“The pearl you mentioned, is it on that terrifying corpse, or in the underwater City? Or perhaps in the hands of the Scarlet Cult’s ritual master?” Xia De asked again.
“That, I don’t know,” Mr. Edmund said with a regretful expression.
“I’m not a Merman, and I’ve never been to the bottom of the sea. These are all recorded in stone tablets and ancient texts. I can’t even be sure if that pearl is a relic. But you definitely won’t mistake it; it’s a golden pearl, about half the size of a fist.”
Xia De frowned and thought for a moment. It seemed that the only way for him to determine if it contained what he wanted was to find a way to directly touch the pearl Mr. Edmund spoke of.
“I have one more question: Besides the evil god’s kin, are there any other dangers in Coldwater Port? I’m worried that something else might happen,” Xia De asked.
“The Ring Sorcerer factions from both the Old Continent and the New Continent have gathered in Coldwater Port to find someone—does that count as danger? Besides that, there are rumors of fishermen spotting a Mermaid in the outer sea, but that kind of anomalous race is a peaceful one. Currently, that’s all…,” the Old Professor considered for a moment.
“Of course, this land is not lacking in ancient legends, and there are quite a few modern ones too. For example, a Level 0 relic once appeared here, and this land was polluted by desire and sin, which is why it has become a paradise for smugglers and illegal immigrants in modern times. The light of civilization always attracts strange things… But I think these are unrelated to the current matter.”
“Alright,” Xia De nodded again, then stood up, preparing to leave.
“But if the Merman really has it…” The thought still echoed in his mind.
“You will obtain it at all costs,” she whispered in his ear, as if wrapping her hands around his neck and murmuring behind his ear.
Not only did Xia De want to leave, but Mr. Edmund also urged Xia De to leave quickly, as the Orthodox Church might send people here, and some things were still emerging from the old lighthouse.
So, Xia De returned to the carriage beneath the sea cliff with his umbrella, then had the coachman take him to the edge of the City. Since Coldwater Port did not allow carriages to enter, he planned to walk into the City.
Braving the rain through the night, Xia De was indeed not stopped. Although the City was under martial law, it was only strictly controlled near the Wharf Area. Xia De was still able to find a carriage to take him to the Aurora Family’s Manor.
The Aurora Family’s local Manor was located at the end of the coastal harbor street. The Manor faced the sea, with the City in front and a beach behind, making it a true “sea-view Manor.” Although it couldn’t compare to the royal Sophia Manor, it was an excellent building in Coldwater Port.
As expected, the area around Aurora Manor was strictly blockaded by the Church and the police, prohibiting anyone from entering. Although it was raining outside, and Xia De had illusions for nighttime use and Miracle for spatial movement, he could even swim underwater and land on the beach. However, to avoid being considered a strange person, he did not rashly intrude into the Witch’s Manor.
Standing in the shadows of the street, he observed for a moment, finally deciding to first take shelter from the rain in a pub on Seashell Avenue, where the Manor was located, and inquire about what was happening in the City that night.
Although it was already four in the morning, the Green Algae Pub was doing quite well. While not every table was full, at least a quarter of the tables had people at them.
A Poet, who seemed to be from nowhere, was sitting by the wall, playing and singing on a lute, surrounded by idlers listening. Laughter, chatter, and encouragement for the Poet to sing crude rural ditties occasionally broke out.
As Xia De pushed open the pub door, a sudden clap of thunder echoed across the night sky outside. People near the door instinctively turned to look at the pub entrance, just in time to see a stranger, dripping wet, pushing the doors open with both hands. His shadow stretched long across the pub’s stone floor, illuminated by the lightning that lit up the night sky.
They were clearly startled, but once they saw Xia De step into the gaslight of the pub, shutting out the downpour and thunder, they exhaled a long breath and mocked their companions for being timid.
Xia De sniffed and walked to the long counter, first ordering a hot drink to ward off the cold, then asking the bartender for a dry towel.
He usually didn’t drink alcohol, but this time he was truly chilled from being in the rain, so he didn’t insist on plain water. He expected the bartender to give him a strong alcoholic drink, but to his surprise, the bartender served him an amber-colored, herbal-smelling beverage.
“This is our exclusive recipe: half ale, half herbal wine, steeped with ginger and chili—absolutely warming. It’s very famous locally and has a nice name, ‘Warm Fire Medicinal Wine.’ Many sailors going out to sea buy a few barrels from us before setting sail,” the bartender introduced confidently.
Although Xia De was skeptical about the ingredients of this concoction, he took a sip. The taste was quite peculiar; with one gulp, the flavors of herbs, alcohol, chili, and ginger water simultaneously assaulted Xia De’s taste buds. Especially the chili, its spiciness immediately made Xia De feel a layer of sweat break out on his forehead. After wiping his sweat, he felt warm all over, with only his mouth feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“Very good,” he said, looking curiously at the liquid remaining in the cup. The bartender, whose hair was already graying, showed a proud expression.
“This is our specialty. But what are you doing outside in this rainy weather? It’s under martial law now.”
“Oh, my luck is really bad today. I lost at rhode cards all night, and as soon as I came out, I was questioned by the police. I can only hide here and hope those damn police leave quickly,” Xia De said in a rather crude tone. The bartender was quite sympathetic.
“Then you’ll have to wait a while. In the first half of the night, there were continuous gunshots for half an hour outside, yes, right near that Manor at the end of this street. Then the police came. Although the gunshots stopped, no one dares to show themselves now.” He pointed to the customers in the pub.
“These are all people who stayed here, planning to leave when it gets light.”
“What exactly happened outside? Damn it, the soundproofing at that casino… my friend’s place is really too good,” Xia De said, quite troubled.
“I don’t know, but judging by the intensity of the gunshots, it sounds like a battle? Maybe those damn Carson Rick people landed,” the bartender shrugged, amused by his own joke.
“What about the people in the Manor? Did anyone come out? If those noble lords dare to leave, I think we can too,” Xia De asked again.
“The Manor was quite lively tonight, like a banquet was being held, but no one has come out yet. Perhaps they value their lives more than we do,” the bartender shook his head, then tried to sell Xia De a wine from their pub that could cure hemorrhoids. And it wasn’t for external application, but for direct consumption. It was a new formula developed from local, long-standing traditional herbal remedies, and it was very cheap.
This sounded quite dreadful, and Xia De didn’t need it, so he immediately refused.
Having understood that a Merman attack had also occurred nearby, although he didn’t know why the people in the Manor hadn’t left after the danger had passed, Xia De decided to enter the Manor to check the situation once his body had warmed up.
Just as he shifted the topic to rhode cards, wanting to see if this pub, which sold magical medicinal wine, had any precious cards, the pub door was pushed open again.
Cold wind and rain, along with a whooshing sound, burst into the slightly tipsy-smelling pub. Xia De looked back, then immediately turned around, pretending not to have seen anything.
The guests who entered were an Old Professor wearing glasses, and a middle-aged man also wearing glasses and sporting two mustaches.
The Old Professor with round glasses was dressed in a formal black suit, even taller than Xia De. A pocket watch chain extended from his chest pocket, fastened to a button on his chest.
Xia De kept his head down and said nothing. He had seen this Old Professor before; it was Professor Sanchez, the Vice Principal of Saint Byron's Comprehensive College, Chief of the Student Management Department, and of the Library Management College. The last time they met at Xia De’s home, the Old Professor’s “Charm Human” spell had left a very deep impression on the Outsider who was new to this world.
Professor Sanchez and his companion also walked to the counter, and after chatting with the bartender and ordering drinks, they went to find an empty table. During this time, Xia De kept his head down, playing with his rhode cards, afraid of being recognized. Fortunately, he was quite lucky this time.
Professor Sanchez’s companion was also a High-Ring Sorcerer, likely also a professor at Saint Byron's. However, the news Xia De had heard was that the Three Great Arcane Academies had sent a professor from the College of Political Economy to Coldwater Port for the Sea Offering Ritual. He hadn’t expected Saint Byron's to send its Vice Principal directly.
“But what are the professors doing at this pub? It’s raining now, and even if they want to drink, there’s no reason to come all the way out here so late.” Aurora Manor, strictly speaking, was not in the core urban area of Coldwater Port, but on the edge of the Wharf Area.
Xia De hunched his shoulders, determined to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. The bartender, who had just been discussing rhode cards with Xia De, came over again after serving the new customers.
Not only him, but when the pub maid opened the wooden door to the back kitchen, a cat actually darted out from behind the kitchen door. This was likely the pub’s cat, kept to catch mice. It looked around, then leaped onto a high stool in front of the counter, then onto the counter itself, settling very neatly beside Xia De’s hand.
It was a very pretty white cat. Although not as cute as Mia, such pure white fur was indeed rare.
“Where were we?” The middle-aged bartender stroked the white cat, then continued chatting with Xia De.
“Next month, the Great City Player will begin. This time, the venue is Tobesk City. I’m preparing to place a heavy bet then.”
