Chapter 210: Significant Reward

The two soon arrived at the entrance to the cemetery. Although it was in the wilderness far from the village, the muggy summer night was not quiet at all. The wind carried the sound of cicadas and the rustling of treetops to their ears, yet muffled inside the hood, they could not feel a single trace of the wind's coolness.

Naturally, there were no obvious lights near the cemetery, only the faint glow of the gravedigger's hut located in the center of the grounds.

The perimeter of the cemetery was enclosed by iron railings. Because of the heavy rain a few days prior, the path was covered in dried mud. It looked as though the gate was locked, but only upon approaching did they discover that the two iron-railed gates, topped with spikes, were merely chained together.

Although it was a village cemetery, perhaps because it was close to the city, it appeared relatively formal. After undoing the chain and entering the cemetery, a straight path less than thirty steps long led directly to the gravedigger's hut in the very center, while the rest of the cemetery consisted of past and present graves.

Unlike the Outsider's hometown, according to Deraerion tradition and the funeral regulations of the Tobesk region, the height of a general grave mound could not exceed the length of a thumb, but it was permissible to use long strips of white stone to enclose the edge of the grave to make it easier to identify the location. Following beside Miss Louisa and looking toward the cemetery under the moonlight, one could only see graves of similar appearance lying there, the silence carrying a certain chilling fear.

The styles of the tombstones varied; most of the small stone markers were embedded directly into the mud in front of the graves, which was a cheaper funeral method. Although Xia De had never visited Detective Sparrow at the city's public cemetery, his grave was likely of this style.

As for the tombstones that could stand upright on the ground, they represented that the deceased had something worth recording during their lifetime, or that their relatives were willing to pay for a more expensive plot. For instance, Xia De himself—if he were to die tragically, then with his current savings and the "Deraerion Honorary Knight Medal" he was about to receive, he would be qualified to have an upright tombstone.

"Hmm? What am I thinking about?"

He asked himself silently.

After entering the cemetery, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly. The woman's voice in his heart had once asked Xia De if he was afraid of ghosts. Although Xia De was indeed not afraid, in this environment, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

"However, in a world with such mysteries, visiting a cemetery at night seems like a pretty good plot point for a story."

He thought to himself for amusement, but Miss Louisa suddenly stopped and looked to the left side of the path.

Xia De looked over as well. Two long and two short white stones enclosed a grave. By the moonlight, one could faintly make out on the tombstone that the unlucky fellow lying here had died 24 years ago, the cause of death being a peanut stuck in his windpipe while eating breakfast. By the time people discovered his body, it had already been three days.

What was unusual was not the cause of death, but that the stones on the grave were vibrating. But this was not an earthquake. Under the gaze of Xia De and Miss Louisa, a rotten finger was the first to stretch out from the mud, followed by a foul-smelling corpse's palm that pierced through the ground.

"Mr. Copse, next time, why not change to an evil spirit to give me a scare?"

Miss Louisa shouted loudly toward the lit gravedigger's hut, a match appearing in her right hand under her robe. She merely flicked the match in the air, and the head of the match lit up.

She then threw the burning match toward the hand stretching out from the grave. Almost the instant the flame touched the rotting corpse, the light flared up like fireworks. But it was only for a moment; when the light vanished, only the blue smoke of the match rose from the ground. The grave remained intact, and the extinguished matchstick lay quietly there.

"Another one of these little tricks."

Miss Louisa commented with dissatisfaction, and then the two heard a 'bang'. Turning their heads, the door to the gravedigger's hut had been opened.

Contrary to Xia De's imagination, even for a village cemetery, the gravedigger's hut was not a simple straw construction that would collapse at a gust of wind. This was a real stone house. Inside the door was the dim light of a kerosene lamp. A thin, middle-aged man with a pale complexion, looking as if he had indulged in too much debauchery, walked out from the light of the room, looking somewhat impatiently at the two wearing black robes:

"I knew tonight wouldn't be peaceful. What do you want?"

Although he looked strange, Mr. Copse the gravedigger spoke quite normally.

Miss Louisa pushed Xia De, and Xia De knew it was best not to linger here:

"A small bag of bone powder, a bone whistle made from human hand bones, two eardrums, thirty jin bang of putrid blood, and a piece of human-face stone."

"Human-face stone" was stone material cultivated from corpses using special methods. Rather than a mineral, it was more of an alchemical material, and it was the most expensive among these items.

"Did you bring enough money?"

The impatient middle-aged man asked. Xia De noticed he was wearing a black apron, which made Xia De inexplicably think of a butcher:

"How much?"

"12 pounds."

"I can pay now."

"Then wait a moment."

After the brief conversation, Mr. Copse turned and returned to his hut. The two outside could hear the sound of him rummaging for things. Not long after, he walked out holding a paper bag.

He walked toward Xia De. After the two were close, Xia De smelled a familiar scent of corpses (Author's note), a smell that could only be stained by long-term contact with corpses and could never be washed away.

Money and goods were exchanged, and then Mr. Copse returned to the hut and closed the door, with no intention of paying any more attention to the two. If he were running a normal shop, he would never make a fortune with this attitude.

Even including the time Mr. Copse spent rummaging for items, the entire transaction took no more than 10 minutes.

"Don't forget to wrap that chain back on when you leave."

This was the last sentence he said to the two.

Miss Louisa shrugged at Xia De:

"He's always like this, don't be surprised."

Leaving the cemetery and entering the small woods, Xia De immediately used the materials in his arms to learn the miracle; he didn't want to carry this pile of things around.

"Xia De, you will gradually come into contact with more Ringed Shushi in the future. At that time, you will find that Mr. Copse is definitely not the strangest person."

This was Miss Louisa's evaluation of Mr. Copse. She leaned against a tree, watching Xia De examine the bag of bone powder. Among the three effects of the miracle 【Soul Echo】, the only active one, "Spirit Communication," required casting materials, which was the bone powder. Fortunately, the dosage was very small, so this small cloth bag was enough for Xia De to consume for a long time.

Afterward, he pressed the stone against his ear.

"But the Ringed Shushi I've come into contact with all seem quite normal... except for that Schluch Lake."

Xia De said, but his attention was mainly focused on the human-face stone in his hand. This strange stone was made using corpses. According to alchemists, they had the ability to speak because they absorbed broken souls. An important step in learning the miracle was listening to what the stone was actually saying.

As for the bone whistle, eardrums, and other messy materials, they all served as auxiliary roles.

"Detective, that's because most of the Ringed Shushi you've come into contact with are formally trained by the Academy and the Sect. Ringed Shushi who take up the profession informally have a higher risk of losing control, and their personalities are also stranger."

She said this, then yawned. Seeing Xia De look over, she turned her head away with a slightly red face. Although she had already taken off her hood, the moonlight in the woods was even dimmer, so Xia De couldn't see her expression.

"What, haven't you seen a lady yawn before?"

The blonde Miss asked.

"...... I've seen a lady hiccup."

Xia De joked, then realized this joke was a bit inappropriate, because Miss Louisa reached out, snapped off a branch from above her head, and threw it at him.

(Leaving Xiao Miya running......)

In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday again. When he opened his eyes from the bed, Xia De couldn't help but sigh in his heart that since starting his job at the Intelligence Agency on Monday, this week had passed really quickly.

The most important thing today was to head to the royal manor outside the city in the evening to attend the commendation banquet. If it weren't for this, Xia De would have used that white stone crystal during the day to perform his first spatial teleportation.

Of course, he didn't waste this day either. After breakfast, he first wrote another letter to his client, Mrs. Leimeier, to confirm more details about receiving the inheritance next week.

Afterward, he welcomed Captain Lei Jiede, who came to visit again. Although the Captain hadn't received any rewards like medals, he was on the commendation list, so he invited Xia De to set off with him in the evening.

After seeing the Captain off, he originally thought about going out to mail the letter and then go find Priest Ao Gu Si. He would listen to the scriptures at the Liming Sect Society and at least get familiar with the people there.

Unexpectedly, before he had even changed into his clothes to go out, his superior, Director Anluosi, had actually come to the door.

He didn't enter, just stood in the foyer talking to Xia De:

"Hamilton, the situation has changed. You might not be able to get the 'Deraerion Honorary Knight Medal' that was originally promised."

This gentleman had probably run over in a hurry, sweating profusely as he gripped the door frame behind him.

"Why? Oh, please come upstairs with me, let's sit down and talk."

"No need to go upstairs, I have other things to attend to. You know, our department is never idle. As for your medal......"

He suddenly leaned close to Xia De, eyes wide but voice very soft:

"I heard news that there is a reward heavier than the medal for you."

Afterward, his body returned to its original position, and the middle-aged man wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, disregarding his image:

"Speaking of which, your house is really cool...... So, you must arrive on time tonight, and you must dress appropriately. Absolutely do not be late."

"Heavier than a medal? Is the royal family going to grant me a title?"

Xia De was stunned for a moment and then asked with surprise.

"What kind of good things are you thinking about?"

Director Anluosi laughed and waved his hand at him:

"What I heard might not necessarily be accurate news, but the Liming Sect Society put in a lot of effort. You are really smart, knowing to get support from the Zhengshen Sect Society. Oh, and the royal family, I don't know who it is, but someone is trying hard to help you fight for the reward. No, not Empress Lei Qianya or Miss Jia Lin Na, it's another royal family member of weight......"

He sized up Xia De, as if wanting to re-acquaint himself with the young man in front of him:

"In short, absolutely do not be late tonight. Remember, absolutely do not be late." ===== CHAPTER 211 =====