“You are…”
The man in the black robe recognized Xia De even with his mask.
His current state looked very bad; although there were no obvious external injuries, Xia De could feel that his spirit was extremely unstable. If he hadn't been affected by a powerful relic, he must have been directly hit by a mental attack like Mind Blast.
“What is one plus one?”
Xia De asked in a low voice.
“Two.”
“What is thirty-nine multiplied by three?”
Xia De continued to ask, but the man actually retched. Using simple math to determine mental damage was a highly regarded method of mental assessment at the time. Of course, Xia De was certain that the other party could answer such questions in a normal state. Ring術士 needed a lot of grammar, history, and math Knowledge, and a Ring術士 who didn't understand math was not a normal Ring術士.
“If you take me to the city and ensure my safety, I can give you 50 pounds as a reward.”
As Xia De helped him into the thick fog outside the cemetery, the man gasped for breath and immediately offered a sum that Xia De couldn't refuse. Although Xia De wanted to propose a slate transaction, he wasn't sure of this person's identity in the Apner Library, and this was clearly not a good place for business. So, he first pulled the man up and then asked:
“I'm not doing this for your money, you have to believe that. Address?”
“University District in the city, Ikem Street, No. 21.”
The man's voice was faint when he spoke, and he sounded so out of breath as if he was about to die. Of course, Xia De, who was supporting him, was certain that he was very healthy, just that his mental exhaustion was too great:
“What attacked you?”
Xia De asked softly, while also smelling a strong ink odor from him at close range.
“Peace Church's divine art—Thought Brand.”
The divine arts of the priests and followers of the God of War and Peace always seemed so interesting to Outsiders, just like white dove bombs.
To avoid the Church's search, the two circled a large area around the cemetery before daring to enter the city. After entering the city, they didn't dare to hire a carriage immediately but changed clothes in an alley, which also allowed Xia De to see the man's true appearance: he was a middle-aged man with a scholarly aura, a thin face, and gray eyes that were almost unable to open.
But the man couldn't see Xia De's appearance; he was too severely injured.
After finding a carriage, it smoothly carried the two to Ikem Street in the University District in the night. When they got out of the car, the man had to be supported by Xia De to stand steadily. Fortunately, Xia De had already sprinkled some alcohol on him beforehand, so the coachman only thought it was a drunkard being sent home by his companions.
Xia De was quite familiar with Ikem Street in the University District; Feather Pen Street, where Dorothy rented, was just one block away. Ikem Street was also a common street in the University District with apartments lining both sides. It was late at night, and only a few window lights could still show an ambiguous glow in the night fog.
Xia De supported this gentleman, walking along the edge of the street where the streetlights couldn't illuminate. After they ascended the steps of No. 21, the man exerted all his strength to knock on the door in front of him with a fixed rhythm, and by this time, Xia De had already put his mask back on.
After waiting for half a minute, a cautious footsteps came from behind the door—deliberately suppressed and slowed footsteps were indeed cautious footsteps.
“Who is it?”
A man's voice came from inside the door.
“It's me.”
The man supported by Xia De squeezed out a sound from his throat:
“I was ambushed by the Church. The Hermit Order sent someone to pick up the goods and brought me back.”
He was reminding the person inside the door that there was a stranger beside him, and the person inside the door obviously understood, and Xia De also understood.
Xia De supported the man and said in a low voice to the inside of the door:
“This gentleman promised me 50 pounds as a reward.”
“Yes, sir, that’s no problem.”
The voice from inside the door immediately replied.
Xia De waited for another 3 minutes and 17 seconds before hearing the sound of the security chain being removed from behind the door. Then the wall lamp outside the door was turned on, and the door was pushed open to a small gap, revealing two people in black robes and masks standing inside the door.
Besides them, there were also people standing in the distance down the hall behind them, and people standing higher up on the side staircase.
Xia De didn't pay attention to these. Instead, he handed the person he was supporting to one of them, who carefully helped the unfortunate fellow, who was almost completely unconscious, into the house.
Xia De, of course, could not be invited inside. The other tall man in a black robe handed him an envelope. Xia De squeezed it and knew it contained banknotes.
The people here were clearly wary of Xia De. Xia De smiled, stuffed the envelope into his outer coat pocket, and said in a muffled voice from behind his mask:
“Since I helped you, may I say one more thing? I have another deal I want to make with you. I wonder if you are interested in selling me a book?”
“Deal?”
The man in the black robe hesitated, his right hand resting on the door, leaving only the last crack:
“If it's a legitimate business, of course, there's no problem, but it's too late today. Come back at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning.”
The late hour was, of course, an excuse. Xia De knew the other party wanted to confirm what happened tonight first. If the other party felt his identity was problematic, then this place would probably be empty on Tuesday:
“No problem, Tuesday morning at eight o’clock.”
Xia De nodded and turned to leave without hesitation. The man inside the door leaned on the doorframe, watching him disappear into the night fog, and waited a moment before closing the door.
Xia De walked alone in the fog, opening the envelope and counting the money. The rustling sound didn't travel too far in the fog. His fingers skillfully shuffled the banknotes until he confirmed it was fifty pounds, then he tore up the envelope and casually threw it into a nearby alley.
“My perception wasn’t wrong just now, was it?”
He held the stack of banknotes between his right index finger and thumb, gently swaying them in front of him, feeling quite pleased.
【No problem, it was indeed him.】
“How interesting.”
Xia De's mouth curved upwards slightly, and he hurried into an alley where the gas lamps were not lit.
In the dark alley, several wild cats were rummaging for food in a garbage pile by the wall. Hearing footsteps, the wild cats turned to look at the stranger. Wild cats in the city were not to be trifled with at night, and Outsiders had also seen news of wild cats injuring people, but they did not provoke Xia De; they just stood there watching him.
He casually took out a few pieces of Mia's cat food and threw them over:
“Among the Ring術士 who were wary of me in the house just now, one of them was actually an acquaintance. I really didn't expect that. Academic spy, a real academic spy has appeared.”
【It seems your mission has a lead.】
“Yes.”
Xia De, walking briskly, emerged from the alley, looked towards Feather Pen Street, and then continued walking east.
“Sir Leikins Prisha, the Guiding Moon who accompanied Princess Margaret on her visit to Tobesk, was actually in that house just now. He is a correspondence student at Success Higher Medical College and is now mingling with people from the Apner Library.”
The other party was also wary of him just now. Sir Prisha didn't seem like a “guest” of that house; he should also be one of the owners.
Xia De voiced his conjecture in his mind. As he entered the area not illuminated by streetlights, he reached into his pocket, and when his hand reappeared, he had already changed his coat.
His eyes fixed on the next streetlight:
“For now, it's just a guess. I must have concrete evidence to confirm his identity. If Guiding Moon – Sir Leikins Prisha is truly an academic spy from the Apner Library who infiltrated Cerces, then whether it's the slate book I'm seeking or his inspiration, I can easily get my hands on them… After all,”
He narrowed his eyes slightly, turning to look in the direction of Ikem Street No. 21, which he had just left:
“Sir Prisha, you wouldn't want your identity to be exposed, would you?”
On the way from the University District to Old John's pawnshop, Xia De encountered no further incidents except for two drunkards, arm in arm, cursing tax policies and vomiting. Before entering the pawnshop, he reopened the box along the way and recorded the contents of the documents. Xia De arrived fifty minutes later than the scheduled time, which made Old John realize that something unexpected must have happened with this mission.
Seeing Xia De push open the door with the briefcase, the old man hurried out from behind the counter. He pushed open the door, looked around for a while, and then motioned for Xia De to place the briefcase on the counter.
Old John poured tea for Xia De, and Xia De began to recount what had happened in the cemetery. The old man listened with a serious expression until Xia De spoke of sending the injured man back to Ikem Street No. 21 before speaking:
“Detective, although I know you are a good person, being so kind as to send him back tonight shouldn't just be for the money, right?”
“Yes, the Apner Library has something I want.”
Xia De nodded.
Old John placed his hand on the briefcase:
“I can guarantee that the Church ambushing the cemetery in advance was not due to us leaking secrets. The Hermit Order will demand an explanation from the Apner Library for this matter. We can put pressure on them to try and meet your transaction, consider this compensation for you. Although we are an unknown Ring術士 organization, we never treat our friends unfairly. Cherish friendship; this is one of the important components of civilization.”
Xia De smiled:
“Alright, Old John, then you don’t have to give me extra fees for the unexpected incident that occurred with this commission.”
The old man also smiled, looking down at the briefcase:
“I know you're curious about the information inside, but I don't know if you looked through it on the way. Detective, please remember, some things should not be easily involved in, and if you do get involved, you must be prepared for the worst.”
The old man, who usually had a childlike temper, now had a serious expression with a glimmer in his eyes:
“Poetry and Chosen One are not a laughing matter.”
Xia De reached out and tapped the counter top:
“I understand, Old John. Since I have a way of knowing the Light Guidance Hermit Order, I naturally have my own channels and methods. Don't worry, at least I am not a member of the evil alignment.”
“No one thinks they are evil…”
He opened the briefcase and looked through the documents. The contents were fragments of the poem of the wise man's stone and Knowledge Chosen One from the Apner Library, along with their translations and conjectures. Besides the already known “Schluch Lake” and “wise man's stone,” the most valuable part for Xia De was that the fragment clearly stated that this Selected One Ritual needed to be held on the water.
“…But I believe you are not evil.”
“Why? Do you think I am an upright and kind person?”
Xia De asked with a smile, and the old man shook his head:
“Schneider never misjudges people, and sometimes I feel like you are one of us. Although there's no evidence, just take it as an old man's wisdom—I believe you are also working hard for the continuation of this civilization. Do you remember our conversation about civilization? I run this pawnshop to get closer to our civilization, the sixth epoch civilization, human civilization; this is the true inspiration… We transmit light, and you transmit fire, it's something like that.”
Xia De couldn't fathom what Old John meant at all.
