Chapter 19

Layne shook his head:

"That letter only had two sentences, and the content was very simple. It looked like someone in trouble was asking for our help."

"Didn't it say what kind of trouble?" Lumian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether it was Aurore writing to her pen pals or her pen pals replying, it was impossible for the letters to only have two sentences.

"No." Layne sighed lightly.

Just a letter with no details, and you came? Not afraid it was a prank? The Inquisition wouldn't be as proactive as you. You're too kind, too righteous, and too mission-driven, aren't you? Lumian mocked in his mind.

According to his habit, he would have said these things out loud, but considering he still needed to extract information from them, he couldn't anger them and interrupt the conversation, so he forced himself to hold back.

However, Lumian also knew that Layne wouldn't tell him everything. They must have other considerations or reasons for coming to Cordu Village for a vague plea for help.

"Uh..." Lumian stroked his chin, suggesting with a mindset that there was nothing to lose, "How about showing me the letter? Maybe I can recognize the handwriting."

Valentine, with her powdered hair, had an expression that said, "Do you think we're fools?"

Lia then laughed and said:

"Can you identify handwriting?"

"Sort of." Lumian said sincerely.

He then added in his mind:

Being able to identify Aurore's and my own handwriting counts as being able to identify handwriting.

"It won't help." Layne shook his head again, "Every word in that letter came from the little blue book. The entire sentence was made up of cut-out strips from it."

Very cautious... This method seems familiar, have I heard too many of Aurore's stories?... If it's a plea for help, why hide your identity like this? Afraid the letter would be intercepted and face retaliation? Or, is there something wrong with the person, not wanting to be exposed? Lumian tried to analyze the writer's mindset.

He deliberately showed a look of realization and said:

"Most families in the village have the little blue book. When you talk to people, are you trying to confirm if their book has similar damage?"

"But that person could have bought a new little blue book without anyone knowing and thrown it away after use."

"That's just one direction." Layne said calmly.

"Are there other directions?" Lumian didn't consider himself an outsider at all.

Layne thought for a moment and said:

"Since there's a plea for help, there must be a perpetrator. There must be something happening, and that will leave traces."

"Very reasonable." Lumian showed a look of sympathy for Layne and the others, as if he could feel their difficulties.

He solemnly promised:

"My cabbages, I'll keep an eye out for you. I hope to find some clues."

"Thank you." Layne responded politely.

Lia, who had already adjusted her mindset, inquired:

"Since we're friends, I have a question for you."

"Feel free." Lumian smiled and gestured.

"When you called us cabbages, why did the villagers in the tavern laugh?" Lia was quite curious.

Although the term was embarrassing, if it was a local slang, it shouldn't have caused laughter.

Lumian answered sincerely:

"Cabbage in slang means 'darling' or 'sweetheart.' 'My cabbage' or 'little cabbage' is mainly used in two situations: one, between close friends; two, by elders to juniors. 'My rabbit,' 'my chick,' and so on are similar."

He emphasized the word "close."

He then added innocently:

"I just hoped we could become close friends."

He looked very innocent, as if he didn't understand the hidden meaning of "close."

I see, you want to be our elder... Lia finally understood why the villagers laughed.

Although Lumian's explanation might not be true, it at least made logical sense to her.

Layne nodded:

"Is there anything else?"

"No." Lumian didn't want to seem too eager, to avoid being suspected and investigated, which could lead to an investigation of himself and Aurore.

Sister can't withstand an investigation!

After watching Lia and the others leave with the jingling of bells, Lumian sat at the old tavern's entrance, waiting for the mysterious lady to wake up.

After a while, his partner Raymond Cleg found him.

"Lumian, have you decided which legend to investigate next?" Raymond asked as soon as they met.

In the past two days, he had been more proactive than Lumian, after all, he didn't have those strange dreams and didn't have another way to obtain treasures.

"Not yet." The owl had already come to him, and before confirming the situation, Lumian didn't dare to investigate the truth of the legends.

He found a random excuse:

"Lent is coming up in a few days. Let's enjoy the holiday before considering it."

"Okay." Raymond found it reasonable, "So, I don't need to be a 'field watcher' for now. I'll do it after Lent. These few days, even if someone grazes, it won't cause much damage."

"In other words, you won't leave the village for the next few days?" Lumian asked.

Seeing Raymond nod, he smiled and said:

"Coincidentally, I can't leave the village for the next few days either."

"Why?" Raymond asked curiously.

Lumian lowered his voice and said seriously:

"Today in the morning, I met that owl, the owl from the wizard's legend. It said that if it weren't for the church and the divine presence in the village, it would have taken my soul and thrown it into the abyss..."

Raymond was both surprised and frightened.

His whole body trembled:

"Really?

"I told you not to provoke such evil creatures..."

Muttering this, he suddenly saw a smile on Lumian's face.

"..." Raymond then remembered his friend's nature.

"Are you pranking me again, lying to me?" He was both angry and anxious.

He was angry at himself, knowing what kind of person Lumian was, and having been deceived many times, why did he still fall for it.

"Would you believe such a ridiculous thing?" Lumian chuckled.

That sentence was the lie, to prevent you from being overwhelmed by pressure and confessing in the church... He silently added in his mind.

"Phew..." Raymond relaxed.

Lumian then warned:

"Although the story I just told was made up, I wanted to tell you that investigating the truth of legends might be dangerous. Try not to leave the village or the protection of the church."

After saying this, he muttered silently:

This is the truth. Most of the story was made up, but a small part was real... If I didn't need help with many things later, I wouldn't have reminded you, just passing on Aurore's advice in a different way. It doesn't matter to me if others live or die...

Raymond, recalling the fear he felt just now, nodded understandingly:

"Okay!"

He stopped talking about the legends and asked:

"Who will you vote for as the Spring Sprite?"

The Spring Sprite is the main character in various Lent celebrations, a symbol of spring. In Darije, it is usually a beautiful, unmarried girl chosen by the whole village.

"Ava, I guess." Lumian answered indifferently, "She's always wanted to be the Spring Sprite, hasn't she?"

"I'll vote for her too." Raymond secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yesterday, Ava hinted to him to vote for her, so he felt he should help her get more votes.

...

...

Outside a house not far from the old tavern.

Layne, Lia, and Valentine didn't rush to "chat" with people.

"Was it really okay to tell that guy so much?" Valentine covered her nose and mouth.

The air here was filled with a faint smell of domestic poultry droppings.

Lia played with a silver bell on her head: "I don't know if it was okay, but I can confirm one thing: my divination told me he would be a useful ally."

"In a situation where we can't make progress, appropriately leaking some information to make the relevant people act out of fear is a very effective investigation method." Layne explained his intention, "Next, we'll observe him more, see what he does or who he looks for."

...

...

After Raymond left, Lumian entered the old tavern and saw the lady who gave him the tarot card sitting in her usual spot again.

Today, she was wearing a white blouse and light-colored wide-legged pants, with a round straw hat adorned with a few yellow flowers beside her.

She has so many clothes in her suitcase, changing every day, unlike Lia and the others who look so poor... Lumian sighed as he approached and sat opposite her.

During this process, he casually glanced at her breakfast:

A plump meat pie with a thin sauce inside,

A few cream rings,

Sliced seasonal fruits,

A cup of light, transparent drink with some impurities.

None of these are provided by the old tavern... Lumian pointed to the drink and asked familiarly:

"What is this? It doesn't look like alcohol."

"Venus Holy Oil special drink." The lady answered casually, "It's made by soaking cinnamon water with sugar and vanilla, then mixed with poppy flowers. It was invented by a bar in Trier."

The term "Venus" comes from Emperor Roselle, who mentioned in a story that it was a woman as beautiful as a goddess.

"Where did you get it? Did you make it yourself?" Lumian doubted that even the recent city of Darije couldn't provide such a thing.

The lady smiled:

"As a traveler, getting the right things at the right time is a professional instinct."

"I don't understand." Lumian was very honest.

He then said:

"I dealt with that monster before, but this time I encountered two more dangerous ones..."

He described the monster with three faces and the one with a hunting rifle, and concluded:

"I feel they both have powers beyond normal humans, which I can't handle. Is there any way to deal with them?"

"The three-faced monster, I can't say, but the one with the hunting rifle, you can handle it independently, as long as you use your special abilities well."

"Special... What special abilities do I have?" Lumian was both surprised and confused.

I don't even know!

The lady smiled at him:

"That's your dream. As the master of the dream, you naturally have special privileges, but you just haven't discovered them yet."

PS: Thanks to Chu Zhaolan and Shalimarrrr for the silver alliance support.