Chapter 75: Mute (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Because his sister needed to rest, Lu Mian couldn't learn new Hermes and Ancient Hermes words and could only consolidate what he had already mastered. Around ten o'clock, he went out and headed straight for the Old Tavern.

His intention was twofold: first, to see if that mysterious lady would appear again after he became a "Dancer" and provide a bit more knowledge; second, because Franca and the other outsiders were staying there, and after what happened yesterday, they might not have gone out today.

Entering the Old Tavern, Lu Mian quickly scanned the room and was quite disappointed to find that the seat the lady often sat in was empty, with no one there.

He exhaled slowly and walked toward the bar, intending to ask if those three outsiders were around.

At this moment, the tavern owner, Maurice Binet, seemed to have just woken up not long ago. His spirit was clearly not high, and he was communicating with a guest in front of the bar with a red nose.

That guest was very agitated, gesturing with his hands, making "ah-ah" sounds, but unable to speak.

Mute? Lu Mian curiously leaned over and discovered that the guest wasn't one of the two original mutes in the village, but Jean Mori, the husband of Sybil Bery.

Sybil was the mistress of Assistant Parish Priest Guillaume Binet and the sister of the shepherd Pierre Bery, a member of that small group.

Jean Mori isn't mute... Lu Mian looked at the middle-aged man suspiciously.

His black hair was messy, the beard on his face wasn't shaved clean, and his eyes were filled with anger and fear.

Unlike his usual gloomy state, he was very agitated now, constantly gesturing, trying to tell the tavern owner something with "ah-ah-ah" sounds.

Lu Mian secretly thought "strange" while arriving in front of the bar, smiling and tapping the table:

"Hi, what's going on?

"Maurice, did you sell fake wine to Jean? Look at how angry he is that he can't even speak."

"What does that have to do with me?" Maurice Binet quickly cleared himself of responsibility, "He's mute on his own."

Jean Mori stopped, looked at Lu Mian, and returned to his usual gloomy state.

He then turned his body and walked out of the Old Tavern.

After he disappeared at the door, Lu Mian lowered his voice and asked:

"What exactly happened to him?"

Maurice Binet looked outside and also lowered his voice:

"I heard he bumped into Sybil and the assistant parish priest doing that activity on the bed last night, and it angered him into muteness. Today he's looking for people everywhere to gesture and tell this story. Heh, he doesn't even dare to go to Dariège to report the assistant parish priest. What a coward, he deserves it!"

Lu Mian felt both bewildered and shocked.

If he remembered correctly, Jean Mori knew that his wife Sybil and the assistant parish priest had that kind of relationship and had maintained it for a long time; he just didn't want Sybil to hook up with other men. How could he be angered into muteness by a small matter he had long been mentally prepared for?

There must be a problem here!

Moreover, in the previous cycle, this incident of Jean Mori being angered into muteness hadn't happened; otherwise, Lu Mian couldn't have not known.

In Cordu village, this was top-tier news, and the speed of its spread would definitely be very fast.

Could it be because we started doing various investigations, bringing about corresponding disturbances, leading Jean Mori to encounter something he wouldn't have encountered originally? Lu Mian speculated on the reason while revealing an excited expression:

"Is that so?

"Then I have to go and ask him properly!"

Regarding his excitement to join in the fun, the tavern owner Maurice Binet wasn't surprised at all and even felt it should be so.

He laughed and scolded:

"You bastard kid, act like a human being for once, don't provoke that poor man anymore.

"Besides, he's mute and can't even write words, how is he going to tell you the sequence of events?"

Lu Mian chuckled:

"Can't he use gestures?"

He then raised both hands, made his left hand into a fist, and lightly tapped his right palm.

In the Dariège region, and even in southern Intis, this was a common gesture meaning that thing between men and women.

Maurice Binet scolded him irritably:

"I hope you still have a shred of kindness and don't play pranks on that poor man."

"Don't worry, I just want to 'listen' to the story." Lu Mian waved his hand, ran out of the Old Tavern, and started looking for Jean Mori.

But that guy didn't know where he had gone, and he was no longer gesturing his encounter to the villagers. Lu Mian searched all of Cordu but didn't find any trace of him.

Finally, he arrived at Jean Mori's house.

At the front door, Sybil Bery, wearing a gray-white dress, was processing a few potatoes with rotten parts.

"Is there something?" The woman raised her head and looked at Lu Mian.

Like Pierre Bery, she had a pair of blue eyes, and her long black hair was draped smoothly behind her back, unlike other married women who always wore it in a bun.

Lu Mian answered frankly:

"I'm looking for Jean Mori."

Sybil, with her relatively plump cheeks and soft facial features, answered indifferently:

"He's not home."

"Then do you know where he went?" Lu Mian pursued.

Sybil said calmly:

"We had a fight last night. He might have left Cordu and doesn't want to come back for a short time."

This made Lu Mian's eyebrows jump, feeling that something bad had happened.

Clearly, Jean Mori couldn't leave Cordu village; that would trigger the cycle, leading to a restart!

As thoughts raced, Lu Mian revealed a playful expression:

"Why did you fight? I heard that you and the assistant parish priest..."

He didn't use language to describe it but tapped his left fist against his right palm.

Sybil's expression turned cold, and she scolded in a deep voice:

"Get out!

"Get out from my door!"

Lu Mian "tsk-tsked" and took the opportunity to leave Jean Mori's house.

After walking a distance, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Actually, he didn't want to ask about Sybil and the assistant parish priest's affair; he had even seen the assistant parish priest and Madame Pualis naked, so what was there to ask?

But if he didn't ask, it wouldn't fit the image he had in the villagers' eyes. Since he had already "visited," if he didn't provoke the hostess, would he still be the prank king of Cordu village?

Therefore, Lu Mian had to ask; otherwise, he might be suspected.

A character's fixed image is sometimes very useful, and sometimes it brings trouble.

Combining the assistant parish priest's style of doing things and the information he had mastered, Lu Mian suspected that Jean Mori didn't become mute because he bumped into the affair, but because he discovered something else.

He was likely poisoned into muteness!

Must find that guy quickly. He's going around accusing people like this; maybe he'll die directly like the previous one. No, he's already missing... Lu Mian felt more and more that Jean Mori had likely met with misfortune.

The villager who went to Dariège to report last time had already died inexplicably from a fall!

Just as Lu Mian was making his final effort to find Jean Mori, he met Ryan, Franca, and Valentine "strolling" in the village.

They were still wearing their original clothes.

"Good morning, my cabbages." Lu Mian greeted them with a smile.

As soon as they got close, he immediately asked in a low voice:

"Nothing happened yesterday, right?"

Franca answered with a smile:

"That lady didn't seem to want to pursue it and didn't appear."

As expected... Lu Mian scanned the surroundings, and seeing no one, he told the three official investigators his sister's deduction about Madame Pualis's path and the guess about Prit's identity.

Valentine's expression turned extremely ugly, while Franca was quite excited.

Ryan recalled and said:

"Witches rarely appear in Lenburg Province, so we don't have enough information in this regard, but the higher-ups should be very clear. I'll send a telegram later to talk about Madame Pualis's situation. Hmm, just mention that there's a photo of Prit in Madame Pualis's room, and that there's no such person as Pualis in the Rochefort family."

Seeing Lu Mian's confused expression of "why would the higher-ups be very clear," Ryan added:

"In Intis, things related to witches happen from time to time."

So, that "pen pal" of my sister is also in Intis? Lu Mian nodded and turned to say:

"From the current perspective, Madame Pualis doesn't seem to have anything to do with the cycle, and she seems to have a certain awareness of the cycle. This might be why she didn't pursue our search of the castle.

"Is it possible for us to join forces with her to some extent?"

Valentine blurted out instantly:

"How can one cooperate with someone so evil and filthy that they are more terrifying than a devil?"

Lu Mian didn't even look at him, casting his gaze toward Ryan and Franca.

Seeing them also hesitate, he sincerely cajoled:

"Limited cooperation, only within the cycle.

"Once this damn cycle is broken, you can deal with her however you want!

"You can even tell her this directly; I believe she can understand and accept it."

Ryan thought for a few seconds, patted Valentine's shoulder, and said to Lu Mian:

"Indeed, the most important thing right now is to break this cycle. However, we still can't be sure of that lady's attitude and don't dare to go directly to her. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you or your sister to have a communication and ask."

"Good." Lu Mian agreed immediately.

He intended to go himself.

After discovering that Madame Pualis might have abnormal, distorted feelings for his sister, he didn't want his sister to be alone with her.

Listening to the two's conversation, Valentine kept a straight face, neither agreeing nor opposing.

Lu Mian scanned the surroundings again:

"There are three more clues..."

He told them in detail about Raymond's matter, Jean Mori's situation, and the "burial chamber" the owl flew into.

This made Franca quite surprised:

"How can you get so many clues so quickly?"

She even suspected if this guy or his sister had problems, which was why everything around them was abnormal and full of clues.

Who is the professional investigator here? Why didn't we discover them?

"Who told you not to retain the memories of the previous two cycles." Lu Mian spread his hands with a smile.

Franca nodded, accepting this explanation.

Ryan considered for a few seconds and said in a deep voice:

"Then we must start an investigation into the church underground as soon as possible.

"Hmm, it might be very dangerous there. You contact Madame Pualis first. If she joins, our chances will be much higher."

PS: Seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 76 =====