Chapter 520 Meeting again

In the early morning light, Eddard Stark emerged from under the fur blanket and crawled out of the tent.

 One night, a wall of snow half a person's height had been piled up in front of the tent.

Ed took a deep breath, the cold morning air stinging his lungs.

 The snow is still falling, even heavier than last night.

The lake in his memory disappeared, as did the forests, roads, and hills. The blizzard swallowed up everything, and he could only see the outlines of the remaining tents in the camp.

The attendant found some pieces of wet wood and lit them with great difficulty.

 But there was only smoke from the fire, but no warmth.

 Fortunately, Ed was used to eating cold dry food. After washing it down with coarse ale, a warmth finally rose in his stomach.

Ser Alliser Thorne came to report exhausted:

“One died last night and three were missing. Four horses fell and we rescued one..."

Ed listened to the "freeze damage" report. After a long silence, he said in a calm tone:

 “After breakfast, move on.”

"yes."

 The journey south was extremely difficult, which did not surprise Ed at all.

Especially along the way, people from the north joined their team from time to time. Compared to the well-trained night watchmen, these ordinary people included many old, weak, women and children, so some people would freeze to death almost every day.

 I wonder how many people will be left when they arrive at the Neck?

What to do if you encounter an army of zombies?

 What should I do if supplies are cut off?

 …

Ed tried hard not to think about these desperate problems. After swallowing the dry and cold food, he ordered to set off again.

The snowstorm shows no sign of slowing down, so the marching speed is naturally extremely slow, which can be described as a staggering crawl.

 It only takes ten miles to walk in a whole day.

 Coupled with the fact that the length of the day is constantly shortening, the nights are becoming extremely long, and the marching speed is still decreasing. In the end, even being able to walk five miles a day is already very good.

It was nightfall again, and the team was stationed by a frozen river.

 “This is the White Blade River.” Ed said firmly.

Now the sky is completely white, and everything is covered in heavy snow, but the former guardian of the north can still recognize his location at a glance.

 He pointed to the southwest in the darkness and said:

"Winterfell will be reached in three days' journey that way."

Ser Alliser Thorne frowned and said:

"My lord, you are not planning to go to Winterfell, are you? With all due respect, going in that direction will take us a long way. We are running out of supplies. Really..."

"You don't have to go to Winterfell." Eddard explained, "I'll go back and take a look myself. You can just continue south."

Allisa breathed a sigh of relief:

"Yes, sir. Let me send some cavalry to go with you, so that you can take care of me."

 Ed shook his head:

"No need to assign. I will ask everyone before I leave tomorrow to see if there is anyone who wants to follow me to Winterfell."

"good."

 Early the next morning, Ed climbed out of the snow-covered tent as usual, ate dry and cold food, and listened to his men report on the "frozen damage" suffered last night.

At this moment, the sentinel rider hurriedly came back to report that he had encountered a migratory team in front of him who was also heading south.

“Did you see their flag clearly?” Ed asked.

The sentry knight nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

 “It’s the pink skinned man.”

 “The Bolton family.” Ed chewed on the name and then smiled bitterly.

At this point, there is nothing to worry about about the grudges between the Stark family and the Bolton family.

 With the White Walkers, the common enemy of mankind, no matter what conflicts there have been between the major families in the north, they should be put aside at this time.

 Only by uniting can we gain a chance of survival.

"I'm going to meet them." Ed mounted his war horse and followed the sentinels all the way south. Not long after, he saw the same team stationed by the glacier.

 The two camps are not far apart. If it hadn't been so dark last night, I would have discovered each other long ago.

"Who is in charge here? Is Count Luce here?"

"Lord Roose is not here. Lord Ramsay is in charge here."

Ed nodded, suppressing his inner disgust for the illegitimate son of the Earl of the Dreadfort, and said:

 “Take me to him.”

 “Please follow me.”

The guard took Ed into the camp and saw a young man in red armor walking towards him, surrounded by knights.

 “Ramus Bolton?”

"Yes, Lord Eddard, I have admired you for a long time. I never thought I would meet you here!" Ramsay stepped forward with a smile on his face and held Eddard's hand, as if he was seeing an old friend reunited after a long absence. .

Ed was not used to the other party's over-enthusiasm, so he resisted and did not throw away the other party's hand:

"My team is right behind. We can meet up and go south together."

"Of course, of course." Ramsay said with a smile, "We are all from the North, and we should help each other. Oh, by the way, Lord Eddard, I have a small gift for you."

Ed subconsciously wanted to refuse:

 “You don’t have to be so polite…”

"It should, it should." Ramsay waved back without waiting for the other party to refuse again, "Reek, come here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards surrounding Ramsay dispersed, and Ed saw a timid old man walking over with difficulty.

  Reek, it really stinks. Ed couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.

"Reek." Ramsay did not hide his disgust and kicked the man with his foot. "Let Lord Eddard see your face."

"Yes, yes, sir..." Reek trembled all over, but he still moved his long hair like withered grass to both sides, revealing his dark face.

 Ed said doubtfully:

 “Ramus, who is this?”

"Ha! Reek, look, Lord Eddard can't recognize you! Damn it! Come on, tell everyone, who are you?"

 “I’m Reek, your Reek.” Reek shivered even more.

 “I mean your original name.”

"I am Reek...Reek, Reek, life is as cheap as grass..."

 Ramsay kicked him hard in anger.

Reek flew backwards and rolled several times on the snow before coming to a stop.

"That's enough!" Ed was a little angry, "Ramus, be kind to your people, the gods are watching."

“Lord Eddard, he is not one of my people. Nor is he one of the ancient gods.” Ramsay said with a smile, “Don’t you really recognize him?”

Ed looked at Reek again and saw the man struggling to get up from the snow.

His whole body was extremely dirty, as if smeared with excrement, and exuded a suffocating stench. His hair was dry, and his skin was dark, as if he hadn't bathed for hundreds of years.

Only those black eyes gave Ed a familiar feeling.

 “Theon?” Eddard said in disbelief. "No!" Reek suddenly wailed, "No! Master, you got the wrong person! I am Reek! Lord Ramsay's Reek..."

  Ramsay laughed triumphantly:

"Lord Ed, you finally recognize him. Yes, he is the first heir to the Iron Islands, the legal owner of the Seastone, a subject of the Drowned God, and your former adopted son, Theon Grey. Joey."

"No! Theon is dead a long time ago!" Reek cried. "I am Reek, I am Reek!"

Ed looked in disbelief at the man in front of him who had been tortured into a human shape and whose spirit had already collapsed. He really couldn't connect him with the Theon in his memory.

 “What you did is too much!”

"Excessive?" Ramsay raised his eyebrows, "Have you forgotten that it was this guy who introduced the Ironborn to Winterfell and made you homeless? Haha, it was in vain that you raised him for more than ten years, but after all he I still became a chameleon.”

"Then you shouldn't use torture to torture him." Ed said angrily, "Have the Bolton family forgotten the agreement they made back then? Skinning torture is not allowed in the North!"

"I didn't skin him." Ramsay said disapprovingly, then turned to look at Theon, "Reek, did I skin you?"

"No, no, no!" Reek shook his head repeatedly, "Master, you are the best to me! Reek will always remember your kindness."

　　While saying this, Reek subconsciously covered his hands. Through the cold gloves, he seemed to be able to feel the severed fingers.

That's what he begged Ramsay to cut off.

 Because the other party peeled off the skin of his fingers, leaving the muscles exposed, drying, cracking, and ulcerating... Theon had been beaten with whips and burned with red-hot irons, but no pain could compare to the feeling after peeling off the skin.

That kind of pain can drive people crazy.

It is simply unbearable for living people.

He could only pray that Lord Ramsay would be merciful and cut off his skinned fingers.

Master Ramsay will grant his request every time, as long as he pleads in pain. This is his favorite game.

  The rules of the game that Reek understands.

How could he not understand?

Once, he forgot the rules and tried to bite off the skinned finger with his own teeth to end the pain, but this angered Lord Ramsay and cost him an extra toe.

"Master did not abuse me." Reek said quickly, "I deserve all the punishment. Reek, Reek, life is as cheap as grass..."

 Ed was so angry that he could hardly control himself and wanted to draw his sword.

But he didn’t want to kill Theon, the adopted son who had betrayed him, but Ramsay Snow—

 This monster of the Bolton family.

 But he also knew that this was not the time for internal strife.

Furthermore, he is no longer the Duke of the North and has no right to judge Ramsay Snow.

"Lord Eddard," Ramsay said, "How did I train this Reek? Do you like it? If you like it, I will give it to you as a gift..."

 “Keep it for yourself!” Ed turned around and left.

 I don’t want to stay here any longer.

 Ramsay looked at the other person's retreating back, and suddenly turned his head to look at Xion, his face darkened:

“Reek, Lord Eddard seems to be very dissatisfied with you.”

Theon was shaking as if he was suffering from epilepsy, and his nose and tears flowed out together:

 “Old, Master...I...I deserve it...I..."

"You deserve it." Ramsay snorted, "Teeth or fingers? It's your choice."

Xion wailed, but did not dare to resist. He thought of the pain he felt when eating this morning, and thought of the only seven fingers he had left. After struggling for a moment, he said:

 “Finger...master...my finger...”

 “Okay, come on.”

 “Thank you…Master…for your mercy…”

On the other hand, Ed Stark returned to the camp, but his mind kept thinking about the appearance of Theon he just saw...

His former adopted son has been tortured and gone crazy.

Even though Theon had betrayed him, Ed would rather chop off his head with a sword than let him be tortured by Ramsay like this.

“Lord Eddard, do you want to set off?” Sir Denys Mallister came to ask.

Ed had to calm down and said:

"I want to go back to Winterfell, and I will leave this team to your command. In front is the Bolton family team. You go to join them and go south together. Try not to cause conflicts."

 “Yes, my lord.”

After Ed finished explaining, he selected a few more cavalrymen who volunteered to follow him, and then left the team and turned to the southwest.

But he didn't go far before he turned his horse's head and returned to the Bolton family's camp.

"Eh? Lord Eddard? Have you changed your mind and are you ready to accept my gift?" Ramsay asked with a smile.

Ed looked at Theon, who was cowering and trembling behind him, and said coldly:

“Theon Greyjoy, will you come with me back to Winterfell?”

"Winterfell?" Theon burst into tears again, not sure whether it was out of joy or fear.

"Yes, Winterfell." Ed said, "The place where you have lived for more than ten years. But I also want to tell you clearly. I am not going to rescue you, but to take you back to face trial. In the eyes of the gods, Under your gaze, I will hold the sword with my own hands and chop off your head! Pay homage to the countless wronged souls of the Stark family!"

 Hearing this, Xion's body suddenly stopped trembling.

He carefully raised his head and looked at the tall man on the war horse, the man he once regarded as his father, idol, and hero.

Hearing that the other party was going to chop off his head, he strangely did not feel any fear, but instead felt a sense of relief.

There is a strong desire in my heart——

 Promise him!

 This is your only chance for redemption!

 “Reek!”

 But right here, Ramsay’s voice sounded.

 Pulled Theon back to **** in one fell swoop.

 “Are you going back with Lord Ed?”

After experiencing so much torture, Theon has long since learned to read every layer of meaning in Lord Ramsay's words.

Now, he knew clearly that the other party did not want him to return to Winterfell.

 He began to tremble again.

 The chapped mouth opened and closed, but still no words came out.

 Ed spoke again and said:

"Theon! It is better to die nobly than to live abjectly. Show your courage!"

"Reek," Ramsay said, "Are you going to die with Lord Eddard? Or are you going to live with me?"

At this moment, thousands of thoughts ran through Xion's mind, but none of them were clear.

 There was a violent turbulence in his stomach, and he fell to the ground suddenly and started to vomit.

Ramsay laughed loudly when he saw this and said:

"I'm sorry, Lord Eddard, but it seems Reek can't come back to Winterfell with you. He's in such a state that he can't even climb on a horse."

Ed was silent for a moment, finally stopped entangled, turned around and left.

But at this moment, Xion slowly raised his head and looked at his adoptive father's retreating back.

 The dilated pupils gradually condensed.

 (End of this chapter)