Chapter Thirty-Three: The Truth of Death

  Xu Lingtian spread out his chicken-claw-like fingers, allowing Meina's father to grab two glittering gold coins.

  Meina's father did not suspect the authenticity of the gold coin, because he knew that Xu Lingtian had been an extremely wealthy alchemist. However, he still imitated others and put the gold coin to his mouth for a bite - he had seen others do this, but to be honest, he didn't know what real gold tasted like, only feeling that not biting the gold coin would make him look very foolish.

  After biting the two gold coins, a smile thoroughly bloomed on his face, and he even began to consider letting Meina recognize Xu Lingtian as her "godfather", so that after Xu Lingtian's death, she could inherit a large sum of money.

  Meina was still tightly held in her mother's arms, with only one puzzled and bewildered big eye exposed.

  Xu Lingtian patiently waited until Meena's father had bitten the gold coin before speaking again, "Please treat my friend with kindness, his identity... is very noble, but he wants to keep a low profile."

  Mina's father turned his head in surprise towards Rega. Xu Lingtian's words were very convincing, he was the chief alchemist of the War Bear Claw Guild, and the War Bear Claw Guild was a national guild of the Fengxue Kingdom, it was not surprising that he knew all the nobles of the Fengxue Kingdom. Moreover, since Rega stood here, she had not spoken a word, her beautiful face always had a cold expression, with an innate haughty attitude, which further confirmed Xu Lingtian's words.

  "Your Excellency!"

  Mina's father hastily bowed his head in a bow towards Laga, and Mina's mother also hastily followed suit.

  "Uh-huh."

  Lega nodded silently, "No need for formalities, just call me Lega."

  Meina's father's face flashed a hint of fear, "How dare I, how dare I, just now there was some delay, please don't mind it at all."

  Xu Lingtian saw that things had entered the right track, turned his head to Lei Jia and said: "So, we'll see each other tomorrow, don't forget our appointment, sir." He bowed deeply with profound meaning.

  Lei Ga slightly furrowed his brow, leaned in and lowered his voice, asking: "How can I find you?"

  "Walk along the most secluded little road, and I live at the end of the road," he replied. After finishing speaking, he stepped out with a stumbling gait, and disappeared into the thick night fog without looking back.

  "Please come in and rest, sir."

  Mina's father said with a mixture of fear and trepidation. Being able to entertain the nobility was more exciting for him than getting two gold coins, which would not produce a third one, but if he could satisfy Rega, there would be endless benefits.

  Lei Ga followed behind Meina's father in an unnatural manner, passing through the small courtyard and entering the house. The house was not very large, but it had everything one could need.

  "Please take a seat, I'll go prepare the meal."

  Mina's mother wiped down the chair for Leika, then smiled apologetically at him and hurried into the kitchen.

  Her skin was a bit rough, and the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were quite heavy, but when she smiled, she had a few points of charm, and Leiga couldn't help but think that her younger sister, Yin Lisha, must be a great beauty.

  Meina's father brought over a cup of murky tea water and carefully placed it in front of Lega.

  "In a remote and impoverished mountainous area, I beg your honor to forgive me many times."

  "Thank you." Rega politely raised his teacup and took a sip. In the past when he was wandering, drinking tea was a luxury.

  Meina's father stood by with his hands hanging down, not daring to speak casually or sit down.

  "I heard you're the Night Watchman?" Rega asked.

  Meina's father nodded immediately, puffed out his chest, and seemed to have grown a few inches taller in that instant. "Sir, I once served the Redwood family in Senrock Castle."

  Actually, he was just sweeping the yard for that family, but his tone of speech was like a retired hero.

  Lei gave a faint "hmm". In the entire Senyan Kingdom, he only knew of one Firebird family; as for other families, he hadn't even heard of them.

  The cold attitude made Meena's father uneasy, he suddenly thought that Xu Lingtian was an alchemist from the Maple Snow Kingdom, which meant that this arrogant young noble in front of him must be from the Maple Snow Kingdom, and he had foolishly said that he had served a certain family in the Senrock Kingdom... He really wanted to slap himself in the mouth.

  "Are there many night guards in Dusk Village?"

  "Not a small number, adding them all up would be over twenty."

  Ren saw no need to pursue the matter of him serving other kingdoms' nobles, so Mina's father let out a sigh of relief and continued: "The village can't afford bounty hunters, so they organized strong villagers into the Night Watch to prevent what happened three years ago..."

  He suddenly realized he had said something he shouldn't have and hastily corrected himself: "To prevent harassment by bandits and mercenaries."

  Lei Ga's father glanced at them, and based on these ordinary armed civilians who didn't even have the courage to fight back, it was impossible for them to resist the strong bandit mercenaries. The self-organized Night Watch must be there to guard against Xu Lingtian.

  "I understand."

  After finishing speaking, Leiga didn't say another word. From the conversation just now, it's not hard to see that Meena's father still has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. It's difficult to get the information he really wants from someone like him. Shepu reminded him to be careful with Xu Lingtian, so he had to use his own eyes and ears to observe the truth of things.

  The silence filled the entire room like cold sweat.

  Mina's father shifted his legs back and forth between the center of gravity, he had a lot of flattering words to say, but couldn't find a suitable entry point.

  Several minutes passed in silence, with Rega looking like a statue, but Meena's father could no longer bear it.

  "Excuse me, sir, may I take my leave first? I suddenly remembered that we don't have enough wine at home, and I also need to buy some better food."

  He gritted his teeth and decided to spend a large sum of one gold coin to entertain this seemingly dissatisfied young noble.

  "Go ahead, please."

  Meina's father bowed reflexively and walked out while calling to Meina's mother, who was still busy in the kitchen, "Stop making those disgusting dishes and go entertain our guest quickly!"

  Before Meena's mother could say anything, he rushed out of the door.

  Meina's mother nervously tidied up the hair at her temples, then walked in front of Rega with her head down and asked softly: "Is there anything you need?"

  Lei Ga's heart skipped a beat, and he said softly: "Elder sister, please sit down."

  Mina's mother sat down in her seat unnaturally, as if Leka was the host and she was the guest.

  "I'd like to ask some questions about your sister Yoon Lisa," Rega said bluntly.

  As soon as she heard the name "Yin Lisha", Meina's mother's eyes became somewhat dazed, and her twisted mouth muttered: "Yin Lisha... my husband doesn't allow me to mention her again..."

  "Your husband is not here."

  As soon as he spoke, Leiga felt like he was seducing a married woman, and he furrowed his brow, driving away this absurd thought.

  Meina's mother hesitated for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

  "Yin Lisha is a good girl, she has been gentle and beautiful since childhood, with two shallow dimples on her cheeks when she smiles, and her hair always filled with the fragrance of apples. This once made me very jealous. I remember that when we were young, I cut off her long hair with scissors while she was sleeping, she cried very sadly, but didn't blame me. Thinking about this incident still makes me feel guilty... Fate has been really cruel to her... Sir, what do you want to know?"

  "How did she die?"

  Lei Ga asked calmly: "Specifically, I want to know how she died for the first time."

  Meina's mother widened her eyes, "Your Excellency, you know about what happened three years ago?"

  "I know some of it, but I'd like to hear you tell me." Rega replied.

  "Okay, there's a rumor in the village that my sister mistakenly ate poisonous herbs given by Xu Lingtian and died. But in fact, the truth of this matter may not be so simple. To clarify the ins and outs of this matter, it's probably necessary to start from how they met and fell in love..."

  Meina's mother said faintly: "Yin Lisha and Xu Lingtian were almost at first sight. At that time, I had just given birth to Meina, and Meina got a serious illness. Fortunately, Xu Lingtian passed by the village of dusk, he used less than half a minute to prepare a medicine, which made Meina turn danger into safety. My sister Yin Lisha fell in love with this elegant man who was ten years older than her, and Xu Lingtian also loved my sister. From the moment they met, their eyes never left each other."

  "I believe they truly love each other and I wish them well. After all, Xu Lingtian saved Meina, saved my life, and at that time, I was grateful to him. In fact, their life after marriage is also very happy, not exaggerating, in the misty dusk village, even standing at the head of the village, you can hear their joyful laughter."

  "But such enviable happy days are always short-lived. One day they went out to play, and I happened to pass by their home, unexpectedly finding the door ajar, with someone seemingly moving around inside. The villagers of Dusk Village may not be too close-knit, but they all know each other's roots, and would never do something as dirty and despicable as theft, so I prepared to go in and take a look."

  I tiptoed in and saw the figure standing still in front of the fruit plate on the table, reaching out to grab an apple, and muttering some strange words. I became worried, took a deep breath and shouted loudly, and the figure flashed away. When I caught up, I only found a bird flying into the thick fog. I picked up the apple from the table and found it intact, so I suspected if my eyes were playing tricks on me...

  Here is the translation:

  "By this point, Meina's mother couldn't help but sob, 'The next day, Yulisa fell ill. Her illness was strange, with weakness and frequent lapses into unconsciousness. The villagers all believed that Xu Lingtian could cure her, but as time passed, Yulisa's body only got worse. Xu Lingtian tried countless methods, but in the end still couldn't save my sister's life. It wasn't until then that I suddenly remembered the shadowy figure that appeared at their house, and I told my husband about it, but he said not to stir up trouble for ourselves...'"