Leaving the forest, Si Shu came to a nearby town to rest. He went to a small restaurant and ordered some food. He had just started eating when a large man suddenly entered. After getting the owner's permission, he stood in the middle of the hall and shouted, "Everyone, pardon the interruption, please listen to me. I am from Faye Village. Strange thefts have been happening in our village lately, and I hope you can help us solve the problem."
However, after he finished speaking, no one in the room paid him any mind. In this era, people died all the time. Taking care of oneself was already difficult, let alone worrying about others.
Normally, Si Shu wouldn't have cared about such things. But then, a few words caught his ear. From the idle chatter of the surrounding tables, he heard some rumors about the strange occurrences in Faye Village. Someone said they had once seen a figure running across a wasteland carrying a cow's leg. Another said his great-aunt's cousin's third uncle had met a beautiful woman in the fields near that village. Some even claimed to have seen strange patterns in the night sky that they had never seen before.
Everyone's story was different, and dozens of rumors intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish the truth. But Si Shu found a few key points.
A beautiful woman, food, and strange patterns.
Based on his deductions, the woman was almost certainly a demon. He just didn't know why she wasn't eating living people but was resorting to this instead.
Stealing corpses? A possibility emerged in his mind, and he couldn't quite believe it. It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?
Muttering to himself, he stood up and walked over to the large man. Seeing that someone was interested, the man's dark face lit up with joy, and he immediately told Si Shu everything. It was basically the same as what he had heard: several people had discovered that their dead livestock had been stolen. Whenever they tried to give chase, they would always feel a wave of drowsiness and then pass out. A few days later, the bones of the stolen animals would be found in the nearby wasteland.
After telling Si Shu everything, the man eagerly asked if he would be willing to help. As he was thinking, the system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding! A villager has issued a request to you. Accept?]
"Accept."
After accepting, he received the specific mission details.
[Quest: Go to Faye Village and uncover the true identity of the thieving demon.]
Upon receiving this message, Si Shu's eyes narrowed slightly. This mission was different from the previous ones. It didn't explicitly state that he needed to kill the demon. The feeling in his gut grew stronger. After paying his bill, he set off for the village.
After half a day's travel, Si Shu arrived at the village the man had spoken of. From a villager, he learned the general location of the strange incidents: a wasteland to the northwest of the village, near a cemetery. As he got closer, Si Shu felt the surrounding temperature drop a few degrees. There was also a unique scent in the air. Though faint, its distinct fragrance was something Si Shu had firmly committed to memory. A demon that used scent as an ability... in his memory, there was only one.
But to be safe, Si Shu prepared himself. If the other party showed any hostility, he would sever their head in an instant.
Before long, he arrived at the wasteland next to the cemetery. The first thing he saw was the animal bones scattered everywhere on the ground. Skulls, leg bones, ribs, forearms. It seemed the situation was more serious than the man had described.
After a brief inspection, Si Shu discovered some information on one of the bones. Though very subtle, he found traces of bite marks. He picked up a lump of mud and pressed it onto the bone, making a simple model of the teeth marks. From this model, he gathered a lot of useful information. First, the bite mark was relatively small, most likely from a female. Second, among the bite marks, there were four that were deeper than the rest. An ordinary person might be confused by this, or even think they had made a mistake. But for Si Shu, it was an all-too-familiar sign.
Without a doubt, these were the teeth marks of a demon. And a female demon at that. This matched his previous guess, and his sixth sense told him he was very close to the truth.
After determining the thief was a female demon, Si Shu carefully examined the bite marks on each bone. Based on the depth, location, and a lingering trace of scent, he discovered a pattern in when the bones were discarded. Every so often, a few more bones would appear. The interval was about seven days.
He calculated the time. It had been five days since the last theft. That meant in about two days, the thieving female demon would come here again!
Two days, huh? Then let me see if it's really you.
A small smile appeared on his lips. Si Shu returned to the village and temporarily settled down.
On the evening of the second day, he quietly returned. He jumped onto a tree, chose a suitable position, and hid himself in the darkness. Only his eyes silently watched the outside world.
The sun slowly set, and the moon began to move across the black sky. Soon, a commotion came from the village. Listening closely, he could hear human shouts, rapid panting, and the sound of various metals clashing.
Just then, that strange, fragrant aroma in the air suddenly became stronger. In the sky above the village, some strange flower patterns faintly appeared. Soon, the noise from the village died down. Not long after, the sound of walking came from that direction.
One step, two steps, three steps... From the sound, the person's weight was not heavy, so they made very little noise. But to Si Shu's ears, the sounds were as loud as gongs and drums.
Soon, the newcomer walked under the tree where Si Shu was hiding, seeming to be taking a rest. Just as they thought they were safe, Si Shu did a backflip and jumped down from the tree. The moment he landed, the other person's appearance was clearly reflected in his eyes.
At that moment, he knew his guess was correct.
With a small smile, Si Shu said, "It's been a long time, Lady Tamayo."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (250 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (225 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (90 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (100 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (270 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (98 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (120 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(59 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (150 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (80 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (50 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (80 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (80 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (60 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (50 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (50 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (50 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (33 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.