Ginny’s perceptiveness caught Ye Tang off guard. She was stunned for two seconds before she burst into laughter. She released Ginny’s wrist and lightly tapped her own lips with her right index finger, making a “shh—” gesture.
Ginny stood there in a daze. Recalling her memories, she remembered the first time she had sensed something different about “Mary.” At that time, “Mary” had asked her about the whereabouts of the bouquet Kevin had taken, but she hadn’t believed Kevin had really cheated. After searching the followers’ homes without finding the bouquet, she had bitterly thought that Mary was full of lies and purely trying to sow discord.
Now it seemed that “Mary” had already warned her back then.
“You—”
Before Ginny could ask, Ye Tang said, “Ginny, the Mary you knew no longer exists. The one standing before you now is a brand-new Mary. … Henry’s death was a pain I could not bear in my life, but my life held more than just Henry—there’s Angeline, and my mother Eva. Now, there’s also my friend, the Lang family.”
To others, Ye Tang’s words explained her recent changes as stemming from a mother’s unyielding resolve. Only Ginny caught the deeper meaning.
‘The Mary she knew had passed away with her husband’s death. The “Mary” before her now was someone else. This “Mary” wasn’t just cleaning up after the original Mary; she was also trying to properly raise Mary’s child and repay her mother on Mary’s behalf.’
Her knees buckled, and Ginny collapsed to the ground. Ye Tang smiled and squatted down beside her.
“Since I’m no longer the Mary of the past, Ginny, can we call it even between us?”
“…”
Ginny stared speechlessly at the hand Ye Tang extended before her, suddenly feeling like she was about to be lured onto a demon’s pirate ship.
Ye Tang knew, of course, that telling Ginny the truth carried risks. But Ginny’s animosity toward the original host had lasted as long as her obsession with her. Completely hiding it from the sharp Ginny would only drive her curiosity to complicate matters further.
By laying it all out this way, even if others overheard or Ginny told them, everyone would think she was just trying to mend fences with Ginny. Even if Ginny ran out claiming a demon witch had possessed the original host, no one would believe her. On the contrary, people might worry about Ginny’s mental state.
Ginny wasn’t too foolish either. She weighed the pros and cons of shaking hands with Ye Tang and suddenly realized that this seemingly good-tempered “Mary” had her cornered—she couldn’t refuse.
Her lips parted and closed several times before she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Ginny had decided that being friends with the person before her was far better than being enemies.
Ye Tang curved her eyes into smiles as she grasped Ginny’s reluctant hand. “Now we’re friends, right? So, my friend Ginny, would you hear out my wish?”
“The mountain road from Abe Village to the Lem Mine is just too rough. Why don’t you organize the villagers to repair it?”
“You—you’re taking advantage!”
She hadn’t expected this “Mary” to have such thick skin—barely becoming “friends” and already making such a demand. Ginny was starting to regret jumping onto “Mary’s” pirate ship.
“But I believe only you, Ginny, can effectively rally the villagers. That’s why I’m asking you.”
Clasping both of Ginny’s hands, Ye Tang said earnestly, “Miss Ginny, the most beloved figure among Abe Village’s villagers, will you grant my wish?”
No one had ever lavished such flattery on her from childhood to now—and it came from that aloof Mary, no less. Though she knew this Mary wasn’t that Mary, Ginny’s face still flushed red as she stammered, “I-I’ll consider it! If—if it’s good for the village…!”
With Ginny’s promise, Ye Tang knew the matter was settled.
To get rich, build roads first. This was a key development theory summed up by infrastructure enthusiasts.
Repairing the mountain road from Abe Village to the Lem Mine would certainly benefit Abe Village—once the road was easier to travel, more villagers would be willing to do business at the Lem Mine. With money in their pockets, the villagers could do more, and Abe Village could gradually escape poverty and backwardness.
Monopolizing all the benefits alone was nice, but without village growth, the market couldn’t expand. A small cookie, no matter how many one hogged, wouldn’t satisfy; better to turn it into a cake and the village into a town. That way, she wouldn’t have to run herself ragged to gain ample wealth. The people around her wouldn’t resent the one hogging all the gains out of envy either.
Leaving the small mountain village was a good idea, but developing it into a bustling town wasn’t bad either, right?
……
Ye Tang pestered Ginny about the road repairs for most of the day. By the time she walked Ginny home, night had long fallen.
Unable to wait any longer for Xiu and worried for his younger brother, Lang bid farewell to Eva after drinking his ginger soup and entered the forest alone.
The forest was vast, and Xiu’s scent was faint and fleeting. Lang followed that thread thinner than spider silk, searching for his brother’s figure while repeatedly calling his name.
No response came from the forest, but near the Lem Mine, Lang caught Gray’s scent.
Tracing back along Gray’s recently left trail, Lang dashed madly until he finally found his unconscious brother by a waterfall.
“Xiu!!”
Patting his brother’s face yielded no response, so Lang used his claws to pry open Xiu’s eyelids.
Moonlight flooded into Xiu’s eyes, the brightness rousing him slightly.
“Brother… Lang, Gray… he wanted to kidnap a human noble’s wife and daughter—he wanted to coerce humans…”
Unable to express himself clearly due to the heavy blow to his head from the waterfall, Xiu gripped his brother’s wrist tightly.
“Go—go find Mary… Mary knows, knows what to do—”
“Xiu! Xiu!!”
More concerned for his brother’s safety than Gray’s actions, Lang scooped him up. After a moment’s thought, he bolted toward Abe Village.
……
Ye Tang, who had changed into her nightgown and lain down in bed, was startled awake by urgent knocking. She glanced at the sweetly sleeping Angeline in her arms, quietly got out of bed, lit an oil lamp outside the door, and went downstairs.
The visitor outside was naturally Lang, carrying his brother.
“Come in.”
Ye Tang led Lang to the guest room.
The room was cramped for a werewolf of Lang’s build. After relaying Xiu’s words to Ye Tang, he watched as she deftly examined his brother. Shrinking into the corner to avoid getting in the way, Lang asked, “I know Abe Village has no doctor, and Lem Town’s doctor wouldn’t come out in the dead of night for a werewolf. But why can’t we take Xiu to Lem Town…?”
Confirming that Xiu’s external injuries weren’t severe—just a concussion requiring days of rest—Ye Tang set the kerosene lamp on the bedside table and sat on the bed’s edge.
“Don’t you get it yet? The one who led people to burn your village was Tobias Gordonworth, Lem Town’s chief. Good thing you listened to Xiu and came here first. If you’d gone straight to Lem Town with him, it’d be walking into a trap.”
Ye Tang had planned to tell Lang this after he’d mentally prepared himself. But circumstances had changed— that werewolf called “Gray” and his companions would bring massive trouble to all werewolves. There was no time left for Lang to process his emotions.
“Lang, think carefully: Who benefits most from the Lem Mine’s establishment? Earl Ulysses Grant? As an upper noble, he has his own territories and manors. One mine’s profits are just icing for him—nice to have, but not essential. Why would he come to such a remote place and disguise himself as a miner to infiltrate it?”
The miners came from all over the country, some even from neighboring lands. After a couple glasses of wine, these men would eagerly gossip about every bit of news they’d heard. If Ye Tang smiled at them besides, they’d spill everything she asked, and even fetch a friend who knew more for extra details.
“The Queen expects to see technological innovation and progress.”
“The Earl is a favorite in the Queen’s court.”
“The miners saw the astonishing weekly wage ad in the papers, issued in Earl Ulysses Grant’s name.”
From just these three points, Ye Tang pieced together why the young earl offered ten pounds weekly wages to hire miners:
As a favorite in the Queen’s court, Ulysses Grant excelled at pleasing her. The Queen wanted technological progress, which required vast coal as fuel. So Ulysses Grant planned a coal mine, using its high output as a gift to curry favor.
The simplest way to boost output was ample manpower; the simplest way to gather manpower quickly was higher pay. That explained the Lem Mine’s miners getting stunning ten-pound weekly wages.
“In other words, at this stage, the earl isn’t profiting from the Lem Mine—he’s footing the bill himself. That also explains his presence there: he’s spending like water to achieve high output, but initial production fell short of expectations. He’s investigating the reasons.”
“Think about Lem Town next. Thanks to the Lem Mine, foot traffic there has surged over tenfold, and every shop is raking it in from the miners. But Lang, do you know? Lem Town’s biggest, most profitable shops all belong to Chief Tobias. The mine manager and overseer are the sons of Tobias’s personal valet.”
Lang’s claws clenched into fists.
“But that doesn’t prove the earl wasn’t involved in burning our village—his scent—”
Ye Tang nodded and continued, “Remember, the first time we met, you told me a noble lord came to the mountains near your village a month ago, knocking around and digging pits everywhere. But spring to summer is nobility’s social season. Local nobles aside, a higher noble like Grant, eager to please the Queen, had little chance of skipping it entirely. The mine was just one part of currying her favor. Performing well in the social season would surely earn him more of her grace.”
“In fact, the earl did shine; reportedly, the Queen herself praised him as: ‘A handsome man who would make even Cupid blush and his heart race.'”
Looking up at Lang’s shaken pupils, Ye Tang said, “In this area, the only nobles are Earl Grant and the local noble Gordonworth family. But the Gordonworths have long declined. They have no territories or manors. Tobias Gordonworth sits as Lem Town chief only thanks to his baron’s title.”
War cost manpower and money. No upper noble with a brain would rush to sabotage the human-werewolf peace treaty. If exposed to the Queen, she’d sacrifice the troublemaking noble first. Upper nobles could lounge in luxury by just flattering her—what need had they to risk it?
The ones willing to ignite a bloody feud between humans and werewolves for gain were those with no retreat, desperate to reclaim lost “glory.”
“As for the scent on the count… guess where the count was settled after he arrived in Lem Town?”
Lang opened his mouth: “—The town chief’s house.”
If Lang had not smelled the unusual scent on the young count, Ye Tang still would not have been able to confirm whether Tobias had personally participated in the destruction of the werewolf village. But the smell on the young count was so strong that even after he changed into a miner’s outfit, it immediately alerted Lang. This showed that Tobias had not only participated in the attack on the werewolf village but had also made a series of preparations afterward.
Thinking of Gray’s plan that he had heard from his younger brother, Lang’s mood was indescribably complicated.
On one hand, he hoped Gray could kill Tobias Gordonworth; on the other hand, he did not want Gray to harm Tobias Gordonworth’s wife and daughter. But asking him to protect the wife and daughter of his enemy was something he simply could not do.
His usually perky triangular ears drooped down on his head, and the silver-gray eyes lost their usual sparkle.
Without thinking, Ye Tang’s hand landed on Lang’s head, which was down in the dumps.
She stood up and gently stroked Lang’s ears, which had perked up in surprise. She even teased the two tufts of cream-colored fluff inside Lang’s ears with her fingers for a moment. Ye Tang thought she did not like seeing the puppy in distress.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m still here.”
Lang’s tail had already puffed up from a single strand into a huge feather duster.
“I swear on my life that as long as I have not drawn my last breath, I will do everything in my power to prevent a war between humans and werewolves.”
Ye Tang’s voice floated lightly in the deep night. Her fair, slender limbs and torso appeared so fragile in front of Lang, as if they would snap with a single bend.
Yet not even for an instant did Lang doubt the truth of her words. He had witnessed this human woman fulfill her promises time and again, countless times. He knew she had the ability to make good on her word.
And he… he was not starting to believe in humans. He simply believed in the her standing before him.
“Can I…”
The face under the fur was flushing, heating up. Lang lifted Ye Tang’s right hand.
“Can I kiss… you…”
“…your hand?”