"Picked it up on the only path leading into the mountains outside Valley Town." Robert said, glancing at Herag as if to gauge his reaction.
He continued, "I really found it, that wizard’s death had nothing to do with me."
Seeing Robert’s eagerness to explain, Herag knew he was misunderstood, so he said, "I have nothing to do with that wizard, I don’t even know who he is, and I’m not here to accuse anyone because of his death."
Only after hearing this did Robert relax and breathe a sigh of relief.
"Valley Town..." Herag had never heard of this place before.
He looked at Robert and asked, "Where is Valley Town?"
"Just east of Storm City, about a three-day ride away." Robert was familiar with these places and spoke without any hesitation.
"Is there anything special about that place?" Herag was a bit puzzled as to why a wizard would die there.
Robert scratched the back of his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Not that I know of, it’s just an ordinary mountain town with a relatively small population."
"Are there any special rumors about the place? Ghost stories are fine too." Herag continued to ask.
Robert shook his head, "I’m not too sure about that, I’m not a local. There should be some ghost stories, there’s always a few such tales in every place. If you want to know more, you’d best ask the locals."
"Does the Adventurers’ Association have any information on that place?" Herag asked.
Robert nodded, "They should, the association usually keeps records of the surrounding areas."
"Don’t leave yet, we might need you to lead the way later." Herag stood up, ready to look into the Adventurers’ Association’s records.
Upon hearing the news, Milo quickly rushed over, taking Herag and Robert to the fourth floor.
The fourth floor resembled an archive, with rows of cabinets filled with files.
"These are records of the surrounding geography, let me see for Valley Town... it should be here." Milo searched through the cabinets and finally stopped in front of one, opened it, and took out a file folder.
Milo handed the file folder to Herag, "This contains all the information about Valley Town for the past thirty years."
Herag took the file folder and pulled out a thick stack of documents.
He sat down on a long bench nearby, slowly perusing the Valley Town records.
Valley Town has a history of over two hundred years, with a population consistently between two to three hundred. From the records, it appears to be a very ordinary town with nothing special about it.
The records note some information from the past thirty years, the most serious being geological disasters like landslides, but nothing seemingly unusual.
"Could it be this isn’t the place..."
Originally, Herag suspected Valley Town might be the production site of the Resentful Doll, potentially a resource point, rich in casting materials and magic potion materials.
Places usually have some strange occurrences, which for ordinary people would be supernatural events.
However, this Valley Town was too ordinary, without any anomalies.
"Vice President Milo, do you know anything about this place?" Herag asked after reviewing the materials.
Milo thought for a moment and said, "I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with it, it’s just an ordinary town."
"A wizard died there not long ago, did you know?" Herag asked Milo.
Milo was a bit surprised, "A wizard? I hadn’t heard about that."
Herag glanced at Robert, "That’s what he said."
Robert explained, "I did indeed find a dead body out there on that mountain path, with that doll in its hand, but I can’t confirm if it was a wizard. I judged it based on the attire. But I haven’t heard any follow-up news from there either, so it might not even be a wizard..."
Milo queried, "That can’t be right, whether the deceased was a wizard or not, I haven’t heard of anyone dying in Valley Town. When did you find the body, Robert?"
"About two months ago," Robert replied truthfully.
Milo shook his head, "Impossible, for the last two months, I haven’t heard of any deaths there. Unless Robert was the only one who saw the body, and someone disposed of it before anyone else could notice."
The Adventurers’ Association is typically very informed, and with Valley Town’s small population and only one path leading out of the mountains, any death on that path would surely be discovered and reported by the locals.
Yet, the Adventurers’ Association had no information whatsoever in this regard.
"Finally, something out of the ordinary," Herag thought this might be related to a mysterious event or simply a human-created incident. Chapters first released on novèlfire.net
He stood up and said, "Robert, come with me, lead the way to Valley Town."
"Alright." Robert nodded, not daring to refuse.
Herag had Shenlan record the Valley Town information but found no valuable insights yet.
He returned the file folder before heading downstairs. To Sid, who was waiting below, he said, "I’m going out for a while, you should go back first."
"Sir, don’t you need me to accompany you?" Sid eagerly offered his assistance.
Herag shook his head, "You’re too weak; if anything happens, I won’t have time to look after you. You should go back first."
Herag’s blunt remarks left Sid awkwardly scratching his head, "Then I’ll be going back now, sir."
Milo arranged two horses and prepared some dried food and water for Herag and Robert.
Though Storm City was some distance from Valley Town, and despite their great strength, the duo still needed basic supplies.
Without delay, Herag mounted the horse and headed towards the city gate, with Robert close behind.
In the city, Herag had to maintain his speed, but once outside, he gave the horse a hard kick to the flank and dashed off.
After leaving Storm City, they soon entered the mountains.
The terrain here was nothing but vast stretches of mountains, slowing their pace considerably. They were either climbing or descending, unable to gallop freely as they did on flat ground.
Two days later, Herag and Robert arrived at Valley Town.
A mountain path encircled the town, known for its Heaven’s Edge formation.
As Herag walked along the path intending to enter, a squirrel on a nearby tree jabbered incessantly.
"Shut up!" Robert found the squirrel annoying and scared it off with a few threats.
The squirrel was indeed frightened, and with a few leaps between branches, it disappeared.
"Sir, I found the deceased here that day, lying on his back, clutching the doll tightly. I had to exert some effort to pry it from his hands," Robert recounted the events of that day.