Chapter 11

The azure sky was dotted with white clouds, the spring breeze touched human cheeks with the scent of trees, and beside the clear, gently flowing river, white geese lowered their heads to eat green grass, while a young girl in a gray-white cloth dress held a long stick, watching them closely.

The girl's face was bathed in golden sunlight, revealing faint downy hair, her smooth long brown hair was wrapped in a white cloth at the top, and her exquisite features revealed an irrepressible youthful vitality.

She looked at Lu Mian, who was sitting on the ground under a tree by the river, and frowned slightly:

"Aren't we here to discuss which legend is easier to investigate?

"How did it turn into the stone statue carved on the church?"

This girl was Ava Lizier, the daughter of the shoemaker Guillaume, and one of the few in the younger generation of the village who had a good relationship with Lu Mian and Raymond.

"I'm thinking about a problem." Lu Mian didn't even raise his head, still staring at the white geese and the ripples.

"What problem?" Raymond Craig, who was helping Ava look after the geese, asked curiously.

Lu Mian said as if he were thinking:

"If you encounter a beast with thick skin, and your weapon can't hurt it, how would you deal with it?"

"Of course, find a way to run away; there are so many beasts in the mountains, you don't necessarily have to hunt it." Ava didn't think this was anything difficult.

Lu Mian said "Hmm":

"What if that beast is extremely rare, and the masters in the city like it and are willing to pay a hundred gold louis for its carcass?"

"A hundred gold louis, two thousand ferkins..." Raymond's breathing became heavy.

He had never seen a gold louis, nor had he used one, so his instinct was to convert it to ferkins first.

With such a sum of money, he could go to Daliege to do small business; why would he still learn to herd sheep?

He thought quickly:

"Borrow a hunting rifle from someone?"

"It can't pierce that beast's skin." Lu Mian directly denied it.

Although she knew that the prey was in his imagination and it was impossible to exchange it for so much money, Ava still couldn't help but join the discussion:

"Is it powerful? Is it fierce?"

Lu Mian thought for a moment and said:

"About the same as me."

This was also one of the reasons he hadn't given up.

"That's not bad." Raymond felt inexplicably relieved. "Go back to the village, gather a group of people, surround it, exhaust its stamina, and finally tackle it to the ground and tie it up."

He knew Lu Mian could fight, but he was clear that it was just so-so.

"In that case, you'd only get ten gold louis, or even less." Lu Mian reminded him.

"I've seen them hunt; maybe we could dig a trap so that the beast falls in and can't get out..." Ava's lake-blue eyes turned slightly as she spoke while recalling.

"That's a way." Lu Mian nodded in agreement.

Knowing that Ava and Raymond's knowledge was limited and they couldn't offer more suggestions, he brought the topic back on track:

"Which legend do you think is suitable as the next target?"

"None of them are suitable." Ava shook her head. "Those are either things from hundreds of years ago, or only one person saw them, and that person is long dead."

Raymond echoed Ava:

"Yeah."

"How do you know there are no clues if you don't ask the relevant people?" Lu Mian chuckled. "You guys, you have no perseverance in doing things; you want to give up as soon as you encounter difficulties. You can only be a goose girl or a shepherd for the rest of your lives."

These words caused a surge of anger to rise in Ava and Raymond's hearts.

When it came to making people angry, Lu Mian was definitely among the top in Cordu Village.

Ava blurted out:

"I don't think any of them are suitable because there's a more suitable one."

"What is it?" Lu Mian's eyes lit up.

Ava regretted it as soon as she said it, but she had intended to talk about the corresponding matter anyway; she just hadn't wanted to tell Lu Mian and Raymond so easily.

After a few seconds of silence, she glared at Lu Mian:

"There's a real witch in the village."

"Who?" Lu Mian's heart tightened.

She wouldn't be talking about Aurora, would she?

If even Ava knew Aurora was a witch, then he and Aurora would have to flee Cordu Village immediately and live somewhere else to avoid being "visited" by the Inquisition.

Ava subconsciously looked left and right, lowering her voice:

"Madame Pualis."

The administrator's wife, the parish priest's mistress, Madame Pualis? Lu Mian was a bit skeptical:

"Really?"

If Pualis was truly a witch, then when he discovered this lady having an affair with the parish priest, how could she not have noticed?

"No way?" Raymond was exceptionally surprised.

Ava stood on tiptoe and looked toward the village entrance:

"I'm not sure; it was the administrator's manservant, Charlie, who let it slip once and told me.

"He said Madame Pualis is a soul messenger who can talk to the souls of the dead and help them return home; he also said Madame Pualis knows how to make secret medicines and charms."

Lu Mian listened carefully, still unsure if this was true or false.

With magazines like "Spirituality," "Lotus," and "The Hidden Veil" being published legally, it wasn't too strange for the administrator's wife to know some terminology and understand how to put on an act to fool the servants and villagers.

"Should we go to the church to report it? Could this earn us a good reward?" Raymond was both terrified and expectant.

Lu Mian deliberated for a few seconds and said:

"The administrator's manservant knows Madame Pualis is a witch, so the administrator himself should know too, right?"

"Right." Ava gave an affirmative answer.

Lu Mian continued:

"Madame Pualis is also the parish priest's mistress; if we go to the church to report it, I'm afraid we'll be sent directly to the administrator's house."

"What?"

"Madame Pualis is the parish priest's mistress?"

Ava and Raymond were both shocked.

"I saw it with my own eyes." Lu Mian chuckled. "You guys pretend you don't know about this; don't tell anyone, or I'm afraid you'll disappear one day."

Ava and Raymond agreed simultaneously, their expressions exceptionally solemn.

They were both very afraid of that parish priest, and this matter also involved a witch.

"If we can really confirm that Madame Pualis is a witch, we'll find an opportunity to go to Daliege and tell the bishop during High Mass." Lu Mian comforted the two.

"Yeah." Raymond nodded vigorously.

They had to confirm it before reporting it; otherwise, if it turned out that Madame Pualis had no issues, they would be finished.

After discussing these matters, Lu Mian, not wanting to waste time, stood up and said to Ava and Raymond:

"I'm going back to read; otherwise, Aurora will chase me with a wooden stick.

"You two herd the geese well."

"Okay." Thinking that for the next period of time, only he and Ava would be left here, Raymond felt a surge of excitement.

Ava, on the other hand, was a bit unhappy.

…………

After approaching Cordu Village, Lu Mian began to hide his tracks, constantly watching to see if anyone was nearby.

He was worried that the parish priest and his people wouldn't let him go and were still waiting for an opportunity.

According to his observations, the parish priest, Guillaume Bénet, was a very persevering person, and he would definitely retaliate if he suffered a loss.

While hiding and dodging, Lu Mian headed toward the old tavern.

Suddenly, he heard a clinking sound.

Lu Mian turned his head and saw that in the side path on the left, the three outsiders—Ryan, Lyra, and Valentine—were walking toward Na Roca and the others, who were picking lice off each other.

The crisp, pleasant clinking sound came from the four small silver bells on Lyra's veil and boots.

They had been wandering around the village for the past two days, chatting with people, asking this and that; he didn't know what they wanted to do... Lu Mian was a bit suspicious and vigilant.

Thinking of the empty village square from a few days ago, and the shepherd Pierre Bénet who had specifically rushed back from afar to participate in Lent, he had some bad premonitions and felt things were strange.

Was something going to happen in the village? Lu Mian decided to tell Aurora about these situations later and let this knowledgeable, well-read, and wise sister of his make a judgment.

Soon, he successfully entered the old tavern and saw the woman who had given him the Tarot card sitting in her usual corner, eating.

Lu Mian approached and glanced at it:

"Fried eggs with fatty meat?

"Isn't it too greasy?"

In the Daliege region, this dish was the first choice for ordinary families to entertain distinguished guests, but Lu Mian felt that for a woman from a big city, it might be too oily and greasy.

The lady took a bite of the golden egg with slow movements and closed her eyes to feel it for a moment:

"Very good, it has local characteristics and is very fragrant."

"Having lunch so early?" Lu Mian sat opposite her.

The lady's light blue eyes revealed a hint of fatigue as she smiled and said:

"This is breakfast."

What time is it... Lu Mian didn't dare to say this out loud.

He looked around the old tavern, which had few customers, and lowered his voice:

"I saw a ruin in the dream and encountered a monster."

"Oh." The lady wasn't surprised at all; her expression even carried a hint of playfulness that Lu Mian found hard to understand.

Lu Mian calmed down and recounted his encounter exactly as it happened, finally saying:

"How should I deal with this kind of monster?"

The lady smiled and asked back:

"Is it dead or alive?"

"It must be alive; I can't kill it..." Lu Mian stopped his subconscious answer.

He thought seriously for a while and slowed down his speech:

"I can feel its breathing; it should still be alive."

"Since it's alive, you should try more; cut off its head this time, splash it with oil and burn it next time, bury it alive the time after that; maybe it will die?" The lady suggested nonchalantly while enjoying her breakfast. "Come find me after you've tried so many methods and it still doesn't work. I'm not your nanny; I won't provide help for every little thing. You have to learn to find a way yourself first."

She's quite... friendly... Lu Mian wasn't disappointed or frustrated at all, because the other party seemed to mean that if he really encountered a particularly great danger, he could come find her and she would provide some help, but this kind of monster was really not worth mentioning.

But her "not worth mentioning" is a real, big trouble for me... Lu Mian immediately felt a headache again.

He decided to do as the lady said and first test whether methods like beheading, burning, and burying alive were useful.

PS: Thanks to Fruit Orange for the Silver Alliance donation.

(End of chapter)