Ch. 408: Mr. Edwards’ Unraveled Life Chapter 408

Chapter 408

Norah walked over. "Your hand is seriously injured, but I couldn’t find any proper medicine. I’ll have to disinfect it with iodine first, or you might lose the use of it. And venting your anger on that flag won’t change anything."

Flags are just symbols. They can’t bleed. They can’t suffer.

A cold glint flashed in the boy’s eyes. "One day, I’ll cut off Pharaoh’s head."

His grandmother, sister, and brother were slaughtered by Pharaoh’s men. His father was taken away, and no one knew if he was still alive. The hatred in his heart burned like fire.

"I don’t like him either, but first, you need to take care of yourself," Norah said.

The boy frowned. "Did Pharaoh’s men kill your friends or lover?"

"No," Norah replied. "But he hasn’t done anything good, and he’s made my life a lot harder."

The boy scoffed. "They have no humanity."

Norah had already seen enough to understand that. Everything she thought she knew about the world had been shattered. There would be no peace as long as Pharaoh remained in power.

"You know this area well, right? Do you know where they’re based? Whether or not you come with me, I need to know. But be warned, this could get dangerous," she said, carefully wrapping his wounded hand with gauze after disinfecting it.

The boy eyed her suspiciously. "You’re going after Pharaoh?"

"No," Norah said evenly. "Pharaoh is looking for me."

That was the reality. She was already in danger. More than that—Karina was in their hands. If she wanted to find Steven and get word out to the outside world, infiltrating them was the best way. The only way.

And she needed to know: Who exactly was Pharaoh?

The boy fell silent for a long moment before finally saying, "Let’s go."

The village was ruined, the people were gone, and there was nothing left for him here. He had burned the bodies, leaving no trace of the life he had once known.

Norah followed him into the dense forest. The midday sun was brutal, and the humidity under the thick canopy made it even worse. Within minutes, she was drenched in sweat. The lack of food and water was getting to her, and exhaustion weighed her down.

She leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.

"Wait here," the boy said abruptly before disappearing into the foliage.

Norah didn’t have the strength to argue. She glanced at her watch—past three in the afternoon. Her phone battery was nearly dead.

Then, a rustling sound.

Her muscles tensed. The air felt suddenly colder.

She moved instinctively, stepping aside just as—

"Watch out!"

A strong force tackled her to the ground.

The boy moved fast—faster than she could react. In a blur, he grabbed a snake with his bare hands and slammed it against the tree trunk. It wriggled violently before going still.

A few small red fruits rolled across the ground.

Within seconds, the snake lay lifeless at the boy’s feet.

He tossed it aside and picked up the scattered fruit. "Eat these to stay hydrated. We’re close to a village. Hold on a little longer."

Norah exhaled shakily, still shaken by how close she had come to being bitten. This boy—he had skills. It made sense. In a place like this, survival wasn’t a choice. It was a necessity.

She took two of the red fruits, eating them slowly. They were only mildly sweet, with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

"Follow me," the boy said. "There are more snakes around here."

Norah nodded, feeling a little steadier.

After more than an hour of trekking through the forest, they finally emerged into the open.

As the boy had said, there was a village up ahead.

Unlike the destroyed settlement they had left behind, this one was alive. The houses were still simple, made of mud and clay, but there were vegetable fields, chickens and ducks wandering around, and even people selling goods from their carts.

The boy led her forward and spoke to a man in the local dialect. Norah couldn’t understand, but she noticed the conversation growing tense.

After a while, the boy turned to her. "We can stay here for now. But I don’t have any money. My hand is injured, so you’ll have to work—maybe help gather medicinal herbs in exchange for food and shelter."

"I have money," Norah said.

The boy’s expression flickered with something unreadable. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to come prepared. She had exchanged for the local currency before coming here, knowing she might need it.

"That makes things easier," he said simply.

He spoke to the man again, and the man nodded before turning to Norah. "Give the money first."

Norah pulled a 100-unit bill from her pocket and handed it over.

The man took it, looking satisfied.

The boy translated. "This will cover ten days. But if you want to find Pharaoh, you’ll need to talk to someone named Teacher Baimo."

At the mention of Pharaoh, the man’s expression changed slightly.

The boy tensed. His hands clenched into fists. "Do you know Chinese?" he asked sharply. "And are you working for Pharaoh?"

Norah could see the shift in his demeanor. His anger was barely contained.

The man responded in his native language, his tone calm. "We don’t work for Pharaoh. Pharaoh is a good man. He’s been helping us, asking for nothing in return."

The boy stiffened, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "That’s impossible!"

Pharaoh’s men had slaughtered his entire village. They had stolen everything of value. If Pharaoh was such a great man, why had he let them do that?

More than that—he had seen it with his own eyes. Pharaoh himself had ordered the destruction of his home.

"Why can’t it be?" the man asked. "We have a good life because of Pharaoh. He taught us about herbs, showed us how to harvest and sell them to the Chinese. Without him, we would’ve starved."

The boy didn’t respond, but Norah could see the conflict in his face. He didn’t believe it.

The man led them to his home—a simple mud house, but warm and well-kept. The courtyard was filled with drying herbs, where an old woman and a little girl were sorting through them.

The man pointed to a small room. "You can sleep here. I’m heading out to gather more herbs. If you’re hungry, my mother can cook for you."

The boy nodded stiffly.

After the man left, Norah turned to him. "What did he just say?"

She had caught the tension, the disbelief on the boy’s face. Whatever the man had said, it had shaken him.

The boy was quiet for a long time before finally repeating the man’s words to her.