Chapter 4: Shepherd

"Then let's go find your dad." Lu Mian stood up with a swish.

He had always been a man of action and was very clear that investigating the village legends couldn't be delayed. If it dragged on, it would easily be discovered by his sister, and his sister Aurora would definitely not allow him to continue.

This was because in Aurora's eyes, pursuing extraordinary power was a very dangerous behavior.

How could I not know there's danger? Aurora wouldn't lie to me about this. But even if there's a mountain of blades and a sea of fire ahead, I have to walk on. I can't let Aurora face it alone... As he stood up, such a thought flashed through Lu Mian's mind.

Whenever the world becoming more and more dangerous was mentioned, the seriousness and worry on Aurora's face couldn't be faked!

Raymond Craig was even more confused:

"What are we looking for him for?"

"Ask how long ago the wizard legend happened." Lu Mian sized Raymond up.

Why can't this guy understand human speech? It seems necessary to find an opportunity to test his IQ.

Raymond's face was full of confusion, looking at Lu Mian and saying:

"Why ask so clearly?"

Uh... should I just find a reason to fool this guy, or tell the truth? Lu Mian suddenly fell into deep thought.

Considering that his subsequent investigation couldn't be completely hidden from the friends around him, and the reason of pursuing the truth of the legend itself sounded like a lie, and it wouldn't be believed by the villagers even if it spread, Lu Mian quickly had an idea.

He instantly revealed the smile he usually used when lying to people.

"..." Raymond took two steps back, "Speak properly!"

Lu Mian straightened his dark short jacket and the linen shirt inside, and said with a smile:

"I think the legend of that wizard is worth thinking about."

"What's worth thinking about?" Raymond thought for a long time before saying.

"The sentence 'there used to be a wizard in the village'." Lu Mian said seriously, "Think about it, when I make up stories to lie to people, I definitely wouldn't mention a time, place, and background that everyone can immediately verify. But that legend clearly mentions, in the village, our Cordu village, there used to be a wizard. If this were a lie, wouldn't it be easily exposed by everyone?"

"But that was a long time ago." Raymond retorted.

"I'm also referring to everyone when the story first started circulating a long time ago. They should have easily verified whether a wizard died in the village at that time." Lu Mian said with a smile, "Since this story has been able to circulate until now, it means it's very likely to have truly happened."

This reason couldn't convince Raymond:

"But when you make up stories, you also often use 'over a hundred years ago', 'hundreds of years ago', 'a long time ago' to make it impossible for everyone to verify."

"That's why we need to find your dad to verify it!" Lu Mian had an expression of "now you know why I want to find your dad."

"That's true..." Raymond accepted this explanation, but always felt something was wrong.

When the two left the square and walked toward the depths of the village, Raymond finally realized:

"But why do you want to confirm whether such a legend is true or false?"

"A wizard, that's a wizard! If we can confirm which house he used to live in and where he was buried later, maybe we can discover his secrets and let ourselves obtain extraordinary power that surpasses ordinary people." Lu Mian said the truth that sounded like a lie.

Raymond revealed an expression of "don't lie to me":

"Most of those stories are made up to scare children. How could they be true?

"And, pursuing a wizard's power will get you thrown into the Inquisition!"

The Intis Republic is located on the Northern Continent of this world. The orthodox gods are the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and the "God of Steam and Machinery". Their churches divide almost all the faith of the people and do not allow the "Night Goddess" church of the Loen Kingdom, the "Lord of Storms" church, the "Earth Mother" church of the Feysac Kingdom, or the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" church of the central and southern countries like Lenburg to come and preach.

And the religious Inquisition of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church has always made the people fearful. I don't know how many heretics and pagans have been locked up and subjected to cruel treatment.

Lu Mian laughed out loud:

"Why are you worried about this now? You said it yourself, the vast majority of those legends are made up, and the possibility of finding a wizard's legacy is almost zero.

"Besides, even if we really found a wizard's legacy, we don't necessarily have to inherit that kind of taboo power. We can completely hand it over to the church in exchange for their rewards. Hmm, as a wizard, there must be quite a few treasures in the burial goods."

The church Lu Mian referred to was the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church, because there was no "God of Steam and Machinery" church in the Cordu village where they were—this was usually concentrated in various big cities and places with factories.

Seeing Raymond moved, Lu Mian gave a silent "tsk" and added:

"Do you really want to be a shepherd?"

The shepherd he spoke of was not the kind of pastoral shepherd in the cognition of big-city citizens. They weren't a member of the family who drove a few sheep to eat grass every morning and took good care of them.

In the Daliezh region of the Leiston province where Cordu village is located, being a shepherd is a profession, a profession destined to be hard and lonely.

They accept employment from sheep owners, driving dozens or even hundreds of sheep back and forth between mountainous areas and plains.

This is called transhumance—whenever autumn comes, the alpine pastures in the mountains around Cordu village wither, and shepherds drive the flocks outside the mountain pass to distant, warmer plain pastures. This often crosses borders, entering countries like Feysac or Lenburg. By early May, they drive the flocks back to each village, shear the wool, and wean the lambs. In June, they go up the mountain, enter the alpine pastures, live in shacks, and make cheese while herding the flocks until the weather turns cold.

Just like this, shepherds turn fields year after year, spending their whole lives trekking, and only have a very small amount of time to return to the village. Therefore, the vast majority of them are single, find it difficult to marry, and cannot form a family. And those few widows who have to herd sheep for a living are very popular in this group.

Raymond was silent.

After a long while, he opened his mouth hesitantly:

"I'll listen to you. This matter sounds fun and can be used to pass the free time."

Under normal circumstances, after the family decides which child needs to be a shepherd, they will send him to a sheep owner's home to work as a helper between the ages of fifteen and eighteen to learn how to herd sheep. Three years later, the child officially becomes a shepherd and seeks employment everywhere.

Seventeen-year-old Raymond had already used different reasons to delay this matter for more than two years. If life remained unchanged like this, he would have to learn to herd sheep next year.

"Let's go." Lu Mian patted Raymond on the shoulder, "Is your dad in the field or at home?"

"There's no work lately, and Lent is coming soon. He's either at home or at the tavern." Raymond made an envious sound again, "You don't even know this? You're really not a farmer; you have a good sister!"

Lu Mian put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly, ignoring Raymond's exclamation.

Just as they were about to reach the dilapidated tavern in the village, someone walked over from a side road.

This person was wearing a dark brown long coat with a hood, a rope tied around his waist, and a pair of brand-new, soft-looking black leather shoes on his feet.

"Pierre, Pierre from the Berry family?" Raymond exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Mian also stopped and looked at the side road.

"It's me." Pierre Berry waved with a smile.

He was thin, his eye sockets slightly sunken, his black hair greasy and curly, and his face was full of stubble, not knowing how long it had been since he shaved.

"Why are you back?" Raymond asked doubtfully.

Pierre Berry was a shepherd. Now it was the end of March and the beginning of April. He should be herding sheep in the plain pastures outside the mountain pass. How could he appear in the village?

Even if he had gone to Lenburg or the northern border of Feysac for transhumance this time, he would have only just started his journey now, returning to the Daliezh mountain area, and it would take about a month to arrive.

Pierre had a pair of gentle, smiling blue eyes, and he said quite happily:

"Isn't Lent coming soon? I haven't participated for several years, and I can't miss it this year no matter what!

"Don't worry, I have companions helping me watch the flock. Being a shepherd is the good thing about this: there are no supervisors. As long as you can find someone to help, you can go wherever you want. It's very free."

Lent is a festival widely existing in various parts of Intis, where people welcome the arrival of spring in various forms and pray for a good harvest for the year.

This has nothing to do with the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church or the "God of Steam and Machinery" church, but it has formed folk customs and there is no situation of worshiping pagan gods, so it has been tacitly approved by the orthodox churches.

"You want to see who is chosen as the Spring Elf this year, right?" Lu Mian joked with a smile.

In the Lent of Cordu village, people will choose a beautiful girl to play the Spring Elf. This is part of the celebration.

Pierre laughed along:

"I hope it's your sister Aurora, but she definitely wouldn't agree, and her age isn't appropriate either."

"Alright." He then pointed to the tavern not far away, "I'm going to the church to pray, and I'll treat you to a drink later."

Raymond responded subconsciously:

"No need, you don't have much money."

"Haha, the gods teach us, 'Even if you only have one copper, you must share it with your poor brothers.'" Pierre said a proverb circulating among shepherds in the Daliezh region.

At this time, Lu Mian smiled at Raymond:

"Pierre has made a fortune; he definitely wants to treat us to a drink!"

He was pointing at Pierre Berry's brand-new leather shoes.

Pierre Berry was very happy:

"The employer this time was good, shared several sheep with me, and there will be some wool, cheese, and leather later."

The remuneration of shepherds consists of food, a small amount of money, and shared livestock, cheese, wool, and leather. Specifically, what they can get and how much they can get depends on what the contract signed with the employer beforehand is.

And for shepherds who need to trek long distances, a pair of good, suitable leather shoes is the most urgent and practical desire.

Watching Pierre Berry walk toward the village square, Lu Mian's gaze gradually became heavy, carrying a few doubts.

He muttered silently:

"Just to participate in Lent, spend one or two weeks or even nearly a month rushing back?"

After thinking for a while, Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and walked toward the tavern with Raymond.

The tavern had no name, nor did it need one. Cordu village only had this one, and the villagers liked to call it the Old Tavern.

Just as he entered the tavern, Lu Mian habitually scanned the room.

Suddenly, his gaze paused at a certain place.

He saw the outsider who had left early last night.

The outsider who was clearly not in the same group as Ryan, Lyra, and Valentine.

This was a lady, wearing an orange dress, her brown hair draped loosely, her light blue eyes staring at the glass of pale red alcoholic beverage in her hand.

She was beautiful and lazy, as if she were not in the same scene as the low, dim, and dilapidated tavern.

PS: Thank you to "Si Kong Yi Bin" for the Silver Alliance donation.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 5 =====