Chapter 1383: Scholar and Detective and Magician

The devil looked at Xia De in the frozen time. It didn't speak to Xia De again, but after a pause, it stood up and walked to the next table. It reached out and grabbed one of the apples in the air, took a bite, and then threw it aside.

Turning its head to look at Xia De, who also stood up, it then picked up a wooden soup spoon from the table. It held the front end of the spoon and aimed the slender back end at the eye socket of the man who was laughing and clapping at the very edge of the table, and stabbed it forward.

"Wait a minute."

Xia De stopped it and asked suspiciously:

"Are you trying to say that if I play any tricks on Friday, you will treat me like this? But I can resist your time power; don't you even remember this?"

"No, I mean."

The devil released the spoon, letting it freeze in front of the man's eye socket:

"If you dare to play tricks, I will kill one hundred people; if you don't show up on Friday, I will kill one thousand people; if you fail to stab the sword or dagger into Ossenfort's chest, I will kill ten thousand people."

Xia De took the spoon and put it back on the table: "What does killing others have to do with me?"

"I know people like you too well; on the surface, you don't care at all, but what you are really thinking can't deceive yourself." The devil patted Xia De's shoulder lightly:

"On Friday night, at Ossenfort Manor, duel with Ossenfort. Then, the Undying Flame, the relic that increases lifespan, the alchemical item that turns stone into gold, the bottle of wine that never runs dry, the devil's knowledge book, 【Desire】's information. You can choose any one of the six options; I won't lie."

Xia De snorted and sat back in his seat: "I know."

The devil walked backward toward the tavern door with its hands behind its back: "I hope you really understand."

With another snap of its fingers, the noisy sounds returned. No one in the tavern realized what had just happened. Only the people at the next table were surprised to find that the three apples thrown had become two, and then they praised the guy who performed the magic for being really amazing.

This time, Xia De finally picked up the glass of rye beer and took a sip, then spat it out on the ground quite uncivilizedly:

"Pah, what is this?"

He looked up at the lively tavern again, and the devil's figure had disappeared without a trace.

Xia De put the wine glass on the table, but didn't stand up this time. Instead, he held his breath and stared at the swaying flame, thinking. It took a long time for him to look up, and then he saw a familiar figure walking out of the crowd that continued to laugh loudly.

It was a middle-aged man with a bald head and only fluffy stubble. His skin was dark, his double eyelids were extremely severe, he was wrapped in an uncommon brown old-fashioned robe often worn by people in desert regions, and he held a notebook with slightly curled edges in his hand.

The middle-aged man had originally been looking around, wanting to find an empty table, and at this time he also saw Xia De. His black eyes were exceptionally spirited, and his stubble was as short as his hair. Mr. Sean Asmon smiled and waved at Xia De, that smile still as strange as when they met in the past.

"Oh, I knew it, Mr. Watson, I would definitely meet you again somewhere. I just didn't expect you to come to Randall Valley City too; this place is really not bad."

Mr. Asmon sat opposite Xia De, in the seat Ossenfort and the devil had occupied, his right arm across the table, his body leaning forward slightly.

Xia De was also surprised to meet this gentleman again after a long time... or maybe not that surprised:

"Coldwater Port, Midhillburg, Huntington, and then Randall Valley. On such a quiet night, meeting an old friend unexpectedly in a tavern in the countryside, this is really a surprise. Drink something? My treat."

"Then, thank you."

Mr. Asmon nodded, and Xia De called the waiter over. After the waiter left, Xia De said again: "Every time I met you in the past, it was in a place with the name 'Rose'. It seems this time it's an accident." "No, no, isn't this a rose?"

Mr. Asmon picked up the withered black rose that had just been thrown down by the devil, and took a deep breath:

"A withered black rose, this is a very ominous omen."

"Yes, yes, before meeting you, I met a very annoying guest." Xia De waved his hand, as if driving away invisible flies.

"Everyone always encounters some annoying people they have to meet."

Mr. Asmon said very understandingly, and Xia De shook his head noncommittally. Then the waiter brought the drinks and a plate of fresh fried beans on a tray.

"Let's not talk about me. Mr. Asmon, seeing you in Randall Valley now, is it possible that there are devil rumors in Randall Valley too? I only heard that the city is popular with petrification plague recently... and the nearby village has malaria, so we have to be careful when eating."

Xia De, who had just finished negotiating with the devil and was threatened by the other party, asked, and the devil scholar with a strange smile nodded: "There are indeed rumors, otherwise I wouldn't have come here. Why, Mr. Watson, are you interested in this?"

"Of course, are you willing to share your story with me?"

"No problem, but before that, do you want to play a game of Rod cards?"

Mr. Asmon took out his deck, and Xia De nodded with a smile, feeling his mood improve immediately: "Of course, no problem, but the first two times, I won."

"Oh, you want to play Rod cards?"

Mr. Asmon hadn't spoken yet, when another voice sounded from the side.

Xia De looked to the side in surprise and found that the speaker was the man who performed magic with apples just now. He seemed to still not have found his missing apple, but this didn't prevent him from bidding farewell to the villagers at the table, moving his chair with interest, and sitting on the side of Xia De and Mr. Asmon's table:

"Let me introduce myself, Mark Winston, a magician from the Tuna Circus."

He also put his glass on the table. Now there were various things on the table in front of Xia De, surrounding the oil lamp, empty glasses, plates, newspapers, roses, sword hilts, and Rod cards placed scattered. Adding one more glass didn't look abrupt at all.

"Our circus hasn't received permission to perform in the city square yet, so I'm staying outside the city for a few days. I had nothing to do, so I came here to drink. Are you going to play Rod cards? Count me in, how about it? I can take out my special card to bet with you."

Xia De glanced at Mr. Asmon, and seeing that he didn't object, he said:

"A three-person game is also very interesting. Mr. Asmon, do you want to earn some travel expenses for yourself?"

He proposed while reaching into the pocket left by Ossenfort, taking out 5 crowns, which was about 60 to 75 pounds of coins:

"A special card is probably worth this price. There are no special cards in my deck, so I'll bet with these coins."

"I don't have any special cards either, and I don't have that much money on me. I only have these."

The devil scholar took out 3 crowns, and together with Xia De's 5 crowns, threw them into the empty plate, and the magician and Xia De didn't mind.

And so Xia De proposed the rules:

"Lady Sanmei-person game, basic rules, the first to win two rounds wins, and can take away the special card and 2 crowns. The remaining two play one-on-one, winning one round counts as victory, the winner takes 5 crowns, and the loser gets a consolation prize of 1 crown."

"No problem." The magician said excitedly:

"Even if the bumpkins in the village gamble, they can't take out any decent bets. It's still more interesting to play with travelers like you who are passing through here. Oh, let you see my special card first, but in a while, I will put this card into the deck to gamble with you."

He searched the deck and pulled out the special card and placed it under the oil lamp. Xia De leaned over to look and found that this was a series he hadn't seen before.

On the card face, a clown riding a unicycle and wearing a nose ball was looking up and juggling three balls. In the not-so-detailed background, faceless audience members were applauding at the top of the scene. Although the card face was black and white, through the contrast of shadows, it made the clown look like he was in the spotlight of the stage.

"【Circus Tragedy: Headless Clown】, Suit: Star

3. Activate effect after the card game ends, remove this card, total points increase by 5. This effect must be activated."

Xia De read the content on the card face, and then asked suspiciously:

"Headless Clown... Circus Tragedy... is that the incident from thirty years ago?" "Yes."

Magician Mr. Winston nodded:

"At that time, the 'Jasmine Circus', which was very famous in Karsinric, all members died in the tent overnight, including the lions, cats, elephants, mice, and pigeons performing in the circus. Even the eggs in the kitchen were smashed. The official took nearly ten years to investigate the truth, and this set of cards was issued to commemorate the solving of the case at that time. My colleagues all think this card is very unlucky and told me to throw it away or sell it as soon as possible, but I think this is a

Xia De looked at Mr. Asmon, who was just looking at the card with a strange smile, appearing somewhat interested as well.

"Then let us begin. Oh, Mr. Asmon, I remember you saying that the story from last time had a sequel. Just playing cards is too boring; why don't we continue the story from last time while we play?"

"What story?"

The magician asked while checking their respective decks, and Xia De recalled: "It is a very old story—

A strange existence that, because of people's perceptions, truly possessed the power of a demon as rumored. It brought disaster to the world until it met a man without wishes, and because of the man's 'wish' to seal the demon, it accompanied that man through his life.

After the man died, the demon took his soul and spent one night returning to his hometown, devouring all his relatives. But those respectable people were all trying their best to protect the last boy, yet the boy did not avoid the demon by remaining silent; instead, he made a wish just like the first man."