Almost at the same time, Lumian's hair stood on end and his back felt cold. He had a clear premonition of danger.
He subconsciously pulled out the "Fallen Mercury" hidden at his waist, ready to tear off the black cloth wrapped around it at any time.
The translucent figure with long green hair and leaves covering the key parts floated in the air, looking at Lumian in the room. His green eyes were sometimes misty, sometimes smiling, and sometimes like a deep whirlpool, making the human soul want to indulge in it.
On the one hand, Lumian had an impulse that was both familiar and unfamiliar, which raged in his mind and disrupted most of his thoughts. On the other hand, he felt an uncontrollable fear, like a flying insect encountering a spider that was weaving a web.
He slowed down his dance moves, ready to pause at any moment.
The translucent female figure showed an eager expression, but instinctively felt that something was wrong and resisted getting close to Lumian.
It sometimes leaned out and sometimes retracted into the curtains, but ultimately did nothing.
When Lumian finished the "Dance of Recruiting", he heard a series of tiny and faint voices entering his ears, so close that they seemed to be next door. The strange creatures wandering in the room disappeared one by one.
The last one to leave was the female figure wrapped in long green hair and leaves. It felt reluctant and confused.
Lumian breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and listened quietly to the noisy voices in his body. He couldn't hear a single word clearly, and he wanted to hear every word clearly.
After a while, Lumian opened his eyes and looked towards the window covered by the tattered curtains. He muttered to himself, "What on earth was that just now?"
His intuition told him that the translucent female figure was much more powerful than the other strange creatures he had summoned, and was not something a Beyonder of his level could deal with.
If it weren't for the pollution of the seal in his body and the blue-black pattern on his chest, which could make spiritual creatures subconsciously afraid to approach him even if it hadn't been activated, Lumian suspected that he had met with an accident.
This made him wonder: "How did other 'dancers' survive?" He had initially confirmed that there was no danger in the area before daring to dance the "Dance of Recruiting", but he still almost got into trouble. How did other "dancers" avoid similar risks
"Is it because my 'gift' was obtained through stealing and I lack certain knowledge of mysticism, or is it because other 'dancers' can only attract strange creatures similar to themselves, and the 'Dance of Recruiting' comes from a secret existence, so under normal circumstances there shouldn't be any problems?" Lumian pondered for a while, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he might be the one with the abnormality.
He believed that the pollution in his body was of a very high level, and even if it was sealed, it could occasionally attract strange and dangerous things.
“Fortunately, pollution is also a form of protection…” Lumian exhaled, put away the “Corrupted Mercury”, lit the iron-black calcium carbide lamp, sat down at the wooden table, and looked through Aurore’s notes.
Reading the occult notes from the end to the beginning was a very painful thing. Lacking the corresponding knowledge reserves, he would feel like an illiterate from time to time. He had to take out Aurore's earliest notes and make up for the corresponding symbols and occult meanings.
But Lumian couldn't calm down and study bit by bit from the beginning to the end. He believed that if Aurore's witchcraft notes really contained important information, it must be in the last one or two years. That was the time when abnormalities gradually appeared in Cordu Village and the shepherds began to "hunt".
After struggling with the knowledge called "Lightning Magic" for nearly two hours, Lumian declared his defeat and decided to continue tomorrow night.
He washed up briefly and lay down on the bed.
Thinking of the strange creature he had just summoned, Lumian placed the "Corrupted Mercury" next to his pillow with concern to prevent any possible harm.
Before leaving Cordu Village, he had examined this evil silver-black dagger and confirmed that its fate in exchange from the fire monster was "suffering from being burned by flames."
The darkness gradually deepened, but there was no peace in the chaotic streets. Some were singing, some were shouting, some were cursing the singers, some were fighting, some were chasing, some were coughing, some were crying, and some were exercising. It was like a symphony of the night.
Lumian had gotten used to the noise, and even felt that it made him feel alive.
Before he knew it, he fell asleep.
At six o'clock in the morning, the bells of the church in the distance rang. Just like in the village of Cordu, Lumian woke up on time and was reluctant to open his eyes.
After a few minutes, he turned over and sat up, putting the "Fallen Mercury" back into his waist.
He had chaotic dreams all night, but nothing special happened.
“Am I thinking too much?” Lumian muttered.
He immediately opened the door and walked into the nearest bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror in the morning light. Compared to the same time yesterday, he had not changed at all.
The dye and extensions on his hair were external things that would not be reset with his body. Lumian leaned over and brushed his teeth.
As he was cleaning his mouth, he saw Charlie walk in from the corner of his eye.
"Don't you live on the 5th floor?" Lumian spit out mouthwash and turned his head to ask Charlie.
Charlie changed into a yellowed white shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He yawned and said, "Can you believe it? Those guys got up before 6 o'clock, and the bathroom on the 5th floor was packed with people!"
He then smiled and said, "My favorite bathroom is still the one on the second floor. Do you know why? It's clean!
"Although Laurent, that bastard, has high eyebrows and doesn't know how to help his mother, he still has some good points. He loves cleanliness. Whenever he is in the apartment, he will clean his room every day and clean the bathroom at the same time. Haha, is it because the toilet is dirty that he can't poop?"
It turned out that he was the one cleaning... Lumian was a little surprised for a moment.
The impression left on him by the young man named Laurent was that he was cold, arrogant, well-dressed, self-important, inconsiderate of his mother's situation, and not at all like someone who would come to clean the bathroom.
Lumian had previously thought that other residents on the second floor couldn't stand the landlord's stinginess and cleaned the commonly used areas themselves.
Seeing Charlie's exhausted face, which looked like he hadn't slept all night, Lumian asked with a smile, "Did you go to Wall Street last night?"
Rampart Street is a famous red-light district in Trier.
“Empty?” Lumian helped think of an adjective.
"Yes, yes!" Charlie walked to the toilet and untied his belt.
He squinted his already small eyes with a look of comfort.
Lumian raised his hand and pinched his nose, sneering: "Are you having a wet dream?"
Charlie shuddered, shook his right hand, and laughed, "That was the most realistic dream I've ever had. The girls in the dream were much prettier than those on Wall Street, and they were so gentle and passionate. I just didn't want to wake up."
"Obviously, you can't hold out that long. Waking up is a mercy to you," Lumian joked.
"I also planned to go to Nightingale Street nearby on Sundays when I didn't have to work after getting my salary. There were several dance halls there and I could find some cheap kittens. My colleague told me that there, I only needed 52 kopecks to give myself a 'work award'. (Note 1)" But now, I have no interest in going."
At this point, he suddenly got excited and lowered his voice to Lumian, "Do you know? There is a wealthy guest in the hotel who is very nice to me. He specifically asked me to deliver meals and help clean the room."
"Male?" Lumian asked deliberately.
Charlie shook his head quickly: "No, it's a lady. I suspect she has taken a fancy to me. I am hesitating. If she really makes that kind of request, should I give up my principles? You know, this kind of thing is very common in Trier. I can get the first pot of gold from her and own my own hotel soon."
“I thought you wouldn’t hesitate.” Although they had only known each other for a little over two days, Lumian believed that Charlie was a man with a very flexible moral bottom line.
"She's over fifty."
Lumian let out a long "oh", his expression revealing what was in his heart.
He said goodbye to Charlie, went back to his room and changed into a jacket, trousers and other clothes that were more suitable for the street style. He went to the street outside and spent 6 copes to buy a shallot pancake and 1 rick to buy half a liter of apple sour wine. He sat in a corner of the street and ate breakfast slowly. The shadows of the houses on both sides covered his body. He tasted the intertwined smell of shallot and sweet flour while watching the hawkers, women buying vegetables, workers coming and going in a hurry, children picking up garbage on the ground and the barricade in the alley not far away.
It was not until 9 o'clock in the morning that Lumian stood up, patted his clothes, walked back to the "Golden Rooster Hotel", went up to the third floor, and knocked on the door of Room 5.
Anthony Reid, the tipster, lived here.
After the sound of "dong dong dong", a steady male voice with an accent from the west coast of Jianhai came out: "Please come in."
Lumian turned the handle and pushed the door open. The first thing he smelled was a slightly pungent, minty scent that seemed to be used to repel insects.
Then he saw a man in his forties sitting next to the bed.
The man was wearing a military green top and matching trousers, strapless leather boots, and his hair was shaved very short, leaving only a thin layer.
He did not have the neat and capable temperament of a veteran. His light yellow hairline had receded much further than normal, making his forehead appear very broad. His face had become fat, and his beard was clean-shaven. His skin was slightly oily, and the pores on the tip of his nose were filled with some tiny black things. He actually looked a bit honest.
Anthony. Reid turned his head and looked at Lumian, the other person's figure reflected in his deep brown eyes.
For some reason, Lumian suddenly felt strangely uneasy.
Note 1: In French slang, the word "kitten" has a double meaning, referring to prostitutes or female reproductive organs.
PS: Please guarantee a monthly pass during the double period~