Jon had already eaten a little, so he wasn't very hungry. In addition, he felt that the old couple was a little strange, so he didn't want to communicate too much: "Well, thank you for your hospitality, sir. I have to travel tomorrow, so I'll rest first."
Dom's family cleared out a small room for Jon. Jon lay on the bed, but he didn't dare to sleep too deeply. He just pretended to doze off to relax his body, but he didn't dare to fall asleep.
In his previous life, because he was weak and sickly, his family kept him in a Taoist temple for two years. During these two years, he learned several magical skills. The master in the Taoist temple taught him a sleeping skill that could keep him half awake, which could restore his strength while keeping him alert.
So Jon sat cross-legged on the bed, focusing his mind on his dantian. When his thoughts calmed down, the sound of the wind outside and the sound of horses chewing hay in the stable entered his ears.
On the other side, Dom's family was discussing something secretly.
"You said that man also brought a white wolf?"
"Yes, the white wolf's fur has no other colors, it's very beautiful..."
Dom's father stopped him from continuing and turned to the old woman and said, "Now, we are almost certain that he is the deserter of the Night's Watch that the Lord wants to catch. The Lord said that as long as we provide him with useful information, we can be exempted from half of our taxes! And if we can catch him, we won't have to pay taxes for three years!"
Dom, who had been out hunting for ten days, didn't know the news, but he was very surprised to hear his father say this: "But father, we can't do this. He treated my foot injury and gave little Dali candy. We also ate his jerky."
On the other side, Dom's mother also chimed in: "Yes, if it weren't for Jon, Dom might not have been able to come back!"
Dom's father looked at him and glared at his mother, then pointed at the child on the bed and said, "I don't know what strange disease Dali has. Don't you see that his belly is much bigger than before you came back? As long as we hand him over to the lord, we will have the money to treat him. Do you really think that a few wild fruits can cure this disease that even the bachelor can't cure?
Besides, he was a deserter from the Night Watch. He must have gone to the Night Watch to atone for his sins, but now he is a deserter, so he can only accept the death penalty!"
Everyone in the North knows how the Night's Watch deserters are treated, and they also know that some of the Night's Watch were bandits, murderers and other villains before going to the Wall.
When they were night watchmen, others would give them some respect, but once they became deserters, they became rats crossing the street.
Moreover, for the common people, they would not care about such a damn guest rights. It was only the nobles who were afraid of being ripped off at others' home because of past grievances when they were visiting distant places. As for the common people, except for accompanying their lords to fight wars throughout their lives, they basically lived on their own little piece of land from birth to death. They would not consider this.
Dom was still very conflicted, but he reluctantly agreed, and was forced to reach an agreement with his father: "We can wait until he falls asleep, then tie him up and try not to hurt him."
His mother also said helplessly: "Yes, no matter what, we can't hurt him. Since he is a deserter, we should let the lord take him away."
His father raised his sparse eyebrows and said, "He has a sword and you can tell he is good at swordsmanship. He certainly won't let you do it. You should go and inform Lord Kent first. I'll keep an eye on him here."
This Lord Kent is actually a vassal of the Amber family. There are more than a dozen noble families in the North. There are hundreds of large and small families that are vassals of these dozen big families. Although not every family has a castle, they at least own a manor.
So as an experienced old hunter, Dom's father gave a safer suggestion. After all, the first principle of hunting is not to hurt yourself.
Dom followed his father's advice and limped to their lord's house.
Seeing Dom leave, his father wanted to find out if Jon was asleep, so he walked towards Jon's room.
Da da da——
There was a knock on the door, and a voice came from outside. Dom's father held a glass of water in his hand and asked tentatively: "Mr. Jon, are you asleep?"
Jon said nothing, wondering if this was a test from the other party.
The other party called out softly a few more times, and seeing no response, he tiptoed back away. If Dom was around, he would have noticed that his father's expression was exactly the same as when he was hunting.
Although Dom's father was a cripple, it was not difficult to kill a sleeping person. However, the lord emphasized that he must be captured alive, so he could not act rashly. In fact, if the lord said that life and death were not important, he would not mind risking his old bones to find a way out for his family.
Seeing that Jon had no reply, he sat at the door and waited, but it was already dark, so Hader had to look carefully at the road, and he was injured so his speed was a little slow.
"Why haven't you come yet?"
Dom's father was getting a little anxious. The longer he waited, the more uneasy he felt. The long period of immobility had worn away his excellent qualities as a hunter. Suddenly, the howl of a wolf made his heart tighten.
Awoo——
Jon suddenly heard a wolf howl. He knew that it was Ghost reminding him that someone was approaching, so he didn't hesitate, put on his clothes and broke out through the window.
Dom's father heard the noise and tried to stop them, but was forced back by Jon swinging his sword: "What are you going to do!?"
Jon shouted loudly, and the cold light of the sword flashed under the moonlight, so he dared not approach. The old woman hiding in the room screamed, ran out with the bolt in her hand, and hid behind her husband to cheer him up.
"Catch you!"
"Why are you arresting me? Have I done anything to offend you?"
"The Lord said that as long as we catch you, we can reduce our taxes! Besides, you are just a deserter! You should be arrested!"
Jon didn't understand how he became a deserter. Thinking that the nearest place was the Hearth Castle of the Umber family, Jon asked, "Is your lord the Umber family?"
"No, that's our lord's lord. My lord is Lord Kent."
After a moment's thought, Jon felt something was wrong. He was afraid that the news of his leaving the Wall had been leaked, or spread. The Umber family ordered this so-called Lord Kent, so who ordered Umber?
The answer is self-evident!
Jon ignored the lame old man, jumped on his horse and was ready to leave.
Who would have thought that just as he arrived at the entrance of the village, he saw six or seven fully armed riders rushing towards him from not far away. One of the horses was carrying two people, one of whom was Dom.
The man in the lead had a neatly trimmed moustache on his chin. He was the 'Sir Kent' mentioned by Dom's father.
Turning his horse around, Jon quickly fled in another direction. Ghost stood on a high slope, watching Jon being chased by a group of people nervously. It leaned over and made low humming sounds.
Because his body was strengthened by the experience card, Jon's eyesight and physical strength were greatly improved. As if with God's help, a cloud blocked the moonlight, allowing him to disappear into the darkness.
"We will continue the pursuit. You go and tell Lord Umber that we have found Jon's trail."
He asked one of his followers to inform the Greatjon, and Kent led his men to continue the pursuit. He knew that this was an order issued personally by Ned, the Duke of Winterfell and the Hand of King, and the person being pursued was his illegitimate son, so he took it particularly seriously.
At this time, Jon, who was running away, roughly realized what was going on.
"Ned must have received the news. After I escape from the Greatjon, I will have to face Robb's interception!"
You have to know that although there are only a dozen families occupying castles in the North, there are hundreds of vassal lords and families belonging to them, not to mention the knights who don't even have a proper title.
As the largest feudal lord in the North, Winterfell can mobilize tens of thousands of troops with just a wave of its hand. If Ned really ordered Robb to send out troops to capture him, then Jon would not be able to leave the North in the face of searches all over the mountains, let alone go to King's Landing!