CH-013

They had only just set out when it started raining again.

The rain did not intensify as time passed.

However, such wretched weather made the village head’s mood heavy. Herens did not notice the worry deeply etched onto the village head’s face and subconsciously let out a sigh: “Rain easily washes away tracks on the ground. When the time comes, will we be unable to see where the traveling merchant’s carriage went?”

This professional “finishing blow” from the hunter made even the light in the village head’s eyes dim.

Shu Li glanced at the village head, then looked at Herens and said: “This rainy weather actually comes at the right time. For us, movement is inconvenient, but it is also inconvenient for them—especially since even if they want to leave, the carriage will not allow them to depart smoothly. You should know that if a vehicle gets stuck in the mud, it is very difficult to pull out again. This indicates that they are actually not as far away as we imagine.”

After he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of the village head, who let out a sigh of relief.

The village head then began to curse and grumble again, saying: “That damn brat, if I find him, see if I don’t give him a severe beating to see if he ever dares to act so recklessly again! I’m truly so angry that I’m fuming, my heart is about to explode!”

Shu Li did not respond to this, seemingly indifferent to what the village head said, only heading toward the farmhouse where they previously said they saw the traveling merchant’s carriage.

Along the way, he meticulously observed the marks on the ground.

Judging by the mud splatters on the village head’s trouser legs, the nearby ground consisted of fine-grained clay paths. Therefore, even if it rained for a long time last night, as long as it wasn’t a downpour, it wouldn’t wash the wheel tracks away completely.

If this had been sandy or gravelly ground, yesterday’s rain truly would have completely erased everything.

Another fortunate point was that the main trade routes connecting the Savoy pastoral area to other surrounding towns and villages were relatively simple; tracking was actually easier than imagined.

Following the road straight down, they reached their destination.

To call it a farmhouse would be less accurate than calling it a hut left behind by a forest warden; there was a neat vegetable field in front of the house. However, some weeds were sprouting on the ridges of the field, clearly showing that it hadn’t been meticulously tended to for some time.

There were two shallow ruts in front of the house extending to the backyard of the farm residence; because they had just been washed by rain again, the edges of the wheel prints were turned outward and the margins were blurred.

Herens stared at the marks of the ruts, his brow slightly furrowed as if he had caught onto some clue. He subconsciously took two extra steps toward the backyard; although his steps were light, there was a clear sense of investigation.

Shu Li did not speak to stop him, only turning his face slightly to keep a close watch on his movements with his peripheral vision, observing quietly.

Just then, Shu Li felt a prickling sensation of a gaze sweeping across his face, so his sunset-blue pupils shifted back slightly, his gaze colliding exactly with the male master of the farmhouse who was watching them from the window.

The master stood in the shadows, his jaw moving slightly, and his facial muscles twitched a little. That wasn’t a simple expression, but a subconscious reaction mixed with various emotions.

Anger?

Nervousness?

Or… fear of something being discovered?

All were possible.

Because, after all, his own home was being intruded upon by outsiders.

Ordinary people would not have a happy expression.

Before Shu Li could speak, the wooden door opened with a “creak.”

The male master stepped over the threshold with a look of severity on his face. Bypassing the village head at the front and the priest beside him, he shouted in the direction of the hunter Herens: “Hey! Don’t you go wandering around!”

Herens’s expression was calm; he simply stopped his steps but had no intention of listening to the other party, his gaze meeting the male master’s coldly.

This silent standoff lasted for several seconds; the gradually intensifying atmosphere was like a bowstring being pulled tighter and tighter, ready to snap at a touch.

Shu Li finally spoke to help resolve the issue.

The voice was not loud, yet it was irresistible: “Mr. Herens, do not wander too far.”

Herens was halted by Shu Li’s voice, his gaze involuntarily falling upon the priest.

Rainwater dripped along the tips of Shu Li’s hair, and half-wet strands clung to the side of his neck, making that already cool and elegant face appear even clearer. Especially his skin tone—perhaps because the cold air had entered his body—showed a nearly unreal fairness and transparency amidst the curtain of rain, like some kind of existence that shouldn’t belong to the mortal world, making people afraid to look directly at him.

Herens was stunned for a moment, and then he immediately realized something. While striding to Shu Li’s side, he hurriedly fumbled around his body, trying to find something that could help him wipe away the rainwater.

If this were in the past, letting a bishop get rained on would certainly result in punishment.

But after searching his whole body, he couldn’t find a single suitable item.

In the end, he could only choose to stand silently next to Shu Li, condemning himself in his heart for losing such an opportunity to show his loyalty in front of the priest.

He let out a silent sigh.

Seeing that Herens ignored him, the male master’s expression became very ugly. He looked back at the village head at the front, “What are you doing bringing a big group of people here? I can’t provide shelter from the rain for you here. Don’t you need to keep looking for the kid?”

Shu Li stared at the male master’s facial expression but did not state a position.

The village head didn’t mind the other’s poor tone and said repeatedly: “Apologies for disturbing you again! I didn’t ask clearly yesterday—what time did the carriage leave? We are worried that the child was taken away by the traveling merchant when he was heading home.”

The male master pursed his lips and said to the village head: “I don’t know the specific time either. Yesterday before sunset, when the sun hadn’t completely gone down yet, a carriage drove past.” As he said this, both his eyes and his finger pointed in the direction the carriage had left.

This was the truth.

“At this time, they might already be in the next town, right? If you can’t catch up, you’ll encounter a fork in the road; whether they go to other villages or to Carson City by then is unknown.”

The village head’s expression was solemn, “Then let’s head over quickly! While it’s raining, they shouldn’t be able to leave…”

“Has the carriage never come back?” Shu Li interrupted the village head’s words, “I saw carriage marks in the backyard as well.”

If the farm family had money, they wouldn’t have to live in the remote mountains and forests.

The male master’s expression froze instantly, and even the simple-hearted village head realized something was wrong.

Could it be…

Just then, another middle-aged male wearing a dark brown tunic emerged from behind the male master. As soon as he appeared, the village head recognized him: “Isn’t this Doctor Matthew? Why are you here?”

After the village head finished speaking, he immediately introduced him to Shu Li and Herens—this man in the long robe was Matthew, a doctor who traveled between the villages. They usually received a lot of help from him.

Doctor Matthew then smiled: “This family’s daughter has a high fever; I came over to help treat her. That vehicle you’re talking about is mine.”

Shu Li then asked: “Did it arrive last night?”

“It came over this morning when there was no rain.” Doctor Matthew had a faint smile on his lips.

This sentence was wrong.

The vehicle arrived yesterday when it was raining. If it had arrived this morning, the edges of the prints wouldn’t be so indistinct.

Shu Li immediately became suspicious.

On the other side, the male master had been staring at Matthew the whole time, the expression on half of his face unnaturally stiff.

Shu Li glanced at him. Just as he was about to ask further, Doctor Matthew said: “I heard that Finnian has gone missing. If you don’t mind, you can use my horse to make haste. Although a carriage might not be useful in rainy weather, a horse should come in handy.”

The village head was instantly overjoyed, “Doctor Matthew, thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.” Matthew then spoke toward the male master, “I’ll trouble you to help lead the way.”

As soon as the male master left, Shu Li’s gaze immediately turned toward the bed on the right. Simple linen sheets were spread on the bed, and a small figure was vaguely visible amidst the soft folds. A woman sat by the bed, head bowed as she tenderly looked after the girl whose eyes were tightly shut.

Shu Li felt an indescribable sense of something being wrong.

The time the male master said the carriage left was indeed before sunset yesterday.

Judging by the male master’s micro-expressions, that was the truth.

Furthermore, no signs of the carriage returning were seen on the road, and the marks of the traveling merchant’s carriage left on the road were different from the marks of the carriage in the forest warden’s backyard, re-emphasizing that they were not the same carriage.

In other words, theoretically, there were two possibilities—

One: The traveling merchant’s carriage took Finnian, and it is still in time to catch up now.

Two: Matthew is suspicious, but why would he keep Finnian by his side instead of leaving quickly?

Where exactly did the problem lie?

After thinking for two seconds, Shu Li realized he had overlooked the most crucial point.