Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Wind and Snow
"Ronan Kendrick doesn’t like animal blood," Evelyn Ford quickly intervened.
Ronan Kendrick actually wasn’t a picky eater. Hearing her words, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Evelyn Ford with a smile, a glint in his eye that only she could understand.
"Ronan Kendrick needs to build up his strength?" Quincy burst out laughing. ’These clueless people,’ he thought. ’They have no idea how terrifying Ronan is.’
If a hercules who can lift two people with one hand needs to build up his strength, then I must be as fragile as Diana Lynch—I’m the one who really needs it.
Of course, nobody cared whether he needed it or not.
"Then let’s give it to Peter Owens and the boys," Officer Graham said, completely ignoring Quincy’s eager stare.
"So, does nobody want to watch TV tonight?"
Wyatt Vaughn picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it right into Quincy’s mouth. "Can’t you be quiet for a second?"
Zoe, in Wyatt Vaughn’s arms, also gave Quincy a stern look. Quincy instantly felt guilty. "I swear, I won’t say another word for the rest of the day."
"I wonder when this blizzard will finally end. The wind is so strong outside. We’ll have to check the greenhouses tomorrow and weigh down the tarps with soil."
"Those two roosters from Fairgate Farm are so loud. I can hear them crowing every single morning. I bet they start at three or four a.m."
"I wonder how the refugees outside are doing. When we were on patrol this morning, the team from Fairgate told us some people came up to their farm and tried to steal things. They got caught."
"And then?"
"I don’t know. I didn’t ask."
It could only have ended in one of two ways: they were either let go, or they were eliminated, root and stem.
They finished every last bite of the hot pot. After cleaning up the kitchen, everyone moved to the screening room. Outside, fat snowflakes drifted down, while inside, they all roared with laughter at a comedy.
—
The next day, the previous night’s blizzard had damaged the greenhouses and the livestock enclosures. Everyone grabbed their tools to start repairs. The wheat and cabbage were cold-hardy, so the losses weren’t significant. Three posts in the livestock area had collapsed, but thankfully, they hadn’t hit any of the animals.
"Miss Ford, the rabbits are digging holes again! I did a count, and five of them have escaped!" Wendy said, running up to Evelyn Ford in a panic. She counted the rabbits every day, and sure enough, there were two holes in the hutch.
Evelyn Ford told her not to panic. "I’ll get a few people to help search. We’ll find them in no time."
"But the snow is so thick, and the rabbits are white. They’ll be very hard to find if they burrow into the snowdrifts."
Evelyn Ford patted her on the shoulder. "It’s nothing to worry about. We’ll have the dogs lead the way. Their sense of smell is incredible; they can find them even if they’ve burrowed underground."
"Ma’am, bad news! Some of the chickens froze to death!"
"Ma’am, I think one of the ewes is going into labor!"
Evelyn Ford took a deep breath. "I’m coming."
After a day of frantic work, everything on the farm was finally sorted out. The collapsed post had been replaced and reset, and the greenhouses were mended. When Evelyn Ford got home, she immediately added more wood to the fireplace.
Ronan Kendrick led the wolf dogs back. At night, the two of them slept in a small doghouse built for them just outside the cabin. The dogs weren’t bothered by the cold and still had to patrol at night, but they had huge appetites, each one devouring a large bowl of food at every meal.
"The snow is coming down so hard, and the wind is freezing. It feels like you can’t even open your eyes without goggles."
Evelyn Ford took off her heavy winter coat. The cabin was so warm that her forehead was already beaded with sweat.
"It’s probably an aftereffect of the Red Sun. This blizzard is the extreme backlash that came after it."
Evelyn Ford agreed. "It’s freezing. Pure misery. My feet are frozen stiff. I’m not going out tomorrow. You could beat me to death and I still wouldn’t go."
Ronan Kendrick walked over to her and frowned at her feet. "Soak them in hot water first. Did water get inside your shoes?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "They’re soaked. From now on, I have to wear rain boots when I go out. I’ll wear five pairs of socks if I have to."
Ronan Kendrick reached out and ruffled her hair. "You poor thing."
Evelyn Ford sat before the fireplace, soaking her feet in hot water. As her feet began to feel better, warmth finally spread through her body. Ronan Kendrick pressed an acupoint on the sole of her foot, but she couldn’t stand how much it tickled and kicked him.
"I didn’t mean to! I’m ticklish."
Ronan Kendrick sighed. "I have a reasonable suspicion you’re getting me back."
"I am not! I didn’t! Don’t be ridiculous."
Ronan Kendrick gave Evelyn Ford a dark, meaningful look. "Hmm?"
Ronan Kendrick had been rather mischievous lately, and Evelyn Ford didn’t want to provoke him, so she quickly begged for mercy.
In the middle of the night, the wolf dogs suddenly started barking. Evelyn Ford was startled awake and glanced at the clock. It was 3:30 a.m. She figured someone was trying to break into the farm.
A moment later, Peter Owens came running back to find Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick.
"There’s a lot of people outside. They came out of the mountains behind us. They look like refugees from Varden, about thirty or forty of them."
Peter Owens was breathing heavily, his tone urgent. "Miss Ford, I recognized someone in that group."
"Langley?"
"No, it’s Claudia Schultz. Do you remember her?"
Evelyn Ford was surprised. When they had left the safe zone and taken a detour south, the only two survivors they met on the way were Claudia Schultz and her grandmother. Claudia’s grandmother had forced her to leave by threatening suicide. To find the bandits who had slaughtered her entire town, Claudia had decided to travel with them. But then Aeridor was suddenly flooded, scattering their group. The fates of many were unknown, and Evelyn had assumed Claudia was dead.
’To think she not only survived but made it all the way to Varden.’
"Is there something wrong with her?" Seeing Peter Owens hesitate, Evelyn Ford knew it wasn’t a simple matter.
"She’s with a man."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "I’ll go take a look."
Ronan Kendrick looked at Evelyn Ford with resignation. "I thought you said you weren’t going out."
"It’s not like I have a choice."
"You rest. I’ll go." Ronan Kendrick grabbed the long rifle hanging behind the door and glanced at Peter Owens. "Let’s go."
Peter Owens couldn’t shake the feeling that Ronan Kendrick wasn’t going to resolve the situation, but to kill them all and leave no witnesses.
When Ronan Kendrick arrived at the main gate, Quincy and the others were blocking the entrance, preventing the refugees outside from coming in. These refugees weren’t unarmed weaklings—quite a few were holding guns. No wonder they dared to come looking for trouble.
"Hey, friends, do us a favor and take us in. It wasn’t easy getting here from Varden, and we haven’t eaten in days. We can work for you. We’re all compatriots, you can’t be this cold-hearted, can you?"
Hearing this, Quincy chuckled.
’It’s been a while since I’ve been on the receiving end of a good old-fashioned guilt trip,’ he thought. ’I almost missed it.’
"Is this how you ask for shelter? You’ve got guns pointed at our heads and you still expect us to let you in? What’s wrong with you people?"
The man on the other side didn’t get angry at Quincy’s words. "Hey, we’re just negotiating. As soon as you let us in, we’ll put our guns away."
"Bullshit! All of you, get the hell out of here! You bandits think you can just walk in? Dream on." It was rare for Quincy to curse, and Miles Vaughn, standing beside him, was stunned.
"You’re not letting us in? Believe me, I’ll turn this farm into a bloodbath. And I’m telling you, this gun is loaded."
Quincy sneered. ’If they really had bullets, would they have wasted so much time talking? All for show.’
"A bloodbath?" Ronan Kendrick emerged from behind the crowd, raised his rifle, and with a single BANG, shot the man who had just spoken dead.
"Anyone else want a bloodbath?"
