Chapter 566: Ch 566 : The Murderer Who Appeared Again

When everyone finally returned to Mondstadt, it was already noon.

The city was calm and peaceful, with no sign of trouble — allowing everyone to finally relax.

They made their way to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, where the stationed knights, upon seeing the entire group return safely, couldn’t hide their excitement.

"That’s wonderful, Acting Grand Master Jean, everyone — you’re all safe!"

Jean nodded and asked, "Has anything unusual happened in Mondstadt while we were away?"

The knight hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a troubled expression:

"While there haven’t been any major incidents... that mysterious murderer seems to have started acting again."

"Two more people have been killed by that unknown assailant."

At this, everyone frowned deeply.

It wasn’t strange that ordinary knights didn’t know the truth — that the previous "mysterious murderer" had actually been Mona under the influence of the Eerie force.

But the real issue was this: had someone once again sought out Mona for a divination while the group was away — and accidentally triggered the same curse by saying her name incorrectly or incompletely?

Without wasting another second, the group hurried toward Mona’s house.

Su Yuan, heart pounding, knocked on her door.

The moment he saw Mona, he immediately said,

"Honorable Astrologist Mona Megistus, the great master of astrology, Mona!

It has been a day since we last met — I have missed you dearly! Please allow me to express my utmost respect!"

Mona blinked in confusion, staring at Su Yuan and the tense faces before her.

"Su Yuan... everyone... what are you doing?" she asked, bewildered.

"Why are you suddenly talking to me so respectfully? Do you think I’ve fallen into that Eerie force again?"

"But I can assure you — no one has come to me for a reading recently, and I haven’t experienced any memory loss. I don’t think I’ve been corrupted at all!"

Seeing Mona’s sincere expression, Su Yuan and the others were taken aback.

Could it be... that their assumption was wrong?

Was the mysterious killer in Mondstadt not Mona this time?

"Su Yuan," Jean spoke after a pause, "perhaps we acted too hastily. We should first ask that knight who the victims were before jumping to conclusions."

Su Yuan nodded, but since they were already at Mona’s place, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to have her perform a divination just in case.

"Honorable Astrologist Mona Megistus, great master of astrology, recently there have been new murders in Mondstadt..."

"We would like to request your assistance in identifying the true culprit behind these vile crimes."

Mona finally understood why they had rushed to find her — another murder case in Mondstadt.

No wonder they suspected she might have lost control again.

"Alright, I understand," Mona said calmly.

She extended her hand, channeling Hydro energy.

A watery astrolabe formed before her as she began the divination.

After a short while, the results appeared.

Mona slowly opened her eyes and said,

"The result is quite clear..."

"The mysterious murderer this time... is a child — the one who’s often seen feeding pigeons on the bridge near Mondstadt’s gate — Timmy."

"But to be safe, I’ll perform the divination a few more times."

Mona conducted two more readings.

Each time, the answer remained the same — Timmy.

"Timmy? How could it be Timmy?" Paimon said in disbelief.

"Didn’t the Knights of Favonius issue a decree banning anyone from hunting or harming birds?"

"Could someone have violated that rule, harming the pigeons Timmy cared for — and in his grief, he became corrupted by the Eerie force?"

"Whatever the reason," Aether said firmly, "we should go and see how Timmy’s doing first."

After that, under Jean’s lead, the group arrived at Timmy’s house and met his mother.

"Oh? Acting Grand Master Jean — what brings you to my home?"

Timmy’s mother smiled politely, though there was a hint of confusion in her eyes as she looked at the group standing at the door.

Jean’s sharp gaze quickly noticed something unusual.

"Hmm? Mrs. Timmy, what happened to your hand?" she asked, noticing that the woman’s fingers were wrapped in bandages, as though she had been injured.

"Oh, it’s nothing serious," Timmy’s mother replied with a helpless smile.

"I just cut my finger by accident while chopping vegetables earlier."

"Please be more careful," Jean said with a gentle nod before continuing, "Is Timmy home right now?"

"You’re here for Timmy?" the woman asked, slightly surprised.

"He’s not home at the moment. If he’s not on the bridge feeding pigeons, then he’s probably off playing with the other children."

Then, she sighed softly and said, "That child of mine has been acting a little strange lately. Maybe it’s because he’s growing up — hitting puberty early or something."

"He used to always tell me where he was going before heading out, but today, he just left without saying a word. It’s rather odd..."

Hearing her words, everyone felt a faint chill of unease.

It seemed likely that by the time Timmy had left home, he had already fallen into that Eerie state of corruption.

"Alright," Jean said with a reassuring smile, "since Timmy isn’t home right now, we won’t disturb you further. But please — if he returns, contact the Knights of Favonius immediately."

"Master Jean, did Timmy do something wrong?" Timmy’s mother asked anxiously.

"Is that why the Knights are looking for him?"

"Of course not, ma’am. Please don’t worry!" Su Yuan quickly stepped in with a warm smile.

"We’re actually looking for Timmy to commend him — to reward his kindness and care toward animals!"

After saying their goodbyes to Timmy’s mother, the group left the house.

"In any case, we must find Timmy as soon as possible," Jean said seriously.

"We can’t allow him to harm anyone else."

"When we came back to the city, we didn’t see him on the bridge," Su Yuan recalled.

"If he’s not there... where else might he go?"

"Maybe we should check Cider Lake," Aether suggested.

"Timmy sometimes goes there to feed the ducks."