Chapter 1652: Drout Gilles

"Are you always so good at talking?"

Megan changed from pursing her lips to biting her lip:

"I'll tell you about my affairs next week; I'm waiting for a very important guest. As for what we talked about, it's nothing important. We exchanged information about their grandfather and my father's life after leaving that island. I also mentioned recent events. We all think that no matter what the ancestors want to do, it seems that he definitely has no good intentions now. A good person would not cooperate with evil cultists."

Xia De, who accepted a drop of divinity from an evil god, was too embarrassed to speak.

"These two brothers are very interesting. I will arrange for my subordinates to contact them again later. But first, I have to figure out what their background is—ring-sorcerer background."

The way ring-sorcerers advance determines that it is impossible for a ring-sorcerer to figure it out by himself after reading a few books. All ring-sorcerers must rely on an organization. The Folen brothers are both Five-Ring, and their power is not weak, so they must also have their own organization.

"They don't look like they are from the three major academies, let alone people from the church. And there are only a few famous ring-sorcerer organizations in the Willowdale area."

"You decide for yourself, I will continue to contact the Folen brothers. If it is not necessary, don't involve the Chosen One in them. People only know that the Chosen One is powerful, but they don't know how much responsibility and trouble this identity carries."

Xia De sighed. The three living Chosen Ones, not to mention Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, Sister Devlin and the Guardian of the Earth, don't look like normal people at all.

"You really know everything."

Megan said with a smile and moved closer to Xia De:

"Then it's a deal, next week, we will confess our identities."

"Yes. It's a deal."

Xia De nodded, and then prayed in his heart that he had better not make the atmosphere too awkward at that time.

【Who are you praying to?】

"She" asked suddenly.

"Hmm... Mia."

The carriage rolled over the stone road, making a rhythmic sound, and the sound of horse hooves in the rainy weather seemed even more rhythmic. The witch in the carriage asked Xia De again:

"If one day, I encounter misfortune, will you protect me?"

"You asked this question on Monday night. Yes, as much as I can."

Xia De answered, so the red lips were pressed against his side face. The shy brown-haired lady then sat back in her original position, folded her hands on her lap, and turned her head to look at the scenery outside the carriage window with a blushing face. Her earlobes were slightly red, and the brown hair by her ears was blown up by the wind outside the window.

The two did not speak again until the carriage stopped at the front door of the Green Lake Hotel. When Xia De was about to get up to say goodbye, he felt the badge on his chest getting hot.

Looking at the young lady unexpectedly, she finally turned her head and made a small request:

"Can you call me 'Audrey' for this farewell? This is also my name, and you can call me either one in the future."

It seems she hasn't forgotten what happened when they parted on Monday.

"Well then, goodbye, Audrey."

"Goodbye."

She watched Xia De open the carriage door and hurry through the rain into the hotel. The carriage door closed, and the carriage continued to move forward. She covered her hot face and began to worry about how to explain that man when other great witches of the Witch Council arrived next week.

(Yin Yi Yi Lu Na is praying...)

"Meow~"

Xia De had just walked out of the basement and circled to the entrance stairs when he saw Little Mia standing on the third step, making a "fierce" sound at him. Of course, the cat's meow was actually soft, far less annoying than the sounds of stray cats that often called for spring at night recently.

"What's wrong this time?"

Xia De bent down to pick it up, but Little Mia turned around and flicked Xia De's hand with its tail, then jumped onto a higher step on its own and walked towards the second floor.

【"Hugged another cat at the cafe."】

"She" reminded gently, and Xia De understood. But solving the unhappiness of this cat with a very sensitive nose is actually very simple. He tidied up a bit and called Mia to go out for lunch together, and the cat walked towards Xia De with cat steps from some corner, half disgusted and half expectant.

Xia De didn't know why he could see such rich emotions from a cat.

【"Wipe the lipstick off your face before going out."】

"Oh, almost forgot this."

When washing in front of the mirror, he thought of that Time Key again. It would take two or three days or even longer to go to the island again, and he needed to make a decision on whether to keep the Time Key until then.

Keep it, maybe he could win valuable time; use it, the task reward of the key includes "Enhanced Spatial Perception" that can play a huge role on the foggy island.

"Decide at night."

He thought in his heart, picked up the cat that was both expectant and disgusted, and then went out happily.

Tobesk today is still filled with fog, and the sky is gloomy. Sure enough, it started to drizzle when eating lunch, making people walking on the street flee in a hurry.

Xia De naturally didn't lack rain gear in his portable toys, but after lunch, he didn't go directly to Professor Manning, but sent Little Mia home first. Because of Professor Manning's unique hobby, Xia De wouldn't bring Mia over no matter what.

Visiting a retired history professor with unique aesthetics and hobbies on a rainy day is often the opening of a horror story. When Xia De knocked on the professor's door in Cat Tail Alley, he was still thinking about what kind of story he would encounter this time.

The servant opened the door for Xia De, and Xia De met the old professor in the living room.

After a long time, Professor Manning's body was healthy and his spirit was very good. He wore a brown wool shirt over a white shirt, looking like he was at home. After welcoming Xia De with a smile, he asked if he had completely recovered from the serious illness more than a month ago.

"Of course, I feel great now."

"I didn't expect people like you to get sick."

This refers to ring-sorcerers.

"There were some unexpected situations, it doesn't matter. Professor, thank you for coming to see me with gifts at that time. I was asleep, it seems the maid received you, right?"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, I can understand that you were sick at the time."

"And the honorary degree, I didn't have time to thank you."

After the pleasantries, they talked about business. The two sat down in the living room. When Xia De took out the fountain pen and mentioned the name Drout Gilles, Professor Manning showed a very surprised expression:

"Gilles. I know this young man, he is very talented. When he came to Tobesk City three years ago, I met him when I was invited to give a lecture at the school. He was holding an introduction letter from St. Fabri Academy in Willowdale and had just joined the History Academy of Tobesk University, heard he was a researcher. He was lonely and had no friends, and later came to me to ask questions, so we became familiar."

The professor recalled, and then showed a hesitant look:

"Mr. Hamilton, is there a problem with Gilles?"

"He is also a ring-sorcerer."

Xia De told Professor Manning the truth:

"He led a group of grave robbers to rob a tomb in the Green Lake area. That group of grave robbers died because of the curse... well, there is still one left with a breath. When I traced the funerary objects they stole, I traced them to this Gilles."

"Ring-sorcerer, and curse..."

Professor Manning took a breath. It can be seen that the last 【The Joyful Dream Pen】 incident left him a very deep impression:

"Fortunately, I mostly communicated with him by letter, and he only visited three times."

"Professor, where is he now? I entrusted others to investigate in Willowdale, and his former colleagues said that he seemed to have disappeared since the beginning of this year, and he didn't contact his friends and colleagues in Willowdale at all. Is he... already dead."

Xia De is now afraid of letting himself dig another tomb.

"Should not be, I received his letter last month."

Professor Manning shook his head immediately:

"But his health has not been very good in the past six months, and he got a serious illness like you some time ago. You took half a month to recover, but he has not recovered. I have a wide network in the archaeology industry in Tobesk. I heard from old colleagues when I had dinner last week that Gilles has been asking for leave intermittently for the past six months."

Xia De frowned slightly, it's good that he's not dead:

"It's probably the curse I mentioned... Professor, where does he live? I'll go find him and see the situation now."

"Gilles also lives in the University District, but it's a bit far from here. Heard he came to rely on relatives, but I don't know why he lived so poorly."

Saying this, the old professor clenched his fists and gritted his teeth:

"I'll go with you, it just so happens that I haven't seen him for a long time. If he doesn't want to provide you with information, I can help you persuade him. He is really a very talented young man. Although he robbed someone else's tomb, maybe there is still a chance to save him. I don't want to excuse him, but I really hope he can get a chance to be redeemed."

Professor Manning provided help to Xia De several times, and Xia De also respected the professor very much. So Xia De was willing to not kill and subdue the other party as soon as they met because of the professor's persuasion, but he didn't want the professor to get involved:

"Professor, if you are worried, just wait for me here, I will bring him over. It's not certain what will happen in a while. Although I am confident that I am stronger than him, I am not sure I can protect you."

Although Megan said that the other party was only a low-ring sorcerer three years ago, he couldn't take it lightly.

"I can wait for you downstairs."

"Then why not wait for me here?"

Xia De asked with a smile:

"And it's still raining outside... Let's do this. You write a letter, and I will take it to Gilles. If he sees the letter and is willing to believe you who helped him, then it saves trouble. You prepare hot tea at home, and I promise to bring him over. Oh, I'm going to disguise my face in a while, I don't want others to know who I am."

The professor nodded, not forgetting to exhort:

"You also be careful yourself, otherwise call Louisa to go with you."

"I won't disturb her first, I can handle this matter myself."

Among the six districts of Tobesk, the University District has the smallest area, but even so, it is not easy to find Drout Gilles' residence. In Xia De's imagination, as a ring-sorcerer, even if he wants to keep a low profile for some reason, he would at least have his own detached apartment.

But in fact, he was as shabby as Professor Manning said, and he actually rented a room in an apartment building with others. Those are single rooms separated by wooden boards, belonging to the worst type of residence in the University District.

That apartment building is hidden in an alley in the southwest of the University District, and if you walk one more street to the west, you will enter the West District of Tobesk.

This type of apartment specially rented to students in the University District is generally small in area, but the personnel are quite crowded. However, it is Wednesday afternoon, and most of the tenants are not there. Xia De is also unwilling to let others know that he came here, so after disguising his identity and arriving at the door of No. 12 Nottingham Alley, he closed his eyes to confirm that there was no heartbeat behind the door, and then pretended to take out his own key and poked it into the keyhole.

Click~

The keyhole rotated automatically, and Xia De flashed in without blushing or panting.

The lighting in this house is very bad, and it is even darker indoors on a rainy day. Xia De paid attention to the surroundings at all times, climbed from the first floor to the third floor along the narrow stairs, turned into the corridor, and found the door with the number "3" on it.

Closed his eyes and listened again, there was someone in the room behind the door. So, Xia De held his breath and knocked on the door twice with his fingers—

Dang~ Dang~

When the crisp knocking sound rang in the dim corridor, it inexplicably made Xia De feel a bit gloomy.

【Not inexplicably.】

"What?"

Then he saw a nearly completely transparent spiritual body float out of the wall with its head and upper body. The spiritual body looked like a little girl, and she tilted her head and looked at Xia De.

When Xia De also looked at her, an expression of extreme shock appeared on the girl's spiritual face, obviously not understanding why Xia De could see her.

She swoosh~ quickly shrank back into the wall—the onomatopoeia was Xia De's imagination, but he really heard the panicked sound of getting up and footsteps in the room, and the footsteps approached the wall with the window.

The locked door was pushed open by Xia De. When he entered the door, his hand pressed directly on the wall in the room. Blood-red thorns immediately blocked the door and the only window in the room.

The pale young man in a bathrobe stood at the window in despair and looked back at Xia De, while the floating girl's soul said gloatingly beside him:

"Gilles, Gilles, you are going to be unlucky!"

"I know... cough cough."

The man who looked to be in his thirties coughed twice, and didn't dare to test what the blood-red thorns were. He walked back to the bed in despair and sat down, then looked at Xia De with bloodshot eyes:

"What do you want to do?"

"Before I say what I want to do, can you explain why you want to run away?"

Xia De stood at the door and asked, basically confirming that this was who he was looking for.

Drout Gilles was speechless for a while, so Xia De looked at the soul floating beside him:

"Are you... Last Edwards?"

When this name was spoken, the little girl's soul froze for a moment, and then clapped her hands and said:

"You know me, you know me!"

Her intelligence level was problematic; even if she became a ghost, she shouldn't talk like this.

Looking at the bloodless man again, his tone became more desperate:

"Are you from Green Lake?"

"It's not wrong to say so, but I am a Tobesk person."

The outlander who has a house in St. Deran Square said, and then introduced himself:

"You probably misunderstood my identity. I am not from the Edwards family, nor am I hired by anyone."

He took out Professor Manning's letter and the fountain pen he picked up from the bottom of the lake:

"In order to find a funerary object, I traced from the City of Spring - Randall Valley to the City of Glass - Mikayla Furnace City, then found clues on the central island of Green Lake, traced all the way to Green Lake City, destroyed the local gang leader, and then found Willowdale through your fountain pen, then learned that you were in Tobesk, and finally found Professor Tyris Manning."

He felt that the process was very complicated, but it was definitely worth it.

The man sitting by the bed looked at his long-lost fountain pen, and then looked down at the letter:

"City of Spring - Randall Valley, that is a big city in the southwest of the Old Continent. I have never been there. Why do you... wait, what did those grave robbers sell?"

He didn't know that the finger bones were sold to Randall Valley.

Xia De saw that the other party could communicate, and breathed a sigh of relief:

"It seems that what you encountered on the island is more complicated than I thought. Professor Manning said you are very talented and asked me not to do anything to you casually. I respect this old gentleman, so please go to the professor's place with me."

Saying this, he also introduced the relationship between himself and the professor:

"He knew me when he was young, and we helped each other with some small favors. But I respect Professor Manning, which doesn't mean I am really kind to you, so, don't play tricks on me."

The man had already finished reading the letter at this time, but he didn't make a decision immediately, but looked at the soul floating beside him. Last Edwards, the eldest daughter of the second generation of the Edwards family who died young, pouted and thought for a while:

"Go with him, go with him!"

"I'll go with you."

Drout Gilles nodded to Xia De.

"Don't move yet, let me see what kind of curse is on you."

Saying this, he walked over and held the other party's hand. After frowning slightly, he confirmed that this was the same kind of curse as the crazy grave robber who only had one breath left in Green Lake City. This curse is rooted in the soul, constantly grinding away the life and will of the cursed person. Even Xia De couldn't see what this weird curse was.

"Very troublesome, let's talk about the curse after seeing the professor."

He let Drout Gilles change clothes and find shoes, and the latter followed suit obediently. And while waiting, Xia De asked curiously:

"Speaking of which, what is your relationship with this... little lady?"

It was not the curse that bound the two. The soul of Last Edwards, who died young, was more like staying by his side voluntarily.

PS: Another 5K big chapter. Still 5K in the afternoon, equivalent to 1.5W today, 9k more than usual. ===== CHAPTER 1653 =====