"Aiya, why is my life so miserable…"
When her first ploy failed, the woman immediately changed tactics, bursting into tears and wailing pitifully.
"A few days ago, a caravan passed through here. I saw you go up and speak with them. Ever since then, some shady individuals have been lurking around the outskirts of the village. Doesn't that have something to do with you?"
Old Laikton, seeing that the woman only wept without making a scene, decided to voice his suspicions.
"How… how do you know that?"
The woman was startled. How had this old man caught on? She thought she'd been careful these past few days.
"You're usually the loudest person in the village. Even the dogs at the entrance cower when they see you. But ever since that caravan passed through, you've acted like a different person. The only time you left the house was to look for that girl from the Yu family. There's obviously more to this story, isn't there?"
Old Laikton planted his cane into the ground and continued.
"Also, not long ago, Old Yu left with Monkey and Da Zhuang to sell beast pelts, but only Monkey returned. He said they were ambushed by bandits on the way back."
"Those bandits—don't tell me they were connected to you?"
"Y-you're slandering me! I'm just a widow! What would I know about caravans or bandits…"
She tried to argue, but her panicked expression had already been caught by Aether.
"What's your connection with them? Was Yu Keke taken by them? Think carefully before you answer—I won't ask twice."
Aether unleashed his pressure once more. It was clear she was deeply involved. If she wouldn't confess willingly, he'd use force.
"D-don't kill me! I'll talk, I'll talk…"
Though the woman was malicious, she'd seen Aether's mastery over the water element when he controlled it to put out the fire earlier. The technique was beyond anything she'd ever seen from soul masters.
Now, her life was in this youth's hands. Terrified, she confessed everything.
"That damned girl was taken by that caravan. But I had nothing to do with Old Yu's death! I didn't want him dead, I swear…"
She slumped into a corner, crying as she spoke of Old Yu.
"That day, I was out looking for Yu Keke and saw her by the creek. She took off her hat, and I saw those monster ears of hers. I was just about to scold her when that group passed by. They were eyeing her too.
"Later, they approached me and struck up a conversation. They asked about the girl, and when they learned I was her stepmother, they said they wanted to buy her and find her a 'good home'…
"I hated that little freak! Everyone in the village whispered that I was a monster's mother. I wanted her gone!
"Besides, they offered me a hefty price and even paid a deposit upfront. Think about it—a monster going for a good price? Out of sight, out of mind. So I agreed…"
She spoke as if her logic was perfectly sound.
"You sold your own daughter! You evil witch! You're just as much a villain as those bandits!"
Paimon was furious, her eyes burning with rage. She wanted to fly over and give the wicked woman a good thrashing.
"Keep going," Aether ordered, holding Paimon back.
"Later, while I was meeting with those men, Old Yu returned from hunting and seemed to notice something was off.
"Luckily, he was in a rush to sell the beast pelts and didn't ask too many questions. Who knew he'd never come back…"
"So Old Yu was killed by that caravan disguised as bandits?"
Aether was already piecing together the chain of events.
"I don't know! I really didn't mean for him to die! He treated me well, he even saved my life… I never meant for this to happen, sob sob…"
"You disgusting witch! Not only did you sell your daughter, you got your husband killed! I—I'm so mad I could explode!"
Paimon lost all restraint. In all her travels, she had never encountered someone so vile. She zoomed in and started pummeling the woman with a flurry of furious punches.
"Where did they take Yu Keke?"
Aether stepped forward and pulled Paimon away, his voice cold.
"I don't know! They were scary—I didn't dare ask! I only know they came from Heaven Dou City…" the woman whimpered, curling up and shielding her head.
"Village Chief, what punishment would someone like her face in your community?"
Aether turned to ask Old Laikton after learning Keke's general whereabouts.
"For someone this wicked, we'd usually escort them to the authorities. But we're so remote, the nearest town is dozens of li away. So normally, we handle such matters by village consensus…"
Old Laikton replied with a bow.
"Alright. Paimon, let's go."
Aether nodded and pulled the still-fuming Paimon into the darkness.
"W-wait, my lord! What about this woman?"
Old Laikton called out anxiously.
"Do as your customs dictate."
A distant voice echoed from the shadows, followed by Paimon's continued muttering of angry complaints.
…
"Traveler, we can't just let that witch go! She caused Keke to be taken and got her father killed! She's horrible, just horrible!"
They arrived back at the scorched remains of the shack. Now that the fire was out, the place had returned to its former silence, save for the faint, acrid smell of ash.
"She'll get what she deserves."
Aether recalled from his memory that in this world's rural villages, women who committed heinous crimes were often dealt with by drowning.
"Right, hand me Yu Keke's hat."
"Oh! Here you go."
Aether took the hat from Paimon's arms and activated his elemental sight.
Perhaps due to the loosening of the continent's seal, his elemental sight had changed as well. Now, he could glimpse traces of a person's will embedded in key items.
Sure enough, from the scorched remains of Keke's hat, faint lines of writing shimmered into view.
Roughly, it read: "Please... find Father... help..."
"Paimon, we have a new commission."
"Huh? A commission? Did Katheryne show up here too?"
Paimon perked up and looked around. Her first thought at the mention of a commission was always the ever-present Adventurers' Guild receptionist.
"It's from Yu Keke. This is our first commission from this other world."
Aether tucked the hat away and gazed at the ruins of the shack.
The guilty would be punished. But for now, they had to find Yu Keke and fulfill her request.
"Keke's commission? You mean to find her dad and save her? But her dad's already dead... So it's to save her, right?"
Paimon was extremely sensitive when it came to commissions. Commissions meant Mora. Mora meant food. Food meant energy to do more commissions.
And judging from the way Keke had called out to her while escaping, she had guessed everything correctly.
"Wow, since when did you get so smart?" Aether looked at her in disbelief.
"Hehe~"
"Wait, no! Paimon's always been smart!"
_
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