"... I've come here, but... I'm not sure if I can find out the real culprit. I can only try."
"I'd like to state in advance that I won't waste my time in vain."
"Even if we can't find out, it doesn't matter. You came all the way, and I'll give you half of the commission when the time comes."
"Then... well, you guys wait here for a while."
Somewhat reluctantly, Dick agreed and then walked towards the ruins.
After concentrating on turning on Witcher Senses to ensure that the tiny information would not be missed, he smelled the smell of burnt corpses, walked into the dilapidated house with only wooden keels left above, and squatted down next to a corpse on a black counter.
"This is the young guy." Dick murmured.
The corpse in front of him is the waiter who often feeds Dick's horses. The slightly fat corpse next to him is his father, the chef and owner of the hotel.
Dick looked over the two corpses and found that the fatal wounds were on the chests, which seemed to have been pierced by a sword.
He gently inserted his index finger into the waiter's chest wound to explore.
Fortunately, the weather was cold and the body was well preserved at low temperatures. The wounds had sharp edges and corners and were not damaged by bacterial corrosion.
It's just that Flames burned off the skin on the surface of the body.
"A sword pierced the heart and the wound was deep. Could it be that it was really Kayn?"
Dick took out his finger, stood up and came to another location.
Four or five more bodies were found under the collapsed wooden planks.
Look carefully again:
"The passengers here were all burned alive, and there were no wounds left by sharp weapons on their bodies.
"Strange, could it be that Kayn had a conflict with the father and son in the hotel downstairs at night, and after killing each other with two daggers, he set fire to others?
"No, according to Kayn's character, even if he is angry, he will not set fire directly. At least, he should kill everyone with the sword before setting fire."
"But if the murderer is not Kayn, who is it?"
He walked around the periphery of the dilapidated house and made new discoveries.
A single remaining metal arrowhead was found on a black collapsed wooden beam.
The surface is white, but it is not the white color of metal.
"This is?"
Dick Blow the arrow gently to remove the white surface.
The finger rubbed hard on the arrow again, and the fingertips were covered with a touch of gray powder.
Then I brought it to my nose and sniffed it, and there was a pungent smell of rotten eggs.
After hesitating for a moment, thinking that witchers are extremely resistant to poison, Dick stuck out his tongue and licked his fingertips.
It's very bitter and has a slight salty taste.
This was the first feeling of Dick. There was no physical discomfort after that. This substance should be non-toxic when used in very small amounts.
At this time, Dick already knew what this was.
Put the arrow into the bag and return to the bodies of the father and son.
He pried open the waiter's mouth with his fingers and saw that his teeth were black and his throat was bright red.
The same goes for prying open the boss's mouth.
After looking at the corpse carefully, Dick realized something and murmured to himself, "That's it.
"Fortunately, the body was only burned on the surface. If it was burned into coke, there is nothing I can do."
Finally he returned to Sheriff Darwin.
"Dick, what did you see?"
"At present, we only know that the murderer is not Kayn."
"What's the evidence?"
"There isn't much evidence yet, but I can make some inferences."
"The father and son seemed to have been killed by a sword through the heart, but they were actually strangled to death. The murderer was worried and struck another blow."
"Why do you say that?"
"Come and take a look."
Dick motioned to Darwin to follow, and the latter walked with Dick to the bodies of the father and son.
Dick pried open the waiter's mouth and pointed at the mouth:
"You see, their teeth are black and covered with ashes. This is caused by the ashes blowing in when their mouths naturally open slightly after death.
"But when we looked inside, there was only a little bit of charcoal, and the depths of their throats were very clean, indicating that they had been strangled to death before the house burned."
"This does not prove that Kayn is not the murderer. He is the only one missing among the passengers."
"Don't worry."
Dick groped for the neck of the charred corpse and pulled out the half-broken hemp rope.
"Look, luckily the rope was not completely burned, and there were deep marks on the deceased's neck, proving that he was strangled with the rope.
"Kayn is very powerful and will never kill people in this way. If he wants to fight with the enemy, he will use the ring blade in his hand to solve the problem, and finally kill the opponent simply."
"Perhaps he will also leave multiple wounds on his body to vent his anger."
Of course, Dick didn't say the last words.
"In other words, Kayn doesn't bother to do this?"
"According to what I know about him, this is it."
Dick once again signaled Darwin to follow him to the other side, where the bodies of several passengers were.
Darwin followed the example of the gourd and painted the scoop, and opened the mouth of the deceased to look at it one by one.
"My throat was full of ashes.
"In other words, they were choked to death after being set on fire in the hotel." Darwin concluded.
"Yes, so I can conclude that the real culprit probably strangled the father and son who were keeping watch at night, and then set fire to them, burning everyone to death while others were sleeping."
"It does make some sense, Dick, are there any other clues?"
"Look at this." Dick took out the arrow from his pocket,
"The black powder above is what remains of incomplete combustion [Devil's Dust]. Someone should have shot a lit arrow at the hotel, firstly to light the fire, and secondly to prevent the passengers from waking up, so they can use arrows to deal with them when escaping."
"Moreover, this [Devil's Dust] is not accessible to ordinary people. Generally, only the military and Alchemy soldiers have such things.
"Of course, there are no absolutes." Dick added.
Darwin stood up and sighed, "There are still not many clues to this case."
"That's true. But..."
"But what? Dick, please just say it, I will take care of you if you have anything."
"But do you know Black Cat Mercenary Company? What do they rely on?"
"Black Cat Mercenary Company? Sorry, I don't know much about it. I just know that it is a small mercenary group that was established not long ago. Its members are criminals who have just been released from prison. That's all I know."
Dick As soon as he heard this, he knew that the clue was broken:
Although it is suspected that the remaining people of Black Cat Mercenary Company came here to vent their anger, it is not important now. What is important is where is Kayn?
Based on his injury, he will need to rest for at least a week.
Moreover, who was it that sent Black Cat Mercenary Company to ambush him?
What do those two wing seals mean?
"As for Dick, although the case has not been solved, it is definitely not related to Kayn, and I'd like to trouble you to make this trip. Here."
Darwin took out a small bag of money and handed it over.
Dick weighed it, put it in his pocket, and nodded gently as a farewell.
Then Dick rode away, but he was a little disappointed because there was no prompt from the panel, which delayed him for half a day and failed to earn a Energy Points.
In winter, the days are shorter.
Dick hurriedly drove the horse to the west, and finally arrived at a hotel in a nearby town before it was completely dark.
After entering the courtyard and tying up the horse, Dick walked towards the hotel after giving instructions to the waiter next to the stable.
When I walked to the door, I saw an old man covered in rags and exuding a sour smell, shouting loudly.
"Gods are above you!" He said in an passionate tone, "No one in this world can live to the end, please ask the gods to send down their power to save the common people!
"Gods, oh gods, hahaha, how can there be any other gods? It's just the devil who controls this world, and we will eventually be enslaved by him, with no escape and nowhere to go!"
The waiter hurriedly came over, sneered at Dick, and then began to drive away the old man. "Madigan, you crazy maniac, what are you doing in front of our store? Get out of here!"
"Hahaha, ignorant people are so fearless. I can see your fate. Soon, the only thing that will greet you is death."
When the waiter heard this, he immediately became angry and became even more violent with his hands. He grabbed the old man's bony arm and tried to drag him away.
"Wait a minute." Dick immediately raised his hand to stop him.
(Tips: [Devil's Dust] is the name people gave to [saltpeter mixture] at a certain stage in the Western Middle Ages. It is black, smells like rotten eggs, is bitter and salty, is flammable, and has a certain explosiveness.)