Journal of the Wandering Traveler

Margaret and Milan were taken to an ordinary-looking cave entrance. The only evidence that it was once a coal mine was the rail extending from the cave entrance, but the rails inside the cave were all removed. Yes, probably for the convenience of getting in and out.

"It's here!" The man jumped off his horse with a fat but unexpectedly nimble body, looked back at them and said, "This is where our bandit group makes its lair, and we patrol the vicinity every day to find "prey". Then bring back the looted things. But to get there, you have to walk a very dark road first, so get off your horses first, the road is not convenient for horses to walk!" David said with joy, proud that he was a bandit look.

It was this attitude that made Milan extremely angry, but she could not express it.Clenching her fists tightly, resisting the urge to scold the other party, she jumped off the horse and said something unnaturally, "This place looks very hidden, the knights must not be able to find it!"

"That's right!" In contrast, Margaret was much more stupefied, "By the way, where are we going to park the horse?"

"Follow me, there is a manger in the cave." David lit the torch that had been prepared and placed beside the cave with a lighter, and then led his horse into the cave, while the people behind followed him.It was very quiet inside the cave, and there was nothing to light the way except David's torch.

Margarita could hear the echo of her own footsteps, and the voices of people not far away.After walking through several forked roads, they finally reached the entrance of the bandit's lair.There is a row of oil lamps hanging on the rock wall, which illuminates the entire tunnel. There are two chairs on both sides, and the gatekeeper is sitting on it.The two gatekeepers were fat and thin, and when they saw the boss coming back, they immediately stood up to greet him.

"Hello, Mayor! What did you gain today?" It was the skinny man who asked.

David boldly patted the thin man's head, "I'm not the mayor anymore, don't call me that anymore! You should call me boss!"

"Oh, I know."

Margaret frowned puzzled, and secretly asked Milan who was following her, "Hey, why do you think people call him the mayor?"

The latter sighed helplessly, and asked angrily: "You ask me, who am I asking?"

"Hurry up and open the door for the new residents! The brown-haired one is called Margaret, and the blonde-haired one is called Milan. They are newcomers, and now they will be the lady's servants first." David waved his right hand, signaling the gatekeeper to lead the way quickly, and Open the gate deep in the tunnel.

The gatekeeper didn't waste any more time. The fat man took out the key hanging from his waist and walked to a wooden door that wasn't too strong.The wooden door was simply made of wood wrapped with hemp rope, and there was an exaggeratedly large iron chain in the middle to lock the two wooden doors.

With a sound of "crack", the fat man opened the lock.

"Thank you!" David patted the fat man on the shoulder again, turned to Milan and the others and said, "Follow me, the manger is on the right!"

Unlike the quiet and dark cave just now, behind the door is another world.

There are many torches hanging on the rock wall. At first glance, Milan saw three long wooden dining tables. There is a relatively dark path on the right. There is a smell of pasture from there. That is probably the horse that David was talking about. Groove.On the contrary, the road on the left is much brighter, and there are also many voices of people talking.As far as the eye can see, there are many pieces of white cloth spread intermittently on the wall over there; and behind each piece of cloth, there are fire lights shining out.

"In front is the cafeteria, where we eat together, and on the left is where we live." Seeing Milan looking around anxiously, David introduced.

It was the first time Margaret came to this kind of place, she ran to touch the wooden door like a child getting a new toy, and then ran to uncover the white cloth to see what was behind it.

Hey, like a child, there is no sense of crisis at all.Milan relaxed her nervous frown, but seeing Margaret leading the horse running farther and farther, she immediately called her back, "Hey! Margaret, don't touch other people's things, come back quickly!"

"Got it! Got it!" Margaret knew she was losing her composure, and walked back to Milan with a smirk, "It turns out that the cloth is used to replace the door, and behind each piece of cloth is someone else's room. I just exposed it without permission." I was scolded for opening the curtain."

"Let's take the horses to the manger first." After talking to one of his men, David walked to the right, and the men who followed him just now left them to the left, "Actually, we can't Say this is a manger, in addition to horses, we also raise some animals for food, so you can treat this as a small farm."

David went first, carrying a torch, followed by Milan and Marguerite.After passing through a narrow alley, the place they came to was actually sunny.It was a small open space, half of the ceiling was covered by rocks, and only a small amount of sunlight fell.There is a water tank in the sunny place, and there happens to be a cow drinking water there.Milan took a closer look and found that none of the animals were locked in pets, including several cows, sheep, chickens and the indispensable horses.

One of the brown horses roared to the sky when Milan and the others arrived, and Milan recognized at a glance that it was the horse snatched from her by the bandits.

"Don't be noisy!" David couldn't bear the animal's cry, so he covered the flower with his hands.

Seeing this, Margaret ran forward immediately to appease Milan's barking horse, "You didn't tie them up, aren't you afraid they would escape?"

The horse's barking stopped soon after being comforted by Margaret, who had been with the horse for many years. The man breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't be afraid, as long as there is water and food, they will basically not run out. Come on, Leave the horse here, and I will take you to see the lady. Although the lady is a bit difficult to get along with, as long as you do what she says, there will be no problem. In short, try to meet her requirements. If you make the lady smile, reply If it's normal, you can take everything in the lair."

Both Milan and Margaret were taken aback by coincidence, but Milan's reaction was quicker, and she immediately asked, "Really?"

David nodded firmly, "Yes, she hasn't laughed since that incident, and now she doesn't even talk much. But don't make her cry! Really don't! Last time she went on a hunger strike for several days... "When talking about his wife, his restless and nervous expression betrayed the fact that he is a wife slave.

"That thing?" Margaret asked.

After hesitating for a while, David said: "That can't be said. If you know it, you may accidentally say it and remind her of that incident. In short, you can satisfy her request and make her laugh. Do you understand?" ?”

"understood."

"learn."

Margaret and Milan spoke at the same time. The former smiled knowingly at Milan, but the other party couldn't smile. She felt that this task must not be easy.

They walked back through the dark and narrow road, and their speed was much faster because they didn't have to drag their horses.Back in the cafeteria, David put the torch in his hand on the shelf on the wall, "I just asked my subordinates to bring the lady over to see you, let's wait here for a while!"

After about two or three minutes, there were regular footsteps of 'giggle' coming from the end of the corridor on the left.Following the gradually louder footsteps, Margaret and the others could see a bumpy figure slowly approaching.The woman was wearing high-heeled shoes that seemed to be unable to walk after wearing them, and her long black smooth hair fluttered as she walked.She was wearing a one-piece sundress, which reached to the woman's calf and had a split at the thigh, which revealed her almost flawless skin and emphasized her good figure.

Margaret approached Milan secretly, and whispered in her ear: "The clothes she wears are really strange."

"Your brain is strange. She is wearing a cheongsam... um... the clothes worn by women in the Eastern Continent." Although Milan is a novice businessman, she may know more about other continents than many veteran businessmen.Since she was a child, she was taught by her parents who are businessmen what is a valuable treasure and what is free garbage.And in this world where the transportation between continents is not very convenient, the value of all exotic items is also very high.

The woman walked in front of them and looked straight at Margaret and Milan.The cold and lifeless gaze cast from her dark almond eyes gave Margaret a chill in her heart, and she unconsciously stopped breathing due to her momentum, swallowed, and dared not speak.

Milan was not as afraid of her as Margaret was, so he took the initiative to say hello to the woman, "Hi, Mrs. David, I am Milan, and Margaret is next to me. We are here to learn how to be bandits."

"That's right, my wife said before I saw you that I wanted a maid, so I brought them here." David immediately walked to the woman, beckoning like a puppy wagging its tail.

The woman ignored her husband, and it took a long time before she uttered three words: "Mandala."

"What?" Milan asked, confused.

"Call me Mandala."

"Yes, Miss Mandala." Milan secretly elbowed Margaret, who was stunned, and said respectfully.

After being knocked back to reality, the dazed Margaret immediately replied with a trembling voice: "Ah, ah... yes, I understand! Miss Mandala."

The woman named Mandala closed her eyes and nodded in satisfaction, and said in a voice so soft that no one could hear, "Come with me." Then she turned and walked in the direction she had just come from without looking back. David also planned to follow, but gave up the idea after being glared at by Mandala.

Milan, who was following the woman, tiptoed and slowed down, letting Margaret, who started late, walk to her side, and asked in a low voice, "Hey, what happened to you just now? Not like you?"

"I'm not good at dealing with this type of people, and her sight makes me uncomfortable..." Margaret replied uneasily, playing with her braids, after changing her cheerfulness when they first met.

Milan originally wanted to comfort her, but she searched her mind for a long time and couldn't find a suitable sentence, so she finally remained silent, patted her on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement, and quickened her pace to catch up with the mandala who was walking in the front .

After passing through a dozen caves separated only by cloth, they reached the "room" at the end.Mandala picked up the white cloth skillfully and walked in, while Margaret and Milan looked at each other and then walked through.This room was smaller than Margaret imagined, but it exceeded her imagination of luxury——Although the walls of the room are rock walls, there are several paintings that seem to be from famous masters; A large carpet embroidered by hand was laid out.There is a double bed in the center of the room, and there are a lot of expensive-looking sundries beside the bed, making it difficult to move.

She sat down on the bed and looked at Margaret and the others with her dull and silent eyes while remaining silent.The latter also remained silent until Mandala spoke, "Don't be too reserved, just feel free."

"Ah... Got it." Although Milan said he understood, he complained dissatisfiedly in his heart: What are you doing, show me what you want in such a small room!

Just as she was about to see Margaret's reaction, a small counter next to the bed caught her attention.Glancing at the mandala, she found that she wasn't looking at her. Milan walked quietly to the counter, knelt down and pulled out the drawer. There were many small accessories in it, but Milan found what he had been looking for very easily. up.

Yes, that brooch in the shape of a Milanese flower.The gemstone on the brooch seemed to have magical powers, and the light it emitted kept calling Milan to pick it up.She couldn't stand the temptation, so she picked it up. The brooch was very beautiful under the light of the fire, and the golden light reflected from it was reflected on the surface of the rock...

When Margaret saw the golden light, she even forgot the existence of the mandala. She unconsciously leaned forward and exclaimed, "Wow! It's so beautiful!" Her sudden words made the mandala turn around. Look over here.

Mandala's expression remained unchanged, "Take it if you want it."

"Oh?──" Milan let out a strange cry in surprise. She was so excited that she ignored the demeanor she had been maintaining. She rushed forward and grabbed Mandala's hand and asked, "Really, really, really?"

"Yes." The latter replied calmly.

Letting go, Milan knew that she had done too much, carefully put the brooch into her trouser pocket, and said, "Thank you so much!"

The other party's tone was as cold as ever, she waved her hand, "No need. Go back to your room first, I want to take a nap."

As soon as Margaret knew that Mandala wanted them to leave, she immediately pulled the happy Milan towards the door, "Then we won't bother you, goodbye."

As soon as they stepped out of the door, David, who was so nervous that he was in a cold sweat, stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong? Is it okay? Is she satisfied with you? Is she smiling?"

A series of questions made Margaret do not know where to start to answer. Just when she was about to open her mouth, Milan replied from excitement, "She is fine, don't worry, she said she wants to take a nap and told us to go to our room first settle down."

"Huh..." David covered his heart and breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, ah, yes, let me take you to the room. In fact, there are no other women here except Mrs. It doesn't seem good for men to live together, so I emptied the room next to the lady for the two of you, so that you can take care of the lady conveniently."

As he spoke, he lifted the white cloth on his left hand and walked into the hole.This room is half smaller than Mandala's. There is a small bed on the left and right, and there is only an alley in the middle. David has squeezed the cave in the middle by himself.

"Thank you!" Milan said briskly, "By the way, where is the washing place?"

Walking out of the cave, David replied: "There is a river on the right outside, we will solve it there. But if you girls find it inconvenient, you can go upstream and walk to the lake upstream, madam They all take a bath there."

"Well, I got it!" After that, Milan took Margaret's hand and walked into the room, leaving David outside.

"Milan, shall we sneak out tonight?" After hearing David's footsteps gradually moving away, Margaret sat on the bed on the right and asked Milan opposite, "You got the brooch back."

Milan was different from his usual calmness, his eyes sparkled with excitement, "What are you talking about? Look at how weak the internal defenses are here. If we steal the contents of that room... think about that Persian carpet! And the paintings on the walls... I don't know where they got those things!"

"Hey, Milan, do you know what you're talking about?" Margaret felt that the Milan in front of her was very strange. Although they hadn't known each other for long, she knew that Milan was not a person who would be controlled by greed. If so, how is it different from those bandits?"

"Uh... this..." The blond hair hangs down on both sides without motivation, and Milan wakes up after sweeping away the excitement just now.

"That's right, let's take a shower and leave tonight."

"No, we have other options!"

"What choice?"

Taking a breath, Margaret seemed to be fighting with something in her heart. After a while, she said, "Let's go and make Datura smile again!"

"Alright, but what exactly should we do..."

Knowing that Margaret didn't like staying with Datura and was willing to accompany her, Milan suddenly felt a little moved, even if she didn't intend to express this feeling.

There is a small lake in the northeast of the bandits' lair. Under the reflection of the moonlight, the calm surface of the lake is sparkling with blue waves. Margaret couldn't help but stare blankly at this scene.It wasn't until Milan patted her on the shoulder that she came back to her senses, "Is this the lake that David mentioned?"

"Yes." Even when she was about to take a bath, Mandala kept her poker face and slowly soaked her body in the water, "Together?"

Margaret is a bit cold about group bathing, she lives in a small town, and she is not too far behind to go to the lake to take a bath, and she has never bathed with other people, so she smiled wryly and shook her hand, " No need, I'll wash it later. I came to serve you, not to take a shower together."

Seeing Margaret's distressed face, Milan also added: "Yes, we are here to serve you. If you have any orders, just tell us and see if we can help you?"

Mandala shrugged, did not speak, and acquiesced to them.

This lake is unusually quiet, because it is surrounded by mountains, so there is no wind, and there are only insects from the grass to prove the passage of time.Milan and Margarita looked up and saw that the sky was full of stars; there was not a cloud in the sky to block the stars, and the moonlight did not steal the beauty of the stars.Marguerite could not name each star; and Milan only knew the North Star, which was used to tell the direction.

"It's so beautiful... It's the first time I saw such a beautiful starry sky. My house is often cloudy, so I can't see the stars." Margaret sighed.

"Well, yes, it's beautiful." Mandala leaned against the lake and raised her head. She closed her eyes and basked in the moonlight enjoying herself. When she opened her eyes again, there were stars shining in her eyelids unlike before. "Do you know how to watch the stars?"

This was the first time Mandala took the initiative to talk about the topic. Milan knew that this was an opportunity to build a good relationship with her, so she replied if she wanted to: "I only know Polaris, Miss Mandala, can you stargazing?"

The other party nodded, and then spoke in a self-contained manner, "Below the Polaris is the Big Dipper, which is the constellation Ursa Major. Those seven stars are brighter than the Polaris, and they are shaped like a spoon... She is very smart, we She just said it once and she knew how to find it." Her tone was much calmer, at least somewhat.

Milan, who had heard a clue, of course held on to this point, "Her?"

Mandala's eyes suddenly lost expression, and he kept quiet and did not respond.

"You like stars very much?" Margaret knew it was time to speak, and the atmosphere would only become more and more awkward if it went on like this. "Miss Mandala, can you say more about stars?"

"I like it very much..." She sighed, and after a while, she sent Milan and the others away, "You guys go away first, I want to calm down."

Seeing that her words were useless, Margaret had to touch her nose to listen to Mandala's words and go back to the lair with Milan.

In the middle of the walk, Margarita looked behind to make sure that Mandala hadn't followed, and said to Milan: "Did you pay attention to Mandala's reaction when she mentioned 'her' just now? I think 'she' That's why she stopped laughing when she was unhappy."

"Yes, I think so too." Milan put his hand into his trouser pocket, stroking the brooch lightly, "'She' is very likely to be Mandala's sister or younger sister... Then she had an accident or something. "

"Maybe Miss Mandala's daughter?"

Milan bumped Margaret with his shoulder angrily, "Mandala looks like he's only 20 years old, and with such a good figure, it doesn't look like he's ever given birth to a child, right?"

Pursing her lips and thinking about it, Margaret smiled, "That's right, come on, let's go back to sleep quickly, and ask other people tomorrow!" After she finished speaking, she pulled Milan's hanging belt, Go quickly to the bandit's cave.

"That's exactly what I was thinking...Hey, don't pull me!"

After being thrown away by Milan, Margaret suddenly remembered something and froze in the middle of the road, "Then how do we take a shower?"

"What? Isn't it the same when washing tomorrow?" Milan was a businessman with her parents since she was a child, and she couldn't take a bath for a long time on the road. She had already gotten used to it.

"Huh—how could this be... it's so dirty...or maybe we should wash it after Miss Mandala finishes washing?" Margaret grunted dissatisfiedly as she returned to the lair.

Considering safety issues that day, Margaret did not sneak out to take a shower at night; instead, she and Milan went to the lake to freshen up the next morning.