Chapter 95: The Star-Spotted Snow Root Was Bitten

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: The Star-Spotted Snow Root Was Bitten

"A big secret?"

Vili pursed his lips, indicating he was all ears.

Vilia leaned close to Vili’s ear and whispered, "Wally... he can discharge electricity!"

Vili was genuinely surprised to hear this. ’Wally’s electric Ability has been exposed?’

’Hasn’t the little white bear already learned to control it perfectly? How did Vilia find out?’

"I know you don’t believe me."

Seeing Vili’s shocked expression, Vilia assumed he couldn’t accept the fact. She adopted a mature tone, saying, "Listen, Vili, I’m not lying to you. This is real."

"I believe it’s true."

Since the secret was already out, Vili didn’t plan on trying to bluff his way through it. Vilia had questioned him about it once before, but he’d managed to change the subject. Trying to hide it a second time would be much harder.

Vilia might be young, but she wasn’t stupid.

Seeing Vili’s expression quickly return to one of calm, Vilia’s face filled with suspicion.

’That’s it? He was convinced that quickly?’

"Wait a minute..."

Vilia suddenly had a thought. She plopped down on Vili’s lap, grabbed his collar, and demanded in a low voice, "Vili, you already knew Wally could discharge electricity, didn’t you?"

She remembered it clearly. She had been accidentally shocked by Wally once before, but Vili had tried to convince her it was just her imagination. Thinking back on it now, his expression and tone at the time had been very suspicious.

"Well..."

Vili faltered, gently prying Vilia’s small hands away. "To be honest, I’ve known about this for a long time."

"Vili!"

Vilia flew into a rage, her cheeks puffed out angrily. "How could you! I’m Wally’s number one nanny! And you kept a secret like this from me!"

"You can’t blame me. I was afraid you wouldn’t have believed me if I’d told you back then," Vili scrambled to explain. "Besides, when you were telling me just now, weren’t you worried I wouldn’t believe you?"

Vili’s counter-question left Vilia a little dazed. What he said seemed to make sense, but she still felt like something was off.

"Anyway, how did you find out?"

Vili asked, quickly trying to divert her attention.

At his question, a look of lingering fear crossed Vilia’s face. In a low voice, she recounted to Vili what had happened that day.

"What a relief."

A cold sweat broke out on Vili’s back as he listened.

Based on Vilia’s story, if Wally hadn’t rushed back when he did, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

’Looks like I need to step up efforts to drive away those vagrants around Diamond Town...’

Vili had no sympathy for these people. Those who tried to take advantage of the wartime chaos to profit at the border were usually escaped criminals, not farmers who couldn’t pay their taxes.

"Don’t tell Father and Mother about this..."

Vilia tugged at the hem of Vili’s shirt with both hands, squirming, her voice barely a whisper.

If Lake and Mrs. Shaven found out, she’d surely get a harsh scolding and wouldn’t be allowed to leave the house by herself anymore.

"I’ll keep it a secret for you."

Vili nodded, then crouched in front of Wally and patted his head. "Good job. You deserve praise. But you’re also the reason Vilia ran into those bad guys..."

Wally, who had been panting proudly with his tongue out, immediately drooped his head and put on a pitiful, guilty expression the moment he heard the hint of blame in Vili’s voice.

Vili suddenly realized Wally’s intelligence had improved again. ’He can even understand such a complex sentence. Maybe he just inferred the general meaning from my expression and tone, but that’s still shocking.’

"I’ll forgive you this time... From now on, you must listen to Vilia and protect her and the family. Got it?"

Upon hearing this, Wally immediately rose up on his hind legs, straightened his back, and nodded repeatedly.

Seeing the interaction between Wally and Vili, Vilia grabbed the scruff of Wally’s neck. "You can understand what Vili says, so why can’t you understand me? Were you just pretending in front of me all this time!"

Faced with Vilia’s scolding, the little white bear chose to play dead, flopping onto the ground and refusing to move.

"Oh, and Vilia, don’t tell anyone about Wally’s secret for now. Not Father, not Mother, not even our older brother. We have to keep it confidential for the time being."

Vili added as a reminder.

"I know."

Vilia agreed, then immediately resumed her scolding of Wally.

...

For the next several days, Vili devoted all his energy to practicing the Knight’s Breathing Technique.

Now that he was back in Fandou Village, far from the complicated affairs of the town, Vili felt his focus improve, and his training progress accelerated considerably.

One day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Vili had just gotten out of bed. As he was about to wash up, he noticed a figure pacing back and forth outside the courtyard gate, apparently waiting for someone.

Vili walked over and opened the door.

It was Old Yor’s grandson, Yadon, who had a look of pure panic on his face. The moment he saw Vili, he blurted out, "Lord Village Chief, something’s wrong with the Star-Spotted Snow Root!"

He had already been waiting there for half an hour, too afraid to knock loudly for fear of disturbing Vili’s rest.

"What’s wrong?"

Vili’s brow furrowed. ’The Star-Spotted Snow Root is Fandou Village’s most valuable cash crop right now.’

Yadon hurriedly explained, "The Star-Spotted Snow Roots might be producing seeds soon, so my grandfather specifically asked me to stand watch overnight. I stayed on high alert all night to prevent any rats or thieves from damaging them. But this morning, I suddenly found that two of the Star-Spotted Snow Roots have withered. I checked, and their roots are completely rotten, as if something chewed on them."

A guilty expression washed over Yadon’s face; he felt deeply ashamed for failing to live up to Vili’s trust and expectations.

Two Star-Spotted Snow Roots were worth a total of sixty Gold Rums. Such a huge loss, and it was all because of his mistake.

He hadn’t yet dared to tell Old Yor. If he did, Old Yor would surely grab a wooden stick and chase him from one end of Fandou Village to the other.

"The roots were chewed on?"

A puzzled expression crossed Vili’s face.

’Could it be rats or some other small animals?’

’But small animals like that would definitely make noise while gnawing on the roots. Given how careful and diligent Yadon is, he would have noticed them immediately. He probably wouldn’t have even let them get close in the first place.’

"Don’t worry for now. Let’s go take a look together."

Vili patted Yadon’s shoulder reassuringly, without a hint of blame.

’Yadon has made a very good impression on me. He’s hardworking, diligent, and extremely conscientious. With a bit more training and experience, he’ll make a fine subordinate.’