Chapter 569: Possible Leaker

The sea area had an anomaly after the failure of last year's Sea-Praying Ceremony? After reading the content on the paper, such an interpretation naturally formed in Lu Mian's mind.

He looked at the sticky note in his hand and vaguely smelled a familiar fragrance.

After a brief recall, Lu Mian remembered the source of this smell; it was the perfume of Lady Georgia of the Paco family.

"Inexperienced, or deliberately not covering it up, in order to tell me this is information passed on by the Paco family?" While Lu Mian muttered to himself silently, he thought of the humanoid lizard that popped out of nowhere in the Paco family, thought of Rubio Paco's mother Marta who was seriously injured, and thought of their abnormality in related matters.

Is the core problem brought about by the anomaly of the sea? Did the anomaly of the sea make the Beyonders of the Paco family very weak, and lead to an ordinary person without sea bloodline becoming a humanoid lizard? They didn't want other Sea Kin to know about this, and they were temporarily lacking strength themselves, unable to handle that humanoid lizard, so they could only find an outside adventurer to solve it? Lu Mian had a new understanding of the contradictions in the Paco family's commission.

And the anomaly of the sea was a point that neither Lato Giallo nor Juan Oro had mentioned.

They only talked about how, without the appeasement of the Sea-Praying Ceremony, this sea area was more violent than usual, the "Death Navigator" left its territory more frequently, and the strength of the "Children of the Sea" declined.

In their view, this was a normal, reasonable, and predictable situation, obviously having nothing to do with an anomaly.

"Is the anomaly only happening in the Paco family, or did Juan Oro and Lato Giallo deliberately conceal this matter, and not even tell each other, guarding against each other?" While Lu Mian was making guesses, he watched the note be swallowed by crimson flames in his palm.

He definitely tended toward the second possibility—unless the Paco family had something special, the impact brought by the anomaly of the sea should be extensive and universal, and wouldn't only target them.

Through this, Lu Mian could also roughly understand the disgusted emotion Rubio Paco had when mentioning matters like the "Handmaiden of the Sea":

From the moment he knew what a "Handmaiden of the Sea" was and who his true "parents" were, he should have fallen into self-loathing and hatred for the entire Sea-Praying Ceremony, preferring to lose the family's inheritance rights rather than marry a "Handmaiden of the Sea." When the anomaly of the sea caused an impact on the entire Paco family, this emotion reached its peak.

This made Lu Mian suspect whether Norfei's hidden collaborator would be Rubio Paco.

Anyway, with the resources and status the Paco family currently grasped, even without the Sea-Praying Ceremony, they could still have a very good life.

Lu Jianuo stood by, watching his employer fall into a state of contemplation after reading that note, and felt a bit nervous and flustered.

Something else isn't going to happen, right?

Lu Mian raised his head, looked at Lu Jianuo, and said thoughtfully:

"Although my Highland language hasn't reached the level of 'mastery,' I have basically grasped those words needed for daily use. With body language, I can live normally in Sangtagang, and the few people I really need to contact and communicate with all understand Intis.

"I can pay you the final payment now, and gift you a free 'teleport' opportunity back to Trier."

Lu Jianuo shook his head instinctively:

"You can't take Ludwig when you do things. If I leave now, who will take care of him?"

Who will take care of whom is still unknown... Lu Mian stared at Lu Jianuo for two seconds, and for the first time, he truly felt that this translator had a problem:

In a situation where he had already been attacked, facing the risks that might come, he actually subconsciously refused the proposal to terminate the employment contract now and send him to a safe place!

This wouldn't cost him any less!

Judging from Lu Jianuo's usual performance and personality, Lu Mian thought the possibility of him accepting the final payment and leaving Sangtagang was quite high, but reality wasn't like that.

Perhaps, he didn't even know why he wanted to do this, just "instinctively" made the decision... Lu Mian nodded imperceptibly and didn't mention paying the final payment to end the employment again.

…………

Milo Village, inside the Oro family ancestral house, which had undergone many renovations.

Juan Oro sat by the window, smoking a water pipe, looking at the orange-red sun falling below the sea level, thinking about the Sea-Praying Ceremony that was coming in more than a week.

Suddenly, he turned his head and cast his gaze toward the shadow near the door.

The darkness there squirmed, and a green-eyed man wearing a golden straw hat, a white shirt, and a black vest grew out. It was the great adventurer Louis Berry.

"Why are you here again?" Juan Oro sighed and said in Intis.

Lu Mian laughed, pulled a chair and sat down at the edge of the sunset glow shining into the room:

"There are some things I want to ask you again, and I want to inform you in advance about a certain action."

Juan's eyes narrowed slightly:

"What do you want to do again?"

"I want to sneak into the mansion of the 'Sea Viceroy' tonight. If I'm not discovered, I'll look at the few rooms where the Vigil Ceremony is held. If I'm discovered, I'll force my way out. This is very consistent with my radical image and the purpose I've shown, isn't it? It won't make others suspect that we are cooperating in secret," Lu Mian described his plan with a smile.

Juan Oro inexplicably had a feeling that the other party was threatening him, but couldn't find evidence, because Louis Berry's words made a lot of sense.

He took a puff of the water pipe and was silent for a few seconds:

"What exactly do you want to ask?"

Lu Mian smiled:

"I want to see what the ring used to marry the sea looks like, and what patterns are engraved on it.

"I know you have only made the ring embryo now and haven't completed the corresponding ceremony to attach specialties to it, but I believe you, who have served as deputy assistant priest eleven times and assistant priest more times, definitely remember those patterns, symbols, and structures."

Juan Oro's back straightened gradually, and his tone became stern:

"What do you want to do?"

The sunset glow in the room suddenly dimmed, as if it had been pulled into another space.

Lu Mian said as if he hadn't noticed at all:

"What's there to keep secret about this? Don't you know that the shape, patterns, and structure of that ring have long been leaked?"

Juan Oro's gaze condensed:

"When did this happen?"

Lu Mian raised his eyebrows:

"Didn't that companion of mine tell you the real reason for the failure of the Sea-Praying Ceremony?"

"He only helped us confirm that the Iru on the ship was fake," Juan Oro had a vague guess.

Lu Mian shook his head with a smile, starting from the fake ring ordered in Tolier, the lamb offerings sent to the ship after bribery, and talked about their guess on the fake Iru's ability and the restoration of the whole matter.

Juan Oro didn't interrupt, his expression gradually becoming gloomy.

After a while, his voice became a bit hoarse:

"There aren't many people who know the details of the 'Sea Queen's Ring' and know that the Sea Kin rarely check the inside of the offerings. Every one of them is a 'Child of the Sea' who has truly participated in core ceremonies many times. They are all still alive now... Iru and Sara didn't know..."

Hearing Juan Oro's words that were almost grinding his teeth, a flash of inspiration appeared in Lu Mian's mind, and he suddenly had a guess:

"Ultraman" is someone inside the Fishery Society, a "Child of the Sea" who has received power bestowals many times, or even a member with a certain status!

Of course, it's also possible that he controlled such a person in advance and had a close "cooperation" with the other party.

If it weren't for this, why would "April Fools" know the specific appearance of that sacrificial ring and precisely utilize the "supervision" loophole of the Sea-Praying Ceremony?

Hmm, although "I have a friend" said that "Ultraman" is a Beyonder of the 'Sun' pathway, this doesn't contradict him also being a "Child of the Sea." Even if he became a "Child of the Sea" first and then took the potion of the "Sun" pathway, it shouldn't be a problem. After all, the power of the "Children of the Sea" points to the starry sky, and the sun and the starry sky are always a good match... Is the true purpose of "April Fools" destroying the Sea-Praying Ceremony to prepare for "Ultraman" or his "collaborator" to completely control the power and palace at the bottom of the sea? Lu Mian's train of thought gradually became smooth.

He looked at Juan Oro and smiled with a relaxed posture:

"If there wasn't a mole, how could the Sea-Praying Ceremony be so easily destroyed?"

Juan Oro had similar suspicions for the past year, and now he couldn't refute Lu Mian's statement at all.

He thought with an ugly face for a long time before returning to normal:

"Must find that traitor before the official sea sacrifice..."

Speaking of this, Juan Oro looked at Lu Mian:

"By then, there might be some things that need your cooperation."

Yo, you've also started fishing, huh? Lu Mian responded with a smile:

"No problem."

Juan Oro put down the water pipe and left his seat.

He walked to the desk, took out paper and pen, and started drawing 'shua shua'.

Nearly ten minutes later, the old man walked to Lu Mian with a staggering gait and handed over the paper in his hand.

Lu Mian took a look and found that there were six patterns on it, representing the front, left, right, back, inner front, and inner back of the "Sea Queen's Ring." On each pattern, there were multiple complex mysterious symbols and patterns surrounding them.

"It's useless for you to get it; it won't have any effect," Juan Oro said in a low, hoarse voice. "It must be engraved on the ring by the corresponding types of Sea Kin using their specialties, and eroded for six hours, to please the sea and obtain her approval."

Lu Mian nodded:

"I didn't think about replicating one."

Just taking it for Lady "Magician" to interpret.

He turned to ask:

"Is this the ring-making segment of the Vigil Ceremony? Are there no other steps?"

"There is one more step, which is for an assistant priest to take the made ring into the basement, place it in front of those patterns and symbols representing our ancestors, and let it sit for an hour. This is a tribute to the ancestors, just like greeting elders before a wedding," Juan Oro introduced simply.

Lu Mian thought for a moment and said:

"Can you also draw the patterns and symbols representing your ancestors?"

Juan Oro returned to the desk again.

This time, it only took him two minutes to draw it.

Lu Mian took a look and found that they were some scattered lines and arcs, with many things missing in the middle, and couldn't see the original appearance.

"Seeing it on-site might make it easier to generate associations," Juan Oro sighed again.

Lu Mian nodded:

"Then I'll still sneak into the 'Sea Viceroy' mansion tonight."

Juan Oro said "en":

"Be careful of the Sea Kin there. They each have specialties. They aren't necessarily very strong, but they can restrain some of your abilities."

…………

Late at night, under the illumination of the crimson moonlight.

Lu Mian appeared near that church-like building.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 570 =====