Becoming a god by raising witches

Ask him about the child abduction case from 3 years ago.

"In September 1449, 12 children went missing in the West End. A homeless witness said that he saw colorful mist appear in the mist before the children disappeared, and there seemed to be a mysterious woman in the mist. It was suspected that a witch who ate children had appeared. You lived in Old Tom's apartment at the time. Do you remember this incident?"

Locke asked.

"I don't remember."

The prisoner said, his head bowed.

Eileen gently scratched Locke's ear with her paw. "He's lying."

Locke frowned, looking seriously at prisoner number 263.

“If you cooperate with me, I can help you get a reduced sentence, but if you don’t cooperate, you might not make it through the night.”

Sensing Locke's threat, the prisoner trembled and said...

“It’s none of my business. I was just passing by. I just saw the colorful fog. It’s none of my business. I just attacked the sheriff.”

"Why are you afraid if you're just passing by? What's in the colorful fog?"

Locke asked.

There are people in the colorful mist.

"That's what the prisoner said."

Simply repeating what I told you doesn't prove your worth.

Locke said coldly.

The prisoner swallowed hard and continued, “I... I saw people in the fog, a man and a woman. I recognized them. I was afraid they would retaliate, so that night I attacked the patrolling sheriff and was arrested.”

"You recognize them? Who are they?"

Locke looked at the prisoner in surprise, never expecting that bringing Rebecca to the prison for a meal would yield such an unexpected result.

"It just looks somewhat similar, but I can't be sure."

The prisoner said, trembling.

"It's the investigator's job to judge the accuracy of the answer; you just need to say what you know."

Locke looked at the prisoner seriously.

"Yes, it's Bud Bemon and his wife Joan Mancini, I saw them."

The prisoner squatted down as he spoke, “I thought Bud Bemon was putting on another magic show and wanted to sneak a peek, but there were children in the fog. I thought of the missing children and was so scared that I ran away immediately.”

"You must be Bard Bemon?!"

Locke asked, frowning.

If these really are the parents of this body, then they're really letting their son down.

He not only left behind a huge debt, but he was also a kidnapper!

Despite being such an important eyewitness, no sheriff came to question him at the time.

Was it because he had already been arrested at that time that he escaped questioning?

“I…I can’t be sure either, but the figure is very similar, and there’s also the beautiful Joan Mancini. Joan Mancini is the kind of woman who is unforgettable at first glance. You can’t find another woman as beautiful as her in the entire Pete neighborhood. She has long, jet-black hair.”

The prisoner stammered.

"He wasn't lying. This is really interesting, isn't it?"

Eileen said with a smile.

Locke knew she was teasing him.

"Bud Bemon disappeared a few years ago. Could it be related to this?"

The old prison guard stroked the stubble on his chin, pretending to be an investigator as well.

"It's just one prisoner's side of the story, and that's not enough to prove anything."

Locke continued, "What kind of person is Bud Bemon? You must be his neighbor, right?"

“Bud Bemon is a famous magician. With his income, he could easily live in the East End. I don’t know why he lives in Old Tom’s apartment. Well, he’s my neighbor, but he doesn’t like to talk. He’s a taciturn man and rarely greets his neighbors. On the contrary, Mrs. Joan Mancini is a very lively and cheerful person. She is helpful and often shares delicious food with us. I guess Mrs. Joan Mancini must have been bewitched by Bud Bemon to become his ally.”

As the prisoner reminisced about the past, a blush rose on his cheeks when he thought of Joan Mancini. "Most of the bachelors living in Tom's flats back then were secretly in love with Mrs. Joan Mancini."

Chapter 127, The Truth from Three Years Ago

"He didn't lie."

Eileen can tell whether a person is lying by observing the fluctuations in their soul.

Prisoner number 263's emotional fluctuations when mentioning Bud Bemon and Joan Mancini were within the normal range.

In other words, the disappearance of 12 children is indeed related to them, and there is no cannibalistic witch behind it at all.

Furthermore, given the magistrates' court's track record, it's highly likely that more than just 12 children are missing; otherwise, they wouldn't have mobilized such a large force and conducted such a lengthy search of the western district.

Perhaps they deliberately understated the number of people to avoid being held accountable.

At Eileen's prompting, Locke asked prisoner number 263 a few more questions.

"Many children went missing at that time, and I don't know how many."

“Miss Joan Mancini was very popular with the children. She was gentle and kind, and she was tolerant of even the vagrants. She and her husband often went out of town to perform magic tricks and it was common for them not to return for a year or two. Hannah was very sensible, a trait she inherited from her mother. She knew how to take care of the mischievous Locke.”

“Bud Bemon is a famous magician, and he is good at performing.”

"I will never forget that night, in the abandoned Shockart Park not far from Old Tom's apartment, a colorful fog rose up, and Bud Bemon and Miss Joan Mancini were in the fog, along with the missing children, who disappeared one by one in the fog."

"No one will believe what I'm saying; they'll think I'm crazy."

After confirming that he would not get any more clues, Locke said goodbye to old Rilo and left the prison, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.

According to Hannah, her parents disappeared about 5 years ago. Two years before she came into this world, Bud Bemon and Joan Mancini had already left Hannah and their whereabouts were unknown.

So why did Bud Bemon and Joan Mancini suddenly reappear two years ago and kidnap so many children? And why did they choose to do it near Old Tom's apartment?

Why choose to build the abandoned Shocart Park there?

Locke rubbed his temples, carefully considering the connection.

Suddenly, a terrible fact came to mind—

Three years ago, he woke up in Shockat Park.

The abandoned Shocart Park has now been converted into buildings, and the Shocart Park no longer exists.

That was when he had just transmigrated to this world. When he opened his eyes, he saw Hannah.

Let's go back to September three years ago.

The abandoned Shocart Park is overgrown with weeds.

Locke opened his eyes and saw Hannah with long brown hair, fair skin, delicate features, and a thin face.

She held Locke tightly in her arms, her eyes reddening, and said...

“Locke, what are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you for so long. How did you end up here? Don’t you know how worried your sister will be? Promise me you’ll never run around again. No matter how sick you are, I will never give up on you. I’ve sold all the jewelry Mom left behind, and all of Dad’s props too. Hmm, I’ve raised the money. We’ll go see Dr. Edward tomorrow. He’s a famous doctor in the East District. He’ll definitely be able to cure you. Please, please don’t give up on me. Don’t leave me behind.”

Hannah said, weeping.

Locke had just transmigrated to this world, and his mind was still a little fuzzy, but he already understood what had happened.

A boy named Locke fell seriously ill and ran away to Shockart Park to die, not wanting to trouble his sister, but he was still found.

However, when he was found, he was already dead. Rock's soul had traveled over and taken over the boy's body.

The girl in front of him was the boy's older sister, Hannah.

Afterwards, Hannah took Locke home, and the next day the two of them took a carriage to Edward's Clinic in the East End.

Edward examined Locke's body and told Hannah,

“He has no problems other than malnutrition.”

"Doctor, it's impossible. My brother coughed up blood a couple of days ago. Look at his face, it's as pale as a sheet of paper. He's so pale he looks like he could be blown away by the wind when he walks. We've seen so many doctors, and they all tell me that my brother is terminally ill. How could he be alright?"

"Are you talking about those quack doctors in the West District? They just want to deceive kind girls like you by exaggerating the severity of your illness so you'll spend more money. Trust me, I'll prescribe some supplements for him, and after a while, he'll be full of energy again. Don't waste my time; there are other patients waiting."

Dr. Edward patted Hannah on the shoulder.

Hannah ultimately chose to believe him and took Locke home.

The neighbor living on the top floor of Old Tom's apartment building was named Jonathan Apiz, a herbalist and a well-known doctor in the West End.

He liked Hannah very much and once asked her if she wanted to become his apprentice and learn herbalism, but Hannah refused.

Jonathan Apiz came to visit Hannah, bringing some herbs.

"Thoughtful Hannah, although I can't save Locke, I brought him some painkillers in the hopes that they will help him."

"Thank you, Mr. Jonathan. I took Locke to Edward's clinic in the East District today. Dr. Edward said my brother has recovered, but is still a little weak."

"How could that be? Do you know what disease your brother has? It's late-stage tuberculosis, which is incurable."

“Mr. Jonathan, if you insist on saying that, then I have no choice but to see you out.”

"Wait, wait, Hannah, let me see, let me see Locke."