Chương 116: The Legacy of Haita

"We've searched everywhere, but it's not there!"

"I don't have any here either!"

A large crowd had gathered in front of the village's orphanage, and everyone looked miserable.

Shane and the others followed Zain to the center of the crowd.

The priest was asking a round-faced, plump woman about the situation.

As the plump woman spoke, she pinched the hem of her apron at her waist and lowered her head to wipe away her tears.

From their conversation, Shane quickly gleaned the key information: two children from the orphanage had gone missing.

They were all only five or six years old.

Zain explained to them, "It's said that it ran out to play in the morning and wasn't seen until lunchtime. The caretaker's wife felt something was wrong and asked everyone to help search. They searched the whole village but couldn't find it."

"Have you searched around the village?"

"We're looking—" Zain said, his brow furrowed.

"But the village is surrounded by mountains and forests, so it's not easy to find them. We asked you to come here so that we could use magic to look for the children and hopefully save some time."

Xia En frowned and looked out of the village.

indeed.

There are many poisonous creatures in the mountains and forests surrounding the village. Even Shutark was seriously injured. The two five- or six-year-old children have no ability to protect or save themselves. They must be found as soon as possible.

The mage's [Tracking Magic] is naturally the fastest.

Shane and Frillie exchanged a glance, and Frillie nodded. Soon, the caregiver handed Frillie two pieces of clothing that the child had just worn.

Frilian and Philon each received a piece of clothing, and the two mages summoned their staffs, each lightly tapping the garment.

Instantly, an invisible magical force began to spread from the point where the staff touched the clothes, and two sets of light blue magical footprints appeared on the ground.

The small, slightly messy footprints circled the orphanage several times before extending into the mountains outside the village.

"They really did run into the woods." Zain's expression turned helpless.

"Judging from the direction the tracks lead—they probably went into the forest to gather flowers; there's a flower that looks like the sun growing in that direction."

"The children love adventure stories and have been asking you to bring them pretty flower wreaths since yesterday."

Seeing this, the villagers who were watching all breathed a sigh of relief.

Presumably, the children have done this kind of "naughty" behavior more than once.

"But—hiccup—aren't there—hiccup—poisonous snakes in the forest?"

Shutark rubbed his stomach and reminded everyone.

Zain smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't worry, the children in the village are used to it and have always been very careful."

After that.

Guided by the two mages' tracking magic, the group began searching through the mountains and forests, following the pale blue footprints.

The children's route was winding and circuitous.

Sometimes they would stop next to a strangely shaped big rock, climb and play, leaving footprints all over the rock.

Sometimes they would stop next to a berry bush, their little footprints circling the bush several times.

Xia En glanced at the fruit on the branches; the lower parts had already been picked clean, leaving only the fruit in the canopy, out of the children's reach.

He reached out and picked a small berry to taste—it was sweet and sour, and tasted good.

As you walk deeper in, the little footprints slow down, no longer having that bouncy, skipping feel, and there are also traces of sticks touching the ground next to the footprints.

Just as Zain had said.

Although the children were mischievous, they were still cautious about the forest and knew to use branches for self-defense.

"belch----" Shutark next to me was hiccuping again.

The boy rubbed his stomach and glared at Xia En with resentment.

Shaun shook his head.

"They say, 'A half-grown boy can eat his father,' Shutark, your appetite is a bit lacking—"

"A whole—burp—a whole basin!"

Even if it's just a pot—

"You even directly—burp—poured it in!"

Faced with the boy's accusation, Xia En guiltily touched his nose.

However, he quickly grasped a "key point".

"A whole pot of mushroom soup was completely free of toxins in the renovation project. It seems my mushroom soup-making skills have improved significantly!"

"Mmm, that's amazing."

From the side came Frilian's flattering praise.

Xia En frowned.

"What's with that flat tone of yours—are you just brushing me off?"

No.

"I don't believe you, unless you drink first next time."'

Just then...

Zain, who was walking at the front of the group, suddenly stopped.

The other person's expression turned serious.

Following his gaze, Xia En saw the light blue footprints on the ground. At the fork in the road, after some "hesitation," he walked to the left.

Oops.

The left side is the direction where Zain fell into the swamp yesterday.

Everyone looked at each other, realizing the seriousness of the problem.

Shane instantly activated [Swiftness] and dashed off in the direction the trail extended. Frilian and Philon used [Flight Magic] to follow closely behind, and Shutark and Zain also caught up immediately.

The group moved through the bushes and arrived at the swamp from yesterday in the blink of an eye.

The large rocks and tree trunks left behind during the rescue are still in the same place.

The pale blue magical footprints disappeared at the edge of the swamp—but there was nothing in the swamp.

Zain's face turned deathly pale.

The worst-case scenario has occurred!

Two children, aged five or six, fell into the swamp, and so much time has passed; there is absolutely no chance of them surviving.

Just then.

Flying through the air, Philon pointed to the center of the swamp.

"Mr. Shane, there seems to be a cave over there."

cave?

Shaun looked up and peered into the center of the swamp. Sure enough, just as Philen had said, there was a dark cave a few dozen meters away from them. It was easy to miss if you weren't looking carefully.

Frillie flew over the cave and observed for a while before saying, "It seems very deep; I can't see what's inside."

Zain, who had just fallen into despair, had a glimmer of light in his eyes again.

"What if the children fell into the cave?"

Xia En glanced at his pale face, then at the distance of several dozen meters between them and the cave.

"It's not entirely impossible—" Before he finished speaking, Zain rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the tree trunk that had saved him yesterday, as if he wanted to build a log bridge across the swamp.

"Since it's not entirely impossible, I'll go down and look for it."

Shutark was stunned by his actions and even stopped hiccuping.

Looking at Zain, Xia En was subtly touched.

Although he was a seemingly unreliable monk who drank, smoked, and gambled, Zain's inherent kindness was undeniable; he was a devout monk just like Haita.

According to Frilian, the two brothers were among the first children at the orphanage that Haita sponsored.

That guy Haita, at the end of his life, always said it was a great pity that he hadn't passed on his faith in the goddess to Shane.

It seems that the monk who indulged in wine and meat can finally rest easy, as someone has already been quietly passing on the tradition.

"Alright, let's go down and look for it."

"Shutark, lift that big rock and throw it in the center of the cave between us."