Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 349 The Hunt (Part 5)

Whether the little lion forgot to announce it or did it on purpose, when Winters stepped through the tent flap, there were many nobles from the Red River tribe sitting inside the large tent, in addition to the white lion.

Remember how the nobles of the Chihe tribe, who were champions of Palatour, were either furious or surprised, but when they saw the white lion take the initiative to stand up and greet them first, they restrained themselves and did not make any excessive moves.

After whispering a few words to those around them, the newly rich from the Chihe tribe who did not recognize the champion of Palatour looked at Winters with somewhat complicated expressions.

Winters never imagined he would make his entrance in this way, nor did he expect the White Lion to adopt such an equal stance.

In return, Winters took off his hat and held it to his chest, solemnly returning the gesture.

At the signal from the white lion, the nobles of the Red River tribe wisely withdrew, even the guards retreated. Only Winters and the white lion remained inside the tent, with the little lion guarding outside.

After the others left, the white lion's body language became noticeably more relaxed.

He supported his back and slowly sat down on a legless chair, gesturing for Winters to sit as well.

Before even opening his mouth, the white lion casually asked a difficult question: "Have you seen Erlun?"

Winters' body stiffened instantly.

He came to negotiate with White Lion with an extremely serious attitude, and he didn't know how to answer White Lion's unexpected questions.

Moreover, he couldn't immediately tell whether this was White Lion's negotiation strategy or if White Lion just wanted to ask casually.

With a myriad of thoughts swirling within him, Winters shook his head impassively: "She's in Qingqiu too?"

“Of course,” the white lion replied calmly. “This is the safest place.”

"Oh."

Then there was a few seconds of silence, and the white lion seemed to be waiting.

Winters took a deep breath, looked directly into the white lion's eyes, and asked, "Can we do business now?"

The white lion sighed almost imperceptibly, then replied seriously, "No... but at least we can talk."

Winters mentally reviewed his bargaining chips one last time. Only three things were worth putting on the negotiating table: gold, trade routes, and iron ore. The rest were icing on the cake and dispensable.

But there was only one thing he wanted—people.

Winters didn't speak rashly. While he was still considering which card to play first, White Lion picked up a scroll from the table and handed it to him.

Despite his confusion, Winters politely accepted the scroll.

He slowly unfurled the scroll, and unfamiliar names, ages, and military ranks flowed out one after another.

A list, a list of prisoners.

“All the prisoners we can find are listed here.” The White Lion’s deep, magnetic voice rang out. “There are still some in the hands of the [Eastern Sea] and [Suz Tribe], but we can’t deal with them for now.”

Winters put away the scroll and calmly asked, "Are they in Qingqiu now?"

"Do not."

"where?"

White Lion smiled and said, "They should be almost at Iron Peak County by now. Don't worry, they'll be escorted."

Winters held the scroll and fell silent.

After a while, he asked the white lion seriously, "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything." The white lion nodded slightly. "You are a guest, please consider this a gift."

Winters persisted, asking, "What should I give you in return?"

“I have already received your gift in advance,” the white lion said amiably. “On the grasslands, exchanging gifts signifies friendship. If you do not wish to accept the friendship, you can take it as a reward.”

There was another moment of silence.

Winters gritted his teeth and played his biggest card: "The golden statue of the Teldon tribe is in my hands."

“I know,” the white lion said dismissively. “You told me that a long time ago, didn’t you?”

"I can give it to you."

The white lion clapped his hands and laughed. He looked at Winters as if admiring a proud steed: "Back then, Dexechan thought I wanted to recruit you, so he said you were the karmic fire that would burn everything, and keeping you around would only bring disaster, and advised me to let you go back to Palatour. In fact, Dexechan was wrong. The moment I saw you, I knew you would never submit."

Winters felt uncomfortable hearing the White Lion mention the old charlatan in such a tone, so he didn't respond.

The white lion patiently asked Winters, "Do you think the golden statue used for the sacrificial ceremony is very important to me?"

Winters remained silent.

"The golden statue used for sacrificial rites is unimportant." The white lion's eyes held a smile as he answered his own question, "The absence of the golden statue used for sacrificial rites—is very important to me."

……

……

[Winters's tent at the Iron Peak County Mission's camp]
The wooden bathtub was less than a meter in diameter, so Winters had to take a bath in a "comfortable" knee-hugging position.

While washing Winters' hair, Anna sensed that Winters was in a somewhat depressed mood.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked softly. "You seem down since you came back."

Winters answered without hesitation, "It's nothing."

Anna hugged the bad guy's neck from behind: "You can tell me."

Out of pride, Winters was about to answer "nothing," but then he remembered Anna saying, "I want to know more about you."

Winters said self-deprecatingly, "You'll laugh at me."

"Don't think like that!" Anna nipped the little devil's ear.

So Winters, suppressing his discomfort, told Anna everything about the prisoners, the white lion, and what had happened inside the Red River tribe's palace.

While narrating, Winters continued to keep his back to Anna, so he neither had to look at nor could he see Anna's expression.

While listening, Anna offered no judgment, simply holding Winters quietly.

After listening to everything, Anna asked, puzzled, "Haven't you already achieved your goal? Why are you unhappy?" "Perhaps I have achieved my goal." Winters' feelings at this moment were like those of a chess player who has been instructed step by step to win a game of chess. He said with frustration, "But... I still feel like I've lost."

Anna, who was playing with Winters' hair, chuckled: "It's that kind of manly competitiveness again, isn't it? Like puppies fighting over a bone, getting the bone isn't enough, they have to snatch the other dog's bone to be happy."

Winters wanted to refute, but couldn't think of a way to do so, so he could only defend himself with a wronged expression: "I didn't have my bone stolen by the white lion! And my unhappiness isn't because of the bone."

"Alright, alright, I believe you definitely can't beat him in a real fight for the bone." Anna continued rinsing Winters' hair with water. "I also believe that even though you think you've lost now, you'll surpass him someday. So... why are you unhappy?"

Winters' mood instantly sombered, and he said softly, "It's nothing."

Anna noticed Winters' change and encouraged him, "But you saved your comrades, didn't you? Isn't that something to be happy about?"

Hearing Anna's praise, Winters felt it necessary to explain: "If the White Lion isn't lying to me, those 'fallen into the hands of the Red River Tribe' and those 'that the Red River Tribe could buy' have already left the wasteland. There are also some people enslaved in other tribes, those tribes harbor deep hostility towards the Red River Tribe, and the White Lion is powerless to help them, but he promised to help buy them back as much as possible. That's roughly the situation..."

The more Winters explained, the more silent Anna became, until finally she stopped talking altogether and her hands stopped moving.

“I don’t understand…” Anna asked with some heartache, “Why are you deliberately belittling yourself? You’re deliberately avoiding the word ‘rescue’ and the word ‘comrade-in-arms’—you’re deliberately separating yourself from the people you rescued.”

“I’m not deliberately avoiding it,” Winters tried to explain. “The word ‘rescue’ is too strong a word, and as for the word ‘comrade-in-arms’…”

He paused, then sighed wearily, "I don't even know if I'm still their comrade-in-arms."

“You’ve done a good thing.” Anna kissed the ‘good thing’ on the cheek. “And you’ve done it better than many people. There are many people with more power than you who have done nothing. There are many people who should be held accountable who have done nothing. When you try to do something, you’re already more noble than them all.”

Winters turned to look at Anna: "You're so kind."

Anna feigned anger: "You're only finding out now?"

“But I’m not as good as you think.” Winters’ tone was calm, but his eyes held a hidden pain: “Do you really want to understand me?”

“Of course.” Anna sensed a hint of unease. “What’s wrong?”

“Okay, then I’ll tell you.” Winters took a deep breath, mustered up immense courage, and for the first time in his life spoke his deepest, most hidden, and darkest thoughts: “Actually, I’m not noble at all.”

"Today, when I saw that list in the Chihe tribe's palace tent, I realized something—I didn't know anyone on the list, and they probably didn't know me either."

"It was in that instant that I suddenly couldn't understand why I was 'saving' them? Saving a group of strangers?"

“I will save my men because I have an emotional bond with them. They entrusted their lives to me, and I must fulfill my responsibility.”

"But what about the others? They don't know me, and I don't know them. Why should I save them?"

"Just because you fought in an army? Ha, that's not a good enough reason."

"So I can't help but wonder, am I really 'saving' them? Am I really 'saving' them for the sake of 'saving' them?"

"Or is it to use them? Give them some sweetness to make them work for me, and then use them to take revenge on those who wronged me."

"Or is it for self-gratification? To satisfy my vanity of wanting to be a savior? To satisfy my desire to be appreciated, worshipped, and praised?"

"Could it even have been a momentary impulse? Did they just do it on a whim?"

"I don't know, and I can't figure it out."

"You say I'm more noble than many people, but I search my heart and can't find any noble motives, only selfishness, baseness, and cruelty..."

Winters let out all the pent-up frustration in his chest in one breath. He vented without thinking or holding back, and even he was shocked by his own recklessness.

"What will Anna think after hearing this? Will she hate me?" Every time Winters thought about this, it felt like a sword was piercing his chest.

How could anyone know the darkest side of another person without feeling disgusted?
But a certain self-destructive urge compelled him to continue speaking.

He was like a masochist, cruelly dissecting himself, breaking open his ribs, and digging out the filthiest part to show to the other person, saying, "Look, this is the kind of person I am. Are you disappointed?"

When Winters finally fell silent, Anna's eyes were already filled with tears.

“You said you wanted to understand me,” Winters asked softly. “So, do you understand me now?”

“I understand you, but you don’t understand yourself yet.” Anna said persistently, her eyes red. “You saved them because you are kind.”

Winter sighed heavily and reached out to rub Anna's cheek: "Your sister is right, you really are a fool who's blinded by love."

“No! You mustn’t say it, listen to me.” Anna’s tone left no room for argument or refusal. She held Winters’ hand tightly: “When I was seven years old, my mother took me to the shop as usual. On our way home, we met a beggar who was about to freeze to death outside the city. My mother didn’t have any money, and neither did the coachman, so my mother took off her earring and gave it to the beggar.”

"Mrs. Navarre is very kind."

“No.” Anna looked at Winters with a complicated expression. “Mom found out later that the beggar froze to death on his way to pawn his earrings.”

Winters could tell that even after all these years, this incident still troubled Anna deeply. He silently squeezed Anna's hand.

“I asked my mom if we brought that beggar home, would he not freeze to death?” Anna spoke quickly, her eyes welling up with tears again. “My mom said, ‘Yes, but if we bring a stranger home, our family might be in danger.’”

Winters wiped away Anna's tears: "Actually, Mrs. Navarre is right."

“I’m not trying to tell you that ‘my mother is right’!” Anna said sincerely. “I’m trying to tell you that my mother is the coldest and most ruthless businesswoman in Hailan and even in Veneta! But even she would not hesitate to take off her earring and give it to a stranger beggar. Even she has a kind and compassionate side.”

"Because kindness and compassion are human nature, God placed kindness and compassion in our bodies when He created man in His own image. If everyone were without goodwill, the world would never be what it is today."

"But when kindness and reason conflict, people always have to make a choice! My mother always listens to reason, so she gives the earrings to strangers but won't bring strangers home."

"And you? You're the one who, after weighing the pros and cons, still takes the beggar home, but your reason can't accept this behavior, so you have to come up with a sufficiently good reason for yourself—a selfish reason. 'I saved him to use him,' 'I saved him because I like him and he's grateful to me.' Because only a selfish reason can convince your reason."

“My dear, don’t you understand?” Anna said, tears streaming down her face. “You don’t think you are kind because reason tells you that kindness is a flaw, that it means weakness. So you despise kindness, hate kindness, and blame kindness.”

Anna stepped into the bathtub and hugged Winters tightly: "But you're wrong, my dear. Kindness is a precious quality. Especially kindness that chooses to be kind even after suffering, pain, and betrayal. That's why you saved your comrades. That's also why your companions were willing to believe in you, follow you, fight for you, and die for you. Nobility is not the motive, nobility is the result, and so is kindness."

"Don't hate yourself." She gently stroked the wound on Winters' forehead. "No matter what, I will be with you."

……

……

A little later, the bath was over.

Anna brought Winters a change of clothes: "Change into this in a bit."

Looking at the new hunting outfit Anna brought, an ominous premonition welled up in Winters' heart. He said cautiously, "I don't think I have this outfit... Did you take the wrong luggage when you unloaded the truck?"

“It’s your size.” Anna smiled radiantly, but her tone left no room for refusal: “Wear it.”

[This chapter can be summarized in two sentences: Although Yue Dong appears to be absolutely neutral, his underlying logic is actually lawful good (laughs)]
[This is incorrect; the mechanical classification method of the nine-square grid should be overthrown and trampled on a thousand times!]
[If possible, I'd even like to put this in the chapter notes. Because it doesn't advance the plot at all... and the long emotional descriptions seem like filler.]
[The next chapter will definitely advance the plot!]
[But who could have imagined that "The Hunt" was originally only intended to be written as a single chapter?]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)