"Yes, it's definitely a man."
As he spoke, Priest Augustus also showed an awkward expression:
"The Hexacle, whose original name was Jack Deon, is male. The ring that can achieve gender transformation, according to intelligence, comes from the Blood Spirit School you mentioned. They are always adept at flesh Miracles and possess a large number of strange relics. Damn it, those madmen have all run off to the New World, and they still don't forget to cause trouble for us."
Professors at Saint Byron's once said that the ancient organization Blood Spirit School was hunted down by the Five Gods Church.
"The Church knew about his infiltration into Tobesk City a while ago. For some time, they suspected he was hiding in the Bai Ling Niao Club, which is the place you mentioned. However, they didn't expect him to be able to completely change his appearance, which is why the Church couldn't find him. As for him and Mr. Lawrence, it's temporarily unclear whether their orientation was twisted by the influence of the relic ring or for other reasons."
"A relic can even twist… orientation?"
Xia De asked, and the Old Priest showed a regretful expression:
"relics can twist any human personality and thoughts, depending on the relic's own function. For example, if a relic's function is to create food using excrement, then it might… never mind, I can't even continue myself."
He and Xia De adjusted their expressions together, then the Priest warned the Detective:
"Since Mrs. Lasoya and the Orthodox Church's team have appeared, tonight will likely be when the Church carries out the arrest. You must not get involved in this matter; it is very dangerous."
"But the doctor might not know about the Church's Ring術士 team appearing. Should we tell him?"
As he spoke, the sound of young girls laughing and talking came from the garden path directly opposite the statue. The Old Priest and the young Detective immediately went around to another path behind the statue:
"Bill might indeed not know."
Priest Augustus pondered, then looked at Xia De:
"I also saw Louisa just now. I thought she, like me, was just accidentally invited. She must be here to help the doctor. Since Lasoya has entered Lakeview Manor's main house, you should not approach. Go to the front courtyard and find Louisa to inform her of the current situation. I will go into the main house to find the doctor. Since he's not in the garden, he must already be inside preparing to act."
"Okay, no problem."
Xia De nodded solemnly, and Priest Augustus asked again:
"Do you have any relics and casting materials on you?"
"Yes, I do."
He patted his pocket.
"That's good, but unless absolutely necessary, do not easily use the power of a Ring術士 in front of ordinary people. Hamilton Detective, you must be careful."
"Priest Augustus, you also take care. Speaking of which, my luck tonight seems very good."
He wanted to get some revelation from the old man, but Priest Augustus obviously couldn't understand how good Xia De's luck actually was:
"The gifts of fate all have a price, Detective. A Ring術士 cannot rely on luck."
So the two went their separate ways, both hurrying, as they didn't know how far things had progressed.
After Xia De walked out of the garden maze, he turned the end of the path and followed the shadow of the main house to the front courtyard of the manor. Before he could even look around, he was suddenly grabbed by a burly drunkard beside him:
"I've seen you! You tell them whether or not I'm a deserter!"
The strong, middle-aged man, reeking of alcohol, forcibly pulled Xia De to a long table. Under the light, Xia De saw that the drunkard was Captain Lades. The last time he encountered him at the Lucky Southern Cross Club, he was being ridiculed by his companions for "firing eight shots at his head in an attempt to commit suicide to show loyalty to the king."
The situation this time seemed similar. The drunken Captain somehow recognized Xia De, or more likely, just casually grabbed someone and, in a muddled state, pulled him into the crowd.
"Lades, your story is ridiculous enough as it is. Do you still want to make a fool of yourself at the banquet?"
Captain Lades's friend, a brown-haired man in his thirties holding a wine glass, said. He was tall and wore a black formal suit. As he spoke, he gave Xia De an apologetic smile. Others wanted to help this innocent passerby leave Captain Lades's side, but they were all pushed away by the drunken officer, who was already somewhat incoherent, his slurred speech making the words he uttered difficult to distinguish:
"I'm not a coward! I truly didn't want to suffer the humiliation of being captured, so I shot myself in the head! That gun, that gun was an antique I bought a while ago, originally just for decoration, I didn't intend to use it."
"But did you successfully fire that antique pistol?"
The man holding the wine glass asked.
"Of course, the bullet's caliber happened to be the same as the one I had."
The drunken Captain replied, and in the faint candlelight, Xia De noticed his front was already soaked:
"Since the bullet fired, how could you still be alive?"
"How would I know! Is this God playing a joke on me? I held the gun to my head and fired, eight shots! Eight shots! The bullets all hit the people next to me! I broke down! I really broke down! Oh, God, are you no longer willing to look upon me?"
The Captain finally let go of Xia De and cried, leaning on the table. Xia De wanted to leave, but then he suddenly saw the Captain put his hand into his bosom and then pull out a black revolver. This clearly looked like an antique; although it was well-maintained, the mighty power of time would not be erased by mortal efforts.
You have come into contact with a whisper.
"Hmm? Is this really a relic?"
Xia De thought in surprise.
"Oh, why did you bring this to the banquet!"
Captain Lades's friends rushed over, worried that the Captain, who was wildly waving the antique gun in his hand, would disturb the other guests. But they weren't worried about the muzzle pointing randomly; the revolver should have no bullets in it.
"Put it away quickly!"
People urged, and the Captain stumbled and grabbed at the person next to him, then again grabbed Xia De, who hadn't managed to leave yet:
"Sir, look, it's this thing, not me! I really fired! I pointed it at my head, but I couldn't commit suicide, and the enemy snatched the gun and pointed it at me, but he himself..."
The drunken Captain suddenly pulled hard, and with a ripping sound, tore off the entire right sleeve of Xia De's formal suit.
Xia De was still immersed in Captain Lades's miraculous story, but he didn't react for a moment, constantly thinking about how expensive this suit might be. And Captain Lades's friends finally couldn't take it anymore. They jointly controlled the drunken Captain and took away his antique revolver.
"Sir, I'm truly sorry."
One of them apologized to Xia De, popped out the cylinder to confirm there were indeed no bullets inside, and then handed the cold antique into Xia De's hand:
"Lades is truly drunk. Take this gun; consider it compensation for your suit. Sir, don't rush to refuse. We believe that keeping this gun away from Lades might help him recover sooner. We weren't mocking him just now; he himself got drunk and brought up this matter again… How can anyone explain such things?"
