Blue sky dotted with white clouds, the spring breeze carrying the scent of trees caressing human cheeks. Beside the clear, gently flowing river, white geese lowered their heads to eat grass. A girl in a gray-and-white cloth dress held a long stick, watching them closely.
The girl's face was bathed in golden sunlight, revealing faint down on her skin. A piece of white cloth was wrapped over the top of her smooth brown hair; her delicate features showed irrepressible youthful vigor.
She looked toward Lumian, sitting on the ground under the trees by the river, and slightly furrowed her brow. "Aren't we here to discuss which legend is easier to investigate? How did it become a stone statue carved above the church?"
This girl was Ava Lizzie, the daughter of Guillaume the shoemaker. She was one of the few among the village's younger generation who got along well with Lumian and Raymond.
"I'm thinking about a question." Lumian didn't look up, still watching the white geese and the water ripples.
"What question?" Raymond Craig, who was helping Ava watch the geese, asked curiously.
Lumian said as if in thought, "If you encounter a beast with thick hide, and your weapon can't injure it, what would you do?"
"Of course, try to run away. There are so many beasts in the mountains; you don't have to hunt it." Ava didn't think this was difficult.
Lumian grunted, "What if that beast is especially rare, and the gentlemen in the city like it, willing to pay a hundred gold louis for its corpse?"
"A hundred gold louis, two thousand ferrin..." Raymond's breathing grew heavy.
He had never seen or used a gold louis, but instinctively converted it to ferrin first.
With that much money, he could go to the Dariège region to do a small business; why learn to be a shepherd?
He quickly thought, "Find someone to borrow a hunting rifle?"
"Can't pierce that beast's hide." Lumian directly rejected the idea.
Although knowing the prey was imaginary and such money was impossible, Ava couldn't help joining the discussion. "Is it powerful? Is it ferocious?"
Lumian thought for a moment. "About the same as me."
That was also one of the reasons he hadn't given up.
"Then that's fine." Raymond inexplicably sighed in relief. "Go back to the village, gather a group of people, surround it, exhaust its stamina, then pounce on it and tie it up."
He knew Lumian could fight, but understood he was only so capable.
"If you do that, you'd only get ten gold louis, or even less." Lumian reminded them.
"I've seen them hunt. Maybe dig a pit, let the beast fall in and not be able to get out..." Ava's lake-blue eyes turned slightly as she recalled and spoke.
"That's a method." Lumian nodded in agreement.
Knowing Ava and Raymond had limited knowledge and 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." Ava shook her head. "Those are either things from hundreds of years ago, or only one person saw them, and that person has long been dead."
Raymond agreed with Ava. "Yeah."
"Would you know there are no clues without asking the relevant people?" Lumian clicked his tongue and laughed. "You two lack perseverance. You want to give up at the first difficulty. You'll only be a goose girl, a shepherd, for life."
This remark made anger surge from the hearts of both Ava and Raymond.
When it came to provoking people, Lumian was definitely among the top in Cordu Village.
Ava blurted out, "I think none of them are suitable because there's a more suitable one."
"What is it?" Lumian's eyes lit up.
As soon as Ava finished speaking, she regretted it a little, but she had intended to tell them eventually; she just hadn't wanted to tell Lumian and Raymond so easily.
After a few seconds of silence, she glared at Lumian. "There's a real witch in the village."
"Who?" Lumian's heart tightened.
It wouldn't be Aurore, would it?
If even Ava knew Aurore was a sorcerer, then he and Aurore would have to flee Cordu Village quickly, go elsewhere to live, to avoid the Inquisition coming to "visit."
Ava instinctively looked left and right, lowering her voice. "Madame Pualis."
The administrator's wife, the parish priest's mistress, Madame Pualis? Lumian found it hard to believe. "Is that true?"
If Madame Pualis was really a witch, how could she not have noticed when he discovered her having an affair with the parish priest?
"No way!" Raymond said, unusually surprised.
Ava stood on tiptoe and looked toward the village entrance. "I'm not sure. The administrator's male servant Charlie once let something slip and told me."
"He said Madame Pualis is a soul messenger, can converse with the souls of the dead, can help them return home. He also said Madame Pualis makes secret potions and talismans."
Lumian listened carefully but was still unsure whether this was true or false.
Given that magazines like "Spiritism," "Lotus," and "The Hidden Veil" could be officially published, it wasn't too strange for the administrator's wife to know some terminology, understand how to put on an act, and fool the servants and villagers.
"Should we report her to the church? That could bring a good reward, right?" Raymond said, both fearful and expectant.
Lumian pondered for a few seconds. "Even the administrator's male servant knows Madame Pualis is a witch, so the administrator himself should know too, right?"
"Right." Ava gave an affirmative answer.
Lumian continued. "Madame Pualis is also the parish priest's mistress. If we go to the church to report, we'd probably be sent straight to the administrator's home."
"What?"
"Madame Pualis is the parish priest's mistress?"
Both Ava and Raymond were shocked.
"I saw it with my own eyes." Lumian chuckled. "Pretend you don't know this, and don't tell anyone. Otherwise, I'm afraid you might go missing one day."
Ava and Raymond both agreed, their expressions unusually solemn.
They both feared the parish priest, and this matter also involved a witch.
"If we can truly confirm that Madame Pualis is a witch, we'll find an opportunity to go to the Dariège region and tell the bishop during High Mass." Lumian comforted the two.
"Hmm." Raymond nodded vigorously.
This had to be confirmed before reporting; otherwise, if the investigation turned up nothing wrong with Madame Pualis, they would be finished.
After discussing these things, Lumian, unwilling to waste time, stood up. "I'm going back to read. Otherwise, Aurore will chase me with a wooden stick. You two keep watching the geese."
"Okay." Thinking that for the next while, only he and Ava would be here, Raymond felt a surge of excitement.
Ava was somewhat unhappy.
...
Approaching Cordu Village, Lumian began hiding his movements, constantly paying attention to whether anyone was nearby.
He was worried that the parish priest and his people wouldn't let him go and were still waiting for an opportunity.
According to his observation, Parish Priest Guillaume Bénet was a very persevering person, and would surely retaliate after suffering a loss.
While sneaking around, Lumian headed toward the Old Tavern.
Suddenly, he heard a clinking sound.
Lumian turned his head and saw that at a fork on the left, the three outlanders Leyn, Lia, and Valentay were walking toward Naroka and others who were picking lice off each other.
The clear, pleasant chiming sound came from the four silver bells on Lia's veil and boots.
These past two days they had been wandering around the village, talking to people, asking this and that, not knowing what they wanted to do... Lumian was somewhat puzzled and somewhat vigilant.
Recalling that day when the village square was empty of people, and thinking of the shepherd Pierre Berry who had deliberately come back from afar to attend the Lent Festival, he had some bad premonitions, feeling strange.
What would happen in the village? Lumian decided to tell Aurore about this later, and let this knowledgeable, well-informed, wise older sister make the judgment.
Soon, he entered the Old Tavern and saw the tarot reader sitting at her usual corner seat, eating.
Lumian approached and glanced at her plate. "Fried eggs with fatty meat? Wouldn't that be too greasy?"
In the Dariège region, this dish was the first choice for ordinary families to entertain guests, but Lumian felt that for a woman from a big city, it might be too oily and greasy.
The tarot reader unhurriedly bit into the golden egg, closed her eyes, and savored it for a moment. "Not bad, has local character, very fragrant."
"Having lunch so early?" Lumian sat opposite.
The tarot reader's light blue eyes showed a hint of weariness as she smiled. "This is breakfast."
What time is it now... Lumian didn't dare say that out loud.
He looked around the Old Tavern, which had few customers, and lowered his voice. "In my dream, I saw some ruins and encountered a monster."
"Oh." The tarot reader wasn't surprised at all; her expression even held some amusement Lumian couldn't understand.
Lumian calmed himself and recounted his experience in detail, finally asked, "How should I deal with this kind of monster?"
The tarot reader smiled and asked back, "Is it dead or alive?"
"Definitely alive—I can't kill it..." Lumian stopped his subconscious reply.
He thought for a moment, then spoke more slowly. "I can feel its breathing; it should still be alive."
The tarot reader said while eating her breakfast, "Since it's alive, try more methods. This time chop off its head, next time pour oil and burn it, the next time bury it alive. Maybe it'll die then? Come find me after trying so many methods without success. I'm not your nanny, helping with every little thing. Learn to figure things out yourself first."
She was quite... friendly... Lumian wasn't disappointed or discouraged because her meaning seemed to be that, if you encountered truly great danger, you should come to her, and she would provide some help; but for now, this kind of monster wasn't worth mentioning.
But her "not worth mentioning" was a genuine big trouble for him... Lumian then felt a headache coming on.
He decided to do as the tarot reader said, first trying methods like chopping off the head, burning with fire, burying alive, to see if they worked.
Chapter 11