The Stolen Star Plums

Unlike the beast-eared girls in some works of fiction.

Beastkin were not hybrids born from humans and wild animals.

Beastification itself was, in fact, a curse.

The curse intensified one's animal nature, causing people to lose their reason. In severe cases, they could even gradually devolve into beasts.

Most importantly, it was contagious.

Even for their own safety, few ordinary people were willing to approach or accept beastkin.

These unfortunate souls afflicted by the curse either embraced their beastly nature and ultimately died while hunting or being hunted.

Or, in order not to harm others, they secluded themselves in the mountains and forests.

This was troublesome.

After all, from the fragments of information he had heard, Tang Qi could roughly guess that Anbi had likely been caught up in a theft case.

Whether she had been wrongly accused was impossible to determine for now.

But with the preconceived notion of "beastification," it was hard to say no one would seize the chance to make an issue of it.

Considering Catherine had said to notify her immediately if anything happened, she had likely encountered similar situations before.

Tang Qi decided to return the way he had come and call Catherine over first...

But just as he was about to turn around, Jackal's roar reached his ears again:

"Won't admit it? Then I'll chop off those filthy claws of yours first and teach you a lesson!"

Tang Qi turned back in shock and saw Jackal holding his longsword high over his head.

"I didn't steal anything! Why won't you believe me!?"

Tang Qi was not far away, so he could clearly see the girl trembling all over in terror.

Her pale hands, shackled in the pillory, suddenly bulged with veins as snowy fur spread across them in an instant.

Her slender fingers extended sharp nails, clearly about to turn into a beast's claws.

Seeing this, one of the boys in the crowd pointed at those beastified claws and cursed without concealing his disgust:

"Monster, it was you! You ruined our family's Star Plums!"

Meanwhile, the executioner Jackal hesitated and looked toward Black Snake in the distance—

The village official was naturally standing beside him as well, but in Star Plum Town, he held less authority than these mercenaries.

Only when he saw that their leader had no intention of stopping him did he grin viciously and swing at the girl's hands without hesitation.

He had not needed to do this personally.

But Jackal would never pass up an opportunity to make people fear him.

An execution was the perfect excuse.

"No, no!" Anbi squeezed her eyes shut.

But the girl's pleas earned no sympathy.

The bright blade reflected a flash of silvery cold light—

"Catherine!"

The shout instantly stunned everyone present, stopping the executioner's sword just inches above the back of the girl's hand.

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice. After a brief hesitation, they began speculating about the identity of this unfamiliar man.

Tang Qi had shaved his beard, so even Jackal failed to recognize him.

But that did not matter. Seeing that the girl's hands were still unharmed, he immediately let out a long breath—

The mercenaries' attitude toward Catherine last night had made one thing clear.

The only person who could make them hesitate was that most radiant morning-and-evening flower.

Though going against these mercenaries was hardly wise.

She was his only fan, after all.

And he still wanted to taste that cup of Star Plum Wine she had promised him last night.

He did not want to write down [New Friend] in his journal yesterday, only to wake up and leave her to die today...

Jackal had indeed hesitated at the mention of "Catherine," but after looking around and failing to spot that lovely red figure, he suddenly realized he had been played.

He glared viciously at Tang Qi and pointed his sword at him as well:

"You're her accomplice?"

"How could that be, sir? I have nothing to do with this child."

Tang Qi answered as politely as possible while constantly calculating what else he could do.

Jackal snorted coldly.

"Then do not interrupt this trial!"

"Actually, esteemed executioner, I still do not know what crime this child committed that requires her to atone with both hands?"

"She stole Lord Mel's Star Plums! When the caravan from Dragon Gold City arrives for tomorrow's Harvest Festival, no one can bear the consequences if the quota falls short!"

"The quota falls short? May I ask how much she stole?"

"At least one ton!"

"How much?"

Tang Qi blinked, carefully examining Anbi's thin little frame before considering the weight of one ton of Star Plums—

A standard wooden barrel could hold roughly fifty kilograms of berries.

One ton of berries would require twenty barrels.

"Forgive my bluntness, but are you saying—

A little girl around one meter forty tall stole twenty crates of Star Plums overnight without anyone noticing, then hid them somewhere no one could find, correct?"

Jackal's face flushed red.

Forget a little girl—even for a professional mercenary like him, that would have been extremely difficult.

He gritted his teeth.

"She's a beast. It's perfectly normal for her to be stronger.

Besides, all the evidence points to her. No matter how impossible it sounds, that is the truth!"

"What evidence?"

"She ruined my family's Star Plums!"

The boy from earlier shouted, unable to resist stamping his foot and ignoring the mud splashing onto his new boots.

Jackal immediately echoed him:

"That's right! This morning, Father Lynn saw her lurking around David's house.

Not long afterward, they found the Star Plums planted in their yard rotting on the ground!"

"I was only passing by!"

Anbi defended herself.

"I swear it to Gullagas!"

Apparently harboring resentment for a long time, the boy loudly retorted, "Give it a rest. Who would believe a monster's oath?"

Jackal continued:

"And last night, when one of the Manor's orchard workers got up in the middle of the night, he saw someone who looked like a child wandering around the Orchard.

When we took the culprit there to confront the evidence this morning, we found that the footprints left in the Orchard matched her shoes exactly—those are irrefutable facts!"

"What evidence? You shot the arrow first, then painted the target—"

Anbi cried as she defended herself.

"You decided from the beginning that I did it, so no matter what clues you found, you would pin them on me—even when the shoemaker lost a pair of boots, you spread rumors that I stole them!

It's not like I wanted to grow a tail...

Why are you all targeting me like this!?"

Jackal did not want to keep arguing with the "criminal." He shot Tang Qi a fierce glare and barked:

"In any case, stop wasting my time, or I'll treat you as equally guilty as this thief!"

Even as he said that, he still looked uneasily at Black Snake.

The latter had remained detached from the whole situation from beginning to end.

Nearby, the Dwarf Gravel took a sip of Star Plum Wine from his waterskin.

He could not help elbowing Black Snake in the thigh.

"Hey, Catherine treats that child like a little sister. Is this really all right?"

"Don't make it sound as though I'm being unreasonable—every piece of evidence points to her. We're merely enforcing the law impartially."

"But making a little girl carry away a ton of plums still seems a little..."

"Listen, Gravel. We all share responsibility for abandoning the Orchard to go drinking instead of guarding it properly.

So what we need now is not the truth, but an excuse that holds up.

When the caravan arrives tomorrow, we need to give our employer an explanation. Understand?"

Gravel snorted. "Ha, do you really care that much about the employer? I think you're afraid the beastification curse will infect Catherine."

"We're mercenaries. Is it wrong to care about our pay?"

Black Snake snatched Gravel's waterskin and took a gulp of fruit wine himself.

"Besides, I'm not the one doing it. What reason would Catherine have to blame me?"

Gravel shrugged, snatched back the waterskin, and said nothing more.

He had long passed the age of sentimental kindness.

Black Snake was his leader. Since the boss had made up his mind, there was no reason for him to interfere further.

Looking again at the girl locked in the pillory, he felt she was like Fish Meat flopping helplessly on a chopping board.

That sharp kitchen knife might soon slice away her soft "fins."

But compared to Fish Meat awaiting slaughter, what worried Gravel more was whether Golden Oak would close its doors to them because of this.

"Then I really will go crazy..."

Just as he was worrying, another commotion broke out in the crowd.

The culprit was still that man who had interrupted the trial.

Perhaps he was simply fearless in his ignorance.

But as far as Gravel remembered, this was perhaps the first time anyone besides Black Snake had embarrassed Jackal twice since coming to Star Plum Town—

Counting last night, it seemed to be three times.

After all, Jackal had been laughing and cursing about "selling hooks" one moment, only to be silenced by the entire tavern singing the next...

He was happy to see that Jackal being humiliated.

And this time, the source was a cheerful ballad with a lively, bouncing rhythm:

"Please, everyone, do not be too hasty,

The stolen Star Plums may yet be a mystery;

Only when we uncover what the clues conceal,

Can the evidence in our hands be real!"