Chapter 879: Torito Village Under the Night (Part 5)

"We meet again, young Knight."

The middle-aged Herbalist held a Dwarf Stone Lamp in one hand, while lightly pressing his other hand against his chest and bowing slightly in greeting.

Jier knocked on the half-height wooden courtyard gate in front of him and said, "We meet again. Although the time for a visit is quite improper and I fear I have disturbed your sleep, will you not invite us in? I have matters to discuss with you."

The middle-aged Herbalist walked over quickly, a perfectly measured smile on his face as he spoke: "The Knight jokes. After what happened during the day, no one would be able to sleep tonight."

He unlatched the wooden gate, turned his body to clear a space, and gestured for Jier and the two archers to enter.

"In fact, I had already anticipated that I and my Healing Ointment would be called upon; I had already prepared my Medicine Box at home, ready to go and treat the wounded at any moment."

Hearing this, the two Tusi Brothers exchanged a covert glance. Zhongtusi rolled his eyes and curled his lips, showing a slight trace of disdain. Datus, meanwhile, curled the corner of his mouth, expressing the same disdain in a way that was not very conspicuous.

In reality, because the lighting in the courtyard was insufficient, no one would be able to see the expressions on their faces clearly.

Jier walked in front, the Herbalist followed closely behind him holding the lamp, and behind them were the two tall archers.

The hall on the first floor of the house was bright with the light of candles, which had been lit before everyone entered the house. Jier heard the sound of light footsteps quickly heading upstairs after the hall lights were turned on, but he did not pay it any mind.

After entering the Herbalist's home, the group, led by the Herbalist, stood by the wooden chairs and stools near the stone fireplace in the hall, then each found a place to sit.

Jier chose a normal wooden chair with a backrest. After testing the sturdiness of the chair, Jier adjusted the cloak behind him and sat down. The middle-aged Herbalist chose a wooden chair that was a head shorter than those used by normal Humans and sat down.

He seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but he quickly ignored it, closed the Dwarf Stone Lamp in his hand, and began to speak with Jier.

There were still two low wooden stools near the fireplace in the hall, but after Datus gestured to his brother, he sat down awkwardly by himself. Zhongtusi did not sit; he leaned against the side of the house's main entrance, standing with his arms crossed.

"Knight, you must have learned about me from others in the village. I am not a local born here. Outside, I was once a Herbalist, skilled in making various types of herbal ointments, among which my specialty is Healing Ointment. People all acknowledge this."

Jier reached out and pressed his hand downward, interrupting the eager middle-aged man. He opened the Faceplate on his Helmet, revealing his young face: "I do not need the help of Healing Ointment for the time being, and coming to find you at this hour is not about that."

The Herbalist's breathing stalled for a moment. He cast a sideways glance at the older brother among the archers sitting beside him, then asked Jier: "Then, what have you come for?"

Jier casually picked at the tip of his nose with his fingertip, then said: "I do not know if you are aware of the outcome of my battle today with the Dwarves who occupy this place?"

The middle-aged Herbalist looked Jier up and down, and with a smile on his face, he complimented: "Clearly, you did not lose."

Datus snorted and interjected: "Soye, anyone can see that."

Jier shrugged: "That is how it is. I did not lose, and I gave those Dwarves a sound beating. The number of Dwarves does not seem to be large, and I wounded quite a few of them, leaving them suddenly short-handed."

The middle-aged Herbalist seemed to overthink things, and he hurriedly interjected: "My lord, please rest assured, I and the skills I possess will certainly not be used to treat those wounded Dwarves at this time. However, I must let you know that previously, for the sake of convenience in village life, I did exchange the methods and techniques for preparing Healing Ointment with those Dwarves."

"They not only have a batch of Healing Ointment I made previously, but they can also make it themselves. Although the effect is far inferior to the ointment I make personally."

Jier smiled slightly: "It is good that you think this way, but my main purpose in coming to find you is not this."

The middle-aged Herbalist's brows furrowed tightly: "Then what is it for?"

"It is like this. As I just said, during the day, there were a series of battles, and a few of them were quite risky. Those Dwarves are few in number, and I wounded quite a few of them, so the number of these runts who can fight is now suddenly very small."

As Jier spoke slowly, the middle-aged Herbalist kept nodding, though the expression on his face did not change much.

"But there are quite a few Humans in Torito Village. This is a force that no one can ignore."

Having said this, Jier nodded toward Datus, who was sitting opposite him, and the Herbalist also turned his head to look at Datus, then said: "What do you mean?"

Jier then said solemnly: "I want to mobilize all, or at least the majority, of the Humans in Torito Village to join me in dealing with this small handful of Dwarves who rule this place."

Hearing this, the Herbalist's expression finally changed, and at the same time, a young woman's low gasp came from the corner of the wooden indoor staircase leading to the second floor.

Zhongtusi immediately drew a Short Sword from his waist, but Jier reached out his right hand and pressed it down, causing Zhongtusi at the door to stop his movement and retreat.

But this twenty-something-year-old archer did not put away the Short Sword in his hand, his eyes remaining fixed on the corner of the stairs. He had not realized someone was hiding there, which was why his reaction had been so intense.

As for Datus and Jier, who were sitting by the stone fireplace in the middle of the hall, neither had any extra reaction. Jier had heard the sound of someone breathing at the stairs as soon as he entered the house, but he knew it was the person who had lit the candles for the hall and left early, so he did not care. Datus had simply seen the capabilities of Knights before and did not feel that if there was an extra person hiding in the house, Jier would be unaware of it or that there was any particular danger.

Let alone one person hiding, even if there were several times more, he figured it would not be a problem.

"Ah! It is my wife. Please forgive her, my lord. It was I who instructed her earlier to wait on the side with my Medicine Box; we had no other intentions." The Herbalist stood up hurriedly, urgently explaining to Jier, who remained seated and unmoved.

Jier waved his hand to indicate it did not matter, and then Jier said: "Just as I said, I want to lead the people of the village to join me in resisting those Dwarves who have long ruled this place. And this is the main reason I came to find you in the middle of the night."

The middle-aged Herbalist's expression changed, and he pointed at himself with his finger: "Find me? Resist? I apologize, my lord. It is not that I do not want to resist the Dwarves; I am very much in favor of your proposal, but I do not understand why you needed to come in person? Actually, having any of the Tusi Brothers notify me would have sufficed. I will certainly join your ranks and use my own skills to treat those injured in the battle!"

Jier gestured for the other party to sit down, and said: "Relax, I believe you will join the resistance. I already understood this before I came, after all, I heard people say you have been communicating with the Dwarves..."

When he reached this point, the middle-aged Herbalist hurriedly wanted to say something, but Jier continued: "I know you are not on the side of the Dwarves."

The Herbalist breathed a sigh of relief, and Jier continued: "You contacted and communicated with the Dwarves, in fact, to get the Dwarves to let you leave this place, right? Because you have a family outside this Valley that you cannot forget."

"Family..." the middle-aged Herbalist muttered to himself, while turning his head to look at the stairs. Immediately, a young woman carrying a wooden Medicine Box ran over quickly and grabbed the Herbalist.

"You have always wanted to leave this place? For this? Then what about us? Me! And the children? Soye, say it quickly, it is not like that! You never thought that!" The woman pulled at the Herbalist's arm, shaking it forcefully back and forth.

Jier had thought this Herbalist would be sweating profusely from anxiety, but he did not expect the Herbalist to be so composed.

"I never thought that. My home is here, and my heart is filled only with you and the two children, really! Believe me!" The Herbalist hugged his wife, and after soothing her and stopping her crying, he said to Jier with a serious expression: "Knight, I do not know where you heard these rumors, but I can tell you that those are just lies and speculations imagined by people who do not understand me."

"When I first arrived here, I did indeed have thoughts of returning to the outside world, but I quickly adapted to life in the Valley. It is not because I have some family outside, but simply because compared to the society outside, the courtesy and rewards I receive for my skills and abilities here in the Valley and the village make me more satisfied."

He paused and continued: "You know, the Human society outside is complex and already filled with all kinds of people and interests. A common young Herbalist like me, although able to live better than the average person, still has a very hard time. Especially when people intend to achieve something."

When he said this, he looked specifically at the Tusi Brothers. Datus, who had been a bystander, shrugged and said: "That is right. For those with skills, survival is easy, but compared to the average person, we have it harder. Because others only need to follow tradition and spend their lives doing everything passed down from their fathers. But we have to bear the psychological pressure while trying to find that pitifully narrow path to climb upward in a society that is already crowded."

The middle-aged Herbalist nodded excitedly: "Exactly, that is it, that is what I mean. My lord, compared to the outside, my skills are very important to both the Dwarves in the Valley and the people in the village. So I am very satisfied with my current life. There is no such thing as contacting the Dwarves to leave this place, let alone any family outside."

Jier found it interesting. He did not know if the Villager from before was lying, or if the middle-aged Herbalist in front of him had an amazing ability to lie through his teeth, but he did not care about that. He just said: "Fine, perhaps you do not want to leave this place for a family outside, and your contact and help to the Dwarves was just to gain the Dwarves' attention. Then I ask you, now, at this juncture of resisting the Dwarves, where do you stand? Human, or Dwarf?"

Jier seemed to point casually with his finger at the Dwarf Stone Lamp placed on the ground to the side.

The middle-aged Herbalist shuddered, and his young wife also nervously grabbed her husband's arm. This young woman was not a fool; naturally, she heard the danger behind this question. Even if she personally leaned toward the Dwarves, she knew at this moment that she could not answer "Dwarf."

"I stand firmly on the side of the Humans, even if the local Dwarves have given me some benefits, because I am a Human. But I must say, I am actually more willing to stand on your side, because I know that if we only rely on the Humans in the village, it is impossible to resist the Dwarves here. To resist the Dwarves, the key lies with you. Without you appearing in the Valley today to fight the Dwarves, even if another hundred years passed, nothing would change here."

The middle-aged Herbalist said solemnly. He heard his wife breathe a sigh of relief as he finished speaking.

He actually breathed a sigh of relief as well.

Especially when a smile appeared on the face of the young Knight before him.

Clap, clap, clap. Jier clapped a few times, his Gauntlet making a crisp metallic sound, and then Jier stood up. He said: "I am very satisfied with the answer, so I will stop beating around the bush. I heard from others that you have a lot of status and prestige in the village? The villagers respect your opinion on some matters?"

The middle-aged Herbalist stroked his chest with his free hand and bowed slightly: "Only because I provide the people here with the medical help they need. At the same time, I am better at taking care of the plants grown in the fields; after all, herbs are far more sensitive and delicate than ordinary crops."

"I need your help, but not your skills. I need you to help me call upon the villagers overnight to resist the Dwarves together, to give them confidence—not the confidence to win, but the confidence to join my side. The more people, the better. Before dawn, I want at least half of the villagers to stand on my side, listen to my orders, and follow me to fight those Dwarves."

Jier stretched out his hands to gesture. First, he extended his hands forward in parallel, then one hand rose while the other descended. By the time he finished speaking, the gap between the two hands was clear and easy to distinguish.

The middle-aged Herbalist immediately lowered his head and said, "I will obey your command; I shall go and see to it at once."

His wife also bowed slightly, hurriedly lowering her head.

Jier and his party soon left the Herbalist's home; before leaving, Jier carefully instructed the Herbalist on where to gather overnight after assembling the men.

Afterward, Jier said to the Tusi Brothers following behind him, "While waiting for the villagers to assemble, we still need to scout the movements of the Dwarf. Although I do not believe they would dare to take any further action at night after their defeat in battle during the day, we must confirm it repeatedly to be at ease. You two, come with me; let me see what you are capable of."

The two archers adjusted their weapons and equipment, exchanged a glance, and followed the Knight walking toward the Dwarf Residence in the center of the Cunzi.

Walking through the Cunzi, which lacked moonlight, one could see from afar a large patch of light clinging to the ground at the center of the Cunzi, and beyond the light at the center, further to the south of the Cunzi, there was another small patch of orange-red light.

The light at the center of the Cunzi was clearly cast by lighting items used by the Dwarf; those lights were white or pale green, mostly cold light sources, originating from the Baishi or glowing plants commonly used by the Dwarf.

As for the orange-red light further south in the Cunzi, Jier could tell at a glance that it was the surface reflection of gathered bonfires and Torch light.

He estimated that by this time, the Villager who had gone to the Cunzi storehouse to retrieve Torch had already returned and gathered with the other resisting Villager.

"Move faster."

Jier was worried that the Dwarf would send people over to disperse and strike the resisting Villager, so he quickened his pace and urged the two archers behind him.

Unlike Jier, whose walking made a clanking sound, the Tusi Brothers made no obvious footsteps even when they began to walk quickly.

Soon, the three of them approached the half-collapsed Dwarf Residence; Jier immediately stopped to prevent the patrolling Dwarf from hearing his footsteps. He moved forward in the dark, step by step, using a slow gait that did not cause footfalls.

"Knight Jier," Datus whispered a reminder from behind.

"What is it? Speak," Jier also lowered the volume of his voice.

"You could actually find a thick piece of fabric to wrap around your metal boots; that way, you wouldn't have to deliberately lighten your steps, and you could move faster while staying quiet," the other whispered in reminder.

After thinking for a moment, Jier replied, "Good, but there is no fabric at hand right now! Not even a piece of sturdy Linen Cloth; can you get some?"

"Leave it to us brothers, Kangniersi!"

Datus patted his brother behind him, then pointed to the Dwarf Residence to the side. His brother nodded, secured the items on his body, took two steps back, and then rushed toward Datus, who was leaning against the wall of the Dwarf Residence.

Datus leaned against the wall, his body slightly crouched, his hands clasped together at his abdomen, allowing Zhongtusi to step on them to lift his body.

Subsequently, Zhongtusi stepped on Datus's shoulder on the side without the bow to gain leverage, and finally, with a leap, his hands caught the edge of the second floor of the Dwarf Residence.

With strength in his hands, Zhongtusi quickly climbed up.

Jier raised an eyebrow: "He is going to 'take' from inside the Dwarf house?" Jier specifically emphasized the volume on the word 'take'.

Datus coughed softly, looking indifferent: "The Dwarf are enemies now, aren't they?"

Jier was speechless.