The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 9 The Stolen Star Plum

It differs from the animal-eared girls in some literary works.

Beastmen are not a product of humans and wild beasts mixed together.

The transformation into a beast is, in fact, a curse.

Curses can intensify animalistic instincts, causing people to lose their minds, and in severe cases, they can even gradually degenerate into wild beasts.

Most importantly, it is infectious.

Even for their own safety, few ordinary people are willing to approach or accept beastmen.

These cursed unfortunate children either embrace their animalistic instincts and ultimately die while hunting or on their way to being hunted.

Some choose to live in seclusion in the mountains to avoid harming others.

This is very troublesome.

After all, from just a few words, one could roughly guess that Amby was probably involved in a theft.

Whether he is innocent or not, we cannot conclude at this time.

However, given the preconceived notion of 'beastification,' it's hard to guarantee that no one will exploit the situation.

Considering that Catherine mentioned that she should be notified immediately if anything happens, it's likely that she has encountered similar situations before.

Tang Qi then decided to return the way he came and call Catherine over first...

But just as he was about to turn around, the howling of the jackals reached his ears again:
"Don't dare admit it? Then let's chop off those filthy claws of yours and teach you a lesson!"

Tang Qi turned around in astonishment and saw that the jackal had already raised his longsword high above his head.

"I didn't steal anything, why won't you believe me!?"

Tang Qi wasn't far away, and he could clearly see that the girl was trembling with fear.

The pale hands, bound by long shackles, suddenly revealed blue veins, which instantly spread with snow-white down.

The slender fingers then extend into sharp nails, resembling the claws of a wild beast.

Seeing this, one of the onlookers made no attempt to hide his disgust, pointing at the beast-like claws and cursing:

"Monster, it's you! You're the one who ruined our Xingmei!"

The jackal carrying out the execution hesitated, glancing hesitantly at the black snake not far away—

The village official was standing beside him, but in Xingmei Town, he didn't have the same say as the mercenaries.

Seeing that the eldest brother had no intention of stopping him, he smiled fiercely and chopped at the girl's hands without hesitation.

He didn't need to do this himself.

But the jackal will not miss any opportunity to instill fear in others.

Execution is a perfect pretext.

"No, no!" Ambi closed her eyes tightly.

But the girl's pleas garnered no sympathy.

The blade gleamed, reflecting a cold, silvery light—

"Catherine!"

A shout instantly stunned everyone present, causing the executioner's sword to hover just inches above the girl's hand.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, and after a brief hesitation, they began to guess the identity of the unfamiliar face before them.

Tang Qi shaved his beard, and even the jackal didn't recognize him.

But that didn't matter; seeing that the girl's hand was completely unharmed, he breathed a long sigh of relief—

You can tell from how these mercenaries treated Catherine last night.

The only thing that could sway them was this most beautiful morning and evening flower.

Although going against this group of mercenaries is not a wise move.

But she is his only fan.

She still wanted to taste the plum wine she had promised to have last night.

He didn't want to wake up one day and leave her to die after just not writing "new friend" in his journal yesterday...

The jackal did hesitate because of 'Catherine,' but when he looked around and didn't see that beautiful figure in crimson, he suddenly realized that he had been tricked.

He then glared fiercely at Tang Qi, pointing his longsword at him as well:
"Are you her accomplice?"

“How could that be, sir? I have no connection with this child whatsoever.”

Tang Qi responded as politely as possible, while constantly calculating in his mind what else he could do.

The jackal snorted coldly:
"Then let's not disturb this trial!"

"In fact, Your Honor, I still don't know what crime this child committed that requires him to atone with his bare hands?"

"She stole Lord Mel's Star Plum! When the caravan from Dragon Gold City arrives tomorrow for the Harvest Festival, no one can afford the consequences of not having enough to go around!"

"Not enough? How much did she steal?"

"At least one ton!"

"How many?"

Tang Qi blinked, carefully examining Anbi's thin frame, then considered the weight of a ton of star plum blossoms—

A standard-sized wooden barrel can hold about 50 kilograms of berries.

One ton of berries requires 20 wooden barrels to carry. "Excuse my boldness, but you mean—"

A little girl, about 1.4 meters tall, stole twenty boxes of star plum blossoms overnight without anyone noticing, and hid them in a place no one knew, right?

The jackal's face flushed red.

Let alone a young girl, even a professional mercenary like him would find it extremely difficult to do.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"She's a wild beast, so it's perfectly normal for her to be stronger."

Besides, all the evidence points to her; no matter how impossible it may seem, it's the truth!

"What evidence?"

"She ruined my Xingmei!"

The boy shouted earlier, stamping his foot, oblivious to the mud splattered on his new boots.

The jackal immediately responded:

“That’s right! Father Lynn saw her around the David family this morning.”

Not long after, they discovered that the star plum trees they had planted in the yard had rotted on the ground!

"I was just passing through!"

Ambi defended herself,

"I swear to Gragas!"

Seemingly harboring resentment for a long time, the boy retorted loudly, "Come on, who would believe the oath of a monster?"

The jackal then said:
"And last night, when one of the fruit farmers in the manor got up in the middle of the night, he saw a person who looked like a child wandering around the orchard."

This morning, when we brought the prisoner to the standoff, we discovered footprints in the orchard that matched her shoes perfectly—this is irrefutable evidence!

"What evidence are you talking about? You clearly shot the arrows and then drew the target—"

Ambi cried out in defense of herself,
“You all assumed I did it from the beginning, so no matter what clues you had, you would frame me—even when the shoemaker lost his boots, you would spread rumors that I stole them!”

I didn't grow a tail of my own volition...

Why are you all targeting me like this?!

The jackal, no longer wanting to get entangled with the 'prisoner,' glared fiercely at Tang Qi and snapped:

"In short, don't waste any more of my time, or I'll treat you and this thief as accomplices!"

Even as he said this, he still glanced at the black snake with unease.

The latter remained detached from the situation from beginning to end.

The dwarf [Stonecrusher] beside him took a sip of Star Plum Wine from his water bag.

They couldn't help but nudge his thigh:
"Hey, Catherine treats that child like a little sister, is this really a good thing?"

"Don't make me sound aggressive—the current evidence all points to her, we are just enforcing the law impartially."

"But it's still a bit much to ask a little girl to move a ton of plums..."

"We all share the responsibility of not guarding the orchard and going out drinking instead of listening to the gravel."

So what's needed now isn't the truth, but a plausible excuse.

"Fortunately, when the caravan arrives tomorrow, we'll give our employer an explanation, understand?"

Shattered Stone snorted coldly: "Ha, you really care that much about your employer? I think you're just afraid that the beastly curse will infect Catherine."

"We're mercenaries, is it wrong for us to care about commissions?"

The black snake snatched the water bag from the pebbles and also poured himself a mouthful of fruit wine.
"Besides, I didn't do it. What reason does Catherine have to blame me?"

Shattered Stone shrugged, snatched back the water bag, and said nothing more.

He's long past the age of being sentimental.

Black Snake was his leader, and since his boss had made up his mind, there was no reason for him to interfere.

Looking at the girl tightly bound by long shackles, she seemed like a fish wriggling on a chopping board.

That sharp kitchen knife might just shave off her soft 'fins'.

But more than being fish to be slaughtered, what worries Shattered Stone more is whether the Golden Oak will close its doors to them.
"I'd go crazy..."

Just as he was about to worry, he heard a commotion in the crowd.

The culprit is still the man who disrupted the trial.

Perhaps it's a case of a newborn calf not being afraid of a tiger.

But in Shattered Stone's memory, this was perhaps the first time since arriving in Star Plum Town that, apart from Black Snake, someone had dared to defy the Jackal twice.

Including last night, that seems to be the third time.

One minute they were laughing and cursing the "hook seller," and the next they were stunned into silence by the singing from the entire tavern...

He was happy to see the jackal get its comeuppance.

The source of this is a cheerful, upbeat folk song:
Please don't be too anxious.
The theft of Xingmei may remain a mystery;

The mystery hidden within the clues must be confirmed.
Only evidence in hand has meaning!

(End of this chapter)