Chapter 343

"Contributor? That's what I wrote."

Hearing Xia De's request, Priest Ao Gu Si pointed to himself and asked in confusion:

"Is there something wrong with the speech draft?"

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just... Priest, are you very good at writing this kind of thing?"

Xia De asked again, and Priest Ao Gu Si nodded with a bit of self-satisfaction:

"I've been in the church since I was in my twenties, and most of the time I've been responsible for similar clerical work. You could say I've been writing speech drafts and public documents my whole life."

Xia De looked at the old man in front of him with great admiration. Compared to Duo Luo Qian, who often polished reports, Priest Ao Gu Si was actually the true talent in the real sense.

With the speech finished, Xia De's work at the church was basically done. Bishop Ou Wen took time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. Not only did he give him a 20 Jin Bang speaking fee, but he also encouraged him to come to the church often. It seemed the Bishop believed the outsider had the potential to become that kind of deeply pious believer.

Lei Jiede's Han Mi Er Dun, together with Bishop Ou Wen, accepted an interview with the Toby Julian Morning Post in the Bishop's office. The magnesium flash of the old-fashioned camera was very bright, and the questions asked had also been prepared in advance. Xia De stood there keeping a smile; most of the time it was Bishop Ou Wen doing the talking, and he only needed to praise the church's arrangements for the day.

This money was truly easy to earn.

After the interview, Priest Ao Gu Si also brought Xia De the church donation vouchers he had prepared to claim reimbursement for in August.

By this time, it was already evening, and Xia De, who had been busy all afternoon, finally had time to take the cat to the festival square for a stroll.

This afternoon, a well-fed Xiao Miya followed Xia De obediently. When Xia De participated in activities, it lay quietly on Xia De's lap, either dozing off or staring at its own tail. When Xia De was giving his speech, it lay beside the water cup on Xia De's right hand side, to the point that once when Xia De went to pick up the cup, he almost picked up the cat.

The cat, which had been very timid about the unfamiliar festival environment at noon, had almost completely adapted to it. So, after saying goodbye to Bishop Ou Wen, Xia De thought about taking the cat outside to have a look.

But just as he left the Bishop's office with Priest Ao Gu Si, a tall, middle-aged priest ran over in a hurry:

"Mr. Han Mi Er Dun! Someone is looking for you."

"Do not run inside the church."

Priest Ao Gu Si said to the priest quite seriously. The latter apologized in a low voice and said that the person looking for Xia De outside was from Lady Miss Jia Lin Na Cavendish.

"You have things to do again?"

The priest asked Xia De with interest. Xia De didn't know what the other party was looking for him for either. But according to past experience, every time Miss Miss Jia Lin Na looked for him, it must be for something important.

"Then I'll be going first, Priest. Say goodbye to Bishop Ou Wen for me."

"I'll see you off."

Saying this, the two said goodbye to the priest and walked outward along the corridor. After turning the corner, the priest looked back, and seeing no one behind them, he whispered to Xia De:

"I remember you are still 15 credits short. If you have nothing to do this Thursday, go to a place with me. It's a 50% chance of an evil spirit and a 50% chance of a relic running out of control."

"Oh? Priest, are there others going with us besides us?"

Xia De also asked in a low voice.

Of course he would go. Although he hoped that Yi Lu Na, who would return to Toby Julian soon, would bring him new things, after all, there was only a probability of discovering trouble there. If there was a problem here that needed to be dealt with, Xia De would certainly not miss the opportunity.

"Just the two of us. Two Ringed Shushi are enough, and we both understand exorcism."

Priest Ao Gu Si said. Just then, two young priests holding documents passed by. Priest Ao Gu Si stopped to greet them and asked about the distribution of the promotional leaflets.

"Priest, I have to go to the train station to pick someone up on Thursday morning."

This referred to Yi Lu Na, who was returning from the Sun Sect's Holy See; she had been gone for more than a week.

"How about we meet at the church entrance at ten o'clock?"

"No, not at the church. I will go to your house to find you at ten o'clock on Thursday morning."

The priest said, then patted Xia De on the shoulder:

"If it really is a relic running out of control, the credit for this time will all go to you. I calculated it; that small mercury bottle you mentioned is worth about 4 or 5 credits. If this matter really is a relic running out of control, and you submit the report and the dangerous relic that ran out of control, even if it's just a document-level relic, it's worth at least 9 credits. That should be just about enough."

The doctor only got five credits for the Shoumiren-level relic 【Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone】, and that was because the Academy provided a large number of clues, and in addition to the credits, there was a private reward from the professor who issued the mission. More importantly, the doctor only submitted the relic, while Xia De might provide a containment report that could be used for reference by people in the future.

"Priest, how do you want me to thank you?"

Xia De was a little embarrassed.

"No need to thank me, this is just a small matter, and it's not necessarily a relic. If the doctor and the others have the opportunity, they will also help you like this. Remember the matter for Thursday, we will meet at St. Theresa Square at ten o'clock in the morning sharp. Also, the Holy Prayer Festival souvenirs you wanted and the potion you entrusted me to identify, I will bring them to you on Thursday."

"No problem, Priest."

After leaving the church gate and saying goodbye to the priest, standing on the high steps, Xia De saw Lady Miss Jia Lin Na's carriage parked at the edge of the square at a glance.

Holding the cat, he walked quickly through the vendors in the square, took a look when passing by the Shenxue Academy students who were wearing hats and giving loud speeches on stools, and when passing by the stalls selling shiny souvenirs, the cat in his arms meowed, wanting to go take a look, but Xia De didn't stop.

After approaching the carriage, police immediately came to block him, but the coachman on the carriage said something, and Xia De was allowed to approach the carriage.

The door on one side of the carriage was pushed open, and he walked in with his head lowered. He thought it would be the maid, Miss Difa, but he didn't expect both the maid and Miss Miss Jia Lin Na to be there.

Not seen for more than a week, the Duchess, who was injured because of the divine descent event, looked completely recovered. She held a teacup, smiled, greeted Xia De, and then let Xia De sit down to talk.

The carriage started slowly and left Dawn Square; outside the carriage, it was bustling with noise. Although only believers would come around the church to participate in the festival, the liveliness of the festival could not affect the whole city, but this was already the liveliest scene Xia De had seen in this world.

"Good afternoon, Detective."

That kind of perfume scent known as "Witch's Taste" was very rich in the carriage.

"Good afternoon, Miss Miss Jia Lin Na."

Xia De responded, then asked in confusion:

"Where are we going?"

"Taking you home."

"Hmm?"

"It just so happened that I went to Yodel Palace today, and when I was preparing to go back, I thought of some things I wanted to tell you. I knew you would come to participate in the Holy Prayer Festival, so I came here directly to find you. Did I disturb your mood for the festival?"

She asked with a smile, while the maid was quietly pouring tea for Xia De on the side:

"Not disturbed, I was planning to go home later anyway, after all, there are still things to do in the evening."

"That's good. This time it's not to give you a mission, there are two important things I want to tell you."

She looked at the black-haired maid, who carefully took an iron triangular object out of her pocket and threw it on the floor; it should be something like a "silence spell."

"The first thing, it's confirmed that the "Whispering Chapter" is completely correct. After the first Chosen One appeared, the other witches of the Council have all become active recently. This group of people actually preferred to stay in one place before... so Detective, you'd better not leave Toby Julian casually. Not every witch is as friendly as I am."

Miss Miss Jia Lin Na warned.

"Yes, I understand."

Xia De nodded:

"What about the second thing?"

"There is news about the second Chosen One."

"Hmm?"

Xia De's surprise at this moment was as if he suddenly discovered little Xiao Miya catching a mouse. Although this matter was very normal, it was also abnormal.

"The Orthodox Sect, the Extraordinary Academy, and Ringed Warlocks including the Council and other organizations, fought fiercely in the newly discovered Fifth Era ruins on the New Continent, fighting for a brand-new stone tablet engraved with the content of the "Whispering Chapter". I don't know who got the stone tablet in the end, but almost everyone knows the content on the stone tablet now. I think it will spread throughout the world within a few days."

Although such an important topic was mentioned, the red-haired Duchess's tone was still very relaxed:

"Don't worry, this time it has nothing to do with us. That stone tablet doesn't directly give the identity of the Chosen One, but rather defines a range."

"What exactly did it say?"

Xia De asked hurriedly, which made Miss Miss Jia Lin Na a little confused:

"Are you very interested in the Chosen One? Oh, young Mr., being so impatient won't win the favor of ladies."

She teased, and the maid also showed a smile.

"The stone tablet said, before the darkness descends, the Chosen One will be in danger at sea. That is the direction of the setting sun, that is the seaport of the land of the old era, and ta will escape from the hands of the bandits on the ocean."

The "ta" here uses a neutral personal pronoun, which means the gender is uncertain.

Xia De tightened his face, his mouth subconsciously closed tightly, because he thought of some things:

"Hmm..."

"This is a very obvious indication, meaning roughly that before the Chosen One truly awakens, ta will be in danger on the west coast of the Old Continent. The danger encountered is related to pirates, but since it is worth being written by the "Whispering Chapter", then the so-called pirates cannot be ordinary pirates."

"Hmm..."

Miss Miss Jia Lin Na summarized:

"Counting from the time point half a year before the first Chosen One appeared, until now, among the escapees in pirate events related to the mystical on the west coast of the Old Continent, one of them must be the second Chosen One."

She nodded while speaking, and the maid said:

"The prophecies of the Witch Emperors are really accurate, being able to give such exact prophecies for things thousands of years later."

Only Xia De didn't speak; he held the cat and kept his mouth shut, and no one knew what he was thinking.

There were more than a dozen Ringed Shushi on the cruise ship yesterday, and when they finally jumped off the ship to escape, most of them were still alive.

Now he finally understood why the cruise ship happened to encounter a Sage-level relic so coincidentally. If he guessed correctly, the ship the witch mentioned was very likely referring to them. Encountering the relic was because there was an unawakened Chosen One on the cruise ship.

However, thinking carefully, from south to north, the coastline of the west coast of the Old Continent is so long. There must be more than one accident related to pirates. Perhaps Xia De's guess was not the truth.

"You should know that ancient organizations have more or less mastered some fragments of the "Whispering Chapter". Now that there is such important information, combined with the clues in their respective hands, the church and the academy have already begun a comprehensive search, and the Council is also acting in secret. I think it won't be many days before we can discover which accident the Chosen One survived from. The witches of the Council will rush there to investigate, just like I came to Toby Julian."

Miss Miss Jia Lin Na said again, and Xia De, holding the cat, then spoke:

"A few days is enough? Doesn't this require a large-scale search? I thought it would take months."

The witch smiled:

"Xia De, although the world is dangerous, at least the civilized world is relatively safer. The deep ocean is a high-incidence area for various strange events, but the areas near the coastline are still very peaceful, otherwise the kingdom's offshore fishing industry would have collapsed long ago. Counting from half a year ago, how many things do you think could happen offshore? No, actually not many. What's more, the time span shouldn't even start from half a year ago, but from a few months ago, after all, the "Whispering Chapter" points to the time period 'before the awakening'."

"Although the time span is not large, the west coast of the Old Continent is very long."

Xia De said in a low voice, and Miss Miss Jia Lin Na shook her head again, saying in a teaching tone:

"Regarding things related to pirates, you can imagine that it is definitely not just a static item. The relic level of this type of event is mostly higher than the Shoumiren level. Think carefully, Xia De, what is the probability of things above the Shoumiren level happening? Think again, most of these things happen in the deep sea far from the coast, how many can happen on the coastline?"