Chapter 863: The Packhorse is Unhappy Again
So, at this point, we can basically rule out Tandri and Lair’s group. The only remaining possibility is those female adventurers we rescued.
Logically speaking, I saved their lives, and they were captured for a long time. They must be unaware of their family’s situation right after being rescued, so betraying us so quickly seems unlikely.
Of course, I don’t want the truth to be that they repaid kindness with enmity. I’d rather believe someone eavesdropped or used some kind of divination spell. Perhaps they couldn’t catch Lorna because she has the ability to counter divination.
However, to be cautious, I still mentioned this suspicion to Tandri. After returning to the city, he, being familiar with adventurers and Cando City, was asked by Lair to help escort the rescued female adventurers.
Therefore, he should have their addresses, family information, Adventurer’s Guild registration numbers, or contact methods. Lair had promised them that he would help if they encountered any difficulties.
Tandri replied, “Well, it’s possible. You know, being captured by Silver Beasts for breeding is extremely shameful. For female adventurers, it’s practically social death. So, they wouldn’t want too much contact with us. That’s why none of them gave me direct addresses. I only have some clues at most.”
“That makes it troublesome to verify with them. And if there really is a traitor among them, I can’t beat the grass to startle the snake. But please give me the information you have; I still need to check,” I said.
So, Tandri told me the information, and I wrote it down. Indeed, there were no direct addresses, only vague information. Two of them left emails, one said to look for her at the Adventurer’s Guild, and another said to leave a message at the Yellow Butterfly Tavern.
“Then what do you plan to do? If your identity information is leaked, you’ll be in more danger than I am. I suggest you leave Cando City directly. Since your home is destroyed anyway, staying with Lair means at least you’ll have a job,” I said.
Unlike me, who only left my name and address, any clue about me would be severed once my home was destroyed. But Tandri was a registered Hunter. He was like a monk who could escape but not his temple. Anyone with a bit of authority could find him.
However, with his abilities, if he left Cando City and disappeared, he could survive anywhere. So, I suggested he leave with Lair to seek refuge, or he could leave on his own.
“Are those young masters and ladies leaving?” Tandri asked. Seeing me nod, he then asked, “What about Miss Parul?”
“I am certainly unwilling to be schemed against. Moreover, I already know the culprit. It doesn’t matter if I don’t know the betrayer; I will get revenge,” I said fiercely. How dare they disturb the peaceful life between me and Older Brother Jayad! Unforgivable!
“Me too. Cando City is my hometown. I grew up around here. I can’t accept just fleeing shamefully,” Tandri said, spitting out the blade of grass he was chewing. “I’ll stay and help you, Miss Parul.”
“But your identity is no longer safe,” I reminded him.
“It’s fine. It’s just changing identities. I still have connections in the city, and the Hunter’s Guild actually has a similar protection mechanism. I’ll write a letter to the branch master, report my situation as missing, and not reveal any of my information to outsiders,” Tandri said.
“Is that reliable?” I was somewhat skeptical.
“Of course. The Hunter’s Guild is a global organization, and we hunters are extremely united internally. Let alone just a Knight, even a minor Baron can’t interfere with the internal affairs of the Hunter’s Guild,” Tandri said with a hint of confidence.
Indeed, Hunters, as the oldest Profession, are still fighting on the front lines against monsters. They share a camaraderie forged in blood and fire. Moreover, the Hunter’s Guild holds a very high status, and local petty nobles truly couldn’t control it.
“I know them better, as well as adventurers. Leave the investigation of the traitor to me. Since you know the two masterminds better, the revenge part will be up to you,” Tandri said.
Indeed, I don’t have three heads and six arms; doing everything myself would inevitably lead to neglecting some tasks. It’s better to hand over some matters to others, especially those I’m not good at.
So, I accepted Tandri’s suggestion and left the task of investigating whether anyone among the rescued female adventurers had betrayed us to him.
I also agreed on a contact method with him: I would give a letter to a designated Felyne at the Hunter’s Guild, and it would help to deliver it.
Afterward, we parted ways. Tandri said he still needed to disguise himself and change his image.
After meeting with Tandri, I could finally ride the packhorse back to the city. Not far from the city gate, the packhorse seemed to sense something and suddenly turned and ran in another direction.
I thought we were under attack and was startled. However, the packhorse wasn’t running too fast. When I caught up, I saw Older Brother Jayad and Lorna walking side by side on the road, carrying today’s haul on their backs, chatting and laughing, a very warm scene.
The packhorse trotted over to Jayad and rubbed against his lower back. Jayad only then turned around. Just as I was about to say if the packhorse had made up with Older Brother Jayad, I saw it bite Jayad’s hand again.
“Ouch! That hurts! Let go!” Jayad quickly shook his hand free, but the packhorse was still unsatisfied and nudged Jayad with its head a few more times.
“What’s wrong? Don’t move, don’t move. Let’s talk properly,” Jayad held down the horse’s head and stroked its neck. The packhorse seemed to be no longer angry and rubbed against Older Brother Jayad’s hand. Its emotions were indeed capricious.
“I seem to have heard that excellent mounts get upset when their master gets close to other creatures. Did it smell the Hippogriff on you?” Lorna said, looking at the packhorse.
“Huh? That works too?” Older Brother Jayad said in surprise. It was the first time I had heard this theory, and it was quite novel.
“Yes, I heard it from the Grand Tutor too. It usually only happens with sentient creatures. I only thought it was a normal horse before, so I didn’t think in that direction,” Lorna said.
The packhorse shook its head and looked at Older Brother Jayad with a very subtle expression. Now, we could all see that it understood what we were saying.
So, it was protesting its master riding other mounts. “Older Brother Jayad, did you summon a Hippogriff again today?”
“Uh, after leaving the city, I naturally wanted to ride it for fun. I’m sorry. Next time we go out, I’ll ride you, okay?” Jayad said to the packhorse.
The packhorse immediately appeared very happy, and it seemed to have finally been appeased. I suspect it has become sentient. I wonder if it will turn into a racehorse girl one day?
