[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-63":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257067,4404,"Chapter 63: Hound Tracking","above-the-mage-chapter-63",63,"\u003Cp>Although the name \"Royal Magical Academy\" stirred a momentary impulse in Gao De, the thousands of kilometers distance quickly cooled him down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even two hundred kilometers away, the city of Bremen was beyond reach for Gao De at this point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t his past life, with high-speed trains, airplanes, and other convenient transport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the city, vast unexplored, uninhabited forests teemed with danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a complex mood, Gao De left the commercial district and returned to the herb garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The news he heard today still left him with a sense of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although disappearances had previously occurred in the commercial and commoner districts, who could guarantee it wouldn’t happen next in the \"poor district,\" the \"wealthy district,\" or even the \"suburbs\"?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely because the wealthy in the city feared this that they pressured the city guards, making them take the matter seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone needs to take turns keeping watch at night. Even if the killer truly appears, the apprentices’ feeble skills here won’t help—but at least it’ll give me some psychological comfort; otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep.” Gao De thought to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just want a quiet life—farm some land, sell some herbs, and grow stronger for a while. Is that really so hard?” He felt a pang of helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De believed he had been sufficiently humble and obedient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when he occasionally had impulsive thoughts, he suppressed them all and never took any risks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unfortunately, trouble didn’t spare him just because he avoided it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope the city guards can at least do something useful and catch the killer soon.” Gao De thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst-case scenario he had feared had finally come to pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last night, despite intensified patrols and full-city lockdown, two households—nine people total—vanished mysteriously inside their homes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As before, the scene revealed nothing except some unknown sticky substance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hear the wealthy of the city united today and pressured the city guard,” said Pierre, his expression grave, to Gao De, who had arrived early to gather news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked deeply worried. “Who isn’t terrified by this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the old man himself had no confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not surprising—people always fear the unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pressuring the city guard is just a front; the real goal is to pressure the mayor,” Gao De saw through it at once: “Clearly, the city guards can’t solve this—they must summon the city’s mage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the mage intervenes, won’t this mystery be solved quickly?” Only a mage wielding supernatural power could handle such strange events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably,” Pierre hesitated, then nodded—he still held some hope for the mage of Hogen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Gao De, he wished Hogen City would remain calm and free of anomalies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hogen City, City Council Chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around a dark-wood conference table in a circular room sat eight or nine of the city’s top leaders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wore colorful robes embroidered with family crests, their faces expressionless, revealing nothing of their thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charles, the highest leader of Hogen City, sat in the main seat, his brow furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those present collectively represented the highest authority in Hogen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone, including Charles, remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marlan, captain of the Hogen City Guard, was a burly middle-aged man in a fitted uniform, radiating sharp energy and an air of intimidation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing no one speak, he cleared his throat and broke the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, last night I deployed every city guard for night duty. Everyone worked tirelessly—no one slacked off or neglected duty—but the disappearances still occurred silently under our patrols.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is beyond the city guard’s capability. We must summon the mage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others still said nothing, as if determined to remain silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charles, in the main seat, frowned deeply and sighed. “I thought this was a minor matter, but it’s grown worse than expected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If this isn’t resolved, everyone in the city will live in fear, and merchants will protest loudly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hogen City is ultimately ours—everyone, please voice your opinions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Charles speaking thus, no one could remain silent any longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suspect it’s the work of a geopulse creature,” the elder seated to Charles’s right spoke first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the deputy mayor of Hogen City, Master Qingdi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the laws of the Xian Kingdom, the highest leader of every city must be a noble holding a kingdom title—the local lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On this basis, a deputy mayor with the title of “mage” must be appointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a mandatory rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then can the city maintain sufficient power to resist potential natural or human disasters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in a small city like Hogen, Deputy Mayor Master Qingdi was a second-ring mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is your opinion, Master Qingdi?” Charles asked for confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This doesn’t resemble human action. Why would a human go to such elaborate lengths for just a few households? As you described, the victims vanished, but their belongings remain untouched.” Master Qingdi spoke calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be that some mage is secretly studying forbidden necromancy, leaving the wealth behind to throw us off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such things had happened before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then he wouldn’t dare act so openly,” Charles dismissed the possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Studying forbidden necromancy was a grave crime—always conducted in secret; no one would be so brazen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if it is a geopulse creature, where did it come from, and where did it go?” Charles frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had considered the geopulse creature possibility, but this point had no reasonable explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The poor district was understandable—it lay on the city’s edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasionally, rogue geopulse creatures slipped past the city walls and wreaked havoc in the slums—this had happened before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the two recent disappearances occurred in the commoner district, in Hogen City’s secondary center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it truly was a geopulse creature, how did it enter the commoner district unseen, passing through the city’s outer perimeter?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how did it vanish silently—or where might it be hiding now? The city guards have patrolled the city repeatedly these days and found not the slightest anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Geopulse creatures possess diverse abilities. Lately, the frequency and number of geopulse creatures appearing outside the city have increased. A geopulse creature with concealment abilities is not hard to imagine,” Master Qingdi said slowly, with certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean, Master Qingdi?” Charles, seeing Master Qingdi’s demeanor as if he already had a full plan, promptly asked humbly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t they say some sticky substance was left at the scene?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qingdi stated directly: “Without doubt, that substance was left by the killer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A single ‘Hound Tracking’ spell can trace the killer through the residue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then please, Master Qingdi, perform it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Master Qingdi shook his head. “I don’t know the ‘Hound Tracking’ spell. You must send someone to Bremen to buy a spell scroll.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Hound Tracking’ is a second-ring spell; the scroll costs only thirty gold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Money is trivial—finding the killer and calming this matter is the priority,” Charles slammed his hand on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty gold meant nothing to a viscount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll send someone to Bremen immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1153,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","88cd20d117c9967391218ad97b7008b84cd7b18b70ae71f8bbfe55ccc716fc48","above-the-mage-chapter-64","above-the-mage-chapter-62",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]