The demon stared at Shade in the still time. It did not speak to Shade again, but paused for a moment, stood up and walked to the next table. It reached out and grabbed one of the apples in the air, took a bite, and threw it aside.
He turned to look at Xia De who also stood up, then picked up a wooden soup spoon from the table. He grabbed the front of the spoon and pointed the slender back end at the eye socket of the man at the outermost side of the table who was smiling and clapping happily, and stabbed him.
"Wait a moment."
Xia De stopped it and asked doubtfully:
"You mean to say that if I play any tricks on Friday, you will treat me like this? But I can resist your time power. Don't you even remember this?"
"No, I mean."
The demon let go of the spoon and let it rest in front of the man's eyes:
"If you play a trick, I will kill a hundred men. If you don't show up on Friday, I will kill a thousand men. If you fail to drive the sword or the dagger into Oxenfurt's chest, I will kill ten thousand men."
Xia De took the spoon and put it back on the table:
"What does it have to do with me if you kill other people?"
"I know people like you too well. You may appear to be indifferent, but you can't fool yourself about what you really think."
The demon patted Shade's shoulder gently:
"Friday night, Oxenfurt Manor, duel with Oxenfurt. Then, the eternal flame, the relic that increases lifespan, the alchemical item that turns stone into gold, the bottle of inexhaustible wine, the devil's knowledge book, the information of desire. Six options, you can choose any one, I won't lie."
Xia De snorted and sat back in his seat:
"I know."
The demon stood with his hands behind his back, walking backwards towards the entrance of the tavern:
“I hope you really understand.”
After another snap of fingers, the noisy sound rang out again, and no one in the tavern realized what had just happened. Only the people at the next table were surprised to find that the three apples that were thrown into the air had turned into two, and then they praised the magician for being so amazing.
This time, Xia De finally picked up the glass of rye beer and took a sip, then spat on the ground in an uncivilized manner:
"Pfft, what is that?"
Looking up at the bustling tavern again, the devil's figure had disappeared without a trace.
Xia De put the wine glass on the table, but this time he did not stand up. Instead, he held his breath and stared at the swaying flames, thinking. It took him a long time to raise his head, and then he saw a familiar figure walking out from the crowd that continued to laugh.
He was a middle-aged man with a very bald head and only hairy stubble. His skin was dark and his eyes were severely double-lidded. He was wearing an unusual brown robe that people in desert areas often wore, and in his hand was a notebook with the corners slightly rolled up.
The middle-aged man was looking around, trying to find an empty table, when he saw Shade. His black eyes were unusually bright, and his stubble was as short as his hair. Mr. Sean Asmon smiled and waved at Shade, and his smile was still as strange as when they met before.
"Oh, I knew, Mr. Watson, that I would meet you again somewhere. I just didn't expect that you would come to Randall Valley City. It's really nice here."
Mr. Asmon sat opposite Shade, in the seat where both Ossenfurt and the devil had sat, with his right arm across the table and his body leaning forward slightly.
Xia De was also a little surprised to meet this gentleman again... ... or maybe not that surprised:
"Coldwater Harbor, Fort Midhill, Huntington, and then the Randall River Valley. It's such a quiet night, in a country village tavern, and it's a pleasant surprise to meet friends I haven't seen for a long time. What would you like to drink? I'll treat you."
"Thank you, then."
Mr. Asmon nodded, and Shade called the waiter over. After the waiter left, Shade said:
"Every time I met you in the past, it was at a place named 'Rose'. It seems this time was an accident."
"No, no, isn't this a rose?"
Mr. Asmon picked up the withered rose that the demon had just dropped and took a deep breath.
"A withered black rose is a very bad omen."
"Yes, yes. Before I met you, I was meeting with some very unpleasant guests."
Xia De waved his hands as if to shoo away invisible flies.
"Everyone has some annoying people they have to meet."
Mr. Asmon said this with understanding, while Shade shook his head without comment. Then the waiter came over with a tray and served the two of them drinks and a plate of fresh fried beans.
"Let's not talk about me, Mr. Asmon. Now that I see you in the Randall Valley, are there rumors of demons in the Randall Valley? I only heard that there is a petrified plague in the city recently... and there is also malaria in the nearby villages, so we have to be careful about what we eat."
Shade, who had just finished negotiating with the demon and had been threatened by the demon, asked, and the demonologist with a weird smile nodded:
"It is true, or I should not be here. Why, Mr. Watson, is it of any interest to you?"
"Sure, care to share your story with me?"
"No problem, but before that, do you want to play a game of Rhodes?"
Mr. Asmon took out his deck of cards. Shade smiled and nodded, feeling much better.
"Of course, no problem, but I won the first two times."
"Oh, you guys wanna play Rhodes?"
Before Mr. Asmon could speak, another voice was heard from the side.
Shade looked aside in surprise and found that the person who spoke was the man who had just performed magic with an apple. He still seemed to have not found his missing apple, but this did not prevent him from saying goodbye to the villagers at the table. He moved his chair with great interest and sat down next to Shade and Mr. Asmon's table:
"Let me introduce myself, Mark Winston, the magician of Tuna Circus."
He also put his cup on the table. Now there were all kinds of things on the table in front of Shad. Empty cups, plates, newspapers, roses, sword handles, and Rhodes cards were scattered around the kerosene lamp. One more cup didn't look out of place at all.
"Our circus hasn't received permission to perform in the city square, so we're staying outside the city for a few days. I have nothing to do, so I came here to drink. Do you want to play Rhodes? How about counting me in? I can take out my special cards and gamble with you."
Xia De glanced at Mr. Asmon, and seeing that he had no objection, he said:
"The three-person card game is also very interesting. Mr. Asmon, do you want to earn some travel expenses for yourself?"
As he suggested, he reached into the pocket left by Ossenfurt and took out a 5-kronor coin, which is about 60 to 75 pounds:
"A special card, that's about the price. I don't have any special cards in my deck, so I'll gamble with you using these coins."
"I don't have any special cards, and I don't have that much money. These are all I have."
The demonologist took out 3 crowns and threw them into the empty plate together with Shad's 5 crowns, and the magician and Shad didn't mind.
So Shad proposed the rule:
"Three-player game, basic rules. The first person to win two games wins, and can take the special card and 2 crowns. The remaining two people play one-on-one. Winning one game is considered the winner. The winner takes 5 crowns, and the loser gets a consolation prize of 1 crown."
"no problem."
The magician said excitedly:
"Even if the country bumpkins in the village play cards, they can't come up with any decent bets. It's more interesting to play with travelers like you who are passing through here. Oh, let me show you my special card first, but in a moment, I will put this card into the deck and gamble with you."
He rummaged through the deck, pulled out a special card and put it under the kerosene lamp. Shade stretched his head to take a look and found that this was a series he had never seen before.
On the card, a clown riding a unicycle and wearing a nose ball is throwing three balls with his head raised. In the not-so-detailed background, faceless audiences are clapping at the top of the scene. Although the card is in black and white, the shadow contrast makes the clown look like he is in the spotlight of the stage.
"Circus Tragedy: Headless Clown, Suit: Three of Stars. After the game is over, activate the effect, remove this card, and add 5 to your total points. This effect must be activated."
Xia De read out the contents of the card, and then asked suspiciously:
"The headless clown... the circus tragedy... the one that happened thirty years ago?"
"Yes."
Magician Mr. Winston nodded:
"At that time, all the members of the famous 'Jasmine Circus' in Carsonrick died in the tent overnight, including the lions, cats, elephants, mice and pigeons performing in the circus. Even the eggs in the kitchen were smashed. It took the authorities nearly ten years to investigate the truth, and this set of cards was issued to commemorate the case being solved. My colleagues all thought that this card was unlucky and asked me to throw it away or sell it as soon as possible, but I think it is a superstition."
Shade looked at Mr. Asmon, who just looked at the card with a weird smile, and seemed to be somewhat interested.
"Then let's get started. Oh, Mr. Asmon, I remember you said that there is a sequel to the last story. Just playing cards is too boring. Why not continue the last story while playing cards?"
"What's the story?"
The magician asked as he checked his respective decks, while Shade recalled:
"That's an old story—
A mysterious being, who actually possessed the power of the devil as people knew it. It brought disaster to the world until it met a man without any wishes. It accompanied the man for his whole life because the man sealed the devil's "wish".
After the man died, the devil took his soul, returned to his hometown overnight, and devoured all his relatives. But those respectable people tried their best to protect the last boy, but the boy did not keep silent to escape the devil, but made the same wish as the first man. "