Cloud Thinking

Chapter 133 The Only Believer

She walked to the little girl, her eyes fell on the butterfly bones that were bulging because of the lack of flesh on her body, and she couldn't help but frowned.

The little girl was as thin as a pole, and the little boy was as fat as a pig. Are they a family or something? If they were a family, this was too partial.

At this point, Helia suddenly remembered the content of the first and only wish bubble she had touched. The son-centric mother drove her daughter out of the temple and scolded her harshly. It seemed that the entire village looked down on women.

Could it be that... all the villages around here have this so-called tradition of favoring sons over daughters...

She still hasn't seen the little girl's face, so she can't tell what her relationship with the deceased is.

Helia stared at the little girl's thin back, listening to her repeatedly muttering that she wanted the gods to save her. She was still thinking about the murder case, and she said to herself while she was lost in thought: "Could it be you who killed him?"

Her voice was not loud, but it was clear enough in the basement where only one person was left. The little girl trembled violently and suddenly stopped praying. The small basement instantly fell into silence.

Helia was just wondering, and was about to say something to verify her guess, when she saw the little girl suddenly banging her head. From the sound, she knew that she was not holding back her strength at all, and each blow was very heavy, and soon blood appeared.

"God Ornn... I'm sorry... I know I'm guilty... I killed someone... I killed my own brother... My crime is unforgivable... But I... But I just want to live..."

"I... I had no choice... He wanted to kill me first... I had already given him all the food... but he still wanted me to die... He hit me on the head with an oil lamp while I was sleeping... I was almost killed..."

"I knew it a long time ago... I knew he wanted to kill me a long time ago... He has always hated me... But I gave him everything I had... I gave him all the good things in the house... Why is he not satisfied..."

"I'm the one who does the work at home...but mom always scolds and beats me...it's obviously you who did the bad things...but I always take the blame for you...and mom always believes you...why! Why!"

"It was you! You were the first to start! I just wanted to survive! What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong!"

So that's how it is... Helia wasn't really surprised. It should be said that after knowing that these villages had the custom of extremely favoring boys over girls, she guessed everything.

She didn't think the little girl was guilty, on the contrary, she thought she did a great job! And the most important thing was that she was not domesticated by this village!

Maybe she did feel guilty for her brother's death, but she was deeply aware that it was not her fault, and there was nothing wrong with her wanting to survive. After all, humans are selfish creatures. Her brother could pick up a butcher knife and swing it at her in order to survive, so why couldn't she fight back?

The root cause of favoring boys over girls is nothing but the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

In the village that relies on forest resources for survival, men are stronger and more powerful than women. They can fight against monsters, obtain survival resources, and defend their homes.

In the village, men are the boss.

In the matriarchal society of the past, women had a high status because they provided the means of survival, that is, earned money to support the family, because men had to rely on women for survival.

But in the village, the forest is too dangerous for women. In addition, women are naturally weaker than men in strength. From the perspective of the entire ethnic group, it is difficult for them to survive in such an environment, so they have to become dodders clinging to men.

But in fact, in this village, women do no less than men. It's just because they are not the breadwinners of the family, do not have control over the means of production, and under the influence of the male-dominated discourse system, they begin to belittle themselves and think that they cannot survive without men.

Over time, under the domestication passed down from generation to generation, the status of women became lower and lower. They began to regard men as gods, as the center of their world, and put themselves in the lowest position, obeying unconditionally.

A mother is dependent on her father and also on her son. A daughter is dependent on her father and also on her younger or older brother.

Women have become appendages of men, simply because they are the weak and they are the strong. If the weak do not rely on the strong, they cannot survive and will be swallowed up by this world where the strong prey on the weak.

But is this really the case? Of course not!

Are men necessarily stronger than women? Do women have to rely on men to survive? Not necessarily.

There must be women in the village who are stronger than men. She can also kill monsters, hunt for food, and support her family, but she didn't do that. Instead, she was a housewife like other women, doing similar things. Why?

Because she has been domesticated, in her cognition, women are born to do these things, serving men is the meaning of their existence, and supporting the family is what men should do.

This kind of domestication is the most terrifying. It is silent, just like running water gently washing over stones, smoothing the stones little by little imperceptibly.

"You're not wrong." Helia said, but seeing that the little girl was still kowtowing, she had to raise her voice, "You're not wrong! You want to protect yourself, there's nothing wrong with that!"

But the little girl couldn't hear her voice. Although she didn't know why she had such a fanatical belief in this god Ornn, maybe it was because of the concepts she was instilled with, or maybe it was because people who were about to die couldn't help but hope for miracles to happen. Whatever the reason was, Helia would not let it go.

Because it is she who needs it, not Him, and she will help her, but He may not necessarily help her.

"Father God! How can I convey the message to her? I need your help!" Helia shouted.

But the next second, the world was spinning in front of her eyes, her consciousness was blurry, and she closed her eyes and opened them again, and then she was back in front of the fireplace.

She suddenly grabbed the arm of Watersise beside her and said anxiously: "Father God, I want to talk to that girl, can you help me?"

"Or you can just pass on a message for me, saying that she is not at fault and that she should just wait and I will go and save her!"

"Aya, calm down." Wattsise held her hand and patted it twice. "I've already told her that she can probably hold on for two to three days based on her current condition. Don't worry too much."

After hearing what Watersiser said, Helia finally calmed down, holding her chest and breathing lightly, trying to calm her restless mood.

Wattsise patted Helia on the back and consoled her, "It's too late now, and the efficiency of finding people is not high. Have a good rest tonight. Tell the other teams about this matter tomorrow morning. Let's look for it together. I believe we will find the person in no time."

"Yeah, I know." Helia nodded, indicating that she would not be too impulsive.

"Also, I just discovered something. I'm not sure if now is the best time to tell you about it, but I think you must want to know about it." Watersise said slowly.

Under Helia's gaze, He pursed his lips and said, "When I was screening the prayers for you just now, I found that most of them were made to you while you were still in the tower, but the one you just heard..."

"The only prayer you made after leaving the tower."

"That girl is your only believer now."

After hearing the news, Helia was silent for a long time. She stared at the flames burning in the fireplace in a trance, not knowing what she was thinking, and Watersiser just sat beside her and accompanied her silently.

After a long moment, Helia murmured, "I will rescue her, for sure."

There were footsteps outside the house. It should be Lydia and the others returning from patrol. She looked at each other and watched the other's figure gradually disappear in front of her eyes and merge into her body.

"Hiss! It's too cold outside. I'm afraid even those monsters can't stand it!" Al muttered as he stood at the door and brushed off the snow on his body, then shivered as he walked towards the warm fireplace.

"How is it?" Helia moved aside to make room for the two of them.

"It's almost the same as during the day, so quiet that you can't even hear the chirping of insects."

"I doubt that we are the only ones breathing in this village."

Al pulled the blanket aside and wrapped himself in it, leaving only space for his hands, and stretched out his hands to warm himself by the fire.

Lydia sat down next to Helia. She was an orc. Although she did not have thick fur like wild beasts to protect herself from the cold, she was quite cold-resistant.

However, the north has entered winter now, and this kind of cold weather will probably last for several months. Standing next to Lydia, Helia could feel the chill coming from her.

"Then let's speed up tomorrow morning, search this village and move on." Helia held Lydia's frozen hands, rubbed them for her, and blew hot air to warm her hands.

If Lydia showed her tail at this moment, you would definitely see her wagging her tail with joy.

Even Lydia couldn't stand the cold night. Helia couldn't imagine how the children trapped in the basement without a fireplace could survive. They might be frozen to death...

We have to find them quickly.

The night was very peaceful, even silent, dead silent. Being on duty in such a cold winter was a very lonely and boring thing. Loneliness made people feel uneasy, but fortunately they could keep each other warm, chat about each other's recent situation, and talk about their so-called ideals.

The morning sun awoke Helia from her deep sleep. She slept soundly and dreamlessly that night. Perhaps it was Watersise who helped her. Otherwise, she would have been thinking about something before going to bed, and she would not have been able to sleep well, let alone fall asleep.

"In order to defend against monsters, the villagers may have built basements in their houses. Please be careful when searching." Helia reminded them before leaving. "Senior, please tell the other teams as well."

"Helia, have you been here before? You seem very familiar with this place." Al asked out of curiosity.

"During the year I was missing, I have been active in the Sad Forest. The villagers nearby have helped me, but I can't say I am familiar with them. I can only say that I know a little bit about them." Helia lied.

"Well, then let's spread out and look for it. If you encounter any problems, please contact us in time." Beavis nodded in response.

Although everyone was curious about what Helia had experienced in the past year, now was not a good time to chat. When Helia wanted to talk, she would naturally say it.

Helia took Lydia to the temple, which was the center of the village and also the tallest building in the village. With the help of Lydia, she climbed to the top of the spire and raised her hand to summon Theodore.

She mobilized the magic power in her body and injected it into the wand in her hand, then closed her eyes and cast a perception spell. All the scenes around her changed and appeared in her mind. She first sensed Lydia, who was standing behind her to protect her from falling. Lydia was a magical aggregate mixed with bright red and gold. Like Helia, she was a fire magician.

She looked into the distance and "saw" a green figure mixed with some white. That should be Karlze, a wood-attributed healing magician.

Next to him there was a white figure with a faint golden glow, and the magic power on his body jumped like flames as he moved. That should be Gena, a magic swordsman with light attributes.