Before Mr. Leiberte spoke, Xia De emphasized again:
"I am proficient in ancient languages, and besides the fifth epoch's script, I also have some Knowledge of certain fourth epoch's scripts."
This was the bargaining chip he had thought of before proposing the deal with Apner Library. Knowledge is wealth, and the Outsider understood this well. Although he only had a paltry five-figure pounds in savings, the "wealth" in his head was considerable.
"Oh? fourth epoch's script?"
Mr. Leiberte, who was receiving Xia De, said with some curiosity:
"Our Library indeed houses some fourth epoch's books, most of which have not been translated into modern language. If you are truly proficient, then we can use your translation of books to offset the value of that antique. The Library has always believed that Knowledge and wisdom are the most precious wealth."
He turned to look at the bookshelf behind him:
"I have a book here called 'Lost Merica,' which records information about the fourth epoch's cannibalistic Aiken tribe. It has a few lines of ancient script. If you can identify them..."
As he spoke, he intended to get up and retrieve the book, but Xia De directly extended his hand:
"Library retrieval."
The old book with a black cover flew directly from the third shelf on the left of the east wall, zipping into Xia De's hand. His nose twitched behind the mask, and his intuition made him feel as if he had touched sticky blood, but the book itself was very dry, indicating that the Knowledge within this book was exceptionally dangerous.
"Is this the one?"
Xia De placed the book on the coffee table, and Mr. Leiberte sat back down in surprise:
"What Miracle was that just now?"
Xia De did not answer. Mr. Leiberte gave him a curious look, opened the book to the fifth page, and pointed out the sixth line of crooked, simple-sketch-like letters resembling animal hoof prints:
"It's these. This is a quoted sentence, and I don't think it was copied incorrectly."
The entire book was a handwritten copy, very similar in form to the narrow, thin black notebooks carried by Detectives and police officers. A thin red string served as a bookmark, and the yellowed pages were covered with off-white marks like orange pith, resembling some kind of mold.
Xia De looked at the sentence and immediately felt a strong sense of discomfort, as if he heard wailing in his ears.
"Ah, this one ~ it seems very difficult to translate. Yes, this kind of script is quite obscure, and it's strange and disgusting."
Xia De frowned, pretending to be in a difficult position, and took a full five minutes to translate the two lines of letters:
【Brain-eater, wise and intelligent; arm-eater, immensely strong; foot-eater, poor and lowly; scalp-eater, King of Merica.】
After translating, he again pretended to be mentally unstable, lowering his head and panting heavily for a while before calming down. Mr. Leiberte confirmed that Xia De's translation was very close to the current mainstream interpretation of those texts.
Thus, the two reached a deal. Xia De would return to 21 Ickham Street tonight, and Mr. Leiberte would give him about fifty to sixty letters of the same script that he needed to translate. Xia De would complete the translation before Sunday and bring the results before Sunday night, at which point he would receive the stone slab he wanted.
Xia De had originally thought that among the three stone slabs, the one from Apner Library would be the hardest to obtain. He didn't expect that with Old John's help, it would turn out to be the easiest one to acquire. Although he hadn't gotten his hands on it yet, there shouldn't be any more surprises.
So, the last stone slab not yet acquired was likely the one hidden in the Saint Byron's Comprehensive College Library. Xia De needed to go to the Library himself to find it, and his only opportunity to personally visit the Library was when Miss Daniste, the librarian, confirmed that the Guiding Moon was useful and required him to appear at the Library, using the aura of the core Ling Rune to unlock the clue to the Silver Moon Library.
"So, the most important thing right now is still Sir Prisha."
Xia De thought to himself, but he did not see that gentleman during this visit to 21 Ickham Street. According to Dr. Schneider's description that Xia De heard on Saturday, Sir Prisha was different from Princess Margaret. The latter, after arriving locally, was very enthusiastic about contacting the local Ring術士 group, and through Mr. Allan Madison's group, acquired rare materials, items, and local specialties from the local black market. However, Sir Prisha, after contacting Mr. Madison's group on the night at Lakeview Manor, had never actively contacted the local Letter-based Ring術士 again.
Therefore, trying to collect the Guiding Moon's aura through Dr. Schneider's friends seemed unfeasible. Xia De still had to follow Princess Margaret's path.
After visiting 21 Ickham Street in the early morning, Xia De returned home and went from the basement to the White River Valley Vineyard in Huntington City. When changing carriages after entering the city, he bought a copy of the "Huntington Morning Post" from a Boy selling newspapers.
The first few pages of news had little to do with Xia De, but he did see on the third page news of the well-known Old Continent charity organization, Snake Heart Hospital, acquiring property locally and preparing to open for business.
Snake Heart Hospital had already communicated with the local City Hall, received assistance from the City Hall, and obtained policy-based funding. This was an institution under the Spiritual Cultivation Order. Sister Devlin, for the secret of Pantanal, was determined to place more people locally. If the Sister's plan could proceed smoothly, she would likely be able to enter the depths of the Great Swamp with the Witches to hunt the Pantanal Evil and recover the First Fire's flame around February 1854.
That was several months away and currently had little to do with Xia De. He sat in the carriage reading the newspaper and arrived at Professor Drake's home again. The Professor had long been waiting for Xia De's visit and eagerly had his maid push him to the study. The Old Professor impatiently asked Xia De:
"Good morning, Mr. Watson. You're finally here. Do you have any results from your investigation yet?"
"I entrusted my friend in Tobesk to contact Professor Manning and locate your letters, but those letters were of little value, only revealing that you were in very good health before your visit to the Lake Goddess."
The Professor was somewhat disappointed, but Xia De then took out the photograph he had tucked into his notebook:
"But I found a new clue elsewhere, Professor. Do you recognize this photograph?"
He handed over the photo of the Professor with Harald Ondiba, the holder of the "Arrow" from over a decade ago. Professor Drake reached out and took it, his eyes widening in astonishment:
"I have no recollection of this photo. Looking at the background, this should have been taken in a village in the Pantanal Great Swamp. I also remember the clothes in the photo, but I don't remember taking a picture with this person."
He looked up and asked Xia De:
"Mr. Watson, who is this? Does he know something? Can we find him?"
"Harald Ondiba, arrested and executed by the War and Peace Church Inquisition of this diocese over a decade ago."
"What?"
"He was a Cultist."
Xia De said, carefully observing the Professor's expression, and the Old Professor's surprise and fear did not seem to be feigned:
"Oh, what did I do over a decade ago?"
"It's hard to say."
Xia De pointed to Harald Ondiba in the photo:
"Even now, this deceased gentleman is still being pursued. When I was investigating this matter, I nearly clashed with those dangerous individuals. They dare to kill and don't care about the police."
Professor Drake tremblingly placed the photo on the desk, then tightly gripped the armrest of his wheelchair with his right hand, panting heavily:
"Mr. Watson, I'm truly sorry to have put you in danger. Do you know anything more?"
"The current investigation progress is only this much. That 'Lake Goddess' seems to have not only erased your adventure memories but also blurred a large number of related clues. From the current information, Professor, the memory you lost may not have been a cost, but rather something you willingly gave up, something you didn't want to know."
The Old Professor's already aged face seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and the stacked wrinkles made the age spots so clear:
"Are you saying that I did something wrong, perhaps even committed a crime, and the wish I made was for the Lake Goddess to erase all traces?"
"No conclusion can be drawn yet, but this guess should be very close to the truth."
Xia De paused, allowing the astonished Professor Drake time to ponder.
Only when the Professor picked up his teacup did Xia De softly ask again:
"Speaking of which, Professor, do you have any antiques in your home whose origin you don't remember?"
The Professor thought for a moment:
"No, at least I don't think so. I remember every item in my home very clearly."
His tone was not very firm, clearly indicating that he also knew his memory was not reliable.
"Are there any arrows among your collection?"
Xia De leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice and narrowing his eyes, asking again in the study filled with books, under the light of the gas lamp lit because of the thick fog outside the window.
"Yes, I also collect antique weapons."
The Old Professor answered quickly, and Xia De felt his heart skip a beat. His peripheral vision swept over the red and gold wallpaper of the study, over the old-fashioned gas lamps, and over the bookshelves:
"Can you describe the specific appearance of the 'Arrow'?"
"I'll show it to you directly."
The Professor spoke, about to call the maid, but then frowned and looked at Xia De:
"Speaking of which, I really don't seem to remember where that arrow came from."
The Old Professor on the inside of the desk pursed his chapped lips, which had just been moistened by tea. He looked a little lost:
"Oh, yes, if you hadn't asked, I wouldn't even remember that I had that item. For more than a decade, I seem to have never looked at it, but I'm certain I have it. This feeling is truly..."
Kansas Drake raised his head in the wheelchair and looked at the ceiling of the study. The familiar study seemed to be spinning at the moment, everything in front of him was blurring, and the feeling of dizziness made him want to lower his head and vomit, but then he felt himself being supported:
"Professor, Professor!"
He heard the young man's voice and felt the teacup being held in front of him, with steam rising and warming his cheeks.
"Drink some tea quickly, Professor, Professor!"
Xia De fed the Old Professor tea with holy water added. The Professor's throat struggled to swallow the tea, and then he closed his eyes as if dead, leaning his back against the wheelchair's backrest.
After a long while, he reopened his eyes, and there was some spirit in his aged eyes. His lips moved a few times, and his voice was gradually returning to normal:
"Yes, I possess an 'Arrow.' Although I don't know where it came from, I remember it's right here in this study."
"Where?"
Xia De looked around, trying to find traces of a hidden compartment. According to the Outsider's understanding of Detective novels, such a study should have a mechanism to "move books to open a secret door."
"Here."
The Professor laboriously lowered his body, pulled open the bottom left drawer of the desk, and took out a slender mahogany box. There was no text on the box, but rather a pattern of spiraling chains.
"It's been over a decade, and I've never once wondered why there's a box in this drawer."
The Professor closed his eyes and sighed, handing the approximately one-meter-long mahogany box to Xia De.
Xia De felt no trace of whisper element when he touched the box, but as soon as he opened it, whisper element immediately surged forth.
He narrowed his eyes, and the hand holding the box suddenly tightened. Embedded in the red lining was an arrow of golden color with bronze patterns on its surface. Its ancient aura indicated its origin from ancient times, and the heavy sense of history made Xia De almost hold his breath.
The patterns climbing on the arrowhead formed a peculiar script:
【Knowledge is power.】
"The answer is in the riddle. I really found the sage-level relic 【Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow】 here with Professor Drake."
