Putting away that small piece of vine, Xia De officially stepped into the second cave he discovered in the riverbank stone wall.
This cave was clearly different from the first; upon entering, what he saw was a standard square space, with the stone walls polished quite smoothly. In the darkness, there were lacquered mahogany desks, four-poster beds with soft mattresses, and large wardrobes with metal handles. There were special kerosene lamp brackets on the walls, and the glass shades of the kerosene lamps even had hand-painted designs.
The shelves looked like wooden antiques, filled with various labeled vessels. On the bedside table, there was even a brass-colored bedside kerosene lamp shaped like a lotus leaf, which was quite a high-class lamp even in 1853:
"Found it, it seems this is the place."
Outside the river, the dim sun was about to completely sink below the City, and a thin mist made everything on the river impossible to see clearly. Xia De did not deal with the obvious cave entrance but stretched out his finger:
"Moonlight."
After a soft call, the Moonlight on his fingertip illuminated the "safe house." Xia De remembered that he had agreed to have dinner with Luvia tonight, and he probably needed to act quickly.
Harald Ondiba left here for the last time over a decade ago, but he never expected to leave and never return. Therefore, the value of the safe house by the river gave the Outsider who found it over a decade later a great surprise.
In terms of currency alone, he found over 300 pounds and over 50 crowns in cash from the desk drawer. As for the coins in the biscuit box and at the bottom of the cabinet, he was too lazy to count them.
Besides currency, all the spellcasting materials had rotted due to lack of maintenance. After unlocking the cabinet with the 【Door Key】, the stench almost made Xia De think the other party had set up a poison mist trap again.
There were no diaries or letters in the desk drawer. The desk surface was very clean, holding a fountain pen, an oil lamp, and a folded map of Huntington City. But in the locked bedside table, there were three carefully preserved books wrapped in velvet cloth.
Xia De sat on the bed with the soft mattress, imagining Harald Ondiba lying there decades ago, reading under the kerosene lamp.
Opening the cloths, the first book had no cover, but the first page was handwritten in carson rick: "The Crawlers in the Dark." After flipping through a few pages, Xia De confirmed that this was an occult book related to the 【Snake】, written in the fifth epoch's Dikavin alphabet.
Tucked between the pages were a few pieces of paper with messy handwriting detailing the potion "Viper's Whisper," which allows one to communicate with snakes after drinking it; "Cold Blood Potion," which lowers one's blood temperature; and the formula for a special snake venom, "Ondiba Snake Venom." The last one was likely invented by Harald Ondiba himself, but unfortunately, Xia De was not skilled in concocting potions, though Priest Augustus would probably be interested:
"This book is quite valuable, but unfortunately, the 【Snake】 Ling Rune is different from my system, but it should sell for a good price."
The cover of the second book had "Mysteries of Pantanal" written in carson rick, but this was not a book describing occult Knowledge. Instead, it was a popular science book mentioned by Mr. Bernhardt, compiled and published by the Pantanal Voodoo Society, introducing the modern changes in the Great Swamp and the primitive beliefs of the Great Swamp region. The Voodoo Society wanted to expand its influence and that of Pantanal's primitive beliefs through this method.
This book showed signs of being frequently read, and the same handwriting as the potion formula had made many annotations and explanations in the pages. That Ring術士 was a staunch "Pantanal regionalist."
"Folklore books are quite interesting; I can take them home as bedtime reading. I wonder if Mr. Edmund from Cold Water Port would be interested in this, but the folklore he studies is marine folklore."
The third book was still written in sixth epoch carson rick, titled "Huntington Folklore Studies." Upon opening it, it was confirmed to be an 1840 print.
"Hmm? I think I've heard of this book."
Xia De directly flipped to the last page and, sure enough, saw Professor Drake listed second in the list of compilers. He then flipped through the book again, and an old photograph tucked inside slipped out:
"This is..."
The black and white photograph showed two people standing together. The location seemed to be a rural village entrance within the Pantanal Swamp, a fact confirmed by the muddy ground and low adobe houses in the background.
The tall man on the left in the photo had rough skin, sunken eye sockets, and strange tattoos on his exposed neck. Although the black and white photo could not distinguish the color of the tattoos, his appearance and tattoos matched Father Nobel's description of "Harald Ondiba."
The man on the right in the photo was wearing explorer's attire with dozens of pockets all over, a hat with a chin strap on his head, and an iron pickaxe in his right hand.
They both smiled at the camera, and the latter was an old man. Although he could stand on his own two feet, Xia De still recognized who it was:
"Professor Drake?"
Although the Professor in the photo was younger than he was now, judging by the wrinkles on his face, this should have been taken over a decade ago, not from a more distant era.
"Professor Drake actually knew a Ring術士 from the Pantanal Voodoo Society?"
Xia De raised an eyebrow.
He was very certain that Professor Drake himself definitely did not know about this, rather than intentionally concealing it. The Professor had never mentioned having such a friend, and the letters Xia De examined did not contain any correspondence with "Harald Ondiba."
Flipping to the back of the photo, a line of text was written on the yellowed background:
"May we walk together on the path of exploring Knowledge and history."
The letters were elegant and flowing, and Xia De recognized them as very similar to Professor Drake's handwriting.
"The Lake Goddess erased all contact between the Professor and the Ring術士 Harald Ondiba. The Professor himself doesn't remember, the Church can't find anything, and the Pantanal Voodoo Society doesn't know either. The date Father Nobel mentioned for Harald Ondiba's capture and killing by the Church was the day after Professor Drake wrote to Professor Manning, and two days before Professor Drake set off to visit the Lake Goddess. Hmm... I've probably guessed some things."
He put the photo aside and re-examined "Huntington Folklore Studies." This time, he found a sentence written on the title page, still in Professor Drake's handwriting—
"To my dear friend, may you find more Knowledge in the field of folklore."
The blue-black ink had faded somewhat, but the handwriting was so vivid that Xia De didn't know what to say:
"Interesting, more interesting than I thought."
After searching the desk, cabinet, and bedside table, Xia De knocked on the wall and, sure enough, found a secret compartment in the wall.
"What will it be this time?"
Violently breaking through the wall, he discovered a small box filled with jewelry in the secret compartment.
Upon opening the box, light seemed to radiate directly from it. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds covered the bottom of the box. Gold and silver bracelets, earrings, and rings were stacked together, while antique coins and loose diamonds were interspersed in the gaps between the jewelry.
With a clatter, Xia De poured the contents of the box onto the bed. Precious metals and gemstones spilled out, scattering on the yellowed sheets. Xia De rummaged through them with his fingers, regrettably, these were all ordinary items:
"This person actually hid money in a secret compartment instead of relics?"
Fortunately, one of the coins had a whisper element reaction, confirming it was a relic, but Xia De didn't know its properties. Ondiba likely didn't recognize what it was, otherwise, he wouldn't have left it here.
Besides the items above, in a small iron box taped under the bed, Xia De found a pistol and several bullets with runes carved into their tips; in the interlayer of the bedside table, there was a parchment scroll detailing the learning ritual for the Miracle - 【Swamp Chameleon】; on the back of an empty photo frame hanging on the wall, there was a piece of paper with a prayer praising the "God of Pantanal," but it burned away as soon as Xia De touched it.
There were no relics contained by Ondiba in this safe house. It seemed he only used it as a temporary residence and to store valuables. Xia De believed that the Ring術士 who died over a decade ago must have other safe houses in this City where he hid books and letters, but Xia De truly couldn't find them this time.
"So, on today's trip to Huntington, I threatened a mouse, learned that Professor Drake knew the former owner of 【Aiken Ola's Arrow of Knowledge】, and made a fortune, but still didn't get me closer to the absolute truth."
Xia De sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the box of jewelry:
"I thought I could directly find that sage-level relic."
"Are you being a bit too greedy? At least, you are only one step away from discovering the truth and completing 'cherub's Second Trial,'" "She" asked with a soft laugh.
Xia De's fingers rummaged through the gems in the box, listening to their pleasant clattering as they collided. Xia De had heard from Leia that noble ladies had special small boxes for holding gems and jewelry, but he didn't expect a middle-aged man from the Great Swamp region to have one too.
Xia De picked out a purple oval gem and tossed it a few times. The Moonlight on his fingertip made the gem sparkle:
"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to meet the people from Apner Library. The day after tomorrow, Wednesday, I'll attend the reading salon and prepare to catch that hateful thief. I don't have time to waste more time in Huntington. This winter, I plan to focus my main energy on Tobesk."
He stood up, gathered the coins, books, and parchment scrolls he had found, and prepared to leave. He had no intention of touching other things in this safe house, such as the expired potions.
Walking out of the cave, the riverbank stone wall returned to its original state with the use of the Miracle.
Xia De looked up at the night sky. The joy brought by the heavy jewelry box in his hand was far less than he had imagined:
"Tomorrow, I'll show the photo to the Professor. I hope the Professor can remember something. As for this box of jewelry..."
This was probably his most profitable adventure besides going deep into the underground ruins and killing the Silver-Eyed One. Moreover, in this adventure, he didn't even lay a hand on anyone.
