Early the next morning, before morning prayers had even begun, Celia took the parchment manuscript and rushed to the divination shop in the black market.
After carefully lighting a small fire at the entrance, Celia happily pushed open the door and called out inside:
“Hello, hello~ Divination Uncle! I'm back, it's been so long!”
John was bending over, wiping blood off his table, when a soft, sweet voice suddenly drifted into his ears. He looked up, and a small figure wrapped in a black robe entered his line of sight.
After freezing for a moment, he suddenly realized who it was, and his expression stiffened.
Damn it, why is it her again?!
What a nightmare! Has the Abyssal Order completely targeted me?
How am I supposed to keep this divination shop open?!
At this rate, I'll be cornered and silenced sooner or later... Wait, did that person who uses fire come too?
Thinking of this, he hurriedly looked around, trying to spot that black figure.
Phew... Thank goodness, I don't see her.
Just then, he suddenly smelled a burnt odor coming from the doorway, making him shudder all over.
Damn it! Is that person hiding at the door? How insidious!
Hiss... Either way, I must be careful. I absolutely cannot afford to offend this little ancestor in front of me!
Just as John made up his mind, Celia pulled a manuscript out from her black robe, placed it on the counter, and smiled:
“Hehehe, Uncle, could you help me decipher this manuscript?”
Then, she lowered her head in feigned embarrassment, tapping her index fingers together as she whispered, “Um... it's just that my life has been a bit tight lately, so I might not have brought much...”
“No problem, absolutely no problem! My Lady, I will definitely decipher it clearly for you!”
Before Celia could even finish, John was nodding repeatedly in agreement, his head practically bowing beneath the counter.
Uh...
As expected, there really are many good people in this world... Celia lamented in her heart.
After completing his deep bow, John solemnly set aside the rag he used to wipe the table and said to Celia, “My Lady, would you mind waiting here for a moment?”
Seeing Celia nod, John finally breathed a sigh of relief. As if granted a grand pardon, he scurried into his divination room.
Before long, John walked out holding two small glass vials.
Seeing Celia's curious expression, he raised the vials and explained:
“This is purifying silver powder developed by the Star Academy. It ensures you won't suffer mental contamination when peering into texts. However, if the contamination in the writing is too strong, the effect of the silver powder will be greatly reduced. Fortunately, such cases are extremely rare.”
“Writing can contain contamination too?”
If that's the case, why was I fine when I read it earlier? Celia wondered.
John gave Celia a slightly strange look before saying:
“It's very common. In ancient texts from the Second Epoch, for instance, anything involving gods will carry some level of contamination. Furthermore, certain cults like to hide contamination within written words to infect their audience...”
He then added, “Well, except for those who can't read it.”
Celia: “...”
Celia felt he might be subtly calling her illiterate...
Sigh, whatever. This Saintess is broad-minded and won't hold a grudge. Once my clone wakes up, I'll just burn this divination shop down.
After a moment, John sat back down at the counter. He opened one of the vials, sprinkled some silver powder over the manuscript, and once he was sure everything was safe, he began to read.
But as he read on, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Seeing the uncle's grim expression, Celia stood on her tiptoes and leaned her head in to take a peek.
Yep, still can't read a single word...
Sighing in her heart, Celia had no choice but to pull her head back and continue waiting.
Finally, John finished deciphering the manuscript. He looked at the person before him with a complex expression and said:
“You aren't from the Abyssal Order, are you? Those madmen wouldn't be unable to read the words on this.”
“Hehehe, you caught me!” Celia laughed sheepishly.
Celia hadn't planned to keep hiding her identity anyway. If she kept using the Abyssal Order's guise to terrify him, what if she scared him away? She wouldn't be lucky enough to find another expert who knew so much.
Hearing Celia's answer, John visibly relaxed, but he quickly threw out several questions in succession:
“Then which faction do you actually belong to? What is your goal? Was that Beyonder of the Demon pathway from before also one of yours?”
John felt the person in front of him was definitely not simple. To turn one of those madmen from the Demon pathway to their side—even a Rank Five Beyonder of the Blood Order using a blood contract would find it extremely difficult. Almost every Beyonder who stepped onto the Demon pathway suffered erosion and contamination from the Abyssal Will; their faith in the Abyss was absolutely loyal.
Furthermore, he had never heard of any pathway capable of influencing a person's will like this.
In short, this was not something an ignorant child should be capable of!
It was highly likely she was just pretending to be naive and innocent to mask her true identity!
How should I know what faction I belong to? What on earth is this guy imagining? Celia grumbled in her heart.
However, she knew she had to maintain a profound, mysterious facade to keep him working for her.
So, she deliberately paused, giving him a meaningful look, and said, “These things are not for you to know. The faction behind me is grander than you can possibly imagine.”
Then, she shifted the topic: “But I can tell you this: even the Witch of Flame, who was once hunted down by various factions in Leytin City, is a member of our organization.”
What! They even turned that Witch?
No wonder she defected from the High Tower back then, and later betrayed the Abyssal Order for a time, destroying several of their strongholds. This explains everything.
He had indeed heard of the legends surrounding the Witch of Flame, but he had never actually met her. Most who had seen her were dead, and the few who survived were high-ranking Beyonders.
Speaking of which, the person who came before also seemed to use fire, but the possibility of her being the Witch of Flame was practically zero. Her power was far too weak, at most a Rank Two.
Then why did this girl only bring a Rank One Beyonder with her?
Hmm... Perhaps they wanted to keep a low profile. After all, he had seen similar behavior before. For instance, core members of the Silent Order wouldn't even bring a single servant when they went out.
Since she wanted to keep a low profile, John stopped asking. He tucked away his curiosity and focused his attention back on the manuscript.
He picked up the wooden cup beside him, took a sip, and then looked at Celia. “This manuscript should be from the Abyssal Order, if I'm not mistaken?”
Celia nodded.
“Yes. The content roughly details that the Blood Order is responsible for providing blood to grant rats immortality, which might even be laced with some curses. Meanwhile, the Abyssal Order condenses contamination inside the rats' bodies and spreads it through blood. They chose the slums, a highly populated area, likely because they want to contaminate the residents here.”
Listening to John's words, Celia fell into deep thought.
This plan... Do they want to conduct another advancement ritual?
They chose the slums this time probably because it's harder for the righteous factions to notice.
But one thing is strange. They already failed once three years ago, so why choose Leytin City again?
Even though the slums can hide their tracks to some extent, since it's a lawless, chaotic zone, wouldn't it be better if they just chose another city?
Is it because I am here? But Celia felt that things might not be so simple.
At that moment, she suddenly realized another discrepancy.
Come to think of it, obtaining this parchment manuscript seemed a bit too easy. And why would that man carry this manuscript with him?
If they really wanted to hide the plan, wouldn't it have been better for that man to just deliver the message verbally to the Blood Order? Why risk carrying this written plan around?
Unless... this plan was intentionally meant for the righteous factions to see.
Then what is their goal? To distract attention and then assassinate me?
But would assassinating me require so much effort? She felt there had to be more to it...
She couldn't figure it out.
Then I won't think about it for now. Instead of agonizing over this, I should learn more about their abilities first so I can at least be mentally prepared.
Thus, she focused her attention on the Abyssal contamination and asked John:
“The Abyssal Order's contamination can also use blood as a carrier? Don't they usually rely on their eyes or spiritual items to release it?”
Celia was somewhat puzzled. Neither of the two Abyssal cultists she had met before had shown such methods.
“Of course they can, and it's not just blood. Texts, sounds, food... all of these can serve as pathways for them to spread contamination. They also possess an immense number of contaminated creations, which can be disguised as ordinary everyday objects to make their abilities even more subtle and harder to detect. However, those who can master these methods are usually high-ranking Beyonders.”
The Abyssal Order is actually this terrifying. Fortunately, the first one I met was only a Rank One, and Solana happened to be on the same pathway... Celia took a deep breath, feeling incredibly lucky for her fortune that day.
“Alright, thank you!”
“By the way, do you know where I can sell collectibles? Like antiques, rare treasures, and the like. Oh, right, somewhere not too conspicuous and not too formal.”
“Why are you asking about that?”
John took another sip of his drink.
What is this troublemaker planning now? Last time she asked me about spiritual items, the underground exchange was shut down that very day!
“Hehehe, I'm just planning to get some money so I can pay back everything I owe you the next time I come,” Celia said with a cheeky grin.
“Cough, cough, cough...”
Hearing this, John almost choked to death.
“My little ancestor, money is a small matter. Just don't set my shop on fire, I beg of you.” His voice carried a hint of pleading.
“Mhm, I won't. So where can I go...”
“The Crafters' Association values trade the most. They might be willing to make this deal. At the deepest part of Amber Alley, there's a shop with a withered oak tree in front of it. That's one of their branches.”
“Okay, okay, thanks!”
...
The door to the shop was pushed open, revealing a dimly lit secondhand shop. Two rows of wooden shelves were packed with candlesticks, old books, and various metal utensils. In a high-backed chair behind the counter sat a man wearing brass spectacles.
“What do you have, what do you need? Exchange it quickly so we can get this over with.” He didn't even look up, casually weighing a coin pouch in his hand.
“Um... I need to get some money...” a thin, weak voice spoke up.
Huh? Why is it a child? How did she find this place? The man frowned, slightly bewildered.
But he didn't care much, saying with his usual impatience, “Do you want to sell clocks or jewelry? Let's get one thing straight, I don't buy toys here.”
“Mhm, no toys, definitely no toys!”
Hearing that they could trade, Celia excitedly pulled a heavy object out of her sack.
With a loud clank, a bronze holy statue was placed on the counter by Celia.
The man seemed startled by the loud noise. He looked up slightly, and the moment his eyes met the holy statue, they widened in shock.
“This... this is...”
“Um... how much can I get for this one?” Celia asked nervously.
This... was almost enough to buy out his entire little shop.
“Little girl...” Lowering his voice, he asked the person before him, “Where did you get this?”
“It's... it's an inheritance left behind by my mother. I wanted to sell it for some money...” Celia said, still acting timid. “Oh, right, I have a few other things here. Can we trade them all together?”
“Yes, yes, we can.”
The spectacled man exhaled a breath, thinking to himself: There shouldn't be anything too valuable left, right? Otherwise, I won't even be able to scrape together enough money here...
Just then, with another loud clank, a silver reliquary carved with reliefs of angels landed heavily on the counter.
“Ah? There's more?!” The man stared, dumbfounded. He held the reliquary, his voice trembling as he asked, “Child, tell me the truth, what did your mother do?”
“Um... she was a cleaning lady at a monastery...” Celia said after some thought.
A cleaning lady... a cleaning lady...
What in God's name do you mean, a cleaning lady?! What kind of monastery cleaning lady would have these things?!
Seeing the man's spectacular expression, Celia found it quite amusing, but she forced down her laughter and pretended to be innocent, saying:
“I still have some more. Do you still buy them? If not...”
There's more?!
The man's heart bled in agony, but in order not to lose face for the Crafters' Association, he grit his teeth and squeezed out a word:
“Yes!”
“Great!”
Celia smiled craftily in her heart, then quickly pulled the remaining items out of her sack.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Looking at the valuable items being laid out one by one, the man's expression gradually went numb.
What is going on? How are there so many? Where on earth did she get them?!
Is her mother a grave robber? Did she dig up some duke's ancestral tomb?!
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The noises continued, repeatedly hammering the man's nerves. Finally, unable to bear watching any longer, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the treasures had piled up almost like a mountain.
He could no longer contain himself, screaming frantically in his heart:
My Lord Hephaestus, this girl is a demon!!!
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