Chapter 100: Warning: Monkey

The matter seemed to have ended satisfactorily; Karl waved his hand. “Sorry, Miss Ilis, troubling you to come all this way—I’ll give you a satisfactory reward for this.”

“I’m already delighted to have been of help to you. Thank you for making the right choice,” Ilis said.

Karl made no reply.

“Wait, Aunt Ilis, could you please wait a moment? I have some questions I’d like to ask you,” Louis suddenly said.

Ilis glanced at the unusual boy in surprise, nodded, and stepped out of the room with Mimi.

Watching Max escort Ilis and Mimi out,

the room was now left with only Louis and his grandfather.

At this point, his grandfather sat back down behind his desk, gestured for Louis to come closer, and then spoke words that stunned him.

“Little Louis, don’t risk yourself because of me. Your ability grows stronger with every battle, but there’s an old Chinese saying: if you walk by the river often, you’ll eventually get your shoes wet.”

“You’ll get hurt eventually.”

My ability grows stronger with every battle?

Louis raised an eyebrow slightly; a thought flashed through his mind—he could guess why his grandfather had come to these conclusions.

After all, he had never hidden anything from his grandfather. His rapid cultivation had relied heavily on family resources—how could he possibly have escaped notice?

But it seemed his grandfather had misunderstood.

He wasn’t some ability that grew stronger through battle…

At that moment, Karl smiled. “You’re precocious, but still too young. Of course, perhaps it’s because of trust—you haven’t hidden much from me, and I’m glad.”

“Since the moment you were kidnapped, you’ve shown abnormalities. Since then, every time you’ve encountered a mysterious event, your methods have become more varied and your strength has grown.”

“That’s good—but don’t do it too often. It’s easy to get exposed. America isn’t as simple as you think.”

Louis’s heart stirred. Did this mean the American upper echelons had responses to the mysterious side?

“For the next few years, you’ll focus on your studies and live a normal life. Don’t become an outlier. Times change—decades ago and now, the differences are enormous.”

“Gangs won’t last. In the future, true power will belong to the big capitalists. We need to transform—we need someone to stand openly in the sunlight and build a new legacy.”

“So the future still depends on you.”

Karl spoke with deep seriousness.

Only now did Louis feel a faint shock. To some extent, he was a man from the future—but his grandfather wasn’t. He was a man of the war era, yet he could make such judgments based on circumstance and experience…

“Understood, Grandfather,” Louis replied.

He’d agree for now—he’d figure out the details later. He didn’t believe the school had no strange things…

Seeing Louis agree, Karl smiled.

Then his expression turned solemn. “There are some things I must tell you ahead of time. A portion of the family’s wealth will be left to you. Your good-for-nothing father can live however he likes—he gets nothing. Whether you choose to assist your uncle in continuing the gang business or pursue something else entirely is up to you.”

“Besides that, I have some other things to give you. Only you can receive them. But remember—these items are dangerous. If you’re not certain, don’t use them. Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Or you’ll invite far worse consequences.”

Louis looked at the old man’s serious face and nodded. He understood now—this was the old man preparing his estate in advance.

Then Karl opened a drawer and pulled out a claw covered in black fur—it looked like… a monkey’s claw?

He didn’t stop—he opened another drawer beneath it and took out a bottle with only a thin layer of liquid left at the bottom… perfume?

“These are the two items. I’ve collected them over the years—true mystical artifacts, dangerous and precious.”

“I think you’ll like them.”

The old man pointed at the monkey’s claw but didn’t pick it up.

“This is a cursed monkey’s claw. Hold it, and it can grant three wishes.”

“But it fulfills wishes with cruel malice. If you wish for wealth, you might receive your family’s insurance payout. If you wish to bring back a loved one, what returns will be a bloodthirsty monster…”

“I’ve seen many families destroyed by it.”

“So I never made a wish with it—but I couldn’t bring myself to destroy it, so I kept it. Now, it’s yours.”

Louis’s face twitched.

Monkey’s claw.

He’d heard of it.

One of the most famous horror stories by Stephen King, widely known, its power deeply malevolent.

This thing was profoundly unnatural—he had no idea how it had come into his grandfather’s hands. Even now that it was his, he dared not use it…

Fine. He’d keep it for now. Maybe one day he’d need it.

Then he turned to the next item.

The perfume, with only a thin layer left.

Karl gazed at it, his eyes distant yet filled with fear. “It was created in the Middle Ages by a genius born with an extraordinary sense of smell—Gray Noye.”

“It has magic. A tiny amount can make you irresistibly charming, the center of attention. A little more can ignite a massive speech, even turn an entire square of people into slaves of scent.”

“But exceed the limit, and people will lose control, unable to resist tearing you apart, fighting over every scrap of flesh, bone, eyes—even your hair.”

“The creator died that way. This last bit survived by accident, preserved in a museum in England, which I acquired decades ago through my own means.”

“Now, it’s yours too.”

“I hope you’ll use it with caution.”

With that, Karl’s throat felt dry. He lay back in his chair. “Old, old… In the old days, talking all day wouldn’t tire me. Tsk.”

“Take the box and leave. I need to rest.”

“Grandfather, take care of your health.”

Louis said this, then left the room with the two items and the doll box.

To be honest, his grandfather had shaken him deeply—he was hiding so much!

Two items, few in number, but all top-tier!

But why did they both seem to have such terrible side effects?

Louis carried this question with him as he walked toward the next room.

After Louis left, Karl suddenly opened his eyes, opened the drawer again, and stroked the parchment covered in the Sinner’s Incantations.

In truth, if he used this item to transfer the entire Cano family fortune—everything he’d built—to someone else, he could absolve himself of his sins…

But he couldn’t do it.

“Sigh.”

With a sigh, Karl sealed it away once more and closed his eyes, basking in the sun.

…

Louis arrived at another room.

There, Ilis and Mimi were waiting for him.

“Aunt Ilis.”

Louis greeted her first.

“Little Louis, hello,” Ilis smiled.

He twitched his mouth but didn’t correct her. He launched straight into his question. “Aunt Ilis, I asked you to stay because I need answers.”

“What kind of power does the mysterious side possess? How strong? How is it classified? And what about Heaven and Hell? Those evil spirits…”

Ilis nodded slightly, unsurprised by Louis’s questions. Many young people who stumbled into the mysterious side had similar doubts. She was older and had seen a few over the years.

“The mysterious side, hmm…”

(End of Chapter)