After the three of them had eaten their fill, they called the owner over and paid the bill.
Just as they were about to leave, a voice came from behind them. "Good morning, you three. We meet again."
Luke turned around and saw the militiaman they had met the previous night sitting down with his two companions. Smiling, Luke said, "Good morning. We were just about to visit the militia headquarters and thank you."
"There's no need to go to all that trouble. That house had been empty for a long time. We're simply glad it was of some use to you," the militiaman replied with a smile.
"Did none of you sleep last night? Constantly turning your days and nights upside down is hard on the body." Luke sat back down and studied the three militiamen's faces.
"It can't be helped. The village has increased its patrols, so everyone's dealing with the same thing." The militiaman sighed. "We'll have something to eat, then go home and catch up on sleep."
Akali sat down as well. "Did something happen in the village? Tell us about it. We might be able to help."
The militiaman took a drink of the hot soup the owner brought him before answering. "To tell you the truth, many families in the village have recently had things stolen, including several valuable items. That alone would have been manageable, but seven nights ago, the thief broke into someone's home in the middle of the night and was discovered by the owner.
"The thief attacked him in a rage. If someone hadn't happened to be passing nearby and rushed over to help, it might have ended in tragedy. The thief escaped unharmed afterward, and no one has found any trace of him since.
"Some people suspect he has already fled the village, but he may also be hiding somewhere nearby and waiting for things to calm down. Either way, the village has increased its nighttime patrols."
A nosy villager nearby had been listening with his ears pricked up. He finally joined the conversation.
"My house is close by. I heard the commotion that night, jumped out of bed, and hurried over. Mensa was badly injured. The wound was near his chest, and the thief struck with vicious precision. You could tell at a glance that he'd killed before."
"I heard about that too."
"I say he's probably still hiding somewhere in the village."
The people nearby quickly began discussing the incident among themselves.
Luke and Akali exchanged a glance. Akali said, "In that case, we'll see whether we can help. Don't blame us if we fail to find him."
"We would never do that." The militiaman shook his head and thanked them first. "The village is already honored that you're willing to help. That thief is very good at hiding, so he probably won't be easy to find. The only clues we have are that he should be a man, he's very strong, and he's around five foot ten."
If he had been easy to find, the villagers would not have spent seven days without catching so much as a glimpse of him.
Before long, the three of them said goodbye to the militiamen and resumed walking through the village.
Akali said, "Let's start with this man. Assuming he's still hiding in the village."
Ahri nodded softly. "I'll do my best."
The truth was, they had no idea where to begin. There were no useful clues at all.
They were searching for a thief who had gone into hiding seven days ago, and they did not even know what he looked like.
However, this was also the perfect opportunity for Ahri to demonstrate her abilities.
In her eyes, human souls possessed distinct colors. Just as no two snowflakes in the world were completely identical, the same was true of souls.
Every soul was unique, possessing characteristics that belonged to it alone.
Ahri was skilled at detecting the subtle differences between souls. At present, she primarily relied on her sense of smell.
What she smelled was not the assortment of scents drifting through the physical world, but the unique fragrance belonging to each soul.
Luke's soul, for example, smelled so delicious that it made her mouth water.
Akali's soul also radiated a wonderful fragrance.
Staying beside the two of them was an agonizing test of Ahri's restraint.
Other souls gave off a dark and oppressive presence. A single sniff was enough to sense the malicious intent rolling from them. Naturally, such souls smelled unpleasant. They were souls that had been tainted.
Once the physical body was stripped away, the soul was a person's truest self.
Therefore, the scent of a soul could generally reveal whether someone was good or evil.
Ahri could not yet distinguish every individual soul through smell alone. If someone was too far away, she might not smell anything at all.
The three of them wandered through the village, searching one area after another. Before they realized it, the entire morning had passed.
By afternoon, Luke yawned as they walked. "And just like that, the number of unemployed drifters has increased from one to three."
Akali glared at him before turning toward Ahri. "Have you noticed anything?"
Ahri shook her head, sounding somewhat discouraged. "No."
"I see. Then we'll keep looking. We still have time." Akali did not criticize or pressure her.
From beginning to end, she had not voiced a single complaint or questioned Ahri's abilities.
Even if she remained doubtful inside, now was not the time to say it.
"Ox, went fishing again?"
"Ox, you're back early today."
"Have you eaten lunch yet?"
Greetings rang out from a nearby street as the neighbors called out to a man.
The man carried a fish basket on his back. He appeared to be around thirty, with dark skin and an honest, unassuming appearance.
He smiled in response. "That's right. The catch was pretty good today, so I came back early. I had a quick bite for lunch. I'm going home to clean everything up first, then I'll bring everyone a few fish."
"Oh, we can't keep taking things from you. Save them for yourself."
"That's right. Take the fish to the market and sell them."
"Put some money aside and find yourself a wife."
The neighbors cheerfully declined his offer, their gazes warm and friendly.
Ox gave them a simple, good-natured smile. "They won't sell for much. We're all neighbors, and there are too many fish for me to eat by myself."
The young man named Ox appeared generous and broad-minded, and he was clearly well liked by the people living nearby. In the end, the neighbors accepted his kindness, though they would undoubtedly give him something in return later.
It looked like a peaceful scene of neighbors living in perfect harmony.
The three of them did not pay it much attention and soon looked away.
Ox walked past them with the fish basket on his back.
Ahri's expression suddenly changed. She had smelled something unpleasant coming from him.
Whether a soul was clean or filthy had no direct connection to whether someone had killed or what they had done.
If a good person killed ten villains, did that automatically make his soul filthy?
If an evil person killed ten villains, did that automatically make his soul clean?
Something as profound as the soul could never be defined by one or two simple actions. If it had to be described, perhaps it was the physical manifestation of a person's inner world.
A soul that radiated malice could only mean that the person harbored malicious intentions in his heart.
At the same time, merely possessing an evil thought did not guarantee that it would appear within the soul. Perhaps that malice had not yet had time to grow.
A good soul could become corrupted, and a corrupted soul could still become good.
Ultimately, souls were extremely complicated things.
Ahri did not know why she possessed such a unique ability, but she knew that she had to use it responsibly.
Regardless, there was no mistaking what she had just smelled.
The malice drifting from Ox was so oppressive that even breathing became uncomfortable. There was only one possible explanation. He had already acted upon that malice, causing his soul to begin emitting such a foul scent.
Ahri quickly reached out and grabbed Luke and Akali.
The two of them stopped in confusion.
Ahri lowered her voice. "That man, Ox…"
Akali's expression changed. "There's something wrong with him?"
Ahri nodded softly.
Luke looked toward Ox's retreating back.
Luke did not possess some incredible ability that allowed him to distinguish souls. From what he could see, Ox was simply a friendly young man who was popular with the villagers.
Akali saw the same thing.
She genuinely doubted Ahri's judgment. How could a man like that be evil?
Although she had doubts, Akali did not voice them. She also knew that appearances could be deceiving.
The man standing beside her was a perfect example. When she had first seen Luke's honest face and harmless expression, she had thought he looked perfectly trustworthy. Who could have guessed that lies came out the moment he opened his mouth, or that his personality would be so utterly infuriating?
This was also a chance to determine whether Ahri's ability was real. Akali decided to act first and judge the results afterward.
"It would be unwise to confront him here. Let's follow him first."
Her eyes flickered as she made her decision.
The three of them changed direction and secretly followed Ox.
Ox clearly had not noticed them. Along the way, he smiled as he chatted with everyone he passed or nodded to them in greeting.
Likewise, almost everyone nearby seemed to think highly of him.
Before long, Ox returned home. He lived in a small treehouse. Thick vines curled around its roof, and the entire place was kept remarkably clean.
After entering the house, he started a fire, apparently preparing to stew one of the fish.
Nothing about him seemed suspicious.
Akali observed him for a moment, then chose to act directly. Her figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, she had appeared inside the house.
"Who's there?"
Hearing the noise, Ox assumed a neighbor had come to visit. When he turned around, he found Akali staring at him coldly and flinched in surprise. "Who are you?"
Akali wasted no words. She raised her hooked sickle and pressed it against Ox's neck. "Don't move, or I'll cut your throat."
Ox trembled violently, his eyes filling with fear. When he saw the other two following Akali inside, he asked nervously, "What do you want? I don't have anything valuable here…"
"I doubt that. The village has lost quite a few valuable things." Akali fixed him with a cold, oppressive gaze. "Tell me, where did you hide them?"
Ox froze, his face filled with fear and confusion. "What things? What did I hide? I don't know what you're talking about. Are you talking about the thief who was stealing things a while ago?"
His expression did not appear fake.
Akali continued, "Stop playing dumb. We've already investigated the matter. You're the thief."
"It really wasn't me! I don't know anything. Why do you think it was me?" Ox looked as though he was about to cry. His face had gone pale with fear, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
He looked completely like an innocent, ordinary man.
Even Akali began to waver.
She knew interrogation techniques, but those methods could cause severe harm. What would happen if she tortured the wrong person?
Her threats had merely been an attempt to frighten a confession out of him.
However, she could not find anything suspicious in Ox's reaction.
"Let me try," Ahri said as she stepped forward.
Akali moved aside.
Ahri removed her hood and looked directly into Ox's eyes. "Look at me."
Ox instinctively met her gaze. He immediately went still. The terror on his face vanished, leaving behind only vacant infatuation.
How could such a beautiful woman exist?
If she desired it, he would gladly tear out his own heart and offer it to her.
Watching Ahri reduce Ox to such a state with a single glance, Akali realized for the first time how terrifying Ahri's allure truly was.
When she thought about it, it made sense. Even Akali had struggled to resist her, so what hope did an ordinary person have?
Ahri looked at the dazed Ox and asked, "Are you the thief who has been stealing from the village?"
Ox opened his mouth to answer, but his eyes suddenly regained their clarity. Fear and panic returned to his face. "It really wasn't me! I didn't do anything! Please let me go!"
Ahri stared in surprise when her ability abruptly failed. She did not understand what had happened.
Akali was equally confused.
Luke, however, had sensed a magical fluctuation in that brief instant. Something on Ox's body had clearly restored his awareness.
After thinking for a moment, Luke stepped forward. "I'll handle this."
"What are you going to do?" Akali asked, puzzled.
Even Ahri's method had failed, so she did not believe Luke could have anything useful.
If Ox truly was an ordinary person and they harmed him, they would not be righteous heroes. They would be shameless bullies abusing the weak.
"Just watch."
Luke raised his hand and brought it down toward Ox.
Ox flinched in alarm, then his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, he discovered that he had been tied up. The same three people still stood before him.
This time, however, it was the man questioning him.
"Tell me where you hid the things you stole."
Luke's expression was calm, and his tone remained relatively gentle.
"I'm really not the thief." Ox sounded as though he was about to cry, his voice filled with helplessness and fear.
There was a sharp swish and a flash of cold light. Ox suddenly felt a burst of pain in his left arm. When he instinctively looked down, he saw blood spraying from the wound and one of his hands lying on the floor.
"Ah! My hand!"
He screamed in agony, his face turning deathly pale.
"Where are they?" Luke asked again, still perfectly calm.
"I told you it wasn't me! Why are you doing this to me? My hand!" Ox wailed loudly, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
As soon as he finished speaking, Luke swung his sword again. This time, Ox's right hand fell to the floor.
"Ahhh!"
Ox writhed in agony, his screams utterly miserable. "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me! Please, let me go!"
Luke's third strike severed Ox's entire arm.
"Ahhh!"
Ox screamed wildly and nearly lost consciousness, yet for some reason, he remained awake. The excruciating pain tormented both his body and mind.
Even more terrifying was the demon standing before him.
The man had attacked without the slightest hesitation, cutting off his hands and arm. How could anyone be so cruel?
Ox was on the verge of a complete breakdown. His face was covered in tears and mucus. When Luke raised his sword again, Ox finally screamed, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Please, don't cut me again!"
Luke stopped moving and silently waited for him to continue.
"I buried everything beneath the ancient tree outside the village. I planned to sell it all to black-market merchants someday and make a fortune. I know I was wrong! Please, let me go!"
Ox was genuinely terrified. Enduring the pain, he confessed everything truthfully.
All he wanted now was to survive, to escape from the demon before him alive.
"What did you do before coming here?" Luke asked calmly.
"I…" Ox hesitated.
The next instant, he screamed again. "Ahhh!"
That moment of hesitation was all it took for Luke to swing his sword and sever Ox's remaining arm. Both arms were now gone.
"No! Don't do it again! I'll tell you! I used to be a bandit. My gang was eventually scattered, so I came to this village. I'm not a good man. I deserve to die, but please, don't kill me…"
Ox finally discarded his honest, good-natured mask. He begged continuously, asking only that Luke spare his life.
"What magic are you carrying?" Luke asked.
"It's a protective charm I got from Guyuan," Ox immediately replied. He then pleaded weakly, "Please, treat my wounds first. I'm about to die…"
In the next instant, he saw Luke and the two women beside him disappear. Ox stared blankly at the empty space before him.
The scene shifted back to the real world.
"You heard him. He confessed to everything."
Luke looked at Akali.
"You…" Akali stared at him with an extremely strange expression. She still had no idea what technique he had used.
After Luke knocked Ox unconscious, it had not taken long for the man to confess everything.
From time to time, Ox had released bloodcurdling screams, as though he were suffering through horrific torture. Akali desperately wanted to ask Luke what he had done.
In the end, she restrained herself and looked at Ox, who lay on the floor with a pale face and an expression full of terror. "What happened to him?"
"Nothing serious. He merely had a nightmare."
Luke smiled faintly. To avoid harming an innocent person, he had been forced to use this method. The results proved that it was remarkably effective.
He spoke as though it were nothing, but Akali refused to believe it was that simple. Her curiosity gnawed at her relentlessly.
Still, they had more important matters to handle. She glanced at Ox again. "We only need to inspect the ground beneath that ancient tree to determine whether he was telling the truth."
By now, she was already convinced that Ox was the thief.
She had never expected such a wicked soul to be hidden beneath that honest face.
The discovery further convinced Akali that appearances truly could not be trusted.
The three of them soon poured water over Ox and woke him up. When Ox discovered that his arms had not actually been severed, he became so overwhelmed with relief that he nearly fainted again.
However, when he saw Luke, his expression filled with the same terror one might show upon seeing a demon.
In the end, he obediently revealed the ancient tree's location. The three of them successfully recovered the valuables he had stolen, along with several other expensive items.
Those were clearly spoils left over from Ox's days as a bandit.
Finally, they handed Ox over to the village militia.
The three militiamen they had met that morning were stunned. They had only asked Luke and his companions for help before noon, yet the case had already been solved by afternoon.
Their efficiency was astonishing.
They were equally incredulous when they learned that Ox was the thief.
However, Ox honestly confessed his entire criminal history, causing the gathered villagers to sigh with complicated emotions.
They could only lament that one could know a man for years without ever knowing what lay within his heart.
Who could have imagined that Ox, the well-liked, generous, honest fisherman, had once been a vicious bandit?
The Noxian invasion had caused the village to lose much of its population. After the war ended, many unfamiliar faces had moved into the area.
Ox had been one of them.
No one had suspected him of being the thief. He had always seemed too honest, making his living by fishing and frequently giving away his catch.
Without Luke and his companions, the villagers might have remained deceived for many years.
Although Ionia had no centralized national legal authority, that did not mean it was a lawless land.
The people of this land had long maintained practical local rules and customs, along with designated people and places responsible for handling crimes and disputes.
Some towns, for example, had assembly halls dedicated to judicial hearings, while respected elders and magistrates were entrusted with passing judgment.
Those guilty of truly heinous crimes would still receive the punishment they deserved.
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