Chapter 14

The azure sky was dotted with white clouds, and the gentle spring breeze carried the scent of trees, caressing human faces. By the clear, swiftly flowing river, white geese lowered their heads to graze on the green grass. A girl in a gray and white dress held a long stick, closely watching them.

The girl's face basked in the golden sunlight, revealing a faint down. Her smooth, brown hair was topped with a white cloth, and her delicate features exuded a youthful vitality.

She looked at Lumiyan, who was sitting under a tree by the river, and frowned slightly, saying:

"Didn't we come to discuss which legend is easier to investigate?"

"How did it turn into the stone statues carved on the church?"

This girl was Avallia, the daughter of the cobbler Guillaume, one of the few in the village's younger generation who had a good relationship with Lumiyan and Raymond.

"I was thinking about a problem," Lumiyan said without lifting his head, still staring at the white geese and the ripples in the water.

"What problem?" Raymond Cleg, who was helping Avallia watch the geese, asked curiously.

Lumiyan, as if in deep thought, said:

"If you encounter a wild beast with thick skin that your weapon can't harm, how would you deal with it?"

"Of course, you'd try to run away. There are so many wild beasts in the mountains; you don't have to hunt them all," Avallia didn't find this difficult.

Lumiyan hummed in response:

"But what if that wild beast is particularly rare, and the lords in the city like it and are willing to pay a hundred gold Louis for its corpse?"

"A hundred gold Louis, two thousand fergins..." Raymond's breathing became heavy.

He had never seen or used gold Louis, so he instinctively converted it to fergins.

With such a sum, he could go to Liège to do small business, why learn to be a shepherd?

He thought quickly and said:

"Ask someone to borrow a hunting rifle?"

"It won't penetrate the beast's skin," Lumiyan directly negated.

Although he knew the prey was imaginary and couldn't possibly fetch so much money, Avallia still couldn't help but join the discussion:

"Is it powerful, ferocious?"

Lumiyan thought for a moment and said:

"About the same as me."

This was also one of the reasons he hadn't given up.

"That's good," Raymond breathed a sigh of relief, "Go back to the village, gather a group of people, surround it, exhaust its strength, and finally knock it down and tie it up."

He knew Lumiyan could fight, but he also knew his limits.

"In that case, you can only get ten gold Louis, or even less," Lumiyan reminded.

"I've seen them hunt. Maybe we can dig a trap to make the beast fall in and can't get out..." Avallia's lake-blue eyes flickered as she recalled and spoke.

"That's a good idea," Lumiyan nodded in agreement.

Knowing that Avallia and Raymond's knowledge was limited and they couldn't offer more suggestions, he brought the topic back on track:

"Which legend do you think is suitable as our next target?"

"None of them," Avallia shook her head, "They are either from hundreds of years ago or seen by only one person, who is long dead."

Raymond echoed Avallia:

"Yes."

"How do you know there are no clues without asking the relevant people?" Lumiyan chuckled, "You guys, you lack perseverance. At the first sign of difficulty, you want to give up. That's why you'll only be goose herders and shepherds for life."

These words made Avallia and Raymond's anger rise.

In terms of making people angry, Lumiyan was definitely among the top in Cordu village.

Avallia blurted out:

"I think none of them are suitable because there is a more suitable one."

"What is it?" Lumiyan's eyes lit up.

Avallia regretted her words as soon as she said them, but she had planned to talk about the matter anyway. She just didn't want to tell Lumiyan and Raymond so easily.

After a few seconds of silence, she glared at Lumiyan:

"There is a real witch in the village."

"Who?" Lumiyan's heart tightened.

It couldn't be Aurore, could it?

If even Avallia knew Aurore was a witch, he and Aurore would have to quickly leave Cordu village and live elsewhere to avoid being "visited" by the Inquisition.

Avallia instinctively looked around and lowered her voice:

"Mrs. Poullis."

The administrator's wife, the parish priest's mistress, Mrs. Poullis? Lumiyan was a bit skeptical:

"Is that true?"

If Mrs. Poullis was really a witch, why didn't she notice when he discovered her affair with the parish priest?

"Really?" Raymond was extremely surprised.

Avallia tiptoed and looked toward the village entrance:

"I'm not sure. The administrator's male servant, Charles, once let it slip to me.

"He said Mrs. Poullis is a spirit medium, can communicate with the souls of the dead, and can help them return home. He also said Mrs. Poullis can make secret potions and charms."

Lumiyan listened carefully but was still unsure if it was true or not.

Given that magazines like "Spiritualism," "Lotus," and "The Hidden Veil" could be published legally, it wasn't too strange for the administrator's wife to know some terms and act in a way that fooled the servants and villagers.

"Should we inform the church? That could earn us a lot of rewards, right?" Raymond was both frightened and hopeful.

Lumiyan pondered for a few seconds and said:

"If the administrator's male servant knows Mrs. Poullis is a witch, the administrator himself probably knows too."

"Yes," Avallia confirmed.

Lumiyan continued:

"Mrs. Poullis is also the parish priest's mistress. If we inform the church, we might be sent directly to the administrator's house."

"What?"

"Mrs. Poullis is the parish priest's mistress?"

Avallia and Raymond were shocked.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Lumiyan chuckled, "Pretend you don't know about this. Don't tell anyone, or I'm afraid you might disappear one day."

Avallia and Raymond both agreed, their expressions unusually solemn.

They were very afraid of the parish priest, and this matter involved a witch.

"If we can really confirm that Mrs. Poullis is a witch, we'll find an opportunity to go to Liège and tell the bishop during the high mass," Lumiyan reassured them.

"Okay," Raymond nodded vigorously.

They must confirm before informing, or if the investigation shows that Mrs. Poullis has no issues, they would be in trouble.

After discussing these matters, Lumiyan, unwilling to waste time, stood up and said to Avallia and Raymond:

"I'm going back to read. Otherwise, Aurore will chase me with a wooden stick.

"Take good care of the geese."

"Okay." Thinking about the time ahead when only he and Avallia would be here, Raymond was excited.

Avallia, however, was a bit unhappy.

...

As Lumiyan approached Cordu village, he began to hide his movements, always paying attention to whether anyone was nearby.

He was worried that the parish priest and his people might still be waiting for an opportunity to get him.

From his observations, the parish priest, Guillaume Bene, was a very persistent person who would seek revenge after being wronged.

While hiding, Lumiyan headed toward the old tavern.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of tinkling bells.

Lumiyan turned his head and saw that Lain, Lia, and Valentine, the three outsiders, were walking toward Naloka and others, who were picking lice from each other on the side road.

The clear, pleasant tinkling came from the four small silver bells on Lia's headscarf and boots.

They had been wandering around the village for the past two days, chatting with people and asking questions, but he wasn't sure what they were up to... Lumiyan was a bit puzzled and cautious.

Thinking about the empty village square one day and the shepherd Pierre Berry, who had returned from afar to participate in Lent, he had a bad feeling, sensing something strange.

What will happen in the village? Lumiyan decided to tell Aurore about these situations, letting this knowledgeable, wise, and experienced sister make a judgment.

Soon, he smoothly entered the old tavern and saw the woman who had given him the tarot card sitting in her usual corner, eating.

Lumiyan approached and glanced at her plate:

"Fried chicken with fatty meat?

"Isn't it too greasy?"

In the Liège region, this dish was a favorite for entertaining guests, but Lumiyan thought it might be too oily and greasy for a woman from a big city.

The lady slowly took a bite of the golden egg, closed her eyes to savor it, and said:

"Very good, it has a local flavor and is very fragrant."

"Having lunch so early?" Lumiyan sat down opposite her.

The lady's light blue eyes showed a hint of weariness as she smiled:

"This is breakfast."

It's already this late... Lumiyan didn't dare to say it out loud.

He glanced around the nearly empty old tavern and lowered his voice:

"I saw a ruin in my dream and encountered a monster."

"Oh." The lady wasn't surprised at all, and her expression even had a hint of amusement that Lumiyan couldn't understand.

Lumiyan calmed down and recounted his experience in detail, concluding with:

"How do you deal with such a monster?"

The lady smiled and asked:

"Is it dead or alive?"

"It's definitely alive, I can't kill it..." Lumiyan paused, then thought seriously and said slowly:

"I can feel its breathing, so it should still be alive."

"Since it's alive, try different methods. Cut off its head this time, pour oil and burn it next time, and bury it alive the time after. Maybe it will die," the lady suggested casually while enjoying her breakfast. "If none of these methods work, come back to me. I'm not your nanny, and I won't help with every little thing. Learn to think of solutions first."

She's quite friendly... Lumiyan wasn't disappointed or discouraged because her meaning was that if he encountered a real danger, she would provide some help, but this monster was not worth mentioning.

But what's not worth mentioning to her is a real big trouble for me... Lumiyan felt a bit frustrated.

He decided to follow the lady's advice and try cutting off the head, burning, and burying alive to see if any of these methods worked.

PS: Thank you, Overpass Scale, for the silver alliance donation.