Chapter 560: Magic Chalk Box

Lawrence looked at Xiao En with some surprise, then withdrew his gaze and chuckled, saying, "The future? So you have high hopes for him?"

"Not really, I just became mildly interested." Lei Kedun shook his head, then added, "Perhaps we should move somewhere else to talk."

"Sorry, that was my oversight; there's a nice café nearby, perhaps we could go in and sit for a while?"

As he spoke, Lawrence turned his body to gesture an invitation, then, moving half a step ahead of Lei Kedun, led the way while murmuring his own doubts: "A while ago a blood moon suddenly appeared; it has already happened once this year, without any warning, and I almost lost control and turned into a monster in my sleep."

"The records left by the ancestors of the Yabola Han family indicate that the blood moon's occurrence is not without cause; does this imply that some hidden, unknown changes took place then?"

Lei Kedun was silent for two seconds, recalling the timeline in his mind, then concluded: "A while ago? Probably the Primeval Moon's divine recipient was killed, and that evil deity reacted accordingly."

Lawrence was clearly surprised by the answer: the Primeval Moon is not a particularly prominent evil god, being known mainly among the blood clan and the Life School; the former still worship the progenitor Lilith, and they are hostile to other beings that wield the "Moon" authority.

Yet considering it is also an evil deity that controls the "Moon" authority, he thought it reasonable that it could trigger a blood moon night.

He paused, then curiously asked, "The Primeval Moon's divine recipient? Is it a system like the Earth Mother Church's divine recipients, or simply a being that received a divine blessing?"

Lei Kedun calmly explained:

"The latter: it is a being that, through prolonged bloody sacrifices, absorbed power from the Primeval Moon, gradually mutated, came back to life—similar to a paper figure of a magical artifact—and the Primeval Moon's followers know how to use them."

While speaking, he had already followed Lawrence into a café called "Black Elegance."

The café was spacious, yet few people were inside, sparsely seated at various spots; compared with the bustling street, the shop was as quiet as if it had closed.

After finding a seat near a corner window, Lawrence skillfully beckoned the waiter and ordered two cups of black coffee sourced from the Pas River Valley.

When the waiter left, he turned to Lei Kedun, chuckling, and said:

"Today is the Opening Sea Festival; most people are out taking part in the celebrations. I expect that only after the afternoon, when they grow weary, will they gradually drift to bars, cafés, or return home to rest."

Lei Kedun lightly nodded, and with his right hand clad in a mechanical glove, tapped the table edge twice; a spiritual ripple spread like water, forming a wall of spirit inside and outside the layout.

Having done that, he leaned back slightly, rested against the chair back, fixed his gaze on Lawrence, and said calmly:

"I need a trait of a Traveler or a Mystic to forge a magical item. Would your Yabola Han family be willing to trade a collected trait or magical artifact to me, or tell me some information so I can hunt a Traveler myself?"

Lawrence was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"I have a magical item corresponding to a Traveler on hand; if you need it, you can purchase it from me."

"Mystic already belongs to the demigod tier; even in major churches, Level‑1 sealed items are scarce. I lack authority to decide the fate of such a magical item; it requires the council of elders' approval."

He paused for two seconds, then continued:

"Besides the Yabola Han family, the Spiritual Knowledge Society also holds some formulas and traits for the Apprentice path."

"They believe the spirit is humanity's essence, the flesh merely a cage that binds it; people turn evil because of flesh's influence. One must use spirit to gain knowledge, gradually free the spirit from the body, then undergo successive trials of the stellar bodies, ultimately leaving the material world, returning to the purest, truest self, and attaining eternal salvation."

"However, these are likely just their façade or part of their doctrine. From what I know, most of their members belong to the Witch Sect, acting as an outward identity for the sect's activities worldwide; we suspect the Witch Sect possesses a trait of a Traveling Mage."

Lei Kedun leaned against the wooden chair, quietly listening to Lawrence's account; he paid no mind to the shift toward the Spiritual Knowledge Society, and nodded calmly:

"I understand. If I wish to purchase the magical item you have, how many gold pounds, or what else, do I need to pay?"

Lawrence almost without hesitation stated his terms: "15,000 pounds, or later help me retrieve a Mystic trait."

Lei Kedun replied almost without hesitation: "Fine, I will give you the 15,000 pounds by tomorrow. If you later need assistance retrieving the Mystic trait, you can come to me; I don't mind earning that money back."

While they talked, the waiter had already brought the freshly brewed coffee over.

Lawrence lifted the coffee on the table, took a sip, and then began describing the effects of the magical item he possessed:

"I call it the 'Magic Chalk Box'; it looks like an ordinary iron‑gray little box containing three colors of chalk. After use it refills automatically, but only once all the chalk inside has been exhausted."

"The blue chalk can draw a 'door' on a wall or floor leading to any place you imagine; the farther the distance, the higher the chance of deviation, but as long as the destination stays within a single city, major issues are unlikely."

"The yellow chalk is for divination; whether you write the question you wish to ask or simply toss the chalk, you receive a relatively accurate answer. You must not ask vague questions, as that makes the divination dangerous."

"The red chalk can turn what you draw into reality—draw a lightning bolt, and a bolt will strike nearby—but if the drawing is too abstract or complex, it manifests as an illusion or a random magical attack."

"It has two drawbacks: the holder develops severe claustrophobia, and after each use of the chalk, they become lost and face uncertain danger; they must quickly soak it in scalding boiling water to avoid these effects."

"Claustrophobia?" Lei Kedun murmured softly; his strong spiritual intuition let him glimpse vague images from the brief words.

He paused for two seconds, then said thoughtfully:

"That Traveler apparently suffered misfortune in life, leaving a strong spiritual imprint within the extraordinary trait, which is reflected in the resulting magical item."

Lawrence was silent for a moment, his voice sounding somewhat despondent as he said, "It comes from a family member during Emperor Luo Sai Er's era; he tried to find a sufficiently hidden place to avoid the murmurs heard during promotion."

"Where he went and what he encountered remain unknown; the magical item was only discovered decades later, and the family members then learned of it through divination."

"Because it overlaps with my own extraordinary ability, I don't carry the magical item with me. Whenever you need it, I can retrieve it at any time."

"No rush; let me gather the gold pounds first," Lei Kedun replied with a light laugh, lifted his coffee cup to his lips.

Lawrence and Lei Kedun sat in the café for about an hour, discussing everything from mysticism to current international affairs; toward the end, Lawrence expressed his desire to go to the Pas River Valley.

"Travel's meaning is not merely visiting different places and seeing varied scenery; a Traveler is also a witness, a further interpretation of a Recorder."

"I have a premonition that in the rapidly changing Pas River Valley, the Traveler elixir I carry will be fully assimilated."

As he spoke, a deep silvery‑white flash passed through Lawrence's eyes, as if he saw a glimpse of his own future.

Lei Kedun lightly nodded and said:

"It's your freedom, but I must remind you that the Aurora Society's Secret Saint is also on the Southern Continent, spreading the True Creator's faith."

Lawrence chuckled twice, then spoke:

"I am no longer young, nor impulsive; without a hundred percent certainty, I will not appear before him."

After finishing his conversation with Lawrence, Lei Kedun casually found an inn with vacant rooms and, using a false identity, arranged a two‑day stay for himself.

Then, led by the waiter, he went to a third‑floor room, closed the door, walked straight to the full‑length mirror against the wall, drew on the glass a secret‑eye sigil reflecting a tome, while muttering an incantation.

As the spirit spread, concentric pale‑blue luminous ripples unfurled across the mirror, and brilliant stars twinkled, outlining the sigil he had just drawn.

Amid the shifting light, a figure identical to him but dressed differently materialized in the mirror; beneath the glass, Tu Ba Ge, wearing a black tailcoat and a top hat, curiously perched on the surface, his plump paws patting the glass repeatedly as if testing whether he could pass through from the other side.

On either side of Tu Ba Ge, the orange cat Lizi and the dairy‑cow cat Buli, both wearing matching black top hats, pressed against the glass, curiously looking up and down.

(End of Chapter)