Chapter 176 Long-Term Leave Request

Finally, after who knows how many times of vomiting, Heeley finally stopped feeling nauseated, and the eldest daughter of the Kevin Deere family leaned against the wall tremblingly.

Thales also suppressed his nausea and tried his best to stay away from the big puddle of filth.

Well, it was a half-digested steak, why should he think about that!

Just like that, amidst the messy filth and pungent smell, Thales and Shilai, who were weak and back-to-back, sat on the ground against the wall, each shaking.

"Don't worry, I will give the owner some extra money for the cleaning fee."

"Is this the key? Ah, my clothes..."

"They're not yours, they came from the theater."

Thales had no time to argue with her. The pain all over his body reached its limit, and he was so uncomfortable that he wanted to pass out on the spot.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you again?" Xi Lai wiped her lips in embarrassment, her voice was broken and out of breath, like a dying patient.

Thales tried his best to come up with a reason:

"My nosebleeds a lot..."

"I have heavy menstrual bleeding..."

The two of them scoffed at the same time.

They turned around with difficulty and saw each other's profiles in the peripheral vision over their shoulders.

"Do you think you'll believe me when you call me?"

Although each had their own difficulties and pains, their eyes were full of contempt and disdain, and it was obvious that neither of them believed the other's words.

"me too."

But when they thought of something, they were shocked at the same time!

"When you go out of the shop, turn left and go straight to the third intersection, then turn right and go straight to the second intersection and turn left to the alley with the stone wall on the left..."

"The third diagonal alley at the intersection of Regina Street by Milton's Pawnshop!"

Thales said painfully:

"Slimani! He is running away again!"

Hilley gritted his teeth weakly and angrily:

"Not yet! There's still time!"

Thales had no time to reply, as the extreme discomfort and debilitating feeling of weakness made him feel dizzy again.

No, they stumbled all the way and finally got here...

Just give up?

If I had known earlier, I might as well have had Marius send someone...

At this moment, Hilley stretched out his hand tremblingly and put a finger-sized glass medicine bottle into Thales' hand...

"Drink this, immediately, quickly."

Thales opened a slit in his eyes: the liquid in the glass bottle was dark and turbid, and there was a lot of sediment.

"What the hell is this color? This smell is stronger than your breakfast! What the hell, is it cooked with feces?" Thales turned his head away in pain as soon as he removed the plug.

"you"

Xi Lai, who was already weak and unwell, was unhappy when he heard this and replied angrily: "It's an aphrodisiac!"

Thales was stunned for a moment, then became angry:

"Why didn't you say it was birth control pills?"

Xi Lai also laughed in anger. She hummed and shook her head. Without saying a word, she grabbed the bottle:

"Yes, aphrodisiac and contraceptive, do you want to drink it?"

The girl held up the medicine bottle with an ugly expression, as if she was suppressing the desire to vomit.

The young man looked at the unhappy Xi Lai for several seconds, finally figured out what was going on, and showed a helpless smile.

Grass.

The next second, Thales took a deep breath, grabbed the medicine bottle, and poured it directly into his mouth!

"Ah! No, wait a moment!"

Hilley was shocked and grabbed the bottle before Thales drank the potion:

"Half is enough! It's very expensive!"

As soon as Thales' mouth left the mouth of the bottle, he was hit by the pungent smell. He didn't know whether it was Shilai's breakfast or the potion. Anyway, the combination of the two made him feel sick and nauseous, and he gasped repeatedly.

Damn it, he should have found a glass of water first!

"You, are you drinking now?" Xi Lai coughed weakly.

Thales gasped in pain, feeling the unpleasant taste in his mouth:

"Yes! Do I have a choice between aphrodisiac, contraception, or letting Slimani run away?"

The potion had a bad smell, but it was even more colorful when it came into my mouth.

Worri, what the hell does this smell like!

A wave of nausea hit him, and Thales couldn't help but suck out a few mouthfuls of air.

Hilley frowned at him.

After a few seconds, the eldest lady also figured out something. She turned around, leaned her back against Thales, breathed in and laughed.

"What, what's so funny?"

But before Thales could finish speaking, the pale-faced Hillai raised his head and drank the remaining half of the bottle of potion in one gulp.

Thales narrowed his eyes at her.

"Aphrodisiac?"

"Yes," Xi Lai put away the empty bottle, vomited a few mouthfuls, and sarcastically said weakly, "it's designed to cure your stinky problem."

Thales was furious for a moment.

But before he could react, Heeley struggled hard.

"Stand up, no matter how uncomfortable it is," Hilley gritted his teeth. "The main effect of this medicine is to numb pain and relieve soreness, while also replenishing a lot of energy. It requires us to move in order to be effective."

Numbs pain and relieves soreness…

Thales sighed and endured the pain all over his body. He held onto the wall with one hand and clasped Heeley's hand with the other.

Hilley glanced at him but said nothing.

The two of them supported each other, leaned against the wall, and managed to stand up.

But the moment he stood up, Thales seemed to have an illusion:

The aches and burning in his body lessened, and his breathing became less labored.

Huh?

"This is……"

"Aphrodisiacs, and contraception by the way." Xi Lai said coldly, his voice much stronger.

All right.

Thales curled his lips.

Although her face was a little rosier, she still held a grudge.

A few seconds later, when they had cleaned up the dirt on their bodies (as for the ones on the floor, Shilai believed that she had fully compensated the owner), walked out of the room, walked down the stairs, and stepped onto the street again, Thales felt like he was alive and kicking again.

There is no doubt that they are feeling in surprise that Thales is gradually recovering at an incredible speed.

"Where did you get that bottle of medicine? Do you still have it?"

Xilai coldly refused: "No, it's made through special channels and the materials are precious."

And disgusting.

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"...As for you, don't think about it," the girl from Kevin Deere's family shook her head. "All drugs that appear to be highly effective but actually violate the laws of nature are harmful and represent an overdraft of body functions."

"Believe me, with its taste, no one will want to drink it anymore." Taylor countered.

Overdraft of body functions?

Thales suddenly remembered what the Black Sword said about Hell River Sin's ability to accelerate self-healing, which would shorten his life.

But sometimes...

Thales touched the bone in his left arm that was broken by the Fallen Star and became slightly longer.

Sometimes, he has no choice.

"Let's go this way," Thales gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Slimani was in a panic. He didn't choose the right path and even fell. This will affect his speed. There may be hope of catching up."

"I know the alley he entered," Heeley said solemnly. "It's not easy to walk in, but there is a shortcut here. If you're lucky, you can intercept him."

As soon as the pedestrians on the road walked into the two of them, their expressions changed and they turned away one after another. This made Thales quite depressed, but it also saved him a lot of trouble.

Thales still remembered the route drawn in the hell sense, while Xi Lai was almost familiar with the road. Seeing that they were getting closer and closer to the target location, the two of them were getting healthier and their pace was gradually speeding up.

"How did you determine Slimani's location? What did you do in the utility room just now?" Thales asked suspiciously.

"Then you, what did you do outside just now?" Xi Lai glanced at him.

The two were silent for a while.

"Magic, medicine bottles, breaking into empty doors, and the ability to find paths and find people," Thales muttered, "Tell me, Sister Wyana, how many mysteries do you still have about you?"

"Not much, at least not more than your mysteries of eavesdropping, magic, nosebleeds, and the same way of finding people, Brother Wyatt." Healy retorted.

Thales and Hilley looked at each other unhappily as they marched.

It seems that both of them have their own secrets that they don't want others to know.

But after a few seconds, they seemed to understand something and both smiled in relief.

"Fuck you, Huiana." Thales shook his head and said helplessly.

Heeley didn't bother to respond and just gave him a middle finger.

"Hey, that's mine. Wait, how do you know that gesture?"

"I've seen, I've seen that mute next to you do it to 'a certain' Wyatt."

"Ha, I knew you were imitating it wrong."

"No way, I remember it clearly: the middle finger sticking out."

"That's true for us, but you have six fingers!"

boom!

Hilley gave him a hard elbow, and Thales, who was so smart, grinned in pain.

"No one has ever dared to make fun of me!" Xi Lai gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Thales apologized quickly, "I just thought that this would be better than... than deliberately avoiding it or not mentioning it."

His voice became quieter:

"Feel sorry."

Hilley looked at him deeply and moved on.

The two of them walked on in silence.

"You don't have anything to ask?"

Thales came back to his senses in shock:

"What? What are you asking?"

"Ask, ask," Shilai paused. She touched her gloves and spoke with difficulty, "My hands?"

There was another silence between the two.

Finally, before Thales scratched his hair bald in his mind, he racked his brains to figure out how to answer the call.

"Oh, this," the prince laughed, as if he didn't care, "What's the matter? There was a king in my ancestors, and his nickname was 'Eight Fingers'..."

Hilley rolled his eyes at him.

"I know the Eight-Fingered King, but you know: my situation is different from his! He is a sound and normal person who was injured and lost while hunting..."

"Hey!"

Thales quickened his pace to catch up with Hilley:

"So what? You only have one more finger than me, than a 'normal person'..."

"It's four," Sheila looked at her hands gloomily, "I have them on both hands and on my feet. When I was a kid, almost every doctor I went to said they were connected to the bones and nerves. If they were removed directly, , may damage the entire hand..."

"very good!"

Thales interrupted her, beaming, trying to make the atmosphere humorous: "What I want to do with one whole hand, you can do with only five-sixths of your hand. This is an advantage!"

Hilley snorted and curled his lips disdainfully: "Stiff and hypocritical."

Well, maybe a little.

Thales felt that he had exerted too much force and had to shut up.

They turned into an alley, which made Thales feel familiar: this was one of the places that hell's senses had just described for him.

"I heard that when I was born, a Sunset priest once said that this was a bad omen or a bad consequence. It was Sunset's punishment for the entire family, or at least a warning." Xi Lai said in a daze.

Bad omen, bad consequences.

Taylor paused.

His memory drifted back to the Prison of Bones. In the dark bottom of the prison, Sak'el's words to Yoder echoed in his ears again:

[Does King Kessel know... Do they know that the evil flower many years ago has already borne evil fruits? 】

Thales took a deep breath, forced himself to smile, and raised his hands to Xi Lai:

"Look, my hand is intact, at least it looks normal."

"Yes, I know, 'normal'," Hilley sneered, "So what?"

Thales forced a smile.

"I mean, my hands and feet were intact when I was born, but it didn't seem to prevent the Sunset Goddess from punishing the Bright Star royal family."

Xi Lai's eyes moved.

"So, you can go to hell with bad omens, bad flowers, bad consequences, etc." Thales said with a smile.

Hilley looked at him for a long time, passed by a closed "Milton Honesty Pawn Shop", and turned into a deserted side road.

"But a lot of people don't think that way," she whispered. "You just saw the reaction of those people on the street, right?"

Thales's smile became smaller.

"Is this why you have been living in seclusion since you were a child?"

"This matter is a stain on the family," Miss Kevin Dill said with a hint of irony, "My parents, they have to... be very careful, from my coming-of-age ceremony to my engagement, on all occasions when I appear in public, Well, maybe my funeral, you know, since childhood, the purchase of women's gloves has been an important expense that my father has assigned to Ashford, and it is top secret."

A stain on the family.

Thales was silent for a while.

"this is not your fault."

Hilley shrugged: "I know, I figured it out a long time ago, this, this is not my fault..."

The girl raised her hands and shook them, her eyes fixed on the cot of her little finger.

"But what they brought, what they brought to me, what they turned me into..."

Xi Lai's eyes gradually drifted away, then slowly focused.

What they brought, what they brought to me, what they turned me into...

After listening to her words, Thales couldn't help but hold his left hand: in the middle of his palm, the scar left by multiple scratches became more and more obvious.

Can't be eliminated.

"Do you know why I have such a bad relationship with Karabyan's twins and why we can't get along?"

The second prince came back to his senses: "Yes, I have heard something: did you scare them when you were a child?"

Hilley sneered.

"When I was little, they discovered...my hands."

Thales said nothing.

"Of course, they laughed at me, despised me, and wanted to use this to get a hold of me," Heeley waved his hands and frowned, "And I fought back, hard."

fight back……

"So they isolated me, ostracized me, started cliques, bad-mouthed me at the dance..." Healy continued, "and I just kept fighting back."

Keep fighting back...

Thales frowned.

"In the end, the situation got very bad, and it went all the way to my father's side, until my father and Count Karabiyan reached an agreement. Kasha and Qina were ordered to reflect and be strictly disciplined, and they had to secretly swear in front of the sunset statue: For the rest of my life, I will not reveal the scandal about Kevin Deere or my... situation."

Thales understood.

Therefore, your relationship will never be better again.

"And as the price of 'fighting back', I was sent to the Sunset Temple."

"In name, it's etiquette and religious education, but in fact it's not," Heeley said with a sarcastic face, "It's to exorcise evil spirits."

Thales looked up in surprise:

"Exorcism?"

"Yes, to get rid of the 'demon' in me," Hilley sneered, "Whether it's the four extra fingers and toes, or the fact that I was able to scream and beat my twin sisters to bleed when I was eight years old. Bad, dark and narrow character.”

Drive away demons.

"I..." Thales hesitated, not knowing what to say.

But Hilley just shook his head and continued to sneer:

"And one of the ways to exorcise evil... you know, the priests believe that the flame is the ember of the setting sun, one of the graces of the sunset goddess in the world, so it is very effective against demons, sorcery, and unclean things. Does it have any miraculous effect?”

"You know one thing, 'Appear in fire, disillusion in front of God'," Thales thought of something, and his expression suddenly changed, "Wait, flame? Exorcism? You?"

Hilley laughed miserably.

"Yes," she gently opened the gloves that reached up to her forearms, revealing the skin on her wrists, "the flame, and it is a silver holy fire that has been blessed."

Thales stared blankly at the skin on Shilai's wrist: uneven, different shades, and an ugly red color.

"After a period of training, they, um, the priests of the Sunset Temple have finally determined," Xi Lailai pulled up her gloves and said in a terrifyingly calm tone, "Maybe, maybe it's not the devil who is causing trouble. Of course, it's also possible that the devil is hiding too deep. ”

The round-faced girl hummed softly. She turned to Thales and smiled with bright eyes:

"It's so deep that I can't cure it."

flame.

Exorcise evil spirits.

It can’t be cured...

As Thales listened to these words, he felt silent in his chest.

"How old were you when you were sent...?"

"Eight years old," Shilai said without changing his expression, as if he was telling someone else's story, "I just learned how to tie my skirt."

Eight years old.

Thales felt a throbbing pain in his heart.

"But, but your father is the Duke of South Bank..."

"So he must convince the public," Xi Lai said with a gloomy expression, "for the sake of the family and the Emerald City."

For the family, for the Emerald City.

Even if that is...his own daughter.

Thales only felt that his chest was getting heavier and heavier, so heavy that he couldn't breathe.

After a few seconds, Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, when my uncle was still alive, he could only use a wheelchair," he no longer pretended to be relaxed, but said calmly, "Someone wanted to cure him in the past, but he said..."

Thales' eyes focused:

"Even without legs, he can stand up and be a complete person."

Xi Lai was silent for a while: "Your uncle sounds like a very powerful person."

"I don't know, I haven't seen him."

"But you, Cecilia Kevin Deere," Thales said softly, "even if you have a few more fingers, you can still stand up and continue the prank of 'Huiana'? Right?"

Hilley was silent.

Thales took a deep breath:

"Hey, listen, they can't cure you because"

The girl suddenly interrupted him, her tone cold and angry:

"Because I'm not sick at all, so I don't need treatment?"

She sneered: "Please, I have heard hundreds of such comforting words since I was a child."

"No, they can't cure you," Thales denied, "It's because 'they', 'they' can't cure you."

"And you can? Great Miracle Physician Thales?" Hillai sneered.

Thales looked at her silently and shook his head gently.

"On normal days, I might say some comforting clichés: Whatever fate gives us, it is a gift it gives us."

Thales raised his head and looked at the bustling streets of Emerald City.

"But then I figured it out," he said in a daze, with a dull expression, "Maybe, maybe they are not all gifts."

Hilley was a little surprised.

"That's right." She came back to her senses and looked at her hands with a sad look on her face, "They are not all gifts."

Thales took a deep breath.

“But they belong to us and us alone, not ‘them’ nor anyone else.”

At that moment, Thales' eyes were firm:

"Only for us."

Xi Lai looked at him dimly and said nothing.

The next second, Thales followed the path in his memory and turned a corner and stopped.

They arrived.

In the alley ahead of them, their target, Slimani, left them with an awkward figure behind him.

The defense attorney was holding on to the wall and limping forward.

Just the right time.

Thales raised the corners of his mouth, looked at Xi Lai, and nodded.

But just before Thales was about to speak, another voice sounded from in front of Slimani on the other side:

"Slimani, great advocate, right? Give us a good meal."

Thales' expression changed, and he quickly grabbed Xi Lai and hid in the pile of debris nearby.

"You, you..."

Slimani's tone was panicked at first, but he quickly calmed down:

"You want money, right? Ah, I know, according to the laws of the Emerald City, you are not robbing or extorting, you are just, um, just collecting some 'tolls'. I know, this area belongs to Sanggar Detonator, and I understand the rules, Here it is…”

"This has nothing to do with money, and it has nothing to do with the Blood Bottle Gang," but the person blocking the road disappointed him, "It's just about you, Mr. Slimani."

Thales frowned and instantly entered the senses of hell:

There are three people in front of Slimani, each of them is armed, and... possesses the power of termination.

Maybe the End Swordsman.

"Unregistered military swords are not allowed in the Emerald City... Who do you belong to?" Slimani tried his best to maintain his composure.

Military sword.

Thales and Heeley looked at each other.

Oops.

It seems that the visitor is evil.

"I heard that you went to the barber shop and inquired about some things that you shouldn't inquire about," the swordsman blocking the way sneered, "Now, defense lawyer, can you please come with me?"

"I, I, I..."

Slimani realized something, and he quickly pulled out the amulet: "Actually, I still have a case to deal with. The Security Hall and the Trial Hall, uh, especially Grand Inquisitor Brennan, are waiting for my reply within today. letter……"

"About the dead wool merchant, right?" Another swordsman interrupted him coldly.

Wool merchant Diop.

Thales frowned.

It seems... you have found the right person.

"Don't worry, sir," the first swordsman chuckled, "Whether it's the security hall or the trial hall, they can wait."

Slimani was shocked and came to his senses. He tremblingly pointed at the swordsmen in front of him:

"You, you..."

"As for Judge Brennan, well, don't worry, we can help you bring a message to him."

The leading swordsman was very confident:

"Whether it's your reply letter or a long-term leave request."

Long-term leave request...

Slimani's face turned pale.

"He, he can't, he can't...I don't, I don't!"

The leading swordsman sneered:

"there is nothing?"

Slimani turned around and tried to run away, but he forgot that he had just broken his leg and fell to the ground with a thud.

"I have never done anything," the defense lawyer burst into tears, crawling on the ground in fear, "I dare not do anything to disgrace the Iris family! Your Excellency, the Duke, cannot do this to me!"

The swordsmen smiled at each other and slowly approached Slimani.

"Of course, defense attorney, you have not failed Iris."

Slimani opened his eyes wide:

"No, please, please, I didn't know it intentionally, I just inadvertently..."

The leading swordsman looked coldly and exposed his sword hilt:

"Unfortunately, neither do we."

In the dark alley, Hilley cast a questioning look at Thales.

"What should I do if they want to silence me?" the eldest lady whispered in his ear.

Thales nodded.

"That's your brother's man. You hide well and take him away when the opportunity arises. The rest..."

Xi Lai raised his eyebrows.

The swordsmen were getting closer to Slimani.

Damn it.

The prince sighed.

Why are the Star Lake Guards not around every time something like this happens?

Thales touched the JC dagger behind him, feeling its cold and hard material, and felt a familiar and strange feeling in his heart.

The dagger was unsheathed, its edge cold.

Long time no see, old friend.

do you miss me?

The next moment, the sin of the Hell River burned happily, bringing endless heat and pain.