The coin fell, and the skinny man wiped the water off his face, then immediately reached out to pick it up with a smile on his face. However, when Xia De was about to turn around and leave, he stopped again:
"What's that on your chest?"
The front of the man's shirt was soaked with water, so Xia De could see a strange metal pendant hanging around his neck. The man knew how powerful Xia De was, so he quickly took out the pendant. The black round metal was in the shape of a vortex:
"This is the mark of the One who Returns to One."
"What?"
Xia De asked in surprise. In his previous investigation, he had never heard of any local beliefs or legends such as "Returners".
The man was worried that Xia De would force him to sober up again, so he hurriedly explained:
"I'm not lying. This is a legend in our village. There are also people in nearby villages who believe in it. Everything originates from the same point and will return to the same place. As long as we believe in the One, when the Day of Return comes, he will lead us to become the last survivors. Then we can have everything."
"Him? The One who returns to the One is human?"
Xia De was even more confused.
"I don't know either. I just heard others say so. And I don't really believe it. How could such a good thing happen... But as long as you hang this mark, you will be a member of the Returned One. You don't need to offer money or do other things on a daily basis. And the other party doesn't blaspheme and claim to be a god... Anyway, it doesn't cost money, and it's not a crime. It should be okay to believe it? Maybe it's really true?"
The man said, and Shade asked for the badge and checked it to make sure it was just an ordinary item:
"When did the legend of the Returner appear? Where did you get this badge? Where did the others get their badges?"
Xia De asked again, took out his wallet and threw him a coin. The man smiled and replied:
"Thank you, thank you! I mean, this legend should have been around for a long time, right? At least my grandfather knew about it. But outsiders definitely don't know about it. After all, it sounds ridiculous. Only a few villagers in the villages around Green Lake have heard of it, and no one has taken the initiative to promote it.
I picked up this badge. Oh, don't touch it! Don't touch it. I really picked it up from the lake! I don't know about other people's badges. They were either passed down from their parents or picked up. But few people wear them. It doesn't sound real. Children are happy to play pretend games with this kind of badge. "
Xia De asked some more questions and then determined that the "Returner" mentioned by the man was a regional rumor. This kind of rumor would appear more or less in different regions because of the different cultural levels of the residents. Even if it was reported to the church, the church would only conduct a brief investigation.
After all, this matter did not involve the supernatural, the occult, or even fraud. Apart from the strange black badge, people could not even find any evidence of the existence of the "Returner" other than verbal evidence.
Xia De wrote this down, and then followed the man's instructions to the pier of Pukhov Village. From the pier, he walked west along the lake and left the village. After meeting two fishermen who were fishing leisurely, he saw the courtyard standing on the shore of Green Lake.
It was called a "villa", but in fact it was just a three-story building surrounded by a yard. There was no one guarding the yard, so Xia De walked in directly, but there were three people in the yard teasing the black dog guarding the gate.
A three-story building stood in the middle, and the curtains on all the windows were drawn. Just when Xia De saw him and the three people who were walking towards him were about to talk, the door of the three-story building opened and an unexpected person walked out.
"Professor Boulanger?"
The person who came out with the two young men wearing glasses was the professor of geology and folklore whom Shad met in the carriage when he first went to Mikaela Blast Furnace City.
The professor was wearing a black suit, black boots, and holding a file bag. He was also surprised to see Shade here:
"Isn't this Mr. Watson?"
"Hello, Professor."
Xia De looked behind the professor and the two young students. The man with the eye patch on his right eye was the last to come out. He glanced at his three men, who looked at Xia De warily. Xia De explained:
"Captain Rades introduced me here. I have a note here."
"Rotten Eyes Barry" nodded:
"Please come in. The person the captain introduced is trustworthy."
Seeing that Shade still had something else to do, Professor Boulanger did not continue talking to him:
"Mr. Watson, I and my two students are going to the village pub for a while. If you have time later, you can come to the pub to meet us."
"Yes, Professor."
Shade said with a smile, said goodbye to Professor Boulanger, and followed "Bad-Eyed Barry" into the room.
"Um?"
The moment he stepped into the room, he suddenly twitched his nose, and then looked suspiciously at the middle-aged man who was leading the way. The latter was shorter than Xia De, with a well-proportioned figure and very white skin.
"Does it smell bad?"
He asked in his heart.
Yes.
"The smell of a water ghost?"
Very similar.
Xia De glanced at the interior of the normally decorated house, then took two steps forward.
Ringwraith, three rings.
She reminded gently, while Shade had already frowned.
The one-eyed man took Shad to the second floor, which was a kind of reception room, except that the reception room was far from comparable to the reception rooms of the nobles or even Dr. Schneider's clinic.
Xia De didn't get the hot tea, but he didn't care. After sitting down, he said to the one-eyed man who was sitting across the table with his legs crossed:
"I'm looking for a group of grave robbers. Although Captain Rades introduced me here, I will pay for the information."
"Who are you looking for? Although there aren't many ancient ruins in the Green Lake area, there are many ordinary tomb robbers. Are you looking for someone who stole corpses or someone who stole burial objects? What are his characteristics?"
The man wearing an eye patch sat on the single sofa opposite Shade. The sofa was quite dirty, as if it had never been washed for many years. He used the common language of Draerion quite standardly, more standard than most people Shade had seen.
"Two years ago, someone landed on the island in the middle of Green Lake and took some things. I'm looking for that group of people."
"Bad-Eye Barry" frowned and thought for a moment;
"Two years ago? The island in the middle of Green Lake? Wait a minute, let me think..."
Knowing that the other party was a ring wizard, Shade was worried that this one-eyed man was related to the theft, so he kept observing his expression. But fortunately, the other party did not show any expression of surprise.
"Yes, it seems that this happened. An outsider hired a local gang of 'black rats' and claimed that he knew a secret tomb of the Edwards family."
“Where are these people now?”
Xia De was delighted. He didn't expect it to be so smooth. He didn't even use the clue of the pen. It was really important to find the local boss.
The one-eyed man remembered this incident completely and frowned:
"No more. The Black Rats were a well-known local grave-robber gang. Two and a half years ago, when they returned from the island with that foreigner, half of their members were killed, but the survivors made a fortune. But later, I heard that everyone who landed on the island became seriously ill or went crazy, and then they all died one after another."
"Isn't this strange? Everyone who landed on the island died?"
Xia De asked deliberately, and the one-eyed man looked at him suspiciously:
"Sir, you are not a local, right? The island in the middle of Green Lake is called 'Devil's Island' by us locals. Since they dare to go there to rob tombs, they will definitely not have a good ending."
"Are you sure they are all dead?"
He asked again.
"I don't know much about that outsider, but the members of the Black Rat are probably all dead. At least I haven't heard from them for a long time... If you want accurate information, I can help you check it. But the price will be a little higher. Of course, for Captain Rades's sake, I can give you a slight discount."
He twisted his fingers and Shade nodded:
"As long as you can find the people, money is not a problem."
"How generous! Do you still want to find out about that island? I may have some information that may interest you."
The one-eyed man asked again with a smile, and Shade shook his head:
"I just want to find the tomb robbers. Forget about the island."
He knew that the other party was a ring wizard, so he did not reveal too much information:
"When should I come to see you?"
"One day is enough. Tomorrow, Friday afternoon. But you don't have to come here. I have my own place in the city. Come find me there."
He put the business card on the table and pushed it in front of Xia De, who nodded:
“Hopefully there will be good news by then.”
A 1-kroner gold coin was flicked away and landed right on the edge of the coffee table in front of the man:
“This is a deposit.”
"no problem."
Having said that, Barry with rotten eyes stood up and sent Shad to the door downstairs, then watched Shad walk along the lakeshore towards the village.
Just left like that? Don't you want to see what's going on with the smell of a water ghost on him
"She" asked gently in his ear, and Xia De shook his head:
"Since I'm investigating the tomb robbers related to that island, it will definitely alert him. Investigating now will only disrupt my own plans. It's better for him to give me the information tomorrow. Then I'll have plenty of time to figure it out... Water ghosts are not fishmen. This kind of undead does not have the concept of population and reproduction, so the other party must not be a half-water ghost... Is he raising water ghosts by the lake? What a coincidence that he appeared at this time..."
It was already noon, and after returning to the village, Shade went to the tavern. On the one hand, he wanted to talk to Professor Boulanger, and on the other hand, he also wanted to fill his stomach.
Professor Boulanger and his three companions sat against the wall of the tavern. When they saw Shad approaching the tavern, they waved to him.