Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1701 - 1700: The Soul That Will Ultimately Return

Chapter 1701: Chapter 1700: The Soul That Will Ultimately Return

The doctor left alone, and Shard returned to the main entrance of the Three Cats Inn, taking a seat opposite Durut Giles.

He did not intend to have a meal with him here and said directly:

"The expert in curses has already seen your situation. The potion to lift the curse will be mailed here over the weekend. You should rent a room here as a communication address, otherwise Mrs. Sangmi, the lady owner, may not be willing to receive the mail for you."

"Just one antidote is needed?"

The still pale-faced man said in astonishment:

"If it were that simple, I..."

"That’s because you didn’t find an expert. Remember to be a good person in the future, and don’t go robbing others’ tombs anymore. The contract you need to sign with me will also be sent along with the antidote. After signing, send it to Professor Manning; he knows where my base is in the city."

Shard added, and the man showed an excited expression on his face:

"Thank you so much, if not for you, I..."

"Don’t be so happy just yet."

Shard interrupted him, looked around to ensure no one was at the nearby tables:

"You know, the father of this ’young lady’ beside you is a Thirteen Ring, and a Thirteen-Ring Diviner who defected from the Prophet’s Society. He left a prophecy in the bloodline of all descendants, saying that the family would reunite one day. I am not sure if this includes their souls."

The soul of the girl floated beside the man, clapping her hands as Shard finished speaking. She actually started singing the prophecy herself:

"When the Day of Healing arrives~ the dispersed bloodline returns to the family’s origin~ we shall drink the wine of immortality together~ escaping the world’s prison~"

"Well, it seems it does include her."

Shard shook his head:

"And when you escaped from that island, it’s impossible her father didn’t notice. Letting her leave so easily, I’m afraid, is because he believes she will definitely return."

"What?"

Giles widened his eyes in surprise:

"She still has to return to that ghostly place?"

"I thought you would be more shocked about that Thirteen Ring... I don’t know for sure; I’m not a diviner. But there is a significant possibility. Since you are willing to let her follow you, you may also be dragged into this. I must warn you in advance, this matter is very far-reaching, and you should be careful."

The man did not know what to say:

"Then what should I do?"

"Are you willing to let her leave? I can let her continue on the path. After all, that is where she should go."

Giles looked at the girl’s soul swaying as she clung to his arm and shook his head at Shard:

"I must make sure she fully recovers her humanity and sanity before sending her off. I have no intention of keeping her forever, but not now. Besides, I have a feeling that her father would not allow her to walk away so easily."

Shard shook his head and said no more:

"If anything happens in the future, do not go through Professor Manning to contact me; it would bring trouble to the professor. If there is something, hold a red rose, at six-thirty in the morning or evening, at the fountain statue in the core area of Saint Delan Square. If my people see you, they will let me know."

"Okay, sir, please allow me to express my gratitude once again."

Shard stood up, but before leaving, he held onto the chair back, towering over Giles with a warning:

"Also, Draleon has an extremely sound legal system. Even though she is already dead, her age still falls outside the legal limits."

Durut Giles’s face turned crimson red. He wanted to explain to Shard, but Shard had already turned and left.

Although it was easy to find a carriage near Hymn Square, because of the distance between North City and Midtown, when Shard got off the carriage at Saint Delan Square, the gas lamps surrounding the square were already flickering with a comforting warm yellow glow.

When reaching for his keys, Shard also saw the workers employed by the City Hall setting up a ladder under the gas streetlight to the left of his window, climbing up to clean the glass cover of the gas lamp.

Gas lamps are not electric lights, so cleaning while they are running is still okay. But it remains dangerous, and Shard stood there watching for a while, unsure of what reason to use to remind them.

By the time Shard returned home, Luviya was indeed already there, still busy on the third floor. As the night of the Lunar Eclipse on the thirtieth of Sowing Moon approached next Wednesday, Luviya’s enthusiasm for work was growing stronger.

"No need to call me for dinner together; just bring me a portion when you and Mia go to eat!"

The voice of the violet-eyed girl came from higher up as Shard carried the welcoming Mia up the stairs.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Anything works, just something simple."

Shard could almost imagine Luviya hurriedly speaking while noting things down at the table.

Shard now needed to go to the Green Lake Hotel to collect the four blood samples, so he could postpone the meal for a bit. But Mia misunderstood Shard, thinking he was just coming home and going out again to eat without taking her, so meowing, she followed him to the basement, and Shard could only turn her into a toy to bring her to Green Lake.

When coming out from the back door of the hotel, the sky outside was completely dark. Although there was water everywhere in Trash Alley, at least it was no longer raining.

The boy living in the trash can had also returned to his residence. When Shard knocked open the lid of the trash can, the boy appeared with his frail puppy, and as Mia was turned back, she let out an immature bark, which was quickly subdued by Shard’s hand.

"Good evening, sir."

Even though he had seen Shard appear here many times, the boy still appeared a bit timid. Shard smiled at him and handed him a piece of bread:

"I haven’t seen you these days, where do you go when it rains?"

"There are many bridges on the Duin River, and you can take shelter from the rain under the bridge arches. Some old homeless people even make fires, and if I give them something, I can warm myself there too."

This answer was not unexpected. Shard nodded:

"Be careful these days... have any homeless people you know gone missing recently?"

He again thought of those bodies he saw at the various hideouts of "Rot-Eye Barry", which had been turned into water ghosts.

"Yes, but homeless people always disappear someday, just like the sun always rises, it’s normal."

The boy said, then cautiously waved at Shard and shrunk back into the trash can with his puppy.

Speaking of which, although Shard rented a room at the Green Lake Hotel as his temporary communication address, he hadn’t actually stayed here overnight or even opened the room a few times.

If it weren’t for the room number on the key, he would even need to ask "her" for the exact location of the room. Upon opening the room on the third floor, Shard was surprised to find the gas lamp inside was turned on.

"Did the room service come by? But didn’t I say no need to clean the room?"

He pondered in surprise, already feeling alert. A faint moonlight appeared in his hand as he continued into the room, only to see the familiar brown-haired female sorcerer sitting in a chair by the desk, reading.

The Witch Detection Badge had no reaction, proving it was Megan and not Audrey:

"Good evening, Megan."

"Good evening, I was just wondering when you’d come over."

The elegantly made-up witch stood up, and Shard also saw the test tube rack on the desk, which held four slender test tubes filled with blood. Each tube was labeled to help Shard analyze and determine the source of the blood.

"You brought your cat again?"

She asked with a smile, then explained:

"I got the key from the lady proprietor downstairs, Helena Green. With so many people downstairs during dinner time, I didn’t want to wait for you there... Do I need to apologize to you for entering your dwelling without permission?"

She asked tentatively, and Shard shook his head:

"No need to apologize, and you know I don’t live here."

This room was the best kind at the Green Lake Hotel, with a living room besides the entrance, a bedroom, and a washroom. It’s hard to find a better room compared to other hotels in Green Lake City. Apart from the desk, there was also a sofa set in the living room, and probably Megan had someone send over tea and fresh fruits, as the coffee table wasn’t empty.

Noticing the cat eyeing the fruit platter on the coffee table greedily, Shard sat down on the sofa and began slicing an apple with his hands. Seeing Shard not planning to leave immediately, Megan sat across from him:

"It seems we still can’t go to the island tomorrow; the church has temporarily blocked the waters of Green Lake, even affecting the passing merchant ships. At this rate, it might really be next week."

"Then I’ll come by on Sunday if not, then next week, there’ll be a chance eventually."

Shard said as he reached for his pocket:

"Speaking of the island, what do you think this is?"

With that, he took out the white crystal key he obtained from Durut Giles that afternoon. The witch’s expression instantly turned to one of delight upon receiving the key:

"The third key! Where did you get this from?"

"From Durut Giles, the owner of the fountain pen, the low ring sorcerer who led the tomb robbers onto the island two years ago."

He didn’t reveal that Durut Giles was in Tobesk City now but shared the other experiences of the afternoon, including the matter of the spirit of Laster Edwards, the eldest daughter who died young.

Megan and Audrey were descendants of the fifth generation, so the second generation’s eldest daughter who died young was their... grandfather’s aunt, Outlander couldn’t find a proper term for a moment. Anyway, Megan’s relation to Laster Edwards wasn’t as close as Lecia and Miss Galina’s relationship.

The witch listened intently. After Shard finished, she wasn’t most concerned about getting revenge for their ancestor’s grave being robbed but rather asked another matter:

"You said there are Evil Spirit Demons left from the Third Era on the island?!"