That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Chapter 101 Blind Believers

Cole knew he wasn't a smart man, but he never imagined he would be this stupid.

His father was a lone businessman who made three fortunes in the small town by selling tobacco. He often dealt with all sorts of people and was quite well-known.

Perhaps having long suspected his child wasn't very bright, the father, on his deathbed, grabbed him with his withered arm and uttered these words: "Stay put and live."

Cole nodded, tears falling onto the back of his hand, which was growing cold.

Then, in less than three months, he squandered most of his family fortune.

It wasn't because of extravagance, but because an old friend of his father came to his door, sincerely inviting him to invest in a new type of tobacco, saying it was a new variety from the south that could yield three times the return.

Such a lie was obviously clumsy, and even if Cole wasn't smart, he knew that such a channel was impossible for ordinary people like them.

But he still took a whole thousand gold coins and gave them to the elder.

The reason is simple.

"My father's friends would never harm me," he thought. "Even if I don't make three times my initial investment, I'll be content with just ten percent."

But this small wish was not fulfilled.

The elder took the money and disappeared without a trace. Cole searched the entire town but couldn't find him.

A few days later, a squad of red-robed guards burst through the Cole family's gate.

The leader had a fierce look on his face. He slapped a wanted poster in front of him, which clearly showed his portrait and the charge of "suspected fraud".

Cole was bewildered when he was brought into the interrogation room. He couldn't understand how the money he had paid could now make him a fraudster.

He was interrogated by Qi Mingzhen's clerk, another old friend of his father.

The clerk sat behind the table, his face showing pity, and also a hint of emotion that he couldn't understand at the time.

"There are two witnesses," the clerk said sympathetically to Cole. "They say they saw you lie to the old man, kill him, and bury him in the woods. We've found the body."

Cole found it unbelievable.

So the clerk personally led him to the morgue, where Cole saw the person under the white sheet. It really was the elder, with ligature marks on his neck and wide-open eyes; he had indeed been murdered.

"It wasn't me—" His voice trembled slightly.

The clerk sighed, as if in regret, then led him back to the interrogation room and took a piece of paper from a drawer.

"The kingdom is about to perish, do you know that?"

Cole nodded stiffly. He had heard some of the news about refugees, war, and forced conscription.

The clerk waved the paper in front of him quickly, but enough for Cole to see the royal emblem underneath—something no one would dare to forge.

"The king is selling titles at rock-bottom prices, and he has appointed us to do this," the scribe said in a low voice. "Now you can buy it for a small amount of money and become a true viscount. Even if the kingdom falls, you can still do well under the rule of the empire."

Cole hesitated.

His father told him to "stay put," but now he's starting to feel restless.

He spent three days investigating and found that many arrest warrants had indeed been revoked. Although he didn't know where those people went, it was better than living in fear and anxiety.

He agreed.

Then they were forcibly sent to the Blue Crystal Mountains.

Amidst the continuous roar of artillery fire, he huddled in his tent, trembling, awaiting his death.

It was there that he met a member of the Church of Knowledge named "Ryder".

Ryder was gentle and friendly, listening to his story as he copied the scroll, then sighing repeatedly.

"They're lying to you," Ryder said sympathetically. "It wasn't just that clerk alone; it was two people working together, but they just couldn't split the spoils properly."

"So, the clerk killed the tobacco merchant, framed you, and took all your gold coins in the process."

Cole gaped, realizing how terribly wrong he had been, but there was nothing he could do but helplessly retreat back into his tent.

Strange to say.

This time, by staying put, death did not come; instead, it gave him a chance.

Roland Gourold.

This man was incredibly bold; he dragged him into a deal with the quartermaster, exchanging the now-worthless royal decree for a chance to escape the fortress.

Cole was grateful and did as he was told.

Bound by the contract, he was not deceived this time and successfully escaped from the military camp. Following the quartermaster's instructions, he bypassed the main battlefield and advanced from the side of the mountain.

Then the snowstorm came.

The grayish-white snowflakes weren't just falling, they were crashing down, quickly accumulating a thick layer on the ground, making it difficult to walk.

Cole's boots were already filled with water, and his toes were numb, but he still couldn't get around the mountains and reach the designated location.

He stood there, looking at the snow curtain in the sky, hesitating for a long time.

In the end, he decided to change his route.

Walking uphill from the foot of the mountain, there is a short, sheltered valley that can shorten the distance, but you might encounter soldiers from the Empire or Kingdom.

"It's okay," he comforted himself. "Even if we run into them, they won't know who I am or what crime I committed."

But some things are truly unpredictable.

Just as he was stumbling forward, a hand patted his shoulder.

Cole turned around, then froze.

It's Ryder.

The person who taught him the truth.

"Cole?" Ryder seemed pleasantly surprised to see him, even casting a blessing spell on him. "What are you doing here?"

The chill was dispelled by the spell, and Cole breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Ryder with gratitude.

Having learned from his previous experience, he didn't say much, but simply asked, "Ryder, what are you doing here?"

'

Ryder's smile remained as gentle as ever: "The kingdom's fortress was about to fall, so I escaped in the chaos."

Cole nodded.

He didn't disbelieve it, but felt that the empire might have launched a fierce attack under the cover of snow and wind, and he was glad that he had run fast enough and hadn't died there.

"Come on," Ryder patted him on the shoulder, comforting him, "It's too cold. I know a cave where we can rest."

As he spoke, he naturally turned around.

Cole hesitated for a moment, then decided to follow.

The two passed through a narrow crevice in the rocks and entered the depths of the mine. The sound of dripping water echoed, bringing an inexplicable sense of fear.

Perhaps out of fear, or perhaps out of doubt, Cole stopped in his tracks.

"Why do I feel like—you're lying to me?"

"Liar?" Ryder turned around, asking suspiciously, "Why would you think that?"

Cole opened his mouth, but found he didn't know what he wanted to say.

Because, while they were talking, two squads of imperial soldiers had already surrounded them from both sides.

Cole stared blankly at Ryder.

Ryder just smiled and said in a low voice, "There are some people in this world who aren't unintelligent, but rather too trusting."

"Trust your father's friends, trust the clerk, trust the people you've known for just a few days."

The soldier stepped forward and pinned Cole down.

Ryder turned and walked deeper into the cave, his voice echoing like water droplets on the rock walls.

"The Church of Knowledge has a special name for this kind of person."

'

—The blind believer. "

The last sound drifted back, landing in Cole's ears, clearer than any sound of water.

"You are more pathetic and more despicable than those who are completely ignorant."

""

"And you will never change."