Hei Shi Manor.
Aaron Sotos sat at his desk, writing down in Chinese the secrets he had gathered during this time:
[First Stage: Unburned - Breathing Method, Meditation Method, Unburning Ceremony]
[Speculation: Igniting spirituality of darkness by honing oneself through ascetic practice, just like an ascetic monk?]
[Second Stage: Burning Child (middle level of the cult), no known cultivation method yet]
[Third Stage: Chasing Darkness (representative figures: High Priest, senior members of the cult)]
All this information was pieced together from eavesdropping and stealthy observations in Black Sun Town and should be mostly accurate.
It took a lot of time, but Aaron felt it was completely worth it.
He paused for a moment and continued to write:
[According to various clues and traces, the High Priest definitely has a conspiracy. Perhaps the Unburned are meant to be used as sacrifices or... it might have something to do with the 'Solar Eclipse Ritual', a great undertaking...]
After finishing his writings, Aaron sighed deeply: "In that mad world, how could there be any saintly figures? The so-called saviors are probably just lies!"
He could fully imagine how desperate the scavengers would be when the truth was finally revealed.
Aaron put away his notebook, stood up, and walked to the edge of the window, releasing his breath, which instantly turned into frost.
At this time, the manor was covered in a blanket of snow, indicating a heavy snowfall.
He rarely put on his cloak and stepped out of the villa, leaving a long trail of footprints in the snow.
'I've almost grasped the Unburned cultivation methods, perhaps I can try... awakening my own spirituality...'
As Aaron thought, he picked up a handful of snow and squeezed it into a snowball.
"Sir!"
At this moment, a chubby young man in a grey scholar's gown was running towards him, holding a letter in his hands and with a flushed face.
"What's the matter, my Scholar Albert?"
Aaron asked with a smile.
This was a student recommended by the Castle Scholar, the second son of a knight's family. He had studied literature and etiquette for ten years and had a rough understanding of herbalism. He now served as the scholar and butler of Hei Shi Manor.
"Huff, huff..."
Albert, who had a weak body and was only plump rather than strong, gasped for breath: "A letter from Sotos Castle, Lady Hilver is pregnant."
"That's a good thing."
Aaron casually responded, suddenly feeling something was off: "When did she get pregnant?"
"According to the calculation of months, it was during the month they got married." Albert answered.
"Oh, then there's no problem."
Aaron nodded.
He was strict with his subordinates, and none of them had ever offended Hilver, so he was 90% sure it was Colin's seed, not that of any violent bandits.
However, how Colin himself would think about it raised curious thoughts.
Moreover, with Lady Sonia, who loved chaos, inside the castle, the scene would undoubtedly be quite lively...
...
Sotos Castle.
"Did you hear that? Lady Hilver is pregnant…"
"This is truly the blessing of Mother Green!"
"I heard from the scholar's servant that the lady's pregnancy is a bit peculiar... Perhaps, she got pregnant on her way here when she was kidnapped."
"You want to die? Let the Winter Forest Wolf catch you. How dare you say such a thing!"
A group of servants gathered together, whispering in hushed tones, suddenly scattering like frightened birds at the sight of something.
Atop the high wall, Colin, dressed as a noble, gazed at the scene from the window with a ghastly pale face.
Originally, he was quite happy to hear the news of the lady's pregnancy, but at some point, somehow, rumors began to spread within the castle.
This made Colin's heart ache like a knife, after all, on the wedding night, he had learned the truth of the bride's unfaithfulness. Fortunately, the people of Lulin didn't care too much about this.
But he couldn't tolerate such rumors!
"I can't get angry, I can't get angry!"
"I'm very clear that Lady Sonia's trap is involved here. It's very likely that she deliberately spread the rumors, I can't fall into the trap..."
Colin took a deep breath, but upon returning to the room and seeing Hilver Davis, who was embroidering, especially her slightly bulging belly, that nameless anger still burned.
With a smile on her face and a maternal glow, Hilver looked up at Colin's expression and couldn't help but be startled: "Dear, what's wrong?"
"Aaron... What kind of person do you think my brother Aaron is?" Colin suppressed the anger in his heart and asked tentatively.
"Your brother, Aaron... He is a very contradictory person, both cruel and gentlemanly."
Hilver couldn't help but say, although she knew it was his castle that was broken into, she couldn't deny that he ordered the soldiers to stop and prevent violence.
Moreover, during the time she was captured, he was very polite to her.
It could be said that if it weren't for him, she might have died in the castle long ago and wouldn't have had her current life.
Mentioning Aaron, Hilver's opinion couldn't help but be complicated.
"Gentleman? Gentleman!"
Colin was like an angry lion, abruptly grabbing a ceramic pot from the table and smashing it on the ground.
Smash!
The ceramic shards splattered, clear water flowed across the floor, half reflecting Hilver's pale face: "What... What are you doing?"
"Tell me, who is the father of the child in your belly?"
Colin's eyes were bloodshot, panting heavily, almost wanting to draw his sword and point it at Hilver.
"I swear by our shared faith, Colin, this is your bloodline."
Hilver murmured, suddenly understanding something: "Aaron... He didn't do anything to me."
But little did she know, the more such things are brought up, the darker they become.
Colin, hearing that name, was already furious and wanted to strike someone.
"Ahhhh!"
He screamed, knocking the table over.
During the fierce quarrel, Hilver's stubborn and sad voice rang out: "If you don't believe me, I heard that the Castle Scholar's herbal tea is very effective. You can try it and see if you can kill your own child with your own hands..."
...
Bang!
Jinnie, hearing the noise even from a distance, frowned slightly and then gracefully lifted her teacup and took a sip.
By her side, Lady Sonia proudly said to her daughter: "Look... Colin is such a fool, even a discerning person can see the truth, but he just can't see it, or rather, he wants to torture himself. All of this stems from his jealousy and fear of that person! My daughter, remember, jealousy and fear can destroy a person better than a sword!"
"Will Colin really order the Scholar to prepare Abortion Tea?" Jinnie asked worriedly.
"No!"
Lady Sonia confidently replied, "Colin is not that decisive of a person, and the Earl sees everything and won't let Colin do that."
Suddenly, this woman laughed like a fox: "The Earl desperately needs a child that mixes the blood of both sides to consolidate the rule. Even if the rumors are true, it doesn't matter because after all, they are his grandchildren, and it's his bloodline..."
"If the child is gone, everyone will be overjoyed. If he is born, it's like reminding Colin of today's events constantly, exposing his scars of shame. Can you imagine what will happen after a long time of this?"