"Speaking of which, you've had significantly fewer people around here lately... did something happen?" In the underground trading hall of the Evil Dragon Bar, the disguised Trissy chatted with the "boss" here, seemingly extremely bored.
Swain looked at this beautiful woman, but adhering to the consistent style of that group of steel-straight men from the Church of the Lord of Storms, he rudely threw out a sentence "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask," while roughly recalling in his mind what this person had bought from him before.
As the former captain of the Punisher squad in Tingen City, Swain's nerves were similarly very tense at this moment. The reason he was still patrolling the tavern, ostensibly to make money, was actually to monitor these "customers."
Although he felt that someone of Mr. A's Sequence 5 level probably wouldn't look favorably upon this low-grade trading platform, no one could guarantee that he wouldn't suddenly want to develop a few subordinates to help.
After all, the Aurora Order had always been at odds with the Church of Storms since its establishment. Even though that particular Sequence pathway had too many hidden dangers and wasn't used internally, the Punishers were still clear about what materials were needed.
'She bought a Queen Bee Grass half a month ago, along with some hydrosols and essential oils... No materials related to Secrets Supplicant, and her appearance time was also earlier than when Mr. A left Backlund. She probably only obtained a formula or incomplete information. Her recent reappearance means either she plans to stagger the purchase times to avoid exposing the formula, or she just got the complete formula...'
Based on years of experience, Swain quickly made his judgment. Under normal circumstances, he should notify the Punisher squad and follow this lead to dig deeper, to see if he could uncover some beyonder organization or develop one or two informants.
But now all the Beyonders in Tingen were in a state of extreme tension, and there was no need to add burden for the sake of a minor player.
From the fact that she still hadn't bought anything, it could be seen that the other extraordinary material she needed probably still hadn't been found. After this period of heightened attention passed, it wouldn't be too late to investigate further.
"If you don't ask, then don't ask. By the way, that old man just greeted you earlier. Are you familiar with him?" Trissy waved her hand indifferently, as if she was really just chatting with someone out of boredom.
Although his heart was full of impatience, Swain still followed her words and looked over, and what appeared in his eyes was indeed a familiar person.
Although he had been retired for a long time, Swain's instincts as a former Punisher captain were still sharp. Seeing her inquire about intelligence on an active Nighthawk, he forcibly suppressed the impatience in his heart and prepared to start probing for information.
"That's Old Neil, a pauper. At his age, he's still obsessed with those mysticism matters, but after all these years he hasn't accomplished anything, and instead owes a pile of debts..."
Swain casually disparaged Old Neil, but Trissy revealed an enchanting smile:
"Hasn't accomplished anything? You're underestimating him... If I were you, I'd stay away from him. He's about to lose control."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Losing control was undoubtedly the greatest curse for any Beyonder. Hearing such words come from this woman's mouth, Swain immediately overturned his original speculation. This woman was probably not some rookie who had just gathered enough materials for a potion. Those extraordinary materials might very well be what she was preparing for her apprentice!
"Nonsense? For the sake of you chatting with me, I'll give you a reminder. He's been contaminated by the Hidden Sage. In less than a month, he'll be finished..."
"Hidden Sage? What exactly are you..." Swain's face turned purple with anger, but when he had already mobilized his beyonder abilities and was preparing to capture this woman, he discovered that the woman who had been standing not far from him had already disappeared.
"This..." Swain's originally brewing anger instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by intense fear. His loose clothing was soaked with cold sweat. Just from this move alone, he dared to assert that this was definitely a mid-sequence Beyonder!
"Damn it, how did Tingen City suddenly get so many experts!"
Swain slammed the flask in his hand onto the table, but he didn't immediately go call Old Neil over to ask for clarity. Or rather, if Old Neil had really been contaminated by the Hidden Sage or some other power, then calling him over and providing that stimulation might actually cause him to lose control.
"Morrick, go find a patrolling Nighthawk on the street. Tell them that earlier there was a wild mid-sequence Beyonder who said Old Neil has been contaminated by the Hidden Sage and is about to lose control! Have them call Dunn Smith over, quickly!"
...
Just as Trissy was using her high Sequence advantage to brutally inform the officials about Old Neil's situation, Snow had just left the editorial office of the Tussock Times.
The negotiations for publishing his work went very smoothly. Not to mention that the story of Phantom Blood itself was very much in line with the aesthetic tastes of this era, but first of all, that editor couldn't refuse Snow's handsome face.
Not to mention that Snow also had business dealings with a certain director of the Tussock Times.
Referring to making house calls to treat that director's wife's dog.
Cough cough.
In any case, the publication of the novel version of Phantom Blood went extremely smoothly. It was believed that before long, the readers of the Tussock Times in Backlund would be able to enjoy the pleasure of following updates one small block at a time.
Taking out money to pay the rental carriage fare, Snow looked at the street with its Victorian-era charm. Fortunately, the ground here was very clean... Well, perhaps this was thanks to Mr. Huang "The taste of a Demoness ain't Bad" Tao.
Although his nominal home was here, in reality, since transmigrating, Snow had only lived in this "mansion" for one night. On the second day after drinking the Secrets Supplicant potion, he had taken the train to Tingen.
Though called a mansion, it was actually just an ordinary detached house. Not counting the small courtyard, the total living area of the two floors was only about one hundred square meters. But given this geographical location, it was absolutely a mansion among mansions.
This was like how the same fifty square meters of housing in a third-tier city beyond the seventh ring road was a completely different concept from the same space within the third ring road of the imperial capital.
And Snow's property was located at the boundary between the West Borough and Queens Borough of Backlund. It could be said very responsibly that this was the best location that money could buy in all of Backlund—of course, this wasn't exactly bought in the conventional sense, but rather a thank-you gift from Lady Della for him curing her family's dog. By the way, mentioning Della might not ring a bell for some people, but using a different title, everyone might recognize her—she was the wife of that pillar who blocked the tide of the era in the original work.
However, from a certain perspective, Snow would rather his predecessor had been a impoverished household living in the East Borough. The reason was simple: right across from his house was Mr. A's residence, or more precisely, the venue where Mr. A held his secret gatherings.
It was this way that his predecessor, that unlucky child, had caught Mr. A's attention.
After all, he looked far too much in line with the Aurora Order's.... aesthetic standard to well.
Note: The pillar who blocked the tide of the era refers to Duke Negan, because killing him was for "yielding to the era's (Adam's) will."
(End of Chapter)