Xia De didn't tell them about his plan to enter the border of life and death to search for Priest Augustus; instead, he decided to wait until the group meeting tomorrow afternoon to choose his words carefully before explaining everything.
Without even thinking, he knew the girls would definitely oppose Xia De doing this.
“Xia De, Old John came by this afternoon.”
Mia rushed over as Xia De, head down in thought, reached the second floor. As Xia De held her, the Golden-haired girl in the study said.
“What did Old John come for?”
Xia De asked while holding the excited Mia, who sniffed at Xia De’s front and then sneezed suspiciously.
“Old John said that the special blood you wanted to buy is available. He paid the deposit for you, and the blood has already arrived at his Pawnshop. He wants you to bring the money and pick up the blood when you have time. How expensive was the thing you bought? Did Old John really come to find you in person?”
Dorothy asked, capping her pen and pressing her neck while sitting behind the grand desk in the study, then she walked out with a smile:
“You wouldn’t believe how surprised Old John was when he knocked on the door and saw Luvia and me open it.”
Old John was very familiar with Schneider’s group, so while he said “surprised,” he wouldn’t think too much of it.
“Did anyone else come looking for me this afternoon? No clients, I hope?”
Xia De asked again, placing Mia on the coffee table.
“No clients came. Didn’t you say that you might not even get one client a week for your business?”
Luvia also came down from the third floor, wiping her hands with a towel. Xia De could faintly smell the oil used to lubricate mechanical bearings.
“But at least I earn a lot.”
Xia De said truthfully, and Luvia shrugged:
“But how do I remember that most of your income comes from another source?”
“Yes, that Duchess.”
Dorothy teased.
The three went out together to a restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue for dinner, and then the two ladies went their separate ways. But they would both come again tomorrow. Luvia still had to tinker with her astrological equipment, and Dorothy had to help watch Mia to prevent her from starving if Xia De didn't return all day.
After bidding farewell to the two ladies, Xia De took Mia and the pounds to Old John’s Pawnshop. Old John lived above the Pawnshop, so he would close late:
“Good evening, Old John.”
When Xia De pushed the door open, the old man in the shop was busy with his accounts. He looked up, greeted Xia De, and only after finishing his ledger did he talk business with Xia De:
“I know you’re in a hurry for the special blood, so I paid a deposit to my friend in advance to have him send it over. Don’t tell me you don’t have enough cash, so you can’t afford it.”
As he spoke, Old John called Xia De for help, and together they moved a wooden crate from under the counter.
After prying open the crate with a crowbar, cold air immediately surged out. The wooden crate was filled with straw, and among the straw were some ice cubes for cooling, but most of them had already melted.
Old John reached into the straw and rummaged, pulling out a cold brass-colored metal box. Opening it, the cold became even more intense; inside were two pieces of solid ice clamped together. Between the ice blocks was a glass tube as thick as a thumb, and the viscous red blood seemed to have solidified due to the low temperature.
“Why does it smell like fish?”
Xia De asked. Mia looked at the box in front of her curiously but didn't jump into the straw.
“It was sent by ship along with low-temperature stored fish. Of course, it smells like fish.”
Old John, with his wrinkled, aged hands, took the glass tube from the ice:
“Oh, my God, it’s really cold. Xia De, quickly take it!”
He handed the glass tube to Xia De, then vigorously rubbed his hands. Xia De, who took the glass tube, also felt its chill.
He thought for a moment and brought the glass tube near Mia on his shoulder. Mia immediately meowed, stopping Xia De’s action.
This Mia would not be foolish enough to risk her tongue being frozen by licking such a thing.
“What kind of blood is this?”
Xia De asked curiously.
“Rhein Demon blood. Shake the container.”
Xia De slightly shook the glass tube in his hand, and the bright red blood gradually revealed distinct rainbow colors.
“It’s truly pretty.”
“The blood is pretty, but Rhein Demons are incredibly dangerous.
They are extremely dangerous Xenomorph creatures active on small Islands in the outer sea. According to legend, the entire population always remains within 49 individuals. If you see a Rhein Demon under any circumstances, you must personally kill a blood-related family member, otherwise, your parents, children, and spouse will die. Therefore, in addition to being called ‘Rhein Demon,’ this dangerous thing is also called ‘Family Destroyer Demon Ghost.’ ”
Old John clicked his tongue continuously:
“Extremely dangerous. Only God knows why such creatures exist. There is a saying that they were created to restrain a highly reproductive terrifying sub-space evil, but this saying has not been confirmed. In any case, Rhein Demon blood is considered incredibly precious. It can be used as an auxiliary material for various rare magic potions, and holders of Sublimation Words related to bloodlines must use this blood as a ritual material to advance after constructing complete Sublimation Words.”
“That’s indeed good. How much?”
Xia De was very satisfied.
“I won’t bargain with you this time. This is my friend’s item, and he wants 4900 pounds.”
This price was extremely expensive. One should know that 4900 pounds could even buy a very useful weapon relic. The Merman’s Elixir of Immortality that Xia De sold did not reach this price. But the problem was, according to Old John’s description, this price was actually only a little high. After all, Xia De was in a hurry, and under normal circumstances, Xia De thought it might be possible to buy it for 4500…
“For this blood, my friend has made an enemy of a 9-ring Vampire. You don’t know how dangerous the situation was at the time.”
Old John said again, beginning to pack up the wooden box.
“Forget it, 4900 pounds it is.”
Xia De said with a sigh, actually thinking of going to Miss Jialinna tomorrow to get another kind of blood. This way, his second adventure of the fifth epoch, 3014, which had been delayed for a whole week, could begin.
It just so happened that Xia De had also entered the boundary between life and death in the past day or two. He didn’t know what would happen inside, so he could bring the blood, the time key, and the door pendant with him. If he encountered danger, he could go to the past to rest for 30 minutes.
He believed that even in such an uncertain place of life and death, the time key could still be used.
“I bought a very expensive spell at Saint Byron’s Library a few days ago. If I hadn’t won some more money afterward, I wouldn’t even have been able to produce so much cash. Your friend is really good at pricing; if he had asked for a little more, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
He said, starting to take money from his pocket. After this high expense, he only had over 200 pounds in savings left. The pounds in his hand were about to drop below double digits, causing great anxiety for the Outsider.
Old John had seen Xia De pull out banknotes that absolutely couldn’t fit in his pocket before, so he wasn’t surprised:
“Didn’t you just win 3000 pounds because of Great City Player? Don’t be so glum, young man, pounds are meant to be spent.
And it’s also because of my face that I only charged you four thousand nine hundred pounds, otherwise, it would have been five thousand. Oh, I also bet on you winning, so I won’t charge you for shipping. Detective, you absolutely can’t imagine how many people died for this blood before he got it. Although these lives have nothing to do with us, in the end, they were indeed only worth four thousand nine hundred pounds.”
“So, we need to be people who can price our own lives.”
Xia De said. The old man looked at him in surprise and nodded:
“That’s indeed the case. I’m glad you realize that. But before you embark on a thrilling adventure, I need to remind you that this blood needs to be stored at low temperatures. No matter how you plan to use it, don’t store it for more than a week.”
This world was so real; any material would expire, not be preserved permanently.
“I understand, Old John.”
He put the glass tube back into the ice. The cold sensation reminded him of his empty wallet:
“The acquisition of rare blood continues; I still need blood.”
He didn’t forget to remind him before leaving, after all, the third tea party still required blood.
“That’s not easy. I’ll help inquire about it, and you remember to have the money ready.”
Old John shrugged, so Xia De had to find a way to get himself some money.
First, he sent Mia and the tube of blood home, then changed into an old Sparrow Detective outfit he hadn’t worn before, put on a wide-brimmed black hat, and hurried out into the night.
He originally didn’t intend to get involved in the matters of Gray Headed Eagle and the neighboring country’s spies, but now that he needed money, he had no choice but to complete the tasks that Sparrow Detective had left unfinished.
The intelligence obtained from Mr. Virgil Cameron needed to be delivered to 1 Vic Street. That was a street in the Lower City. In the City map left by Sparrow Detective, this street was not specially marked.
The carriage took Xia De to the street corner. After getting off, he could only see a few gas streetlights flickering with dim, ambiguous yellow light on the misty street.
The Lower City’s municipal maintenance was very poor, and it was unknown when the gas streetlights on Vic Street were erected. Now, at a glance, only two-thirds of the lights were still on.
1 Vic Street was right at the corner, or more precisely, behind the street sign at the corner. Standing on the street and looking at the building, lights were on on every floor of the three-story apartment building, and every window had curtains drawn.
This street was very quiet; Xia De couldn't hear any sounds from inside the house.
“The problem now is, I know the location to deliver the intelligence, but I don’t know how to tell others I have intelligence.”
He thought to himself, stepped onto the stairs, hesitated for a moment, and knocked on the door.
Dozens of seconds later, footsteps appeared behind the door. Without asking who was outside, the person behind the door opened it directly but did not remove the security chain.
Xia De stepped back a bit and saw that the person who opened the door was an old gentleman with a white wig, wearing brown pajamas and round-rimmed reading glasses.
He looked Xia De up and down suspiciously:
“Who are you, please?”
This looked like an unremarkable Tobesk City citizen, perhaps just now reading a book in the living room with a hot cup of tea.
“I… I’m here to sell a pen.”
Xia De pulled out the pen from his pocket.
The old man behind the door slightly lowered his head, his eyes looking over the top of his reading glasses at the pen:
“Why are you only just now arriving? I’ve been waiting for days. Wasn’t the appointment for Wednesday?”
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief:
“Sir, you have to understand me too. There are so many buyers who want this pen, I can’t just let others know that this pen is in my hand.”
“That’s true. I thought you had failed.”
He didn’t take the pen but turned and went back into the house. Xia De stood at the doorway and didn’t push open the half-open door.
It seemed that Gray Headed Eagle was indeed skilled at disguise and concealment; this contact person didn’t even recognize the real Gray Headed Eagle.
“The agreed price.”
Not long after, the old man inside the door handed Xia De a briefcase. When Xia De handed the pen to him, the old man also pointed at the box:
“You did very well this time. Inside, besides the agreed price, there’s also a letter from home for you. Don’t forget to read it.”
“Old sir, do you think I’m new to this line of work?”
Xia De said calmly, nodding politely as a farewell, then adjusted his hat, turned, and walked back into the long night.
The old gentleman at 1 Vic Street curled his lips, watched Xia De’s figure disappear at the street corner, and then closed the door:
“This fellow is really cautious.”
Upon returning home, Xia De eagerly opened the box. Inside were stacks of five-pound banknotes, all old notes with non-sequential numbers, and no obvious marks on the banknotes.
Xia De placed the briefcase under the gas lamp on his desk and admired the spectacular sight of a box full of banknotes with Mia.
But he didn’t find the letter in the box. Xia De thought for a moment, then, after slowly tearing apart the box, he thought of using Priest Augustus’s revealing potion to treat the fabric lining the box.
Indeed, a long string of numbers appeared on the fabric. After deciphering it according to the codes corresponding to the three novels, the general meaning was that this time, Gray Headed Eagle was risked for intelligence, so for safety, all previous contact methods were invalidated. Gray Headed Eagle re-entered a long-term dormant state, and when a mission was needed, the next special letter would be sent out.
“Please don’t contact me again. Gray Headed Eagle’s final mission is complete.”
Xia De said in a low voice, burning the cloth covered in codes. After confirming that Mia, who was poking her head around, had no interest in the brazier, he turned the banknotes into a toy and put them into the locked top drawer of his desk:
“Gray Headed Eagle is dead. Please, no more trouble for me! I already have enough on my hands.”
He again whispered to the desk, not knowing if he was talking to himself or to the possibly existing soul of Sparrow Hamilton.
