After finishing her morning prayers, Celia walked out of the cathedral. Two fruits were hidden in the secret pocket of her holy robe, making it easy for her to sneak a bite during her free time.
Walking down the street alone, Celia began to think about her next plan.
She needed to investigate the Abyssal Order, to understand their motives for assassinating her and find the mastermind behind them. Ideally, she could follow the clues to nip this threat in the bud; otherwise, she would never be able to sleep or eat in peace.
As for how to investigate, she could think of two methods.
One was to ask the bishop or some "experts" in the Beyonder world. However, she quickly dismissed this approach. For one thing, the bishop had gone out and not yet returned. For another, she had not come into contact with any reliable Beyonders during this time, so making inquiries rashly might alert the enemy.
The other was to sacrifice enough spiritual items and then spend spirituality points to ask the Notes of Destiny. Compared to the previous method, this approach would be much more direct and simple. Moreover, the remaining spirituality points could be used to increase her strength and help her cope with any potential pursuit. It was simply perfect, except...
“But what path should I take to find spiritual items?” Celia could not help but ask herself.
As her thoughts whirled, she quickly found a solution.
“The black market, contraband...”
“Perhaps I can go there and try my luck...”
...
Candlelight Alley was a small alley located in the slums of Leytin City. It was always filled with the stench of stagnant water, the sour smell of cheap ale, and the black smoke of burning low-grade grease. Ravens would always perch on the branches, watching everything that transpired here.
Violent conflicts broke out on the streets from time to time, and some skeletal people lay on the ground with purple lips and bizarre, dark-patterned scales growing on their bodies.
After passing through the messy hanging laundry and shacks, slipping through a gap in a low wall, and walking along a small path for a few minutes, one would reach the black market.
John was the manager of a divination shop in the black market. The greatest annoyance of his life was when people came to him for divination, because most of them were just looking for trouble.
For instance, right now, a young girl draped in a black robe had appeared in front of him at some point.
You might ask how he knew she was a young girl?
There was no helping it; both her height and her voice made it very difficult for him not to think that way.
Thinking of this, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Seriously... what kind of era is this? Coming to the black market without even knowing to disguise her voice—how could there still be such a naive girl?
Besides, a little brat whose hair hasn't even fully grown, what is she doing here? This place is so dangerous!
Sigh, better just bluff her and chase her away quickly!
While he was thinking, the girl spoke. Her voice carried a hint of cheerfulness, along with a crispness that showed she knew nothing of the world:
“Excuse me, excuse me, what kind of things can you divine here?”
John could not help but chuckle inwardly.
Heh, a brat indeed!
“Love, fortune, the future... everything. But I advise you not to ask about the future.”
John tapped his fingers on the table in a showy manner, attempting to create an illusion of profound mystery.
“Eh? Why?” An expression of confusion appeared on the girl's face.
“Because those who asked about those things are already dead, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ashes.” He intentionally made his tone sound cold and eerie.
“Is it because their futures weren't very good?” Following John's topic, the girl asked curiously.
“Heh, ignorant brat. It's because after their divination, they didn't believe in fate and wanted to trash my shop, so I killed them all and threw them into a fire pit to burn!”
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the girl. Seeing that her body seemed to be trembling with fear from his words, he nodded with satisfaction in his heart.
Heh, scared now? Let's see if you dare to come to the black market next time!
To his surprise, however, the girl's eyes suddenly lit up, and she praised, “Wow, amazing! To think it could cause such a big reaction!”
Then, she took a couple of steps back, put her hands behind her back, and said somewhat shyly, “Um, could you please divine something for me too? I want to know about a certain organization. I'll pay for it, so sorry to trouble you...”
Huh? Why is this different from the reaction I expected? Shouldn't she be too scared to speak?
Still, it was quite rare for a girl to want a divination regarding some organization.
The girl's words successfully piqued John's curiosity. He sat down leisurely, picked up the wooden mug containing ale from the table, took a sip, and asked:
“Fine, this astrologer is in a good mood today. Speak, which organization do you want to divine? Is it the Thieves' Guild that excels in stealth, the Secret Arcane Society that studies the arcane, or the Church of Life that blankets all of Vytania? As long as it doesn't involve secrets that are too deep, I can divine it!”
“Um, it's not any of those. I just want to know about the Abyssal Order. Could you perhaps...” the girl said shyly.
But before she could even finish, the man spat out the alcohol he had just taken into his mouth.
“The... the Abyssal Order?! Why are you looking into them?!” His eyes widened slightly, his face filled with utter disbelief.
“Because they seem to want to kill me, so I wanted to ask you to divine their origins and their purpose...” Seemingly frightened by the man's reaction, Celia lowered her head slightly, her voice growing much softer.
The instant he heard those words, the man stood up instinctively, his chair wobbling violently from his sudden movement.
Only after a brief moment did he realize his gaffe. He coughed twice, sat back down, and warned:
“Brat, that is not something you should know!”
Damn it, you're already being targeted by them, so how do you still dare to run around everywhere? What if you drag me into this?
“Um, alright. Then... can I ask about something else?” Celia asked.
Hearing that the girl wanted to ask about something else, John almost choked, but he still pretended to be calm and said:
“Fine, asking for information costs ten gold coins. By the way, this is the last question. Once you ask, you can't ask any more! Also, let's get this straight first: I won't reveal a single thing about those madmen.”
“Um, it's not about them. I wanted to ask, is there a place in the black market that sells spiritual items?”
“Spiritual items? Where did you hear that term?”
“Um... I probably learned it from an ancient book. Oh, right, I have something similar here that I borrowed from the Abyssal Order. Yes, it seems to be a spiritual item like the one in the book. Do you want to see it?”
As she spoke, she slowly pulled a lantern out from her black robe.
John was a Rank One Astrologer of the Destiny pathway, possessing an extraordinary spiritual intuition.
Therefore, when the girl prepared to take out that item which was clearly tainted with a demonic aura, the man's face instantly turned pale. He hurriedly reached out to stop her and said:
“Hey, stop, stop! My dear lady, I know how capable you are, you don't need to take it out and show me!”
The Abyssal Order's things are absolutely not to be touched. Who knows if you'll turn into a madman one day!
Where on earth did this kid get this ghostly thing?!
Could she actually be involved with those cultists!
“Oh, alright... Then... where should I go to find these spiritual items...” Celia said timidly.
“Go out of here, turn left at the intersection, and walk straight to the end. There is an underground trading post there, and there might be spiritual items inside. Safe travels, and goodbye!”
Hurry up and leave. If this continues and I get targeted by those guys, my life will be completely over!
“Oh... oh...”
The man spoke so rapidly that Celia was left dazed.
“Then... the money for the information...”
“No need to pay, no need to pay...”
“Um, okay...”
Having successfully freeloaded the information from the man, Celia walked all the way along the direction he mentioned, and at the end was a small tavern.
Just as she took half a step, she suddenly paused. She summoned her clone, Solana, and handed her the concealment black robe. Then, Celia backed up slightly, threw on another black robe herself, and hid in the dark.
As the concealment black robe took effect, the clone also slipped silently into the shadows of the building.
After waiting for a while, a person dressed in a similar black robe walked to the entrance. Looking around cautiously and confirming that no one was there, they carefully pushed open the door and entered.
Seizing this opportunity, Celia controlled her clone to follow the black-robed person, silently sneaking into the tavern.
A musty odor mixed with cheap ale and aged wood hit her face.
Frowning, Solana continued to follow the black-robed person, arriving in front of a bar counter.
A burly bald man leaned against the liquor cabinet with his arms crossed over his chest. Seeing the newcomer, he sized them up for a few seconds before asking:
“What can I get you? Today's ale is fresh.”
“I'm not drinking. Give me a pie.” A slightly crisp but intentionally lowered female voice came from within the black robe.
“Alright, go to the backyard. What you want is back there,” the bald man said in a low voice.
As she spoke, the black-robed woman also carefully tugged at her right sleeve, seemingly trying to hide something.
Solana watched quietly from the side, waiting for Celia's main body to enter.
The door of the tavern was pushed open once again. Celia followed the previous woman's method, lowering her voice to say the same words to the bald man, and successfully snuck in.
Heading all the way inside, she walked through the narrow corridor of the tavern and arrived at the backyard.
The scene inside was completely different from the front. A stone staircase leading downward was embedded in the corner, with torches lining both sides. Without hesitation, Celia walked down and arrived in a spacious underground hall.
Rate on N.U.
