Starting with the sentries on the frontier

Chapter 24 The Corrupted Werewolf

The man and Hagimi waited for less than an hour before receiving the message from the tree spirits.

But it's not good news.

"What do you mean... 'discovered torn clothes and a contaminated werewolf'?"

Zag repeated the message Snowball had given him, finding it rather difficult to understand.

Snowball replied, "To be precise, there were two werewolves. One of them should be Rosa's father, but as for the other, we don't know who it is!"

Zag stared wide-eyed. "I still don't understand. You mean Rosa's father is a werewolf?!"

Snowball explained, "He wasn't like that before, at least not the last time I saw him. But who knows what happened later? I wasn't stalking them at their house."

"In short, that werewolf is Rosa's father. That's what the tree spirit elder said. He said that the werewolf's blood smells very similar to that of Modo, whom he saved before... It has the perception of a high-level mage and can accurately perceive the essence of all living beings. There's no mistake about it."

"Hmm...you know what? The reason they're so friendly to you, or rather, the reason they're still willing to interact with you, is because they don't think you're a Norther. Because Northers are 'smelly,' 'bitter,' and have 'spicy blood.' Of course, if you hadn't used magic to burn their roots back then, I believe they would have welcomed you even more."

"'Spicy blood'? What kind of strange description is that!" Zag's brows furrowed even more. "And how did he turn into a werewolf? Isn't the legend that only by undergoing a werewolf hunting ritual on the night of a full moon can one become a werewolf? It's still a long way off from the full moon! How did he suddenly become a werewolf?"

Snowball is very reliable when popularizing knowledge about the occult, almost like a dutiful "Qianbao": "What you said is a secondary method, that is, second-generation and third-generation werewolves, just like second-generation and third-generation vampires, the transformation is indeed a bit troublesome."

"But if it's the first generation ritual, it's much simpler. For example, you can directly ask Kris to participate in the blood sacrifice. If you're lucky enough to survive, you'll become a first generation vampire, that is, a pure-blooded vampire... Hmm, werewolves work on the same principle, but I really don't know how to become a first generation werewolf."

"But... why would he undergo this ritual to become a werewolf? And I remember you said he was a corrupted werewolf?"

"So that means he didn't become a werewolf through praying for a blessing! I was just saying there are multiple possibilities, not that he definitely did it that way!"

"This is terrible! How am I going to explain this to Rosa? She's only 15!"

Snowball remained unmoved: "What's there to hide! At 15, she's perfectly capable of finding someone to marry. At least by human standards, she's not bad looking."

Zag scratched his head in frustration: "But she's only 15! 15, you know! She's still a child! She should be sitting in school listening to lessons! Not suffering the damn fate of being orphaned and forced to marry to make a living!"

Snowball didn't understand Zag's sudden anger—

This anger wasn't directed at Xueqiu, or rather, it wasn't directed at any particular person; rather, it was a kind of powerless anger that Xueqiu saw as completely inexplicable.

It didn't quite understand the reason for this emotion, but it still kindly patted Zag's chest with its front paw to comfort him, saying, "Doesn't she have 200 shillings? And the little house her father left behind, and she can grow cabbages and make redcurrant jam, surviving in this small town won't be a problem!"

"Should I say that it's fortunate that alchemist was kind enough to give her 200 shillings?"

Zag snorted irritably.

But then he suddenly remembered something, stood up abruptly, took two quick steps away from the tree spirit's hiding place, then stopped and turned to stare intently at Snowball, who was glaring at Zag after struggling to maintain its balance by flapping its wings after being lifted up by Zag.

"Meow—"

Snowball was initially furious and wanted to unleash a torrent of curses, but seeing the shock, then regret, and finally anger and confusion on Zag's face, it shrank back in fear and took a few steps back: "You, you, what do you mean by this...?"

Zag crouched down, facing the tiny black harpy, and asked with a serious expression, "Snowball, do you think there's any alchemical potion that can turn a person into a werewolf?"

Snowball was so frightened by Zag's unprecedentedly serious expression that its fur stood on end. Its ears were pressed tightly against its scalp as it whispered, "This...this shouldn't work...shouldn't? I...I don't know, I don't know alchemy..."

"If I remember correctly, Rosa's father said he had raised the money because he had conducted experiments for an alchemist, and the alchemist paid him exactly 4 gold pounds, which is 80 shillings." Zag analyzed bit by bit, "And in the whole town, besides Mr. Matthew, there's only that outsider alchemist. I even met him this afternoon; he claimed to be from the Dawn Mage Tower... and the alchemical potion I drank earlier to treat my burns, [Blessing of the Sea God], was also his creation!"

Snowball's little brain was a bit slow to process this, and she subconsciously said, "But...this doesn't prove that he killed Rosa's father, does it?"

"It can't be proven 100%, but did you know that there's a theory in criminal psychology that murderers, or criminals, often return to the scene of a crime after committing it, and may even contact the victim's family or neighbors..."

"Then why did he suggest that Rosa ask you for help? Wouldn't that expose him?"

"This is called 'criminal marking behavior,' he's showing off like this... Maybe he's already left Cabbage Town... I don't know, I'm not a professional detective. Let's go back to town and ask around. There's also the werewolf issue. The people at the grain store just said the granary was attacked by werewolves, but Grace clearly stated that the werewolf that attacked the granary is trapped inside. Rosa's father is definitely not among them, but I always feel there might be some connection between them. It's too much of a coincidence, really too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"

Zag became very agitated, and even his speech became somewhat incoherent.

Snowball flew directly in front of Zag, bringing its fluffy kitten face close, its blue-green eyes meeting Zag's, soothing him: "Calm down, Zag! Let's go back to town and check! At least to make sure that alchemist is still there!"

When the furry black cat's face came into view, Zag suddenly calmed down a lot.

"Alright, then tell the tree spirits to thank them for their help, and I will send them the [Merethra's Mercy] they need tomorrow."

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[Snowball's Science Mini-Drama]: [Merethra's Mercy], an inexpensive alchemical potion used to treat withered crops and trees.

Its original name was "Joy of Harvest," but at some point it became "Merethra's Mercy." However, it's said that in the Kingdom of Lunaran, it also has another name: "Tears of the Primordial Tree."

"So it has absolutely nothing to do with Meredra! Not even half a penny!"