NovelEnglish
The old man was already sobbing when he reached that point of his story.
Zeke looked over at Crippled Williams and questioned, “How did they die? Is it because of the demon, or is it
because of you?”
Crippled Williams said defensively, “The demon, of course! There's no way I can kill so many of them! It's more
believable to say that they kill me. Not the other way around!”
The old man seethed, “Is that so? Do you work for the demon? You know what? We think there's a high chance
you're actually working with the demon. You might well be his bait to lure living human beings to him!”
“Are you crazy? Why would I do something like that? Stop blabbering nonsense before I rip your mouth apart!”
Crippled Williams shouted with a hint of guilt in his voice.
The old man felt like punching Crippled Williams in the face, but because he was old and frail, he had no choice but
to keep quiet. If they really got into a fight, he was no match for Crippled Williams.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Thank you for telling us the story, sir,” Zeke said to the old man. “You may leave.”
“Thank you!” the old man exclaimed in gratitude as he rushed away with the money in excitement.
After he left, Zeke looked back at Crippled Williams, and the latter evaded his gaze.
“So those forty-nine young men were the sacrifice that you offered to your master?” Zeke interrogated.
“Well... I mean...” he stuttered and could not even give a proper answer. Judging by his reaction, it was clear that
what the old man had assumed was true.
Sole Wolf went over and booted him hard. “You b*stard! They were your neighbors! Even your own twin brother
was among them! How could you even—”
“It's not like I wanted to! I was forced.” Crippled Williams sighed.
While the two were arguing, Zeke remained silent. He then took a deep breath and asked, “Did you guys realize
something? What the old man recounted does not fit the narrative that the restaurant owner told us.”
“Really?” Sole Wolf asked cluelessly. “I didn't realize any contradiction though.”
“The restaurant owner said that Crippled Williams went up the mountain with his twin brother. He did not say that
there were forty-nine young men. I wonder which is the true version?”
Tyler, who had remained silent from the beginning, finally spoke. “I think the old man's story is more possible.”
“Then why did the owner lie to us?” Zeke asked.
“Maybe he remembered it wrongly?” Crippled Williams suggested.
“Like one can easily forget a whole group of people.”
“I have a theory, but it might sound ridiculous,” Ares said.
“I'm all ears,” Zeke replied.
“Well, it would be more likely for us to go up the mountain if we had believed that only one person died. If he had
told us that around fifty people were sacrificed because of the quest, then we would have been deterred from our
plan, so it's possible that he was manipulating us.”
A meaningful smile spread across Zeke's lips as he looked at Crippled Williams. “So, are you going to tell us why he
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwants us up there?”
“Um... I don't know?” he answered vaguely while wearing a sheepish expression.
The smile on Zeke's face stiffened.
Somehow, Crippled Williams felt like Zeke was able to read him like a book.
When he could no longer bear Zeke's scrutinizing glare, he finally gave up the act. “All right! I'll tell you everything!”
He finally relented and told the truth. “The owner and I are in this together. He's in charge of directing foreign
tourists to me, and I'm in charge of bringing them up Golden Sands Mountain. All the money that the tourists have
belongs to him.”
“So does he know that you're working for the demon on the mountain?”
“I never told him, but I think he knows a thing or two about it.”
Sole Wolf was infuriated. He was so furious he drilled a hole in the ground when he kicked the floor. “You guys are
unbelievable! How could y'all kill just for money?” he shouted.
“Zeke, we should really just kill this man. He's the black sheep of this whole village. We should just get rid of him
before he brings greater calamity to the people!”
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