The Divine Hunter

evening.

The reflection of the setting sun sinks into the delta, and the twilight begins to close.

The witcher ended the afternoon's investigation.

"Master, have you seen Whishaw? What did he say?" Linus couldn't wait to ask Oaks, "Why did he miss a week for no reason? He must give a reasonable explanation!"

Oaks and Cantila looked at each other, and in the dim light, their faces became serious, "He can't explain, Mr. Linus..."

"What's the meaning?"

"The door of your assistant's house is open and empty. Not only him, but also his old mother, who depends on each other, is not in the house."

Linus Peet frowned in disbelief.

Oaks said solemnly facing the crowd, "You should understand that our senses are different from ordinary people and are more sensitive... I smelled a faint smell of blood in his house. I searched along the smell and found several pools of dried blood on the floor... It was left six to seven days ago. Next, this is obviously not a simple disappearance incident."

"And the door was violently damaged, and the lock was severely deformed," the witcher analyzed. "There are clear kick marks on the door, and messy horseshoe prints and footprints outside the house. At least seven or eight people broke into the door, robbers or thugs. "

"Intruder, blood stains for six to seven days?" Linus Pitt opened his mouth slightly, stunned for a moment, his voice became extremely dry, "Didn't my student have an accident just when he got home?"

"Is he so miserable?" The scholar sighed, his expression full of regret.

Whishaw, a diligent and honest farmer's son, went to great lengths to be admitted to Ossenfurt University, and he will graduate in two years, find a decent job, and take his old mother out of poverty and poverty. , how could this sudden change happen.

"Is my student still alive? Is there any chance of surviving?"

The witcher was silent.

Linus squeezed his fist and gritted his teeth, "Masters, please help me rescue Whishaw and his family."

"I haven't finished my words yet... I'm sorry," Oaks said in a low voice, shaking his head, "Whishaw and his family have been killed, we followed suspicious traces near the house all the way, in a wheat field 30 meters away from the house. , the bodies of a family of two were dug up..."

"A young man in his twenties,

He was killed by a blunt blow to the back of the head. His appearance matched your previous description of Whishaw. There was also a woman about forty years old with a disabled left leg. The cause of death was the same, and it should be his sick mother. "

After Oakes finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to the scholar and released his clenched fist. In his palm, there was a bright gold Oxenfurt University student nameplate:

Whishaw

first-year natural history department

Linus Pitt took the nameplate with trembling fingers, grief and regret overwhelmed his thin face, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes were faintly flushed.

"Professor Linus, my condolences... After we took down the token, we buried the poor mother and son on the spot." Cantila explained, "Two wooden tablets were erected."

Linus's expression softened slightly.

"Do you still remember, did he specifically explain anything before he left the academy? Or did he have some abnormal behavior?"

Linus shook his head decisively in denial.

"Then this should be a sudden case of robbery and murder..." Roy, who had been quietly beside him, analyzed, "The perpetrator may be a robber from around Ossenfurt, or a robber from somewhere else. ."

"As the academic center of Redania, Osenfurt's bandits are so rampant, and the security environment is so bad?" Phleus raised his eyebrows.

"That's not the case. There have been no similar vicious murder incidents in the Niubao sphere of influence for more than two years." Linus squeezed the nameplate and said through gritted teeth, "Those bastards dare to attack Ossenfort. student shot...I will report this incident to the management of the academy. Vizmir II will no longer tolerate robbers killing the nation's talents."

"In addition, several masters, are you willing to assist the academy to track down the murderer? This is a private commission. I will pay two hundred crowns, no, three hundred crowns. Is it enough?"

Roy confirmed it with his eyes to his companions, and nodded. The robber who kills and steals means a lot of experience, and he has no reason to give up.

What's more, Linus Pete is in charge of food and housing, and offers generous rewards, and there is no reason to refuse.

"Lord Linus, I still have a doubt," Oxton paused and recalled, "When I examined the corpses of Whishaw and his mother, I found a lot of marks of abuse and torture on the surface of the body, such as the wrists and ankles. The bruises bound by the twine, the burns from the candle oil on the skin, the slap prints on the cheeks... the ordinary burglary doesn't need to torture them."

"A shabby and shabby house, a lame old mother, what else is there that is worth the robber coveted and tortured?"

The crowd fell into deep thought.

"Maybe the murderer had a grudge with Whishaw, or wanted to set up some secrets, so he used unnecessary torture, including threatening his mother's life." Oakes guessed.

"There is also a possibility that the murderers were psychopathic, robbing property while tortured for fun; or they were provoked by Whishaw's words and adopted cruel torture methods, with the honest, honest and stubborn character described by Professor Linus, completely Possibly angering the murderer." Serrit offered another view.

"This statement cuts off all the clues..." Leto said, "I agree with Oaks' analysis for the time being. The murderer and Whishaw have long had an intersection, and they want to uncover some secrets, so the possibility of acquaintances committing the crime is very high."

"Ox, Cantila, think again, are there any suspicious clues that were missed at the scene, and are there any witnesses near the house?"

Cantila glanced at Oaks, who had no unique talent for investigation.

And Oaks looked displeased and stared, "I've searched the scene twice, and I can't miss anything! If you don't believe me, go check it yourself. As for the witnesses," Oakes said disappointedly, "Whishshaw's house is deserted for a mile, no matter how far it is. The road to Ossenfurt was a lot of traffic and was very disruptive."

"Looking at it this way, there is no better choice at the moment. Let's start the investigation with Whishaw's acquaintance first." Leto made a decision. "Professor Linus, what do you think?"

"That's the only way." The scholar said blankly, "Although I admire Whishaw very much, he has been under my command for less than a year, and my understanding of him is limited to his family and relatives and friends. Except for his widowed mother in the suburbs , and no other relatives."

"I know the relationship in the academy. There are many interactions... First of all, I should count the roommates in the dormitory and another assistant in the ecological park, Ben..."

Linus, in turn, said, "And then the natural history classmates. But I don't think the students would commit such heinous atrocities."

"Leave the interrogation to us..." Letho said firmly, "Lying to witchers is a skill, especially for nerds... You just need to find a time to gather the students, and we will never be wronged. Innocents, likewise, will not spare any murderer!"

Linus Pitt nodded, but it was too late today, and he could only act on the working day tomorrow.

"Professor, in addition to the inside of the academy, the academy island, and the town of Osenfurt, who do your assistants have more contact with?" Roy said a lot. He thought it was not that simple, and the murderer probably wasn't among the students.

The scholar rubbed his swollen head, "Whishaw has been in charge of purchasing food for endangered animals in the ecological park, and when it comes to dealing with him, he is the hawker who sells fish and meat in the Niubao Market. This kid is very honest, how much each purchase cost, and which transaction was recorded in the ledger. I'll take it for you."

After getting the account book, everyone discussed for a while, made plans for tomorrow, and went back to the dormitory arranged by the professor to rest.

…

Linus Pitt left Roy alone and entered the Rare Zoo together, because he had said before that he was going to do a medical examination for the restored Goelphin.

"Why don't you solve your student's case and keep busy with it? I'm not in a hurry." Roy observed the other's haggard look and said softly.

"Don't worry, I can tell the difference between work and life!" Linus rubbed his sore cheeks heavily when he heard the words, boosting his spirits.

"Then it's up to you."

Roy sweated and practiced swordsmanship and crossbow shooting for hours in the zoo. The night finally came, and the Golphin half-murloc turned back into his body in a rising smoke. He was the size of a calf, with a brown-yellow body, gray-black wings, and eyes. A dark and agile young griffin.

Compared with a month ago, it has grown a little more, and it has a faint hint of the power of a top predator.

"Master Roy, please hold it on the operating table, but don't hurt it too hard."

Rare zoo, under the bright magic lamp, a pair of emaciated and pale palms groped on Shizi's soft body, sometimes opened the long beak to check the tongue, sometimes stretched the hook-like claws, and sometimes checked the mane and the neck between the necks. two wings.

Despite being watched over by its owner, the griffin's arrogance made it whimper in aggrieved voices.

"Okay, Golfin, be patient, you'll have a well-balanced meal after the inspection!"

"Whoa-"

After half an hour.

"Well, about seven months, normal development... Master Roy, the little guy is very healthy. He can't even find a parasite or flea. It can be seen that you have not treated him badly." Linus took his hand from Goerfen He retracted his furry paws, took off his gloves, his eyes softened a lot, and he became more and more sure that the other party was a like-minded animal protectionist.

"But remember to fix it's nails every month...Golfing has been in a deformed state for a long time, and there is not enough time to find hard objects to sharpen its claws. The nails may grow back and hurt themselves. The daily exercise is not up to the standard."

"You know, you have to do some disguise to take it through the busy city." Roy explained, then shook his head, "But it was my negligence,"

He deeply hugged the furry body on the operating table, "I promise to pay attention to these situations in the future!"

Linus nodded, "If there is no problem, Golphin will be living in the zoo for the next few days, doing further exercise, flying, hunting tests, and by the way, I will customize a recipe for it."

"Then I'll trouble you." Roy gave Golphin a contact look, and then hesitantly asked, "Mr. Linus, I've always been curious, have you tried riding Black or Chelsea? ?"

The witcher Anjin's pupils were filled with a hint of longing, "Sit on their backs and fly to the sky—"

"I understand what you mean..." Linus Pitt shook his head helplessly, "Under normal circumstances, a ten-month-old griffin can already carry the weight of a person and fly with a person. Unfortunately, I am afraid of heights. Second, arrogant creatures like griffins don’t allow anything to ride on them, I want to force them, they will be very aggrieved and angry.”

Ten months, that's not long.

"Don't worry, Golphine is very obedient and obedient, and doesn't have such a big temper. Riding on its back is the best way to get close," Roy touched Golphin's head and gave it a gentle smile ,"Am i right?"

"Roar?"