NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 5: 5
Chapter 21 Difficult SleepTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 2848 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:17:00
Well... I remember that after recalling the "Void Cube", I put away the "Silver Spoon", but now, it is in my hands again.
Did I bring it up again unconsciously? Was this a secret burst of inspiration?
Sure enough, the "Silver Key" not only has the function of summoning the "Void Cube", the reason I was able to wake up from my dream is most likely because of the "Silver Key"!
Caroline looked at the "Silver Spoon" in her hand and felt relieved, but then a bit bitter.
"Is the 'Silver Key' actually the one behind Yug Bubble? Since you sent me to this world, you should at least come out and tell me... Isn't it said that when you travel to another world, there will be corresponding gods or systems to issue tasks? Why am I almost left alone now..."
Caroline held the "Silver Spoon" tightly again, and she didn't dare to put it away for the time being.
Having just woken up from a dream, she was still unsure whether the person who secretly pulled her into the dream was still watching her near her home. And who knows, what she was seeing now might be a dream within a dream!
"I had to pretend that I was having a nightmare and couldn't remember the details of the dream, and slowly left the attic."
Caroline had previously judged from the details in her dream that the person hiding in the dark might be on Albert's side, and not from the same camp as the murderer who killed the original body. Otherwise, what happened in her dream would not be as simple as just recalling what happened that night.
In this case, the other party has already seen what he wanted to see through the dream, and should be retreating now.
"Just pretend you're sleepy, and then slowly go back to the bedroom..."
That's enough for tonight. We can't do anything else that might cause misunderstanding.
Closing the notebook, Caroline pretended to stretch, picked up the cup, turned off the lights in the attic one by one, and then slowly walked down the attic.
After returning to the first floor and taking a sip of water, Caroline turned off all the lights and went up to the second floor in the dark. She went to the bathroom first, wet a towel and wiped her sweaty body, changed into a nightgown, and then went into the bedroom, closing the door and saying good night tonight.
...
Backlund, Queens, the Hanover family's mansion.
The flickering candlelight in the study shone on Albert's profile, making his face look covered with large shadows. The beard around his mouth became a little messy, revealing some kind of difficult to suppress gloom.
His eyes were fixed on the table, holding a smooth piece of letter in his hand. An envelope with neat marks of being opened lay quietly on one side, and a letter opener was placed on the other side.
Albert's expression remained indifferent, as if the letter in his hand was just an ordinary boring newspaper and any events recorded in it had nothing to do with him.
"Knock knock knock…"
There was a regular knock on the door. Albert did not look up, but said with his lips moving slightly:
"Come in."
The door of the study was opened, revealing the figure of the guard standing outside. Colonel Luca, dressed in a black night suit, walked quickly through the crack of the door, came to the desk, and gave Albert a standard Loen military salute.
"General, the investigation results are out."
Albert put down the letter in his hand, looked up at Colonel Luca, and motioned him to continue.
"Under the guidance of the dream, Miss Caroline behaved without any problems, and I also learned from it what happened that night."
"Just as we speculated before, Miss Caroline was indeed attacked by someone. But maybe because Miss Caroline was frightened, I didn't see the attacker clearly, and I couldn't tell what kind of Beyonder he was."
"Miss Caroline was indeed injured in that alley, but luckily she used an item that she should have bought from those underground Beyonders' gatherings to delay the attacker's movements and took the opportunity to escape."
"After confirming the specific circumstances of that night, I ended the dream. Although I didn't see how Miss Caroline treated her wound, I think she must have used some extraordinary items."
After finishing his report, Colonel Luca stopped talking. Albert looked into his eyes and gently rubbed the edge of the letter with his fingers.
After a moment of silence, he spoke:
"That's best."
Colonel Luca breathed a sigh of relief, leaned forward slightly, and then asked:
"Then General, should we strengthen our supervision and surveillance of Miss Caroline?"
"The guardianship will continue. She never learns from her mistakes. Who knows what she will do next."
Albert said without hesitation, returning his gaze to the letter in his hand, but his expression became a little less serious.
"However, we can remove some of the sentries. Isn't she going to become a 'hunter'? With the observation ability of a 'hunter', she might be able to detect you. I don't want to be accused of short-sightedness by her again."
"Also, we don't need to monitor her so closely. We don't need to investigate the details of her daily life. Give her some private space. I also want to see how she will prove it to me."
"Yes, General."
Colonel Luca put his feet together with a dull thud.
...
In the early hours of the morning, in the Kingdom of Loen, in the city of Tingen, on Iron Cross Street.
Klein Moretti, who had also accepted his own identity, sat at his desk, watching his sister Melissa walk back to the bedroom, and chuckled and shook his head.
Turning his attention back, Klein looked at the red moon peeking out from behind the dark clouds. Looking at the empty and silent streets of Iron Cross Street below the window, his thoughts gradually became active.
Just now, he was questioned by the mysterious policeman Dunn Smith in his beautiful sleep, and almost exposed his secret. After waking up from the dream, he was also taken to find another magical lady, "psychic" Daly, for a hypnotic examination.
After this experience, Klein realized that he had been inexplicably involved in an extraordinary event from which he could not escape, and the direct result was the death of the original owner and his three friends.
At the same time, he also learned that Officer Dunn who had just come to see him and the "psychic" Ms. Daly were both members of the "Night Watchers", a team of extraordinary people under the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
The other party extended an olive branch to him and asked him if he wanted to join the Night Watchers and become a civilian staff member.
Klein is now weighing the pros and cons, considering whether or not to join their team.
Judging from the current situation, Klein was not sure whether he was safe. The death of the original owner and his friends was like a shadow surrounding him. After Dunn Smith's reminder, he now felt more and more threatened.
Joining the Nighthawks might indeed be a good choice. He was not an Extraordinary, and faced with these extraordinary events, he had almost no room to resist. If he encountered something even more terrifying and bizarre without anyone knowing, he would really be helpless.
But if he wanted to abandon the Nighthawks and become a Extraordinary Person in private, he had no connections or channels and it would be impossible for him to find a way to become an Extraordinary Person in a short period of time. Even if he had the space above the gray fog and the connection between Justice and the Hanged Man, he would not be able to immediately convert this information into his own benefit.
You know, his current identity in the Tarot Club is that of a mysterious and powerful being. How could a powerful being seek help from the members of the club to become a Beyonder? If he asks too many questions and talks too much, it will destroy the mysterious image of The Fool. If he is suspected by Justice and The Hanged Man, it will be even more of a loss.
If he joins the Nighthawks and has the official power as a backing, he can become a Beyonder through the Nighthawks. This will not only help him get help and safety, but also maintain the image of The Fool in the Tarot Club, thereby gaining more knowledge about Beyonder events, which in turn helps him explore the real world. Similarly, he can also gain some knowledge and information from the Nighthawks team, and then show it in the Tarot Club to consolidate his image.
Kill two birds with one stone, this is the benefit that information asymmetry can bring.
From this point of view, joining the "Nighthawks" is indeed a choice with many advantages, except that it lacks a little freedom of movement. However, he rarely travels far, and the Moretti family does not have the financial strength to travel.
What's more, after becoming a "Night Watcher", the salary he can get is much higher than his brother Benson's salary...
"A weekly salary of 3 pounds is already a huge sum of money..."
Klein pondered, but the balance in his heart had completely tilted towards joining the Nighthawks.
"It's decided. Let's go talk to Captain Dunn when daybreak."
Klein relaxed a little and looked toward the distant horizon. As he watched the morning light slowly brighten, he couldn't help but sigh helplessly:
"Another night is wasted. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep since I traveled through time."
"How could there be a normal person who is not asleep yet..."Chapter 22: Brave BarTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3970 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:18:00
Caroline did not sleep well that night either. After she fell into bed, she stayed awake with her eyes closed, listening to her own heavy breathing and feeling the atmosphere around her. She tried to judge through various details whether the secret peeper had left. At the same time, she tightly grasped the "silver key" in her hand to ensure that she would not be dragged into the dream again without knowing it.
After a long time, Caroline was still accompanied only by the peace and tranquility of the night. She finally could not bear the slowly rising sleepiness anymore, and at some point, she fell asleep quietly. It was not until the bright light of the next day that the light from outside the window shone through the curtains, stimulating her eyes, that she was woken up from her sleep.
The first thing Caroline did after opening her eyes was to check the surroundings.
Fortunately, nothing has changed. The bedroom is still her bedroom, and the "Silver Spoon" is still in her hand.
It seemed that her subsequent series of actions last night were overreactions, but Caroline did not regret it, because she did not dare to gamble on that little bit of luck.
Sitting up from the bed, Caroline looked at the wall clock. The time shown on it was already eleven o'clock in the morning.
I fell asleep...is this an escape reaction after being frightened?
Caroline took a deep breath, got out of bed, walked to the window, raised her hand and opened the curtains to a gap that was one person wide.
A large amount of daylight immediately poured into the room, illuminating the bedroom and dispelling the ghostly shadow that was created by Caroline's psychological suggestion.
The bedroom window faces the Tussock River. The pedestrians coming and going on the street are full of life. Everything is so normal. Today is also a normal day in the year. This helped Caroline calm the remaining panic of last night. She now feels that the dirty and smelly Tussock River is very cute and very intimate.
After adjusting her mood, Caroline immediately left the bedroom with the "Silver Spoon" and went into the bathroom on the second floor.
The night has passed, and the peeper from last night must have left. She now wants to confirm whether the "Void Cube" has recorded last night's information.
She closed the bathroom door tightly. The small space here gave her a greater sense of security, so she chose to summon the "Void Cube" here instead of in the bedroom.
After chanting the honorable name of Yog-Sothoth, the "Void Cube" appeared from the "Silver Spoon" as usual. She immediately controlled the former to unfold, allowing herself to enter the space inside.
One "report" after another slowly appeared from the void, and Caroline couldn't wait to start reading them.
After quickly scanning a few obviously useless reports, she finally saw what she wanted to see in the following "report".
"nightmare"
"Night always represents many fears. Many children's nightmares in childhood mostly come from fantasies about the night. The only way to comfort them is to fall asleep and hope that the next time they open their eyes, they can skip the night immediately. But now, even sleep is no longer so safe."
"Caroline had a bad dream last night. It was an attack directed by her dear uncle Albert. In order to find out what happened to Caroline Williams in that alley that night, Albert's adjutant, Colonel Luca Zobod, used the power of "nightmare" to drag Caroline into the dream and replay the scene of that night. Fortunately, Caroline remained awake in the dream and successfully deceived the "nightmare" by fabricating false memories."
"It is not a gentleman's behavior to snoop into a young lady's memory. Obviously, Colonel Luca also knows this. If he chooses to fully control the changes in the dream instead of letting the dream change according to Caroline's memory, then Caroline's true situation may be exposed. Of course, this is only a possibility that exists in the hypothesis."
"Colonel Luca completed his mission, Albert confirmed that his niece was fine, and everything returned to peace for the time being."
——"How about getting a haircut in the first month of next year?"
Well said! It's absolutely right. I will go get a haircut in the first month of the lunar year!
Caroline strongly agreed with the last comment of the "report" in her heart. She didn't expect that the "Void Cube" also understood the old Chinese folk jokes.
After simply expressing her dissatisfaction, Caroline felt relieved.
Fortunately, as she guessed, the person who pulled her into the dream last night was Albert's man, and it was Colonel Luca who had contact with her. Was he actually a Beyonder? It was really hard to tell from his appearance.
"Nightmare"... Is this Colonel Luca's extraordinary ability? Or is it the name of a magic potion, just like his "Hunter"?
Caroline remembered that each potion belonged to a different path, and each path had a different sequence from low to high. For example, the "Hunter" potion formula in the notebook was the most basic sequence of a path, which seemed to be sequence 9, the starting point of a path.
The name "Nightmare" does not sound like a starting sequence. It may be the name of Sequence 8 or Sequence 7. But no matter what, Colonel Luca's extraordinary sequence level is higher than his own, who is barely considered half an extraordinary person.
Moreover, since even the adjutant is a Beyonder, then could her good uncle, Albert, a major general of the Royal Army, also be a Beyonder? If so, which path of Beyonder would he be?
"From the content of the 'report', Albert actually knew that Caroline was doing something behind the scenes. No wonder he came to my house the day after I traveled through time. I guess he knew something happened to my original body, but he didn't know the details, so he came to check it out in person."
"It seems that Albert has also noticed the original body's exploration of the extraordinary world, but Albert doesn't seem to be planning to point it out..."
"If the original body wanted to become a Beyonder, she could have made a request to Albert, but she chose not to do so. Was it because she didn't know that Albert was a Beyonder, or was it because of her rebellious personality..."
Caroline could actually understand Albert's motives. If he hadn't been watching, with the original's bold actions, even if she hadn't been killed that night, she would have done something else sooner or later. But the problem was that the original didn't intend to tell Albert about her actions in secret, and Albert's surveillance of the original also showed no intention of stopping the original. This was really the peak showdown of the Riddler...
But now the question arises again, if Albert had been monitoring the original body's actions, then how did he miss what happened that night, leading to the original body being killed?
Albert visited the original body the day after the accident, and judging from the intensity of surveillance reflected in the "report", Albert was almost sending someone to monitor the original body's every move at home. He might even know that she had cream stewed chicken last night. Under such close surveillance, the original body was still killed, and Albert knew nothing about it...
Was it because Albert's surveillance was delayed by something else that day?
Or is the actual situation more complicated than Caroline can imagine now...
Now it seems that even if she ignores the matter of her original parents, it does not mean that she will not encounter danger again.
It would not be a good idea to wait for others to take action. She must take the initiative in her own hands.
...
Caroline finished unfolding the "Void Cube" after pondering for a while.
She was unable to know more things now, but at least she knew that what happened last night was done by her step-uncle, who sent someone to do it. This made her feel a lot more relaxed after being nervous all night.
Since Albert actually knew that Caroline was investigating secretly, there was no need for her to hide it too much, which would be disadvantageous to herself.
With the "Void Cube", she can create an information gap for Albert, and perhaps she can earn something useful from it.
After figuring out the situation, Caroline took back the "Void Cube", simply washed herself, and ran to the attic to choose the tavern she would go to today.
She has basically adapted to the pace of life here, so she should start exploring the extraordinary world and find out the truth about the death of her original self and her parents.
After looking through the records left by the original body, Caroline discovered that the original body most often went to a place called "Brave Bar" in the Backlund Bridge area, so she decided to go there first today.
After confirming the destination, Caroline went downstairs and found a hunter's suit similar to the one she wore before in the cloakroom, with some slight changes made to the clothes.
She removed the overly ostentatious leather belts and kept the jacket and leather pants. However, in order to reduce muscle loss, she kept the suspenders that were close to the jacket and added a stab-proof vest between the shirt and the jacket.
After changing her clothes, Caroline went into the bathroom. Since she didn't know how to tie her hair, when she had long hair before, she just tied it into a bun like the protagonist in a certain animation. Now facing her even longer hair, she was completely at a loss, so she just gathered the long hair behind her and tied it into the most ordinary ponytail.
Then, she did a few simple warm-up and stretching exercises to make sure she could move her limbs more flexibly.
"Self-defense weapons... There doesn't seem to be any guns at home, which is strange. I thought the original body would buy a pistol in advance for self-defense since she often went to the East District. Is it because she has never practiced with guns that she didn't buy one..."
Caroline naturally had never used hot weapons. The closest she had ever come to using hot weapons was when she was a child, using the bamboo-pole fireworks in her hands.
Therefore, she only carried a dagger with her, pinned to the most convenient part of her belt, and covered it with her jacket.
After demonstrating a few movements of drawing a knife quickly in case of an emergency, Caroline couldn't help but recall an assassin game she had played before from a certain Potato Company.
"When I have the chance, I will definitely find someone to make a hidden blade for me..."
After getting ready, Caroline went to the kitchen and cut a few slices of bread to fill her stomach. Seeing that it was already 1:03 in the afternoon, she took the "silver spoon" and about 10 pounds of money, put on her boots, and walked out of the house.
The number of pedestrians on the streets in the afternoon has decreased significantly. Today is still a weekday, and there won't be too many idle people on the streets of Cherwood District. In addition to the unpleasant smell of smoke and dust, there is also a faint, lazy and leisurely atmosphere in the afternoon.
Walking along Blaise Street to the main street, Caroline casually stopped a horse-drawn carriage on the side of the road that had just dropped off a passenger.
"Bridge District, Tiemen Street."
Caroline got on the carriage and handed a 1-sol note to the driver. After a pause, she added:
Keep the change, please.
The coachman took the money, looked up at Caroline, and without saying anything, he quickly pulled the reins, whipped the horse and started driving.
With the money in place, the service will naturally come as well. I don't know if it was because the coachman's skills were superb, or because the horses pulling the carriage in front ran steadily, but Caroline, sitting in the back carriage, hardly felt any bumps.
Staring at the street scenes flashing backwards outside the carriage, Caroline saw herself passing the Backlund Bridge and crossing the Tussock River. After turning a corner, the street scenes outside became noticeably dirtier and messier, and there were more people on the street. Some were just wandering around aimlessly, while others simply sat down on the walls along the street, staring at the passing carriages with numb eyes, wondering what they were thinking.
After passing an uphill slope, the carriage gradually slowed down and then stopped at an intersection.
The coachman turned around and said to Caroline:
"Miss, we have arrived at Tiemen Street."
Caroline nodded, stood up and got off the carriage, stood on the street as if waiting for someone, and looked towards somewhere.
After the carriage left, Caroline started again and walked east along Tiemen Street.
Not long after walking, Caroline soon saw a tavern with a black wooden door and a burly man about two meters tall standing on the right side of the door.
Caroline looked up at the sign on the door and walked closer after seeing the words "Brave Bar" written in flamboyant letters.
Before Caroline reached the door, the burly guard outside the bar had already cast his gaze in her direction.
There was no expression on his face. He just watched Caroline come to the door and reach out to push it.
But she didn't know if it was an illusion, but Caroline seemed to feel that when she arrived at the door, the guard seemed to move quietly to the side.
Ignoring these strange details, Caroline slowly exerted force with her hands and pushed the door, which looked very heavy, inward.Chapter 23 Hugh DilcherTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 2963 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:19:00
Pushing the door and entering the "Brave Bar", a strange air mixed with the unique fermented malt smell of beer, the pungent smell of tobacco and the sour smell of sweat rushed towards Caroline, making her brain dazed for a moment. It was like suddenly walking into a closed room with heating and air conditioning turned on during the New Year, and in this room, the elderly relatives of the family were smoking and playing cards, and some would have a glass of wine to liven up the atmosphere.
She deliberately chose to come around 2pm, when most pubs had just opened, in order to avoid the peak hours. However, she did not expect that even at this time, there would be quite a few people in the "Brave Bar".
In the room with orange lights on, groups of people gathered in twos and threes, sitting in their own small groups at the drinking tables against the wall. Most of them were wearing worn-out jackets or faded work clothes. Their faces had not been groomed at all, and their hair seemed to have been trimmed casually, but facing their drinking buddies, their faces were still filled with happy smiles.
It is understandable that for most low-income groups and workers, pubs are one of the few places where they can engage in entertainment activities. If illegal activities are excluded, pubs become the only place where they can enter with peace of mind.
Caroline pushed the door open without making a loud noise, and no one noticed her. She walked slowly into the pub, walked around the two tables in the middle that were probably used for some activities during the peak hours, and walked to the bar opposite the door, which attracted the attention of some customers sitting by the wall.
But the strange thing was that when those drinkers saw Caroline's figure for the first time, they showed an interested look at first, but after turning around and seeing Caroline directly, they immediately turned their heads back, as if they had seen something they shouldn't have seen.
Caroline noticed this scene out of the corner of her eye. Although she didn't see the expressions on those people's faces clearly, she saw their strange movements of jumping back and forth.
What does this mean? Do I look scary...
To be fair, Caroline's looks cannot compare to that of the top-notch beauty Miss Audrey. That is totally beyond the reach of ordinary humans, but at least she is pretty enough. At least if the former Gu Yi saw such a young lady on the street, he would be attracted to take a few more glances.
If this reason is eliminated, the possibility of these people exhibiting this behavior becomes very clear.
The original body had often come here before, so it was likely that someone had recognized her. It was very likely that she had done something earth-shattering here before, which caused the people here to react like this.
What on earth did the original body do before? Look at their expressions. They are obviously frightened...
Caroline was thinking when she heard a voice coming from in front of her.
"You came so early today?"
She immediately retracted her gaze and turned to the bar in front of her, where she saw an older bartender wearing a brown vest wiping the wooden wine glass in his hand and looking at her with one eyebrow raised.
Taking the initiative to talk to me? Caroline has already become a famous figure in this pub.
"Well, I had something to do with someone, so I came a little early."
Caroline answered casually.
"Looking for someone? Could it be Caspers? Then you're here too early. I don't know what kind of connections that old man has made recently. I heard he can make a lot of money."
The bartender said this cheerfully, his tone full of sarcasm, and he put aside the wine glass in his hand, which he didn't know whether it was wiped clean or not, and then picked up another wine glass and began to wipe it.
Caroline no longer remembered who Caspers was, but from what the bartender had said, he should be "that kind of person" who had a lot of reputation and connections in the pub, like the old black man in a famous prison break movie.
Her face remained expressionless, but she was already happy in her heart, because this was exactly the kind of connection she was looking for.
It's actually okay if she doesn't remember the other person. At least she doesn't have to start from scratch to find a way. From 1 to 10 is always much easier than from 0 to 1.
"That's good. Caspers has benefited, and those of us who have come to him for help will also benefit more."
Caroline caught a glimpse of a small chair beside her, so she pulled it over, turned around and sat on it, chatting with the bartender.
"That's the right idea. I have to say that people still need education to have a vision like yours. When people who came to see Caspers these days heard that he was making money, their reactions were either unhappy or jealous... Haha, no wonder those people are struggling in the East District and can't get out."
"You can't blame them. Don't they want to receive education?"
"It's hard to say. You know, many families in the East would rather their children work at the docks to earn a few pennies than send their children to the church Sunday school for even a day. You may not have seen it, but in the East, many people gathered around a literate person to read newspapers. This is normal."
Caroline quickly took a look at the bartender. From his conversation, it was obvious that he was one of the few who had received an education.
"I heard that the New Party is pushing forward reforms. The bills on education and people's livelihood are being hotly debated in the House of Commons. Maybe life will slowly get better."
"Heh, if those congressmen are really that efficient and kind, then Backlund will really be in for a big change."
The bartender sneered and said:
"You have to know that no matter how the outside world changes, the East District will always be the East District. The kingdom needs such a place to cover up its filth and sins."
Caroline listened to the bartender slowly finish speaking in silence, her eyes involuntarily looking at the shabby-clothed workers sitting in the corner.
"Well, young lady, this is not the Capitol. No chattering is allowed here."
The bartender put down the glass in his hand, supported himself on the bar with his hands on both sides, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Caroline with a smile.
"Ready to leave now, or have a drink before leaving?"
Caroline took out her pocket watch and checked the time. She found that it was not yet three o'clock in the afternoon, so she was not very anxious.
"Have a drink. Are you going to refuse the mouth of a girl who has come from afar and is thirsty and dry?"
The bartender laughed and took a clean cup from the pile next to him, asking:
"What do you want to drink, the same old thing or something new?"
Caroline replied calmly:
"Same old, well, let's try something new next time."
The bartender nodded and turned to the pile of huge wooden barrels stacked horizontally on the racks behind the bar.
Caroline's attention was only diverted slightly, and when she came to her senses, a large wooden cup filled with amber liquid was placed in front of her.
Caroline sniffed it gently and smelled a distinct scent of ginger.
Is this ginger beer? The kind without alcohol?
Caroline looked up at the wooden signs on the bar that listed the prices of various drinks, and soon saw a small "2 pence" next to the Loenese word for ginger beer.
2p? I remember most ginger beers on the market were only 1p…
Although she was not short of money, Caroline still subconsciously asked:
"Can you give me a penny cheaper?"
"Hmm? What did you say?"
The bartender, who had just returned with a few new wooden cups, didn't hear clearly and spoke out in confusion.
"No, nothing..."
Caroline swallowed her words quietly, took out two copper pennies from her pocket and put them on the bar.
Picking up the wooden cup and bringing it to her mouth, Caroline first tried taking a small sip. She was immediately attracted by the wonderful taste.
The spicy taste of ginger ale is not wild and overbearing. The cold liquid does not have a strong taste of alcohol but still has a stimulating feeling on the mouth, just like kvass that is not so sweet, or cola with a different flavor. It has both a sweet and sour taste and a relaxing feeling of carbonic acid, which can sweep away the sediment and confusion in the mouth. It is an excellent condiment for removing greasiness and oil during meals. If you can drink such a glass of ginger ale after a day of work in the hot summer, it seems that the hard work of the whole day has been liberated at this time.
Without stopping, Caroline immediately took another big gulp and then exhaled with great satisfaction.
These two pennies were well spent! This was what she was sure of now.
A good drink can make a person's mood much better. This is the case with Caroline. When she feels happy in her heart, her desire to talk and chat also increases.
"When will Caspers be back?"
She took the initiative to talk to the bartender.
"He usually comes to the pub in the evening and stays for about one to two hours. If you need to see him, it's best to wait until after six in the afternoon."
The bartender answered, and just as he put away the pennies on the bar and talked to Caroline, he heard the sound of the tavern door being pushed open.
He looked up and immediately changed the subject, continuing with his previous words to say to Caroline:
"But if you really have something to do, I don't think you need to wait until then."
Caroline was drinking ginger beer when she heard the bartender's words. Before she could ask anything, she heard a childish and loud voice coming from behind her.
"Huh? Caroline, why are you in the tavern so early today?"
Caroline put down the wooden cup, looked back, and saw a girl of somewhat difficult height, with stubborn shoulder-length blonde hair, dressed like a little knight, walking towards her.
"Hugh Dilcha"... the name immediately appeared in Caroline's memory.Chapter 24 Unavoidable DeceptionTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 4248 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:20:00
In the memory that Caroline inherited, she had almost no impression of the people in the tavern, but the girl in front of her, she still had some familiar memories of her.
Hugh Dilcha is a well-known "arbitrator" in the East District of Backlund and the major taverns there. He has long helped the middle and lower class labor groups to mediate and arbitrate unreasonable incidents. He is a person with a strong sense of justice and responsibility, and is widely praised and acclaimed.
Caroline remembered that the relationship between the original self and Hugh did not only start when she began to investigate the truth about her parents' murder, but it seemed to be even earlier, when the original self was just a child, she had played with Hugh.
At that time, Xiou was still the eldest daughter of a noble family in the palace. Her last name was not "Dilcha" but "Dil". But it was said that something happened later. Xiou's father, the Earl of the Palace, was convicted of treason and hanged. The family's title and territory were also taken away. The young Xiou had to leave Backlund with her mother and brother, and only returned alone when she grew up.
Very similar to Caroline, her purpose of returning to Backlund was also to investigate what happened to her father. From this perspective, they can be regarded as "fellow patients" who share the same disease.
Hugh had been deep in Backlund's dark side for some time. When Caroline began to investigate the truth and explore the extraordinary world, the former had already become a bounty hunter and an extraordinary person. The so-called nickname "Arbitrator" is actually the starting name of the sequence path to which Hugh belongs.
Caroline was originally worrying about how to contact this "senior" on her extraordinary road, but she didn't expect to meet her when she came to the "Brave Bar". This was really a piece of cake.
"I have some urgent matters to deal with, so I came here early today... Well, it's great to meet you here!"
Caroline said to Quinn, showing her joy without concealing it.
"An emergency?"
Hearing this, Xio's expression became serious for a moment, and then he came to the bar and asked the bartender:
"Is there any vacant chess and card room inside?"
The bartender, still holding the towel and wiping the wooden cup, nodded and replied:
"The card room behind No. 4 is still empty."
"We want the innermost one, chess and card room number 7!"
"Yes, eightpence an hour, as usual."
Without saying anything else, Xio took out eight copper pennies from his personal bag and placed them on the bar.
Then she waved to Caroline, motioning her to follow her in.
He actually spent 8 pennies to get a private room... It seems that there is some important secret between Xio and his original body.
Caroline nodded in response to Hugh's action, then stood up and left the bar with the ginger beer, following Hugh into the corridor inside the pub.
The two men walked one in front of the other, one tall and one short, presenting a kind of funny incongruity, in the dimly lit inner corridor until they reached the innermost end. There, on their left hand side, there was a wooden door that was also painted black. The slightly rusty door handle was covered with a small layer of greasy substance of unknown origin.
Xio didn't care about it. He reached out his fingerless-gloved hand to grasp the door handle, turned it lightly, opened the door, and quickly slipped in.
After Caroline followed in, she closed the door and turned on the gas in the room.
This chess and card room is only a little over ten square meters and is a small private room. Because there is a table and four chairs in the middle of the room, it looks even more crowded and narrow.
After making sure the door was locked, Hugh walked to the card table, pulled out two chairs, and sat down on the inner side, while Caroline followed and sat on the other chair.
As soon as he sat down, Xio lowered his voice and asked in a worried tone:
"Did anything happen to you?"
"Yeah, just a little thing."
Caroline took a sip of ginger beer and said lightly:
"I was attacked the night before last."
"Oh, so you were attacked... What!? You were attacked?!"
Xio, who had just breathed a sigh of relief when Caroline said "it was just a small matter", almost couldn't suppress her voice and screamed, but her long experience of walking in the gray area has trained her to be able to quickly suppress her emotions.
She quickly closed her mouth, took a few quick deep breaths to calm herself down, and then continued to ask:
"What happened? Where were you attacked? Why? Who attacked you? Are you injured?"
"Calm down, I'm not injured, I'm fine."
Caroline said this, reaching out and patting various parts of her torso to show Hugh that she indeed had no wounds on her body.
Seeing that Caroline did not look like she was injured, Quinn's nervous mood relaxed a little.
"I'm glad you're not hurt... When you told me that you found some clues that day, I thought something was fishy, but I didn't expect that something would really happen..."
Hmm? Did the original body tell Xiou about her plans for the night before she was killed? This is really an unexpected gain.
But I can't continue this topic now. I don't know what my original body said to Xio that day. I have to use another "reason" to explain why I was attacked, and by the way, ask Xio for information about the extraordinary material transaction.
"It doesn't seem to be related to that incident. The other party came for the extraordinary materials on me."
"Extraordinary materials? So you were attacked after leaving the underground trading market?"
Xio's expression immediately turned into confusion. She frowned, raised her hand and pinched her chin as she began to analyze.
"That underground trading market was established under the guarantee of the boss behind the 'Brave Bar'. No one should be brave enough to violate the rules of the East District gangs and take the risk to snatch extraordinary materials. Such behavior will be wanted and hunted down..."
"That was your second time going to the market, and you were attacked just after you found a clue. It would be too strange to say that there is no connection between the two..."
After analyzing for a while, Xio looked at Caroline and proposed a hypothetical possibility to her:
"Caroline, do you think it's possible that the other party is actually coming for you, but is just trying to warn you by taking away the extraordinary materials? To stop you from investigating further?"
Miss Hugh, you have a very vivid imagination, but this is exactly what I need.
Caroline's expression also became serious, as if she was thinking about the possibility of Xio's guess.
"I really can't rule out this possibility. If it's true, it means my investigation is almost touching the truth."
"Yes, this is actually a good phenomenon."
Xio nodded in approval, and then continued to ask:
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to go to the underground market again. First, the extraordinary material I need wasn't stolen, so I have to buy another one. Second, I want to see if I can lure the attacker out again. At the same time, I can rule out the possibility that the other party is tracking me from the underground market."
"I was originally planning to buy some self-defense equipment from Kaspers, and it would be best if I could hire a few bodyguards to protect me in secret, but I didn't expect that Kaspers was not here, and I met you first..."
Caroline said, glancing towards Quinn, who immediately understood what she meant.
"I understand. I'll go with you this time. You buy things at the underground market, and I'll wait outside. When you come out, I'll see if anyone is following you again."
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. You're as clever as ever, Hugh."
Caroline praised Hugh generously, which made the latter feel a little at a loss for a moment. His slightly chubby cheeks quickly turned red and he scratched his dry hair embarrassedly.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Caroline immediately put forward the "plan" that she really wanted.
"But we have to change our action plan a little bit. Let's do this. You send me into the underground market, then pretend to leave for something, and then go outside to ambush. This way, we can dispel the vigilance of those who may be lurking in the market to attack me."
The ambush and the investigation to see if anyone was following her were all lies Caroline had made up on the spot. What she really wanted was to get Xio to take her to the underground market without arousing suspicion.
Hugh did not have any doubts about Caroline, and the plan proposed by the latter was also reasonable and well-founded. Naturally, she had no objection and readily agreed to the action plan.
Caroline still felt guilty about lying to Hugh, but the guilt was not too great. After all, to her, Hugh was the friend of the original Caroline Williams, and she was just "Caroline" played by the time traveler Gu Yi.
She will always leave this world, unless she can travel back again after traveling back and forth between the two worlds. Otherwise, no matter how much she cares about things like debts of favor, in the end they will all be nothing but a cloud.
...
After further confirming the details of the operation, Hugh and Caroline did not stay any longer.
The two walked out of the card room. Caroline returned the remaining wooden cup to the bartender and followed Hugh out of the "Brave Bar".
Hugh didn't stop the carriage on the roadside, but turned and walked east along Iron Gate Street. Caroline simply followed Hugh step by step, pretending that she still remembered the destination and walked leisurely.
After about ten minutes of walking and turning two or three intersections, the two entered the East District. The houses on the street were obviously becoming older, and garbage and sewage on the streets were becoming more common.
After walking for about five minutes, at the entrance of a small alley, Xio, who was leading the way, suddenly turned into it.
On the inside of the alley, there is an abnormally crooked door. Looking from the outside, it would give people the impression that there is an uninhabited dead house inside the door.
But Xio's destination was exactly there. She pushed the door open and Caroline followed her in, only to find that behind the door was a long, dark corridor leading downwards.
Continuing to go deeper into the corridor, until she reached the end, what appeared in front of Caroline was a thick iron door, different from the one outside.
Hugh came to the iron gate, looked back at Caroline, nodded to her, then raised his hand and knocked on the door rhythmically.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock!"
Caroline silently memorized the rhythm of the knocks. After waiting for about three or four seconds, there was a sound of unlocking from behind the door, followed by a "bang" sound, and the door was opened from the inside, revealing a different space inside.
A closed basement that was about the size of two modern Chinese school classrooms, with kerosene lamps on the wall providing lighting. Many stalls were placed on the ground, and basically each stall had one owner, selling a wide variety of strange items. At this time, there were also many people walking between the stalls, either looking for what they wanted, or holding their favorite items in front of a stall and bargaining with the stall owner for the price.
The person who opened the door for Xio and Caroline was a rather sturdy man. After a quick glance at the two of them, he opened the door a little further to allow the two to enter smoothly.
After entering the underground trading market, Xio did as they had agreed before, intentionally raising his voice a little, but not to make it seem ostentatious, and said to Caroline:
"Then I'll leave first, and I'll contact you later."
Caroline also nodded in agreement:
"Well, see you next time."
Then, Xio immediately left through the still open door. The sturdy man guarding the door did not react. He waited for a while and then closed the door.
Seeing that Xio had left, Caroline secretly breathed a sigh of relief, said sorry to her in her heart, and then walked towards the inside of the underground trading market.
Walking through the stalls, I saw various strange powders and plants on sale, as well as some crystals that sparkled with mysterious light.
Caroline recalled the recipe of the "Hunter" potion recorded in her notebook: 20 ml of red hound blood, 15 grams of red hound brain gray matter, 80 ml of red wine, ten drops of red chestnut flower essential oil, 5 grams of poplar leaf powder, and 10 grams of basil.
There was still enough red wine and basil in the house, and red chestnut flower essential oil and poplar leaf powder were both available at perfume shops. So, the only things Caroline needed to buy here were the blood and gray matter from the "Red Hound".
As she walked, she browsed the items on the stalls along the aisle, eliminating the target stalls one by one. After a long time, she did not see the name of the item she wanted on the stall or on the sign next to the stall.
The original body should have bought the potion ingredients here. Could it be that the corresponding stall was not in service today? Or have all the ingredients in stock been sold out?
Just as Caroline was beginning to feel disappointed, suddenly, her eyes caught a string of familiar words.
"Red hound blood, fresh and pure, with a mellow taste"
What kind of strange adjective is this? Could it be that they are selling the body parts of the red-haired hound as food?
Caroline thought in shock, looking further towards the stall located in the innermost corner of the trading market.
The owner of the target stall was a young-looking brown-haired guy wearing overalls and a shirt. He sat on a small wooden stool, looking at the ceiling with boredom, like a meditative statue.
Next to the stall, there was a unique birchwood sign with extremely distorted and even misspelled words in Loenese written on it:
"Mr. Ovis Wein's Shop"Chapter 25: A Gentleman Loves MoneyTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3401 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:21:00
Can such a stall tucked into a small corner really be described as a "shop"?
Caroline looked at the sign that seemed to be written by a child of enlightenment age and hesitated for a moment. But after considering that this might be the only stall in the entire underground market that sold items related to red-haired hounds, she walked over there.
Sensing someone approaching, the stall owner who was sitting on a small stool and looking up at the ceiling lowered his head. His green eyes immediately shone with shrewdness when he saw Caroline. A very unconventional smile quickly appeared on his face, making anyone who saw this smile feel that they were not in an underground trading market, but in a luxurious dance bar.
"Oh, I really wish we hadn't met in this dimly lit underground. Such a crude luster can't resonate with your appearance at all... Beautiful lady, I didn't expect to see you again so soon~"
The stall owner, who should be Mr. Ovis Wein as named on the sign, spoke to Caroline who was walking over in a very vague and sticky tone.
Such a voice and such an expression did not sound like a greeting when meeting each other. If you ignore the words he chose, people would definitely think he was flirting with someone.
Caroline was stunned for a moment. She opened her mouth slightly and blinked a few times. Finally, she swallowed the interjection that had reached her lips and asked in a calm and normal tone:
"Do you remember me?"
"Oh, that's natural. How could I forget such a beautiful girl like you? Even if my brain forgets because of stupidity, my eyes will not allow me to see you again without recalling the beauty between us~"
Such a sticky pronunciation, such an unsubtle wording, it is impossible for a Loen person to say such a thing... As expected, this guy is also an Intis person. Do I have a physique that attracts Intis people? Yesterday it was the ice cream seller, and today it is this playboy stall owner?
Caroline thought helplessly, walked to the stall, leaned over, and said patiently:
"Please don't say such misleading words. It's offensive to us Loen people."
"Oh, sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help myself at the moment, please don't blame me."
Ovis raised his hand and slapped his mouth, as if he was punishing himself.
And then, he immediately changed his tone. It was not as frivolous as before, but not serious at all. The playful smile on his face made him look like some kind of canine.
"So my beautiful lady, can you tell me how I can serve you today?"
Finally getting to the point, Caroline didn't waste any time on politeness and asked straight to the point:
"How much red hound blood do you have here?"
"Red hound blood. Yes, haha. At least 20 milliliters is definitely there."
Ovis kept smiling, his eyes fixed on Caroline.
"However, there is no gray matter left in the red hound's brain. I remember that you, Miss, had already bought the two main ingredients that day. Could you please tell me who of yours needs a 'Hunter' potion?"
Caroline's eyes widened slightly, and she was stunned. She immediately lowered her voice and looked at Ovis warily.
Before she opened her mouth to speak, Ovis seemed to sense her inner tension and immediately continued with his previous words, also lowering his voice and saying:
"Haha, please don't misunderstand me, beautiful lady. I didn't mean to pry into your secrets. It's just that you were too careless. You shouldn't have bought all the main ingredients for two potions at the same stall. This way, it would be easy for someone with ulterior motives to guess the specific potion formula."
"Although a Sequence 9 potion formula is not worth much, it can at least earn about 200 Rune gold pounds. This kind of 'charity' is not encouraged in the extraordinary world."
"You should thank your luck for meeting a gentleman like me who abides by the rules in Intis. You may not know that in our Intis, the least valuable potion formula is the 'Hunter' path. This is thanks to those lunatics who want to show the extraordinary to ordinary people all day long. Unfortunately, I am one of the lucky ones who heard the 'Hunter' potion formula from them."
Ovis explained to Caroline generously. After listening to his story, Caroline let down her guard a little, but she still did not give up her doubts.
No wonder he would specifically sell materials related to the Red Hound here. Could it be that he already knew that this was the main ingredient for the "Hunter" potion and was deliberately fishing here...
Caroline chuckled and said as if nothing had happened:
"How do you know that I came to buy the red hound's blood to make another 'Hunter' potion? This extraordinary material may be used for more than just potion ingredients, right?"
Ovis smiled at Caroline, shook his head and replied:
"Miss, you may not know that red hounds were once rampant in Intis because their value was not as good as other extraordinary animals. Excuse me, the only use of their blood is probably as a material for potions. I have been doing business for so long, and I have never seen them have any other uses. Well, some people have tried to cook with their blood. I heard that the finished product tastes spicy. I haven't tried it, but I guess it must not taste very good."
Is this... the Red Hound so miserable? It's almost being used as food? They are extraordinary animals after all...
Seeing that Caroline's expression became a little strange, Ovis added:
"I know what you're worried about. Are you worried that I'm selling the blood of the red hound to locate those who intend to become 'hunters'?"
"Well, your guess is not wrong, but this is not the main reason."
Caroline looked at Ovis's face and saw a hint of helplessness in it.
"What's the main reason?"
Ovis looked at Caroline, then took out a bottle of about 1 liter from a small box behind him, placed it on the stall, and said:
"The main reason is because there are so many of them, and if they don't sell quickly, I won't make any money."
The huge glass bottle was filled with a fiery red, semi-viscous liquid. Judging from Ovis's words, this liquid was the blood of the red-haired hound he was selling.
That's a lot! The potion recipe only requires 20 ml. This bottle alone is enough for many people to become "Hunters"!
The corner of Caroline's mouth twitched, and she quickly asked:
"Then you said my guess couldn't be wrong, why is that?"
Ovis reached out and patted the glass bottle containing blood, and replied:
"I should have told you that the people who wholesaled the blood to me are the ones who claim to bring extraordinary people to the world. They asked me to help them find people who can become their companions. That organization is called the Iron Blood Cross. You should have heard of it if you often learn about some news about the extraordinary world. Their members are all extraordinary people of the Hunter Path without exception."
So that's the reason... Does the Extraordinary World also have to sign this kind of commercial promotion contract to do wholesale business...
Caroline was silent for a while, perhaps still worried that she would give herself a bad label. After a short wait, Ovis said to Caroline with a cheerful smile:
"But don't worry. How could I reveal a beautiful lady like you to those rough men? They don't know how to be gentle with women at all."
"As for my questioning whether anyone else wants to become a 'Hunter', haha, I just want to expand my clientele. Emperor Roselle once said, 'A gentleman with high moral integrity knows how to use the right and reasonable means to obtain the money he deserves.' This is one of my favorite quotes, and I have always followed this principle since I started this business."
Caroline listened to Ovis' words, and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with the famous saying from Emperor Roselle.
Why does this sentence sound so much like "A gentleman loves money, but he gets it in a proper way"? Are the philosophical thoughts and worldviews of celebrities all similar?
Caroline pondered in confusion, but still said flatteringly:
"Emperor Roselle is indeed a capable man with great wisdom."
Seeing Caroline's approval, Ovis was visibly delighted.
"Of course. I think Emperor Roselle is the best person that has ever appeared in the thousands of years of history of Intis. None of the other nobles, generals, and archons can be compared with him. To be honest, I have admired Emperor Roselle very much since I was a child, and I even became obsessed with him at one point."
Seeing the sparkle in Ovis' eyes, Caroline laughed awkwardly.
But this was obviously not over yet. Ovis leaned forward a little and continued:
"Miss, you should have heard of the notes written in mysterious characters left by Emperor Roselle, right? Until now, no one has been able to decipher the contents. I believe that they must be the revelation and precious wealth left by Emperor Roselle to us, the descendants. Perhaps when those notes are deciphered, human development can be further improved!"
As he spoke, Ovis stretched out his left arm, rolled up his sleeve to his upper arm, and showed Caroline a tattoo on his left arm.
"Look! This is one of the words selected from Emperor Roselle's mysterious notebook. On the streets of Intis, this is a very popular choice for tattoos. I picked this word at first sight. I had some inspiration and felt that it would bring me wealth and smooth business."
Hearing this, Caroline curiously leaned forward and looked at Ovis's left arm.
Just as he said, it was indeed a very strange script. At least it did not belong to any alphabetic script, even the Loen language or the Intis language. It was also not an extraordinary script like the Hermes language. It was more like... square hieroglyphics?
Wait... is this one word or two? Why does it look familiar?
Caroline originally looked at Ovis's tattoo casually, but after seeing the text clearly, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
According to Ovis, that was one of the words in Emperor Roselle's mysterious notes, but to Caroline, it was more like a combination of two words.
It was not known whether it was because the handwriting of Emperor Roselle was too sloppy or the street tattoo artist's skills were not up to par, but from the crooked and twisted fonts, Caroline actually felt that the word on the left looked a bit like a "Bei", while the word on the right looked like a "Cai".
Putting them together, it is clearly the Chinese simplified character for "财" (wealth)!