Chapter 3505: The Ocean's Invitation

Mr. Davis looked curiously at the giant book unfolding beside Xia De, but asked nothing:

"It seems my guess was correct. Regarding the ritual of the Chosen, the ancestors of the Order were not entirely unaware of it."

Satisfied with this result, he finally spoke of the hand-carved wooden chess piece, which was not even painted and looked somewhat rough in workmanship:

"As for this last one, I likewise do not know its specific effect. I know it even lacks an element, but it will most likely help you—this chess piece was crafted from the wood of a tree-man possessed by our Lord during His final descent, made by His own hand."

Xia De widened his eyes to examine the chess piece, and Mr. Davis spoke with deep emotion:

"The God did not say what this chess piece was for; He simply left it with us to give to the right person at the right time. I originally thought it would be used during the Battle of Vesta Forest, and I carried it with me even when the camp moved, but unfortunately, it was not used.

But now I know, if there is a best time for this chess piece to take effect, I fear it is this very time."

Now Xia De also understood why Mr. Davis had just said that appraising the value of these items was itself blasphemy:

"I understand. I will keep this chess piece well. Thank you again, and thank the God of Luck again."

Of the Three Items, the Holy Bell was for countering cultists, the dice were for playing a final role, and the chess piece of unclear meaning might prove effective when facing an Evil God.

The help of the Hermitage in the Woods was truly multi-faceted, far better than the situation Xia De had anticipated before coming to visit. Of course, this was also because during the Vesta Forest incident last year, his reputation among the Hermits had reached its peak, and the name "Summoner" was loud enough.

Otherwise, Xia De would not even have seen these Three Items; at most, he would have received a few "Lucky Fu Zhou" or similar aids... Before leaving, he really did purchase several Fu Zhou, intending to distribute them to the Misses around him. Although Luvia and Bella could also craft such Fu Zhou, the effects of Prophets' Fu Zhou did not stack, taking only the highest effect, whereas simple Divine Art Fu Zhou and Prophets' Fu Zhou could have their effects exist simultaneously.

And before Xia De left, Mr. Davis also gave Xia De a warning:

"You just mentioned that something might be sealed by an Ancient God beneath the Fatumonster Snow Mountain; please be extremely careful. Although our Order's heritage does not mention this matter, our scriptures do mention a terrifying fate sealed within the material world, something mortals must absolutely never touch."

Returning from Vesta Forest to his home was just at noon, so Xia De had lunch with the cat. Before lunch, Xia De also found a new letter on the doormat at the entrance; it was delivered by Miss Jia Lin Na's maids, and the Duchess said she would come over tonight.

After the cat had eaten its fill of lunch and continued its afternoon nap at home, Xia De went alone to Fatumonster Island. Today, Megan and Audrey would officially arrive, and Xia De still had to go welcome the two sisters.

However, by the time he arrived in Kael-Todd Town, Megan and Audrey had not yet arrived; Claire and Matilda and the others had gone out, but Rita was in the town. The Ice Castle's maid, Winny, had entrusted her with purchasing some items for repairing the castle, and she was waiting in the town for the delivery—the castle had stored quite a lot of precious metals, which were surplus from previous experiments, enough for the maid's expenses.

"Miss Reinhardt said after leaving for lunch that someone from the city sent a letter this morning, asking you to meet at the Drowned Ghost Tavern at the Time-Ring City docks."

The Miss with flaxen hair said, handing the letter to Xia De. In fact, it was just a scrap of paper with somewhat messy handwriting, stating that "Mr. Watson" was invited to meet at the tavern at any time this afternoon.

The "Drowned Ghost Tavern" was the place where Xia De first met Major Rades; at that time, Xia De had thought it strange that superstitious sailors would be willing to spend their leisure time in such a place.

He suspected this note was sent by Major Rades; the Major not only knew his address on Victoria Street but also knew the affairs of this small town:

"Could his nightmare still be continuing?"

But Xia De was familiar with the Major's handwriting; the handwriting on this note clearly did not belong to him. However, since he had nothing to do in the afternoon, and the meeting place was a tavern, a crowded place, Xia De finally went to keep the appointment.

It was too far to go from the town, so after bidding farewell to Rita, Xia De discarded the Glass Slipper to return home, went from his home to Sylvia's Gao Ta, and then from the Gao Ta to Victoria Street. Afterwards, he boarded a carriage and traveled through the city, quickly arriving at the bustling dock district of Time-Ring City.

In the afternoon, the tavern was as lively as usual; besides sailors from all over the world and workers on the docks, one could even see a few tables of guests wearing naval uniforms.

Of course, Delarionians and Carsonricans would not sit at neighboring tables.

This tavern had no second floor, nor private rooms or areas suitable for concealed conversation. The person who invited Xia De said he was sitting in the deepest corner of the tavern, so Xia De passed through various guests playing cards, drinking, and telling dirty jokes, and finally saw that a strange person was indeed sitting at the table in the farthest corner.

The other person sat there alone, with a wooden wine cup before him. Besides that, only a kerosene lamp on the table provided light.

The man looked to be in his thirties, with somewhat dark yellow skin and a thin build; he was not anyone Xia De knew. Even after Xia De approached, he instinctively felt that this person's life force was extremely weak.

And when the other person noticed Xia De, he looked up and smiled; Xia De saw from the other's eyes and complexion that this was a person suffering from a serious illness.

The stranger gestured for Xia De to sit, and asked somewhat weakly:

"Thank you for coming to the appointment. May I ask what you would like to drink?"

Xia De shook his head; when he sat down, he noticed that the other person's cup contained clear water:

"I will skip the pleasantries. Who are you? Do you need something from me?"

The other person shook his head:

"I need not introduce myself; this will be the last time you see me."

He pointed to the position of his heart:

"Heart disease; current medical means cannot cure it. I probably won't live for many more days. This meeting with you is conducted in private; rest assured, no one else will know about this matter afterwards."

Xia De was thus even more puzzled:

"You still haven't said what exactly the matter is."

"I wish to clarify one thing. I belong to the Drowned Ones Order; yes, the one you are familiar with. Although I am not a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi, I am a very devout believer. This heart disease is a hereditary illness in my family; if not for the Ring Mages of the Drowned Ones Order helping me maintain my health, I would not have lived to my current age."

Xia De frowned but said nothing, and the stranger across the table continued:

"I know the reason those cultists you speak of helped me was to establish a foothold in Time-Ring City. Yes, right here; I am the owner of this tavern. The name of this tavern... never mind, it is irrelevant to our topic today."

He coughed with difficulty a few times; obviously, besides heart disease, he had other ailments:

"I am just an ordinary person. I actually do not know exactly who you are or what you have done, but I can see you are a righteous person. Please listen to me: last night, in my dream, I fell into the deep sea, and in that abyss never illuminated by the sun, I heard an echo coming from the depths of the ocean. That voice made me write this note to invite you over, and then tell you—"

His eyes suddenly became vacant, as if he had entered a dream while still open-eyed:

"【The Water Ghosts and Fish-Men that appeared on the coastline yesterday were not the work of the believers of the Ocean Gods. Those evil spirits and demons who obtained evil power seized the believers of the Ocean Gods who were acting in the Falling Star Bay area, swallowed their souls, obtained their power, and then, like manipulating puppets, coerced numerous Water Ghosts and Fish-Men.】"

After finishing this long string of words, he returned to normal, but coughed heavily a few more times:

"This is the voice from the deep sea that I heard in my dream. That is all I have to say. Thank you again for accepting the invitation and coming. Really, won't you have a few drinks? I am the owner of this tavern, and I have great confidence in the liquor in my shop."

Xia De silently looked at his face for a long time before gently shaking his head:

"I rarely drink alcohol."

After a pause:

"Are your children also working for the cultists?"

The man smiled shyly:

"He was unwilling to stay on this small island; he went to study in Wilendale two years ago and probably won't return after graduation. Young people nowadays are unwilling to stay in small places. He is still young; the heart disease has not yet manifested. The future... he chose his own path; that is his own business. Children will always find their way out; my father and I are not the same.

As for this tavern in the future, the Mr. s of the Drowned Ones Order will buy it with money and find others to operate it. However, they probably cannot return to this island for the time being; before I die, I will find a distant nephew to help manage it temporarily."

Xia De nodded and extended his hand toward him. The man thought Xia De was bidding farewell, so he also extended his hand and shook Xia De's hand. Unexpectedly, Xia De did not let go immediately; after a while, he spoke:

"I do not know what method those cultists used, but your heart has already begun to rot. Now, it relies entirely on external force to pump blood normally. Modern medicine indeed cannot cure this type of disease; doctors generally believe that surgery to open the heart is unimaginable because the heart beats continuously, and once cut open, severe blood loss would be extremely difficult to control.

However, I have heard that in big cities like Wilendale and Tobesque, doctors have already begun to explore such dangerous surgical procedures. Although no successful cases have been heard of to date, and experiments on animals have not been ideal, since your son is in Wilendale, let him pay more attention to this. Perhaps forty or fifty years later, when we reach the 1900s, methods to treat hereditary heart diseases will appear."

?? PS: Begging for votes at the start of the month!