Chapter 31

The owl's brownish-yellow sclera and black pupils seemed to glow faintly in the night, as it gazed down at Lumian.

Lumian was no longer as terrified as he had been the previous two times. He scowled and cursed, "What are you looking at? If you have the guts, say something!"

He wasn't necessarily trying to offend the owl, but he wanted to provoke it into revealing its true intentions. Otherwise, flying over at night and just watching him was quite unsettling.

The owl remained silent, not even making a sound.

After a few seconds, it spread its wings again and flew into the depths of the night.

"You're crazy!" Lumian cursed, but his heart didn't relax in the slightest.

He continued to focus on the outside, carefully distinguishing all the shadows in the darkness.

He remembered clearly that after the owl's last visit, he had seen Naruka's figure, and the next morning, he heard the news of her passing.

This time, he didn't know if something similar would happen... Lumian observed carefully but found nothing unusual.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, drew the curtains, and lay back on his bed.

In the deep darkness, Lumian opened his eyes and began to think about his next plan:

"I don't know what this owl is up to... It's acting so strange and mysterious, it can't be anything good...

"Whatever, given the situation in the village, I need to get Ourore and myself out of here as soon as possible. After that, I don't believe it can follow us to Trier!

"If I don't receive a reply by tomorrow, we'll have to escape from Cordu the day after tomorrow morning...

"If I do receive a reply, Ourore and I will leave the village openly through the main road. If not, well... tomorrow is Lent, and the day after, everyone will still be celebrating. They won't pay much attention. Ourore can go to Mrs. Poullis and borrow her pony to play at the nearby high mountain pasture. We won't need to go down the mountain, so it won't look like we're leaving Cordu. We can use a dangerous path there to leave the mountain area...

"That's not really a path; it's broken in several places. Even the shepherds don't think it's usable for descending the mountain. But with my current abilities, I can definitely make it through. Ourore can use her witchcraft to fly for a short distance, which will be even easier for her...

"There's a good chance we can avoid the investigators' eyes..."

Becoming a "Hunter" allowed him to do many things he couldn't before, giving him great confidence and helping him quickly formulate a plan.

His resolve strengthened, and he became more composed. He slept soundly for the rest of the night.

...

The next morning, Lumian got up early and started bustling in the kitchen.

Thinking about becoming a Beyonder and about leaving the strange Cordu village with his sister, his mood improved significantly, and he even felt like humming a tune.

When Ourore came downstairs, two bowls of meat sauce noodles were already on the table.

"How did you know I was about to wake up?" she asked, pleased.

Lumian smiled, "I started cooking the noodles when I heard the bathroom door open."

At the same time, he thought to himself, "You really are as usual, a bit dazed after waking up, and you didn't even think of that."

Ourore nodded, sat down at the table, and casually asked, "Did the owl fly over again last night?"

"Yes," Lumian knew his sister had noticed him watching from the window in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, the owl's appearance gave him an excuse; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to explain it.

He couldn't say he was too excited about becoming a Beyonder, or he'd face another lecture from his sister.

However, Lumian didn't plan to keep this from his sister for long, as it would affect her decisions in many situations.

He decided to tell her when they were about to escape Cordu, so she wouldn't have to worry about him.

At that point, with the urgency, Ourore wouldn't have time to lecture him.

"Strange owl..." Ourore frowned, puzzled.

She also couldn't figure out what the owl wanted; it just came to look.

Lumian slurped his noodles and, when he was almost done, said to Ourore, "If we get a reply, we'll leave Cordu village this evening, taking the usual path down the mountain.

"If we don't receive a reply, you'll go to Mrs. Poullis tomorrow morning and borrow her pony. We'll go to the nearest high mountain pasture. I know there's a path there that can lead us down the mountain, and the investigators won't know about it."

Ourore played with a strand of her hair, thinking carefully.

After a moment, she smiled, "Alright, this plan has a high chance of success."

She then said teasingly, "My silly little brother has grown up."

Lumian felt a surge of joy and pride.

...

After breakfast, he made an excuse to check if Ava had prepared the "Spring Sprite" blessing parade and left the semi-underground two-story building, heading straight for the old tavern.

As a Beyonder, he was eager to learn more common knowledge.

And the lady had promised to tell him!

As he approached the old tavern, Lumian saw a familiar face coming towards him.

It was Poncibene, the brother of the parish priest, wearing a cotton shirt and a dark blue jacket.

"Just one person..." Lumian thought back to the last time Poncibene had led a group to chase him around the village, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

With his new Beyonder powers, he was eager to test them out.

"Hey, my bastard son," Lumian greeted, "How dare you go out alone without my permission?"

He was trying to provoke Poncibene into attacking, so he wouldn't run away.

Poncibene looked up and saw him.

The thug's face changed, and he immediately turned and ran.

Thump, thump, thump... Lumian watched in surprise as the guy disappeared around a nearby corner.

"Runs pretty fast...

"Pretty alert..."

Lumian silently remarked.

Even before becoming a Beyonder, he thought he could easily beat Poncibene one-on-one, but Poncibene might have thought the same. They hadn't really fought before, and both were confident. Who knew that Poncibene would choose to run at the sight of him, as if he had encountered a predator.

He couldn't have known I became a Beyonder last night... Could this guy, because of his stupidity, have developed a beast-like intuition to sense danger? Lumian mentally ridiculed Poncibene.

He didn't try to chase him, as he immediately regretted his greeting:

The village was full of abnormalities and the situation was dangerous. Before they truly left, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble!

If he had beaten up Poncibene and caused the parish priest's group to act prematurely, affecting their escape, Lumian would be in deep trouble.

Moreover, the parish priest's group was mysterious, and Poncibene might have some strange abilities. Lumian felt that if he fought him, he might expose his Beyonder identity, which would cause more problems.

"Got a bit too cocky after becoming a Beyonder, couldn't control myself..." Lumian deeply reflected on his actions and then entered the old tavern.

He had planned to go straight to the second floor but saw the lady sitting in a corner.

Today, she wore a pearl-gray dress with a light-colored lady's hat and had no food in front of her.

"Have you had breakfast?" Lumian walked over and sat opposite her.

"Not yet," the lady casually replied, "I have a meeting with someone today, and I'm still waiting for her."

"Her? Not me..." Lumian looked around but saw no one else except the tavern owner.

He looked back at the lady and said sincerely, "I've become a 'Hunter.'"

You should fulfill your promise and tell me more about the common knowledge.

The lady wasn't surprised at all and smiled, "You're doing well."

She paused and said in a slightly ethereal voice, "What you need to understand now are two laws and one method."

How is this like studying physics... Lumian didn't dare to speak.

The lady continued, "For most Beyonders, this knowledge is extremely precious and worth everything to obtain, but since fate has arranged it, I'll tell you for free."

Free is the most expensive; where will I have to pay the price? Lumian felt a bit heavy.

After becoming a "Hunter," his intuition and observational skills had significantly improved. He clearly felt the indescribable special emotion in the lady's eyes, which was even stronger than before, but he still couldn't identify what it was.

The lady sat up straighter, "All Beyonder powers can be traced back to the original Creator. You, as a believer in the 'Eternal Sun,' should know that the Creator's eyes became the sun."

"Yes," Lumian had heard the parish priest preach about this.

"This is a symbolic description," the lady explained, "In short, the original Creator created this world, many gods, and ultimately disintegrated, splitting into different Beyonder characteristics."

"So that's why it's called the 'Path of the Gods'?" Lumian realized.

The lady nodded slightly, "Yes, the Sequence 0 of each path is equivalent to a true god. For example, the Sequence 0 of the 'Praise' path is called 'Sun,' which is the 'Eternal Sun' you worship."

Every Beyonder can become a god at the end? Lumian was incredibly shocked.

At the same time, he felt a mix of joy and fear.

If he were a devout believer in the 'Eternal Sun,' he would have already condemned the lady for blasphemy, but unfortunately, he wasn't. He was the type who followed the faith but didn't take it too seriously.

He even asked, "What is the Sequence 0 of the 'Hunter' path? What about the 'Seer' path?"

"Didn't I tell you? 'Red Priest,' and that position is currently vacant," the lady laughed and shook her head. "The Sequence 0 of the 'Seer' path is called 'Hermit,' and it's currently occupied by an evil god. He's called the 'Hidden Sage' and enjoys imparting knowledge to Beyonders on the same path. In professional terms, it's called 'Knowledge Pursuit.' A significant part of your sister's issues stem from this."

"I see..." Lumian began to resent the 'Hidden Sage.'

The lady brought the conversation back on track, "Because all Beyonder characteristics come from the original Creator, they cannot be destroyed or created, only transformed from one form to another, from one object to another.

"This is called the Law of Conservation of Beyonder Characteristics."