Chapter 125: Bad News

  With half of the Fatui's guards following him, led by Xingqiu in front, Xiao arrived at the south of Liyue.

  Chengnan is a residential area for ordinary people, passing through the city center square, and crossing the Arena Street (Xia Ya can't get close to the arena now, and can only detour far away on the big street next to it. As for the reason, there are too many warriors near the current arena, and Xia Ya's identity might attract challengers if revealed.)

  As I continued southward, the closer I got to the southern part of the city, the nearer I was to the seaside. The streets were no longer wide and flat, but gradually became narrow and rugged. It was clear that the sanitation workers here did not do as good a job as those in the wealthy districts of the city center and north, for the ground was covered with puddles left behind by melting snow, which had turned into dirty water holes under the trampling of countless carts and horses. The buildings on both sides also became lower and more humble, replacing the tall and majestic ones I saw earlier. The pedestrians on the street were dressed in shabby clothes, without any proud horses or fine carriages, only donkeys and mules, and no beautiful silk garments, only coarse linen and rough cloth. Occasionally, a small single-wheeled cart would slowly pass by, accompanied by the sounds of chickens clucking and dogs barking from both sides, as well as the quarrels of neighbors, the shouting matches between husbands and wives, and the wailing of children...

  Xia Ya also saw two thin wild dogs on the side of the road, barking at them from a distance. Then they turned around and ran away. As they passed by a house, the mistress of the house poured out a basin of dirty water, almost splashing it onto Xia Ya's body.

  Then she saw Xia Ya and the horse-riding guards behind him, this woman was so frightened that she exclaimed and dropped the basin on the ground, turned around and ran back into the house.

  It's not just this household. Ever since they approached this neighborhood, the surrounding pedestrians and residents have been shrouded in curious eyes on Xia Ya and his party.

  These old men dressed up so elegantly, what are they doing running to a place like this...

  It's obvious that this is the commoner district...

  If you take away the title of Osgiliath, the greatest city on this continent, the City of Wonders, with a thousand years of history... the center of imperial power, the great capital and so on... if you strip all these titles away, then actually, there is not much difference between here and the slums in other cities across the continent.

  Crossing a small street, looking at the low and crooked fences in front of the houses on both sides, Xia Ya frowned: "Is it just ahead?"

  "Yes." Soitei turned around and whispered, "The late Mr. Kevin's house is just ahead. Usually at this time of day, the lady should have just returned from that tailor's shop we saw earlier..."

  All the way to the end of the small street, came to a two-story building that looked a bit simple, downstairs was a simply decorated little garden - or it can't be said to be a garden, because it was really too small.

  Compared to the thatched huts I saw before, this small building is already quite good. At least it's made of bricks and not earth walls. The ground is paved very smoothly, and some unknown wildflowers are planted on both sides - really just a kind of white joke commonly seen in the suburbs, but neatly dotted around the yard, making the owner who lives here seem to have a few points different from others.

  Xia Ya nodded to Soite, who pushed open the gate. The big door on the first floor of the small building was half closed, and Xia Ya walked into the yard. A gray dog rushed out from the door and barked at Xia Ya several times. Then Soite waved his hand and shouted something. The dog recognized Soite and ran to his side, sniffing him a few times before wagging its tail and retreating to the corner of the wall, still staring at Xia Ya with vigilant eyes.

  The door creaked open and a brown-haired woman walked out from inside.

  Soyt bent down: "Mrs. Yulia"

  Yulia, the mistress of the house, Kevin's late wife, stood at the gate, looking in surprise at the several men who walked into the yard.

  Her tense expression after seeing Soyer disappeared, and a hint of a smile appeared - she had brown hair, high nose bridge, tall figure, and green eyes. Her forehead was slightly wider and higher, the distance between her eyes was also wider, overall, she was just an ordinary-looking woman, but there was a certain charm between her eyebrows.

  She was wearing a loose, cotton robe. Her long, brown hair was casually tied up, with shiny beads of sweat on her forehead, and her sleeves were rolled up, revealing her pale wheat-colored skin, clearly the result of being busy with household chores and fully exposed to the sun, with water marks on her hands, she wiped her wet hands on her robe several times.

  But to Xia Ya, what was even more astonishing. Or rather, he had been brewing a bellyful of words all along, thinking that he had already thought of a fairly euphemistic phrase, but when he really saw the woman for the first time, Xia Ya was stunned!

  He was thoroughly stunned, a bellyful of words seemed to vanish into thin air in an instant, he opened his mouth wide and stared fixedly at the woman in front of him.

  It's all because of... this woman in front of me...

  Her big cloak was bulging out in front of her belly!!

  Julia... Kevin's wife, this woman. Is she pregnant?!

  In an instant, the scene in front of him shattered Xia Ya's entire psychological defense line, and he even felt his mouth dry and tongue tied, with his legs slightly weakening.

  Even if it's against Odin's thousands of troops, even if it's against Hestia's terrifying black war spear, Shia has never been as nervous as she is now.

  "Suoyi, you're back!" Yulia's voice was a little hoarse from laughing, and she looked very cheerful and open. She also glanced at Xia and Dodo who were hiding behind Xia in the courtyard: "Huh? These two brothers look unfamiliar, are they Kevin's new comrades? Come on in, hehe... by the way, where's Kevin? Is he in the back? That guy must have sneaked off to buy wine..."

  The woman said, and then tiptoed to look outside the yard, laughing and saying: "What are you standing there for? Come in quickly, Soite. You go to Uncle Tom's on the street to buy some smoked meat back, otherwise there won't be much food at home, hehe."

  Soyt's face was unattractive, he looked at Shaya as if seeking help.

  Xia Ya finally came back to his senses at this time. He took a deep breath and walked slowly towards Yulia, step by step.

  It was probably Shaya's expression, or perhaps his heavy footsteps, that made Yulia seem a little intimidated. As if she had guessed something, the woman still forced a smile and said: "Huh? Is this young man your unit's new recruit? I see you're not very old, are you even twenty years old? Come in, I just happened to buy some honey yesterday, I can make some honey tea for you."

  "Yóu, Yóulià..." Xiàyǎ walked up to the woman's front, his tone very heavy. The woman's face changed greatly, she seemed flustered and tried to quickly retreat, hiding behind the door, Xiày grabbed her shoulder: "Yóulià, my name is Xiàyǎ, I'm Kǎiwén's comrade-in-arms, also...".

  "Don't, don't say!" Yulia shrieked out of control. The astute woman had already guessed something and seemed to have gone mad as she struggled free from Shaya's grasp, screaming: "What are you doing, saying these things? Come in and sit down first! Whatever it is can wait till Kevin comes...Kevin, where's Kevin?"

  "Kevin..." Xia Ya's eyes reddened, her fingers trembling: "Kevin he..."

  Julia's body went limp, her face turned pale in an instant, she stared at Xia Ya with wide eyes. Watching Xia Ya take a package from Soyet's hand, the package opened, inside was a helmet, a bayonet, several badges, and a piece of parchment... covered with charcoal-written words, with bloodstains on it!

  Julia's eyes rolled back and she fainted directly.

  Xia Ya carried Yulia into the bedroom in the house and put her on the bed. Then Soite quickly brought a cup of hot water and poured it into Yulia's mouth.

  The furnishings in the room were very simple, with rough cabinets, a wooden table and chairs with iron edges that were rusty, but they were neatly arranged and clean, obviously the owner was very diligent and liked cleanliness.

  The only thing that can show the identity of this household is a samurai long sword hanging on the wall. There are also several horseshoes thrown in the corner of the wall.

  Julia slowly came to, this time when the woman woke up, her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, and Soyer shouted a few times beside her, but she didn't react.

  Xia Ya gritted her teeth, pulled open the zipper, stood in front of the bed, knelt down on one knee, and said in a low voice: "Mrs. Yulia, Kevin is a hero, he died very bravely, and he also saved my life! Your husband is the most courageous and noble person I have ever seen!"

  He put those things that would grow, swords and helmets on the head of the bed.

  Julia finally moved at this time, she struggled to sit up, but didn't look at those who were present, instead directly grabbing the sheepskin paper covered in bloodstains and anxiously opening it.

  After a while, Julia's eyes flowed with tears, the woman's hands gradually tightened, crumpling the sheepskin paper into a ball, sobbing softly, her shoulders shaking.

  If he had cried out loudly, Xia Ya might have been slightly better off, but it was precisely this quiet sobbing that seemed like a knife, stabbing at his heart one cut at a time.

  He shifted forward: "I'm very clear that bringing such unbearable news to you is a blow that's hard for you to bear, but I"

  "You don't have to say anything." Yulia suddenly lifted her head, this woman's face was full of tears, her complexion was miserable, her voice was hoarse and weak, but there was a strange kind of strength in it: "You don't have to say anything."

  Her eyes finally fell on Xia Ya's face.

  "I am a Rodrian woman, and as a Rodrian woman, my mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, all of them have faced such things - their husbands or fathers dying in battle. It's as if it's our fate as Rodrian women!" Julia continued to sob: "But I didn't think that I wouldn't marry a Rodrian man, but Kanbei still joined the Rodrian cavalry and yet he still encountered such a thing."

  The woman barely supported herself with both hands at the brokerage firm. She hadn't fallen yet, but she was crying, her tears mixing with her snot.

  "Kevin... Kevin still doesn't know. He's going to be a father... The last time he came home was over half a year ago, and after he left, I found out I was pregnant... I... I haven't had the chance to tell him yet... I don't dare. I know he has to go fight in the wilderness, go onto the battlefield, and I've been afraid to tell him, fearing he'll be distracted on the battlefield... I just want to endure it until after the battle is over before telling him..."

  Xia Ya suddenly knelt down on one knee. He knelt in front of Yulia, stretched out his hands and tightly grasped Yulia's hands. The muscles on Xia Ya's face twitched, and his heart ached secretly. Gritting his teeth, he said: "Yulia... Kevin is not my friend, he is my brother! He saved my life! From the moment he died, his blood has been mixed with mine! We will never be separated again!! We are brothers! Real brothers! From now on, you are my sister!! Your children, I will become their uncle, the most loving uncle!!"

  Finally, Julia could no longer suppress her emotions and burst into loud sobs.

  Julia cried for two hours before gradually calming down, but it wasn't until Dudorov suddenly spoke up that she remembered something: "Ma'am, please take care of your body, don't forget you have another child in your belly..."

  Julia heard this sentence, which was more effective than any comfort. She finally wiped her face hard and stopped crying. The few people sat in silence for a while, until Julia squeezed out a smile: "You are all Kevin's comrades... it's getting late, you must be hungry, I'll go get some food..."

  Where did Xia Ya dare to let her move? Hurriedly, she was forced to lie down, and the two of them, Soyet and herself, ran to the kitchen in the back and made some hot millet porridge. They brought it over to Yulia, who struggled to eat one spoonful, as if she couldn't swallow any more. However, after looking at her belly, the woman frowned tightly, gritted her teeth, and finished the whole bowl of porridge.

  "Thank you." The woman finished her porridge and took a rest. Her complexion improved slightly, at least she didn't look as pale and frightening as before.

  Then, Julia endured the pain and asked Xia Ya some questions, asking Xia Ya to describe how Kevin died in battle. Xia Ya dared not speak in detail, fearing that it would cause the other party's sadness, so she only roughly said a few words before helping Julia lie down to rest.

  Xia Ya took out a cloth bag and placed it on the table, inside was heavy with gold coins.

  "This is the consolation money from the army... and also some that we fellow soldiers collected, please accept it, we..."

  Actually, the turtle is telling lies.

  There are at least three hundred gold coins on the table, and the army's consolation money is scarce. The other comrades have also contributed some, but after all, everyone is a soldier, and there is not much extra wealth. In total, it's only about seven or eight gold coins. Inside, there are fifty gold coins that General Adrick secretly gave to Xia Ya alone. Adrick is a connected general and doesn't have too much wealth either.

  As for the rest, Xia Ya Ba took out all his savings and also received hospitality from local officials along the way. He gained some benefits and spread them around.

  Seeing Julia refuse, Xia Ya immediately said firmly: "I know you don't want to accept! Because no matter how much money it is, it can't be exchanged for appointment! But please don't refuse! Because this is everyone's intention, even if it's just to make everyone feel at ease and not let everyone have any regrets, please definitely accept it!!