### Chapter 26: Little Mole

Bai’er didn’t hesitate to affirm in a low voice.

“That’s right, Miss Vilyric, don’t let my appearance fool you. I’ve grown up in the mountains since I was little and have seen more mountain spirits and monsters than most people. This is a [Little Mole].”

“A Little Mole?”

Before the Priestess could further inquire, a black bundle, half-hidden in the bushes of the courtyard, was already showing new movements.

It—that Little Mole—started digging something out of the thicket.

“Whoa…”

Vilyric realized what this guy was up to.

It is well-known that many wild animals, when faced with food they can’t finish or take with them, often choose to bury it for later. This is a near-instinctual behavior, and even when they become monsters, such habits don’t vanish.

Clearly, this Little Mole was doing something similar.

The faint smell of blood grew richer as the object was unearthed.

Vilyric exchanged glances with Bai’er.

The latter nodded and suddenly darted out from behind a tree, taking a step forward with incredible speed, pointing her sword tip at the exposed… half of a butt!

“Don’t move!”

“Yikes!”

Feeling the almost palpable sharpness, a soft, pitiful whimper came from the other side of the bushes. The Little Mole, which only covered half its body, trembled all over, and remarkably, it froze in place, daring not to move an inch further.

And it was quite skilled at begging for mercy.

“Please spare me, great hero!”

Bai’er had clearly done this a lot before; she maintained her sword’s threatening position while softly saying, “Turn around, and bring out whatever you have hidden here. Behave yourself, or I’ll end you with a single sword!”

Just to clarify, this was a bit of a scare tactic.

Though Bai’er was someone who preferred settling matters with force, she knew exactly how to balance her approach. Besides targeting truly wicked evildoers, she rarely took lives unless Miss Ling Feng gave her direct orders, which Vilyric had noticed over the past few days of traveling together.

But clearly, that Little Mole didn’t realize this and was thoroughly scared, trembling uncontrollably.

“G-g-great hero, immortal! Little monster hasn’t done anything bad! I’m a good monster… I’m harmless, please spare my life!”

“Quit your babbling! Hurry up!”

Hearing Bai’er’s deliberately impatient urging, the Little Mole quickly shook its head free from the bushes and turned around, shivering in a duck-like sitting posture beneath the sword.

The small Little Mole lifted its timid gaze and nervously appraised the emotionless short-haired girl, holding what appeared to be a head-sized monstrous object wrapped in cloth, exuding a faint smell of blood.

“Harmless? A harmless monster sneaks into a government stronghold in the dead of night? What’s that in your hands, with such a rich stench, could it be a piece of the body of someone you harmed?”

Bai’er maintained a stern expression and questioned with a serious tone, shaking the sword’s point dangerously close to the Little Mole, which caused it to emit another weak whimper, “Wuuuh!”

“Great Great Immortal, I, um… I just accidentally dug the tunnel the wrong way. This piece… This piece of meat was something I found! It’s not human flesh…”

Just then, the observant Vilyric, who had been keeping watch, patted Bai’er on the shoulder.

“Okay, stop scaring her.”

Otherwise, the little thing might truly panic and cause quite a ruckus.

Vilyric turned her gaze to the little trembling Little Mole sitting on the ground.

To be honest, this was her first time seeing a monster from the Ancient Spirit Realm up close. It might look like a little critter, but it was certainly quite interesting.

In the Ancient Spirit Realm, the main intelligent race is Humans, while the monsters that have transformed take on a shape that resembles humans. It’s said that the more advanced the monster, the more closely it resembles an adult human, to the point where they’re nearly indistinguishable.

These are the so-called “Great Monsters.”

From this perspective, they do bear a striking similarity to beings like Demons.

This Little Mole, on the other hand, seemed childlike like Eudora, sitting there on the ground, barely reaching Vilyric’s waist despite her already petite stature.

Though it presented a humanoid form, it had tiny, round ears barely visible on its brown-black hair, its face smeared with dirt, and its clothing looked like fur, more akin to soft hair growing directly from its skin. That was the truth behind the dark mass Vilyric had seen earlier.

Its nails were long and caked with the dirt from digging, and paired with its filthy face, it resembled a wild girl who just escaped from a slum.

A rather underage wild girl at that.

“The patrolling guards will be here soon, let’s take her back to the room.”

Of course, Miss Vilyric could have chosen to hand the Little Mole directly to the guards, but in that case, it probably wouldn’t escape death.

Monsters are still monsters; the saying goes, “Different races harbor different hearts.” Though most of the time they keep to themselves and avoid us humans, if conflict arises, their fights can be more brutal than among kin.

Moreover, as natural born spirits, various parts of their bodies are usually pretty valuable, with their inner cores being miraculous alchemical treasures.

Bai’er clearly had the same notion in mind, or perhaps it was more likely a directive from Miss Ling Feng. She nodded immediately, tapping the Little Mole’s shoulder with the sword’s flat side, adopting a tone that leaned towards coercion.

“Come with us and behave. Don’t try anything funny; I think we both know what happens if you expose yourself in a place like this, right?”

“Wuu… understood, two immortals…”

Avoiding the patrolling guards in the side courtyard, the two girls returned to the room arranged by Prefect, where the noble young lady of notable status was already waiting by her writing desk instead of sleeping.

“My lady.”

“Welcome back, oh? Is Miss Vilyric here too?”

“What’s this? Planning to keep it a secret from me? ~”

Under the flickering orange candlelight, Ling Feng set down a wooden rod that resembled a brush, turned around with a surprised look at the two, and quickly smiled, shaking her head.

“Don’t be like that… Well, it doesn’t matter. I was going to investigate before discussing things tomorrow, but your sense of smell rivals Bai’er’s. Please, take a seat.”

The young lady signaled to her guard, who immediately understood, closing the door and hanging a white bell of uncertain purpose on the wall before returning to Ling Feng’s side. Together with her and the already seated Priestess, they turned their attention towards the nervous little mole, clutching a cloth bundle.

“You don’t need to be so alarmed. We don’t wish to harm you or take your inner core for alchemy. If you honestly answer a few questions, you’ll be free to go.”

Miss Ling Feng smiled slightly, her demeanor unchanged even in front of a monster.

“Little monster, where did the object in your hands come from?”

   

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