The Blue-Haired Girl 2

When Alice learned that Ryan was the disheveled young man causing a stir in town, she was both confused and deeply surprised.

She couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief, sighing, "Sigh! Our House Stark owes him so much. Without him, our house would never have reached its current state."

At the same time, House Stark had dispatched numerous people to search for Ryan. However, under Silver Moon's guidance, Ryan had already traveled north to a small town about a hundred miles away from Sweet Spring Town. Disguised as a middle-aged man, he had visited a shop, purchasing tools for brewing and some food before continuing on his journey.

Ryan, now wearing a simple burlap robe and carrying a bundle on his back, looked like an unremarkable country boy. To avoid detection, he dared not store all of his belongings in his pendant.

Fearing that members of House Stark might be pursuing him, he deliberately chose to take more remote paths.

As he continued his journey, he saw a group of five or six people resting by the roadside. The leader, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a robust appearance, looked to be in his forties.

Ryan considered bypassing them but realized the middle-aged man had already spotted him. He reluctantly decided to continue walking toward them. As he neared, he noticed a young girl sitting in a corner, shackled and eating a dry bun.

The girl, no more than ten years old, appeared thin and ragged. Her blue hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and her dark eyes gave off an empty, dazed look. Her fingers were stained with dirt, and she looked pitiful.

Ryan's attention was immediately drawn to her blue hair. He wondered why these people had captured such a frail child and chained her up.

Though curious, Ryan didn't want to linger for fear of being misunderstood by the group. He was after all just a passerby, and he didn't want to cause trouble in this isolated, remote area, especially with the leader of the group clearly being someone not to mess with.

Just as he was about to walk past the girl, Silver Moon's voice echoed in his mind: "Don't walk away, kid. I need you to save that girl."

Ryan was momentarily stunned and quickly responded in his mind, "Sister, are you sure? Are you asking me to save her? Forget whether I can or not—how am I supposed to escape with a burden like that?"

Silver Moon replied without hesitation, "You must save this girl. As for how, that's your problem, not mine."

Ryan felt a headache coming on, cursing under his breath, "You old hag, talking like it's so easy. If you're so capable, why don't you save her yourself?"

Although these words crossed his mind, he had never heard Silver Moon say "must" before. Given her usual cold nature, she wouldn't ask him to take a risk without reason. Since she had insisted, there must be something significant about this.

With no time to waste over second-guessing, Ryan focused on the task at hand—saving the girl without bloodshed. He didn't believe for a second that he could defeat all of them on his own.

An idea suddenly struck him. He quickly grabbed his bundle and began walking faster.

However, in his haste, he tripped over a stone and fell flat on the ground. The group, noticing the fall, burst into laughter.

As Ryan fell, a wine jar rolled out of his bundle, crashing onto a stone and shattering, releasing a strong aroma of alcohol.

The scent of the wine made the group stop laughing, and they started staring at Ryan, their expressions turning more serious.

Ignoring them, Ryan picked himself up, dusted off his clothes, and rearranged his bundle, continuing his walk forward.

Before he could take more than a few steps, the middle-aged man called out to him, "Hey, young man, wait up."

Ryan turned around, nervously asking, "Are you calling me?"

The man smiled warmly, noticing Ryan's nervousness, and said, "Yes, what's your name? You seem in a hurry. Where are you headed?"

Ryan played along, pretending to be innocent. "I'm Ryan, and my grandfather sent me to deliver some wine to a tavern in the town up ahead."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. "Hey, young man, would you consider selling me your wine? The smell has got all of us craving it."

Ryan furrowed his brow and replied, "Sorry, but my grandfather told me to only sell it to that tavern. He's always been good to us, and the wine is always in short supply. If I break a jar, I'll be in serious trouble. I can't sell it to you."

The man's face darkened slightly, but before he could respond, a round-faced man beside him shouted, "Why waste time talking? Just take it! What's the big deal? It's just a little brat, what can he do?"

The group echoed the sentiment, "Yeah, why make a fuss over a kid?"

The middle-aged man, his face reddening from embarrassment, took out ten gold coins and tossed them at Ryan, gruffly saying, "Here, kid. This is more than enough for your wine."

Without waiting for a response, the man snatched the bundle from Ryan's hands. Just as Ryan reached for it, the man shoved him aside, causing him to nearly fall again.

Seeing he couldn't take on the whole group, Ryan cried out and started running back the way he came.

After running for a while and realizing no one was following, he darted into the woods, silently making his way back toward the group, staying at a safe distance in the bushes, waiting for the right moment to act.