"Then let's check the goods first."
Shade took out the orichalcum. When he got the metal from the mirror, it was about half the size of a palm. Considering that he might need the orichalcum in the future, Shade asked the night watchman to cut it into two pieces. The smaller one was left in the basement, and the larger one was brought by him.
"You are so interesting that you can bring such a valuable item directly from your pocket."
The sorceress gave a brief comment, and asked Shade to place the metal on the table, and then she reached out to take it. When she checked the metal, she did not take off her gloves. When she saw that one side was unusually smooth, she asked Shade:
"How did you cut it? Given the hardness of mountain copper, most spiritual weapons and weapon relics below the Keeper level would have difficulty leaving such a smooth cut surface."
"That's not something you can tell me."
So the lady who didn't even want to give her name didn't ask any more questions, but examined the metal more carefully.
Due to the special properties of mountain copper, it is easy to test the authenticity and purity of this metal by using simple magic to test hardness, ductility and spiritual conductivity.
However, due to the various strange magic of the ring wizards, even if these tests are passed, it is possible that the advanced illusion or alchemy has created a false impression. Therefore, Shade understands the attitude of the lady opposite to check seriously, but he is puzzled that she still refuses to take off her gloves.
After a long while, until Shade had finished three cups of tea, the sorceress put down the piece of metal:
"No problem. The purity is quite good. I think this should not be mountain copper obtained through normal means, but a reward given by a relic or a higher-dimensional being. Otherwise, there is no reason why the purity is so high."
Shade did not explain:
"Ma'am, I see you don't want to discuss this with me in detail, so let's get this straight. Although metals like orichalcum and mithril are rare, their market prices are almost fixed. I hope to use this piece of metal to learn as much as possible about Green Lake Town and the Edwards family."
He pointed to his goods:
"Please speak up. We will end the discussion after discussing the value of this piece of mountain copper. We are all acquaintances of Grandma Natalie, and there is no need to haggle too much about the value of the information."
The sorceress across the table frowned and thought for a moment:
"What exactly do you want to know?"
This is indeed a very crucial question, and there is indeed a lot that Xia De wants to know.
As for the "sun, moon and stars" pattern that appeared many times, he had to find all the members of the Edwards family to know its meaning. As for the white fog in the center of Green Lake, Shade also wanted to know the truth, which might be related to the chosen one. As for the elixir of life, it was not important, but what the Edwards family did back then was very important:
"I want to know how many descendants of the Edwards family are still alive now."
The sorceress glanced at him:
"have no idea."
Shade couldn't tell whether this was true or a lie, so he changed the question:
"Hohenheim, Edward, Alphonse and Maria, the four people who left Green Lake Town 128 years ago, are they still alive now?"
"You know quite a lot."
The sorceress said, shaking her head slightly:
"I can confirm that the three brothers have passed away. I don't know about Maria Edwards. When she left Green Lake Town, the girl was only eleven years old. After she grew up and got married, she must have changed her last name, which makes it difficult to find her."
She was right. The descendants of the three brothers, at least the next generation, would most likely retain the surname "Edwards".
"Well, here's the first valid clue you gave me: the three brothers who witnessed the destruction of Green Lake Town 128 years ago have passed away."
Xia De nodded:
"The second question is, what destroyed Green Lake Town? I have my own intelligence source in the church, but the church's records are very vague. It only mentioned that a poisonous fog rose and covered the island, and the ship took the 139 townspeople on the island away."
This is the information Yin Luna found. She has great authority in the church, but the problem is that it was not the Sun Church that handled this matter, but the Peace Church. Moreover, everything was over when the church landed on the island for inspection, and the investigation did not get many clues. In addition, the casualties caused by this incident were less than ten people, and the fog did not spread outside the island, so it was not the church's negligence, but this kind of thing was really not a big deal.
"You already know a lot of details. Most people don't know how many people escaped that year."
The sorceress spoke again, and then answered the question:
"It was not just the fog that destroyed the island. The fog only forced the townspeople to flee their homes. The real danger came from the Edwards family's mansion, which is the estate outside the town. The source of the fog was underground in the estate, but neither the church nor the ring sorcerers who had been landing on the island for hundreds of years could find the secret passage under the estate, as if the fog had come out of thin air. The source of the fog had a strange force that made people flee subconsciously, and this force prompted the townspeople to finally abandon their homes. If you want to land on the island, the Edwards family's estate is the most valuable place."
"I'm afraid only the load-bearing walls are left in that place now."
Xia De made a joke and thought for a moment:
"I must go to the island. According to my previous understanding, the fog on the island is still poisonous, and there are some strange black shadows lurking in the fog. It is best not to stay on the island for more than 24 hours, otherwise you will encounter unexplained mental pollution. There is a chance that you will suddenly lose your sense of direction on the island, so it is best to stay where you are and not move... In addition to these, is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"
"What level are you now?"
The sorceress asked instead, and Shade did not lie:
"Six rings, very high resistance to curses and poisons."
"Then there is actually nothing on that island that can threaten you. Just like you said, as long as you don't stay too long, nothing will happen."
"What happens if you stay too long?"
Xia De asked back, and the woman shook her head:
"People who stayed too long disappeared. I can't answer that question."
"But the information you provided is not enough to equal the value of this piece of orichalcum."
Xia De reminded her. The sorceress thought for a moment and looked at him calmly.
"I do know a lot of things, but I can't tell others about them. But what you said makes sense, but what I just said is not enough... So, if you want to go to the island today, how about I go with you?"
"What?"
This was something Xia De had not expected. He confirmed:
"You're going to Green Lake Town with me?"
"Yes, I will be your guide. Grandma Natalie should have told you that I am a high-level sorcerer. I think this should be worth the value of this piece of metal."
Xia De did not agree immediately. Even a child knew that he should not go to a place he did not know with strangers.
"You don't trust me?"
The woman saw what Xia De was thinking, and Xia De nodded:
"Yes, I can trust Grandma Natalie, but I don't trust you. Especially since you are higher in rank than me, and... you give me a very strange feeling."
The woman looked at him. This was the first time they had looked at each other since she appeared.
"I can promise to show you some secrets that ordinary explorers cannot see. Maybe you can tell Grandma Natalie about my proposal. If something really happens to you, she will come and question me."
Xia De did not give an immediate answer, but took a sip of the teacup. He weighed the dangers and opportunities, and even asked for "her" advice, before he said softly:
"I need to make some temporary preparations. We will meet here at 1:30 pm and set off together. But before that, I would like you to take off your gloves and let me see your hands."
The last person who insisted on wearing gloves in front of Shade was Yinfan Darkness, who had a demon's mouth in his palm.
The woman nodded;
"Although this request is very rude, it is reasonable."
She took off her gloves, and both her white hands looked normal, so Xia De was relieved, thinking that wearing gloves was just a strange habit of hers.
"Not just you, I also have two additional requests. You must agree to them before I can take you to the island."
The sorceress continued.
"Please go ahead."
"First of all, I'm just taking you to the island. I'm not responsible for protecting you. Although I'm a high-level warrior, I can't use my full strength at the moment. We can take care of ourselves. You can equate my strength with yours, but you can't blame me for not protecting you."
"That's fair. The orichalcum is only for you to be my guide. Please state your second condition."
Xia De made a gesture of invitation, and as he extended his hand forward, the lady across the table subconsciously moved back a little.
"Second, under no circumstances can you enter the area within 1 meter around me."
“A strange request.”
Xia De muttered, and glanced at the table they were sitting at. The table was placed vertically and was indeed more than one meter long, so he nodded:
"Okay, but before we say goodbye, can you tell me your name? Since we are going to act together, I should at least have a way to address you."
"Miss Pharmacist."
She coldly said the name which was obviously a code name, frowning slightly, as if she felt offended by the question. Xia De didn't care, after all, there are all kinds of weird people. He wrote down the code name, nodded, stood up and said goodbye, leaving the hotel, preparing to go to Natalie's mother-in-law to explain the afternoon's itinerary.
The sorceress sat at the table without moving. After making sure that Shade had left, she reached out and picked up the newspaper Shade had left on the table and flipped through it. The female owner behind the counter, Ms. Helena Green, placed a cup of warm black tea with less sugar and three drops of lemon juice in front of her. The "pharmacist lady" did not look up at her, but thanked her softly and continued to read the third edition of the news about the revision of the drug export tariff reform.