Chapter 59

He asked, “Which page are you on?”

Under his gaze, Eda’s mind continued to sound alarms. Nervously, she blurted, “Uh… I read that almost every household on Surina Island reveres The Hydra. They worship a goddess statue in their homes, praying to her before meals and important ceremonies, even offering sacrifices.”

Trying to recall what she’d just read, she asked, “Why did you come to the library?”

“For the same reason as you.” Jiang Suliu slowly approached, picking up the book Eda had dropped.

As he held the book, his fingers rested on the center of the open pages, revealing several illustrations and extensive text.

The first image depicted ugly, grotesque fish-people emerging from the sea onto the shore.

In the second image, these fish-people held gold and jewels, trading with the island’s human inhabitants. Kneeling, bound humans and several docile animals lay at their feet.

The third image showed the eerie fish-people and humans hand in hand, dancing around a bonfire before a massive statue. Through the flames, the sculpture of the Thousand-Faced Moon could be seen, wearing a crown of thorns, a disturbing smile of satisfaction on its lips.

These three illustrations depicted separate scenes, but each hinted at the deep connection between the fish-people and the island’s residents.

Eda stared at the second illustration in shock. “What are they doing? Bartering? Aren’t the islanders afraid?”

The fish-people looked grotesque and monstrous, even cannibalistic. How could the island’s humans be brave enough to approach these fiends?

“Bartering,” Jiang Suliu replied calmly, his gaze steady as he looked over the open page. “The Hydra is known as the Thousand-Faced Moon, but few realize she is the Mother of Monsters. According to legend, she is the mother goddess of the Deep Ones.”

Gradually, Eda recovered from her earlier fear. Surprised, she looked at Jiang Suliu and asked, “You knew? Are you also here to investigate The Hydra?”

“Yes,” he admitted. He continued, “Besides worshiping the Thousand-Faced Moon, the island’s residents also revere mermaids, believing them to possess eternal life and to be more beloved by the Mother of Monsters.”

Eda looked at the depiction of the fish-people on the page, struggling to understand what was so admirable about these hideous creatures.

Jiang Suliu’s fingers traced the page as he calmly turned it, raising his eyebrows. “Since they share the Surina Sea and the same devotion to the Mother of Monsters—”

Listening, Eda’s brow furrowed. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she clenched her fist. “If the islanders are as devoted to the Mother of Monsters as this book suggests, wouldn’t our refusal to pray be considered disrespectful?”

No wonder the islanders were so hostile to their investigative team, seeing them as outsiders. At first, they had simply attributed the townsfolk’s attitude to the erratic behavior of earlier visiting abilities users… But now, it seemed the mayor might have intentionally misled them.

As Eda mulled this over, Jiang Suliu continued reading.

Finishing the last line, he calmly closed the book and said, “If that’s the case, it seems Andre might be in danger.”

Eda looked up. “Why?”

Jiang Suliu’s gaze grew contemplative as he said, “I remember him cursing the Thousand-Faced Moon statue at the mayor’s house.”

Eda was stunned. “Did he?”

Since entering the Surina Sea, the ocean had continuously signaled her, as a follower of Nodens, to retreat. Nervous and mentally strained, she hadn’t paid close attention to her teammates’ words or actions in the mayor’s home, so she couldn’t tell if Jiang Suliu’s claim was true or not.

But knowing Andre’s fiery temper, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had muttered something.

With a deepening frown, Eda looked at Jiang Suliu beside her, feeling a peculiar unease.

At that moment, someone rushed in—Luo Anna, with a terrified expression. “We’ve found Andre!”

Eda turned, Jiang Suliu raising his brows in surprise.

The group hurried to the shore, falling silent at the sight of bloodstains. Luo Anna clarified, they hadn’t found Andre himself—only his necklace.

Andre wore a silver cross around his neck, now lying cold in the grass.

“The blood trail was dragged all the way here, then disappeared over the cliff…” The group stared in silence at the dark waters below.

Andre’s fate was clear: he was dead.

Now, though, they were more concerned about who had killed him.

Although they knew it might be futile, they reported the incident. The island’s police arrived quickly to investigate. The mayor looked at the bloody scene and sighed, “Such tragic news.”

Eda crouched down, holding the murder weapon—a heavy, bloodied axe.

The stench of blood was overpowering, enough to make anyone grimace from afar.

Typically, a killer would hide the body and weapon to avoid detection. Yet Andre’s murderer had left the axe out in the open without fear of discovery.

But if they weren’t afraid, then why discard the body in the sea to destroy evidence?

Eda’s frown deepened, and Zhou Zicheng’s expression turned grim. After all, Andre was an A-class abilities user—who could have killed him so easily?

In a low voice, Zhou Zicheng said, “There must be another powerful abilities user hiding on the island.”

Luo Anna wrung her hands, nearly twisting her fingers in distress. “Could it be that one of our former teammates survived?”

The mayor had said they were dead, but they hadn’t seen the bodies themselves. Given the islanders’ hostility, it was possible the mayor was lying. But if that were true, why would those former abilities users stay hidden and instead resort to murder?

Eda took a deep breath and stood. “I don’t think it was one of us. Perhaps a malevolent sea creature came ashore at night, encountered Andre, and dragged him into the depths to devour him.”

Recalling what she’d read in the library about the Thousand-Faced Moon, she hesitated briefly before continuing, “Or perhaps… it was one of the townsfolk.”

The entire Surina Island revered the Thousand-Faced Moon, and it wasn’t impossible that some of them might possess abilities.

Hearing Eda’s words shifted everyone’s suspicions slightly. The thought that someone might be lurking in the shadows, secretly watching them and ready to kill at any moment, sent a chill through the group.

Since Andre was an abilities user, they had all instinctively assumed that his killer was either another abilities user or a malevolent force, not a mere human.

The mayor, seemingly oblivious to their hushed conversation, looked at the grim scene on the ground with regret in his tone, “Such a radiant gold… It’s a pity. I rather liked that young man.”

At this, Eda immediately looked up.

She cast a doubtful gaze at the mayor, and after confirming she hadn’t misheard, she quickly asked, “Mr. Mayor, you had a favorable impression of Andre?”

The mayor shrugged. “Of course. He had beautiful, deep blue eyes. You know, we have an abiding love for the deep sea, just as we revere our Mother Goddess.”

Eda lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

Before Zhou Zicheng and the others came to report Andre’s tragic state, Jiang Suliu had offhandedly mentioned that Andre was likely dead.

When she had questioned him about it, he explained that Andre had shown disrespect toward the statue of the Thousand-Faced Moon the night before at the mayor’s home. Given that every townsperson devoutly worshipped their goddess, they would not have tolerated such behavior from Andre.

At the time, Eda hadn’t clearly remembered Andre’s behavior and thought Jiang Sulu made a reasonable point.

Now, however, recalling the words and actions of both the mayor and Jiang Suliu, Eda couldn’t help but frown.

The mayor and his people were deeply devoted to the Thousand-Faced Moon. If Andre had truly disrespected the statue in front of him, would the mayor be expressing regret over Andre’s death and even complimenting his eyes?

Either the mayor had not witnessed Andre’s act of disrespect, or Jiang Suliu was lying. But what would he gain from lying?

Eda suddenly looked up at Jiang Suliu. When someone’s lie is exposed, they often feel a flash of embarrassment or panic.

Eda’s gaze was sharp, expecting to catch Jiang Suliu looking guilty or evasive. But there was none of that.

Jiang Suliu met her gaze, smiling calmly, as if he had been waiting for her to realize the truth all along.

His smile was gentle as he quietly opened a bottle of Yue Yin for the chattering person next to him, his fingers pale and slender.

Meeting Eda’s intense, questioning stare, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is something the matter, Ms. Eda?”

His deep gaze held a hint of amusement, and he even asked thoughtfully, “Did you discover something new?”