Chapter 38: Sheep

The Beri family’s dozen or so members crammed into a dilapidated two-story house; Lu Mi, familiar with the layout, glanced at the open front door, then carefully circled around to the rear, where a wooden fence enclosed an open yard.

Near the eaves of the house lay piles of dried hay and firewood, and three white sheep—stained brown by dirt—padded slowly through the area.

Lu Mi had come specifically to inspect the flock because Aurora had mentioned that Pierre Beri’s returned sheep seemed odd, though she couldn’t say how—so he’d waited until the shepherd went to pray at church.

Though he’d never herded sheep himself, living in Cordu, a village near the highland pastures, he’d encountered at least seventy or eighty sheep, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with them.

After careful observation, Lu Mi found no difference between these three sheep and their kind, and muttered silently:

“Can’t tell by sight alone—do I need to use supernatural ability?”

But the “Hunter” had no such ability.

Lu Mi had already used his enhanced vision, heightened sense of smell, and acute awareness of traces—and still found nothing amiss.

The only odd thing he’d noticed was that all three sheep had defecated in one corner, rather than scattered everywhere.

Of course, this was likely because the Beris cleaned the dung regularly to use it efficiently.

After another few dozen seconds, Lu Mi muttered softly:

“Seeing and smelling won’t do… I’ll have to touch them directly?”

Without hesitation, he gripped the fence and vaulted over, moving with the ease of someone returning home.

The three sheep turned their heads simultaneously toward him; he immediately smiled:

“Come on, let me check your health.”

He wasn’t worried about being caught by the owner—he’d done this kind of thing more than once or twice; every household in the village knew this guy excelled at pranks, and using sheep as props was normal behavior.

In Lu Mi’s own words:

Once your reputation is ruined, there are advantages to being ruined.

As the “King of Pranks,” he could do anything in Cordu without raising too much suspicion—even if caught red-handed by those who sensed something strange, they couldn’t confirm he was truly at fault.

Of course, under such circumstances, the parish priest Guillaume and the shepherd Pierre might follow the “better safe than sorry” principle and eliminate him—so he still needed to be cautious when necessary.

“Baa! Baa! Baa!”

Sensing Lu Mi’s ill intent, the three sheep retreated behind the hay piles, their cries low and subdued.

But how could they escape a “Hunter”?

Lu Mi seized one sheep, patted its side, and forcibly checked its teeth.

“No issues…” he murmured.

Seeing the sheep stare at him, he added with a malicious grin:

“You’re in great health—perfect for pea and lamb stew.”

He said this deliberately to test the sheep’s intelligence.

Since the sheep’s body showed no abnormalities, this was his only avenue.

The sheep’s gaze instantly went blank.

Lu Mi laughed:

“Quite intelligent—you understand what I’m saying?”

The sheep’s eyes returned to normal, turned its head, and began chewing the hay.

“Ignoring me?” Lu Mi stroked his chin. “I’ll go buy you from Pierre Beri tonight—and eat you.”

The sheep gave no reaction.

It bit down on a clump of hay and pulled hard.

The hay pile collapsed suddenly—and as a “Hunter,” Lu Mi’s sharp eyes caught something.

His expression darkened; he walked over and crouched to examine it.

It was a few fingernails, cut off, tangled with strands of black hair.

“Why would this be outside?” Lu Mi whispered in surprise.

As a Cordu native, he knew the funeral customs of the Dari region: after someone died, family members would cut off some of the deceased’s hair and nails and secretly hide them somewhere indoors to avoid disturbing the constellations and retain good fortune.

How could such an item appear in the hay pile outside the house?

Lu Mi picked up the fingernails tangled with hair, weighed them in his hand, and began observing.

They looked very fresh—like they’d just been cut… he quickly concluded.

But no one in Cordu had died recently!

Lu Mi could only suspect this was a witchcraft ritual resembling funeral customs—he’d have to ask his sister when he returned.

To avoid suspicion, he reinserted the fingernails and black hair back into the hay pile and restored the scene to its previous state.

Having finished, he walked toward the wooden fence.

After a few steps, he turned back to look at the three sheep, and, thinking he had nothing to lose, spoke aloud as if to himself:

“Pierre Beri really seems off—he returned to the village before May even arrived…”

“Did he commit a crime out there?”

“As a good citizen of Intis and a devout follower of God, shouldn’t I go to Dari and inquire?”

The three sheep merely stared at him, motionless, their eyes unchanged.

No special intelligence there either… Lu Mi sighed inwardly, disappointed.

He raised both hands, thumbs up, index fingers down, and gave them a mocking gesture.

What’s wrong with mocking sheep when you’re in a bad mood?

The next second, the sheep Lu Mi had examined suddenly stepped forward a few paces, its eyes now glimmering with something like hope.

It lifted its front hooves and began scratching the muddy ground.

Lu Mi was baffled and confused, momentarily frozen.

Quickly regaining his wits, he hurried over to the sheep.

The sheep seemed to be drawing letters—Lu Mi found them vaguely familiar but couldn’t recognize them.

He frowned and speculated:

This script must share origins with Intis language…

But I only know Intis and some ancient Fusaic…

At that moment, Lu Mi understood from another angle what Aurora meant by “knowledge equals power.”

The sheep finished drawing quickly, stepped back two paces, and gazed at Lu Mi with pleading eyes; the other two sheep also showed similar emotions, softly bleating.

Lu Mi stared at the word on the ground, lost in thought.

His mind filled with thoughts: “What does this mean?” “How should I respond?”

In just one or two seconds, he had an idea; he nodded solemnly at the three sheep.

Simultaneously, he extended his right foot and erased the word from the mud.

Though he couldn’t read it, he could at least pretend he understood!

First, fool these sheep—then ask my sister later!

Before the sheep could “respond,” he walked toward the fence, nodding slowly with a grave, thoughtful expression—as if to say, “Wait a moment, I’ll think of something.”

Leaving the sheep pen, Lu Mi didn’t delay—he returned home and found Aurora curled up in the study’s armchair, reading.

“Sister.” He called out urgently, “I’ve got something.”

“Just calling me sister…” Aurora instantly grew wary. “What trouble did you get into this time?”

Lu Mi calmed himself, organized his thoughts:

“You told me Pierre Beri’s three sheep were strange, right?”

“I went to check on them while he was at church—I want you to guess what I found.”

Aurora’s expression turned serious at once:

“You should’ve told me before doing something like this—it’s dangerous, and no one’s here to protect you.”

But if I’d told you, you’d have stopped me… Lu Mi felt touched by his sister’s concern, yet privately grumbled.

“I’ll remember next time,” he sincerely promised.

He’d said this dozens of times before.

Aurora could distinguish urgent intelligence from matters that could wait; she nodded, signaling him to proceed.

Lu Mi recounted his entire experience at the sheep pen without omission; as she listened, Aurora grew increasingly grave.

“Write down that word.” She rose from her armchair, fetched paper and pen, and handed them to Lu Mi.

Lu Mi had deliberately memorized it; he wrote the word down swiftly and accurately.

Aurora glanced at it once, then said heavily:

“This is serious.”

I know… Lu Mi replied silently.

And he believed the problem was even worse than his sister imagined.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

Aurora pointed at the word:

“It’s Highland language—the official tongue of the Fenn Bote Kingdom, sharing origins with Intis language from ancient Fusaic.”

“Its meaning is…”

Aurora paused, then spoke in a low tone:

“Help!”

“Help?” Lu Mi exclaimed in shock. “Those three sheep are begging us for help?”

Aurora nodded:

I suspect they aren't sheep.

They were supposed to be human!

“Human?” Lu Mi asked in surprise.

This exceeded his knowledge.

He had only thought the three sheep were highly intelligent, displayed human-like emotions, and understood some human language—but he had never equated them with humans.

To him, humans turning into sheep existed only in imaginative stories!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Mi was no longer shocked.

Time loops had already appeared—what was strange about humans turning into sheep?

In the world of mysticism, the bizarre and absurd were never rare.

Facing his brother’s confusion, Aurora nodded solemnly:

“I’m not sure if any secret art can turn a human into a sheep, but every detail now points to that possibility.”

“Indeed,” Lu Mi agreed.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the three sheep were human.

Was Pierre Béri, the shepherd, tending to humans?

Lu Mi turned and asked:

“Why were those nails and hairs hidden outside the house?”

Aurora pressed her lips and said:

“This is one of the funeral customs in the Dariji region, though it’s rarely used nowadays and many have forgotten it.

“As a ‘witch,’ I studied this to see if I could gain any useful knowledge.”

She then explained:

“When a family member commits suicide, is murdered by a relative, or lived a profoundly evil life that brought great misfortune to the entire family, their cut hair and nails must be hidden outside the house to prevent them from affecting the family’s constellation and bringing bad luck.”

Suicide, or murder by a relative? Lu Mi suddenly recalled something:

In the last cycle, Pons Béne violated funeral customs by entering Naro Ka’s home.

Could he have gone there to take away Naro Ka’s hair and nails?

(End of Chapter)