Chapter 173: The Safe

Actually, thinking carefully about it, the location of the ruin's entrance being close to the statue's hiding place is also something easily imagined.

"Even if one wouldn't dare to hide something like an Old God statue—an object more dangerous than a relic—in one's own stronghold, fearing that if something went wrong everyone would be done for, it's still impossible to hide it somewhere far from the stronghold."

This was Xia De's view.

The "Noke Printing Factory," with its courtyard and three-story building, was the location of the underground ruin's entrance. 【Quicksilver Blood】 had spent money last winter to buy the printing factory, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and had secretly carried out excavation work there. And the agent who bought the printing factory was Mr. Paunton, whose entire family was killed tonight.

The Silver-Eyed ones wanting to kill him was not only because this ordinary person had overreached, but probably also because they wanted to make everyone who knew the secret disappear.

The above was the information the Doctor extracted from the dream interrogation. But the Doctor had absolutely no interest in the Sage-level (Level 2) relic 【God's Gift Box】; a relic with such a high danger rating was never his target in the first place.

On this rainy night, he stood beside the corpse and stated his attitude. He then looked at Miss Lu Yi Sha, who also shook her head:

"I don't want to take the risk going to some ancient ruin, but the information itself is valuable. Once the Doctor obtains the 【Forged Philosopher's Stone】, we can consider submitting the information to the Academy."

Xia De understood what she meant—this was to prevent alerting the Silver-Eyed ones.

The Doctor and Miss Lu Yi Sha both looked at Xia De. Xia De nodded and added:

"Don't worry, I'm only a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi—where would I get the nerve to venture into some ruin alone? I also agree that after everything is over, we should sell this information at a high price. Right now I'm desperately short on gold pounds to repair the third floor of my house."

"No, your affairs are hard to say, after all, the matter of Lakeview Manor and the fish scales you mentioned......"

The Doctor sighed softly:

"Still, you're usually a cautious person. Remember, never let greed cloud your judgment—it's not worth it."

After dealing with the traces left in the house, the three parted ways at the street corner of Mr. Pauton's neighborhood. The rainwater washed away their footprints, and when the Zhengshen Sect discovered what had happened here, they wouldn't be able to find them at all.

The Doctor hurried off in a carriage; he truly seemed to have discovered an important clue regarding the 【Forged Philosopher's Stone】.

Xia De and Miss Lu Yi Sha were heading the same way, so they shared a carriage back. But halfway there, the blonde Miss had the carriage change course on a whim—she planned to stop by Old John's pawnshop to pick something up.

Xia De didn't want to bring the eerie eyeball home either, so he went along, intending to sell this demonic eye.

"But it's already eleven o'clock now—will Old John still have his shop open?"

He asked, puzzled.

"The pawnshop closes at midnight and opens at seven in the morning. After all, when people want to conduct certain gray-area transactions, they prefer to do it at night."

Miss Lu Yi Sha spoke, tilting her head to look at the rainy-night scenery of Tobesk Street. Xia De thought about it—every time he went to the pawnshop or the Black Raven Library, it had always been during the day.

"Sure enough, I'm still not cautious enough."

The Outlander reproached himself like this, while the woman's voice in his head chuckled softly.

Visiting a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi trading venue at night, one might well run into other Ring Mages, but probably because the weather was poor tonight, even Ring Mages were unwilling to go out at night. So when the two walked into the pawnshop lit by gas lamps, only the shopkeeper was inside.

Going from the damp outdoors into the warm, dry interior, shutting out the sound of the rain—that was the best pleasure on a rainy day. Out of politeness, they both scuffed their shoes on the doormat at the entrance before greeting the shopkeeper, Old John.

The elderly man, who looked no longer young, placed the fountain pen in his hand into the middle of the ledger as a bookmark:

"Oh, Lu Lu Lu Yisha, and the detective—I thought no customers would come tonight, so I started doing the accounts."

He tucked the ledger back into the counter. Xia De greeted him while asking:

"Any news on the relic I wanted?"

Although Miss Jia Lin Na had promised to deliver the relic within a week, Xia De certainly wouldn't make only one preparation.

"There's news. A friend of mine out of town has something similar—a living leech. I'll let you know the specifics once the goods are in hand."

Old John said, handing Xia De a black-and-white photograph. The photo showed a wooden jar, shot from a top-down angle, with a black leech inside. The leech was about the size of an ordinary one of its kind, except its body was covered in dense, fly-like compound eyes—looking extremely disgusting.

If even an eyeball could be a relic, then a leech being one wouldn't surprise Xia De too much.

"You two really do like strange things. A few days ago, Annett's request was even weirder."

The old man muttered as he put the photograph away.

"What does Luvia want to buy?"

Miss Lu Yi Sha asked curiously. A shopkeeper ought to keep his clients' secrets, but Old John knew this group got along quite well, so he let slip a bit of information:

"Also a relic, brought back from a ruin in the New Continent. The shape is roughly a cube-shaped box, with a rattle inside—supposedly something that caused a disaster in ancient times. This isn't from my collection; it's news from the black market that someone's trying to sell it. Annett asked me to help contact the seller—when did she ever like collecting things like this? Or is the Prophets' Association buying...... oh, never mind, it's so late—what can I do for you two?"

The old man asked with a yawn, turning around to take a teacup from the small round table in the counter, then matter-of-factly brewing himself some tea.

Because of the previous conversation about "Enlightenment and Civilization," Xia De was full of curiosity about this pawnshop. It had been a week since his last visit, and the place didn't look much different, except the small-scale steam engine in the corner was gone—either donated to a museum or bought by a collector.

"Old John, is the alchemical item I commissioned ready—the brush that can erase fountain pen ink? It was supposed to be picked up the day after tomorrow, but since I'm passing by, I came to ask."

Miss Lu Yi Sha asked. Xia De, somewhat surprised, looked at the old man behind the counter—he hadn't expected him to have this kind of skill.

Alchemy and witch-potions both require talent, and of course, even more gold pounds and time. Even in the Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi system as developed to this day, there aren't many who are truly skilled in these crafts.

"It's done, but I can only guarantee it works for half a year. After that, the effect will diminish."

Saying so, he rummaged around in the counter for a moment, then handed Miss Lu Yi Sha a small brush with a black metal handle. Xia De's eyes could see the extremely delicate runes and symbolic sigils engraved on the brush's handle. And the bristles seemed to be alive, constantly wriggling—making Xia De suspect those bristles were actually worms.

"I didn't bring enough money going out tonight; I'll pay the balance next time."

Miss Lu Yi Sha said, examining the item in her hand under the gas lamp's light. Old John didn't mind:

"Just settle the balance before the weekend. Also, are you ever going to write that new book of yours? I've been waiting forever."

Saying so, the old man winked at Xia De again:

"I can count myself as one of her readers."

"It'll have to be after exam season at the earliest."

Miss Lu Yi Sha shook her head, lamenting how her recent busy studies were giving her a headache. Old John sympathized, so he tried to sell Xia De and Miss Lu Yi Sha a Poet-level (Level 5) relic that could cure headaches. But neither was interested, because the relic's side effect was that one had to sleep 22 hours a day.

Once Miss Lu Yi Sha's business was handled, Xia De took the bottle from his pocket and set it down on the table with a thunk.

"Oh? A demonic eye? That's a rare item, indeed. Where did you two get it? Why is there still blood on it? Oh—which poor fellow did you gouge the eyes out of?"

The old man became interested at once, asking with a smile, then bent over to examine it carefully, but didn't touch the bottle:

"However, I don't take this kind of thing."

He shook his head.

"Why not?"

This was Miss Lu Yi Sha's question.

"I never accept Evil Eyes. Items like that are too dangerous, and the pool of buyers is relatively limited."

"Why haven't I ever heard you mention that you have rules like this here before?"

The female writer asked again.

"Because none of you have ever come to sell an Evil Eye."

Old John wore an expression that said it was only natural:

"It's the same as how I don't accept obviously stolen goods, or dangerous relics with contagious curses. There are plenty of similar rules, of course I only bring them up when the situation calls for it."

"Old man John, could you help me get in touch with some buyers then? Even if you don't accept them, there must be Ring Mages in this city who need Evil Eyes."

Xia De inquired, while Miss Lu Yi Sha remained puzzled by Old John's rules.

"Write down the relic's exact name, its function, and its negative properties."

The old man gave Xia De paper and pen, and added:

"My middleman fee here is not cheap."

"Considering that walking stick..."

"Alright, alright, don't bring this matter up again. This time I'll charge you a ten percent middleman fee. Lu Lu Lu Yisha, you know what a generous condition this is."

The old man folded his hands together on the table. Xia De grunted without replying, while Miss Lu Yi Sha smiled:

"Old man John, you never end up on the losing side."

When they got home it was nearly half past eleven at night. After closing the door, the sound of rain and the damp air were shut out, giving Xia De an extra sense of ease.

The orange cat that welcomed Xia De home excitedly ran down from upstairs, circling around his boots, only settling down a little after being picked up. The feeling of being welcomed home after returning filled the outsider with deep comfort.

It had been a day packed with errands, and the haul was not small either. To be safe, the Keeper-level relics 【Earl's Left Eye】 and 【Witch's Copy Paper】 were stored behind the hidden wall in the basement before bed, to be retrieved when the time was right.

This place really is a perfect "safe."

He couldn't help sighing as he left the basement. Though he longed for a peaceful Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi life, it seemed that getting involved in various incidents was the only way to quickly gain power and wealth.

Miss Annart said that as long as a Chosen One did not die, they would surely become a thirteen-ring Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi. Perhaps this was not because of fate's favor, but because trouble clung to them at every moment.

When Xia De took the cat off his pillow to sleep, he suddenly thought of Miss Beas. She, who always ran into all kinds of accidents, probably had more wealth and relics in hand than Xia De imagined.