Early Wednesday morning, Shad received a suitcase from a stranger knocking on his door.
So after breakfast, Shade left Mia to be taken care of by Luvia, who slept on the first floor after stargazing very late last night, and then set off again for Midhill Castle.
But he did not go directly to Middlesbrough Railway Station. Instead, he went to Cassandra Auction House and found the great witch Cassandra for help:
"Excuse me, is there any way to completely change your appearance in a short period of time?"
Shade asked. The two were talking in the reception room on the top floor of the auction house. The witch with silver hair and an old face seemed to welcome Shade's arrival.
"I have a box of eye shadow given by Miss Carina, but it can only slightly change my appearance. In a moment, I have to do something that absolutely cannot reveal my identity, so is there a way to completely change my appearance?"
"How long will it last?"
The old man asked with a smile, and Xia De thought for a moment:
"About two hours."
"Is the other party a ring sorcerer?"
"Probably not."
Xia De thought it would be better to be cautious. Maybe the guy who came to pick up the goods was just like him, forced to complete this task for various reasons.
“It’s very simple.”
Granny Cassandra then called over the maid next to her. The middle-aged woman, who was about 5th ring level, immediately went to the auction house warehouse to get something:
"Also, bring the keys."
Granny Cassandra gave another order, and a few dozen minutes later, two boxes with whispering elements appeared on the coffee table, which meant that the boxes contained relics.
"The time key for the year 3024 of the Fifth Era. I know that Carina is helping you find the key for this time period. It just so happens that you are here, so I don't have to give it to her."
Grandma Cassandra gestured to Shad to open the first box, and sure enough, on the red lining lay a very familiar wooden key.
The key to the Vampire God's Cocktail Party in the year 3014 of the Fifth Epoch had been used three times. This Sunday morning, he could start a new adventure. He had planned to apply for a new key at the academy during the meeting on Saturday afternoon, and then check it out at another time. He didn't expect that Granny Cassandra could actually provide one.
"The other one is lent to you, open it and take a look."
Shad opened another box and saw a metal plate connected to a rusty metal clip.
One side of the metal sheet is blank, and the other side has identity information written on it:
Second Century Historical Research Institute, Typist, ****
The place on the back where the name should have been written has been scratched.
Below this line of identity information is a pattern of an unfolded book occupying the center of the metal card. This is probably the emblem of the so-called "Second Era History Research Institute".
Below that, there is a row of tiny letters, which translate to:
Without names, everyone is us.
"What's this?"
"Secret Keeper-level relic, the ID card of an unknown name. This relic has been passed down for a long time and is said to come from the ancient Third Age. Clip the small clip of this ID card on the chest pocket of your shirt, and you will appear to others as another person. And every time you use it, your image will be different."
Granny Cassandra introduced it, and Shade curiously examined the item in his hand:
"This is really convenient, but why is it a keeper-level? Is it because of a special containment method, or is it because of a strong negative property?"
"Containment is simple. No more than five intelligent creatures can come into contact with this card in one day. The negative characteristics are strong. Mr. Hamilton, do you know the Faceless Man?"
The old man asked, holding the teacup.
Xia De thought about it:
"It seems to be a terrifying creature that lived in the early Fifth Era, and made a living by stealing people's faces and identities. Later, it offended a witch that it shouldn't have offended, and was completely destroyed."
This is what I saw from Miss Felina's handwriting.
"Yes, and the negative characteristic of this relic is that if the user holds it for too long or uses it too frequently, the user's face will peel off, and they must peel off other people's faces to survive. Once the negative characteristic is triggered, the user will be transformed into a faceless person, gradually losing their sanity and falling into madness. At the same time, the more faces they peel off, the stronger their power will be, until they finally completely degenerate into an indescribable creature made up of thousands of faces."
Although she was saying terrible things, the old witch with silver hair still had a smiling expression on her face:
"If you only use it for two hours and it's your first time, you won't have any problems. If you're really unlucky and feel something strange on your face, take the relic off immediately and then keep chanting your own name to strengthen your self-awareness."
"Okay, that's very helpful to me. So what do you want me to pay you for giving me the key and lending me the relic?"
Shad asked.
"No, no, no, there is no need for compensation."
Granny Cassandra shook her head and said before Shade could speak:
"But I need you to do something. Remember last week I mentioned that my teacher is preparing a ceremony that takes place every 22 years?"
Grandma Cassandra's teacher is not a witch of the Witch Council, but is equally respected by the Council.
"Remember."
Xia De nodded, but muttered in his heart:
"Hmm? 22 years?"
"I would like to invite you to observe the ceremony. The exact time has not been determined yet, but it will definitely be held in the mountains of Xikar before the end of this month. If you have time, please come with me to observe."
"Just tell me the time and place when the time comes."
Shade nodded, but he didn't promise to go, after all, he didn't even know what the ceremony was.
After bidding farewell to Grandma Cassandra, Shad clipped the ID card to the inside pocket of his coat inside the Cassandra Auction House. He himself did not change shape, but in the eyes of others, he had become a different person.
This can be judged by looking in the mirror. Xia De in the mirror has now become a middle-aged man with sparse hair and heavy dark circles under his eyes. It is almost as if "midlife crisis" is written on his face.
After that, he bought some red roses near Middleburg train station, put on the gray gloves he had prepared in advance, put the gold pen in front of his pocket, and walked into the bustling train station carrying the box.
After buying a platform ticket, I took another look at the train schedule.
Professor Higgins' last words asked Shade to deliver the goods at 9:30 this morning. Shade was not sure whether the person who received the goods was in the city and would leave by car at this time, or whether the person who received the goods was out of town and would come by car at this time.
There were seven or eight steam trains departing for and coming from Carsonrick at around 9:30, which seemed to be one of the busiest times of the day at the station.
Since there were no clues worth analyzing, Xia De pretended to be a passenger waiting for a train, and waited slowly with his suitcase in his hand on the steam-filled and crowded platform.