One-Eyed Monster

After coming down from the mountain, Igor and Kadi didn’t swagger into view of the people.

During their time on Guru Mountain, Igor learned many things. Although he still acts a bit silly at times, he can distinguish between priorities when it counts.

For example, right now, Igor cautiously covered Kadi completely with a rag, making Kadi look like a dirty ghost.

”Hey, when are you going to take this thing off me?!” Kadi complained constantly, but now that Igor was the boss, he couldn’t complain too much!

”Just bear with it! Don’t you know why those seniors on the mountain didn’t dare to come out?”

”I know, I know, but it still feels weird!” Kadi retorted defiantly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak properly, but the rag over him was really uncomfortable.

They hadn’t yet left the vicinity of Gaga County. These days they’ve been eating dried food almost daily and sleeping outdoors. Igor avoided main roads, always taking detours around crowded places. This was completely different from Kadi’s expectations. The soft big bed, the fragrant soup, and the endless wines that Kadi dreamed of hadn’t appeared. Instead, he encountered the blazing sun by day, the stars by night, the chill of the earth, and the sting of the morning breeze. These experiences left a deep impression on Kadi and were nothing like Kevin’s descriptions. The scent of milk tea wafting through the air in the morning, the sun making you lazy at noon, and the mesmerizing evening cricket song... all seemed like tales for kids! The morning breeze hurt his face with its cold, and the chill wasn’t something an ordinary person could endure, while the midday sun was so scorching that Kadi couldn’t help wanting to throw off the rag, and at night, staying away from the insects was best, as after a bite, he’d roll around for ages before sleeping...

In this adventure of Kadi’s, he had indeed suffered quite a bit, something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

What baffled him the most was that Igor claimed all this was for his own good!

Why was it like this? Kadi always wanted to ask, but every time he tried, he swallowed his words because he realized that it wasn’t easy for Igor to lead him around.

His unique appearance discomforted people, causing fear with his looks, which was why Igor chose to cover him up completely.

How long does this have to go on? Although Kadi knew it was for his own good, he still found it hard to endure this treatment. He felt like someone always hidden, never able to show his face, and it was really uncomfortable.

”Why don’t you try out your special ability and keep yourself hidden, become an invisible man?” Igor suggested to Kadi.

Kadi’s skin could change color to blend with the environment, making him appear like part of the surroundings. However, Kadi couldn’t entirely rely on this ability, as doing so would deplete a lot of energy, making it counterproductive.

”If you’re unwilling, then we’ll just have to go with my plan. I’ll find a suitable blacksmith shop to forge a mask for you. Wearing a mask will be much better than being draped in that rag all day long.”

”Why go to a blacksmith to make a mask? Can’t we just go to that tailor shop you mentioned before?” Kadi was still very curious.

”Haha, I want to craft you a sturdy mask that can serve as a helmet when worn on your head. I won’t use only iron; the mask will have fabric and an iron rim, so it won’t fall off your head!”

Kadi imagined himself with a piece of iron on his head and instantly felt very sad.

It’s heavy, wearing a mask is always uncomfortable...

But he really had no better way!

So he could only let Igor handle it.

”I hope the mask you craft can showcase your skills,” Kadi told Igor. He sincerely hoped Igor could make a decent mask to allow him to have better interactions with people.

”I already thought about your mask when we were on the mountain. I designed it while corresponding with Perkins. Of course, it’s not my design. I’ve asked my old friend from my hometown, A Rang, who is skilled in ironwork, to make it for you. It’s quite good, do you want to take a look?”

Igor said this while showing a drawing to Kadi.

”It’s so colorful...” Kadi seemed a bit puzzled.

”This is a mask pattern! I’ll have the tailor shop make more mask patterns for you so you can change them anytime. They’ll look mysterious and fun!” Igor was quite thrilled at the thought.

It was indeed an astonishing thing. Kadi didn’t understand this kind of stuff, so he just stared at Igor blankly.

”I initially thought of asking Luona to make this mask for you, but now I realize we can’t waste any time. Besides, given the situation, even if we could spare time, we won’t smoothly get to Luona City!”

”Why not?” Kadi was quite surprised. Why couldn’t they take the small roads to Luona City like this?

”You see, leaving aside your complaints, we’ve been taking small roads to avoid people. No one has bothered us because we’re still in a remote place like Gaga County. But when we reach larger cities, there won’t be small roads, and someone might target us, which would be troublesome. So, your mask must be made sooner. We need to start while we’re still in Gaga County.”

Kadi didn’t really understand Igor’s analysis, but now it seemed that whatever Igor said was the way to go, as he had no say from under the rag.

”You hide in this broken house today, and I’ll go to the county to find a blacksmith and tailor shop to make your mask. Once it’s ready, we can walk the main roads together.”

”At that time, you won’t worry about people questioning our strange outfits?” Kadi was still a bit uneasy about the colorful mask.

”Of course not! If someone asks, I’ll say we are traveling performers. You’re the performer, and I’m the narrator. No one will care about us then.”

”Alright, I hope that’s true.” Kadi was skeptical, ”I’ll hide here; you finish the mask early. If anything unexpected happens, I’ll signal you where to meet!”

”Your way?” Igor was a bit surprised.

”Yes, you’ll know when the time comes. I won’t tell you now.”