Chapter 1371: Clues from the Flower Girl

"What happened?" Xia De asked curiously, then noticed the shouting coming from outside the carriage window.

He leaned out the window and discovered that the entrance to Stonemason Street was blocked by two four-wheeled carriages placed horizontally, with sandbags and stones piled on either side to plug the gaps.

Stonemason Street was even more bustling than usual, but besides the onlookers, stonemasons wielding large and small hammers seemed to have flooded the street. Although the police were desperately trying to maintain order, they couldn't stop the two opposing factions of stonemasons from cursing each other with the most vicious language.

Although Xia De was only at the street entrance, he could still see smoke rising from the finest building on the street, where the Stonemason Society was located; someone had definitely set a fire there.

"What's going on now?"

Iluna asked with concern. Xia De paid the carriage driver, who was busy watching the commotion, and found a bystander to ask. Only then did he learn that rumors had spread—no one knew who started them—that the Stonemason Society's leadership had accepted money from the Royal Family and intended to negotiate.

The anger that had been building against the Anjou Royal Family for over a decade was ignited. Before Xia De and Iluna arrived, some stonemasons had already planned to besiege the Stonemason Society and drag the "traitors" out for judgment. Fortunately, some were more rational and tried to stop them, leading to the current scene of near-armed conflict.

"Princess Margaret's plan will face even greater setbacks because of this, won't it?" Iluna asked worriedly. Xia De nodded.

"Margaret only told me yesterday that she had almost certainly resolved this matter, and today an accident occurs... It must have to do with her brother."

With the chaos on Stonemason Street, large numbers of police were rushing in from other parts of the city, so the flower girls had long since left. Xia De and Iluna didn't find the "Little Liana" mentioned by the village girl.

Fortunately, Xia De gave two small copper coins to a beggar on the street corner. The beggar, who was busy watching the show, impatiently provided information.

"Those little girls don't sell flowers here; they must have gone to the area near Peace Church, two blocks away. That's a nice spot. If it weren't for 'One-Eyed Jeff' hogging that location, I'd definitely be begging there too. Oh, get out of the way! They're fighting over there, you're blocking my view!"

He jumped up with his straw mat and bowl, while Xia De and Iluna turned to see two stonemasons grappling with each other.

"Is this city always this crazy?" Iluna asked curiously, but Xia De couldn't answer that.

The local Peace Church was located in the Old Town, but like the other churches, it was near the river. Once they left Stonemason Street, the oppressive feeling of a storm about to break vanished.

There was still heavy fog in the city today, but visibility was at least higher near the church. Perhaps it was Xia De's imagination, but he felt that more people were heading to the local Peace Church than when he and Luoweiya had visited Dawn Church a few days ago.

He later realized it was probably because the city's insecurity made people crave divine protection more than usual.

Since Stonemason Street wasn't far from Peace Church, and Iluna preferred walking with Xia De, they arrived on foot. At the street corner, they happened to see a group of people lifting an elderly man into a carriage, while a priest with a dove-shaped holy emblem instructed the driver to head straight to the Sun Church.

"Petrification Plague," Xia De whispered to Iluna. They stood on the outskirts of the noisy crowd and watched the carriage leave. From the discussions of the people, they knew the old gentleman had been on his way to the church with his family when the accident happened just a hundred steps away.

This didn't affect the appearance of the flower girls.

Xia De spent money to buy all the flowers, and even the flower basket, from a flower girl they found near the opera house, then had Iluna continue selling flowers in the area where the little girl usually operated.

Knowing that every disappearance occurred in an alleyway, Iluna was required to frequently pass through the nearby alleys.

While waiting for a disappearance to occur that afternoon, Xia De kept watch near Iluna, even buying a Lyon red chrysanthemum and a Randell carnation from her.

By 4:00 PM, Iluna, feeling somewhat annoyed, walked into an alley next to the opera house. Xia De waited at the alley entrance while reading a newspaper, intending to follow two minutes later.

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred this time, as the light of a Sun Gun flashed inside the alley.

Xia De immediately dropped the newspaper and chased after her, only to find the alley empty, save for a small pool of fresh blood on the ground.

"Oh, I knew I shouldn't have used bait... Blood Echo!"

A scarlet halo immediately appeared in the air. Xia De followed the halo and soon saw it enter an open sewer pipe near the other end of the alley.

Despite the foul and damp environment, Xia De transformed into a red butterfly and flew down. After standing in the stench, he continued to chase the scarlet halo through the darkness.

After chasing for a full five minutes through the underground labyrinth, he finally heard voices ahead. He continued forward, and as Iluna summoned a golden ball of light to illuminate the sewer, Xia De finally saw the scene before him.

They were in an underground room used for storing construction equipment and resting for maintenance workers. It was usually locked with an iron gate, but it did contain chairs, cabinets, and beds.

At this moment, four missing girls were lying on two beds pushed together. A little girl Xia De had never seen stood before the beds, arms spread like a mother hen protecting her chicks, blocking Iluna from approaching them.

The flower girl looked very young, covered in whispers, and was undoubtedly a humanoid relic. She stood only as tall as Xia De's waist. Besides the clothing features described by Miss Lasers, she carried a small basket covered with black cloth. From the gaps, five or six colorful flowers poked out.

"Are you alright?"

Having chased the bloodstains, Xia De was very concerned for Iluna's safety. The brown-haired girl shook her head.

"I'm fine. I accidentally got hurt at first, but I've had the upper hand ever since. You have to be careful; she looks young, but she's actually very powerful."

"I didn't hurt you!"

The little flower girl's voice was quite childish, but she sounded quite indignant, her brown eyes practically spitting fire.

Based on her description, Xia De could imagine the scene: Iluna, who had been smiling, suddenly threw a Sun Gun.

"You're a humanoid relic, and you kidnapped so many girls. Of course I had to attack you and stop you!"

Iluna was also quite angry. She pointed behind the little flower girl, as if wanting to prove her righteousness to Xia De.

"Look, the missing girls are indeed all here. The one lying in the middle is the Baron's daughter; I've seen her photo."

"Oh, you old woman who is clearly an adult but pretending to be a young girl! I didn't kidnap them at all! They came to help me of their own free will."

The little flower girl retorted, her childish voice echoing in the sewer. This time, she completely infuriated Iluna.

"I'm only seventeen! I just came of age! How dare you call me an old woman?!"

As she spoke, a golden ball of light, like the color of the sun, appeared in her hand, its volume expanding.

The flower girl shivered and looked pitifully at Xia De.

"You'll help me, right, brother?"

The sugary tone made Xia De shudder, but he still stopped Iluna.

"Don't rush to act yet. What kind of relic is this?"

"Secret Keeper-level relic, 'Flower Girl.' The name is the entire meaning. She is a collection of all concepts of flower girls: resentment, joy, longing for childhood, memories of the past, sadness over poverty, and sentiment for suffering. This collection became her. Don't let her young appearance fool you; her formation likely traces back to the First Era. Decades ago, someone even proposed classifying her as Angel-level!"

Iluna gritted her teeth. Her manners were actually quite good; she was only angered because she was called an "old woman."

"She's dangerous, but that doesn't mean she's malicious. She just likes doing strange things related to selling and growing flowers. I think she was also attracted by the distorted earth power."

"Yes! Big sister is right!"

The girl said in a very childish voice, still looking very afraid of Iluna.

"The soil here has become very special, so it can grow flowers that are usually hard to bloom."

"Then what are you doing taking these girls?" Xia De asked. The girl looked up at him and replied:

"Growing flowers requires not just soil, but also nutrients. I need fresh blood to grow flowers, so I found these pure girls who share my profession to help. I asked for their opinions, and they agreed!"

"That's because you have the ability to make all intelligent life pity you, sympathize with you, and almost agree to all your requests!"

Iluna gritted her teeth, glancing at Xia De as she spoke.

"Are you under some misunderstanding about me?"

Xia De said softly, while the girl continued to spread her arms to block Iluna.

"I'm not letting them work for nothing. After they work for a week and leave, I give each of them a little white flower to decorate their soul. This way, they won't be infected by the Petrification Plague you mentioned, and the fallen earth elementals won't attack them. Even if they are far away from this area, that little white flower can strengthen their souls."

"See, this is why she's only rated as Secret Keeper-level despite being quite dangerous."

Iluna said to Xia De, the ball of light in her hand still not disappearing. This was a new spell Iluna had developed; although she could only confine the sun's power in her hand for now, it was enough to cause significant damage.

"You've done well, but can you let these girls go?"

Xia De asked. Since Iluna said the other party was very powerful, they'd better not act rashly.

The girl pouted and thought for a moment.

"Since you've made the request, letting the four of them go is fine. After all, I'm not a bad person. But afterward, I'll still look for new helpers in this city. After all, my flower hasn't bloomed yet."

In the deepest part of this small sewer room, a brown flowerpot sat on a table, emitting a scent like blood-wine—a mix of blood and wine that smelled decent. However, there was only a very short green sprout in the soil.

"That won't do. Leave this city now."