When Glenn got back to his door, he sniffed the air slightly and confirmed that Black Raven had been there.
He took the key from under a rock and unlocked his door.
The things were placed right behind the door. He knew Black Raven probably didn't go inside, but just dropped the things off and left directly.
"He really does things simply..." sighing inwardly, Glenn picked up the things and went inside.
He had to think of a way to preserve the pork he got this morning for a longer time. This world didn't have refrigerators, so he decided to use the traditional method: smoking the meat.
It seemed there was freezing magic in this world. He would have to look into it when he had the chance, so he wouldn't have to worry about keeping food fresh anymore... Glenn let his thoughts drift as he slowly processed the items in the kitchen.
...
Having experienced an unforgettable despair today, Layla couldn't imagine how she would face life if she lost her mother. Fortunately, in the midst of misfortune, a kind gentleman saved her life.
"My child, you must properly thank that kind gentleman. In times like these, people like him are already very rare." Layla's mother, Mrs. Deri, patted Layla's hand and said, "You are a girl who knows how to repay kindness, I'm very sure of that."
"Alright, Mother. Tomorrow I'll ask around about where the town of Bayek is. If possible, I'll invite my friends to go together," Layla replied to her mother in a gentle tone.
"That's good, just mind your manners. It would be best if your friends don't do anything to leave a bad impression."
"Don't worry, Mother. They are all very polite people."
While talking with her mother, Layla subconsciously recalled her impression of Glenn in her mind.
He was a lean young man who didn't seem much older than her. Compared to the people around him, he had a distinct aura. His gaze was always calm and composed, and his clothes were as simple as her own. Yet, it was precisely such a person that made her involuntarily think back to him.
She just felt he was somewhat out of the ordinary, but what exactly was it... Just as Layla's mind gradually wandered off, her mother's sentence pulled her thoughts back.
"We might need to consider moving..."
Her mother's haggard face carried a look of weariness.
"Moving again?" Layla found it somewhat hard to accept. She had lived here for a few years, made many friends, and got to know her neighbors. Moving meant separating from everything she was familiar with.
Before this, they had already moved twice. Every time they had to re-adapt to a new environment, which was very unfair to a fifteen-year-old girl.
"You know this too, your father found us again. He almost took my life today. If it weren't for the police officers patrolling nearby, I don't even know what would have happened." Mrs. Deri held Layla's hands with both of hers, her eyes filled with heartache.
"I know, Mother..." Layla looked at her mother's face, where the bruises had yet to fade, and saw the heartache for her in her mother's eyes. Clearly, her mother was the one who got hurt, so what did her own little grievances count for?
...
Because he came back very late yesterday, coupled with cleaning up the kitchen, Glenn slept all the way until eleven in the morning before waking up.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he opened the second-floor window and saw the old neighbor returning from the direction outside of town, carrying a Rottweiler pup in his arms.
This old man really loves dogs! Glenn leaned out the window and greeted him down below: "Good neighbor! Where did you buy the dog? It looks pretty good!"
Suddenly hearing such a loud voice on the quiet streets of the town of Bayek, the old man was startled. He glared fiercely at the source of the voice, but upon seeing it was Glenn, his expression stiffened. He then gave a soft snort and ignored him.
Glenn smiled, retreated into the house, and began to wash up.
Suddenly remembering something, he whistled out the window. Immediately, a giant beast dashed out from the mist in the distance and quickly arrived next to Glenn's house.
The beast crouched below, posturing as if quietly waiting for a command, its faintly glowing eyes emitting a focused light.
"Go keep watch in the woods outside of town. If you encounter a girl coming over, protect her from the shadows," Glenn instructed, sticking his head out.
The beast's body seemed to straighten up, as if giving a salute. It made one feel that if it could speak, it would pop out a phrase: "Yes, Sir."
Then, it dashed out of the town like the wind.
Today, Glenn wanted to modify the furnishings in the house, especially the fireplace. Since it was enclosed, it couldn't be used to smoke meat, so he had to get his hands dirty and alter it.
Just as Glenn began to smash open a corner of the brick-built fireplace, his sharp ears immediately caught a sound coming from below that wasn't quite right.
He put down his tool hammer and lightly knocked on the floorboards.
Thump, thump...
After some probing, he found the location where the strange noise came from. Although it was very subtle, he definitely noticed it.
It's hollow underneath? Glenn's face showed some surprise. The previous owner hadn't mentioned anything about this house having a basement or the like during the introduction.
Driven by curiosity, Glenn started searching the house, wanting to find if there was an entrance going down. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to destroy his own floorboards.
With intentional searching, a trapdoor hidden underneath a large wooden cabinet in the utility room was found.
The trapdoor was wrapped in rusty iron chains. It was obvious that whoever did this was very unwilling for anyone to enter the space below.
However, to Glenn, this was as good as non-existent. He merely used a little bit of his werewolf strength to snap the iron chains and opened the trapdoor.
There were wooden stairs extending downwards.
A scent of decay wafted up from below. The keen-nosed Glenn frowned, but he wouldn't back down.
He found an oil lantern in the house, lit it, and quietly went down the wooden stairs beneath the trapdoor.
When his feet touched solid ground, Glenn saw the scene clearly in the lamplight.
The first thing he saw was countless rats squeaking as they hid into the darkness. Then, there were several old bookshelves, the books on them already gnawed into a dilapidated state.
On a rotting round wooden table lay various miscellaneous items. Jars and bottles that seemed to be glass products were scattered under the table, all shattered, their internal liquids having leaked out.
Glenn walked lightly as he toured this basement, constantly clicking his tongue. He never expected there to be such a place beneath his own house.
He casually grabbed a somewhat intact book from the bookshelf and flipped it open.
"Holmorgan's whatever's Second Substitute... Magic Seal..." Glenn read a passage with great difficulty. Finally, he shut the book and complained in Chinese, "Damn it! What kind of nonsense is this! I can't understand a single word!"
Putting the book back on the shelf, he rummaged through the clutter on the round table again. It was all just drafts, containers, and the like, nothing worthy of attention. He then continued to explore the basement.
Because this place wasn't large, he quickly finished exploring it.
To Glenn's great disappointment, there was almost nothing of value here.
However, he had just noticed there was another door, and he pinned his hopes on what lay behind it.
Hopefully there are a few good things inside... Standing before that door, Glenn took a deep breath.
This door was made of dark brown wood, with quaint patterns on it, while the doorframe was entirely carved with runes.
Right above it was something resembling a clock, except this object only had a single hand. The face of the dial was divided into five areas written with bizarre texts, evenly distributed across the surface.
Right now, the hand was pointing to the area directly at the top.
Turning the door handle, with a click, the door slowly opened. What Glenn didn't notice was that the exact moment he opened the door, the text pointed to by the hand on the dial above lit up faintly.