The test was successful. As long as Shad was willing to spend his spirit to maintain the existence of the boat, he could keep the boat alive even if he was far away. But without Shad on board, others could not use their thoughts to move the boat like he did, and could only drive the boat by rowing.
After further testing, it was determined that if Shad himself did not board the ship, it would not affect the characteristics of the ship, that is, it would not be easily damaged, it would be difficult to sink after being damaged, and it could carry the undead.
The final and most important test is whether the boat summoned by Shad has the power to penetrate space.
Xia De himself had his own guess about this. When he used a small boat to transport the old boat out from the bottom of the lake last time, he found that his boat could repel the thick fog surrounding the island in the middle of the lake, which was a symbol in itself.
And that night, Miss Sylvia used the spatial blockade imposed by the relics, and her own magic to influence the spatial movement of the boat, which also showed that at least Shad's ship was completely immune to the spatial blockade of relics and magic.
It's a pity that this old wooden boat can only exist in the water and will automatically disappear once it leaves such a scene. Otherwise, if the boat is moved, carried, or even a pulley is installed on the bottom of the boat, the boat can play a greater role.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shad left the boat to the two witches and Luvia to continue testing, and he went upstream along the Duin River back to the city, ready to meet the cultists of the Dragon Feast Cult.
Holding an umbrella, he walked into the slums in the southeast of the city alone. The night rain quickly covered Xia De's tracks. No matter what the weather is, entering the city slums at night is a very dangerous behavior. The rainy night can cover up some sounds and wash away the smell of blood. Xia De really didn't expect that on his way to the appointment, he would be blocked in the alley by two people one after the other and robbed. And the other party didn't hesitate at all, and stabbed Xia De in the abdomen with a knife.
So Xia De didn't hesitate and used the flying moonlight to cut off two heads.
He was very curious whether he was being plotted against or just had bad luck, so he used magic to guide death in the rain and communicate with the soul of one of them:
"We were originally porters at the docks, but the reduction in trade between Green Lake City and the City of Glass caused us to lose our jobs. We couldn't find a job in the city right away, but we needed gold pounds to support our family and rent."
The soul stagnated and told his identity and story, so Shade placed the two bodies against the wall, waiting to be discovered tomorrow. He dispersed the soul and continued to walk towards his destination.
The Barking Dog Tavern on Black Dog Lane was the kind of tavern that Shad could imagine, located deep in the slums and definitely involved in illegal business.
Most of the surrounding buildings were dark on a rainy night, and the people in the slums were very concerned about the changes in the gas meter readings. Only the window of this pub still had a dim light. But when Shad pushed the door and entered, he found that there were not many people inside, and it was not as noisy as he imagined.
Men gathered together to drink and talk about the bad weather, or gathered at the table to play Rhodes. Girls dressed up in fancy clothes sat at the table against the wall, they either talked with their companions or flirted with the men who looked at them.
When Shade broke into the tavern on a rainy night, he only attracted the attention of a few people near the door.
He folded his umbrella at the door, looked around the shabby but apparently well-maintained tables and walls in the tavern, and then unexpectedly found that the person he was waiting for didn't seem to be here:
"It's ...... 8:40."
After ordering a glass of beer, Shade walked up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor of the tavern. There were even fewer guests on the second floor. This kind of bad weather really made people reluctant to go out at night.
So he sat down in the corner, made sure that the gold and silver rings were on his fingers, then took out a newspaper from his pocket and began to read it under the dim light.
At 8:56, footsteps came in the direction of Shade, followed by the sound of a chair being pulled out and sat down.
Shade put down the newspaper and looked at the lady sitting opposite him, who was wearing a black leather jacket and a long black skirt. She had brown hair similar to Megan and Audrey, was in her thirties, and had eyes like a child. When she looked at Shade, she showed a look of alertness and doubt.
What's more crucial is that when Xia De tried to listen to her heartbeat, he heard an extremely strong "bang bang bang" sound that not only vibrated the air, but even disturbed the spirits and elements. This was definitely not the sound of a human heartbeat.
After taking a look at the silver dragon-shaped badge hanging on the other party's chest, Xia De nodded:
"Nadia Foran?"
The woman with a serious face and pursed lips looked like a very strict person.
She nodded as well:
"How are you going to convince me that you are the God Summoner and not just someone the church randomly found?"
Shade took out five small keys from his pocket. These keys came from the blacksmith, the mineralogist, the rotten-eyed Barry, the boatman, and the mayor. As for Durrut Giles' key, Megan had already returned it to him.
"The only descendants of Edwards that the church has found so far are the Forlan brothers, and they only have one key. The Truth Society has one, you have one, and the Tyranny Club has one. That key is probably in the hands of the Truth Society, and the Mirror Society has one. There are eight keys left out of the thirteen, and I brought five of them. Can this be proved?"
The three he didn't mention were in the hands of Durut Giles, the Green siblings, and the old corpse ghost.
The woman who looked less than 30 years old and had slightly wet hair nodded:
"Although I know that your current appearance is an illusion, I am still surprised that you are so young."
"Ms. Foran, what do you think I should look like?"
“More mature, with a neat beard, elegant but with a somewhat reserved arrogance.”
For some reason, Xia De suddenly thought of Dr. Schneider.
He shook his head.
"Nice to meet you. So what are we going to talk about tonight? Although I don't mind staying in the tavern until late with a beautiful lady like you, you also know that the situation is turbulent now. The police may rush in at any time to search for suspicious persons."
He tapped the newspaper beside him, which showed the picture of the man caught with the steam bomb. He said nothing after being arrested, and Shad knew that MI6 would soon arrange for his disappearance.
"I want to talk to you about my ancestors."
The woman said, leaning forward slightly, exposing her entire face to the light of the oil lamp on the table.
"You want to seek my protection?"
After Xia De asked, he saw the serious woman's contemptuous smile:
"No, I never believe that others can protect me. Only I can protect myself. I just hope that you can get some information to increase the possibility of destroying the ancestor's plan."
"Give me information for free? Actually, even if you offered a deal, I wouldn't disagree."
Nadia Foran shook her head;
"You are right. This place is not safe, so I will make it short. You can decide for yourself whether to believe what I say next. But I believe you should understand that our cult no longer puts the matter of the Chosen Ones of Space first. If I were not a member of the Edwards family, I would not have stayed."
"Then please tell me your intelligence. What I am most concerned about now is whether I can go to the island as soon as possible with Edwards and others and attend your family dinner."
"It's difficult to do without the consent of the ancestors. The power that separates the two islands is very ancient, but you can try to force Edwards to stay with you. No matter how the ancestors ensure that the disobedient descendants will attend the banquet on time, you are the biggest threat to him at the moment."
This method is exactly what the witches are preparing, and the Green Lake Hotel is used as a base for this purpose.
"I don't know much about how to enter and exit the islands. Only the ancestors know the core secrets of the two islands. What I want to remind you today is the set of alchemical cards that the ancestors made by imitating the angel-level relic poetry cards. In that set of cards, each card seals a monster that appeared because of the ancestor's experiment and the evil creature he summoned. You saw one of them on the night of the lunar eclipse."
"Yes, I remember this. But that set of cards is just an alchemical item after all. Although it is powerful, it has its limits. What do you want to remind me of?"
"That deck of cards is the escape route that the ancestor prepared for himself after his failure. That deck of cards can truly bring him back to life. So, if you have a chance to kill the ancestor, you must destroy his deck before that."
"oh?"
Xia De looked at her in surprise. The woman's face was uncertain under the flickering candlelight. The windows on the second floor of the tavern were drafty, but that also made the room not very stuffy.
"You have told me the most important secret of the fortune teller."
"You need this secret. You are the one most likely to defeat him. Everyone in the family who has seen him knows how powerful he is. We must not be careless when dealing with him."
"But have you ever thought about it? Since the cards are so important, why did he let you know? Is there a possibility that he expected this?"
Nadia Foran nodded:
"The divination skills of the ancestors are terrifying. Maybe everything is really in the ancestors' plan, but this does not mean that I will succumb to his arrangements and the so-called fate of the family... One person is sublimated, and the others are steps. Ha~ I will make all the preparations I can before the family dinner. The cult still needs me, and I can't die in Green Lake."
"You are truly pious... This is not sarcasm, it is a compliment."
Xia De smiled, raised his glass and toasted her, but the woman ignored his gesture.