Four Split Personalities

Motan pondered a moment and concluded that the girl had probably guessed wrong.

Indeed, after hearing the story, Jadka immediately shook his head with a wry smile and gestured with his hands, "It really wasn’t like that at all. The thing is, I’ve been going to the Great Hunting Grounds often since I was twelve. At first, adults would accompany me, but later on, they pretty much left me to my own devices. The longest I stayed there was half a month in the Northern Cross Hunting Grounds, where I caused the low-rank demon beasts on the outskirts to migrate twice collectively. Eventually, I was chased back home with a big staff by my father who thought something had happened to me, haha... Looking back now, I really was a wayward scamp."

"Ahem, don’t put it that way."

Seeing Jadka’s mood darken, Motan quickly changed the subject, "So the reason you didn’t participate in that coming-of-age ceremony was that you were already used to playing in those hunting grounds, right?"

"Well, not entirely. After all, it’s still a custom, and generally, you have to go through with the formalities."

The Mage stroked his beard, sighing, "It’s just that at the time, there were also two cousins about my age who were participating in the ceremony. The day I entered the hunting grounds, two packs of Shadow Leopards that still remembered my scent, more than sixty Iron-brake Deer, nineteen nests of Lin Ka Qiu, and three tribes of Blood Wolves charged deep into the hunting grounds without looking back. Then, more than sixty percent of them were wiped out by the advanced stage demon beasts inside... And after that, I was ordered to stay at home."

Dabus, who was pulling the cart while listening to the story, was dumbfounded and turned around to ask Jadka in astonishment, "Just what kind of unbearably naughty child were you?"

"Ahem, mainly because when I was a child, my mother wanted me to eat more vegetables. She would always say that meat at home was stolen by those demon beasts from the hunting ground. I was young and naive back then and believed it seriously."

Jadka scratched his cheek and said with particular embarrassment, "After I could enter the hunting grounds, I would catch those lone demon beasts every day, talk sense into them, feed them grass, and feed their entire families grass. If they didn’t eat, I would force it into their mouths... Sigh, most of the demon beasts in that area ran away."

"What about the ones that stayed?"

"They switched to eating grass..."

"..."

Through this, Motan and the others gained a first-hand understanding of Jadka’s lethality and naughtiness as a child.

Then Jadka went on to introduce the customs, culture, and resources of Casel, such as the mines monopolized by the different families. It was said that the Diesel Family alone controlled nearly ten mines, showcasing the preeminent status and power of Casel’s top family.

"But it’s not the same as it used to be."

Jadka sighed and shook his head, "Even though Diesel is still the biggest family here, other families have developed very rapidly over the past few decades. For example, the Percy Family not far from here, the Geckland Family to the west, and the Hawkwood Family in the east that’s second only to Diesel, they all possess profound heritage. Among each other... of course, including our Diesel Family, we all share a frenemy relationship. While there’s cooperation in various domains, the tension has been growing in recent years, especially between Diesel and Hawkwood. The latter has been eyeing our dominant position for many years. The current Family Head, York Hawkwood, is an extremely cunning man. At thirty, he already advanced to a great Domain Lord, and he even acquired a Jail Thunder Beast as his mount from who knows where. Although it’s a sub-Dragon, its combat prowess and intelligence are not much lower than a true Dragon’s, and I have no idea where that bastard found it."

As he spoke, the Mage huffed indignantly, appearing rather vexed.

But Motan just laughed, winked at Jadka, and said, "It seems you really keep up with the situation here, even though you haven’t returned once, your knowledge about Casel hasn’t fallen behind at all."

"That’s just how things are. After returning to the Northwest Continent twenty years ago, even without paying attention, I still heard a lot about this place. Moreover, I often have some bothersome younger generations coming over... Sigh, in short, I couldn’t avoid knowing even if I wanted to."

Jadka spoke with casual indifference, but everyone present except for Anthony—including Ya Ya—could tell that the old man was just being melodramatic.

...

Seven hours later

Game Time AM06:27

Dawn was breaking. The three horse carts of the Viper Chamber of Commerce were still on the move; having entered Casel from the Spirit Monster Wilderness, they had been heading north without stopping in any settlement along the way. They had rested sporadically for less than two hours in total; other than that, they had been traveling, and although they weren’t moving particularly fast, by the end of the night, they were deep within Casel.

Motan and the others had been following far behind the whole time. Although there were very few merchants and travelers at night, thanks to Xiaoge’s remote monitoring through the night, they didn’t need to get close to the target’s line of sight, so they remained undetected. Now, as daylight made it difficult to continue pretending to be birds overhead, Xiaoge had landed and regrouped with everyone. Meanwhile, more people started appearing on the road, and with plenty of cover available, they decided to slightly increase their pace, maintaining just enough distance to make out the other party, pretending to be an ordinary caravan boldly tailing behind.

During this time, Jadka, Anthony, Ya Ya, and Motan had all taken turns napping, while only Dabus and Xiaoge remained fully alert throughout.

Celebrations were in order, for the night had passed without incident.

"Where on earth are they heading?"

Ji Xiaoge, having changed her nocturnal outfit for a long dress, cuddled Ya Ya while scratching the chin of the beast-eared girl who had slept until the world turned dark, and muttered in a low voice, "Why do I always feel like the previous plan was unreliable..."

Jadka chuckled and shook his head, "That whole ’following the vine to get to the melon’ plan was never reliable. If these slaves weren’t just sold to some ordinary rich households, it would be very difficult for us to snatch those poor people away before or after the ’delivery’. But don’t worry, I just happened to think of an idea."

"Eh?"

First, Ji Xiaoge used her wings to form a warm sphere around herself and Ya Ya, then she looked up curiously and asked, "What idea?"

"I’ll tell you later, there’s no rush right now since I’m also not too sure about it."

Jadka played coy and then lifted his gaze toward the distant horse-drawn carriages, slowly adding, "If they follow this route, they’ll definitely pass through Dongjing Horse Farm. Hopefully, they can stop there for a bit."

Ji Xiaoge blinked, "?"

"Hehe, it’s nothing~"

Jadka stretched lazily, surveying the increasingly crowded road, and mused, "That place should be quite lively."

At that moment, Motan, who was seated opposite Jadka, suddenly lifted his head, "Is this really okay?"

"Eh?"

Ji Xiaoge jumped in surprise, exclaiming softly, "When did you wake up?"

Ya Ya had already lazily wriggled out from under the warm wings that covered her and slid to the ground, arching her way to Motan’s feet. Then she switched to silent mode and curled herself into a small ball because she had previously torn her dress, so...

"Don’t look!"

Ji Xiaoge leaped over to Ya Ya’s side in a flash and took out a thin cape from her bag to cover her, warily watching Motan and Jadka.

But the two men weren’t looking at Ya Ya, whose garments had come apart; they were silently exchanging glances.

"I think there’s no problem."

After a while, Jadka finally shook his head with a smile, "Since we’re already back, as long as my old face can be of use, it’s all good. It was meant to be for a good deed anyway."

"So, the person we saw that day was really..."

"Ahem, kid, your mind’s working a bit too fast there. Alright, let’s not discuss this now."

"Then what shall we talk about?"

"Let’s talk about your strength. How are you doing with that Knight’s Guide? If all goes well, you can just pretend to be my successor."

Chapter 479: The End