Chapter 35: Differences

“About the same strength as last time…”

Lu Mi stared at the corpse of the skinless monster and murmured softly.

Before time reversed, he had fought the monster evenly, relying on superior intellect to appear to handle it easily—but now, it took only one axe swing.

Of course, this was also because he had “previously” experienced it and understood the ambush thoroughly, allowing him to anticipate it in advance.

But regardless, the contrast between “before” and “after” was enough to make him feel the qualitative leap he had gained since becoming an Exceptional.

Lu Mi thought for two seconds, dragged the skinless monster’s corpse and head to the corner, but did not bury them with stones, wood, or soil—leaving them exposed alongside the bloodstained ground.

Then, Lu Mi swiftly searched the half-collapsed building, precisely locating the remaining 197 Fierkins and 25 Copecks, sorting them into different pockets.

He flipped through the small blue book again but found nothing unusual.

After finishing this, he crept deeper into the ruins—but after advancing only twenty or thirty meters, he circled back to the previous spot, skillfully climbing onto the half-collapsed roof along the skinless monster’s former path.

After completing the necessary preparations, he concealed himself.

Time passed second by second; Lu Mi waited with great patience, like an experienced hunter awaiting prey.

After an unknown length of time, a figure approached from somewhere in the ruins.

It had a half-human, half-beast form, its knees bending its lower legs forward, greasy black hair hanging down, and a hunting rifle slung on its back—it was the very monster that had previously granted Lu Mi his “Hunter” Exceptional trait.

The rifle monster moved cautiously, as if conducting a routine patrol.

Suddenly, it sniffed the air and detected a large amount of blood in the distance.

It quickly changed direction, moving closer to the partially collapsed building scorched by fire.

Following the blood trail, the rifle monster found the corpse and head of the skinless monster.

It crouched down and began a careful inspection.

On the half-collapsed roof, Lu Mi shook his head and whispered silently:

“Even at this distance, you didn’t smell me?”

“Even with the blood scent masking it, you shouldn’t have noticed nothing at all!”

As he muttered, he raised his axe and struck hard into the pre-deepened crack beside him.

Crash!

The half-collapsed roof trembled; heavy stones crashed down with a roar.

The rifle monster reacted instantly, twisting its waist and pushing off its legs to leap toward the still-intact area.

Lu Mi smiled.

He lunged down from the intact roof like an eagle snatching prey from midair.

Amid a whoosh of wind, Lu Mi and the rifle monster met in midair—one towering from above, raising a single hand with the axe; the other facing away from above, struggling to turn and block.

Lu Mi’s left hand clenched into a fist and drove downward; as the monster extended its arm to block, Lu Mi opened his palm with practiced ease, softening his force and seizing the monster.

As Lu Mi’s left hand pulled back, his right hand’s axe slashed downward with sudden force.

With a wet thud, amid splattered blood, both man and monster crashed to the ground.

Lu Mi, cushioned by the monster’s body, remained unharmed and raised his axe for another strike.

The rifle monster’s head, though reluctant, could no longer stay attached—it rolled twice away from its body.

Lu Mi stood up, staring at the monster, and sneered softly:

“You’ve grown weak!”

“You’re just a terrifying shell—filled with nothing but straw, aren’t you?”

As a confirmed “Hunter,” he had high confidence in defeating the rifle monster again—but he never expected it to be this easy.

He stared at the corpse, waiting patiently for the Exceptional trait to emerge.

But after waiting a long while, no crimson speck appeared.

“No?” Lu Mi murmured in confusion.

He didn’t even find it surprising.

Because the rifle monster’s Exceptional trait had already been taken by him during the “previous” timeline, transformed into a potion, and absorbed into his body.

Indeed, since time reversal hadn’t turned him back into an ordinary person or erased the Exceptional traits within him, that meant one less “Hunter” trait existed here—the rifle monster had merely returned to life, but lacked the essential foundation… The real question now is: why am I still retaining my state from before time reversal? Lu Mi couldn’t find an answer, so he scavenged the few copper coins on the rifle monster and walked out of the ruins.

…………

After dawn, Lu Mi did not pretend to have a headache before his sister, as he had on March 30th before, nor did he bring up Exceptional topics—he woke early and prepared food.

Toasted bread, fried eggs with runny yolks, sliced smoked meat—all were laid out on the table.

“Oh? So diligent?” Aurora, descending the stairs and seeing this, was surprised. “I thought you’d be too drunk from last night’s drinking to get up this morning.”

Lu Mi replied casually:

“Just one glass of apple cider wine and one of absinthe—how much is that?”

“What’s there to be proud of? Except for wine, all other alcoholic drinks are unhealthy—they damage our brains.” Aurora shook her head and laughed. “No wonder you’re getting dumber, my drunkard brother.”

Lu Mi, always unable to argue with his sister, muttered under his breath:

“Why is wine the exception?”

“Because I like to drink it.” Aurora gave him a look that dared him to contradict her.

Lu Mi had no reply.

After breakfast, he didn’t rush out—he began kneading flour.

This astonished Aurora:

“Did you do something terrible? So well-behaved…”

“Come on, tell me—sister won’t hit you. At most, I’ll add another combat lesson.”

“Nothing.” Lu Mi seized the chance to open the topic. “I just feel the village’s atmosphere is growing stranger—some people are acting increasingly abnormal. Aurora, don’t you feel it too?”

From his observations, his sister had indeed lost all memory of the reversed timeline—but the village’s abnormalities certainly didn’t begin just these few days; signs must have existed before March 29th. As a “Watcher,” Aurora might have sensed something, but perhaps hadn’t taken it seriously.

Aurora’s expression grew slightly serious:

“Even you’ve noticed something’s off?”

“Tell me—who specifically makes you feel this way?”

Aurora clearly knew some people had issues—but hadn’t realized how severe they were… Lu Mi washed his hands and carefully replied:

“Madame Poulais, the parish priest, Pons Béne, and the shepherd Pierre Béri, who returned early.”

Madame Poulais does have problems—I knew she was strange the moment she and the administrator arrived in Cordu. But she’s been restrained—besides her continuous affairs, she hasn’t done anything outright evil,” Aurora recalled. “I’ve seen…”

Aurora stopped, seemingly unwilling to drag Lu Mi into the Exceptional world.

Continuous affairs? Before Lu Mi discovered Madame Poulais’s affair with the parish priest, he’d thought her a respectable lady—never imagining the priest wasn’t her first lover.

Of course, this fit Lu Mi’s current stereotype of Madame Poulais.

“As for the parish priest, he shares your intense craving for Exceptional power but has never received a blessing from the Eternal Sun Church.” Aurora mused. “Pons Béne, that muscle-brained fool, won’t do anything strange… But Pierre Béri’s sheep this time—he brought back a few that seem off, though I can’t tell how, and I dare not investigate further…”

No wonder she’s Sequence 7 on the “Watcher” path… Before time reversal, Lu Mi had talked too little with his sister about these matters—he’d completely missed the crucial clue about Pierre Béri’s sheep… Hmm, back then, he hadn’t suspected Pierre much, only thought it odd he returned early for Lent… Lu Mi was about to speak when a jingling sound came from the door.

Their doorbell had been rung.

“Who is it?” Lu Mi asked, walking over.

“A telegram for Aurora!” came the voice from outside.

“A telegram?” Aurora frowned. “Who sent me a telegram? Nothing urgent’s happened lately…”

Lu Mi was equally puzzled:

Before time reversal, on March 30th, they had received no telegram!

Wait—on March 30th, I left early to wait for Raymond at the village square… Maybe she received one but didn’t tell me… Lu Mi quickly found a possibility and opened the door.

Outside stood Bertrand, the administrator’s subordinate in charge of telegrams, who handed Lu Mi a sheet of paper while saying:

“One Fierkin.”

Bertrand, with brown hair and brown eyes, was not from Cordu—he had come with the administrator from Dariel, a young man who outwardly seemed cheerful but inwardly was greedy.

Lu Mi tossed him a silver Fierkin and glanced at the telegram.

The message wasn’t complex—he quickly absorbed its gist:

“As previously mentioned, the writer’s salon will be held in June. If you, Miss Aurora, are willing, you may now depart for Trier to allow sufficient time for sightseeing—we guarantee it will be a wonderful journey.”

Signed: The Novel Weekly Editorial Office.

This… Lu Mi’s eyes widened sharply.

Is this the Novel Weekly’s reply?

“When did I say I wanted to attend the writer’s salon?” Aurora leaned over, glanced at it, and said, “What’s the Novel Weekly’s editorial office thinking? Meeting so many people at once is a nuisance!”

By now, Bertrand had already left the doorway.

Hearing Aurora’s words and combining them with the telegram’s content, Lu Mi, stunned, suddenly had a bold guess:

This telegram was indeed the Novel Weekly’s reply—but it was replying to the telegram he would send in a few days!

More precisely: the telegram he had sent before time reversal had received a reply after time reversal—but in this current timeline, that telegram had not yet been sent!

(End of Chapter)