Chapter 338 The Dusty Past

Andel's daughter died three years ago...

Then why did he find Jarvan IV at this time and tell him that his wife and daughter had disappeared in the wheat field, and he had found the pendant she had always worn?

So is his so-called daughter a "real existence", or is it something he compiled?

If it really exists, is the weird little girl photographed by the drone who is very similar to Andel's description, her so-called daughter?

And based on the recent interactions between Renwall and Hengfeng Village, everyone discovered that this man's spirit was actually not stable.

Sometimes he would wake up from nightmares, shouting in a daze, as if to drive away something.

Sometimes he would babble in a language that was inaudible at all, as if he wanted to communicate with some "being".

But when he was in a good mental state, when asked about relevant matters, he would always look blank, without the slightest impression of what he had done.

Li Lin also used "digital thinking" to check Andel's situation, but his [personal status bar] only had a slight description of "schizophrenia", which was nothing abnormal.

After Li Lin communicated with Jarvan IV, after comprehensive consideration, he decided to send someone to guard him.

What happened to his daughter?

What happened to his missing wife?

Or was she not missing at all?

What does the disappearance of the villagers in Hengfeng Village have to do with their family?

Everything seemed foggy.

Even Li Lin felt extremely confused by this and could no longer believe that these things were related to Fiddlesticks.

The only thing he was sure of at the moment was that Andel was lying.

As for why this mentally ill man lied... it's still unknown.

There was once again a long silence around the campfire in the center of the camp, with only the crackling sound of firewood being burned by the flames.

Isidore was stared at incomprehensibly by everyone present, and couldn't help but shudder, with an awkward yet polite smile on his face.

To be conservative, Li Lin used "digital thinking" to check his identity information and found no abnormalities.

"Tell us more about Andel. It seems that you know him better." Jarvan IV asked in a deep voice.

"To be precise, our entire villagers in Hengfeng Village know him very well, Your Highness."

Isidor obviously wanted to know what happened to his family, but due to Jarvan IV's inquiry, he temporarily suppressed his eagerness and explained to everyone respectfully.

"Andel and his wife Natalie were very loving. They got married about... ten years ago, right? At that time, King Jarvan III had just led the Fearless Vanguard to pacify the border a few years ago.

“They had a daughter soon after they got married, and they named her Jean.

“The Andel family was not rich and lived a life of sunrise and sunset, but they gave Qin a happy childhood...

"This good feeling lasted until the seventh summer, when Qin's seventh name day came, which was three years ago."

Isidor shook his head and sighed, even his anxious tone calmed down, with a hint of regret.

"That day, Qin was playing with other children in the village. Perhaps because she didn't want to be found by others, she went into the forest on her way to the mountains alone..."

Li Lin had almost guessed what would happen next.

“Although there are no dangerous large carnivorous beasts on the southwest side of Eternal Peak, we usually don’t let children go up the mountain alone.

"As we feared, Jean has not returned."

Isido shook his head and sighed, then continued: "The children discovered Qin's disappearance and quickly informed her parents of the news. The village chief organized a group of people to go up the mountain to look for Qin, and they found her... body only late at night. "

"How did Qin die?" Jarvan IV quickly asked.

This is also the issue that Li Lin is most concerned about.

Isido hesitated for a few seconds, with a rather troubled expression on his face, "This..."

"Do you have anything to hide?"

The experienced Barrett could see his worries at a glance.

"Now that you have met His Highness Prince Jarvan IV, no matter who threatens you, His Highness the Prince will protect you, and our Bouvier family will make decisions for you. You don't have to worry about anything."

"You, you are Lord Bouvier?!" Isidore's eyes widened, "Without the help of you and the Illuminator, I, I would have no chance to leave Hengfeng Village..."

"It is our responsibility to help the weak and the poor. This is also the concept of governance that King Jarvan III has always upheld."

Barrett chuckled and waved his hand casually.

"But now, you should tell us the complete story, so that we can get enough detailed information to help deal with the weird things happening in Hengfeng Village now."

"You, you are right!"

Isido quickly calmed down his excitement and revealed the dusty past again.

"We found Qin's body on the western slope of Eternal Peak...she fell in a pool of blood that had already solidified. She was killed."

Li Lin and others frowned slightly in unison.

"There was a fatal wound on her neck, which cut off her larynx and trachea very accurately, unlike what ordinary people can do.

"Besides, there seems to be a deliberate cleaning up of passing traces on the mountain."

"Is it the scout team from Noxus?" Jarvan IV had already clenched his fists. "Only this group of bloody and violent barbarians would do such a bad thing as killing children!"

"Your Highness, don't forget, at that time Noxus was still fighting on two fronts with Ionia and the Freljord, so it was impossible to have sufficient troops to invade us."

Barrett warned, then looked at Isidor, "Besides, if it was really the little girl killed by the Noxians, no one would threaten you not to tell about it."

"You are right, we initially thought this was done by the Noxians..."

Upon hearing this, Li Lin and Jarvan IV immediately became energetic.

Isidor's expression was very complicated, and he sighed again: "But that night, a Demacia team came to our village. They were wearing black robes, golden masks that covered half of their faces, and several others were fully armed. Soldiers accompanying..."

"It's the Demon Searcher!" Albock exclaimed.

Shyvana, who was sitting next to Jarvan IV, curled up slightly, staring at the bonfire in front of her with a pair of fiery red eyes that seemed to be burning with flames. She seemed to be quite sensitive to this word.

Jarvan IV patted her arm without leaving a trace, and then looked directly at Isidor, who had his head lowered and his face was still solemn.

"Three years ago, the Demon Searchers did frequently operate at the border, checking for traces of the Demon Searchers from village to village. But if there was no emergency, they would not operate at night and disturb the people's rest..."

Jarvan IV paused for a few seconds, the bonfire light reflecting on her face dancing, "They will not move in groups, and will not bring soldiers from outside the Demonseeker Association. This is not in line with the secrets of the Demonseeker Association." operations and regulations independent of military administration.”

"How did we understand this at the time?" Isido smiled bitterly.

"That group of demon hunters summoned the entire village overnight. We thought they were here to search for the mage, but instead they asked sideways about what happened today.

"We didn't notice anything strange at the time, we just informed them about Jyn being killed by the Noxians.

"I was the closest to them at the time, and I still remember the look on the Demon Seeker captain's face at that time...it seemed to be one of relief and joy?

"He gave each of our families a large amount of money, ten gold shields, and gave more gold shields to the Andel family who lost his daughter, and warned us to let this matter go..."

At this point, Isido didn't dare to continue talking.

The Demonseekers Association is the official organization of Demacia, and their leader Eldred is a member of the Shield Council under the King and the husband of Tiana, the Grand Marshal of Demacia of the Crownguard family.

If you say something unfavorable to the Demon Seekers Association, wouldn't it be equivalent to slapping Demacia, the Lightshield royal family and the Crownguard family in the face?

Li Lin had a bad impression of the demon seekers, especially Eldred.

According to Isidor's description, his first thought was that the murderer of Jean was not Noxus, but a group of illegal demon hunters who "happened to show up" and paid hush money.

Coincidentally, Jarvan IV, like his father, was dissatisfied with the persecution of mages by the demon seekers, and he also shifted the target of suspicion to these demon seekers.

It's just that the issue involving the Demon Searchers' association is complicated. As the heir to the throne, he must be careful about his words and actions, and he can only keep things in his heart that he shouldn't say.

At least not in public.

"Okay, I understand what happened. You can go down first."

Jarvan IV nodded to Isidor, watched him salute again and then left, his eyes turning back to Barret.

"Father, what do you think?"

"Do you want to ask me about the murderer, or about the demon seekers..."

"A little bit of both."

Barrett looked around, and Albuquerque and several other soldiers left wisely.

Just as Li Lin and Shyvana were about to evade, they were stopped by Jarvan IV: "You two can stay, don't worry about anything."

Barrett stared at the side face of his good brother's son and did not directly answer his question; "If you want me to say it, this matter should be left to your father."

"But doesn't my father also want to ban the Demon Searchers' Association and abolish the Magic Code?"

"You are still too young, kid..." Barrett sighed, "There are too many interests involved, and even your father has to consider it."

"But we can't let the demon seekers harm the people of Demacia like this!"

Jarvan IV glanced at Shyvana out of the corner of his eye.

"Magical talent and fertility are not something we can choose on our own. What's more, most of them have never harmed anyone else. Why should they be regarded as a 'disaster', captured and imprisoned by the demon envoy? exile?

"Is it possible that with magic, they are no longer the people of Demacia? I think this is a deformed system."

Li Lin and Barret were both surprised by Jarvan IV's remarks.

"Son, it's enough for you to say this in front of me and your father. You must not let others hear it. This will become a reason for conservatives to attack you."

Barrett reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "You have to know that the original intention of our establishment of Demacia was to provide a shelter for refugees fleeing the Rune War. Resisting magic has been a common wish of our ancestors for generations. "

"But things have changed now, haven't they?"

Jarvan IV stood up and walked to the Demacia flag with blue background and white wings outside his tent.

"If you only follow the old laws and do not make changes, no country will be able to maintain long-term stability." He stared at the flag with burning eyes, "Since the founding of Demacia by the late King Oren, our system has always kept pace with the times. Then Why can’t the grimoire be changed?”

"Little Jarvan..." Barrett frowned slightly.

"Father, I wonder if you have noticed that when magic is mentioned now, the people's first fear is not the fear of mages, but the fear of demon seekers and demon destroyers."

Jarvan IV turned around and lingered for a long time on the faces of Li Lin, Barret, and especially Shyvana.

"Today, it is not magic that scares us, but our extreme attitude towards magic... We must change this."