"Are you always so talkative?"
Megan changed from pursing her lips to biting her lip:
"I will tell you about my affairs next week. I am waiting for a very important guest. As for what we talked about, it was actually nothing important. We talked about their grandfather and my father's life after leaving the island. I also mentioned recent events. We all agreed that no matter what the ancestor wanted to do, it now seems that he had no good intentions. Good people will not cooperate with cultists."
Xia De, who accepted a drop of divinity from the evil god, was too embarrassed to speak.
"These two brothers are very interesting. I will arrange for my men to contact them later. But first I need to find out their origins - ring sorcerers."
The way a ring wizard is promoted determines that it is impossible for a ring wizard to learn it by himself after reading a few books. All ring wizards must have the support of an organization. The Fulun brothers are both five rings, and their strength is not weak, so they must have their own organization.
"They don't look like they are from the three major colleges, and they are certainly not from the church. And there are only a few famous ring wizard organizations in the Willendel area."
"It's up to you to decide. I will continue to contact the Furen brothers. If it's not necessary, don't involve the Chosen Ones in their affairs. People only know that the Chosen Ones are powerful, but they don't know how much responsibility and trouble this identity carries."
Xia De sighed. As for the three chosen ones currently alive, not to mention Yin Luna, Sister Devlin and the Guardian of the Earth, they didn't look like normal people at all.
"You really know everything."
Megan said with a smile, moving closer to Shade:
"Then let's make a deal. Next week, we will confess our identities."
"Yes. It's settled."
Xia De nodded, and then prayed in his heart that he would not make the atmosphere too awkward.
Who are you praying to
"She" suddenly asked.
"Um...Mia."
The carriage rolled over the cobblestone road, making a regular sound. The clatter of the horses' hooves seemed even more rhythmic in the drizzling weather. The sorceress in the carriage asked Xia De again:
"If something bad happens to me one day, will you protect me?"
"You asked me that question Monday night. Yes, as much as I can."
Xia De replied, and then her red lips touched his side face. The shy brown-haired lady then sat back in her original position, folded her hands together on her legs, and turned her head to look at the scenery outside the car window with a red face. Her earlobes were slightly red, and the brown hair beside her ears was blown by the wind outside the window.
The two did not speak again until the carriage stopped at the front door of the Green Lake Hotel. When Shad was about to stand up and say goodbye, he felt the badge on his chest getting hot.
He looked at the young lady in surprise, and the latter finally turned around and made a small request:
"Can you please call me 'Audrey' this time when we say goodbye? This is also my name. You can call me either one from now on."
It seems that she hasn't forgotten what happened when we parted on Monday.
"Well, bye, Audrey."
"goodbye."
She watched as Shade opened the door and hurried through the rain into the inn. The door closed and the carriage continued to move forward. She covered her hot face and began to worry about how she would explain the matter of that man when the other witches of the Witch Council arrived next week.
(Yin Luna is praying...)
"Meow~"
Xia De had just walked out of the basement and walked around to the entrance staircase when he saw Xiaomia standing on the third step, making a "fierce" sound at him. Of course, the cat's cry was actually soft and far less annoying than the sounds of the stray cats that often called at night recently.
"What's going on here?"
Xia De bent down and wanted to pick it up, but Mia turned around and flicked Xia De's hand with her tail, then jumped onto the higher steps and walked towards the second floor.
Cuddled other cats in the cafe.
"She" reminded him gently, and Shade finally understood. But it was actually very simple to solve the unhappiness of this cat with a very sensitive nose. He cleaned up a little and called Mia to go out for lunch together. The cat then walked towards Shade from some corner with a half-disdainful and half-expecting look.
Xia De didn't know why he could see such rich emotions from a cat.
Before going out, wipe off the lipstick on your face.
"Oh, I almost forgot about that."
While washing in front of the mirror, I thought about the time key again. It would take two or three days or even longer to go to the island again, and I had to decide whether to keep the time key until then.
If you stay, you might be able to buy valuable time; the mission reward for using the key includes "powerful spatial perception" that can play a huge role on the foggy island.
"Let's decide tonight."
He thought to himself, picked up the cat that was both expectant and disgusted, and went out happily.
Today, Tobysk was still shrouded in fog and the sky was gloomy. As expected, it started to drizzle outside during lunch, causing people walking on the street to flee in a hurry.
Shade's toys were naturally not lacking in rain gear, but after lunch he did not go directly to Professor Manning, but first sent Mia home. Because of Professor Manning's unique hobby, Shade would never take Mia with him.
Visiting a retired history professor with unique aesthetics and hobbies on a rainy day is often the beginning of a horror thriller. When Shade knocked on the professor's door in Cat Tail Lane, he was still thinking about what kind of story he would encounter this time.
The servant opened the door for Xia De, and Xia De saw the old professor in the living room.
After not seeing him for a long time, Professor Manning was in good health and spirits. He wore a brown woolen shirt over a white shirt, looking at home. He welcomed Shade with a smile and asked him if he had completely recovered from the serious illness he had suffered more than a month ago.
"Of course, I feel good now."
"I didn't expect people like you would get sick."
This refers to the Ring Warlock.
"It was just an unexpected situation, it's nothing serious. Professor, thank you for visiting me with gifts. I fell asleep at the time, and I think it was the maid who received you, right?"
"It's okay, it's okay. You were sick at the time, I can understand."
"And about the honorary degree, I haven't had time to thank you yet."
After the greetings, they got down to business. The two sat down in the living room. When Shad took out a pen and mentioned the name Durruth Giles, Professor Manning showed a rather surprised expression:
"Gilles. I know this young man. He is very talented. When he came to Tobesk three years ago, I met him when I was invited to give a lecture at the school. He had a letter of introduction from the Saint-Fabry College in Willendel and had just joined the History Department of the University of Tobesk. I heard that he was a researcher. He was a loner and didn't have many friends. Later, he came to me to ask questions, and then we became acquainted."
The professor recalled, then showed a hesitant look:
"Mr. Hamilton, what's the problem with Giles?"
"He is also a ring wizard."
Shade told Professor Manning the truth:
"He was in the Green Lake area, leading a group of grave robbers to rob a tomb. All of the grave robbers died because of the curse... Well, one of them is still alive. When I was tracking down the burial objects they stole, I tracked down this Giles."
"Ringmaster, there is still a curse..."
Professor Manning took a deep breath. It was obvious that the last joyful dream pen incident had left a deep impression on him:
"Fortunately, he and I communicated through correspondence most of the time, and he only visited me three times."
"Professor, where is he now? I asked someone to investigate in Willendel. His former colleagues said that he seemed to have disappeared since the beginning of this year and had no contact with his friends and colleagues in Willendel. Is he... dead?"
Xia De was now afraid that he would be asked to dig another grave.
"Probably not. I received a letter from him last month."
Professor Manning immediately shook his head:
"But he has been in poor health for the past six months. He was seriously ill, just like you were some time ago. It took you half a month to recover, but he has never recovered. I have a wide network of contacts in the field of Tobesk archaeology. When I had dinner with old colleagues last week, I heard that Giles has been taking leave on and off for the past six months."
Xia De frowned slightly, glad he wasn't dead:
"That's probably what I meant by the curse... Professor, where does he live? I'm going to go find him and check on him now."
"Giles also lives in the university district, but it's a bit far from here. I heard that he came here to live with his relatives, but I don't know why he lives in poverty."
As he spoke, the old professor clenched his fists and gritted his teeth:
"I'll go with you. It happens that I haven't seen him for a long time. If he doesn't want to provide you with information, I can help you persuade him. He is really a very talented young man. Although he robbed someone else's tomb, there may be a chance to save him. I don't want to excuse him, but I really hope he can get a chance to be redeemed."
Professor Manning helped Shade several times, and Shade respected the professor very much. So Shade was willing to not kill the other party as soon as they met because of the professor's advice, but he didn't want the professor to get involved:
"Professor, if you are worried, just wait here for me. I will bring him over. We don't know what will happen in a while. Although I am confident that I am stronger than him, I may not be able to protect you."
Although Megan said that the other party was just a low-level warlock three years ago, we should not take it lightly.
"I can wait for you downstairs."
"Why don't you wait for me here?"
Shade smiled and asked:
"And it's raining outside... Let's do this. You write a letter and I'll give it to Giles. If he reads the letter and is willing to believe that you helped him, then it will save a lot of trouble. You prepare some hot tea at home, and I promise to bring him over. Oh, I'm going to disguise my face for a while, I don't want others to know who I am."
The professor nodded and said:
"You should be careful yourself, or ask Louisa to go with you."
"I won't bother her for now. I can handle this matter myself."
Among the six districts of Tobesk, the university district has the smallest area, but even so, it is not easy to find where Durut Giles lives. In Shad's imagination, as a ring sorcerer, even if he has to keep a low profile for some reason, he will at least have his own single-family apartment.
But in fact, he was as shabby as Professor Manning said, and he actually shared an apartment with others. It was a single room separated by wooden boards, which was the worst type of housing in the university area.
The apartment building is hidden in an alley in the southwest of the university area, and one street west is the Tobesk West area.
This type of apartment, which is rented to university students, is generally small in size but quite crowded. However, it was Wednesday afternoon and most of the tenants were away. Shade was reluctant to let others know that he was here, so he arrived at the door of No. 12 Nottingham Lane in disguise, closed his eyes to make sure there was no heartbeat behind the door, and then pretended to take out his key and poked it into the keyhole.
Click!
The keyhole rotated automatically, and Xia De walked in without blushing or beating his heart.
The house had poor lighting, and it was even darker when it rained. Xia De kept an eye on his surroundings, climbed up the narrow stairs from the first floor to the third floor, and found the door with the number "3" on it after turning into the corridor.
He closed his eyes and listened again. There was someone in the room behind the door. So, Shade held his breath and knocked on the door twice.
Ding~Ding~
When the crisp knock on the door sounded in the dim corridor, Xia De inexplicably felt a little eerie.
It's not inexplicable.
"What?"
Then he saw a nearly completely transparent spirit, with its head and upper body floating out through the wall. The spirit looked like a little girl, and she tilted her head to look at Shade.
When Shade also looked at her, the girl's soul face showed an expression of extreme shock, and she obviously didn't understand why Shade could see her.
She quickly shrank back into the wall - the onomatopoeia was Shad's imagination, but he then really heard the panicked sound of getting up and footsteps from inside the door, and the footsteps were approaching the wall with the window.
Xia De pushed the locked door open, and when he entered, he pressed his hand directly against the wall. The blood-red thorn bush immediately blocked the door and the only window in the room.
The pale young man in his nightgown stood at the window in despair, looking back at Shade, while the floating girl's soul said beside him with gloating:
"Giles, Giles, you are in trouble!"
"I know... ahem."
The man who looked to be in his thirties coughed twice, and did not dare to test what the blood-red thorns were. He walked back to the bed and sat down dejectedly, then looked at Xia De with bloodshot eyes:
"what are you up to?"
"Before I tell you what I'm going to do, could you explain why you ran away?"
Xia De asked as he stood at the door, almost certain that this was what he was looking for.
Durut Giles was speechless for a moment, so Shad looked at the soul floating next to him:
"You are.....Rustor Edwards?"
When the name came out, the little girl's soul was startled for a moment, then she clapped her hands and said:
"You know me, you know me!"
There is something wrong with her intelligence level. Even if she has become a ghost, she shouldn't speak like this.
Looking at the pale man again, there was more despair in his tone:
"You're from Green Lake?"
"That's true, but I'm from Tobesk."
The stranger who had a house in Saint Teresa's Square said, and then introduced himself:
"You probably misunderstood my identity. I am not from the Edwards family, nor am I hired by anyone."
He took out the letter from Professor Manning and the pen he had picked up from the bottom of the lake:
"In order to find a burial object, I traced the trail from the Randall River Valley to the Glass City - Mikaela Blast Furnace City. Then I found a clue on the central island of Green Lake. I traced the trail all the way to Green Lake City and killed the local gang leader. Then I found Willendel through your pen, and then I learned that you were in Tobesk, and finally found Professor Tiris Manning."
He himself felt that the process was complicated, but definitely worth it.
The man sitting beside the bed looked up at his long-lost pen, then looked down at the letter:
"The City of Spring - Randall River Valley, that's a big city in the southwest of the Old World. I've never been there. Why did you... Wait, what did those tomb robbers sell?"
He had no idea that the finger bone had been sold to the Randall Valley.
Xia De was relieved to see that the other party could communicate:
"It seems that what you encountered on the island was more complicated than I thought. Professor Manning said that you are very talented and asked me not to do anything to you casually. I respect this old gentleman, so please come with me to the professor."
Then, he introduced his relationship with the professor:
"He knew me when he was young, and we helped each other a little at that time. But my respect for Professor Manning doesn't mean that I am really kind to you, so don't play tricks on me."
The man had finished reading the letter, but he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he looked at the soul floating beside him. Rusty Edwards, the eldest daughter of the second generation of the Edwards family who died young, thought for a while:
"Go with him, go with him!"
"I'll go with you."
Only then did Durut Giles nod to Shad.
"Don't move. Let me see what kind of curse you have."
As he spoke, he walked over and held the other person's hand. After frowning slightly, he confirmed that this was the same curse as the mad tomb robber who was left with only one breath in Green Lake City. This curse was rooted in the soul and constantly eroded the vitality and will of the cursed. Even Shade could not figure out what this strange curse was.
"It's very troublesome. Let's talk about the curse after we meet the professor."
He asked Duruto Giles to change his clothes and find his shoes, and the latter did as he was told. While waiting, Shade asked curiously:
"By the way, what is your relationship with this... young lady?"
It was not a curse that bound the two men, but rather the soul of Rusty Edwards, who died young, who voluntarily stayed with him.