Chapter 1754: The Shadow of the Skull*

"Detective, when I say this place is 'not bad,' I don't mean it as an exaggeration.

You probably can't feel it, but my nose, eyes, ears, and other senses are telling me that clouds of conspiracy are swirling above the city, and emotions of fear and tension are filling every street and alley. The grey fog of war and death has already quietly shrouded everything here; it only lacks a spark to ignite it all."

The doctor squinted and took another deep breath. This time, Xia De actually saw some imperceptible black smoke being inhaled into his nostrils:

"Most of the evil spirits and demons we are familiar with can benefit from death, fear, and war; you could consider this a damn racial talent. During the Third Era, when they ran rampant, the entire material world was in a similar state. I am not one of them, but for reasons you and I both know, I can also enjoy this environment... To be honest, although I already knew about the chaotic situation in the Green Lake region before arriving, I didn't expect things to have become like this. Even if the Labyrinth Demon, Yalu, hadn't appeared here, I fear something else would have been attracted."

Xia De looked up at the night sky; he could not see the so-called "clouds of war":

"This is very similar to the legends."

"Yes, it is said that the first evil spirit was born from conspiracy and lies. Although such an environment is not strictly necessary for those ancient evils, spending a long time in such an environment will undoubtedly make them stronger."

The doctor took another deep breath, and for a moment, a vast and terrifying pressure even made Xia De feel uncomfortable:

"Introduce the current situation to me; I want to know everything."

Xia De nodded:

"No problem. The situation on both banks of Green Lake, the folklore, the legends, and most importantly, the Edwards family—you need to know all of this."

Thick fog spread through the city under the night. The ancient city welcomed another night. Although the lit gas lamps were dim, they could illuminate the buildings and streets. Xia De did not speak slowly, and cold, viscous power shrouded them, ensuring that their words were not heard by a third party.

But because there was simply too much to say, it wasn't until Xia De and the doctor reached the banks of the Duin River and stood together looking at the river flowing through the city under the night sky that Xia De paused in his narration amidst the sound of the water:

"That is the situation with the Edwards family for now. To lure out our enemy, we only need to enter the dream of the male owner of the Green Lake Hotel. The only problem now is how to capture its true body."

He looked at the lights at the hatch of a cargo ship that had docked upstream; the small pier was illuminated by gas lamps and torches, and workers were moving cargo onto the ship.

The doctor also gazed at the scenery before him:

"I already have a plan. As long as we can capture its phantom in the dream, I have a way to drag its true body into the real world. But this requires advance preparation. Today is Wednesday, and I need to spend a day or two walking around this area to pick a suitable location. However, based on your description, I think the best location for the ritual is on the water; water itself has the symbolic meaning of enhancing illusions and dreams, not to mention that it is closest to the island."

Xia De thought for a moment:

"Then you go ahead and pick the location. Tell me once you have a result, and I will arrange the dream entry immediately. If possible, I hope to end the demon matter before this weekend."

"Detective, I promise you, it will absolutely not live to see the sun of next Monday."

The doctor had only gotten off the train this evening, so Xia De did not disturb his rest. After finishing their discussion, the two returned to the hotel together, but on the way, Xia De asked another question:

"By the way, do demons have faith? I don't mean exotic demons; I mean the calamities of the Third Era."

The doctor looked at him with surprise:

"That is a truly strange question. However, you really asked the right person; aside from me, you probably couldn't find anyone else who could answer this. First of all, it is very clear that they have no so-called faith. However, as long as they are sentient beings, they will have their own joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness, and they will have different emotions, though the intensity varies. Although those demons originating from the Third Era do not worship the gods, they respect certain existences among the Old Gods, such as..."

"The Old God, the Golden Sovereign? The god of trade and wealth."

"Oh? How did you know?"

Because tomorrow, Thursday morning, Xia De would be able to use the Time Key again.

When Xia De returned home, Luweiya was naturally waiting for him, and she did indeed bring some very important information:

"The Prophet Association's primary target has officially shifted from the Chosen One to Laplace Klein Howard. The Association headquarters sent word: the Association wants to capture him alive."

"Why? Wait, does the Association know something?"

Capturing that Edwards ancestor alive was infinitely harder than killing him directly.

Luweiya nodded:

"Actually, since the beginning of this era, there has been a strange saying within the Association—

The Sixth Era is the final era of this world. The source of this saying cannot be verified, and naturally, not many people believe it. But in recent decades, more and more evidence has shown that our world is facing an unprecedented crisis. After the curtain of the 'Whispering Poetry' was raised, some ominous signs also indicated that the past sayings that were ignored might have some truth to them."

Xia De's expression did not change; similar things had been said by the 'Light-Guiding Ascetic Order' and the 'Spirit Cultivation Order':

"The Association believes that the guy on the island holds important information?"

"Yes. The Association believes that although he has gone mad, there must be a reason for his madness. So, the Association is attempting to 'recover' him to figure out what will happen in the future."

"That won't be easy."

"Of course it won't be easy, but never doubt the Association's determination. The Association is currently mobilizing a group of diviners to head to Green Lake; I have signed up."

She said this suddenly. Xia De paused, his movement of stroking Little Mia on the sofa stopping for a moment, then he nodded gently:

"Then fine. Before you arrive in Green Lake, I will clear the path to Laplace Klein Howard. The moment you arrive in Green Lake will be our final landing on the island."

With three drops of divinity in hand, even though the Space Chosen One had appeared, Xia De was fully confident in a battle. He set the time for Luweiya's arrival in the hope of finding a way that didn't require using divinity before then. He had a premonition that if the guy on the island noticed Luweiya, something extraordinary would happen, so he had to act as quickly as possible.

Luweiya looked at him, unable to believe that Xia De had not tried to stop her this time:

"This time, you didn't try to dissuade me."

"If this is what you wish, I will not dissuade you. Luweiya, I respect any decision you make, as long as you believe it is the right one."

Xia De also looked at her, and the two stared at each other like this, staring at each other under the warm, mellow yellow light of the gas lamp.

Early Thursday morning, while Luweiya was preparing breakfast at home, Xia De, who never had the habit of morning jogging, went out early, took a carriage to the Dawn Cathedral in the city, and met Father Priest Priest Ao Gu Si, who was incredibly surprised by his early arrival:

"Has something happened?"

"Of course not. Your reaction is very much like the doctor's. Oh, the doctor said there would be no meeting this week; I don't know if you received his letter, Father. We shouldn't talk in the cathedral; please come with me."

Xia De and the Father went to the Father's alchemy workshop in the basement of a nearby street. Only after confirming it was safe did Xia De speak about Mr. Green the ghoul and the three undead he encountered yesterday that could use a Domain:

"Those clearly aren't normal undead. Their holy resistance to the gift you gave me was simply too high. And compared to ordinary undead, they seem exceptionally wrong. Now that it's confirmed those three are the Edwards brothers of the fourth generation, there is reason to believe that the 'ancestor' on the island wouldn't use ordinary methods to handle their corpses."

"You mean..."

Father Priest Priest Ao Gu Si also understood what Xia De had guessed. Xia De nodded and took out the severed limb of the ghoul he had collected yesterday, which had been sliced off by his 【Moonlight Greatsword】:

"Please examine it and see if you can confirm our guess."

The foul-smelling limb was dropped into a large square glass dish—it looked like a fish tank—and then the Father poured some white powder into it:

"Corpse-dissolving powder."

After adding clean water and stirring it evenly, he used a fierce flame to evaporate the foul-smelling liquid that had turned pitch black. The entire process was quite fast; it was clear that the Father had certainly done this kind of thing more than once. His technique for controlling the flame was quite seasoned, and soon only some black salt-like crystals remained at the bottom of the glass dish.

The Father collected those "black salt grains" and ground them into a powder like flour in a mortar. Finally, under Xia De's frowning expression, the Father put a small portion of the powder into his own mouth:

"Yes, we guessed correctly."

He spat out what was in his mouth, rinsed his mouth with water, and asked:

"All three ghouls were resurrected using the power of the 'Death Angel's' skeleton, which is why they behave differently from normal corpses. The person controlling this power clearly has the ability to mobilize part of the skeleton's power; this is truly remarkable. If left unchecked, those three special ghouls will only grow stronger. Therefore, the ghoul you eliminated will likely be able to resurrect. Their souls should not be in their bodies at all, but in that half of a skull. Do you know what a Lich is?"

"Of course I do. It's in the second-year textbooks. Liches were very common in the Dark Chaotic Era of the Fourth Era and before. They entrust their souls to special alchemical items called 'Phylacteries' to achieve near-immortality. However, Liches and the technology to create them have gradually disappeared since the Fifth Era."

Xia De recalled, and the Father nodded:

"When should I head to Green Lake? I must personally take action on this matter; otherwise, without seeing the skull, there is no way you could eliminate those three ghouls with your current means."

Even though he knew the doctor was already in Green Lake and Luweiya would arrive soon, it could not be delayed any longer:

"Father, please set off this weekend. Arrange the specific time however is convenient for you. After you arrive, please go directly to the Green Lake Hotel; I will book a room for you in advance. There is a negotiation conference there recently, and there are many idlers like reporters, so it's not easy to arrange rooms."

Xia De said:

"Knowing that the other party is using the power of the Death Angel doesn't mean we can take back that half of the skull. Father, perhaps this time you really will have to use your strength. I cannot easily land on the island right now, otherwise, I will likely encounter that Thirteen-Ring Diviner again."

"I will handle this matter; you just help me book the hotel and point the way. Speaking of which, I really haven't been active since returning from Mid-Hillburg last autumn."

The Father spoke very lightly, but Xia De knew that in the real world, he could not easily mobilize the power of the "Death Angel" as he could in the realm of death. Therefore, how to snatch the skeleton this time would be much more troublesome than dealing with the demon with the doctor.

PS: Illustration for this chapter: Bill Schneider.

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