"More, please."
Tristan extended his arm, holding his bowl toward Haun's granddaughter. The young girl, who had been listening intently to the grim story about the recent disappearances, was startled by his words. She had been leaning over the counter, trying to catch more of the conversation between the customer and Yue.
Her eyes widened, and she gave a small jump, quickly remembering her job. With a faint blush, she adjusted her posture behind the counter, took Tristan's bowl, and spoke shyly:
"Oh, of course, right away, sir…" She looked at him with some confusion, probably unsure how to address him. He was younger, but his social position was incomparably higher.
She coughed a little and said, "It will be ready soon, young master."
She picked up a large spoon and dipped it into the spicy red broth, filling the bowl with soup twice. With chopsticks, she added noodles, mushrooms, and vegetables, then sprinkled a few seasonings on top.
"Here you go! Enjoy your meal." She bowed awkwardly.
Tristan nodded to her.
He lifted the bowl to his lips and drank some of the broth, thinking, 'Not bad, it's not as good as what I used to eat in my noble life, but it's still tasty—impressive considering the ingredients are so simple.'
While Tristan focused on savoring his food, Yue and Jaeng wore concerned expressions.
After hearing about the alarming situation, Yue asked, "Wait, no one has managed to find who's responsible after all this time?"
With a sorrowful expression, the man looked at her and said, "We've tried everything we could. We even set people to travel the region at night, but the disappearances still haven't stopped. We don't believe it's something we common people can resolve anymore."
Hearing this, Yue asked, "What about the Lord's men? Haven't they found anything wrong?"
At these words, Jaeng's face grew tense, and he clenched his fists tightly.
This time, the other customer spoke with anger in his voice, "We reported it to the lord's guards several times, but months have passed, and they haven't shown any sign of doing anything."
He shook his head and said, "We're abandoned out here beyond the walls."
"How can that be…" Yue murmured softly.
Jaeng quickly glanced at his "cousin" with a hint of concern.
Yue moved closer to Tristan, but before she could speak, he said:
"We already have a very important mission, you know? The place is far, so losing a few hours won't make much difference, but a ghost hunt could take days or weeks."
"Dusk, saving lives is more important than gathering some herbs!" she said, a bit annoyed.
Tristan shrugged and replied, "Well, good luck with the investigation. I'm sure you also have amazing tracking skills to be so confident in your ability to help."
She clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes. Tristan observed her flared nostrils and sensed an impending headache, expecting several long minutes of her pestering him. But to his surprise, she only sighed, seeming to give up on convincing him to help.
Seeing this, he thought, 'Hmm, she's growing up.'
At the end of the meal, Tristan thanked Haun and his family. He wasn't surprised when Yue insisted on paying for the meal, wanting to pay for both her share and his. However, the family refused to take her money, as the meal was meant as a thank-you for saving Haun's life. They debated it for a while, and he left before finding out the result.
He stretched his limbs and looked at the clear blue sky. With a stomach full of warm food, the chilly day felt pleasant.
Only the desperation of the people around him was ruining that moment.
Stopping his gaze from lingering on the sky, he lowered his head and paid attention to what they were saying.
"It can't be; my husband works there! Someone needs to help him, please!"
"We need to form a rescue group; call everyone who can help."
He saw an old lady faint while muttering softly, "My grandson… is trapped in the mines."
Tristan yawned, bored by it all. 'It seems like something happened at the mines.' That topic quickly vanished from his mind as he started thinking about his trip to the Ethereal Mist Peaks.
'Those herbs might help me achieve a new breakthrough. Plus, if my body can't absorb it all, I can sell the excess.' His monetary reserves were extremely low—at least for the things he wanted to buy. The Flying Sword Sect's missions usually provided a decent reward in coins, but it wouldn't even be one percent of what he needed to buy magical artifacts.
"Are you crazy? You want to go there? Didn't you hear what he said? That place is overrun with monsters!" Those words caught his attention, and he turned to see a short woman with a large belly, shouting and waving her finger at a much taller man.
Her words made many people in the surrounding crowd look at her with disdain, while others seemed embarrassed and worried, probably agreeing with her but trying not to show it.
"So you'd rather abandon your pregnant wife?" she said.
'Monsters? Have the dark beasts returned?' He thought as the woman slapped the man and stormed off, muttering countless curses he didn't recognize.
All that commotion had long since drawn the attention of Yue and Haun's family.
Haun approached one of his neighbors he recognized in the crowd.
"Kurgara, do you know what's going on here? Why all this commotion?" he asked.
"Haun?" His neighbor looked at him with melancholy on his face and said, "A tragedy happened in the mines. See that boy over there?"
He pointed at a young man of about twenty who was sitting on the ground, looking exhausted. His body was covered in dirt and dust, with small bruises and wounds visible on his skin.
"He worked in one of the mines in the Yihan Yuh Mountains. He came running here to warn us about a collapse; they were attacked by a horde of flying monsters. He was the only one who managed to escape," his neighbor gulped before continuing, "The others might still be trapped in there."