This was Ed's first time sleeping outside. Although he had put a fur rug underneath him, the uneven ground still made him very uncomfortable.
Unable to sleep, he could only lie flat on his fur coat and count the stars in the sky. Adelaide, on the other hand, lay on her side not far away, watching him. You are looking at the scenery in the sky, but you have inadvertently become someone else's scenery.
The fire was still crackling and burning. Will stood by the fire, lost in thought. It was his time to be on guard.
Ed didn't sleep well last night; the noises of various small animals bothered him, so he got up early.
In fact, everyone was in the same boat. After a quick bite to eat, the group continued on their way.
"Master, look, there's a river over there!" Adelaide's excited voice rang out.
Looking towards the sound, the river could be vaguely seen in the distance.
Looking at the river, which was still flowing quite rapidly, Ed guessed that this was probably the upper or middle reaches of the river. The lower reaches were probably wider and the current would be relatively slower.
Such a river is a good place for water transport, no wonder there are markets downstream.
However, they needed to be careful on the road ahead, as their scouting had ended here. Theoretically, this was still Gray Castle Territory; further downstream along the river, it wouldn't be. The more people there were, the more likely they were to encounter danger.
"Andrew told everyone to go to the water's edge to tidy up and let the horses drink some water."
"Yes, my lord, everyone, follow me." Andrew directed everyone toward the water's edge, and then the group continued downstream along the river.
After two days of travel, they finally saw small boats on the river, and the river branched off on the other side. Fortunately, there were no branches on the side they were on, otherwise they would have had to turn back to cross the river.
"Master, there are people ahead," Adelaide said warily.
Ed also saw people ahead, but they were probably just ordinary serfs working. This was the first time he had seen people from outside his territory after being away for several days.
Ed went over to ask about the exact location of the market. According to the butler Marcus's estimate, they should be almost there, but Ed hadn't seen many villages or people yet.
People who were working saw a richly dressed adult walking towards them. Some were so frightened that they forgot what they were doing, while others lowered their heads and continued working.
"Do you know there's a market here?" Ed asked cautiously, afraid of startling them.
No one answered Ed; they were clearly frightened.
"Adelaide, bring me a loaf of bread."
"Whoever can answer my question, this bread is for them." Ed raised the black bread in his hand.
The bread was tempting; some people glanced at the bread in Ed's hand, but no one spoke.
Ed was somewhat helpless and was about to turn and leave.
A still somewhat immature voice came over:
"Sir, the market isn't by the river. You have to go further in so it won't be flooded. It's about a half-day's journey from here."
The speaker was probably a little girl of about ten years old, with messy hair, a dirty little face, tattered coarse linen clothes, and bare feet that were as black as could be.
However, its pair of clear black and white eyes were quite striking, and at this moment it was looking at the black bread in Ed's hand along with its owner.
Ed glanced at Andrew behind him, but the latter remained silent.
"Here, have some bread." Ed handed the black bread to the little girl, but instead of eating it right away, she turned around and ran away.
Ed was a little puzzled; perhaps they were afraid the villagers would rob her! Ed didn't think much of it and continued downstream towards the riverbank.
This time, however, they did not head towards the river. Instead, they followed the little girl's advice and gradually walked further in.
Sure enough, half a day later, they saw someone blocking the road and collecting taxes at a crossroads in the distance. It seemed to be a local lord collecting taxes from those passing through. Fortunately, he only collected taxes from those leaving, not those entering. Ed gave him a thumbs up.
Just as Ed was about to continue walking forward, he suddenly saw the little girl who had been pointing the way running towards him from the intersection in the distance.
However, the little girl seems to have cleaned herself up and isn't as dirty as before.
"Sir, are you going to Scarborough Fair? I am a good guide, and I only need one loaf of black bread a day. Would you like to consider me?"
Ed looked at the little girl without saying anything.
Seeing that Ed didn't react, the little girl became a little anxious.
"Sir, there are many people from different places here, and you may not be able to understand what they say. Just like when you asked for directions earlier, they couldn't understand you."
Ed remained silent.
"Sir, I speak some other languages, and you can hire me for just one loaf of black bread, no… now just half a loaf."
"Okay, I'll hire you."