@Trasna: Yep, any glitches please let me know. I changed my pa.s.sword for MySQL (commenting database) then promptly forgot what I changed it to and now I can"t access it, but I"ll figure it out later.
@Danwoo: Thanks for the comment about the date/time. And of course thanks for commenting in general.
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[Translator: otwentyfirst//proofreader: ~ Shawna B. ~]
[Host: justreads.net]
[Apr. 1st, 2019]
... Their return created a huge wave of excitement. People kept coming by the chief’s house to see them.
“They’re back?! Someone actually survived the polar bears?!”
“Yes! It’s incredible!”
“Don’t tell me… those two little guys are genuinely strong?”
The villagers weren’t whispering at all. It was clear they didn’t have any faith in either Jier or Feng Wu. The two just seemed too young and inexperienced to take on the mission. But when the villagers saw the two return, though they still doubted the children’s strength, they began to believe in the children a little.
“Stop being so loud! Go home already!” The chief’s son came out and reprimanded everyone. With no choice left, they all scattered.
Earlier the chief’s daughters-in-law made dishes for both Jier and Feng Wu, keeping them warm when they saw the children hadn’t returned from the mountain. It was a gesture of good will and hope on their parts. When they did return, though everyone else had already eaten, their dishes were still warm and ready to serve.
Feng Wu and Jier had been roaming around the mountain forest all day and were starving. They gobbled down their meal in no time at all.
Once they were finished, the chief immediately spoke out the words weighing on his mind. “Adventurers, you’ve found the whereabouts of the missing girls?”
Jier couldn’t help but frown when he heard the question. “We found them, but...”
Jier didn’t finish but the chief knew what was left unspoken.
“Those poor children! The inhumanity!” The village chief sighed heavily, a deep sadness etched on his face. Though he was clearly sad, he wasn’t overly emotional. He had already mentally braced for the worse.
“We didn’t find the murderer, but we did find the location of the bodies. They’re hidden in a cave in the mountains. I counted at least a hundred bodies there.”
“A hundred?! How is that possible?! Our village only lost a dozen girls. How can there be so many bodies?!” The chief cried out in horror.
“Not all the girls may be from this village. They may be from other villages near here.” Jier suspected this when he first saw the bodies. It was likely this wasn’t the only village with girls missing. That many bodies didn’t just appear overnight either, so it had to be from several villages.
“Other villages?” The chief frowned as he thought about it. Finally, he shook his head. “Our village is remote. We don’t normally have dealings with other villages so I don’t know if girls have gone missing anywhere else.”
The villagers kept to themselves, only rarely interacting with outsiders. The most consistent interaction they had were with the businessmen who came for the snow berries.
“Chief, this situation with the missing girls isn’t a simple matter. It’s best to inform Rime-Frost about this. They should be able to send a necromancer over to put the spirits to rest.” Jier wasn’t able to see them the same way Feng Wu did, but he could imagine the suffering they were in. He wasn’t a sentimental or softhearted person, but he didn"t mind helping if it wasn"t troublesome.
“I understand. I will go tomorrow.” The chief sighed, mourning for the dead girls.
“I marked the cave so anyone the capital sends over should be able to find it easily. This is a complicated case. Chief, how far is it to the nearest village from here?” Jier already had plan.
“The closest village…” The chief continued to tell them about the nearest village. Jier nodded along and listened closely.
It was dangerous to travel at night so the chief had Jier and Feng Wu rest for the night. They could head out in the morning.
They had had a long day and fell asleep right away.
While they were sleeping the village chief and his sons were debating how to break the news to the rest of the villagers. They couldn’t hide the news from the rest of the villagers.
It was a dilemma. How were they going to break the news to those heartbroken parents who were clinging to the slim hope their children were alive? With the bodies discovered… there was no way to pretend, all their hopes would be stripped away.
The villagers saw Feng Wu and Jier off early the next morning. The village chief also left, taking a carriage to the capital to report about the missing girls.
Jier and Feng Wu didn’t travel to the nearby villages to investigate the murder, instead they went straight back to Pierre’s. The case didn’t have to be investigated by them in person. A girl missing in a small village was big news within the village itself. Jier would hire someone to go to the villages around the area and inquire.
Once they reached Rime-Frost, Jier had Pierre refer him to some of the poorer people in the area. He hired several of and promised to pay each person twenty silver coins for news about any disappearances. Those he hired lived on the bottom rungs of society, so twenty coins was a great amount of money and they were quite happy with the payment.
“I had Matron La prepare some clothes for you for the party. When you have time later please go upstairs and try them on.” It was natural for Pierre to handle the issue of proper attire since he was the one that hired them. He had had Matron La prepare clothes for them earlier.
“OK.” Jier nodded. It was good that Pierre had the foresight to arrange their clothes. Jier didn’t bring anything formal with him when he left campus. Who would have thought that he’d need to attend a fancy dinner party as part of a murder investigation?
Feng Wu sat to the side holding little bun in her arms, only listening half-heartedly to them talk. She was worried about little bun. He was quiet and lackl.u.s.ter, grouchy at being abandoned all day yesterday, so Feng Wu was coaxing him out of his bad humor.
Little bun was her only family, so his happiness was important to her. Fortunately, little bun was a good child, so he came around and returned to his lively self again after Feng Wu coddled him for a bit. He was back to laughing and making spit bubbles in no time.
The spirit told them her story later that night. Her name was Lydia and she was an orphan. Her parents had died abruptly in an accident leaving her on her own. She was able to maintain her standard of living because of the money and real estate her parents left behind.
She was an ordinary girl living in an ordinary village, however the people around her grew covetous of her wealth. The village chief was a good man and had been protecting her from their shenanigans, at times reprimanding them for their actions.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. She took a nap one day and woke up in the cave. She woke up to find a man in a black robe draining the blood out of her body. Unable to escape, she eventually died of blood loss and turned into a spirit. That was six months ago. Trapped in the cave with no way out, she watched as the man came and went, bringing other girls with him and draining their blood into the pool.
This pattern repeated itself on and on. As each girl died, another spirit joined the cave and another grudge was added. Because the man couldn’t see their spirits and harm them further, they were able to preserve their souls. However, over time their resentment grew and they loss their reason.
Lydia hated the demonic man with a vengeance. Her greatest wish was to kill him and avenge all the girls.