Chapter 47: The Man Who is Already Dead

  Lei Xiao held his wooden stick like a longsword, his posture as straight and proud as a young general on the battlefield. With a loud cry, he charged toward Maple Star, his feet kicking up a thin layer of dust.

  Maple Star was already accustomed to such clashes. The wooden sword in his hands was as steady as a rock. He gripped the "blade" with both hands, one in front of the other, and met the charge with an upward block—

  "Thud!"

  The dull sound of wood striking wood echoed. Maple Star took a few steps back, his arm vibrating from the impact, before pushing forward, forcing Lei Xiao and his stick away.

  Lei Xiao rolled with the momentum, somersaulting to his feet and patting the dust from his clothes with a wide grin. "You're really something! A worthy opponent!"

  The two children were once again entangled in their playful duel, the sound of their wooden weapons and cheerful laughter echoing through the street.

  Ronen watched them quietly, a complex emotion clouding his eyes.

  "I envy them," he said in a low voice. "So many strange things are happening in this village, yet they can still play without a care in the world."

  Vivian, beside him, chuckled softly and glanced at him. "What, you want to join in?"

  Ronen shook his head, a bitter smile on his lips. "I'd rather be hunting magical beasts with the warband. At least then you know where to go and what to kill. Not like this... having to investigate everything."

  He rubbed his temples and sighed. "We haven't had many real fights, but this is more exhausting than battling beasts for days on end."

  "Feeling tired is a good thing," Vivian said, her tone calm but serious. "It means you're growing."

  Her tone shifted, her voice dropping lower. "Let's talk business, little Ronen. What's your take on the current situation in the village? What should we do next?"

  Ronen's brow furrowed. He had always been the one to follow orders; making decisions was never part of his job description.

  After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke. "Right now... all the clues seem to lead to that hidden passage. We can only hope Mark can actually open it. Other than that, we wait for Wolf and the others to return from the Mage Tower. I wonder what they've found."

  "Brother, the hidden passage you're talking about... is it the one in my mom's old house?"

  The two children had stopped playing at some point and had run over. Maple Star, holding Lei Xiao's hand, looked up at Ronen and asked.

  Ronen was slightly taken aback, then knelt to meet Maple Star's gaze.

  A flicker of embarrassment crossed his mind—in a way, they had just blown up the boy's mother's house.

  Fortunately, Maple Star was still young and didn't fully understand what had happened. But the village chief, Lei Fei, had said that Maple Star's father would be back before sunset. Hopefully, he wouldn't cause them any trouble.

  "Yes, that's the one," Ronen said, keeping his voice steady and trying to sound natural. "Do you know how to open the door?"

  Maple Star shook his head, then asked curiously, "Why are you all so interested in my mom's house? Just like Uncle Ace."

  "Uncle Ace?" Ronen's eyes sharpened. "Ace from the Lapsus Merchant Guild?"

  Maple Star tilted his head. "I don't know about any merchant guild... but he came from the direction of that tower in the north, and sometimes he stays at my house."

  The direction of the north tower.

  That must be the auditor.

  Ronen's brow tightened as a realization dawned on him.

  Someone from the Lapsus Merchant Guild had also discovered the hidden passage? But how?

  —Wait.

  How did Mark know about the hidden passage in the first place?

  He had completely forgotten to ask such a crucial question.

  "That Uncle Ace... did he ever open that stone door?" Vivian interjected softly, her gaze fixed on Maple Star's face.

  The little boy shook his head, his expression turning serious.

  "Mom told me not to go near there, and not to ask questions. She said... she'd tell me when I'm older."

  Ronen and Vivian exchanged a look. He knelt lower, his voice gentle. "Maple Star, your mom... has she been home recently?"

  Maple Star's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. "Yes! She just came back a few days ago!"

  "You said before that your mom had been gone for a long time... do you remember how long?"

  The little boy counted on his fingers, then looked up with a serious expression. "About five years. Five years ago, Dad told me Mom went to a very, very far away place and might not be back for a long time. I cried for so long back then..." He paused, then smiled again. "But now Mom is back!"

  "Five years..." Vivian repeated softly.

  Ronen straightened up and whispered in Vivian's ear, his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear, "The village chief said—Mei died five years ago."

  He turned back to Maple Star, his tone still calm but with an underlying tension. "When did your mom come back, do you remember?"

  "About a month ago," Maple Star answered quickly.

  "A month." Ronen and Vivian looked at each other again—this time, a chilling confirmation reflected in their eyes.

  The timeline matched perfectly. The mages of the Eye of the North had started disappearing a month ago.

  "Ah!" Lei Xiao suddenly exclaimed, looking at the sky. The setting sun was grazing the edge of the distant mountains, dyeing the clouds in shades of orange and red. "The sun is setting... I have to get home before dark! Little Star, we'll play again tomorrow!"

  Maple Star nodded. "My dad also told me to be back before dark!"

  The two children quickly turned and waved at them. "Brother, Sister, we're going home!"

  "Wait."

  Shen Jiu Yi, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke. She took two steps forward and knelt in front of Maple Star, her voice soft. "Can Sister stay at your house tonight?"

  Maple Star was stunned for a moment, then broke into a wide smile and grabbed her hand. "Really? That's great! But... I have to ask my dad first."

  "It's okay, I'll talk to your dad," Shen Jiu Yi said with a smile, ruffling his hair as she stood up.

  Ronen frowned at her. "Aren't the people from the House of Books... not supposed to interfere with the course of events?"

  Shen Jiu Yi turned her head, the faint, enigmatic smile still playing on her lips. "I'm not interfering. I'm just... very interested in this child myself."

  She paused, then added softly, "I just want to talk to him more, is that not allowed?"

  Ronen was silent for a moment, then finally relented, only reminding her in a low voice, "Be careful. This village... is getting stranger and stranger."

  Shen Jiu Yi waved her hand, her figure growing hazy in the deepening twilight.

  "Don't worry," her final words drifted back on the wind, so calm they were almost ethereal.

  "You are not responsible for my safety."

  With that, she gave Ronen and Vivian a casual wave and, holding Maple Star's hand, walked towards the house at the end of the village.

  As the last ray of sunlight sank below the horizon, Wolf and his group finally returned to the entrance of Dragonwood Village. Ethan and Mary had not come back with them—the master and apprentice had chosen to stay at the Mage Tower to sort through the Archmage's remaining manuscripts.

  Wolf's gaze swept over the dents and scrapes on the camp vehicle's body, his brow immediately furrowing.

  "Weren't you supposed to be investigating in the village?" his voice was hoarse, laced with the fatigue of a long journey. "Did you run into a pack of beasts?"

  "We did go out for a bit. Didn't run into any magical beasts, but the situation might have been worse than if we had," Ronen quipped.

  Mark had been deep inside the hidden passage, completely absorbed in studying the magical patterns on the stone wall, not even noticing Wolf's return. Zoe had tried calling down to him, telling him to come up and rest, but he either didn't respond at all or angrily told her not to bother him.

  As darkness fell, considering the possibility of monsters roaming the village outskirts at night, the group decided to move the camp next to the ruins.

  With Ethan and Mary at the Mage Tower and Mark refusing to come out, the task of operating the camp vehicle's magical equipment fell to Zoe. The young apprentice scratched her head and reluctantly took on the task. She was clearly inexperienced; as she channeled her magic, the two carriages swayed gently, as if about to fall apart. It was only with Vivian's help that the guardrails and simple barriers were successfully deployed, and the carriages extended into a spacious tent under magical guidance.

  Although the house was now in ruins, the remaining walls could still block the wind. With someone on watch, it was safe enough to spend the night there.

  Meanwhile, Ronen and Wolf had gathered frostwood branches and started a bonfire. The flames grew, illuminating the figures gathered around. Bear meat was propped up by the fire, the fat occasionally dripping and sizzling, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

  Ronen's group had a relatively easy day, but Wolf and his team, having just returned from the Mage Tower, wore an unconcealable exhaustion on their faces. Sitting around the warm fire, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief and let their tense bodies and minds slowly relax.

  The firelight flickered, illuminating a peaceful night. The village's mysteries still loomed, but at least for this night, they had a corner to lean on together.

  "Sigh, life is getting worse by the day, huh? The first day we had a feast at a fancy inn, the second day we had a big pot meal at a mercenary tavern, the third day we had barbecue in a rundown house, and the fourth day, we don't even have a rundown house, we're camping in ruins..." Zoe grumbled cheerfully, but trailed off as she noticed the strange looks from the others. Realizing her words were out of place, she quickly lowered her head and gnawed on her bear meat. "Actually, this barbecue is pretty good, no worse than the feast at the Moonlit Inn."

  Her words amused the group, and the tense atmosphere eased. The two groups quickly shared the information they had gathered.

  Wolf chewed slowly on his barbecue, his gaze sweeping over the remaining members, then glancing towards the hidden passage—the magical barrier blocked his sight, and it was silent inside.

  "So, based on Zoe's personal experiment," he swallowed his food, his voice steady, "we are indeed trapped here, right?"

  Ronen nodded grimly. "Yes, if both teleportation and communication magic have failed."

  "Uncle," Ronen lowered his voice, an undeniable tension in his words, "we're not going to be... stuck here forever, are we?" He had appeared calm on the surface, but this was his first official mission—he wasn't even a real mercenary yet. The unease in his heart could no longer be concealed.

  Wolf was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "No need to think that far ahead."

  "Don't underestimate the words 'a lifetime'. We have enough food, and even if we run out, we can hunt around Dragonwood Village. We won't starve. Surviving, at least, is not a problem."

  He poked the fire, sending sparks flying upwards.

  "Besides, if we've really lost contact with the outside world, with the missing mages from the tower and the villagers of Dragonwood, that's almost fifty people. The Mercenary Association and the Mage Association will not sit idly by. It might even alert the Empire. They will definitely send people to investigate."

  Wolf's tone remained even, but it carried the weight of experience.

  "Either the newcomers solve the problem and we all leave together, or we'll have more people trapped here with us. It all depends on how tricky this anomaly is..." He paused. "If even those legendary figures get stuck here, then it's not our problem to worry about."

  "However," he looked up at Ronen, "be prepared to be stuck here for a long time."

  Vivian nodded beside him. "But we can't just wait. We have to find a way out ourselves."

  "Naturally," Wolf said, letting out a long yawn. Two days of driving, standing watch, and fighting had left him exhausted, despite his experience and training. He pulled a blanket over himself, his voice growing quieter.

  "I'll check out the hidden passage tomorrow... I need to sleep now. I have to report to Alice later."

  Before he could finish, his breathing had already become deep and slow. The firelight flickered on his face, casting a peaceful but utterly weary silhouette.