Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 80 Investigation and Visits
The victim was not found on the road, but in a haystack near the poultry shed.

"This is where we found Frazier."

The hunter pointed to the haystack.

"We suspect he might have had too much to drink and needed to relieve himself."

"Um……………"

Li Wei stared at the ground next to the haystack. It was obvious that the villagers had no awareness of protecting the scene. The footprints on the ground were a mess, and it was unknown how many people had stepped on it.

"Do you often have people who come here drunk? Is it convenient?"

"Most of the time."

The hunter shrugged.

"After all, that's how it is in the village, and we're used to it."

That statement is actually not wrong.

Li Wei stared at the haystack, and with the help of [Trace Detection] and the wounds on the back of the corpse, he could almost imagine what had happened here.

Late at night, a drunkard stumbled out of the tavern and staggered to this spot, perhaps humming a tune. He then intended to relieve himself here. Suddenly, a dark figure leaped out from behind him like a ferocious beast, striking him with a claw. The sharp claw pierced the drunkard's body as easily as cutting butter, tearing through his skin, bones, and internal organs.

The drunkard fell to the ground without a sound, and then the dark figure disappeared without a trace. It happened almost instantly; it didn't even hit the ground.

However, this does not mean that it left no trace.

Li Wei looked up and quickly spotted a large footprint on the roof of the poultry house. He leaped over it, gave the drunkard a swipe of his claw, landed on the poultry house, and then sprinted forward before disappearing into the forest after leaping over a wooden wall more than two meters high.

As for where it came from, it was the same. Li Wei saw its footprints on the roof on the other side, as if it had jumped over the wooden wall from the forest and landed on the roof. It seemed to be planning to eat chicken, but accidentally encountered a drunkard, killed him, and then left.

Hmm, that seems to make perfect sense.

But that's not entirely logical either.

"Um………………"

Li Wei pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the hunter.

"Why are you so sure it's a werewolf? Couldn't some wild beast have run in, killed him, and then escaped?"

Li Wei wasn't just arguing for the sake of arguing; at least for now, all the evidence he had gathered indicated that this was more likely the work of a wild animal. Of course, ordinary wild animals might not have this ability, but wild animals in the mountains and forests don't usually reason with you.

Actually, aren't there many similar movies? Like King Cobra and King Crocodile, they're all about those strong, large, and somewhat intelligent creatures that live in the mountains and forests.

"Hehe, detective, do you know why our village is called Wolf Head Village?"

"Appreciate further details."

"Because this isn't the first time we've encountered this kind of monster!"

Soon, the hunter began to tell Li Wei the history of Wolf Head Village with great enthusiasm.

According to the hunters, Wolf Head Village was originally named Wolf God Village, because legend has it that a strong and intelligent giant wolf lived nearby. The villagers worshipped it as a god, offering it a lamb every year in hopes that it would protect the village and prevent it from preying on the villagers.

This custom has lasted for nearly a hundred years, but with the development of the times, more and more people believe that it is just a legend and superstition. So, thirty years ago, a few young men got drunk and made a bet to go to the place where the offerings were sent to see what the wolf god looked like.

The next day, people found their mutilated bodies at the altar.

This incident caused a huge uproar in the village, dividing the villagers into two factions. The elders believed that the young men had offended the wolf god and deserved their fate. However, the families who lost their children clearly did not see it that way, and besides, things were different now; people had guns and were bolder.

Ultimately, the villagers seeking revenge formed a small team, followed the footprints into the deep mountains, and went to hunt the wolf god.

Next, they found the wolf god in a cave in the mountains. To everyone's surprise, the wolf god was not only huge, but could also walk upright like a human, and was even wearing a cloak, dressed like a human!

Thus, a great battle ensued, and in the end, the humans destroyed the wolf god and cut off its head.

"This is it."

The hunter pushed open the door and proudly showed Li Wei their village's most precious trophy, which had always been kept in the church.

A huge wolf's head.

This wolf's head is several times larger than a human head. Although it has been processed into a specimen, it still has a fierce and menacing look.

Li Wei circled around it, estimating the wolf's size from its head to be between two and three meters. If it could walk upright, then... well, it would indeed be frightening.

"After that, Wolf God Village was renamed Wolf Head Village to prove our courage and strength!"

"It is indeed impressive, but it does not solve our problem."

Li Wei glanced at the wolf heads and quickly got to the point.

"As you say, this wolf is as dead as can be, so how could it possibly crawl out and attack the villagers?"

"Because we were unable to achieve our full goals at the time."

At this point, the hunter's face showed a resentful expression.

“My father was a member of the wolf hunting team. They said that besides the wolf god, there was a mother wolf and her cubs there. They killed the wolf god and the mother wolf, but the cubs ran away. Everyone wanted to chase them, but because of the harsh weather and the fact that many people were injured, they had to leave.”

The hunter became even more excited at this moment.

"Thirty years have passed, and that wolf cub has returned! It must be it, returning for revenge!"

It sounds very strange at first, but we can't deny that there's some merit to the reasoning behind it. After all, the creature killed the drunkard with a single swipe of its claws, leaving no trace of biting or chewing. Even if it were an animal, it clearly wasn't hunting. It's more like a targeted attack and killing.

However, an investigation is still necessary.

Li Wei thanked the hunter and then went to the tavern, the last place the victim had stayed before he died. He found the tavern owner and the waiter and asked them what had happened the night before.

"It's nothing serious, Detective."

The owner behind the bar was wiping glasses while casually answering Li Wei's questions.

"That's just how Frazier is. After a few drinks, he'll say and do anything. He did have an argument with a few people last night, but it wasn't anything serious."

"If he hadn't died, it really wouldn't have been a big deal."

Li Wei certainly wouldn't allow the other party to simply brush him off.

"If you're unwilling to tell me, perhaps you'd be willing to tell the judge in court?" "Why would I go to court...? Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Last night, Fraser, Roger, Charlie, and Tommy were drinking together. Then the four of them got into an argument. I don't know what started it, but Fraser was clearly furious and was yelling at Charlie and the others, calling them a bunch of disgusting animals, damn bastards..."

The boss spread his hands.

"Sorry for the crude language of country folk."

"What is his relationship with the other three? What do they do for a living?"

"Roger is Frazier's brother, and Charlie and Tommy are also brothers. Roger works on the farm, while Charlie and Tommy mainly work as blacksmiths."

Where is Frazier?

"He used to be a hunter."

"Does that mean he's stopped hunting?"

"One year he broke his leg while hunting, and after his leg healed, he quit. It was after that that he started drinking heavily."

"So why are they arguing?"

“I don’t really know. They always argue when they’re drunk. Isn’t that how people are? When they drink too much, it’s easy for them to get into conflicts. I don’t know how it is in the city, but here, when people are drinking and chatting, it’s easy for them to smash their glasses directly on each other’s heads.”

The boss raised the wooden wine glass in his hand.

"That's why I use this now."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei pondered for a moment.

"last question."

"Alright, do you have any other questions, Detective?"

“If Frazier doesn’t go to work, where will his income come from? He needs to at least have enough money to buy a bar.”

"Now that you mention it, I really haven't seen him pay anything."

The boss frowned.

"Sometimes Roger pays, sometimes Charlie or Tommy pays, but he seems to only care about drinking."

"Thank you."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Li Wei stood up from the bar, picked up his hat, put it on, and nodded to the owner.

"Wouldn't you like a drink, Mr. Detective? Our gin here is quite delicious."

"No need, I don't drink alcohol, it's bad for my health."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned and walked out of the bar.

The next group to be investigated were naturally the victim's drinking buddies.

Li Wei quickly found the brothers Charlie and Tommy at the blacksmith's shop and inquired about the drinking expenses. In his opinion, no matter how good their relationship was—brotherhood aside—there was no need for friends to constantly buy each other drinks. After all, nobody's money grows on trees.

However, the answer Li Wei received was somewhat unexpected.

"play cards?"

"Yes."

Tommy was hammering away on the felt, while keeping his eyes fixed on Levi.

"We often get together to play cards, and whoever loses has to treat everyone to drinks, that's how it is."

"You guys have lost a lot of times."

"Who says it isn't?"

Charlie also started to complain.

"You wouldn't believe it, Frazier is incredibly lucky. Even when he's dead drunk, he always manages to get a good hand. And Roger's on his side, so it's basically two against two, so we always lose more than we win, though we do win sometimes. Roger usually pays for him then. If you ask me, Frazier would be better off going to the casino in town; he might win a lot of money there."

If he dares to go, he's more likely to end up dying in the street, forgotten and ignored.

Levi closed his notebook and glanced at the two brothers. Although they tried hard to remain calm, Levi's [Scout] easily revealed that the brothers were hiding something. For example, Charlie, while minding the shop, kept glancing at Tommy. And Tommy, though diligently forging iron, seemed somewhat uneasy; at least his movements weren't very fluid.

"Ah, Detective!"

Just then, the shop door was pushed open, and a light voice rang out. Li Wei turned his head and saw a figure in red appear before his eyes.

"What's the matter?"

“My grandmother would like to invite you to dinner. Also, it’s getting late. Why don’t you stay in the village tonight? The tavern has rooms for guests. They may not be luxurious, but they’re comfortable.”

Upon seeing Little Red Riding Hood appear, Li Wei noticed the two brothers' eyes light up; clearly, this girl was quite popular in the village. However, when they saw that she was only talking to them and seemed completely oblivious to the two of them, their disappointment was undisguised.

"That……………"

"Awooo——————!"

But before Li Wei could answer, a sharp wolf howl suddenly rang out from outside, continuous and incessant. Hearing the howl, everyone was startled. They walked out of the shop, wondering where the sound was coming from. However, the village was surrounded by mountains, making it almost impossible to pinpoint the exact location of the howl.

Immediately afterwards, the bells rang out urgently.

"Clang clang clang clang clang—!"

"It's an emergency call!"

Upon hearing the bell, Little Red Riding Hood's expression changed drastically. She then looked at Li Wei and explained to him.

"The bells are only rung when something big happens in the village, calling everyone to the church! Let's go too, Mr. Detective."

"Ok."

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei agreed to Little Red Riding Hood's suggestion.

I hope nothing bad will happen.

(End of this chapter)