The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

Miss Xue Ni, carrying the handbag meant to enhance the traveler's impression, leaned gracefully against the fence of the pasture, her expression subtly observing a few steps away—there, a handsome young man, equally charming and beautiful as if he had stepped out of the pages of "The Tale of Genji," was haggling with the owner of the horse farm like a gossipy old woman in a market. The goods being traded were a barn of hay, including the wagon, and two wild animals that had been casually captured from the wild.

Weiss had been left standing there for more than fifteen minutes. The cold winter wind of Anima Continent swept mercilessly around her, her long, silvery-white ponytail swaying in the wind, which carried the rare, damp, and chilly fragrance of flowers from the vast coniferous forest.

The two large, maned horses that had been forcibly taken had no idea that they were about to be sold. They took turns spitting on the owner's face from a distance of about three meters, and the negotiation between them gradually became heated.

Horse ranch owner Alan Greenfield was a native of the Anima continent, with black hair and black eyes. He was a pure human, not a Funa, and had a deep, resonant voice. He had a hideous black scar on his right forehead that looked like a centipede running across half of his head, and he looked like a man with a story in his youth. At this moment, he was red-faced and throbbing, warning his business partner to stay away from his wife and daughter or he would break his limbs and third leg and make him get out of there with his chin!

His business partner, Mr. Hearn, insisted that Mr. Hearn's wife had been unfaithful. He claimed that he had observed Mr. Alan Greenfield's forehead turning green and his head covered in lush green leaves, and after some calculation, he found it to be true. He had intended to make a good relationship by telling Mr. Hearn the truth and getting a discount in return, but Mr. Alan was so stubborn, which was a real pity.

Miss Xue Ni, who had witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but roll her eyes. Recalling the scene from five minutes earlier, the person in charge of negotiating the deal was originally Mrs. Horse Farm. Initially, Mrs. Horse Farm wasn't interested in the truckload of goods that clearly had a tainted illicit nature. She even went so far as to criticize the two muscular beasts, saying that their body fat percentage was too low and they were at high risk of congenital heart disease. She even subtly hinted at reporting the two young girls who were involved in illicit goods dealing. In short, she refused to give a market price. In the end, even Miss Xue Ni, who had remained silent, was added to the gossipy mistress's bargaining list, who said that although she had a pretty face, her thin figure was... "Healthy enough, not meeting the traditional mother-in-law's aesthetic standards of the Anima Continent, hard to marry locally, even human traffickers wouldn't bother with him," and so on... Miss Xue Ni had never suffered such an insult in her life and was about to retort, but was stopped by her companion. Mr. Hern calmly and politely corrected the other party's misunderstanding about his gender with a warm smile. The next moment, Miss Xue Ni felt a gentle breeze, and then she saw the horse farm owner, a middle-aged woman with still charm, change her attitude 180 degrees in an instant. She not only agreed to sell this batch of black goods for twice the market price, but also asked Mr. Hern to stay overnight and make plans for tomorrow.

Miss Xue Ni looked up at the sky and confirmed that it was just past dawn. When she turned back to continue watching the bargaining battle, she was immediately shocked. She saw Mr. Hearn and the hostess chatting happily as if they had known each other for many years, and there was also a spirited young girl in her late teens dressed in equestrian attire.

However, the excitement was only temporary. The commotion quickly attracted the male owner of the horse farm, and then nothing more happened.

Ultimately, this batch of illicit goods was sold for slightly above market price by Lien, mainly due to the unprecedentedly strong reproductive desire of the two bastards. While Mr. Hearn and Mr. Alan were engrossed in their verbal sparring, these two bastards quietly leaped over the horse farm fence and began to ravage a group of mares, their efficiency truly astonishing.

……

The two walked along a country lane near the harbor. It was early spring, the grass was green, and white dew clung to the ground. Looking up at the sky, the majestic mountain city was already close at hand. Although the four kingdoms were called kingdoms, they were essentially typical city-states, especially Coldwind, where half of its territory was occupied by the beasts. Its capital city alone had gathered the essence of most of the kingdom.

The believer gazed at the train tracks clearly visible above the rolling green plains and sighed inwardly that if the previous treaty train hadn't derailed, he would have already infiltrated this mountain town.

While marveling at the wonder of fate, his hands were not idle. After rummaging around in the subspace for a few breaths, he took out a large hooded cloak. The material and style were very old-fashioned, with a dull gray color and even a few patches on it.

At first glance, Weiss thought it looked like an old tablecloth, but the next moment the believer simply spread the tattered cloth over her head.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Miss Xue Ni stepped back, gesturing with both hands to signal for a halt.

However, the believer bypassed her formal resistance and cleverly draped the draped cloak over her body. Finally, she didn't forget to adjust the outline of the hood, pinching the brim of the hood with both hands and pulling it down to hide the pretty face that was cold and aloof, almost devoid of human warmth.

Miss Xue Ni wasn't very tall to begin with, and hiding her like this made her look even smaller.

"Forget about that lady's unintentional remark. In fact, you are very charming. I need to hide you carefully before I can confidently take you into the lower city." After doing everything, the woman added softly, her tone extremely natural, without any hint of flattery, but rather a touch of doting. This made Weiss subconsciously feel her face burning. This brief interlude did not seem to be over. Hearn extended his index finger as he spoke, or rather, he bent his index finger. His slender, white hand finally stopped less than a centimeter away from Miss Xue Ni's nose. Obviously, its owner originally intended to gently stroke the girl's nose with his finger—an extremely intimate gesture, often occurring between lovers or between elders and juniors, requiring almost unconditional trust.

Before this terrible trip, Ms. Xue Ni had never been so close to a man. Caught off guard, she almost forgot to back away. The owner of that hand almost succeeded, but inexplicably stopped at the last moment, less than a centimeter away.

When Weiss came to her senses, she wanted to step back, but the hand pulled away before she could. Her gaze moved upwards and she saw that the other person was staring at her hand gesture in a daze, as if thinking or recalling something.

A moment later, with a soft, ambiguous sigh, a sigh tinged with weariness, the other person reached out one last time to tug at the front of her hood, making sure it was concealed fairly well, before turning around and moving forward.

Weiss paused for a moment, then quickly followed after them.

"Hearn".

"I'm sorry, I was rude just now."

"It's okay, but you gave me a strange feeling just now."

"I'm just a little tired. I barely slept last night."

"No, I don't think the chief witch hunter, who is capable of single-handedly annihilating an Eagle Bombing Squadron, would be tired from a sleepless night."

"You're overthinking it. I just suddenly appeared in their cockpit and touched the control stick of their plane."

"Hearn, tell me honestly, who did you just mistake me for?"

"..."

The boy in front paused, this was the first time he had stopped because of the girl chasing him from behind. He slowly turned around, his eyes showing a slight weariness and a hint of amusement.

"That gray cloak is a souvenir. If you dare to damage or lose it, I'll kick your ass."

"Is this supposed to be an answer? Besides, it's already quite tattered." Miss Xue Ni seemingly sulked as she pinched a corner of the cloak to show the other person the patches on it, but deep down she knew that his response confirmed her earlier guess.

"Okay, let's go into the city while it's still early." The believer stopped and turned to walk away. There were many ways to sneak into the lower part of the harbor, and he chose the easier one.

Seeing that the other party was no longer paying attention to her, Miss Xue Ni could only silently follow along, after all, the important matter at hand was more pressing.

"Hmm?" After a moment, she let out a soft exclamation, then stopped and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Hern, who was in front, also stopped. "Are you feeling unwell?"

“No, it’s alright, let’s go.” After their search yielded no results, Weiss gently nudged Hearn from behind and then walked alongside him.

"Oh."

……

Happy Spring Festival!!!

Chapter 51 Can you give me back my cloak?

There is no magic, no alchemy, at least not on the surface.

The manufacturing technology tree in the Tree of Life world is quite ingenious, especially the individual weapon tree.

The hunters of the Tree of Life were obsessed with the design concept of using one weapon for two or even three purposes. As times changed and the manufacturing industry became more and more developed, the design concept of perfectly combining cold weapons and firearms gradually became popular among modern witchers, and transforming weapons came into being.

The dust crystals existing in various realms of the Tree of Life have further expanded the functionality of transforming weapons, unlocking more forms and making Witchers increasingly adept at fighting against the Grimm.

In short, no matter what the cold weapon mode looks like, the more powerful the firepower after transformation, the more reliable it is.

At least after Mr. Hearn fully grasped the spirit of this series of weapon designs during his banter with Miss Shen Ni, he was greatly impressed by its creativity and was thinking about when he could get one that could transform into a large humanoid combat weapon.

The process of sneaking into the capital of the Coldwind Kingdom—the Haven—was easier than Weiss had imagined. She followed Hearn, avoiding the heavily guarded main gate, and slipped along the moss-covered walls to the vicinity of the low-lying entrance to the lower city. Seeing that no one was around, Mr. Hearn simply opened a hole in the city wall, or rather, a warp rift, and the two of them immediately rushed in.

The experience of personally traversing that chaotic corridor was far from pleasant for Weiss. Leaving aside the fact that the chaotic aura was inherently a highly aggressive and corrupting energy against the mortal spirit—from the moment she stepped inside, she felt three vastly different gazes fixed upon her, inseparable from her: one of curious amusement, one of cold scrutiny, and the remaining one of pure killing intent. This wasn't her imagination; Hearn had clearly noticed it too, or rather, foreseen it. Therefore, he opened the door so close that it was merely a wall's width, a distance of two or three steps. Before the true form of one of these indescribable gazes, carrying a vast domain of fear, rapidly approached, Mr. Hearn unhesitatingly turned and tossed Miss Xue Ni out, "Get out first, don't worry about me… Ah!"

"Hearn!" The moment Weiss broke free, the subspace rift that had opened inside the city wall closed.

Bathed in the warm winter sun once again, Weiss slumped onto the snow, the thick white snow providing excellent cushioning. She patted the snow crystals off her skirt, stood up, and looked around.

This place seems to be a corner inside the city walls, rarely visited by people. In the view, the first thing that catches the eye is the back wall of several half-rotten wooden houses. The low roof ridges are covered with thick snow, and a row of sharp icicles are frozen under the eaves. The wooden houses look like they have been abandoned for a long time and no one has lived there for a long time, showing an air of desolation.

Faint voices could be heard from afar behind the wooden house, suggesting that the bustling area of ​​the lower city was in that direction.

"Hearn? Hearn?" Weiss tried calling out to the empty air. She was already somewhat used to his elusive nature. Even though he had suddenly disappeared, he could reappear from anywhere at any moment.

Two minutes passed, and Mr. Hearn was still nowhere to be seen. Despite his prior instructions, Weiss began to get a little anxious.

"What just happened... Hern!" Miss Xue Ni suddenly sensed someone behind her. The aura seemed to appear out of thin air, without any trace of coming from afar. Who else could it be but Mr. Hern, who had just withdrawn from the Chaotic Corridor? She turned around in surprise and joy... and met a pair of lifeless eyes right in front of her.

"Beautiful lady, would you like to buy some flowers?" A timid voice reached my ears; it was a soft, hesitant girl's voice.

"!" Weiss instinctively took a step back, her left hand reaching instinctively to her waist, where her sword, Willow Leaf White Jade, hung. Her dominant hand was her left, and she entered a state of combat readiness almost instantly.

However, after seeing the other person's appearance clearly, she lowered her left hand, which had been gripping the weapon.

She was an unremarkable girl, seemingly a resident of the lower city. Like Miss Xue Ni, she wore a gray cloak, but without a hood. She wore thin gray clothes covered in patches and shivered slightly in the cold wind. Her dull gray hair, devoid of any luster, was exposed to the air. She had a pair of violet eyes that even Miss Xue Ni found stunning. At this moment, her gaze toward Weiss was filled with hope, but it was all in vain—the aftereffects of some horrific experiences had cast a shadow over half of her face. Those long-healed scars had left indelible marks on what should have been a beautiful face.

Weiss herself has a similar scar on her left eye, but it's already accepted and she doesn't bother mentioning it. No one would dare to criticize the princess to her face, but the flower girl in front of her, who is about the same height as her, is far less fortunate.

At this moment, bathed in that hopeful yet timid gaze, a dark feeling of shared misery filled Weiss's heart. She felt both ashamed and embarrassed—Leon, who had sold those two batches of animals, was still in Hearn's hands, and she was now penniless.

Her gaze fell upon the other person's flower basket, where a vibrant display of red and white shone brightly, as passionate as fire and as pure as snow. These were southern flowers that needed to be imported from the Northern Sky Tower, and it seemed that they could only be seen in a few warm and mild places in the Cold Wind Kingdom.

Bird of paradise pruned down to just the flowers.

Although she didn't know why the flower girl from the Kingdom of Cold Wind would sell these large, rough-and-tumble flowers instead of wildflowers by the roadside, and didn't she feel the weight of such a basket... Anyway, Weiss symbolically touched her pocket, then revealed a subtle expression of helplessness.

"Um... I'm sorry, although I really want to help you, I don't have any money with me right now." Perhaps because she was extremely embarrassed, Weiss unconsciously used someone's verbal tic when she spoke.

As Weiss felt awkwardly lost, the poor flower girl's curious, obedient, and hopeful gaze kept lingering around her. Weiss figured the girl was wondering why she was wearing such an exquisitely made and expensive dress while draped in a similarly patched gray cloak. This made Weiss consider the possibility of her identity being exposed. After all, she was a public figure in Qingtian, and Hanfeng had always been on good terms with Qingtian. During her studies at the Holy Domain Academy within Hanfeng's territory, she had even endorsed several student brands produced by family businesses...

Moreover, in the brief moments when their eyes met, Weiss would always inexplicably sense a subtle yet familiar scrutiny in the other person's gaze, a coldness akin to an appraisal.

The haven is a vertically planned city. The high ridge is sunny and well-equipped, a typical wealthy area, while the area at the bottom of the cliff is undoubtedly the poor area of ​​the lower city where she is now. The two areas are connected by a heavily guarded large elevator.

"It's alright, business is alright today. Consider this bouquet a gift for you, beautiful lady. Welcome to this haven." The flower girl didn't seem to mind Weiss's embarrassment. She took out a bouquet of bird of paradise flowers that had already been tied from her basket. The tips of the white petals were adorned with dewdrops that were somewhere between ice crystals and water droplets. She gently placed the bouquet into Weiss's arms, gave a slight bow, and then turned and disappeared around the corner of the old house.

Weiss stared blankly as the gray figure disappeared from her sight. Holding a bunch of bird of paradise flowers that was practically given to her for free, the slightly intoxicating fragrance of the flowers lingered in the damp, chilly morning air, which greatly improved her mood and eased the fatigue from the bumpy journey.

A strong aura of chaos suddenly surged from behind her. Weiss instinctively turned around, and sure enough, the figure of the young wanderer appeared in her field of vision and walked towards her step by step.

Hearn appeared no different than usual, but Weiss had a sharp eye and noticed a small teeth mark near the base of Mr. Hearn's neck, close to his shoulder. This mark was quickly covered up by the man adjusting his collar.

"I should have taken you through the main gate of the city," the believer said with some regret as she approached.

"What happened?" Weiss asked, looking curious.

"..." The believer responded with a subtle, indescribable expression, then patted her shoulder to signal her to stop dwelling on the matter. "These flowers are nice, where did they come from?"

He then noticed the bouquet of flowers in Weiss's arms.

“A girl selling flowers in the downtown area gave it to me,” Weiss briefly described to him what had just happened.

"..." After listening, the believer frequently glanced at Weiss's face and the bouquet of bird of paradise with the same look she gave a greenhouse-raised idiot, so blatant it was infuriating.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Weiss was getting inexplicably angry at being stared at.

“I take back my previous compliment that ‘Qingtian has raised you very well,’” Xin Nu approached Weiss with a dark face, looking down at the flowers and leaves of the bird of paradise. “Don’t accept gifts from strangers in the future. How do you know if there’s a bomb or a curse hidden in it?”

"I'm not an idiot. I naturally checked it when I accepted it, and everything was normal," Weiss retorted angrily.

“But we must always take precautions,” the believer casually corrected, and peeled back the base of one of the flowers. On the back of the flower, in a blind spot, there was a faint blue mark. “Look.”

"What is this?" Miss Xue Ni noticed the brand as he gestured, which set off alarm bells in her mind and she almost threw the flowers in her hand away.

"Don't be nervous, this is a message and a coordinate."

As the believer spoke, the dark blue mark broke free from the inside of the flower petals, floated in mid-air between the two, and finally vanished in an instant with a streak of azure flame.

"Alright, the flowers are really nice. Take them with you. Let's go." After doing all this, Xin Nu's expression was knowing, and she gestured to Miss Xue Ni.

“Tell me the contents of that message first, and then where do we go next?” Weiss asked.

"Take a bath."

"..." Weiss was speechless for a moment at the believer's inexplicable response.

"It's good news. Our life of living in the open is coming to an end for now. It's time for a short rest, my lady."

As the believer spoke, she raised her hand again and opened a subspace rift. This time, the chaotic corridor was slightly longer than the previous one. When Weiss felt the somewhat numb chaotic aura, she still subconsciously tensed up.

"Don't worry, no one will cause you any trouble this time, I promise." Mr. Hern gave Miss Xue Ni a thumbs up, indicating that everything was okay.

"I hope so." Having learned from her previous experience, Weiss became more cautious and followed the believer into the open, chaotic corridor once again. After a moment, everything became clear.

The warm, humid air enveloped Weiss as she emerged from the crack. The scent of antique incense wafted past her nose, and she stopped, looking around. It was a room with a distinctly cold, windswept character; the overall color scheme was a warm, woody brown, with solid wood furniture throughout and sculptures in the same color scheme. The room had a three-tiered structure, each level spacious enough. Some pale purple, luminous plants shone with the lingering glow of the previous night in the unlit corners. Through the large, dark, one-way floor-to-ceiling windows, one could overlook most of the harbor city.

A very familiar-looking girl stood a few steps in front of the warp rift, seemingly aware of their arrival and waiting patiently for some time. When Weiss noticed those impressive violet eyes, she almost dropped the flowers in her arms. Who else could it be but the poor flower girl who had just given her a bunch of bird of paradise flowers for free in the lower city? However, the other person's appearance at this moment was completely different from before. Not only had the horrifying scars on their face disappeared without a trace, but even that timid and cowardly demeanor had vanished. When Weiss's gaze met that lifeless gaze again, the cold, appraising scrutiny within it made her realize something—she had finally figured out the source of that inexplicable sense of familiarity. It had appeared twice before. Once was on the outskirts of Haven, after Hearn draped the cloak over her, when a scrutinizing gaze from above fell on Weiss. She looked around alertly to find its source, forgetting that the highest point nearby was obviously the upper city of Haven. The second time was from one of the three ambiguous gazes in the chaotic corridor when crossing the city walls.

With this in mind, Weiss, as the quasi-witch hunter of Skybreaker, immediately entered a state of combat readiness. She drew the Willow Leaf White Aster, held the sword in one hand, and accelerated the appearance of the inscription on the soles of her feet. The princess of Skybreaker was poised to strike, as agile as a female leopard.

“Hearn, there’s something wrong with this woman!” she gestured to her companion.

"Put your weapons away, you're one of us." The believer patted her shoulder to signal her to relax, then stepped forward as if to prove it to her.

“Mr. Hern, considering your current special circumstances, I have arranged a new room for you next to where Miss Touma and the others are staying.” The “flower girl” in a black and purple dress bowed to the believer.

"As always, you're overly considerate, to the point that it only makes things worse. I'm so touched I could cry, Charlotte." The woman gently stroked the girl's dull gray hair, sighing with a hint of helplessness, before turning around with a sigh of relief. "Let me introduce you. This is Princess Weiss Schnee of Sky Tower. Before I settle things with the people next door, Charlotte, could you please entertain her for me? I think you two might have something in common."

“Understood, you can go ahead without worry.” Following his direction, the gray-haired girl turned her gaze back to the silver-haired girl and nodded obediently in response.

“Then I’ll face the storm with peace of mind.” After saying that, Mr. Hern gave Miss Xue Ni an encouraging look, then left with a dark expression.

"Hearn, wait!" Weiss instinctively wanted to follow, for no other reason than that the fake flower girl in front of her always made her instinctively feel dangerous.

However, her wish was not fulfilled. The other person silently blocked her path before she could follow, and politely extended his right hand to her with a gentle smile.

“Charlotte, your past surname doesn’t matter. If I could choose, I would prefer Hern. It’s nice to meet you.”

“WeissSchnee.” Despite finding the other person’s strange self-introduction puzzling, the well-mannered Miss Schnee politely extended her hand to shake his and forced a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, thank you for the flowers.”

"You're welcome. In exchange for the flowers, could you please return my cloak?"

"..." Weiss's smile froze on her face.

……

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Chapter 52 Exposure, Explanation, and Countermeasures

After exiting the door and turning right, and walking a few more steps—not a long distance—Mr. Hearn stopped outside the door of the room next door, separated by only a wall.

The two rooms, facing southeast and overlooking most of the harbor, were cleverly chosen. They ensured both adequate natural light and privacy, with only a wall separating them from a portion of the spacious suite. Their interior layouts were not symmetrical but mirror images of each other, which kept their main entrances a necessary distance apart rather than adjacent, avoiding the awkwardness of two groups of people looking at each other when they opened their doors in the early morning.

It seems that the person who booked the room made the reservation with full knowledge of Mr. Hearn's current condition, showing great care and consideration, although it was completely unnecessary...

The believer's gaze lingered briefly on the black bird outlined on the brown-red solid wood door before she used the key Charlotte had given her to open the door.

The layout of the living room on the first floor was exactly the same. He went up to the second floor and found that there was still no one there.

The third floor is the bedroom.

Hern glanced at the wall clock in the living room. Time had slipped away to 9:30 in the morning. Based on his understanding of the person in question, this was a time when the other party would not usually stay in bed.