Chapter 16

Ryan shook his head:

“That letter had only two sentences, and the content was simple—like someone in dire straits reaching out to us.”

“Didn’t say what kind of trouble?” Lu Mi quietly exhaled.

Neither the letters Aurora wrote to her pen pals nor their replies could possibly consist of just two sentences.

“No,” Ryan sighed lightly.

You came all the way here over a letter that said nothing at all? Aren’t you afraid it’s just a prank? Even the Inquisition isn’t this eager—this is too kind, too good-hearted, too full of mission, isn’t it? Lu Mi sneered inwardly.

By his nature, he would’ve spoken these words outright, but knowing he still needed to extract information from them, he forced himself to stay silent, afraid of provoking them and ending the conversation.

Still, Lu Mi knew Ryan wouldn’t tell him everything—they must have other reasons for coming to Keldu Village over a letter that revealed nothing.

“Hmm…” Lu Mi rubbed his chin, proposing with the mindset of having nothing to lose, “Could I see that letter? Maybe I can tell who wrote it from the handwriting.”

Valentine, his hair powdered, gave him a look that said, “You think we’re fools?”

Lyra smiled:

“You can authenticate handwriting?”

"I can just barely manage it." Lu Mi looked utterly sincere.

He mentally added:

Being able to recognize Aurora’s and my own handwriting counts as being able to authenticate.

“Useless,” Ryan shook his head again. “Every word in that letter came from the Little Blue Book; the entire sentence was assembled from cut-out paper strips.”

Very cautious… This method feels familiar—too many of Aurora’s stories?… If it’s a plea for help, why hide their identity this way? Afraid the letter will be intercepted and lead to retaliation? Or perhaps they themselves have something to hide, don’t want to be seen? Lu Mi tried to analyze the writer’s mindset.

He deliberately feigned sudden understanding:

“Most households in the village have a Little Blue Book—you’re talking to people to check whether their copies show similar damage?”

“But that person could’ve just bought a new Little Blue Book privately, used it, and thrown it away.”

“That’s just one direction,” Ryan said calmly.

“Any others?” Lu Mi didn’t treat himself as an outsider at all.

Ryan thought a moment, then said:

“If there’s a plea for help, there’s a perpetrator. Something must be happening—and it must leave traces.”

“Makes sense,” Lu Mi put on a look of sympathetic concern, as if he truly felt their struggle.

He solemnly promised:

“My cabbages, I’ll keep an eye out for you—hope I can find some clues.”

“Thank you,” Ryan replied politely.

Lyra, already composed, probed:

“Since you’re friends, I have a question for you.”

“No need to be formal,” Lu Mi smiled, gesturing for her to go ahead.

“When you call us ‘cabbages,’ why do the villagers laugh?” Lyra was deeply curious.

Though the term was embarrassing, if it was a local slang, it shouldn’t have made people laugh.

Lu Mi answered sincerely:

“‘Cabbage’ in slang means ‘cutie’ or ‘sweetheart.’ When I say ‘my cabbage’ or ‘little cabbage,’ I use it in two cases: among close friends, or elders addressing juniors—like ‘my bunny’ or ‘my chick’—similar things.”

He stressed the word “close.”

Then, with a look of innocent confusion, he added:

“I just wanted us to become close friends.”

He acted as if he had no idea what “close” might imply.

I see—you wanted to be our elder… Lyra finally understood why the villagers laughed.

Though Lu Mi’s explanation might not be true, at least it was logically convincing.

Ryan nodded along:

“Anything else?”

“No,” Lu Mi didn’t want to seem too eager, lest they suspect him and start investigating him and Aurora.

Sister can’t afford investigation!

After watching Lyra and the others walk away, the bells jingling behind them, Lu Mi sat at the entrance of the old tavern, waiting for the mysterious woman with unknown motives to wake up.

After a while, his partner Raymond Craig came over.

“Lu Mi, have you decided which legend to investigate next?” Raymond asked at once.

These past two days, he’d been even more eager than Lu Mi—he had no strange dreams, no other path to treasure.

“Not yet.” The owl had come to his door—before confirming the situation, Lu Mi wouldn’t dare investigate any legend.

He made up an excuse:

“Lent’s coming in a few days—let’s get through the holiday first.”

“Hmm,” Raymond agreed. “So I don’t need to be a ‘watcher’ yet—wait till after Lent. Even if someone herds now, it won’t cause much damage.”

“So you won’t be leaving the village these next few days?” Lu Mi asked.

Seeing Raymond nod, he smiled:

“Funny—I won’t be leaving either.”

“Why?” Raymond asked, puzzled.

Lu Mi lowered his voice, face serious:

“This morning, I met the owl—the owl from the witch legend. It said that if this village didn’t have a church, if God weren’t watching, it would’ve taken my soul right now and thrown it into the abyss…”

Raymond listened, stunned and terrified.

He trembled all over:

“Really?”

“I told you not to mess with evil creatures…”

As he muttered this, he suddenly noticed the faint smile on Lu Mi’s face.

“...” Raymond remembered his friend’s true nature.

“You’re playing another trick on me again?” He was both angry and flustered.

Angry at himself—he knew what Lu Mi was like, had been fooled so many times—why did he still fall for it?

“You believe something that ridiculous?” Lu Mi chuckled.

That’s the lie—meant to keep you from cracking under pressure and rushing straight to confession… he mentally added.

“Phew…” Raymond relaxed.

Lu Mi then warned:

“Though that story was made up, I meant to tell you—investigating legends carries real danger. Try not to leave the village or step beyond the church’s protection.”

After speaking, he muttered silently:

This part’s true—the story was mostly fiction, only partly real… If I didn’t need your help later, I wouldn’t have warned you. I’m just rephrasing Aurora’s warning—what do I care if others die?

Raymond, recalling that moment of terror, nodded understandingly:

“Got it!”

He dropped the legends and asked instead:

“Who will you vote for as the Spring Sprite?”

The Spring Sprite was the central figure of Lenten festivities, symbolizing spring; in the Dari region, villagers voted to choose a beautiful, unmarried girl to portray her.

“Ava,” Lu Mi replied indifferently. “Isn’t she always wanted to be the Spring Sprite?”

“I’ll vote for her too,” Raymond breathed a sigh of relief.

Yesterday, Ava hinted he should vote for her—he felt he ought to help her gather more votes.

…………

Outside a house not far from the old tavern.

Ryan, Lyra, and Valentine didn’t rush to “chat” with anyone.

“Was it really fine telling that guy so much?” Valentine covered his nose and mouth.

The air reeked faintly of domestic poultry droppings.

Lyra tapped a silver bell on her head: “I don’t know if it’s fine—I only know my divination says he’s one of our useful allies.”

“When you’re stuck, leaking a little information to make the relevant parties act out of fear is a very effective investigation tactic,” Ryan explained his intent. “Now we observe him—see what he does, who he seeks out.”

…………

After Raymond left, Lu Mi entered the old tavern and saw the woman who’d given him the tarot cards sitting again in her usual spot.

Today she wore a white women’s shirt with loose-legged light pants; beside her sat a round straw hat tied with a few small yellow flowers.

She really had a lot of clothes in her suitcase—changed daily, unlike Lyra and the others, who looked so shabby… Lu Mi sighed inwardly as he moved closer and sat across from her.

Along the way, he casually glanced at her breakfast:

A plump meat-filled pie with thin sauce inside;

Several buttery ring biscuits;

Cubes of seasonal fruit;

A cup of pale, slightly cloudy transparent drink.

None of these were available at the old tavern… Lu Mi pointed at the drink, as if they were old friends:

“What’s this? Doesn’t look like alcohol.”

“‘Venus Sacred Oil’ specialty drink,” the woman replied offhandedly. “Made by mixing cinnamon water steeped with sugar and vanilla, then blended with poppy flowers—it was invented by a bar in Trier.”

The word “Venus” comes from Emperor Luo Saier, who mentioned in one of his stories that this was a woman comparable to the goddess of beauty.

“Where did you get it? Did you make it yourself?” Lu Mi doubted that even the recent city of Dalie could provide something similar.

The woman smiled:

“As a traveler, acquiring the right thing at the right time is professional instinct.”

“I don’t understand,” Lu Mi admitted honestly.

He changed the subject:

“I dealt with that monster before; now I’ve encountered two even more dangerous ones…”

He described the monster with three faces and the one carrying a hunting rifle, then added:

“I feel both possess strength beyond normal humans—I can’t handle them. Is there any way to deal with them?”

The woman took a bite of a cream puff, her eyes flickering slightly as she smiled:

“I can’t say about the three-faced monster, but the one with the hunting rifle—you can handle it alone, if you make good use of your special ability.”

“My special ability… what special ability do I have?” Lu Mi was both astonished and bewildered.

I don’t even know myself!

The woman smiled at him:

“It’s your dream, isn’t it? As the master of the dream, you naturally have special privileges—you’ve just not realized them yet.”

PS: Thank you to Chu Zhao Lan and shalimarrrr for becoming Silver Patrons.

(End of Chapter)