That night, the two of them did nothing. Luvia held Xia De, allowing him to have a perfect night's sleep.
He closed his eyes at a little past 10 PM on Wednesday night and woke up at 7 AM on Thursday morning, having slept dreamlessly. Mia didn't even wake him up at her usual 6:30 AM, probably realizing that Xia De was truly exhausted. When Xia De opened his eyes, he even thought it was the best night's rest he had ever had in this world.
“I didn't even have that dream of looking up at the silver moon.”
He sat up from the bed feeling refreshed, a night's rest having completely restored Xia De to his normal state. The girl with purple eyes was no longer in the bed; she had to go to the Prophet Association, so she had already left, but the bed was still warm, indicating she hadn't been gone long.
In a very good mood, Xia De hooked his finger at the closed curtains. With a soft rustle, the curtains slowly parted, allowing the late autumn morning light, piercing through the hazy mist, to shine into the second-floor bedroom.
“Meow~”
A rather aggrieved meow came from the doorway. Mia, hearing Xia De get up, walked in from the living room on her short little legs and stood at the door, urging Xia De to make breakfast.
Xia De threw off the covers, ready to get out of bed, but then suddenly smiled and extended a finger:
“Sunlight Ray.”
A slender beam of positive energy shot from his finger, leaving a small, round spot on the floor in front of Mia. A normal Sunlight Ray could only last for a very short time, using strong energy to combat undead creatures. Xia De was controlling his own spirit, outputting light at the lowest power, which allowed the light to appear for a longer duration.
“Meow?”
The cat looked at the bright spot in front of her with surprise, then suddenly extended her fluffy right front paw to swat at it. Mia was an orange and white cat; most of the fur on her back was orange, while her four short little legs were mostly white.
She swatted the bright spot, then saw it appear further ahead, so she extended her left front paw to swat again, and once more saw the bright spot shift and flicker forward:
“Meow?”
The tiny orange cat was momentarily confused, then suddenly darted up, jumping in place and swatting the ground back and forth with her front paws.
This sight made Xia De laugh.
A new day began with Xia De and his pet cat Mia's friendly interaction. He hoped to maintain this good mood throughout the day.
Now that the danger in the house was resolved, Mia could stay at home alone. Taking the cat out frequently during this period had not made her fond of going out.
After breakfast that morning, Xia De did not call Mia when he was about to leave, which greatly pleased Mia, who was standing on the staircase steps watching Xia De.
Perhaps for this cat, staying home every day and waiting for Xia De to return was the simplest happiness.
Mi Fort was still foggy today, but perhaps because of the ancient god statue, the mountain fog did not invade the basement of the abandoned tower. However, looking up from the basement through the trapdoor, the dense fog was so thick that Xia De couldn't even see the morning sunlight.
“The seal on the mountainside has been reinforced. What happened now?”
After leaving the abandoned tower, the fog in the mountains was even more exaggerated. After walking a few steps, Xia De even had the illusion that he had entered an ancient god's space. And this was clearly due to the large number of lingering undead that should have departed, swirling within the mist emanating from the Gap. Fortunately, Xia De's side effect of attracting undead due to using the relic had long disappeared. With the guidance of “her” and the blessing of Witch Emperor Violet, he barely managed to avoid potential battles and arrived at the City at nine in the morning.
The situation in the City was no better than in the mountains. Middelburg, shrouded in heavy fog, had lost its usual bustle. Although it was Thursday morning, there were hardly any people on the streets. The few people occasionally seen were hurrying along, clinging to the low walls by the street.
Even on the way to the Sun Church, Xia De didn't see a single carriage. In such weather, even with a horse lantern, it was useless; the entire City was enveloped in white fog.
Without a carriage, Xia De could only walk through the City. The most common sight along the way was policemen rushing along the street with kerosene lamps. Police whistles occasionally sounded from distant blocks. This eerie foggy weather was indeed a good time for ill-intentioned individuals to commit crimes.
Xia De wanted to understand the changes in the City today, but for some reason, he didn't encounter a single newsboy along the way. Fortunately, when he passed the intersection of Evergreen Street, he met a little flower girl cowering by the street, afraid to cross it directly.
The little girl was very short, carrying a basket that, although cleaned, was still worn out. Her shoes were too big, and her gray dress and crumpled hat were patched. She was very frail, likely from chronic malnutrition, so Xia De couldn't determine her exact age.
The flower girl also noticed Xia De walking out of the heavy fog. She hesitated for a moment before approaching, but dared not get too close. So Xia De stopped, reached into his pocket to get money, but this action made the flower girl even more hesitant.
In foggy weather, if Xia De pulled out a handkerchief that could drug someone unconscious, no one could save her. Children selling flowers and newspapers on the streets had long learned how to protect themselves through their harsh lives.
“This is a wallet.”
Xia De shook the wallet he inherited from Sparrow Detective, motioning for the flower girl to come over:
“I want to ask about something. When did this fog roll in? Yesterday evening, I remember the fog seemed to be dissipating.”
He flicked a 1 shilling coin from his hand, then caught it. The skinny flower girl's eyes were fixed on the flipping coin as she slowly walked over:
“Sir, the fog rolled in last night.”
Her Middelburg accent was very thick; people here habitually overemphasized retroflex sounds when speaking.
“Did it roll in from the mountains?”
“No, it just appeared from within the City, like the usual autumn fog.”
The girl couldn't describe the situation when the fog appeared very well, but based on her description, this heavy fog had nothing to do with the Gap seal in the mountains; it wasn't due to a mistake in yesterday's seal.
“Alright, I understand.”
Xia De nodded and tossed the one-shilling coin to the girl, who refused to come closer. He started to leave, then stopped and asked:
“In such bad weather, you should go home as soon as possible too. This weather isn't suitable for going out.”
“But... but my flowers haven't sold out yet.”
The little girl said timidly.
Xia De, of course, knew her reason for not wanting to go home. Going home now not only meant no income but also meant the money spent on buying flowers earlier would be wasted on the florist. He asked this to lead into the following words:
“How much are all these flowers? Sell them all to me.”
Given the strength of a little girl who had been malnourished for years, there weren't many flowers in her basket to begin with. And these street vendors usually didn't buy overly expensive bouquets, so Xia De's expenditure wouldn't be large.
“Sir, I...”
She was either surprised or couldn't give an answer immediately, stammering and unable to speak.
So, Xia De took out his wallet and the loose change from his pocket, about 12 shillings, placed them in his hand and offered them to the flower girl, then took all the flowers from her basket.
The quantity was even less than Xia De had expected; he could hold them all in one hand:
“Take the money and go home quickly. Remember not to tell anyone you have this much money. Good luck!”
The girl hurriedly tried to thank him, but Xia De shook his head, turned around, waved a hand behind him, and walked back into the heavy fog. After confirming no one was around, the Outsider wrapped the flowers in his overcoat, turning them into toys and stuffing them into his pocket, but kept only one bouquet of red roses that were not brightly colored.
Unlike the Natural Church and Dawn Church in the center of Mi Fort, the Sun Church's church in this diocese was in the southwestern part of the City, near the mountainous area. After Xia De came down the mountain and entered the urban area, he circled the outskirts of the urban area for a while, arriving at St. Laurent Square in Middelburg, which was also the core of the Old Town in the western part of the City.
Unlike the Dawn Church in Tobesk Diocese, which is in the center of Dawn Square, the Sun Church in Mi Fort Diocese is only on one side of St. Laurent Square. But because this is the Old Town, there is a lot of land available for development, so the Sun Church is actually a bit larger than the local most prosperous Natural Church.
Due to the influence of the divine power radiated by the church, the dense fog near St. Laurent Square had thinned a bit. Scattered merchants could vaguely be seen hawking their wares in the square, but the number of pedestrians was still not large.
At the Sun Church, Xia De discussed the topic of special rhode cards with a peddler selling miscellaneous goods before Iluna arrived. She found a suitable reason to leave the church, so she walked directly out of the church without any hesitation.
“Is it for me?”
Seeing Xia De holding a red rose, Iluna asked with a smile, and Xia De immediately nodded:
“Yes.”
He handed over the red rose, which made Iluna smile even more brightly.
The two had arranged to meet today to exchange information. They found a teahouse by the street and sat down. Iluna informed Xia De of the results of the Truth Society's siege, while Xia De recounted his experience of going to the Gap with the Witches yesterday.
As of now, all three passages in the Between Life and Death have been reinforced to some extent. The seal at the foot of the mountain was reinforced by Xia De's Kiss of the Tree Mystic Lock, and a faint bonfire still burned before the Death Door; the seal on the mountainside was jointly reinforced by the Witches and Xia De, with the shimmering silver threads and Witch hair ensuring the seal would not fail; and the seal at the mountain top was stabilized by Sister Devlin on Monday, when the Red Butterfly Twins were seen.
This was only preliminary reinforcement, and subsequent large-scale divine rituals by the Orthodox Church would be required. Of the four nails that fixed reality to the Gap, one had been killed by Sister Devlin, and one had been taken into the Gap by Joey Barton. The four nails correspond to four strong emotions: the woman in the desolate village was “fear,” and the clown should be “joy.”
As for the remaining sorrow and anger, Priest Augustus would try to search for them with Xia De in the afternoon, and the Orthodox Church had already located one of them:
“The Between Life and Death itself is a Level 0 relic, and Joey Barton is the Chosen One's primary candidate, so it's difficult for the church to divine him. But for the resurrected nails, with the cooperation of the Prophet Association, since we could find the clown, we can also find the second one.”
Iluna sat across from Xia De, holding a teacup, her tone confident. Next to her was a small bottle bought from the teahouse, filled with water, holding the now wilted rose.
“Have you found the other two?”
“Only one has been found, roughly located in northern Middelburg. After more accurate information is confirmed, the operation will likely take place on Friday or Saturday.”
Xia De noted this information; his and the Priest's afternoon search could start from southern Mi Fort:
“Also, regarding the Chosen One, it seems there are always unexpected changes. It's still unknown what methods Joey Barton intends to use to retrieve the dead. But once it's confirmed that what he's doing is irreversible, you must ensure you personally kill him. Joey Barton may not know about the Selected One Ritual, so your opponent this time may not be as powerful as Darkness.”
