"Those sons of bitches… If not for the law that prevents us from showing these people a lesson, I would have lodged a bullet right between their brows!"
After the Leafless Town constable personally apologized and "reimbursed" John for the "grievances" he had received for the past three days, Ye Qi and John left the police station with the latest information of the grave robbery cases in tow and arrived at the small town's only hotel. However, John was obviously still annoyed by the three days detention because even though they had received quite a lofty sum as "compensation", Ye Qi's mentor was still grumbling and cursing nonstop.
Ye Qi who sat across from his mentor felt a warm sensation suffuse his heart and his lips curved into a smile. However, the young Demon Hunter was not raised in a culture where he would get chummy or sentimental with his feelings. Instead, he commented half-jokingly, "But it looks like the prison food here at Leafless Town are doing you well, John. Just listen to you going on and on and on!"
"Is that so? Then you should really try their diet of potato juice for breakfast, steamed potato for lunch and mashed potato for dinner! I'm sure it'll be a memorable experience!" John fired back at Ye Qi's smiling face but beneath that scowl on the older Demon Hunter's face, there was a hardly discernible mirth.
"Let's ignore the potatoes for now and talk about this case!" Ye Qi shrugged and cleverly switched the topic, "What kind of creature is behind this? Dark Magician? Ghouls? Or something more sinister?"
"Before we get into that, Ye, I have to ask you something! Why are you here? Don't tell me you snuck here on your own!" John levelled Ye Qi a laser sharp gaze.
"No! Of course, not! You know as well as I do that I'm not someone who would 'run away from home' with no reason! I'm here on official business, Old Walter sent me here to help you! If you don't believe me, you can call him and ask! And I…"
"Fuck! That money-faced old coot, has he lost his mind? This mission is definitely not suitable for a rookie like yourself! I will skin him when I return to Tarlin!"
Before Ye Qi could inform John about his "awakening", his mentor had already sprung up from his seat, cursing the house down. He phoned the merchant and before Old Walter could say anything, John blasted the merchant, "You despicable, money-hungry, greedy, old coot! How can you allow Ye to come find me?! Do you know… What? What did you say… Ye has awakened into a fire-controlling Apostle! And has killed a Noble Vampire… Is that so… Then… I'll hang up for now, treat you a round when I return… What? What about those insults? What insults? You have must misheard me or something! Walter, we're friends for so many years, why would I throw insult at you for no reasons, the signal must have jumbled up my words… Hello? Hello? It's the fraying signal again, I can't hear you! I'll hang up first, we'll talk in person! Goodbye!"
"You cheeky bastard, you did this on purpose, didn't you?" After hanging up, John whipped his head around to glare at Ye Qi who was trying hard to hold in his laughter.
"It's your fault for calling Old Walter before you let me finish!" Ye Qi shook his head and raised both arms in mock surrender, "Now can we talk about this mission?"
Even though John knew Ye Qi was definitely pulling his leg earlier, he also knew arguing with Ye Qi was no different from going down a rabbit hole, therefore, he followed the young Demon Hunter's suggestion and focused on the case at hand.
"This case is definitely more than Dark Magicians or ghouls! Even though I haven't been here long but from the little investigation I had done, these grave robberies are more than what they seem! They are, I believe, connected to the four weird deaths in town! One of them was a man who strangled his girlfriend in the middle of intercourse, before killing himself! The other two was a pair of best friends who decided one day to fire a gun at each other, one shot through the brain, and another through the heart! However, the thing that worries me the most is the disappearance of the Demon Hunter who called for my aid, Demon Hunter Park, I've not been able to locate him, I'm afraid something bad has already happened to him!"
"Do you have any suspect?"
A string of murders, grave robberies and now a disappeared Demon Hunter, Ye Qi frowned deeply thinking about the danger level of this C+ quest.
"I was tossed into jail on the first day I arrived, the fact that I managed to get this much information is already a miracle in itself! Regarding the suspect, I can only say he or she comes from Leafless Town! Whoever that person may be, we will need to find that out on our own and soon!"
"Okay, we'll start the investigation after lunch!"
"Wonderful! Finally, no more potato! I swear if I don't see another potato again in my life, I'll die happy!"
The lunch didn't disappoint John. After that, they started the investigation feeling refreshed and energized. This whole thing at Leafless Town started with the grave robberies so their first stop was naturally the graveyard. However, it didn't appear like the perpetrator left any clues, other than the emptied caskets, they came up with nothing. The prep seemed to be more cunning than they envisioned.
The two of them spent the whole afternoon combing the town graveyard. They returned to town only after the sun set. However, as they stepped into the town, the pair of Demon Hunters could sense something was amiss. Normally, for a small town like Leafless Town, the only place of activity after nightfall was probably the few pubs and bars. The rest of the town should be empty and quiet but that day, the streets were filled with people who were chattering in whispered tones. The atmosphere was weirdly tense and heavy.
Ye Qi and John shared a look and saw the seriousness in each other's eyes. Ye Qi's hand reached involuntarily for his revolver.
"Agent Jack! Agent Jack!"
Just as the two of them tried to find out more information, the police constable came yelling at them with two other officers trailing behind him. As he caught his breaths, he exclaimed, "The central square! You have to go to the central square!"
"What's wrong?"
"There's another murder!"
Ye Qi and John immediately dashed to central square. When Ye Qi saw the body, he knew why the atmosphere in the small town would be so severe—a body was hanging from the clock tower at the central square. Of course, that itself wouldn't have caused the mass hysteria. That was because the body's eyes were gauged out and the body had been disembowelled, the entrails falling from the huge gash across the stomach. The blood trickled down by the wall of the clock tower, staining the stone pavements of the square a bloody red.
"My god, that's Park!"
John whispered into Ye Qi's ear, causing the young Demon Hunter's brows to be furrowed even deeper.