Chapter 289

"Hmm..."

In the restaurant, Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha had already put down her knife and fork. She saw Xia De's hesitation and knew he definitely couldn't take them out, so she smiled and said:

"Xia De, don't tell me that little Mia ate the leaves."

"Meow~"

The eating cat heard someone mention her, her slightly pointed ears twitched, and she lifted her head to look around.

"Alright then..."

Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha was concerned about him, and Xia De understood this very well:

"I only have one leaf left."

The blonde young lady asked in surprise:

"Did the God-Descending incident really have something to do with you? I heard rumors that the 'Masked Man under the Silver Moon' is the Thirteen-Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi 'God-Caller'. I was originally thinking of going to check on your situation to confirm if the church had made a mistake again, but I didn't expect you to come to my house holding a cat, looking so spirited. Looking at you, it doesn't seem like you've experienced a God-Descending."

She put on an expression of listening to a story, so Xia De ate while explaining his attack on the Silver-Eyed One with a companion whose identity was inconvenient to reveal. Regarding what happened after the Evil God descended, Xia De used the same explanation he had told Luweiya and Yiluna. Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha just listened earnestly without interrupting:

"As long as you know what you are doing yourself."

She sighed only after Xia De finished speaking.

She stirred the thick soup in front of her with a spoon, then lifted her eyes, her emerald-green pupils sweeping across Xia De's face:

"Xia De, don't die easily. Otherwise, I will... be very sad."

After finishing lunch, the two went to Old John's pawnshop together. Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha wanted to commission Old John to make some alchemical items, while Xia De wanted to appraise the small mercury bottle.

Old John acted quickly; he carefully observed the item Xia De took out, then went to his living quarters on the second floor of the pawnshop to look up information, and soon found the name and grade of the 【Relic】 corresponding to the small bottle.

Of course, he collected a two-pound appraisal fee from Xia De before he was willing to reveal the information:

"Poet-level (Grade 5) Relic 【Endless Mercury Bottle】."

"Poet-level?"

Xia De said in surprise, reaching out to grab the banknotes he had placed on the counter, but Old John's hand was faster, sweeping them into his own hand. In the struggle for these two pounds of cash, even though Xia De had advanced to the Second Ring and his body had been cleansed by divinity, he was no match for the old man in front of him:

"Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry. I knew you would think that, but Poet-level isn't without value."

The old man removed the brass-colored mechanical telescopic magnifying glass he wore on his left eye and carefully placed it into a box:

"Listen to me finish the characteristics. This bottle can produce infinite mercury. Yes, infinite."

He took a bottle containing a red liquid from under the counter, carefully poured it into the small mercury bottle, and then took the bottle and shook it:

"To get the mercury out of this small bottle, you need to slowly inject a small amount of blood and a Ring-Ringed Ringed Shushi's spirit, then shake it gently."

As he said this, he shook it, then turned the bottle mouth downward. The liquid metal that Xia De couldn't get out no matter what was immediately poured out, while the liquid level inside the bottle remained unchanged.

The cat standing on the counter, looking around, immediately became interested in the silver liquid. But before she could poke her head in, Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha picked the cat up, signaling to Xia De not to worry.

"Meow~"

Her tail flicked back and forth as if whipping Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha's arm; the orange cat didn't like being held by her.

"The negative characteristic is that this bottle tempts its owner to pour the liquid into their mouth. This, of course, doesn't have much effect on a Ring-Ringed Ringed Shushi, but few ordinary people can withstand the mental induction of a Relic... Speaking of which, how do I remember that this thing should be in the hands of a certain Five-Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi of 【Mercury Blood】? Where did you get it?"

"Not important. Is this valuable?"

Xia De asked, glancing sideways at the wall behind the counter, where a specimen hanging painting of small yellow flowers had been added; Old John always had all sorts of strange things here.

The old man looked up at Xia De with an expression that he didn't know the value of the item:

"For a Ring-Ringed Ringed Shushi organization like 【Mercury Blood】 that relies heavily on mercury as a spellcasting material, this thing is simply a priceless treasure. And if a madman dares to bury the Relic inside his own body, it means he can almost achieve zero-cost casting of mercury curses and miracles. Ring-Sorcerers of 【Mercury Blood】 have done this, and it proved feasible. You tell me if this is valuable?"

"Valuable... what is the ratio of blood to mercury production?"

Xia De asked again. Old John looked at him curiously, a smile appearing on his aged face:

"What did you think of? Tell me."

Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha also looked at Xia De curiously. The Outsider organized his thoughts:

"The emergence of the steam engine has pushed our civilization to develop rapidly; the level of development in the past 100 years far exceeds that of the past 1000 years. And according to my understanding, in steam factories and mechanical industries, the value of mercury is unquestionable. Extracting non-ferrous metals, mirrors, reflectors, barometers, and even explosives..."

Xia De paused for a moment, and Old John nodded with satisfaction. The old man looked at the bottle with a slightly intoxicated expression, then shook it violently, completing Xia De's words:

"This Relic can produce high-purity mercury, and the production method is harmless, nor will there be any extra waste gas or pollutants. The detective means that if the ratio of blood to mercury production is appropriate, this small bottle is enough to change the industrial structure of a region. Yes, yes, detective, I praised you last time; you really are the most intelligent young person I know."

The old man said with great gratification.

"Then is it feasible?"

Xia De asked again.

"Of course it's not feasible."

Old John said mercilessly, placing the small bottle on the tabletop:

"1 gill (about 142ml) of any biological blood, adding a small amount of spirit, can produce 1 gallon (about 4.5L) of mercury. But this is a Relic after all. Do you think the mercury it produces is normal mercury?"

Old John shook his head:

"These mercury also possess whisper elements. Even though the impact on Ring-Sorcerers is basically negligible, it is an absolute danger to ordinary people. Remember, young man, do not try to utilize any 【Relic】. For 【Relics】, except for one's own use, others must be strictly contained. The church and the academy have contained so many powerful Relics; why have they never thought of using such supernatural items to change the world? Could it be that everyone's brain is not as sharp as yours and mine?"

Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha gave the answer:

"Because the whisper elements represented by 【Relics】 are the enemies of civilization. Using 【Relics】 to change the world is much the same as using steam bombs for heating."

She stroked Mia, who was held in her arms, happily, but the cat still found an opportunity to bolt out, standing on the pawnshop counter and "roaring" at the blonde young lady.

"Xia De, do you understand?"

Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha asked.

"I understand."

Xia De nodded with some regret. Old John took the opportunity to say:

"You two don't have much use for this thing anyway; why not sell it to me? I can offer a good price."

"No, I don't have any plans to sell it for the time being."

Xia De shook his head.

"Are you not short of money anymore?"

"I have a large income recently; I met a wealthy and powerful noblewoman, and she is very generous."

"A noblewoman?"

Old John revealed an ambiguous smile, first glancing at Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha, then lowering his head to tidy up the pile of things used to appraise 【Relics】 on the counter:

"Young man, this is indeed a shortcut, but take care of your health. However, even if you are not short of money, you can still inquire about news regarding that rumored Thirteen-Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi recently. You should know this, right? Any news can be sold to me; I have a need."

"Is it Miss Jia Lin Na?"

After leaving Old John's pawnshop, Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha finally couldn't help but ask. The two walked side by side on the street, and there were many pedestrians around. Because a curfew had to be enforced for the past week, people's daytime schedules had to be accelerated.

Rusty gas pipes were piled against the wall ahead; this street had been undergoing urban infrastructure renovations recently, and Old John had just complained that rude people were walking back and forth in front of his shop every noon. Unfortunately, due to martial law and the curfew, the project would likely be delayed for a long time.

Even though there wasn't much sunlight today, Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha still wore a white wide-brimmed ladies' hat. A small pink flower was pinned to the hat, which looked very well-matched with her hair.

In the aesthetics of this era, a blonde, blue-eyed young lady was the standard beauty.

"Yes, my relationship with that Duchess is quite good; she spent a large sum of money to buy some of the harvest from the ruins from me."

Xia De said truthfully.

"Oh? I wanted to ask last time; you and Miss Jia Lin Na are very close... is that so?"

The blonde young lady squinted at Xia De, not knowing what she was thinking in her heart.

Xia De noticed that whenever she referred to Duchess Miss Jia Lin Na Cavendesh, she never used any honorifics. This, of course, didn't indicate intimacy, but rather seemed like there was a conflict between the two sides.

Dorothy Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha was just an ordinary citizen of Tobesk, and she shouldn't have any connection with the Duchess who was often away from Tobesk. Therefore, Xia De guessed that her good friend, Princess Princess Lei Qianya, had a conflict with Miss Miss Jia Lin Na.

Although the Princess, whom Xia De had not yet met, and Miss Jia Lin Na Cavendesh were five or six years apart in age, they were actually three generations apart. If they really had a conflict, it was probably just like what was told in court romance novels—all secrets that ordinary citizens could hardly imagine.

【Why not a court political novel?】

"Because I haven't read the court political novels of this world. You haven't not read that book, 'The Queen and Her Lovers', left behind by Mr. Sparrow, with me."

Of course, reading that book was mainly to find the so-called "spy codebook."

Along the crowded street, Xia De chatted with the woman in his heart about the contents of the racy novel while walking side by side with Miss Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha toward the distance. 【Mercury Blood】 was destroyed, the Evil God had left, and before Luweiya divined the second Chosen One, Xia De could temporarily spend a period of leisure time.