Chapter 1225: Meeting Huo Ke at the Embassy Entrance and Iolum's Inquiry

For an individual, a Great Arcanist is indeed powerful and difficult to resist, representing almost the pinnacle of individual power known to humanity; yet for a nation, the death of one or two would not shake the foundations of the state.

On the contrary, the impact caused by mishandling this matter might be even greater than the Great Arcanist himself.

Xia Duo was pondering when the Seven Towers would announce the investigation results, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the front entrance of the Cormanthor Embassy.

Just at this moment, a human figure walked out from inside the gate. Xia Duo turned his head with curiosity, wanting to see exactly who was leaving the Cormanthor Embassy.

"It's him?!"

Seeing the human who was relatively familiar to him, Xia Duo felt suspicious and surprised, yet he did not feel all that astonished.

It was just that—

A human Great Arcanist, under the current circumstances, leaving from the front gate of the Cormanthor Embassy, truly invited speculation.

That person was none other than Lord Huo Ke, with whom Xia Duo had previously had a conflict; of course, now he had to be called Great Arcanist Huo Ke.

Not long ago, Iolum had sent someone to the Tower of Time to take away Aquirene Huo Ke, and Xia Duo had originally thought he would not have any further dealings with the other party for quite some time.

He had not expected Seventon to be so small; he had only come out for a casual stroll when he saw the other party coming out of the Cormanthor Embassy.

There is entry and exit; surely he wasn't kidnapped by the Elves, right? In such a situation, to voluntarily head to the Cormanthor Embassy—what did this mean?

This reminded Xia Duo of his hometown before he transmigrated, where someone in a high position would visit a foreign embassy in broad daylight without any scruples, seeking so-called "asylum."

Lord Huo Ke wouldn't go so far as to seek asylum, but it certainly wasn't anything good.

Almost without any reason, Xia Duo believed the other party must have gone there regarding the death of Kelifu; whether it was to sell intelligence or to ask for credit and rewards, the other party's own attitude was clearly revealed.

"What a menace indeed!"

Xia Duo turned his head, preparing to leave; he really had no interest in having any interaction with the other party, but he didn't expect Lord Huo Ke to take the initiative to contact him:

"Lord Xia Duo, that matter was all a misunderstanding, and Aquirene has also received a lesson because of it. Could it be that Lord Xia Duo still cannot let it go?"

Whoosh—

Xia Duo had long known that his illusion disguise could not deceive an expert, but he had not expected to be recognized under these circumstances. It really was quite awkward!

Regarding Lord Huo Ke's proactive attempt to strike up a conversation, Xia Duo merely brushed it off with the excuse, "That matter is already in the past, and my teacher is waiting for me."

With his current sensitive status, if he were discovered "secretly conversing" with an Arcanist who leaned toward the Elves in front of the Cormanthor Embassy, then perhaps even Iolum would suspect the role he played in this matter!

What he had just said about "my teacher is waiting for me" was not a lie; Iolum had indeed just contacted him, saying he wanted to understand more details regarding the death of Kelifu, and explicitly stated it was a requirement from the Seven Towers.

Regarding this, Xia Duo could not refuse, and even less could he refuse. Now, encountering Lord Huo Ke as well, he really suspected he hadn't checked the almanac when he went out.

"What the eyes see is not necessarily reality. I know this place is sensitive; if Lord Xia Duo has any needs, you can contact me at any time. I have always believed that we have common interests!"

After Lord Huo Ke's final Sending, a Magic Mark, barely perceptible to the naked eye, quietly landed in front of Xia Duo.

Xia Duo acted as if he didn't see it and focused on heading to the Arcane Union, but the Magic Mark followed him persistently. As for a mere Magic Mark, Xia Duo naturally wouldn't take it to heart.

But he could not truly ignore the person behind this Magic Mark, and what Lord Huo Ke mentioned about "what the eyes see is not necessarily reality" also seemed to contain deep meaning.

A double agent? Or just a line of rhetoric? Xia Duo could not judge, but at this moment, if he did not accept this Magic Mark, either the other party would be shamed into anger and strike in public, or this mark would follow him until it was discovered by others.

As for directly destroying the mark, Xia Duo hadn't even considered it.

"Sigh! What kind of mess is this!"

In fact, Xia Duo had already made his choice; it was just a Magic Mark. To use an analogy from Earth, it was like being forcibly handed a business card—a question of whether to accept it or not.

While walking, Xia Duo took out his Spellbook and used one of the blank Inner Pages to contain this Magic Mark. This was different from using a Communication Magic Tool, but it was more formal and safer.

After accepting the Magic Mark, Lord Huo Ke's voice never appeared again, and Xia Duo also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

……

From the Cormanthor Embassy to the Arcane Union was just crossing the Arcane Plaza.

As soon as he returned to the Arcane Union and was out of the potential line of sight of Lord Huo Ke, Xia Duo immediately removed the page from his Spellbook that contained Lord Huo Ke's Magic Mark and put it into his Personal Space.

He himself knew many positioning Magic Marks and spells cast with the help of Magic Marks; storing it in the Spellbook was not absolutely safe.

It was safer to put it in his Personal Space. Once in the Personal Space, even if the person himself jumped out of the Magic Mark, he could be destroyed with a wave of his hand.

And keeping this Magic Mark might be useful in the future. Whether it was the "common interests" Lord Huo Ke spoke of, or using this Magic Mark to scheme against the other party, it was a path nonetheless.

Iolum's Study.

Arriving here again, Xia Duo's state of mind was completely different from before. Although he was unsure if Iolum asking to see him to understand more details at the request of the Seven Towers meant the Seven Towers were preparing to shift the blame, he still had to come.

"Teacher, what other details does the Seven Towers want to know?"

"Last night, in front of you, none of them were willing to speak, yet afterwards they came to me to play the villain!"

Iolum shook his head slightly, revealing a bitter smile, and sold out the Seven Towers without hesitation. Afterwards, his expression turned stern, and looking directly at Xia Duo, he said solemnly:

"I believe this matter has nothing to do with you, but here, I must still ask one question, and this is the true requirement of the Seven Towers; I cannot refuse."

"Teacher, please ask!"

Xia Duo immediately paid twelve times the attention. He noticed that at this moment, on Iolum's desk, there was a strange ornament that had not been there during his previous visits.

This thing looked a bit like a hairspring in a watch, but it was divided into multiple layers. As the two spoke, these extremely thin, spiral structures, suspected to be made of Mithril, vibrated constantly.

At the same time, this strangely shaped desktop ornament also emitted a bright Magic Aura, and this aura was also vibrating constantly along with the spiral structure of the ornament's main body.

Xia Duo was thoughtful; if it were only sensitive to sound and could respond to sound, it wouldn't have suddenly appeared on Iolum's desk. Perhaps it was related to this Inquiry.

Just at this moment, Iolum's question came—

"Are you certain you did not participate in any conspiracy related to the death of Kelifu?"