Chapter 93 Case File 2: Witch Carnival (End)
Jiang You was awakened by a series of hurried footsteps.
Someone came hurriedly and knocked on the door next door. Then the wooden door creaked open, and after a burst of inaudible, low whispers, the door slammed shut again. Then more chaotic footsteps sounded, clattering past her door and gradually faded away.
The skeleton sat up from the bed, half asleep and half awake. She yawned profusely, the soul fire in her pupils gradually lighting up. She asked in confusion, "...What's going on?"
The little skeleton opened the window and took a look at the sky outside. He saw that the sky was just turning white and it was not yet bright.
"It's too early." She muttered, fell into bed again, and fell into a deep sleep.
I slept until nine in the morning, and Lolisa came to call people: "Ayou! Hurry up and open the stall! Customers are coming!"
Jiang You sat up with a jerk, his eyes blazing with fire: "I'm awake! Where's the guest?"
Today's daytime guests were all residents of nearby towns and villages, naturally still on their way to the Witch Forest. The vast majority were housewives—they were the very customers the witches had worked hard to attract. These women had little interest in beer, but they had other needs.
Various daily utensils, oats, wheat, maltose, vegetables, fruits, meat...all kinds of supplies necessary for family life attracted these women to come in a hurry, buy as much as they wanted, and then leave in a hurry.
"Daytime is for ladies only," Lolita said with a smile, "Hurry up, everyone is setting up their stalls."
Jiangyou simply tidied himself up and quickly went out, catching up with Lolisa. The little witch talked about the customs of the Witch Forest with relish: "Don't be fooled by the large number of guests yesterday. In fact, there are quite a few people who fear the Red Devil Moon. They are afraid of the magic amplification brought by the Red Devil Moon, and even more afraid of the subsequent loss of control.
"These people are reluctant to go out at night, let alone join our revelry. The most devout among them have formed a sect called the 'Discipline Sect'. They follow many inexplicable ancient rituals. For example, they don't drink, don't revel, don't allow themselves to lose their mind, and even their smiles are proper."
Lorisa gave a standard eight-tooth smile: "Well, they can only laugh like this, not with their belly laughs."
"At first, these people were very opposed to our Midsummer Carnival," said Lolita. "They even protested for a long time. However, their rules required everyone to return home before sunset, so they couldn't really affect our carnival. So some people instigated that they would wait until we finished the carnival the night before and come the next morning to smash up the stalls.
"When Aunt Mana heard the news, she had the merchants display goods that would suit the Vinaya's tastes the next morning. Sure enough, the people showed up and couldn't find anything wrong with them. Some even thought our goods were great and bought a lot for no apparent reason.
"Over time, a new morning market was born. With business as a bond and a bridge, everyone tacitly avoided topics that they didn't like. After all, we were partying at night, so it wouldn't affect them, right? Sometimes people from the Vinaya sect would bring things they wanted to sell and try to sell them to the stall owners or guests.
"It's just that these 'disciplined' men are more dogmatic, and most of them can't bring themselves to come to the Witch Forest. But what's even more interesting is that they're also reluctant to part with the goods we sell. So most of the people participating in this morning market are the women of these families—the more men like to talk about the rules and regulations of ancient etiquette, the more they like to hide behind women. It's really interesting~"
Jiang You scratched his head. Although Lorisa's words were very light, she could hear the bloody storm hidden behind them... Alas, no matter which world, the conflicts between people are always full of similar conflicts.
Mammy Mana was indeed adept at maneuvering, able to avoid the sharp edges and turn hostilities into friendship, transforming bloody conflicts into lively morning markets. The witches in charge had made an indelible contribution to the witches' ability to gain a foothold here.
Sure enough, the decorations in the square and on the streets had changed again, transforming from a Halloween carnival atmosphere to a Sunday farmers' market. The stalls that once sold magic potions were now selling vegetables, fruits, and oatmeal.
Jiang You couldn't help but wonder, "Don't those 'Discipline Sect' people use magic and potions?"
Lolita laughed. "How could that be? Who doesn't use magic? It's just that these people have so many rules. They can only use certain spells and potions. Only a few stall owners in the whole place have figured out their customs. Others don't understand the situation and would rather not sell these things. After all, if they cause a conflict and get their stalls smashed, they'll lose a lot of money!"
"I see!" Jiang You felt that the various stalls today were very different from what she had noted down last night. It turned out that there was this consideration.
"You're selling soy sauce, that's fine." Lolita patted the skeleton's shoulder with a smile. "But what dish are you planning to make today to attract customers?"
Jiangyou walked to Uncle Wolf's meat stall, scanned the various meats, and finally stopped at a bucket of chicken and duck innards and claws and wing tips, unable to move away.
"Uncle, how much is this bucket?" asked Jiangyou.
"Huh?" Uncle Duo Luo glanced at it in confusion, his wolf ears twitching. "What? That bucket of scraps? That's the garbage I'm going to take back to make feed... Ahem, no, if you want it, two nickels will do?"
"Lorisa, do people here have any taboos about eating internal organs and claws?" Jiangyou asked.
"There's nothing taboo about it." Lolisa wrinkled her nose. "It's just... no one would eat this kind of thing, right? It's fishy, dirty, and full of bones..."
As Lolisa was talking, she suddenly remembered that the skeleton in front of her could always turn decay into something magical... However, she took another look at the bucket of internal organs and claws and really couldn't connect it with delicious food.
After confirming that the locals had no reservations, Jiangyou paid two nickels and took the "scraps" from the large wooden barrel. As she happily walked to her stall with Lolisa, she saw Andrei, waiting for her with a serious expression, leaning against the warehouse door.
"What's the matter?" Jiang You asked curiously.
"The two criminals we arrested yesterday were found dead this morning. They both committed suicide by taking poison." Andrei sighed. "Before they died, they both bit their fingers and left bloody letters on the ground, claiming that they committed the crime on impulse and without anyone's instructions... The clues are broken again."
"Is this...being silenced?" Jiang You guessed.
"Probably." Andre shrugged. "Since the person behind this went to such great lengths to kill the criminal and clean up the mess, they're either planning to cause a major disturbance later, or they're trying to completely disappear before I'm exposed... Anyway, be alert and be careful these few days."
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