Chapter 601

Lu Mian didn't urge Lu Jianuo; he wanted to see what kind of decision this "doctor" would make.

After a while, Lu Jianuo gathered his courage and asked:

"Will you still be taking Ludwig with you later?"

"Of course." Lu Mian turned his head and glanced at Ludwig, who was eating grilled baby octopus.

If it weren't for receiving the "0-01" information given by the Knowledge Church, he wouldn't want to keep taking such a child with him, but then again, Ludwig was now showing a certain degree of usefulness.

In the future, perhaps he could be used as a "Loki" trap again.

Lu Jianuo swallowed his saliva and said:

"I can help you take care of Ludwig, so you don't have to worry about him when you're doing things, unlike before when you'd just leave."

As expected... Lu Mian wasn't surprised at all by the decision Lu Jianuo made.

He slightly raised his chin and said:

"Reason?"

Lu Jianuo gave a sheepish smile:

"Coming out this time, I've seen so much and encountered attacks, so I know that Sequence 8 is still very insignificant in the arcane world and not enough to resist risks. Yes, if I return to Trier to open a clinic and secretly use my 'Physician' abilities, I could definitely become middle-class, hehe, and entering high society wouldn't be impossible, but I'm worried that being too famous will attract the attention of official Beyonders. Trier isn't like Sangta Port, which is relatively tolerant of wild Beyonders.

"Besides, those dangerous Beyonders are always active around us, and I don't want to have no ability to resist at all the next time I encounter an attack."

"If you don't attend arcane gatherings and just simply open a clinic and work as a doctor, you won't easily get involved in dangerous events. You can completely handle ordinary thieves and robbers," Lu Mian retorted casually.

Lu Jianuo shook his head:

"The Beyonder who gave me the relic and let me become a 'Planter' once told me that once you enter the arcane world, it's impossible to ever leave. Supernatural events will always happen around us. If you're lucky, you can live to die of natural causes; if you're unlucky, you'll end up like him.

"I didn't really believe this at first, but the things that have happened in the last six months have made me realize its truth more and more. I didn't do anything, and the Luan Street collapsed, and a strange tree grew. Before you hired me, I had a dream that I became a person in a painting and couldn't return to reality no matter what. When I woke up, I was wanted. This time, I was just taking good care of Ludwig and didn't get involved in anything, yet I was inexplicably attacked..."

Hmm... The more Lu Mian listened, the stranger his expression became:

All these things you mentioned seem to have been caused by me...

And yet you're still following me...

Does this count as another manifestation of Beyonders always encountering arcane events? What you encountered wasn't those things, but me...

Lu Jianuo continued:

"I've also seen Beyonder abilities like 'Teleportation' and giant waves. I'm no longer satisfied with just being Sequence 8. I think following you should bring more encounters and opportunities."

Lu Mian gazed at Lu Jianuo, wondering if this guy had been hinted at by someone to follow him, or if he had been "domesticated" by Ludwig and just wanted to be his "nanny."

Lu Mian had originally thought that Lu Jianuo, as a Beyonder of the "Mother Tree of Desire" pathway, should have a certain relationship with the Church of Mother Earth, but during this time, he had been paying close attention and hadn't found any extra communication between this guide and the Fengrao Society or the clergy of the Church of Mother Earth, and he appeared very unfamiliar with them.

Seeing that Lu Mian didn't retort again, Lu Jianuo smiled flatteringly:

"I have a talent for languages. I can teach myself the Southern Continent's Dutan language. As long as you pay me 300 Gold Coins in remuneration every month and promise me a certain right to share the spoils, I can continue to be your guide, private doctor, child caregiver, and half a thug."

"Fine." Lu Mian took out a full ten thousand Feier Jin. "This is the previous balance of 5000 Feier Jin, and since you encountered an attack, according to our prior agreement, I will pay you an additional 5000 Feier Jin, for a total of ten thousand."

Lu Jianuo happily accepted the original remuneration and began to pack his luggage.

Lu Mian took the opportunity to count the cash on him, confirming that there was still gold worth 1000 Feier Jin, 76,000 Feier Jin in gold coins, coins, and banknotes, as well as 2000 Jin Lisuo that hadn't been spent yet.

As long as he didn't buy Beyonder characteristics, potion formulas, magical artifacts, and high-end arcane knowledge, the money he had was very durable.

The next morning, when he boarded the sea ship sailing to the south of Feynapot in the guise of the great adventurer Louis Berry, Lu Mian walked toward the first-class suite while turning his head to look at the well-behaved and quiet Ludwig, asking thoughtfully:

"In your memory, or rather, in that part of 'Loki's' memory, is there a strange creature? They look like lizards but are very small, can crawl into a human's mouth, are very transparent and blurry, suspected to be spirit bodies, with brownish-green scales and ink-green eyes."

This was completely different from the starlight lizards that the "Children of the Sea" had turned into.

Ludwig shook his head:

"No, there's no such memory in the Batings Black Worm either."

Lu Mian fell silent, watching Lu Jianuo open the door to the suite in the manner of a servant.

Another hour passed, and amidst the wooing sound of the steam whistle, the sea ship set sail and left Sangta Port.

After nearly two hours of sailing, the weather gradually worsened, the sea waves began to surge, and the strong wind blew the passengers on the deck back into their cabins.

Looking at the dark sky, the dark clouds rolled by the wind, and the increasingly high waves, feeling the ship's up-and-down heaving, many passengers who were out at sea for the first time were filled with worry.

They found that the sailors beside them were all very determined and not worried at all, so they asked for confirmation:

"Is this a common situation at sea? Is it completely not dangerous?"

The Sangta Port locals working as sailors answered with a smile:

"It's relatively common, but it's still a bit dangerous.

"If the wind and waves get any bigger, we'll have to find a nearby port to take shelter.

"However, you don't need to worry. This year's Sea Prayer Ceremony was very successful. The current 'Viceroy of the Sea' will protect us, and there won't be any shipwrecks!"

"Viceroy of the Sea"... Hearing the sailor's answer, these passengers were even more uneasy.

They had all participated in the various celebrations of the Sea Prayer Ceremony in Sangta Port. They were happy, but they didn't believe at all that the "Viceroy of the Sea" could have any substantial effect on the wind and waves.

In such unease, they were stunned to find that the increasingly high waves suddenly calmed down.

While the dark clouds in the sky and the strong winds around remained, the seawater seemed to be pressed down by invisible palms, without any particularly obvious heaving.

The Sangta Port locals among the sailors immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers:

"Long live the Viceroy!

"Praise the 'Viceroy of the Sea'!"

Seeing this scene, the passengers looked at each other, unable to speak for a moment.

In the first-class suite, Lu Mian sat in a recliner, drinking Manzan wine without water, with a Dutan language textbook for the Southern Continent placed on his knees.

He clenched his right hand into a fist and pulled it down sharply.

Part of the dark clouds in the sky suddenly sank downward, forming a terrifying funnel.

The sunlight penetrated the huge hole created by this, shone into the cabin, and shone on Lu Mian's book, improving the brightness inside the room.

Lu Mian withdrew his right hand, turned a page of the book, and felt that the ability of the "Viceroy of the Sea" was really useful at sea.

Unfortunately, he could only use it for one more day.

…………

In the late night of Trier, Angouleme returned to his residence and habitually turned on the wireless telegraph machine.

Not long after, a telegram came in with a clatter.

Seeing that the header was "Sleeve Sword," Angouleme's brow furrowed immediately:

"Two pieces of good news, one piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?

"I know, you must want to hear the good news first, so I'll just say it directly.

"The first piece of good news is that the humanoid sealed artifact has been found and controlled. You don't need to worry about going on a business trip to Feynapot; you can properly and safely investigate the matter of the 'Mirror Person.'

"The second piece of good news is that after communication, we have confirmed that the force controlling that humanoid sealed artifact may return it to you. We are willing to coordinate, but we need you to pay with all the information on that humanoid sealed artifact in exchange. Of course, 'may' doesn't mean 'definitely will.' Before it's negotiated, you don't need to pay anything substantial.

"As for the bad news, hehe, there's a traitor inside your church. The reason that humanoid sealed artifact was lost is because there's an inside man! We can be sure of this point.

"Go, '007,' your chance to make a contribution has arrived!"

After reading it in one breath, Angouleme actually felt a sense of "thank goodness," because after the humanoid sealed artifact was lost, the church's high-level officials had suspected there was an inside man and had conducted an investigation, but there were no results—the case that led to the loss of that humanoid sealed artifact did indeed have problems, but the five "Purifiers" responsible for that case had all passed the review; they hadn't done a good job at the time, just encountered an accident.

"It seems that the inside man is hidden very deeply..." Angouleme muttered to himself.

…………

Memorial Hall District, No. 9 Orosai Street, Apartment 702.

Franca was leaning on the side of the bed, chatting in a telegram group while waiting for Jenna to return.

This female companion would go to the Opera District to watch a theatrical performance once a week and return only at midnight, but the specific day she went wasn't fixed, and she would disguise herself to avoid being watched and then having her behavioral patterns discovered.

Anthony, who lived nearby, had been busy trying to break into the circle of psychology enthusiasts, hoping to come into contact with a real "psychologist."

"It seems I'm the only one who is relatively free; there's still no feedback on matters related to the 'Mirror Person'..." Franca wasn't the type who had to find something to do; she was very good at finding fun in life.

While Franca was thinking about Jenna, Jenna had just finished watching the final theatrical performance, put on a hat with a black veil hanging down, and stood up to leave the theater where many audience members were still lingering.

At the exit, she waited in line patiently, moving outward.

Suddenly, Jenna felt a slight tremor in an item on her body.

She instinctively reached out to touch it and discovered it was the "Mirror World Fragment" from the tomb of the Tamara family.

PS: Asking for monthly votes for the last three days~

(End of chapter)