Duanmu Huai didn't find any useful clues in the ancestor's bedroom, this is also normal, it was more than a hundred years ago, and after that, many people have lived here, if there is anything useful, it is not Duanmuhuai's turn to search, at least on the surface, there are no clues here.

But Duanmu Huai doesn't care, the clues are mainly used to improve the evaluation of the task, and it is best to find it, and if you can't find it, you won't look for it.

After all, he didn't come here to find any clues.

“…………… Are you going to live in the yard? ”

I have to say that when the old housekeeper heard Duanmu Huai's request, the whole person was also stunned.

"Please don't do this, sir, we have enough rooms ........."

"Is this a guest room problem?"

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, interrupting the old butler's speech.

"We're here for the demon dog, you don't think the dog will knock on the door and go inside the house, it's only outside that it's easy to catch it. If it's in a house, it's not that easy. ”

"But......... That's what I said..............."

The old housekeeper also had to admit that Duanmu Huai's words did make sense, but the problem was.........

"Where are you going to stay?"

"Whatever, it's better to have a good view, be able to shelter from the wind and rain, and see the place in the yard at a glance."

"This ......... We do have a cottage to take care of the forest.................."

"There it is."

The old butler was talking about a cottage on the hill behind the Baskerville estate, halfway up the hill with a panoramic view of the estate. Originally, it was a place to take care of the mountains and forests, and it was also inhabited by hunters. But after the previous incident, no one dared to live here, and for Duanmu Huai, this place was just right.

However............... The next few days were peaceful.

"What the hell."

Sitting in front of the window, looking at the dark mountains and forests outside, Duanmu Huai really couldn't help but want to complain, he finally wanted to do something, but the dog didn't come? Could it be that I was frightened and ran away before? Shouldn't it.........

To tell the truth, Duanmu Huai has not been idle in the past few days, and he went out to the mountains and forests every night, but he didn't even encounter a ghost. There was no good news on Lorena's side, but it seemed that the lady had become much more relaxed because of the company of the lady, as for the demon dog or something......... Definitely didn't encounter it.

I don't want to stay here for a year and a half.........

While touching the black cat and white rabbit in his arms, Duanmu Huai also complained. The Baskervilles wanted them to stay here, and they had money anyway, and if they could hire someone to protect the estate all the time, it wouldn't be a big deal for them to spend a little money. But Duanmu Locust obviously doesn't have so much time to waste.

It's impossible to stay here for a year and a half.

Case...............

"Let's go, Suzume, let's go out again!"

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai also stood up, pushed open the door of the wooden house again, and walked out.

It was already late at night, and because of the dark clouds, the moonlight could not shine into the forest, and the whole forest was dark. However, for Duanmu Huai, this is obviously a small problem, he carried a flashlight, strode through the forest, and made a series of footsteps. Obviously, Duanmu Huai is luring the prey to take the bait, if the demon dog is really lurking in the mountains and forests, then it must be impossible for it to let go of itself.

I think so, but ............... It's been going on for several days, but Duanmu Huai hasn't even found a single dog hair.

"It doesn't make sense???"

Walking in the forest, Duanmu Huai was really speechless. I'm so swaggering, why hasn't that demon dog come out to die? You can't really let yourself pee and mark the territory or something, or is this guy running away somewhere else?

"Meow!"

Just as Duanmu Huai was thinking, he saw that the black cat that had been lying on his stomach in his pocket suddenly poked his head out and barked into the distance. Hearing the black cat's call, Duanmu Huai was stunned for a moment, and then turned his head to look to the other side.

Could it be that this guy has gone somewhere else?

………………… All in all, just check it out.

"Whoa!!"

Hot water poured down from the showerhead, enveloping the girl's body, and Mary let out a deep sigh before she lowered her head and soaked herself in the bathtub.

Xia Li's room is bigger than the apartment she rented in Wudu, and not only that, but the bathroom is also ......... But I'm used to it, and in any case, it's still very comfortable to be able to soak my whole body in the bath. Xia Li also seems to be doing well, and her recovery is going well, in this case...............

"Whoa."

However, at this moment, suddenly, Mary heard something that seemed to come from the window, which made her stunned, and hurriedly raised her head and looked in the direction of the window.

"Who is it?"

“………………………”

There was silence outside, only the sound of the night wind blowing through the forest, could it be that the leaves hung on the windows?

“………………………”

Remembering that Donna had warned them that there might be wild beasts in the mountains, Mary became nervous, and she hurriedly wiped her hair, changed her clothes, and walked out of the bathroom to the window, and looked out carefully. I saw that the forest outside was dim, and only a few dim street lamps illuminated the ground near the Western-style pavilion below. But under the dim light of the streetlights, everything around seemed even darker.

Maybe I just misheard.

Thinking of this, Mary shook her head, and then turned to leave, but at that moment, she suddenly heard a sharp knock on the door.

"Knock knock, knock knock."

"Who is it?"

"Yes, it's me, ......... Axie"

"Acheie??"

Hearing her friend's voice, Mary was stunned for a moment, but she still came to the bedroom door and opened the door, and then Mary saw her friend, the petite and lovely Aselika, standing at the door with a pale face at the moment, looking at her uneasily.

"What's wrong? What happened? Ashie? ”

"I ............... I don't know ........."

Aselika looked a little nervous.

"I think I just saw something horrible outside......... Just outside the window, there seems to be some kind of monster ........."

"Monsters??"

Hearing Ashelika's statement, Mary couldn't help but jump in her heart, maybe for Ashelika, it was just an illusion, but for Mary......... It's not something to laugh at.

"Where? Take me to see it. ”

"Uh-huh..............."

Aselika nodded, and led Mary to her room——— which was next door to Mary, and was also designed as a bedroom and bathroom. At least from the outside, this is not much different from Mary's room. Aselika led Mary into her room, and then pointed to the window with some trepidation.

"Just now, after taking a shower, Ah Xie was about to do his homework, when he suddenly heard a strange sound outside, and then Ah Xie raised his head and saw what seemed to be a terrible monster jumping out of the window......... Although Xie also felt that he might have read it wrong..............."

“……………”

Mary took her flashlight, went to the window, looked out, and still couldn't see anything. Under the dark window, only the slightly pale faces of the two girls were reflected, and a ray of light.

"Maybe you're wrong."

Mary Boy took a closer look out the window, then looked back at Aselika and smiled.

"Don't worry, Ah Xie, I think it's just an illusion, maybe you saw the shadow of the light or something, and mistook it for ..............."

"Roaring —————!!"

However, before Mary could finish her sentence, suddenly, a low roar came from outside, which was obviously not human, but more like the roar of some terrifying monster. This also startled both Mary and Ashelica, and Mary hurriedly turned her head and looked out the window again——— but still saw nothing.

So without hesitation, she reached out her hand, opened the window, and leaned her whole body out.

"Ma, Mary, be careful!"

Seeing her friend's bold move, Aselika was even more surprised, and she even hurried to Mary's side despite her fear, and reached out to grab her clothes.

“…………………”

However, Mary looked around closely, but still found nothing.

"No, nothing?"

"Uh......... Didn't see anything........."

Mary shook her head and closed the window again, and now Ashelica grabbed Mary's pajamas uneasily and stared at her.

"Mary, why don't I sleep with you tonight?"

"Okay."

Mary was not surprised by Aselika's request, after all, Aselika was still young and ......... The voice just now really didn't sound like an unexpected rumor. Although I don't know what happened, I let Ashelika sleep with me just to be on the safe side.

The reason why I didn't tell Xia Li is because after all, Xia Li herself is also recuperating, and it is not good to disturb her for this kind of chasing after the wind and shadows.

Soon, Ashelica packed up her things and followed Mary out of the room, but just as Mary left the room, she suddenly saw a black shadow suddenly flickering on the wall in the corner of her eye, which made Mary stunned for a moment, and subconsciously turned her head to look behind her.

However, it was still pitch black outside the window, and nothing could be seen. Mary stared out the window into the darkness, and for some reason, she always had a bad feeling, as if in the midst of this darkness, something was staring at her viciously, as if the next moment, it would jump out of the darkness, break through the glass, and .........

“…………… Mary? ”

Ashelika's voice came and Mary came back to her senses.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, let's go."

Gathering her thoughts, Mary glanced out the window at the dark forest again, then withdrew her gaze and left the room with Asherika.

"Cut, is it a step too late?"

Standing in the depths of the forest, looking at the Western-style pavilion not far below, Duanmu Huai smashed his mouth. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the trunk of the tree next to him——— only to see that the trunk, which was several meters thick, was leaving a mark that seemed to have been torn by the claws of some kind of monster. It's just a pity that Duanmu Huai seems to be a step too late, and the monster seems to have sensed his approach and has already fled.

"It's a real problem, I'm not good at this."

Duanmu Huai stretched out his hand, knocked on the trunk of the tree next to him, and sighed helplessly. Compared with tracking, he is actually better at guarding the rabbit, Duanmu Huai is not afraid that the enemy will not come, he is afraid that they will go around him. Just like this monster now, it is obvious that it can detect the presence of Duanmu Locust, so it will slip away early before Duanmu Locust arrives. This is actually quite normal, just like a tiger and a fox in the mountains, and the latter is not stupid enough to pounce on the tiger in the face.

But if it didn't pounce directly on Duanmu Huai's face, it would be very difficult for Duanmu Huai to catch such a monster in the deep mountains and old forests.

It was as if just now, the bell girl had already given a warning, and Duanmu Huai also arrived in the shortest possible time. But the monster still seemed to sense the approaching danger, and turned around and slipped away without hesitation, without even hesitation. This is enough to make Duanmu Huai half angry, but as long as it stays a few more times, then Duanmu Huai will have barbecue to eat tonight.

From this point of view, this thing is more like an animal than a monster, and subspace creatures like empty ghosts will come out and try to die even if they encounter danger in this kind of thing. Only animals have no dignity and run away in danger without worrying about any strange reaction.

This monster is like this, it sensed the breath of Duanmu Huai, and knew that the other party was very powerful, and it couldn't beat it by itself, so it turned its head and ran away, not feeling ashamed at all.

But this is the biggest headache for Duanmu Huai.

But it's okay............... This guy is not without his weaknesses either. Monsters have monsters' means of dealing with them, and animals have animals......... After all, when humans catch prey, most of them don't go straight to it, right?

At least for now, I still have bait to work with.

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai glanced at the foreign pavilion not far away again and retracted his gaze.

For the time being, so be it.

As the days passed, for Mary and the others, that night seemed to be a mere accident, after all, they had never encountered a similar situation after that, and the day of Christmas was gradually approaching, and the festive atmosphere in the town gradually began to thicken, as if the previous riots caused by demon dogs did not exist in itself. Lanterns were lit in the streets, parasites were hung outside the doors, and Christmas trees were decorated.

And Xia Li and others also received an unexpected invitation.

"The Baroness of the Baskervilles invited us to a Christmas dinner?"

Looking at the invitation in her hand, Mary was visibly surprised.

"Yes, I'm going to go to the feast, anyway, this is also the domain of the Baron Baskerville's family, and I am taken care of here, so naturally I have to go and thank you."

"But Charlie, your body ..............."

"Don't worry, Mary."

Hearing her friend's uneasy inquiry, Xia Li smiled slightly.

"I know very well about my body, hasn't it been getting better and better lately? And the other party also said that it was just a private banquet, and not too many people would attend. ”

"I don't think there's anything wrong with going to it, and it's good for everyone to have a lively Christmas together."

Asherika also happily raised her hand in agreement, and Mary also glanced at Ascherika and nodded. Of course, she understood what Xie meant, and it was supposed that Christmas was a day for the whole family to reunite. But no one on Xia Li's side came to congratulate her, although she and Ashilika were there, but it was inevitable that she would still be a little lonely. If you're going to a Baskerville Christmas party, you might ......... Well?

Baskerville?

Speaking of which, have you ever heard this name from Mr. Duanmu before?

Remember that before he left, Mr. Duanmu seemed to have received a commission from the Baskerville family.

There won't be a problem.

"What's wrong? Mary? ”

"Ah, nothing."

Hearing her friend's inquiry, Mary also hurriedly shook her head. She hadn't actually heard about the situation from Duanmu Huai, but she heard that it seemed to be related to the legend of the Baskerville's demon dog......... Maybe you'll see Mr. Duanmu at the Baroness?

If that's the case, then ask him what the situation is.

In the middle of the night, the blizzard is getting heavier.

The lively and festive atmosphere in the town did not affect the cottage on the hill in any way, and Duanmu Huai sat at the table, nibbling on a turkey while watching the howling snowstorm outside. Since yesterday, the blizzard has been getting heavier and heavier, enveloping the entire land and forests in a blanket of silver.

There was nothing unusual on Lorena's side, and she said that the lady had already started a Christmas party......... Well, it's somewhat understandable, after all, she's left alone now, and I'm afraid she'll die of loneliness if it's not lively. But this has nothing to do with Duanmu Huai, he doesn't plan to go to any dinner party, and he has an instinct that in the past two days, that monster may come out again.

"Hoo —————!!"

The blizzard intensified again, and at the same time, the black cat, which had been lying next to it and was munching on a turkey, suddenly rolled over and jumped up, it turned its head, stared out the window, and let out a low moan.

"Meow—————! Meow ————!! ”

"Huh?"

Seeing the reaction of the bell girl, Duanmu Huai also hurriedly tensed his nerves, he raised his head and looked out the window——— only to see that under the howling snowstorm, in the forest in the distance, a black shadow flashed.

Seeing this scene, Duanmu Huai suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Got you!

(End of chapter)