Asylum

Darien was not in a good mood until the tavern closed late at night.He blamed the priest who deserved the plague for his bad day.The men cleared away the tables and chairs and bid him farewell one by one.The boss stared at them fiercely.Darien felt something was wrong when there was no one left in the tavern.It seems that something is missing.He counted the cups and dishes, and everything was there except for the cup that he broke.What is missing?

"Ah!" He slapped his head, "Where did Lan Nuo go!"

After Pastor Cherry coaxed Lanno away, the boy never appeared in his brother's sight again.Lan Nuo is an obedient and good boy. He must obey the pastor and stay outside and dare not come in.He probably didn't know that Cherry had been driven away long ago, so he never came back.But Darien was so angry that he forgot his brother for a while.

He took a lantern, ran outside the tavern, and turned around on the nearby road, but his brother was nowhere to be seen.Maybe he ran to a friend's house to play. In the past, if he was late to play, he would often spend the night at a friend's house.Darien searched his brains, remembered the names of a few children, and went door-to-door asking.To his surprise, he couldn't find his brother in any house.Every kid said they hadn't seen Lanno all day today.He went to several townspeople's houses who were better than himself, but found nothing.Lano disappeared as if out of nowhere, and no one has seen him since he left the tavern.

Darien is in a hurry.Although that kid always makes him very upset, but he is his brother!The night is full of dangers, and there are monsters roaming around Broken Maple Town (the poor old priest died at the hands of monsters), where did the kid go!

Maybe he's already home.They just happened to stagger on the road.Holding a sliver of hope, Darien hurried back to the tavern, but neither Lanno's room nor Darien's was empty.

Darien was completely panicked.

He needs help.Luckily, the guys in the tavern lived quite close together.He visited their homes one by one.As soon as they heard the news of Lan Nuo's disappearance, they immediately expressed their willingness to help find him.The guys woke up their families and neighbors again, and soon, half of the people in Broken Maple Town woke up. The men carried oil lamps and hoes as weapons, and entered the nearby forest.The voice calling Lanno's name echoed in the woods all night.

However, they did not find the boy until dawn.Some people have whispered that Lannor was captured by monsters.Darien sat downcastly in front of the tavern, holding a glimmer of hope that Lanno would suddenly come home safe and sound.But as the minutes passed, his spark of hope grew weaker and weaker, until at last there were only a few embers of sparks left.

All the priests who deserved the plague.Darien thought sadly.If he hadn't coaxed Lan Nuo away, my brother wouldn't have disappeared!It's all the pastor's fault!

correct!Priest!Lan Nuo likes him very much, will he stay in the shelter all the time?Everyone is looking outside the town, but they forget that there is a place in the town that they have never looked for.

Darien explained a few words to the fellow guards in the tavern, and then rushed to the shelter.Today is not a day for prayer and worship, and the doors of the shelter are closed.Darien almost slammed his fist against the door.

"Lano! Are you there! Open the door!"

There was no movement for a long time.

Darien went around to the back of the shelter, where there was a back door leading to the small room where the shelter lived.He had heard from Lanno that the old pastor always forgot his keys because of his bad memory, so he pressed a spare key under the flowerpot.Darien found the spare key from under the flowerpot, opened the back door, and rushed to the asylum's bedroom.

He knocked open the door with his shoulder and shouted, "Lanno! Are you there!"

The asylum's bedroom was dark, with thick woolen curtains drawn on the windows, not even a ray of light could come in.Darien's eyes darkened.He groped his way along the wall, finally touched the soft curtain, and pulled it open.

"Ah!!!!" A scream came from the room.

The brilliant light of the morning sun shines in, illuminating the simple yet elegant arrangement in the house.The new asylum priest, Reverend Cherey, got up from the bed, desperately covered his body with a blanket, and retreated to the corner of the room, avoiding the sunlight.

"Close the curtains! Damn, close! Are you trying to kill me!"

Darien stood by the window, arms folded. "You're not a vampire, why are you still afraid of the sun!"

There was a slight slit in the squirming blanket in the corner, revealing the pale pink eyes of Pastor Cherry: "Don't you have eyes! I have albinism, and I am afraid of the sun!"

"Oh, sorry……"

Darien drew the curtains, leaving only a gap for light.Reverend Cherry stood up slowly, the blanket slipping off him, revealing his pale body.

"Ugh! You! Why don't you wear clothes!"

"I like to sleep naked, don't I?"

Darien covered his eyes, but couldn't help but secretly peeped at Pastor Cherry through his fingers.His body is slender and strong, and the smooth muscle lines on his body are only possessed by those who practice martial arts all the year round.He didn't feel much when he was wearing clothes, but it was only after he took them off that Darien realized the power contained in his body.Chere's pale skin was criss-crossed with scars.Darien remembered that he had been a renowned warrior.Those scars are his glorious feats of arms.

"What's your business? If it's an important matter, I'll forgive you for trespassing on my room. If it's not a particularly important matter..." He paused, "Forget it, I can't do anything to you if it's not an important matter. God Teach us to be tolerant and forbearing."

Darien asked weakly, "Is my brother with you?"

"Lano? No. I haven't seen him since leaving the tavern yesterday. What's the matter?"

"He disappeared. He didn't come back after being kicked out by you yesterday. I thought... maybe he would come to the shelter."

Pastor Cherry frowned. "He didn't come. Have you looked elsewhere?"

"I searched, but to no avail. Everyone in the town has searched, and now everyone is searching the forest outside the town..."

Reverend Cherry took out a suit of clothes (his dusty and dirty robes) from the closet and put them on quickly.Darien marveled at how quickly he dressed.

After putting it on, Cherry pulled up the hood and wrapped himself tightly: "I'll go find it together."

"This... thank you so much, I don't know what to say..."

"Just be there on time for the next prayer."

As soon as they came out of the shelter, they saw the tavern boy running up, out of breath, with a book in his arms.

"Boss! Pastor Cherry!" He held up the book far away so that they could see it clearly. "Someone found this book! It seems to belong to Lanno!"

"That's right, that's indeed Lano's stuff..." Darien murmured.Lanno had brought the holy book with him when he left the tavern yesterday.

"Where did you find it?" Cherry asked.

The man ran up to them, panting: "On the mountain to the north, there is a big rock, that's where..."

"I know the stone! And then? Where's Lanno?"

The man shivered and said timidly, "I didn't find anyone, only this book. Boss, that stone is very close to the place where Pastor Anton was killed..."

Darien suddenly felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him from head to toe.

The clerk looked at him sympathetically: "Boss, those who searched said that Lan Nuo was probably killed by monsters..."

"This is impossible! Lan Nuo... how could he... must have made a mistake..."

"What's going on with the monster?" Cherry asked, "I heard that Pastor Anton was killed by a monster, but no one has told me the specifics until now."

The guy's face turned pale: "That's really a tragedy! In fact, monsters have been haunting the vicinity of Broken Maple Town, such as leprechauns and scavengers. But monsters generally don't dare to rashly attack places where humans gather, so our town is still relatively peaceful. But recently, monsters have been appearing more and more frequently. It seems that a certain big monster has come to Broken Maple Town. Several hunters were killed by monsters. Pastor Anton wanted to kill the people, so he went up the mountain alone, but he never came back..."

The buddy lowered his hands in regret, "Later, we organized a search and rescue team to go up the mountain, only to find Pastor Anton's body torn apart by monsters..."

Qie Lei's face became more and more gloomy: "Priest Anton can cast divine spells, and ordinary monsters can't help him. The monster that can kill Priest Anton is definitely not a simple character." He turned and returned to the shelter, and came back in a short time, with a lot of magic on his back. A stick wrapped in rags.Darien was curious about what it was, but he couldn't ask.

"You two are going to tell those who searched the mountain to come back quickly, and don't rush into the mountain again. I will go there myself. If you hear any terrible movements, hide in the shelter."

The guy was so frightened that he didn't know what to do, so he agreed again and again.

Darien said: "I'll go with you! Lano is my brother, I must find him!"

Pastor Cherry looked him up and down: "Okay, you can follow. But remember, when I tell you to run, don't hesitate, just run."

"no problem!"