Night time waited for no one and it was already dark outside. After spending the evening in the Lotus Tavern, both Kai and Peng Hu couldn't find any other leads besides the one they had. It was very surprising not being able to find another person whose name starts with the letter 'B'. Peng Hu even asked Kai if there were any other person who met the requirement, on which Kai replied that he didn't know every single person in the village.
Although there was nothing else to gain from visiting the tavern, there were a lot of people Peng Hu got to know which would serve in the future a great help to his journey. The Lotus Tavern got visited by famous celebrities in the village like the blacksmith, the alchemist, the tailor, and others. Additionally, Peng Hu got to learn from a former wandering sage a suitable magic which would help him on the road: Punch Force.
Punch Force is a magic that is in the body-type magic. As its name implies, it uses the cumulative magic force the user gathers into a fist, turning it into power when its released. Although its chant is very simple, its uses are very wide. The reason the sage taught Peng Hu was due to Peng Hu's situation reminding him of what had happened to him before he was accepted into the village.
Kai was very sad and teary because he wasn't the one who got Peng Hu to apply successfully magic. Thanks to the sage, whose name is Parta, Kai got an understanding on why Peng Hu couldn't probably cast the 'transformation' magic back then. With new found discovery, Kai was feeling very confident that next time, he could successfully teach Peng Hu.
After a long day of looking up the virus in the village, Kai and Peng Hu went into bed. Peng Hu was sleeping soundly after being able to cast his very first successful magic. Kai's mind was working on effective methods to teach someone magic from the very basic. The matter of the spy would continue after a night's sleep.
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Next morning came with the rising sun shining brightly, as it welcomes a new day of life, gifts, and retribution to those who are deemed to. Peng Hu and Kai woke up from their deep slumber, slowly making sense of their surroundings. Peng Hu got into a happy mood because it was not a dream that he is now able to use magic. As for Kai, it has been a while since Kai has been so excited preparing to teach someone. It was the kind of joy a mentor could find by imparting their knowledge.
[Finally... I can actually use magic! I hope I get the opportunity to use it soon on a real life situation.]
Suddenly, a messenger came by the residence of Kai, bringing Kai and Peng Hu news that the chief wanted to meet them. Without further ado, both Kai and Peng Hu graciously accepted the invitation and went into the direction of the Two Words Hall.
At the Two Words Hall, they were greeted by the same scene as always: an old woman with her attendant. This time, their conversation was kept short, only reporting the update in regards to finding the spy hiding in the village.
As for the matters regarding the event in Yuvan's place, there has been no new discoveries besides the accounts and evidence compiled during the investigation, putting it on standby. The only way to get a conclusion to the case would be to wait for the victims, Yuvan and Julia, to wake up and identify the culprit. The old woman was worried that maybe by the time they woke up, the culprit already left the village safely... or maybe they were in cahoots with the spy and left together. Either way, it doesn't bode very well with the future of the village. If more incidents like this were to pop up frequently, the trust the villagers had in the Village of Siluca would crumble like a tower made of cards.
Biding farewell to the chief and the Two Words Hall, Kai and Peng Hu resumed their investigations about the spy, and if possible, find more leads regarding the case of Yuvan's place.
"So... Pen. What should we do today?"
"Well... We are on a dead end if we try to search for the spy. Although we know that they are targeting the food resources, the way to effectively do it must be by going into hunting teams. The only reason why they would be on the village would be to count the amount of food resource left on the village. I believe that there is a good probability that the culprit behind Yuvan's place is related to the spy."
"Are we going to follow... Uncle Biggs or Uncle Borik?"
"Mr. Borik is a physician and he is always walking around the village attending his patients in their home. There is a good chance that he could be the one responsible for committing the heinous crime in Yuvan's place because he could have 'visited' them by orders of Yuvan because he needed a medical check up or something. As for looking out after the food resources, it could be possible if all his patients were located near them... or if by some sort of miracle they just happened to coincide."
"So... we are following Uncle Biggs?"
"Biggs is a warrior. As such, he either is guarding the village, or go out with the hunting team in search of food... When a warrior is guarding a village, they have the responsibilities to walk around the village... and when they go out hunting... they have the responsibility of bringing fresh food back... Oh. My. God... Biggs is the one behind all of this?"
"Uncle Biggs?"
"Yes! What a coincidence that he happened to arrive into the crime scene yesterday! Also, his very first question when he was inquiring with us was if we had seen any suspicious object in the scene."
"You mean..."
"Yes! Although we don't have definite evidence, there is a reason to suspect him now."
"And since he can leave the village..."
"He can also hinder the food resources!"
"We should tell Aunty Alis!"
Peng Hu went thinking. Maybe this was a good opportunity to make himself useful for the village and contribute to its development. If they capture red handed Biggs and manage to subdue him, his adaptability to the new world would increase. Although they can also solve this matter by telling the chief, it also meant that he was still being a coward. Peng Hu wanted to make himself anew.
"No... we should do it ourselves. Didn't you want to become the best mage in the world Kai? I think this is the perfect opportunity for your first deed!"
Kai got into thinking. The enticement was pretty good and would 100% work if it is related to his dream. Without thinking much, Kai agreed readily.
"HMM!! You are quite right! I'm in Pen!"
"Perfect! Here we come... Biggs!"