Chapter 813: In the Baron's Mansion, Monsters

The messenger said, "Replying to the Young Master, although I myself do not have vision as good as the sentries, I saw with my own eyes the place they pointed out. There is firelight there, and quite a lot of it."

"Could it be that an abandoned village is on fire? After all, the weather has been quite dry lately; if there is little rain, those old houses in the villages are always prone to catching fire on their own."

The older man rubbed his waist while posing the question.

And what this old man said also had some merit.

The messenger knelt on the ground and said, "Replying to the master, although one can see faint firelight in the village with the glow, the sentries say it is not the kind of fire caused by a village burning down."

"Are you sure?" the old man asked again.

"Replying to the master, I cannot see clearly in the middle of the night, but that is what the sentries say."

The old man nodded and said no more.

The middle-aged woman to the side looked at the nails on her fingers, made a gesture, and then took a delicate little file from her maid behind her, gently trimming her nails.

Seeing the old man remain silent, she added, "Could it be those 'Bandits'?" When she said "Bandits," she deliberately emphasized her tone, and the other few people present all understood what she meant.

The messenger said at this moment, "Replying to the Madam, it is possible that the bandits in the mountains are acting out of spite to burn the village. The new outer walls of our town are finished, so they definitely cannot break in; I suspect they are venting their anger. Uh, it could also be a despicable tactic to divert the town's main defensive forces."

Facing the messenger's bold speculation, the middle-aged woman glanced at him, gave a non-committal hum, and then looked toward the temporary administrator of the territory in the main seat, who was her nephew, the eldest son of the current Baron of Yemei Town.

This young man gave a light cough and asked the Second Butler to the side, "Where is the map?"

Before the Butler could answer, two male attendants carried a large rolled-up cowhide map into the hall, one in front and one behind.

This cowhide map looked very heavy, but the two attendants, faces flushed from the strain, walked quickly to the center of the hall and then slowly laid down the cowhide map, which was as tall as a person when rolled up.

Then the Second Butler stepped forward personally and, from the large bunch of keys at his waist, picked out an inconspicuous copper key to open the metal lock securing the entire roll of the map.

*Click! * The lock and the thin metal chain were removed, the Second Butler stepped back while holding the items, and the two panting attendants nearby hurriedly opened the entire roll of the cowhide map.

This thing seemed to be made by stitching together seven or eight pieces of square cowhide that had been cut out, and a detailed map of the entire Yemei Town territory was drawn on it using pigments with good adhesion that would not fade or flake.

Interestingly, the map was not only detailed regarding villages, fields, and forests, but it also used a special method to make the cowhide map slightly show the ups and downs of the terrain. This way, as long as one touched it or observed it from a close distance, one could see the elevation changes of the entire territory.

Because the entire Baron's territory was not regular in shape, the center of the map was not Yemei Town; the Yemei Town where everyone present was located was only on one side of the map, while the other side consisted of vast mountain ranges and woodlands, as well as a few sparsely distributed remote villages.

If one observed carefully, or if Bata'er Jiaoshi were here, one could see the name of Changmai Cunzi in a corner of the map.

Changmai Cunzi was also a village belonging under Yemei Town, but its location was remote and far away; let alone protection, even merchants doing small business were not very willing to go there to trade. Only when the Tax Officers came to collect taxes every year would they remember this remote place and send some unlucky fellow with soldiers and a carriage to collect the grain tax.

With the map unfolded, the Second Butler walked to the main seat of the hall to help the Baron's eldest son up, serving the young man as he walked to the map.

The temporary administrator of the territory waved his hand, signaling the messenger to come forward: "Come, make a rough judgment; in which direction from the town was the place where the light originated just now, how far away is it, and where is it? Hmm, Yemei Town is on your side, look for it carefully."

The messenger knelt on the ground and kowtowed once; he did not stand up, but instead moved closer to the edge of the map with his knees scraping the floor. He was literate; although not highly so, he recognized most common vocabulary.

The messenger's parents both came from the Empire and were immigrants from the Empire, and he did not, like other new generations who migrated to Saint Hors, fail to learn to read; he had learned at least some from his parents.

On his side of the map, he easily found the conspicuous Yemei Town, and only then did he look for the sun orientation drawn on the map. Generally speaking, maps often draw the sun on the side representing the south; once the sun is found, the direction can be known from the map.

So, after finding a row of suns in different orientations on the other end of the map, the messenger confirmed the south. Then he found the northwest of the town, and after judging the distance of the light based on his experience, he had the answer to all the questions.

Kowtowing once, the messenger reached out and pointed to a spot on the cowhide map, saying at the same time, "Replying to the Young Master, ten kilometers northwest of Yemei Town, the place where the incident occurred is the small village of Blue Well."

The young temporary administrator blinked: "Small village of Blue Well? Everyone, does anyone know that village?"

He looked at the elder in the family, and the uncle of the current Baron nodded: "Oh, I have been there, but only once, and that was a long time ago when I accompanied your father to inspect the territory when he inherited it. A very ordinary village, except that, as the village's name suggests, the water well in the center of the village used some colored stone to build a large water well that looked blue from a distance."

The young man looked at his aunt again, and the middle-aged woman waved her hand: "I rarely go to those dirty places. You can ask your cousin; he likes to take the family's hunting dogs to hunt rabbits in the winter, perhaps he has been there in the last two years."

So the young man turned to look at the three people of the same age gathered on the right: "Cui Si Te? Did you hear that? You have been there, tell us if there is anything special about that place?"

Among the three young men who were discussing playing cards later, one of them turned his head: "Uh? Oh, let me think, Blue Well Cunzi, I have been there."

"It is the small village of Blue Well."

The young temporary administrator had to correct his cousin's small mistake.

"It's all the same anyway; those villages outside the town all look about the same. Let me think, oh, I remember now, it's quite ordinary itself, but if you come from the commercial road in the northwest to our town, that Blue-something village, and the few villages close to it before and after it, are mostly the places where caravans must and are the last to stay for a night before arriving at the town."

He added another sentence: "You know, although our godforsaken place can be seen from far away on the road here, after all, it is not prone to fog all year round, as the fog is all sucked away by the Back Mountain Valley. But seeing it is one thing, and usually it still takes a day or half a day to reach the town. When I hunt rabbits, I often misjudge the distance and the journey, and I usually have to spend a night in a nearby village."

Speaking of spending the night, he turned his head again and smiled triumphantly at the other two peers he was talking to, saying particularly smugly: "You don't know how enthusiastic those girls in the outside villages are when they see me, and how big their chests are, one by one. Even if I only promise a job as a dishwasher at home, those girls have to tear at each other to grab the chance to sleep with me!"

Just as his smug words were finished, the middle-aged woman sitting to the side trimming her nails threw the thing in her hand at his head from a distance and screamed: "I finally know! Where all those clumsy maids in the house come from! Te! I'll settle the score with you when we get home!"

This young man shrank his neck, while the other two young men at the same table laughed and gloated.

But the Baron's eldest son ignored this; he gently stroked the neatly trimmed beard on his chin with his fingers and speculated: "In that case, could the so-called light also be a caravan from the outside world?"

The old man coughed lightly and reminded him: "At a time like this, how could there be a caravan coming to Yemei Town? In my opinion, this is perhaps more likely to be the evil plan of those guys."

"That is also possible, also possible."

The young temporary administrator hurriedly added; he had also been terrified a few days ago by the invaders who appeared to be bandits but were actually monsters. Fortunately, those monsters did not concentrate their forces to attack the Baron's Mansion at that time, otherwise, looking at the large area of ruins on the south side of the town ravaged by fire, he might not have been killed by the monsters, but burned to death in the fire in the middle of the night.

"Then, our little Baron, what is your opinion? Should we wait for the soldiers and guards to return and report, or make a judgment now?"

The old man finally asked.

The young man pondered for a moment, his hands rubbing back and forth on the silver belt at his waist, rubbing back and forth, and then wiping some sweat off on the trousers he was wearing, finally giving the order: "Messenger."

"Young Master, please give your instructions."

The messenger hurriedly knelt on the ground and replied with his head lowered.

"You go back first, return to the city wall where you are, take something the Butler will give you in a moment, and hand the thing to the sentries. Let our sentries with the best vision use that thing to look carefully at the small village of Blue Well that is emitting the light."

The young man whispered something in the Second Butler's ear, then waved his hand to let the other party go and get it quickly.

The messenger straightened up, his puzzled gaze following the Butler, and discovered that the Butler did not leave the bright hall, but took a key and retrieved a cylindrical metal tool from a gorgeous display cabinet on the side of the back of the hall.

The messenger reached out both hands to carefully take the gorgeously decorated metal cylinder, and then heard the Baron's Second Butler whisper a few words to him, all about the value of this item, how to use it, and some instructions to use it carefully.

The messenger swallowed, hurriedly tucked the item into the clothes on his chest, and did not dare to tuck it at his waist or hold it directly in his hand.

Seeing that the messenger had received the item, the young temporary administrator waved his hand: "You go back now, let the sentries observe carefully, and after you have clarified the situation, bring the item and the news back."

"Yes, Young Master, I obey your command."

The messenger bowed his head in agreement, then stood up and walked quickly out of the hall. The male attendant at the door of the hall opened the small door of the hall, and then led the messenger back to the gate of the Baron's Mansion along the original path.

After the messenger left, the young temporary administrator of the territory walked back to the seat where he had been sitting before. Seeing the middle-aged woman stand up to leave, he hurriedly called out to stop her: "Aunt, wait a moment, wait a moment, this is not over yet. We still have to wait for the news brought back by the cavalry we sent out, and after that, the family's cavalry will still have to carry the orders we discussed and spread them to the whole town."

After hearing this, the middle-aged woman sat back down, only saying angrily: "I'm not in a hurry to rush back to question those little girls who sneaked into the house, hmph, Te! Look at the good deed you've done!"

"Enough, Mother. No one is going to run away tonight anyway, and with more than half the people in the territory gathered in the town right now, if you dismiss them, where will you find another batch of reliable and capable girls? Think about it: the people on the streets right now are fighting tooth and nail for any job that puts food on the table. Do you really think those guys who use underhanded tricks to get ahead are reliable?"

The young man Cui Si Te responded nonchalantly, then, as if performing a magic trick, he pulled a deck of Magic Card from his pocket, shook them at the two other close peers at the table, and asked the temporary administrator of the territory sitting at the head of the table—the Baron's eldest son and his cousin: "Future Baron, since your men haven't returned yet and we won't be able to sleep tonight without any definite news, how about a few rounds of cards to liven things up?"

"Yeah, big brother, let's play."

The youngest young man sitting at the table chimed in.

The last young man, the grandson of the old man sitting nearby, also waved his hand and said: "Three people playing isn't as good as four. Come join us, cousin."

The Baron's eldest son looked left and right, saw that there was nothing to do, and the Second Butler, who was serving nearby, leaned over to add: "Young Master, I will remind you in advance before the soldiers or messengers return."

So the young man walked over.

The old man sitting in front called for an attendant, indicating that since they would be waiting for a long time, an old man like him could not sit in a chair that wasn't very comfortable; he needed to change into a comfortable chair with armrests and a backrest.

"Bring another cup of tea with a mild fragrance. I am old, and Flower Tea with a strong aroma makes my nose uncomfortable."

The middle-aged woman asked her Maid to fetch a mirror; she had come over in such a rush earlier that she hadn't applied her makeup yet. Although it was night, the female relatives of a Noble family could not lose such basic etiquette.

On the barren farmland outside the small village of Lanjing, it was not just the Human inside the town whose attention was drawn by the firelight; a group of parasitic Monster, who were taking advantage of the night to hunt small animals for food, also noticed a group of uninvited guests appearing within their patrol range.

But these parasitic Monster that often dealt with Human were not as stupid as the 'newborn' Monster in the distant mountain forest lair. On the contrary, the longer they were parasitic, and provided the parasitized creature did not die from a lack of food, the smarter and more cunning these parasitic Monster became.

A small squad of five parasitic Monster knew that it was unlikely for them to take down the noisy Human overnight Yingdi with the flickering firelight in the distance, and even with several surrounding squads, it was still unlikely, but they still had to learn a little about the strength of this newly emerged group of Human.

If they couldn't take them down and it was a tough nut to crack, they wouldn't waste their own strength. But if it were possible to take them down, provided there were enough flesh-parasitic species, they would have to return to the lair and try to notify the Prophet to let the Prophet think of a way.

But if this group of suddenly appearing Human were all soft-footed shrimp that would scatter at the first charge, then this squad of parasitic Monster felt that perhaps they could launch a surprise attack under the cover of night, parasitically control dozens of Human, and then go to a nearby Flesh Tree to convert them into new members.

These more agile, more cunning fellows were currently lying prone in the lush weeds. In the somewhat shriveled eyeballs of the parasitized Human, the finest plant roots were slowly swaying within the eyeballs, tugging at the Human pupils, dilating and enlarging them to absorb more light so they could see more clearly at night.

"Should... we... try?"

A parasitic Monster that appeared to be the leader issued a low, hoarse inquiry from its throat.

There was an immediate response from the side: "Try it, hang them... join... us."

"Join... the embrace... of flesh."

"Human... cannot see clearly at night. According to... the previous method, tonight... will surely be a Hunting."

But there were also dissenting voices: "Be careful! They... are too many. If we rely only on ourselves, without chaos... we will be beaten into minced meat by the Human."

The leader of the parasitic Monster thought for a while and felt that its subordinates all made sense, but the Human were right in front of them, and not taking action wouldn't do; they would be mocked by the surrounding squads and also reprimanded by the Prophet.

And if they wanted the great Flesh Demon to descend here and cause pain to the Human Kingdom, they had to parasitize more and more Human.

"Then... all follow me, let's try the previous method first."

"Hiss—"

"Hiss—"

The five parasitized Human then retreated—not a retreat, but a detour from the outer grass to the Shanglu in the direction of the town. They tidied up the clothes they were each wearing, all of which were worn by the Merchant they had parasitized earlier.

They looked at each other, rolled on the ground a few times, deliberately making themselves look disheveled, and then checked each other to confirm they looked like a small, stranded Caravan. These fellows then ran forward along the Shanglu with hurried steps, looking back frequently as if something were chasing them from behind.

And ahead, was the small village of Lanjing with its flickering lights.