Chapter 2: Prank

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be like this." Ryan apologized to Lu Mian very politely.

Lu Mian laughed "Hehe":

"Doesn't this deserve another glass of 'Green Fairy'?"

Before Ryan could answer, he changed the subject:

"Outsiders, what are you doing in Cordu? Buying wool or leather?"

Cordu has quite a few residents who make a living by herding sheep.

Ryan breathed a silent sigh of relief and seized this opportunity to say:

"We are here to visit your village's 'Eternal Blazing Sun' church priest, Guillaume Bénet, but he is neither at home nor at the church."

"No need to say which church it is; Cordu only has one church." Pierre, who had drunk Ryan's free absinthe, kindly reminded him.

Other locals around the bar were drinking their own drinks, and no one answered Ryan's question, as if that name represented some kind of taboo or authority that couldn't be discussed casually.

Lu Mian took a sip of wine, thought for a few seconds, and said:

"I can probably guess where the priest is. Do you need me to take you there?"

"That would be troublesome." Lyra didn't stand on ceremony.

Ryan nodded as well:

"After you finish this glass."

"Okay." Lu Mian picked up the wine glass and gulped down the pale green liquid.

He put the glass down and stood up:

"Let's go."

"Thank you so much." Ryan greeted Valentine and Lyra to get up while signaling to Lu Mian.

A smile appeared on Lu Mian's face:

"It's nothing. You listened to my story, and I drank your wine, so we're friends now, right?"

"Yes." Ryan nodded lightly.

The smile on Lu Mian's face became even brighter, and he stretched out his arms, as if to give the other party a hug.

At the same time, he said enthusiastically:

"Nice to meet you, my cabbages."

Ryan, who was prepared to receive the hug, froze:

"Cabbages?"

His expression was both bewildered and embarrassed.

Valentine and Lyra were the same.

"This is our term of endearment for friends. People in the Daliezh region all know this; it's been like this for hundreds of years." Lu Mian explained with an innocent face, "Believe me, my cabbages."

Lyra couldn't help but look around, bringing out a jingling sound.

Pierre and the others nodded one after another, indicating that Lu Mian hadn't lied this time, but the smiles on their faces seemed to say that they were happy to see the outsiders unable to handle such an intimate address.

Lu Mian touched his chin:

"Don't like it?

"Then I'll change to another one, also used to address friends.

"My rabbits, my little chickens, my ducks, my little lambs, which one do you like?"

Ryan's expression became even stiffer, and Valentine frowned.

Lyra answered with a mix of anger and amusement:

"Let's stick with cabbages; at least it sounds a bit more normal."

Phew, Ryan breathed a quiet sigh of relief, pressed Valentine's elbow, and nodded slightly:

"They all sound like precious things at home."

Before Lu Mian could respond, he turned his body and said to the bartender:

"Check, please."

"2 Felkin." The bartender scanned the glasses on the bar.

While Ryan was paying the bill, Lyra changed the subject:

"The name Lu Mian is quite rare."

"At least better than Pierre or Guillaume." Lu Mian laughed, "If you shouted 'Pierre' here, at least a third of the people would respond to you. Shout 'Guillaume', and another third would respond. And this one..."

He pointed to the thin, middle-aged man who was drinking free wine:

"His full name is Pierre Guillaume."

Lyra smiled appropriately, effectively brushing off the cabbage topic.

Before leaving the tavern, Lu Mian turned back and scanned the room.

"What's wrong?" Lyra asked curiously.

Lu Mian replied thoughtfully:

"More than just you three outsiders came to the tavern today; another one came earlier, but I don't know when they left."

"What did they look like?" Ryan's expression became serious.

Lu Mian recalled:

"A lady, very elegant, you could tell at a glance she was from a big city. I can't describe what she looked like. Should I draw it for you?"

"Can you draw?" Lyra, having already learned about Lu Mian's character, asked vigilantly.

Lu Mian laughed:

"No."

"Then let's go find the priest first." Ryan ended the topic.

There were no streetlights in Cordu village at night, but it wasn't pitch black. The twinkling stars in the high sky brought a quiet glimmer, and combined with the yellowish light seeping from the windows of some houses on both sides of the road, the group of four walked steadily.

Not long after, they arrived at the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church located next to the village square.

In the dark night, the most magnificent building in the village seemed to melt into the night, looking slightly hazy.

"We've been here; there's no one." Valentine, who had been indifferent and silent, frowned and said.

Lu Mian laughed:

"Just because there's no one at the front door doesn't mean there's no one elsewhere."

While speaking, he led Ryan and the others around the front of the church to the place near the cemetery.

There was a dark brown wooden door here.

Before Ryan could knock, Lu Mian reached out and fiddled with the lock hole for a few moments.

With a creak, he opened the side door.

"This, isn't it a bit impolite?" Ryan frowned.

Lyra nodded with a jingle:

"We are here to visit the priest, not to deal with him."

"Fine." Lu Mian was very good at accepting others' correct opinions.

He pulled the wooden door shut and knocked lightly.

"Hey, is anyone there? If you don't answer, I'm coming in." He kept his voice very low, as if talking to himself in the night.

There was silence inside the church.

The next second, Lu Mian pushed the door open again and pointed inside:

"Let's go in."

Ryan originally wanted to refuse, but looking at the deep darkness behind the door, he pondered for a few seconds before exchanging glances with his companions.

"Okay." He took a step forward, slow but firm.

Lyra and Valentine followed closely behind.

At this moment, the four small silver bells tied to Lyra's two boots and both sides of her veil didn't make a sound.

In the dim and dark environment, the four of them moved forward.

Suddenly, Ryan stopped and whispered:

"There seems to be some sound?"

"Yeah." Lu Mian agreed deeply.

As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed hard to the side, and with a bang, opened another door.

It seemed to be the church's confessional. Dim starlight flowed in, revealing a simple low bed and a middle-aged man who was naked.

The middle-aged man was pressing down on a white, naked female body.

For a moment, everyone was stunned, including the middle-aged man and the lady beneath him.

A few seconds later, the middle-aged man turned his head and roared at Ryan and the others:

"Son of a bitch, you've ruined the sacred church's operation!"

In the echoing roar, Lu Mian, who had already moved behind Ryan and the others, waved his hand and laughed at a very fast speed:

"Looks like we found the priest. My cabbages, see you tomorrow!"

Halfway through the sentence, he had already turned and ran toward the side door, the remaining words drifting away with the wind, getting lower and lower.

At this moment, Lyra, Ryan, and Valentine all had the same sentence pop into their minds.

The words spoken by the middle-aged man named Pierre Guillaume:

"This kid is the biggest prankster in the village. You must stay away from him..."

Under the starlight falling from the high sky, Lu Mian whistled.

He put his hands in his pockets and walked leisurely along the country road.

"The priest really was having an affair with Lady Pualis.

"These outsiders clearly have some status. The priest definitely wouldn't dare do anything to them. He must have to pay a great price to stop the reputation of having an affair in the church from spreading, right?

"Hmph, who told him to always try to hit on Aurora? I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time..."

Muttering to himself, Lu Mian returned to his home on the edge of the village.

This was a semi-underground two-story house. The first floor was a kitchen that doubled as a living room, with an oven and a large stove.

"Aurora! Aurora!" Lu Mian shouted while walking up the stairs.

No one responded to him.

There were three rooms and a washroom on the second floor, all with their doors wide open.

Lu Mian scanned them one by one and didn't see his sister's figure.

He thought for a moment, went to the end of the corridor, and climbed onto the roof using the ladder placed there.

The orange-red roof was wrapped in the pervasive night, and a figure was sitting in the center, hugging her knees and quietly watching the starry sky.

This was an exceptionally beautiful woman with long, thick golden hair, light blue eyes, and bright features.

At this moment, her gaze was focused on the sky, watching the twinkling specks of brilliance, her expression quiet, like a statue.

Lu Mian didn't speak; he moved next to the woman and sat down as well.

He tilted his head slightly, looking out at the distant mountains and forests, hearing the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

After an unknown amount of time, the woman raised her arms and stretched without any regard for her image.

"Aurora, I don't understand what's so good about this scenery that it's worth you coming to the roof so often." Lu Mian made a sound.

"Call me sister!" Aurora hooked her finger and tapped Lu Mian on the head.

Then, she sighed, her expression turning dark:

"A philosopher once said that there are only two things in this world that are worthy of awe: one is the moral law within, and the other is the starry sky above."

Lu Mian looked at his sister's slightly melancholy face and laughed deliberately:

"I can answer this question; Emperor Roselle said it!"

"Pfft..." Aurora laughed out loud.

She immediately sniffed and raised her beautiful golden eyebrows:

"You've been drinking again!"

"This is called socializing." Lu Mian took the opportunity to talk about what had just happened, "I met three outsiders..."

Aurora couldn't help but laugh:

"I'm really afraid the priest will be scared into some kind of illness."

The next second, her expression became serious:

"Lu Mian, don't provoke the priest again. He won't do anything to me, and it would be more troublesome to have a new one come."

"But I hate him when I see him..." Before Lu Mian could finish, Aurora had already stood up.

She looked down at her brother and smiled:

"Alright, time to sleep, my alcoholic brother."

While speaking, Aurora threw out a little silver dust with a casual flick.

Then she floated up, like a little bird, slowly flying down from the roof and into the second-floor window.

Lu Mian watched quietly, then shouted urgently:

"What about me?"

"Climb down yourself!" Aurora's voice came from inside the house, merciless.

Lu Mian curled his lips, and the smile on his face disappeared bit by bit.

He looked at the silver light spots quickly extinguishing in the night and sighed softly, muttering to himself:

"I wonder when I'll be able to possess such extraordinary power..."

PS: Today is Xiao Ke's birthday. Thank you to "Ren Zai Wu Tong Xia" for the Golden Alliance donation, and thank you to sfqk, Mu Bai Jin Yu, Jia Lan Xue, Qing Ling Xu San, Wei La 0205, Lu Ren orzz, Hu Wei De Bi, Di Guo | Qin Shang, You Zai Da Wang Xiang Mo Yu, Gu Yi Chuan, Fei Hui Hei Du Yi for the Silver Alliance donations. Thank you to many friends for their donations these past few days.

Also, the extra chapters for the Golden Alliance will be added when the book is officially launched. In addition to the normal extra chapters, there will be extra chapters for the Golden Alliance.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====