Chapter 170: The Plague (1)
When Eva returned home and saw her father sitting on the first-floor sofa looking thirty years younger, and the man beside him who had barely aged a day, she covered her mouth in disbelief.
"Brother!"
The man standing beside Eva cast a puzzled glance at Lynn. He was Eva's husband, and although he had been a part of the family for several years, this was his first time meeting Lynn.
He had only occasionally heard his father-in-law and wife mention his brother-in-law.
"Hello, my name is Nick. I'm a doctor," Annie's husband, Nick, said to Lynn with a smile, extending his right hand.
Lynn politely returned the gesture and shook his hand.
Seeing that Eva looked as though she had a thousand things to tell him, Lynn smiled faintly. "Dinner is already prepared. Let's eat first, and we can talk afterward."
After dinner, the family spent most of the evening asking Lynn about his experiences over the years.
Lynn picked out a few things he could share and told them his story.
Nick stared at his brother-in-law in disbelief. He was actually a legendary wizard? Good heavens, was it April Fools' Day?
It wasn't until he saw a warm orb of light floating above Lynn's palm that he finally accepted the truth.
He cast a slightly terrified glance at his wife, wondering if he had ever offended her.
Fortunately, he had a good temper. Even though Eva was rather dominant at home, he had never gotten into a conflict with her.
Otherwise, what if she asked her brother to turn him into a pig?
As the rest of the family listened to Lynn describe the mysterious world of wizards, a hint of awe surfaced in Eva's eyes. Borg kept his head down in silence, while Lynn's young nephew sat nearby with wide, excited eyes, completely fascinated by the wizarding world his uncle spoke of.
Meanwhile, Hamilton sat on the sofa, his eyes full of pity. Lynn had been all alone out there; he must have suffered a great deal.
Getting on in years, Hamilton grew tired after listening for a while and went upstairs to his room to rest.
Borg also took his nephew back to his room, as the young boy had classes the next day.
Eva, Nick, and Lynn stepped out of the house.
"The house next door has always been kept for you," Eva said. "We've always hired servants to clean it occasionally. Sometimes, if we host banquets and run out of space at our place, we borrow your garden. But Mother always told us to stay out of the house itself. She said it was your home."
Lynn nodded. Then, he suddenly asked, "Can you tell me about the plague?"
As he mentioned the plague, Lynn's expression turned grim.
If anyone familiar with Lynn were present, they would know he was extremely dangerous right now.
Eva paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm not too sure, but Nick might know more. He works at the hospital as a doctor."
Lynn turned to look at Nick.
Nick quickly said, "I think I heard the hospital director mention it in passing. The plague came from the north, but I don't know much else."
"I see. Thank you," Lynn nodded.
He took a walk with Eva and her husband, chatting with them for a while.
After the couple went back home to rest, Lynn stopped in his tracks.
Lynn's flight that afternoon had attracted quite a bit of attention.
To ordinary people, it was naturally unfathomable. However, in this era without cell phones or cameras, even if the news spread, it wouldn't cause too much of a stir.
Most people who hadn't seen it with their own eyes would merely dismiss it as a ridiculous rumor—and there were far too many of those already.
There were tales of evil wizards dwelling deep in the mountains, terrifying sea monsters the size of islands lurking in the ocean, and man-eating ghouls.
Compared to these thrilling and bizarre rumors, a flying man seemed rather unremarkable.
But that was only true for ordinary people. For the nobles and powerful figures who understood this world—who knew about the wizard community and supernatural professionals—the truth extended far beyond what met the eye.
A steady stream of figures had come to investigate or probe him after catching wind of the news.
Among all these surrounding ants, one in particular—tainted with a trace of supernatural aura—caught Lynn's attention.
Hiding in a crate, a man wearing a white suit and a white fedora frowned as he stared at the nearby house. His name was White Gentleman, a detective for a private investigation agency. Private detectives were a new profession that had swept in from overseas in recent years.
"What is this?" a flat male voice asked from behind him.
White Gentleman jolted, startled by the voice appearing out of nowhere.
He didn't turn around. Instead, he prepared to execute a forward roll to evade, not caring even if it dirtied his beloved white suit.
However, his attempt failed. A hand clamped down on his neck like an immovable mountain, rendering him completely unable to move.
"Alright, little bug. Don't struggle, or I'm afraid I might not be able to hold back my strength and accidentally crush you to death," Lynn said flatly.
White Gentleman took a deep breath. He knew he had encountered a terrifying opponent.
Raising both hands, he said, "I was ordered by the count to investigate you, but I haven't found anything, sir."
"I need to ask you a few questions."
Lynn had no interest in the supernatural aura clinging to White Gentleman.
Right now, Lynn only wanted to resolve a few minor nuisances. He would take care of these issues for his family before he left.
Upon learning that White Gentleman was a detective from a private agency, Lynn realized he could be of use and brought him back into the house.
After some interrogation, White Gentleman indeed proved to know a great deal more.
White Gentleman had coincidentally heard that while the plague had indeed started in the north, traces of it had actually appeared in the neighboring Moduo Kingdom before it ever swept south.
When war broke out between the Erdolu Kingdom and the Moduo Kingdom, this plague had suddenly erupted within the borders of the Erdolu Kingdom. It was a major factor in Erdolu's eventual defeat.
After Erdolu paid massive reparations and ceded territory, the plague within the kingdom gradually vanished. This inevitably led people to wonder if the two nations had reached some sort of backdoor deal.
"Moduo Kingdom," Lynn said, his eyes turning deep and unreadable. "How can you be sure what you're saying is true?"
"Sir, what is true cannot be faked, and what is fake cannot be true. You'll know if you just go investigate the neighboring country. Even though the plague that broke out there wasn't huge, there are still quite a few people who lived through it. Go there and ask around, and you'll find out," White Gentleman said urgently. He had only learned of this information by pure chance himself.
"I will investigate it."
Lynn lifted his head. Under the veil of night, a profound, eerie gleam flickered in his pitch-black pupils.
It was said that an official wizard could conquer a small kingdom single-handedly. He really wanted to see if that was true.