The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call

Chapter 1701 The Mystery of the Farmers' Market

Wynter slipped her phone back into her pocket, her gaze shifting to Dalton. "I'm his savior. Back when he was abroad, I saved him when he nearly lost his life. Besides, he's highly capable and is the best choice for investigating this matter."

Dalton nodded thoughtfully. "His savior, huh? Mrs. Yarwood really does cover all bases. Looks like I'd better follow Grandpa's advice and marry you soon-maybe even move into your place. Otherwise, who knows how many more 'my lovely Ms. Quinnell's' will pop up in the future?"

Wynter shot him a glare but suddenly remembered something.

She immediately instructed her team pull surveillance footage from the farmers' market and look for anyone who had been visiting regularly to buy large quantities of groceries.

These tasks were originally meant for Wolf to handle. However, to expedite the search for anyone connected to the Winston family, Wynter decided to have him stick close to Logan instead. She had a lingering sense of unease that his troubles weren't over yet.

As for the farmers' market, it needed a thorough investigation. Wynter didn't believe a foreigner would casually spend their time wandering there. There had to be a reason.

She quickly issued another order. "Monitor the farmers' market closely. Report anything suspicious immediately." After giving her instructions, Wynter walked a few steps further into the market. Pretending to be a shopper, she approached a vendor and asked, "Miss, have you noticed any foreigners shopping here recently? Do you recall seeing anyone like that?"

The vendor, busy with customers, waved her off dismissively. "No, none at all."

Just then, Wynter froze-not because of the vendor she was speaking to, but because of a nearby stall. The items being sold there weren't the usual produce you'd find in other cities or on the market. These were unique to the area-all unmistakably wild animals. There were snakes, bamboo rats, otters, and civets.

The civets stood out in particular. In regions north of the Amberflow River, they were almost unheard of as food. All these animals were crammed together in cages, many of them weak and barely alive, emitting an unpleasant odor.

The snakes, at least, were spared this indignity, kept separately in buckets of water. Yet, one snake in particular caught Wynter's attention a sleek, jet-black serpent, flicking its tongue with an air of eerie resentment.

Wynter paused, her gaze lingering on the scene.

The stall owner, Oscar Noctis, noticed her interest and immediately grew wary, yanking a cloth down to cover the cages. "Don't stare if you're not buying!"

Wynter let out a light laugh. "At a farmers' market? Of course, I'm here to buy. What's the point of hiding it now? I've already seen everything."

Oscar eyed her suspiciously. She didn't seem like a government official, more like some scion. "Oh? I didn't know pretty young ladies these days are into eating this sort of thing too."

Wynter spoke only half of the truth. "It's not for me. My dad-he's the one with the taste for it."

Oscar still didn't relax entirely. "Your accent... You don't sound local," he remarked, his gaze shifting to Dalton." And him? He looks even less like one of us. Tall, in a sharp suit... He doesn't really fit in around here."

Dalton indeed didn't belong in a place like this, and for good reason-everyone knew he was a clean freak. And he couldn't stand the odor these wild animals were emanating.

Other men might keep a cat as a conversation starter. It would be the perfect excuse to say, "Why don't you come over and see my cat?"

But Dalton? Not a chance. He couldn't even stand a cat's scent.

Back in the day, even Wolf-an Ancient Beast-wasn't spared. He had grabbed him with a handkerchief and tossed him straight into the river, commanding him to properly wash his fur.

So, it wasn't hard to imagine his current mood as he stood amidst this scene. His face, while still undeniably handsome and refined, carried a trace of distaste that deepened every time he raised an eyebrow.

If not for Wynter, it was safe to say that Dalton wouldn't have set foot here in 100 lifetimes. The odors alone were unbearable to him. And there were also the caged animals...

Dalton absentmindedly twirled the bracelet with his fingers. To him, this was the result of humanity's resentful energy.

Wynter, herself a cultivator, could sense it as well. From the moment they entered the market, something had felt off to her.

Now, as her eyes swept over the wild animals' cages, she understood the source of the unease-this place reeked of resentment. It wasn't uncommon for slaughterhouses to be hotspots of such energy, but this level of intensity was unusual.

It definitely had something to do with the black serpent.

Wynter chuckled. "My boyfriend hasn't seen these before. He is just accompanying me. Again, I'm here to buy." Oscar, noticing their obvious closeness, hesitated for a moment, glancing around nervously. "Miss, I won't hide it from you, I thought your boyfriend was here for an inspection. A while ago, the authorities came by."

He sighed before continuing, "What can we do? We're from the south. We live off the mountains and rivers, and we've had this food culture for generations. It's hard to change."

were not

both history and the region's geography. The subtropical climate, abundant trees, and waterways

of eating, while deeply ingrained,

air. She understood the natural world had its rules. However, humans had to survive, and nature

an ecological and medical standpoint,

was why doctors advised against eating raw dishes like raw crab-if

risks. It

stopped. In fact, Wynter had long heard stories about people

again on the black cloth that covered

sudden realization struck her. It couldn't be a

his line of work, if anything related to viruses came up, he would definitely investigate these farmers' markets. After all, it was common knowledge that many major pandemics in history had originated from animals-whether caused by

it originally spread from human contact with monkeys. Syphilis also traced its roots to foreign

How much is it?" Wynter spoke

already made up her mind. The wild animals here needed to

they might be lurking within these animals.

large market likely wasn't the only one selling wild

authorities were regulating it, the vendors would continue selling them,

"Why this one? It's quite fierce. It almost bit me last time, but luckily,

special," Wynter replied cryptically. "Maybe

failed in its attempt to transform into a dragon. The intense resentment it harbored

before and wasn't particularly impressed by such creatures. The previous one, after causing some trouble, had eventually settled down and was now dutifully

area had seen prosperous and stable weather ever since. Likely, it feared Wolf might swallow it whole again, so it had become more diligent than anyone else, even putting in overtime occasionally. Oscar found it odd to hear Wynter mentioning fate. "Most people buy snakes for their nutritional value. You're the first to talk about buying one

is pretty fierce. If you don't have much experience in handling snakes, maybe

"No need. I'll take

"Alright, then I'll lift the

so-called overly aggressive serpent immediately

Its forked tongue flicked menacingly,

coincidence, the serpent locked eyes with Dalton. In an instant,

could kneel, its current posture would undoubtedly count

dumbfounded, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Am I imagining things? Is

the serpent was indeed trembling. Even she was puzzled. She thought her cultivation had skyrocketed recently and was now so powerful that this would-be dragon could sense her extraordinary presence without her doing

she glanced over at Dalton and quietly asked, "Is it scared of

It was obvious

he replied, "Who else could it be afraid of? Don't doubt yourself. After all, you've already subdued several malevolent spirits,

"I also

in agreement. "That's why I said Dr. Genius

was pleased. "Call me Master

was also in high spirits. "Yes,

was ready to

Don't sell me to these two! I'd rather stay in this shabby bucket

Oscar couldn't understand Slithernis a language

like a nice lady, I'll give it to you for two thousand." Then, he

get home." Wynter instinctively reached out to touch the black

later." Lowering his voice, he

whole

I'm worried this could be a starting point for

pandemic."

and neither of them would be

in public.

"We'll come back for it after everything is properly

"And we'll need to disinfect ourselves, too, especially since we're meeting with

Senior later."