Xia De looked at the black stone in his hand with some surprise. He clearly felt that holding this thing, his "Earth Power·Healing Aura" was significantly enhanced. What's more important is that the power of this rune stone is extremely heavy and ancient. Combined with the runes on it, it is obviously a magical item stained with the power of the ancient gods. It is a ritual item that can be held by the chosen person for rituals.
This morning was really full of surprises.
“That’s really…thank you.”
Even though the other party was a humanoid relic, Xia De still expressed his gratitude. The merchant shook his head and looked at the two of them warily:
"This is useful to you, so I can leave now, right?"
"Meow?"
Mia poked her head out from Shade's arms again:
"Oh, there's a cat too, right? You guys are so greedy."
He threw another conical bottle to Shade, this time with earth-colored pills inside:
"Cure the earth curse. As long as it has not been completely petrified, it can be cured."
Using the method provided by the witch and combining it with Shade's Holy Grail of Earth, it can be mixed into a "universal earth elixir" that can also heal people affected by the crazy earth, but since it's a free pill, Shade certainly won't refuse it.
He snapped his fingers, the moonlight thorn bush disappeared, and Yin Luna also put away the dark golden scale in her hand.
A shadow appeared behind the merchant. He took a careful step back, making sure the two men hadn't caught up with him, before disappearing into the alley.
“What a magical morning.”
Yin Luna bent down to pick up the talisman she had dropped, intending to leave the alley with Xia De.
"Yes, a month and a half has passed since 1854, and this is the first time I have come across a relic that is wandering around randomly..."
As Xia De spoke, he glanced at Yin Luna and felt that the fate of the chosen one was really strange.
He handed the small bottle of black pills to the seventeen-year-old girl:
"Take this and report it to the church. Although letting the guy who can release the plague go is a helpless move, you still have to submit something to the church. I still have the three holy grails of healing, sweetness, and gold stone. I don't need this. Give the pill to the church, and the church will have another chance to save people."
Judging from the current situation, there is no other way to cure those infected by the black mud except the universal earth elixir prepared by the Holy Grail. The church may have other methods, but they must be expensive and complicated.
"Oh well."
Yin Luna then took the small bottle and asked curiously:
"The Holy Grail of Gold and Stone? You got a new cup? What is its effect... turning dirt into gold?"
"Oh, it makes me angry when I think about it. I originally thought it was a slow transformation of soil into precious metals. I thought even if the speed was slow, it was acceptable, as it was a stable way to make money. I didn't expect that the cup transformed the soil into an extremely hard black stone. Yes, it was really very hard. I couldn't break it with my hands. Only magical attacks were effective... If the stone wasn't so heavy, it would be a good piece of armor. I don't know what kind of stone it is, and the conversion efficiency is not high."
As they talked, they left the alley in the early morning sun. It was a brand new day.
After parting at the door of the Three Cats Inn, Yin Luna returned to Blackstone Security Company to hand over the mission, while Xia De took Mia back home and then went to Randall Valley City.
Mia was still with him. Today they were just going to visit the City Statue Museum, so there probably wasn't any danger, so it didn't matter if they brought the cat along.
Due to the relic rain-praying golem that appeared last night, the continuous snowstorm had not stopped until this morning. When Shade came to the front hall from the back of the Forgotten Church, he happened to meet the Old God believers of the Golden Dawn who were cleaning up the fallen snow and trying to repair the roof.
Although in Xia De's opinion, the hole in the roof makes the church look more beautiful with the vicissitudes of time, the believers will not keep the big hole in the church roof just for the so-called beauty.
Xia De said hello to them, then walked out of the church gate in the heavy snow and saw the city dyed silvery white again:
"It's getting cold again."
With a sigh, he tucked the cat in to prevent it from catching a cold, then headed for the courtyard.
The Randall Valley City Statue Art Museum is also located in the city center, but compared to the Plenty Land Inn, the Prophet's Association, and the Randall Valley City Hall, which are all on the same street, the "College Street" where the statue art museum is located is a little to the east. This street is named because the most important "Randall Valley Port Trade College" in Randall Valley is located here.
The City Sculpture Art Museum also charges admission. If you don't want to pay for tickets every time, you can join the "Randall Valley Sculpture Art Club" for an annual fee, which allows you to enter the sculpture museum for free every time.
Shad had no need to join the club, so he bought a ticket. He thought the gatekeeper would not let the cat disguised as a dog in, and even prepared to pay half-price tickets for Mia to follow, but he didn't expect the gatekeeper to care about the dog at all. In this era, there is no rule that pets are not allowed to enter public places.
But no matter which era it is, only a few people can appreciate so-called art, not to mention that it is a weekday morning and the weather is so bad, so there are only a few people in the huge sculpture art gallery, most of whom are students from the art academy who come here to copy paintings.
This exhibition hall covers a large area, but it has only two floors. The first and second floors are exhibition areas, and the office area of the exhibition hall is located in the right corridor of the first floor.
Xia De did not rush to find the curator, Mr. Fernandez, but took Mia to wander around the museum. The first floor of the exhibition hall was filled with modern sculptures, each with a label indicating the identity of the artist. There were works by world-renowned masters as well as works by unknown local artists.
The Randall River Valley, known as the City of Stonemasons, has been home to many sculpture artists since ancient times. Walking quietly in it and appreciating these works with Mia, even Shad, who is not very familiar with the art of this world, can feel the history and depth of the city.
The second floor exhibits ancient sculptures, which are arranged in chronological order, and each has its own history and creation background. Due to internal needs, the exhibition hall uses gas lamps even during the day. However, because the sky is dark on a snowy day, the bright interior inevitably feels a little dark.
Among the ancient sculptures on the second floor, Xia De also found some interesting shapes. The cat-shaped painted sculptures, although the color is peeling, still look very strange, and among the human-shaped sculptures, there are several elves drawing bows and shooting arrows. It is not known whether they are imaginary sculptures or the artist really saw elves in the dense forest.
In addition to the sculptures, there is a holy emblem of the old man holding a lantern hanging in the corner of the second floor. This god is the "God of the Sun and the Earth."
When Shade saw the holy emblem, an old man wearing a brown cashmere vest was praying under the holy emblem in a heated room. After he finished praying, Shade took the initiative to walk up to him and talk to him.
"Mr. Fernandez?"
He called out the old curator's name, and Xia De had seen the photo of the old curator at Miss Benannis's place.
Zuofu Fernandez is 53 years old. He doesn't look tall, but his build is average. He wears a pair of round-framed glasses and bends when he stands, probably because of spinal problems. Although he is in his 50s, he looks like he is in his 70s or 80s.
"Oh, hello."
Although he didn't recognize the young man in front of him who looked like a northerner, the old curator still greeted him warmly.
Xia De looked up at the holy emblem and asked curiously:
"I know that nobles would set up prayer rooms in their manors, and I also know that regular schools would have places dedicated to prayer, but this is the first time I know that exhibition halls also need places for prayer."
“We must always maintain respect for God.”
The old curator said, and asked curiously:
"Young man, I haven't seen you here before. Is there anything I can help you with? Or do you need my help introducing the collections here?"
"I do need your help, but it has nothing to do with these matters."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, and the old curator shook it:
"So you are..."
"Hela Oxenfurt introduced me here."
Xia De's words hadn't even fallen yet, but when he heard the name of the woman Xia De mentioned, the old curator's face, which had originally been smiling kindly, showed a very vivid expression of fear:
"Oxenfurt?"
It seems that the fear is not towards the woman's name, but towards the surname.
"Should we talk in your office?"
Xia De made an invitation gesture, but the old curator immediately shook his head:
"No, right here."
Then he clasped his hands together again, lowered his head and closed his eyes, and prayed to the holy emblem in a low voice. After the old man finished another round of prayer, Shade asked curiously:
"It seems that there have been some... conflicts between you and Oxenfurt?"
"No, no, young man, you don't want to know. I can't tell you. If I tell you, you will be targeted too. While there is still time, leave this city and never have contact with those people again!"
He tried to persuade Xia De, but Xia De shook his head regretfully:
"According to Madam Hela Oxenfurt, I have been targeted by Stone Oxenfurt. The reason I came to you was to seek help. Don't look at my young age, I am actually a very capable person. I am actually..."
He thought of his friend, Mr. Sean Asmon, whom he often bumped into in different cities:
"I'm actually a writer, and a demonologist on the side. Yes, I study anecdotes and legends about demons from all over the Old World. But I never thought that just betting on Rhodes cards and winning against Stone Oxenfurt would lead to such a thing."