low rent.
The back room was the kitchen, with a large oven for baking bread. Grandma Mabel used to cook for them, but later, after Mitty's cooking skills improved, Mitty took over. However, Grandma Mabel would still cook on holidays. Both of them forbade Lux from entering the kitchen, as Lux's seasoning skills were truly terrible. Of course, Lux considered it her adventurous spirit in cooking.
Many loaves of bread were displayed on the shelves, all wrapped in oil paper.
Lux walked out the door and turned to look at the small sign for Mabel's Bakery.
"I'm sorry," Lux said, because she didn't know what would happen in the future. She didn't know the future of this street, and all she knew was that she could only take care of her sister, to protect the future she would live with Mitty. She couldn't worry about anyone else.
Then, Lux headed towards Boss Pony's place. ...
This was Middle Street, filled with casinos, taverns, and brothels. It was the favorite hangout spot for those wearing short cloth shirts. Half of the shops here were managed by Boss Johnny's gang. Boss Pony was the leader of the Blood Drip Gang, responsible for collecting protection fees on the left side of the street. However, he rarely stayed on Left Street, preferring to enjoy himself on Middle Street.
Young thieves like Lux had to regularly pay money to Boss Pony. If they didn't, Boss Pony wouldn't do anything to them, but other gangs would come to cause trouble and rob them. Lux even paid five times more than others, simply because she had a beautiful younger sister.
Lux walked towards the five-story building made of purple stone. Several gang members stood guard outside. Lux gave them some coins and was led inside.
She was taken up to the fifth floor. The gang member knocked on the door, went in, and after a while, came out, opened the door, and gestured for Lux to enter.
"Good afternoon, Boss Pony," Lux greeted as she entered.
It was a dim room, filled with various sealed bottles of alcohol and strange foreign decorations. A large painting of a nude woman hung on the wall, and a fat middle-aged man was sitting on a large sofa. Several burly men stood beside him. The fat man was bald, adorned with many rings and necklaces, and his body was tattooed with various flowers and venomous snakes, even his bald head, like a terrifying garden of fat flesh. Right now, he was using a magnifying glass imported from the Holy Rising Sun Empire in the north to examine a gemstone.
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Seeing that the fat man didn't speak, Lux stood silently to the side.
"Oh, it's Lux. What happened to your face? And what brings you here?" The fat man examined the stone for a while, then wrapped it up, put it down, and finally looked up at Lux.
"Boss Pony, it was just some ignorant thugs causing trouble, but I've already beaten them all down. They probably won't dare to come again," Lux said with a smile. "I'm here today to bother Boss Pony to buy two transit permits, because I heard news about my relative, so I want to leave the city to find him."
"Really? The transit permits are no problem," Boss Pony said, patting his massive belly. "But you better not leave the city and never come back, you hear?"
"Of course not, Boss Pony. You know many of the brothers here still owe me money. I haven't collected it all yet," Lux replied with a smile.
"Good, good. I think highly of you too. I'm planning to promote you to manage some shops soon," Boss Pony said, stroking the rings on his fingers. "Then you'll be a small boss yourself."
"Thank you, Boss Pony," Lux quickly bowed to the large fat man.
"No problem. Consider those two transit permits my free gift to you. Berger, take Lux to get the tickets," the subordinate standing nearby stepped forward, nodded, and gestured for Lux to follow him.
"Thank you again, Boss Pony. I'll bring you a present later," Lux repeated her thanks. Seeing that Boss Pony was becoming impatient, she quickly followed the subordinate out.
"Hmph," Boss Pony's face fell as soon as Lux left. "Dead Fist said he wanted to join me, but he couldn't even manage to rob some kid."
Boss Pony picked up the half-empty bottle of alcohol beside him, poured it into a glass, and drank it all in one gulp. The others nearby didn't dare to speak.
"Damn it, but that kid was suspicious," Boss Pony said, scratching his multiple chins.
"Boss Pony, should we take action?" a burly man beside him asked.
"You fool, I don't want others to know I'm dealing with my own subordinate," Pony cursed at the man, spitting saliva on his face.
"It's clear now. That kid either has orcish blood or is a Cursed One," Pony poured himself another glass of alcohol.
"I don't want to wait for him to come back. I'll report him to the Demon Hunter Bureau right now and make some money," Pony finished the drink as if he was very thirsty.
"What a pity about his beautiful younger sister. If his sister wasn't dead, I would have taken her for myself," Johnny laughed loudly, then felt a wave of heat wash over him, and he roared at the others, "Damn it, find me some ladies, now!"
