novelraw Chapter 81 : When Night Falls, Please Close Your Eyes
Chapter 81 : When Night Falls, Please Close Your Eyes
Chapter 81: When Night Falls, Please Close Your Eyes
The church in Wolf Head Village was a small one, barely larger than a warehouse.
When Levi and Little Red Riding Hood arrived, it was already packed with villagers.
“What's going on? What happened?”
Little Red Riding Hood squeezed close to some villagers and whispered her question.
Seeing her, they hurriedly replied.
“The wolf’s head is gone!”
“Oh?”
Hearing their response, Levi looked ahead and indeed saw that the platform before the church was empty.
Nothing remained there.
He remembered clearly that the wolf’s head had been displayed there before…
“It was him who stole it!”
Just as Levi was thinking, suddenly a villager pointed at him and shouted loudly.
“It was this outsider! I’m certain of it—I saw him come to the church before!”
Hearing the accusation, the other villagers all turned to glare at him with angry eyes.
Yet, facing so many hostile gazes, Levi remained calm.
“It was Mr. Hunt who brought me here. I only looked at the wolf’s head and left. After that, I went to the tavern and the blacksmith’s shop to investigate Mr. Fraser’s death. I know nothing about what happened here afterward.”
As he spoke, Levi lifted his head and fixed his eyes on the villager.
“Besides, what would I want with your wolf’s head? To cook it for soup?”
“No, no! If not you, then who else!?”
The villager faltered, but seeing that he was surrounded by his own people, he quickly regained his courage.
“That wolf’s head was perfectly fine here before.
Then you came, and it disappeared.
If you didn’t steal it, who else could it be?”
“You.”
“M–me………?”
Caught off guard by Levi’s instant counterattack, the villager froze in shock.
“W–why me? I’m from this village…”
“Precisely because you are from this village.
When something goes missing here, suspicion would usually fall on an insider.
But now I’m here—what better scapegoat could there be? You seized the chance to steal the wolf’s head, then accused me of taking it.
This way, everyone suspects me instead of you.”
“N–no, I, I didn’t…”
The villager had not expected Levi to so quickly throw the blame back on him.
He was dumbfounded, and many around began to look at him with doubt.
After all, he had no good reputation in the village, and what Levi said was not impossible.
“Enough.”
Fortunately, the priest stepped in, calming the villagers.
Then he turned to Levi.
“Detective, could I trouble you to investigate who stole the wolf’s head?”
“If you hadn’t summoned everyone here, maybe I could have…”
Levi looked at the trampled area around the platform, his face helpless.
Clearly, after the disappearance was discovered, the villagers crowded around.
Fingerprints and footprints were everywhere.
Levi suspected that even Sherlock Holmes would be stumped by this crime scene.
Even if he could list every villager’s ID number from those standing at the platform, what good would it do?
“It was that wolf cub!”
At that moment, an elderly voice rang out.
Everyone turned and saw an Old Man leaning on a cane, his face pale.
“It was it—it returned! It took its father’s head! It’s here for revenge! It killed Fraser, and it will kill us all!”
The villagers gasped, breaking into fearful murmurs.
The younger ones handled it better, but the older men and women turned pale, glancing around in terror, as if a giant wolf might leap out at any moment.
“Calm down, everyone! Calm down!”
The priest shouted again, finally managing to quiet them.
“We believe that someone, for some reason, took away the wolf’s head.”
Though clearly troubled, the priest continued firmly.
“The church is sacred ground. An evil wolf cannot trespass here. But remember this—the All-Seeing Eye is watching. There is still time. By tomorrow morning, I hope to see the wolf’s head returned. Now, please go home…”
At his words, the villagers dispersed in small groups.
When they had gone, Levi walked up beside the priest.
“Why didn’t you notify me first?”
“It was an accident.”
The priest wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“I entered the church with Mick—he said he had something to confess, so I took him to the confessional.
That was when we saw the wolf’s head missing.
Mick insisted it must have been you, and that you should be arrested at once.
Before I could stop him, he ran up and rang the bell…”
“Mick?”
“The same one who just accused you…”
“If I had a search warrant, I’d thoroughly search his home. For all we know, the wolf’s head is sitting there.”
“He has no home.”
The priest shook his head.
“Mick’s house burned down years ago.
Since then, he’s wandered—sometimes sleeping in the forest, sometimes here in the church.
If he wanted to take the wolf’s head, he’s had plenty of chances.”
“But an outsider like me doesn’t get such chances often, does he?”
“Well……… true enough……… but what use would he have for the wolf’s head? It isn’t even a holy relic…”
“Then why keep it in the church?”
“Because sacred ground suppresses the wolf’s resentment.”
The priest sighed.
“I can feel it.
That wolf’s head is filled with hatred and grudge.
Clearly, it bore no goodwill toward the villagers.”
“Of course. If I were it, I’d hardly feel kindly toward those who chopped off my head.”
But earlier, when Levi looked at the wolf’s head, he felt nothing.
It seemed to him no more than an ordinary specimen.
In his view……… the priest was simply overthinking it.
Though, not entirely wrong either.
Levi turned his gaze forward.
In his eyes, the system prompt was clearly visible.
【Trigger Quest 《Exploration》】
【Quest Objective: Investigate the hidden secret of Wolf Head Village】
Now that was interesting.
Seeing the quest, Levi raised a brow, his eyes showing intrigue.
Since crossing into this world, he had more or less accepted his new reality.
Investigation and solving cases didn’t repel him.
Strictly speaking, Levi even felt a touch of excitement.
But not out of noble justice, or comfort for the dead, or righteous destruction of evil—none of those lofty motives.
For Levi, it was personal.
Simply put……… he liked to watch drama.
Like in a sandbox game: when a player triggers a quest, curiosity arises—what does it mean? What’s the process? What story lies behind it? What’s the ending?
That was how Levi felt taking quests now.
What secret or story lay behind this case? What process would his investigation follow? And what ending awaited?
For those involved, it was bitter feuds and tragedies.
For Levi……… it was just juicy gossip.
Interesting was enough.
Like those TV shows resolving family disputes—while the participants wept in misery, the audience simply watched with curiosity, satisfied by the spectacle.
Levi was in that role now.
And at this moment……… this village was quite fascinating.
Only, the werewolves here weren’t what he had imagined.
Usually, the word “werewolf” conjured images of humans transforming during full moons, losing reason and becoming savage killers.
But the “Wolf God” the villagers spoke of felt more like a creature from mythology—a beast gaining spirit, walking upright on two legs, wearing clothes—what was this, preparing for immortality cultivation?
Could this be another strange hybrid tale of “two flowers blooming together”?
Perhaps he should seek out those villagers who once hunted the Wolf God.
But that could wait until tomorrow.
Night had already fallen.
Levi declined Little Red Riding Hood’s invitation to dinner at her grandmother’s house, instead going to the tavern.
After eating some bread, he returned to his inn room.
The room, as Little Red Riding Hood said, was not luxurious, but at least clean.
The sheets were freshly laid and somewhat comfortable.
Levi entered, shut the door, and stood at the window, gazing outside.
The whole village lay silent, only faint firelight flickering here and there.
No electricity, no modernity—entirely a medieval village.
Fortunately, his car still rested safely in the clearing nearby, untouched.
Levi lifted his head to the moon.
In the dark sky, a dim yellow disc hung high, like a cold eye staring down at the earth.
Levi closed the window, lay on the bed, and shut his eyes.
Soon, night passed.
“Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!”
Urgent knocking jolted Levi awake.
He opened his eyes, rolled off the bed, and stood.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Detective.”
Little Red Riding Hood’s voice came from outside.
“So early? What’s the matter?”
“Something terrible, Detective!”
Her tone was frantic—and indeed, her news was dire.
“Uncle Roger and Aunt Dabil are dead!”
Roger was Fraser’s older brother, and Dabil was Fraser’s wife.
Levi had seen her just yesterday, weeping bitterly beside her husband’s corpse.
Now, the two lay naked on a bed—torn to pieces.
Well then.
At first sight, Levi felt a headache forming.
Things were only getting more troublesome.