Within the Westerling family's territory, adjacent to the Earl of Bancrown's territory, lies a village called Alex Village.
"Hey, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and pack your things!" A short, richly dressed man glared at his wife with rat-like eyes and yelled.
His name was Bernie. He was skilled at imitating all kinds of sounds in nature, as well as the voices of other people. His imitations were so lifelike that they were indistinguishable from the real thing. This gave him the opportunity to perform his ventriloquism at banquets of noble knights, which earned him a lot of money and fame.
In Alex Village, Bernie was the richest man in the village. He was also a celebrity in the surrounding area.
Count Bancrown liked him very much.
After being sold to Earl Bancloth by the Westerling family in Alex Village, Bernie was frequently invited by Earl Bancloth and other family knights to perform all sorts of lifelike animal sounds or the voices of other designated characters at the nobles' festival banquets.
Bernie's wife was much taller and stronger than him, with thick lips and a wide face. She had no name and therefore no surname. Bernie had picked her up on the street when he was performing ventriloquism in the Riverlands. He called his strong wife "Bull" in a humiliating way.
Over time, the bull became the woman's name.
The bull is timid and introverted, and is clearly afraid of her much shorter husband.
The bull began to dawdle as she packed her things. She picked up a piece of clothing, then put it down, then picked up an exquisite wicker trunk, then put it down again.
Bernie was quickly packing his things, and outside the house, the sound of people running could be heard, as if they were about to go to war with the neighboring village.
"Bernie!" the bull finally mustered his courage. "I don't want to leave the village. I love it here. I don't want to go anywhere… away."
"Are you an idiot?" Bernie roared from the outer room, counting his bronze stars, silver deer, and a few gold dragons. "Alex Village no longer belongs to Earl Bankloo. It has been returned to the faithless, foolish Earl Westerling."
"And Count Westerling the Foolish married his daughter to the Mountain. Do you know who the Mountain is? He's a monster from hell, taller than our houses, who comes out at night to kill and cook. He's conscripting soldiers from all over the land, making us his mercenaries to make money for him. And he wants to levy taxes here that are far too high for us to pay. Damn it, he's a Clegane, hundreds of miles away from here. What right does he have to come here to collect taxes?"
The bull was speechless; she didn't know what to say.
She wasn't good with words, and Bernie rarely went home throughout the year. She farmed and worked here, feeling content and comfortable. She didn't argue with anyone, didn't fight with anyone, and no one scolded her for being stupid or complained that she ate too much and did too little. She fell in love with this place and didn't want to leave.
"You go, I'll stay!" the bull said timidly. "You can come back anytime. This will always be your home. And you'll always be my man."
"No!" the mouse rushed in, raising his hand to slap the bull, but the bull grabbed his wrist with great strength. "I'm not leaving! He wants to collect taxes, and I have no money!"
"Oh dear, let go of me, you fool! If you don't leave, a woman as beautiful as you... if the Demon Mountain sees you, you're doomed, your whole life is ruined. He'll rape you and kill you, rape you and kill you again, kill you and rape you again, rape you and kill you again! He's a bloodthirsty and brutal demon."
The bull couldn't understand what Bernie was saying at all.
She released Bernie's hand and looked at him awkwardly and fearfully.
She noticed the red finger marks on Bernie's wrist and was afraid she had hurt him. Bernie had a bad temper, loved to swear, liked to hit her when drunk, and preferred to bring prostitutes home to sleep with. But Bull didn't mind; Bernie was a good man, and she was grateful to him.
After being driven out by her parents and brothers, the bull scavenged for food in the street garbage dumps. It was Bernie who rescued her, gave her a stable place, and these several renovated tall stone houses.
"You're really not leaving?" Bernie flicked his wrist, noticing the red mark on it. Time was of the essence; the entire village was moving, deciding to relocate to Earl Bancrown's lands to clear the wasteland. Bernie, however, wasn't going to do that. He decided to make a living through his ventriloquism, traveling around and, wherever he went, making sure to sleep with the local girls.
His ultimate dream was to sleep with women from all seven kingdoms.
"I'm not leaving!" Bull shook his head resolutely. She had no memory of the Mountain, but she would never forget being beaten by her family and starving to death on the streets.
"Everyone in the village will leave, leaving you all alone here. When Demon Mountain comes, she will dismember you. Like this: slash, hand chopped off; slash, leg chopped off; slash, neck chopped off; bang, head kicked off. Are you scared?"
The bull stared blankly at Bernie.
Bernie realized with despair that the bull probably didn't understand what he was saying at all.
"If you really don't leave, I won't leave you a single penny, I swear." Bernie raised his voice to show his shamelessness.
"Take all the money, and bring plenty of food," Bull said. "When you're out there, drink less alcohol, and don't believe what the young girls say; they're all trying to scam you out of your money."
"Nonsense!" Bernie scoffed, turning to leave. "You idiot, lecturing me? Get the hell out of here!"
*
Throughout the entire Westerling family territory, in the villages of the reclaimed lands, rumors were rampant. There were terrifying rumors about the Mountain's horrific killings and rapes of women; rumors about conscription without pay, but families who went to war having to pay their own taxes to support the army, with an additional monthly tax of one silver stag, and those who didn't have enough money having to pay with grain; rumors that the Mountain would wage a full-scale war against the surrounding nobles of the North; in short, rumors, though without wings, could fly freely in all directions, and very quickly.
These rumors, seemingly originating from nowhere, broke out simultaneously in villages and regions. Although the wording differed, the message was the same: flee the Westerling family's territory as soon as possible, or you would be unable to leave.
Bernie packed his belongings, mainly his money, and went out with a bag on his back. Most of the villagers had already gathered there, and there was a lot of noise as many people were rummaging through drawers and cabinets to pack their things.
"Let's go!" Bernie was a celebrity in the village; everyone was watching him.
"Bernie, where's the bull?" a villager asked.
"If she won't leave, let's go. We'll be safe once we're inside Earl Bancrown's territory before dark," Bernie said.
"Then let's go quickly!" someone said.
"Take Bull with you, she's a good woman, Bernie," an older woman said.
"It's not that I don't want to take her with me, it's that she's possessed and refuses to leave!"
Bernie whistled as he spoke, relaxed and carefree: "Let's go, everyone!"
So the villagers followed Bernie out of the village in a chaotic manner.
Suddenly, in the distance, a young man riding an ox galloped along the road in front of the village, shouting: "Go back quickly, go back fast! The people from Demon Mountain are here! It's the Three Dogs Flag! It's the Three Dogs Flag!"
Bernie and the villagers immediately stopped.
Just in case, two boys who could climb trees were sent to watch the road from the big tree outside Alex Village, to report back immediately if anything happened.
The only way to escape is to do so secretly. Legend has it that Demon Mountain is extremely cruel, and anyone who falls into his hands will die without a burial place.
The villagers were all panicked, and their faces changed drastically.
Bernie made a quick decision: "Go back!" he said. "Let's leave after dark!"