"What is the method of containment? What happens if containment gets out of control?"
"The way to contain it is to wrap it up when not in use and not point it at the outside world for a long time. Otherwise, it will spontaneously pull all nearby objects and even living people into the mirror world. And if it is pulled in like this, it will be difficult to find a way to return to the normal world."
"Father John, can you give me an estimate for this relic?"
Xia De thought about it and found out.
"You want to sell it?"
The old man glanced at Xia De:
"Although it's only a poet-level, the containment method is simple and the effect is very practical. If you want to sell it to me, I'm willing to spend 1,200 pounds."
Old John can bargain here. Since he asked for 1,200 pounds, the upper limit should be around 1,400 pounds. In this way, this relic can really be considered one of the more valuable ones that Shade has obtained.
“I don’t want to sell it for now.”
"You won't be of much use keeping it, so why not sell it to me and then use the gold pounds you get to exchange for a practical magic trick."
"Oh, Father John, I need to think about it..."
Xia De put away the mirror, and the old man shook his head helplessly:
"Since you're not selling it, I'll charge you for the appraisal."
"Of course, but before that, we can talk about special blood."
Including the reward for the investigation mission that he had not yet settled with Granny Cassandra, Shad had already obtained two types of blood. Therefore, he was no longer obsessed with other blood, but if it was really valuable and the price was right, he would consider buying it.
"This time, I bought it myself at a bargain price."
Old John bent down and took out a conical glass bottle sealed with tin from the cabinet under the counter. Inside was a dark red liquid. The liquid was not completely still, but was actually producing small bubbles inside.
"Dad, tell me the price first. I won't buy it if it's higher than 1,000 pounds."
He only had the two thousand dollars he earned from completing the Grey Eagle intelligence transmission work, and he couldn't spend more.
"Don't worry. I said I would consider your financial strength. This is very cheap. First, let me tell you what kind of blood this is."
The old man assured Xia De:
"Born in 1384 of the Sixth Era, Borbo Brando was struck by lightning 42 times in her life, about once a year on average, so that almost all her relatives and friends died. Until she was 43 years old..."
"He was finally killed by lightning?"
"No, he was struck by lightning and hit his head due to excessive surprise, and then died from excessive blood loss."
Dad said, shaking the small bottle in his hand:
"After his death, he was buried in the mountainous area southwest of Carsenrick. On the day of his burial, the cemetery was struck by lightning. Since then, whenever it rained, the coffin would be struck by lightning, and the frequency of lightning became higher and higher. Later, the cemetery was shrouded in thunderstorms all year round, forcing the church to block the area. This is the famous 'Brando Lightning Cemetery' area."
"Who did this gentleman from five hundred years ago offend?"
Xia De pointed to the sky cautiously, and Old John shook his head cautiously:
"Only God knows. However, what I have in my hand is his blood. He was struck by lightning every year during his lifetime, which attracted the interest of the ring magicians of that era, so this bottle of blood was created. Unfortunately, the study of blood did not allow people to understand why he was struck by lightning all the time, so this bottle of blood was passed down. But I have to remind you that even if it has been carefully preserved, this bottle of blood is bound to deteriorate after more than 500 years."
He held out the small bottle in his hand for Xia De to check:
"Although this blood is very interesting, it is actually useless and difficult to preserve as a collection, so I bought it."
"It's like chicken ribs. They don't taste good if you eat them, but it's a pity to throw them away."
"No, I never feel bad throwing away chicken ribs."
Old John said.
"Well, you seem to be living a very affluent life."
"Don't mock me. I'm not wasting food. I often feed the stray animals in the alley over there with the discarded food... Why are you talking about this again? Let's get down to business. The price is 50 pounds. You know, this is blood from 500 years ago!"
He used a very exaggerated tone.
"At the same time, it can also be considered garbage from five hundred years ago."
Xia De observed the bottle of blood under the gas lamp, curious about how the bubbles appeared inside:
"Thirty pounds."
"Then you might as well go and rob it, 45."
Shade put the bottle on the counter, put his right arm on the counter, and leaned over to look at Old John:
"If I really went to rob someone, I wouldn't just rob 20 pounds. 35."
"42."
"37."
"40."
"39."
"Thirty-nine pounds 10 shillings."
"Thirty-nine pounds and five shillings."
“39... ... ”
Xia De waved his hands hurriedly:
"Let's not haggle over a few shillings. How about I give you 42 pounds, including the appraisal fee?"
"You really are good at bargaining."
The old man whispered, but it meant yes.
However, Xia De was not in a hurry to pay. He had another thing to do:
"Father John, I want to ask you something."
"Ask me for advice? It's not cheap. You know, the Priory doesn't bargain."
This was the first time he took the initiative to mention the "Guiding Light Hermitage" in front of Shade.
Xia De nodded:
"It's about the worship of the twin gods. I learned about a ballad or poem that might be a ritual, and I want you to help me interpret it."
He repeated the strange folk song he had just heard from Professor Manning, and Dad thought for a moment:
"It doesn't sound like a ritual. It sounds like a method of making alchemical items."
"How did you hear that?"
"Different people interpret this kind of knowledge hidden in folk songs or legends in different ways. This is just my interpretation."
Although Shad still thinks this is a ritual, Old John's idea can also be tried:
"If I ask you to help make this alchemical item, how long will it take? How long will it take?"
"You gave me too little information. I can only try to make a trial work with the materials at hand. I'll charge you 1 pound for the work. It's just some scraps, so I don't need to pay for the materials. But I can't guarantee that it will be useful. After all, you only gave me this folk song."
That is to say, for these three transactions tonight, Shade spent a total of 43 pounds:
"Okay then, when should I pick it up?"
"After I finish your business in two hours, I can close my business today."
Xia De calculated the time:
"Okay, I'll pick it up at 10:30 pm. It just so happens that I need to go out of town to buy some undead materials."
"Where is Copps?"
Old John asked with drooping eyelids.
"You know him, too?"
"I've done a few deals with people, and I don't want to say bad things about people behind their backs, but that person really looks like a real corpse."
Mr. Copps's material store is located in an unknown small village cemetery on the northern outskirts of Tobesk. Dorothy once brought Shad to the store. The gentleman had a strange temper. The store was only open at night, and no matter whether it was a new or old customer, he would "attack" them after entering the cemetery.
He took a carriage from Old John's pawnshop, got off at the edge of the city and walked out of the city. When he arrived at the suburban cemetery in the dim night, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. The autumn night in the suburbs seemed to be colder than in the city. After putting on a mask and stepping on the dead branches on the ground into the cemetery shrouded in night fog, he saw a transparent figure floating in the air in the fog swept by the night wind, floating towards him with painful wails.
"Evil spirit?"
Xia De slowly put on the "Mind Crystal Ring" and waited until the hideous soul approached and stretched out both hands towards his neck, then he suddenly swung his right fist forward:
"Mind Explosion!"
The night fog swirled in front of the fist. There seemed to be a soft bang in the air. The evil spirit retreated out of thin air and disappeared into the fog with increasingly faint howls, leaving only the voice that seemed to still linger in his ears and was reluctant to leave.
Shad touched his fist and continued walking forward on the path in the cemetery until he came to the gravekeeper's hut. Mr. Copps was already waiting there, and the light of a kerosene lamp was burning in the half-open hut behind him.
The skinny middle-aged man, who looked like he had overindulged in sexual activities and had a pale face, glanced at Xia De but did not ask who he was.
"What do you need?"
Shade handed him the list of materials for thaumaturgical death guidance. Mr. Kopps lowered his head and checked them one by one:
"I'm out of brown spiritual dust. Can I get black instead?"
"Yes, but you need to increase the weight by one third."
Shade nodded, and the priest noted the replacement materials on the list.
"115 pounds and 5 shillings. The 5 shilling change is the extra labor fee I charged for processing the corrupted ghoul intestines. That thing is really disgusting."
While Shad was taking money out of his pocket, Mr. Kops went back to his hut to prepare the materials for Shad. Although not much of each material was needed, it took time to weigh them accurately on a scale. So, it took Mr. Kops a full twenty minutes to put all the bottles, jars and paper bags in a paper bag and give it to Shad.
That paper bag looked like the kind used in bakeries in the city.
After paying for the goods, Xia De didn't want to talk to this strange ring wizard any more, so he wanted to leave after getting what he wanted, but he was stopped by the other party:
"Sorry, please wait a moment."
Mr. Copps twitched his nose:
"Have you been to the borderland between life and death recently?"
Only the boundary between life and death that is large enough under Midhill Castle can be called the "Gap between Life and Death". Other similar areas have different names, but this is definitely the place Mr. Copps is talking about.
"Yes, I just came back from abroad. During my trip, there was some trouble on the third floor of the small hotel where I stayed."
Xia De said half-truthfully.
Mr. Copps did not ask where Shad lived:
"Are you interested in making some money? I buy a lot of corpse grass, black orchids and black venomous lady flowers from the borderland. The price is negotiable. One pound of corpse grass is 3 pounds and 7 shillings, one pound of black orchid is 13 pounds, 15 shillings and 5 pence, and I can give you 20 pounds for one venomous lady flower. But you must preserve it carefully and keep it fresh during transportation."
Corpse grass is a plant that is everywhere in the narrow space between life and death, and it is also a common undead material in the material world; the Hades orchid is often used as a powerful hallucinogen, and only grows in places such as cemeteries or ancient battlefields. Shad remembered that when he defeated the Undead Knight in the narrow space, he saw a large area of it nearby; as for the Lady of the Wrath, Shad had never even seen it in his second-grade textbook. He only saw the description in Miss Feliana's notebook and knew that this was a plant related to the dying soul.
Mr. Kopps's price was about 50% higher than that of plants that normally grow in the material world, but Shade did not agree:
"Mr. Kops, you know how dangerous the borderland is. I am very interested in this business, but I don't want to go there again."
"It's okay. Just remember this deal. If you have the chance in the future, you can collect some materials and sell them to me. For Corpse Grass and Dark Orchid, I will temporarily purchase them at the upper limit of 200 pounds (about 90.72kg) and 130 pounds (about 58.97kg). There is no limit on the amount of Black Lady Flower."
Xia De was curious about what the other party wanted so many materials for, but he didn't ask any more questions:
"Okay, I wouldn't mind making that money if I had the chance."
After leaving the cemetery, Shad used stones to carve a ritual array on the ground in a nearby cemetery. Taking advantage of the environment close to the cemetery, he used the materials he bought to learn the magic of guiding death.
When he returned to Old John's pawn shop, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening, but Father John was still waiting for him. However, as soon as Shad entered the store, the old man covered his nose and complained:
"Detective, what do you smell like? If you step on animal excrement outside the city, please do not go any further."
"I just soaked my hands in the liquid from the corpse water and the roots of the rotten three-eyed witch tree. But before I entered the city, I washed my hands in the creek outside the city."
"The three-eyed witch tree is notoriously smelly. The smell can't be washed off. I have a bottle of deodorant here. Pour it into a basin of warm water and scrub it carefully. Give me two shillings and you'll take it."
“You really know how to make money.”
Shad said, but still gave the money.
Old John had also finished making the alchemical item that was probably useless based on the folk song provided by Shade. It was two red butterfly pendants with half a wing each, about a quarter of the size of Shade's palm. The material seemed to be red copper, but after special treatment, it showed a red color.
The wings are double-sided, while the butterfly bodies of the two pendants are single-sided. The other side of the butterfly body is flat, with the rune of "twin" written in red paint. Because of the magnets placed inside, the flat surfaces of the butterfly bodies of the two pendants can be attached together to form a complete red butterfly with two wings.
"If it doesn't work, remember to tell me so I can improve it and give you a lower price next time. If it does work, tell me so I can continue to improve it and make the finished product even better."
"No problem. Oh, the commission to purchase special blood has ended. This matter can be cancelled."
Xia De waved his hand and prepared to say goodbye, but when he reached the door, he turned around and asked:
"Father John, do you know the Spiritual Order?"
"Of course I know. Those blind nuns are famous."
The old man who was throwing the change given by Shade into the cookie box nodded:
"Why do you ask that?"
"Do you know the origin of the cult? Is it related to the ancient gods?"
Old John raised his eyebrows:
"It's so late, and you're asking such a question. Since you've done so much business with me today, I won't charge you for the information. There's a 60% chance that it's related, but I don't know who it is."
"Thank you. I'm welcome too."
Xia De smiled and thanked him:
"Next time I can thank you with a nice bottle of wine."
"You are even more stingy than me, what good wine can you have?"
The old man muttered to Xia De to leave quickly because he was going to close the shop and rest.
When I got home, it was almost midnight. As soon as I opened the door, Mia the cat rushed over from the stairs and almost knocked Shade down. But Luvia had already left. She was really busy today, so she finished her stargazing work at night and went home to rest at around ten o'clock.
However, she had boiled a pot of hot water for Shade in advance so that he could make tea when he got home, and she had also left him a letter to inform him of her and Iluna's recent plans in Tobesk. As for the matter that Shade had asked her to investigate the Spiritual Cult from the Prophet's Association last time, there was no result yet.