Chapter 1780: The Doctor's Sense of Humor

Doctor Schneider and the one-eyed brothers were both stunned. Because they hadn't reacted in time, and their last meeting had been many years ago, they only subconsciously felt that the other party looked quite familiar. But soon, all three realized almost simultaneously who was standing before them:

"You?"

"You!"

"You!"

The brothers didn't even think; they grabbed each other's hands, stepped backward into the mirror that had appeared abruptly, and then vanished from the spot amidst the sound of shattering glass. Doctor Schneider watched this scene in shock, then looked left and right in a daze. Only after confirming they had left did he take off his hat and walk toward the hotel entrance.

Seeing Xia De standing there watching him, the doctor waved at Xia De without asking what those two had come here to do:

"You would never guess what I just experienced. No, I don't mean meeting those two brothers; I mean five minutes ago."

The doctor gestured, his emotions somewhat agitated:

"I was just walking in the city, and I was almost hit head-on by a train!"

This sentence almost made Xia De choke:

"What?"

"Can you believe it, Detective? Yes, right in the city, just five minutes ago. I didn't do anything; I was just walking on the street, and then a train came charging straight at me!"

Little Mia, on Xia De's shoulder, was looking with great interest at the glowing bottle in the doctor's pocket, while the doctor continued to gesture with his hands to trace the trajectory of the train's charge. He was truly quite furious:

"Who could have imagined that such a thing could happen in the city? There were no tracks there! Heaven knows where that train came from. I don't care who did this; I will definitely take revenge!"

"Um, Doctor, listen to me. If this matter were to be explained, I'm afraid it would be quite complicated."

Xia De, with a conflicted expression, invited the still-furious doctor inside the hotel to talk. At this time, the first floor of the hotel was empty; the guests from earlier had all run outside to watch the commotion.

"Then we'll explain it in a while, but I have good news."

The doctor said, waving his hand:

"The location has been found. Tomorrow, Sunday night would be best, on Green Lake. You said you have helpers, so call them all over. We will set up a very complex ritual on the lake surface and the lake bottom to ensure this time is foolproof."

The middle-aged man who had almost been hit by a train on the street promised.

"No problem."

Saying this, Xia De led the doctor to the second floor and entered the restaurant from earlier.

Megan was still sitting in the main seat, but Drout Giles and Last Edwards were no longer there; only the Green siblings remained at the table.

"Megan, let me introduce you. This is my psychiatrist. Tomorrow night, he will conduct the dream-entry ritual to lead the capture of that demon."

After finishing, he introduced the doctor:

"Doctor, this is a... very good friend I met at Green Lake. She is a high-tier Ringed Shushi, very powerful, and also a member of the Edwards family I mentioned. Tomorrow, she will ensure our safety from the sidelines as a form of insurance."

Megan had no interest in greeting men, but out of consideration for Xia De's friend, she still greeted him softly. As for Doctor Schneider, although he was curious about the relationship between Xia De and this noble lady, seeing that she was a high-tier and clearly very powerful, he greeted her very respectfully:

"Hello, Madam."

Afterward, Xia De introduced Mr. Soren Green, who would be the subject of the dream-entry. Because Xia De had already informed Megan and Audrey in advance, Mr. Soren Green also knew about this. Although he was a bit nervous, he had no objections.

Thus, everyone agreed to set off together after lunch tomorrow to the shores of Green Lake to make preparations. Although the doctor had never made a mistake in hunting demons, for the sake of safety, besides Megan and Audrey, Xia De decided to call Miss Sylvia tomorrow as well.

As for Galina, she had been busy with negotiations for a whole week. Since it was finally the weekend, it would be better for the Duchess to get some rest.

"Is there anything that needs to be prepared in advance?"

Mr. Green, who had never done such a thing, asked before the doctor planned to return to his room. The doctor thought for a moment:

"Which deity do you worship?"

"The God of War and Peace."

As he said this, he drew the holy emblem on his chest.

The doctor nodded:

"Then, before you go to sleep tonight, don't forget to pray to the deity."

"Will this prevent the evil spirit from harming us?"

"No, no. If something really goes wrong tomorrow, since you have prayed, perhaps the deity will really come to save us."

The doctor still had a good sense of humor.

Since it was already arranged to enter the dream on Saturday night to find the Labyrinth Demon, Yalu, Xia De's opera house date with Princess Lei Qianya on Saturday night, which was supposed to be without Angelina keeping watch, naturally could not proceed.

That night, after returning to Tobesk, he specifically turned into a cat and found Princess Lei Qianya at the Yodel Palace to express his apologies.

Her Highness the Princess was very reasonable; knowing that Xia De must have had important matters to attend to, the date could be postponed to next Monday—on Sunday night, she had to accompany Empress Diana to a banquet.

Of course, as compensation for postponing the date, Princess Lei Qianya really wanted to pet Xia De in his cat form, but unfortunately, she was rejected by Xia De:

"How come you have the same idea as Galina?"

The red-haired girl sat on the chair by her bedroom window, her right hand propping up her face on the windowsill, smiling as she looked at the silver cat standing among the flowerpots in the night outside the window. The moon shone on the cat and the flowers; she really wanted to paint this scene before her:

"Knowing that Galina didn't succeed either, I feel relieved. Good night, Xia De. Have sweet dreams. I hope you can see me in your dreams, just as I am always missing you in mine."

That night, no one visited the house, and Xia De and the cat beside his pillow both fell asleep early. However, early Saturday morning, Priest Ao Gu Si came to visit. The old priest had changed out of the clerical robes he usually wore, putting on an old-fashioned brown coat and black trousers, with an unlit pipe in his mouth.

If he had held a cane, he would have looked exactly like a wealthy old gentleman:

"I'm taking the train at noon. If there are no accidents along the way, you will be able to see me at Green Lake by Monday evening."

Priest Ao Gu Si had already handled the other matters at the church. For this trip, the explanation given to the church was that he wanted to go out for a long-overdue change of pace; he would be back in half a month to a month.

The priest was already very old. Bishop Ouwenzhu of the local Dawn Church had originally wanted to send someone to set off with Priest Ao Gu Si, but the old priest had managed to decline it with great difficulty.

"This trip will probably be very interesting. I wonder how spring at Green Lake compares to autumn in Mid-Hill Fort."

After seeing the priest off, before setting off for Green Lake, Xia De went to the Divination Society to see Luweiya and informed her of the operation tonight.

He didn't proactively mention Doctor Schneider, only saying that a friend from Tobesk was helping him there. However, since the doctor, who rarely postponed group meetings, was not there, the purple-eyed girl could naturally guess who Xia De was talking about.

But she didn't ask further, only urging Xia De to be careful:

"Next Monday, once the secondment letter arrives, I will set off for Green Lake. The society has a way to open a temporary passage, so I won't need to take the train. Next Monday, you will be able to see me at Green Lake."

"Hmm, next Monday, the Green Lake hotel will probably be very lively."

Xia De was once again thankful that Miss Writer had no intention of leaving the city recently; otherwise, it would have been truly terrible.

Returning home from the Divination Society, it was time to prepare for departure. Little Mia definitely couldn't be brought along; this cat had no ability to face a demon. Xia De had already agreed with Princess Lei Qianya yesterday to have Dorothy come over today to look after her.

As for the relics to be carried, the 【Demon Hunting Seal】 and the 【Night Watchman】, which Xia De hadn't taken out for a long time, were of course the most important. To be honest, although Xia De's most commonly used weapon in the Green Lake incident was the 【Staff of Yggdrasil】, he still felt that the 【Night Watchman】 was easier to use.

It was just that as a sword, it was really inconvenient to carry it around everywhere.

After Dorothy arrived at No. 6 St. Deran Square, Xia De set off from the basement. The doctor, the Green siblings, Megan, and Audrey were already prepared. Everyone ate lunch at the hotel together and then set off by carriage.

Around 12:30 PM, the group boarded the witch's luxury cruise ship at the city's pier. After the cruise ship carried the group to the river mouth lake shore, Megan personally cast an illusion, creating a phantom of the cruise ship docked near the shore. Afterward, the rituals engraved inside the ship's hull were activated layer by layer, combined with the document-level relic 【Silver Flute of the Daytime Ghost】 that Megan had specifically brought, allowing the cruise ship to truly hide in the daylight.

The coffin that the doctor had specifically prepared was moved from the reeds onto the cruise ship. After the cruise ship entered the area selected by the doctor, the witch's followers began to busy themselves with arrangements on the water surface and underwater according to the blueprints the doctor had drawn in advance.

Originally, the doctor was alone; no matter how familiar he was with the demon's methods, he could only act alone if he wanted to counter them. Now, with a group of mid-tier and even high-tier ladies helping, the doctor could better implement his plan.

However, he did not participate in the initial ritual setup but instead entered the ship's cabin with Mr. Green. He needed to adjust Mr. Green's mental state in advance to ensure that no other accidents would occur in the dream when entering it at night.

As for Xia De, he stood with the witch—who was Audrey at this time—in front of the railing on the deck, looking out at the thick fog in the center of the lake. Even on clear days in the past, it was impossible to observe the fog shrouding the island in the center of the lake from a distance. But ever since the anomaly of the island in the center of the lake on the night of the lunar eclipse, on clear days, Ringed Shushis could vaguely see traces of the fog even when standing at the pier of Puhov Village on the shore.

"Your friend... is a bit strange."

Audrey said suddenly, interrupting Xia De's train of thought.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1781 =====