Upon returning to the Hound's Home, Rosen saw from afar that the front door was wide open.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief—thankfully Harryk was home, otherwise he wouldn't know who to borrow money from for the time being.

He walked over quickly. Before even entering, he heard Xiaobo Lei's booming laughter coming from inside:

"Ahaha! Old Xiaobo gets to go to the Rose House and live it up again!"

Hearing this, Rosen knew money wouldn't be an issue anymore. Whether it was income from selling paintings or Xiaobo completing a bounty mission, there was money now.

He strode inside.

Harryk sat facing the door. Seeing Rosen, he immediately waved vigorously at him.

"Aha! Our great contributor is here!"

Rosen was overjoyed. His painting had sold, and for a good price too.

The slight anxiety in his mind instantly dissipated. This was great—he wouldn't have to ask to borrow money after all.

Although Xiaobo and Harryk would definitely lend him money, borrowing still felt a bit uncomfortable.

He went over and sat down: "How much did it sell for?"

Harryk's eyes shone remarkably as he fished a bulging coin pouch out from under the table and handed it to Rosen.

"It sold for a whopping 50 crowns. Here's your share, 25 crowns, not a coin less. Go ahead and count it."

Rosen didn't need to use his hand to count. Over the past few days, his sorcerer's hand had become extremely adept.

With a quick thought, the hand of the mage took the money bag, and with another slight thought, he grasped the exact number of gold crowns inside.

25 crowns, not a coin more or less.

He carefully stowed away the money bag, and curiously asked, "Who was the sucker who bought it?"

He clearly remembered the 'Antique Style' art shop in White Horse Town only paid 2 crowns per painting, and later only raised it to 5 crowns at most.

Although Silvermoon City was a big city, and his nude sketch was quite good, there was still no reason for it to suddenly increase tenfold in price.

Upon hearing this, Harryk immediately disagreed.

"How could it be a sucker? This 'Bathing in the Woods' is a rare masterpiece! If I didn't know you urgently needed money, how could I sell her off so easily? Isn't that right, Xiaobo?"

Xiaobo nodded repeatedly, a hint of intoxication flashing through his eyes.

"I've seen countless women in my life, but I have to say, the beauty in this painting is definitely a rare sight in this mundane world. If I could obtain her favor, even if I died on the spot, I would die willingly."

Rosen spread his hands and smiled mockingly.

"It's fortunate the old man didn't run into this. Otherwise, our Gorgeous Painting Studio would have had to close down right after opening because of the tragic loss of a good friend."

"Hahahaha!"

Harryk and Xiaobo burst into loud laughter together.

After the laugh, Xiaobo's expression became serious, a rare occurrence.

"That said, three outsiders suddenly died in a horrific manner in the southern market today. Their eyes were gouged out and their privates cut off. All the blood in their bodies was drained."

Upon hearing this, Harryk's face turned pale. "That's incredibly cruel!"

Rosen didn't speak, waiting for Xiaobo to continue with more information.

Xiaobo didn't keep the two waiting for long.

"Last night, nearby patrolling guards were the first to hear the screams. They rushed over to check it out. This led to the perpetrator hastily fleeing, without ample time to clean up the scene, resulting in a lot of evidence being left behind."

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At this point, he signaled Harryk to pour him a cup of honey wine. Harryk simply poured three cups and distributed them.

After a sip of the honey wine, Xiaobo continued recounting the case.

"I won't go into the detailed analysis process. In summary, based on the evidence, the female killer was over 1.7 meters tall, curvaceous, with a large bust—she would have had to bind it with an extra large cup size..."

Harryk was very confused.

"Wait, I can understand everything else, but how was the bust size analyzed?"

Rosen had the same question.

Xiaobo curled his lip. "The three out-of-town men were very muscular, one was even a low-level warrior. There was some struggle midway."

"The ground where they fought was covered in mud, and the perpetrator had rolled around in the mud a few times, leaving imprints behind."

"Oh, I see!"

Rosen and Harryk both had looks of sudden realization on their faces.

Xiaobo went on.

"The evidence shows the killer has decent fighting skills and knows some magic—she's likely a wandering female mage without systematic training."

"Because of this, the Mage's Guild in the city has also sent a few combat mages to assist the investigation."

As he spoke, he looked at Rosen and said solemnly, "I've carefully observed the locations of each murder case, and found that every crime scene was not far from your mentor's residence."

"This is enough to suggest the killer likely lives around that area. You must be extremely careful until the perpetrator is caught!"

He took a whistle out of his pocket and handed it to Rosen.

"Keep this with you. If you encounter an emergency, blow hard on the whistle. These days I'll be staking out around that area. As soon as I hear the whistle, I'll rush over immediately."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Rosen carefully put the whistle in his pocket.

Considering he had many things to do in the afternoon, he didn't linger any longer.

"I'm heading out first. My mentor has assigned me a ton of tasks with a very tight deadline. I need to hurry back and get them done."

With that said, he got up and walked towards the door.

Harryk's voice sounded behind him: "Rosen, when will you paint the next one? The wealthy merchant who bought the painting wants to buy a few more."

"Tomorrow. I'll come over first thing in the morning to paint, and do two paintings at once."

"Sounds good!"

After leaving the Hound's Home, Rosen sprinted all the way back to the southern market.

He didn't pay any mind to the slight uneasiness in the market's atmosphere, hurrying through shop after shop—ordering a bath tub, screen, new clothes, new bedding, new utensils, and so on. As long as it was something that could improve Selendis' quality of life, he bought a whole new set.

The 25 crowns he had just obtained hadn't even warmed up before 12 crowns were spent.

The remaining 13 crowns were left to deal with unexpected situations.

Rosen didn't feel the slightest bit heartbroken about this.

Because from what he knew, when nobles' children sought mentors to learn magic, the annual tuition alone started at a minimum of 200 crowns. For better mentors, demand exceeded supply.

Right now, for him to spend this bit of money and find a dedicated mentor with outstanding talent like a mid-level mage, it was an incredible bargain.

After buying everything, he spent another 2 silver krays to hire several ox carts to deliver the purchased goods to Selendis' door.

He also had them transport over a dozen buckets of clean water, completely filling the three large water tanks he had newly bought for the kitchen.

Then, Rosen did the laundry, boiled water, installed the bath tub and screen, and so on—all with his own hands.

The bath tub was made of oak, a good size larger than the previous one, and the workmanship was exceptionally sturdy. It was heavy, but no matter.

Rosen's sorcerer's hand was very capable now. After exerting some effort, he managed to move the tub upstairs.

To ensure the wooden floorboards could withstand the weight of the tub filled with water, he even added several load-bearing wood pillars at the base of the stairs.

He worked as quickly as possible, and by 3pm everything was fully completed.

The interior of Selendis' home had completely transformed, with many, many more daily living items, and the bath tub filled with warm water was steaming away behind the carved floral screen.

Rosen stood next to the screen, one hand behind his back and the other outstretched. He bowed and invited, "Mentor, allow me to help you undress."

Selendis' face was full of smiles, extremely satisfied with these changes.

"Oh Rosen, you really are my most beloved pupil. Keep this up, and I may not be able to resist falling for you."

As she spoke, she stood motionless with arms spread, allowing Rosen to remove her hair accessory and take off her clothes.

When taking off her breast bindings, Rosen's mind shuddered violently.

"So big... has to be an extra large cup size...wait, no!"

In an instant, a continuous stream of information flashed through his mind.

'A female, over 1.7 meters tall, curvaceous, extra large cup size, knows magic, and the crime scenes were right around this area.'

Looking at Selendis before him, Rosen couldn't stop his heart from racing wildly a few beats—'It's a complete match!'

Immediately after, more overlooked details surfaced in his mind like a tidal wave.

The bizarre voices upstairs at night.

This morning after getting up, Selendis' personality had drastically changed, while she was thousands of miles away and had changed into a new set of clothes.

Yet by noon, she had suddenly reverted back, even stripping in front of a disciple she'd only known two days.

'The murder victims were all young men who died in extreme arousal... If Selendis really is the killer, then her changes seem to have an explanation—she might be seducing me!'

Although the evidence was insufficient, too many similarities now cast Selendis in the suspect spotlight of being a murderer.

Rosen's heartbeat grew even faster, and all fanciful thoughts were wiped from his mind.

Selendis' voice rang out, "My dear pupil, has your mentor's body enchanted you?"

Rosen regained his composure, forcibly suppressing the pounding of his heart. His face was full of 'remorse': "Mentor, please forgive my impropriety."

"This serves well to prove my charm. I'm very happy."

Selendis lifted her leg over the rim and reclined into the tub, her entire body immersed in the warm water scattered with rose petals. She immediately sighed contentedly.

"Mm~ this is much more spacious than the previous tub~"

She turned her head to look at Rosen, smiling radiantly.

"My most beloved pupil, continue washing my body for me. But remember, only use your sorcerer's hand."