Chapter 1673: The Late Xia De

"I understand. Even for her sake, I will hide well. This is my only chance for redemption."

Drout Giles clenched his fists and nodded. Xia De waved his hand at him:

"As long as you understand. Also, remember to go to the Three Cats Tavern at nine o'clock on Sunday morning to get the potion to lift the curse. After getting the antidote, you must stay on the first floor for an hour."

"Yes, sir."

The man nodded immediately, not knowing that Xia De wanted to find Sister Devlin and Priest Augustus to help look into what was going on with Last Edwards's soul.

He turned to leave; the girls with fiery passion were all still waiting for him to return in the room. But after taking two steps forward, he turned back to look at Drout Giles, frowned slightly, and asked:

"Viscount Chris Randall... a very familiar name. Did he participate in this spring's Tobesk Ring Road Equestrian Competition? (Chapter 1551)"

Drout Giles was stunned:

"Oh, yes, I also went to the Edward III Arena to watch the competition. However, Uncle Randall didn't get a good ranking, so no one would take the initiative to mention this in front of him."

Xia De nodded thoughtfully and turned to leave.

The girls' passion was always hard to refuse, and Lixia and Dorothy's passion made the Outsider even more intoxicated. Xia De didn't go back to the banquet hall, but turned into a cat, passed through Yodel Palace, and returned to Lixia's bedroom. After knocking on the window in cat form, the arm behind the curtain grabbed him in almost immediately.

He had originally thought he could leave Yodel Palace after the banquet, but Lixia thought that since Xia De and Dorothy had finally come to her bedroom—such an opportunity was really rare—they certainly couldn't just leave like that.

Therefore, after the banquet ended that night, although Xia De left Yodel Palace with his female companion and other guests, he then got into a carriage secretly arranged by the Princess and returned here.

It must be admitted that the big bed in Lixia's bedroom was indeed very comfortable. Although it was a bit too soft, there was no need to worry about such small matters. Only the three of them knew what exactly happened in Lixia's bedroom that night, but that soft bed and the soft girls did indeed cause Xia De to fail to wake up on time early Saturday morning.

It wasn't until Angelina entered the room on Saturday morning to greet Lixia that Xia De finally said goodbye to Lixia and Dorothy, struggling out of the "spider web" woven by red and golden long hair. When saying goodbye to Xia De, everyone no longer cared about what happened last Saturday night; they had all felt that Xia De's passion had not changed at all compared to the past.

"The Day of the Red Butterfly doesn't end until this afternoon, Xia De. Although there is a meeting in the afternoon, if you are free after the meeting, we can meet again."

This was the last thing Lixia said to Xia De. Angelina had the intention to remind him that she and Miss Galina were going to depart by train this afternoon, so the group that definitely had to go to see them off would have no time to "continue."

Because of various reasons, in short, by the time Xia De arrived at the Green Lake Hotel and met Megan, it was already 9:30 AM.

"If you didn't appear again, I would have left."

The beautiful lady behind the newspaper said, and after putting down the newspaper, she let Xia De see her impatient expression. Xia De had indeed kept her waiting too long. The two had agreed to go get the 【Ring of Moods】 today, but Xia De had kept her waiting here for a full hour.

"Sorry, really sorry."

Xia De, holding Little Mia, said repeatedly. It wasn't that he intentionally brought Mia out today; it was that this cat hadn't seen Xia De all night and insisted on following him this morning:

"Encountered some things I can't talk about, so I was delayed. How about I treat you to lunch?"

"I didn't really want to make things difficult for you, you don't have to... Lunch? Is this a formal invitation?"

Megan asked suddenly, as if her mood had improved instantly, her fingers tapping lightly on the side of the teacup:

"Then let's set off as soon as possible. The destination is by the lake, and there is still a long way to go."

The carriage of Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals was already waiting outside. After getting into the carriage, Xia De recounted the test results of the four blood samples. Megan wasn't surprised at all that her father was truly of Edwards blood, as she had guessed it long ago.

She also told Xia De about what had happened in Green Lake City in the past few days. She seemed to have confirmed that during the period when Xia De didn't appear, he definitely wasn't in the city:

"I told you last time, the 13th-Ring 'White Dove Messenger' of the Church of Peace, Minsk Todels, has arrived here. In the past two days, the 13th-Rings of the Church of Nature and the Church of the Sun have also come. It's that 'Nightmare Witch' and the 'Son of Light.' In the last five hundred years, this is the first time so many 13th-Ring Sorcerers have come to the Green Lake area. Plus my ancestor and that Mirror-Hiding Person, there are five at once."

"Is the Church still searching on the island now?"

"Yes, for safety, everyone is cleared out after each investigation, and people are arranged to land on the island after an interval of ten hours. But even so, once space loss occurs, it must wait longer to return to normal. Yesterday afternoon, the Church allegedly encountered the Mirror-Hiding Person on the island, but they didn't fight, and both sides were very restrained. I think it's unlikely we will land on the island this week, but there's definitely no problem going to get the fourth key next week."

She said very confidently:

"Also, people from the Diviner Association arrived yesterday. They were sent directly from the headquarters of the Diviner Association, and this time a 12th-Ring Vice President is leading the team. If that's not enough, the current 13th-Ring President will also come. With so many people, even if my ancestor is powerful, I'm afraid he won't be able to hide anymore."

She also regarded the "Mirror-Hiding Person" as an enemy of her ancestor, which was actually correct, although the 【Mirror Association】 wasn't a good person either, but this time their goal was also the secret of the central island of Green Lake.

"Actually, things aren't that easy. Don't forget that your ancestor also has a demon by his side."

Xia De didn't think the enemy this time was just a simple 13th-Ring.

"Since you mentioned a demon, the place we are going next might really be related to a demon."

The carriage carried the two out of the city to the south. After crossing the countryside between the urban area and the lakeside, it didn't head toward the Puhov Village direction that Xia De was very familiar with, but headed toward the northeast of Green Lake, where Xia De had never been.

The smooth country dirt road soon became bumpy, until the carriage could no longer continue. The two got out of the car and continued along the country path. Approaching 11:00 AM, a fork appeared in front of the road, and a dilapidated sign pointed to their destination, which was the abandoned lakeside manor.

Perhaps it had been very prosperous here, but now the bottom of the fence around the manor was completely covered by wild grass, and the wild grass in the courtyard covered the fountain, walkways, and swings, although the tree in the yard was still standing tall.

Green moss climbed on the walls of the manor house, and in the darkness inside the window without glass, it seemed as if some strange thing was peeking at the outside world. Desolate and eerie, this was Xia De's most obvious feeling about this place.

"This was once the vacation manor of the local Count Gaiman, and it was once the best vacation manor outside the city. At its most prosperous time, it hosted over 100 nobles from both sides of Green Lake for a banquet at once, but that was over fifty years ago."

Standing outside the fence gate, Megan said to Xia De, who was looking up at the mansion. Little Mia stood on Xia De's shoulder, turning her head to look at the squirrel standing on the big tree beside the manor gate.

The squirrel looked at the cat, and then was scared away by the cat's meow. This made the orange cat quite satisfied; it had never been afraid of things smaller than itself.

"How was this place abandoned?"

Xia De asked, reaching out to point at the lock, then pulling off the chain and throwing it aside.

"In the autumn of 1801, Count Gaiman died accidentally after falling from a horse. When his children divided the property, some accidents occurred, attracting the local Church—bloodstains in the basement and so on, you understand. Later, after investigation, it was found that Count Gaiman had suddenly made a fortune and was able to build such a luxurious manor because he made a wish to something very dangerous. I didn't get the specific investigation report, only knowing that shortly after the Count died, the Gaiman family declined, and the title was also stripped."

The Witch entered the manor before Xia De, leading the way for Xia De:

"Because there was the precedent of Rotten-Eye Barley, I knew that my ancestor must have more traces in the cities on both sides of Green Lake. I had the girls under my command investigate strange things that had happened in the local area over the past hundred years, and then immediately discovered the past of the Gaiman family. Later, I found some definitive evidence proving that the 【Ring of Moods】 had once been held by Count Gaiman.

However, when I mentioned that ring to you last time, I didn't know the specific location of the ring. It might have been taken into the grave, it might be in the hands of descendants, it might be in this abandoned vacation manor, or it might have been donated to the city museum as an ordinary item, or lying in the evidence storage room of the police station. Careful..."

She waved her fingers, and the black snake swimming toward her flew up suddenly, and then the snake was divided into two sections:

"Fortunately, no one else has discovered that ring yet. Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals found his descendants, then pieced together the details, and finally locked onto this manor through an old photo. But we don't need to find it ourselves; I have already confirmed that the ring is under the floor of the third-floor bedroom."

Actually, she could have sent someone to get it, but she just wanted to be alone with Xia De again, which was why she invited Xia De to come with her.

Xia De had explored quite a few abandoned manors. When he was in the Randall River Valley, he had also explored in various states of the Osenfort Manor. And the one in front of him, because it was far from the urban area and villages, and was eroded by water vapor near the lake, its architectural structure and interior decoration had decayed to the extreme.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1674 =====