“You have come into contact with ‘blasphemy’.”
“What?”
He wanted to go around the grape trellis, but a voice suddenly appeared in his mind. The elements of blasphemy are mostly related to evil gods. Doctor Schneider once said that once you come into contact with this element, the correct approach is to turn around and run.
Xia De also wanted to turn around and run, but there was still a person in front of him, and the weeping Poet seemed not to notice Xia De walking nearby.
“Is the Poet a Ring術士?”
He continued to move forward, asking uneasily in his heart.
“No.”
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief, marveling at how useful “another me” was, and his steps became lighter. He didn't look around, but walked straight through under the grape trellis.
Only when he was completely away from the area did he relax and lean against a flowerbed to stop. He was really worried that a pair of hands would suddenly drag him into the darkness.
“Is there something hidden under the grape trellis? Oh, it seems I can’t run around anymore, otherwise something will really happen.”
Tonight's strange luck was truly incomprehensible. Xia De felt that it was best for him to find a safe place and not run around anymore.
He looked around after recovering, and this was actually the maze area of the garden. The garden maze built with fences and bushes, although it wouldn't make people get lost, once you rashly walk in, you definitely can't get out without spending some time.
Xia De looked at his pocket watch. It had been almost an hour since he parted ways with Priest Augustus. He didn't know if he could play a role in the upcoming major event, but at least he couldn't sit here all night.
He continued to walk forward, turning left at every fork in the fence and tree wall. Before long, he heard voices, and his heart rejoiced, thinking of following others out, but he stopped when he heard what they were saying:
“Nightingale, do you understand? You are not Gray Headed Eagle. How can we, who are hidden in Tobesk City, not be afraid of MI6? How dare you meet me here? All for the glory of Carson Rick... Wait, did I hear someone approaching?”
“Spies from Carson Rick United Kingdom? This one night, I've already encountered countless acquaintances, frustrated officers, strange Ring術士, and foreign spies. What kind of crazy night is this? Did the rhode cards just now overdraft a day's worth of luck? How is that 20-point dice roll affecting me?”
He turned around and left, unwilling to get involved with such trouble.
At the next intersection, he turned right, and soon heard footsteps again. This time the footsteps were dense, obviously more than one or two people, which relieved Xia De. He immediately walked quickly forward, and then, turning a corner at the end of the hedge, he saw the Ring術士 team under the Sun and Earth Church.
Xia De had seen them at the beginning of the banquet. Dozens of people were all present, and they were also very surprised by the young man who suddenly appeared from around the corner.
The sturdy man leading them seemed to be the Captain. He looked at Xia De, and then suddenly asked:
“Sir, why are you attending the banquet at Lakeview Manor?”
It was clearly ordinary language and ordinary narration, but Xia De had an urge to blurt out his thoughts.
“The power of a Ring術士! Fortunately, he didn’t expect that I am not an ordinary person.”
While thinking this, he didn't suppress the urge to tell the truth, because the truth didn't matter:
“Of course, it’s for playing rhode cards.”
He spoke without thinking, but after speaking, his face immediately showed a deliberately feigned expression of surprise.
“You, you, what kind of power is this?”
While speaking, he covered his mouth and retreated. Xia De thought he might be really good at acting.
The Captain of the Ring術士 team, the man who looked quite strong, glanced at Xia De, then stepped forward, patted his shoulder very kindly, and looked him in the eyes at close range. The middle-aged man's eyes were brown:
“Sir, forget that you have seen us, and then do what you should do.”
Xia De felt a slight dizziness.
The whispering sound prompted, “Pretend to be disoriented.” Xia De immediately narrowed his eyes and swayed his body clockwise like a tumbler.
He thought his disguise was ridiculous, but the Ring術士 of the Sun and Earth Church obviously believed him. So they ignored Xia De and hurried past him with a team of people.
Xia De noticed that the youngest girl in the team, with long brown hair, glanced at him as she passed, but she didn't recognize that Xia De had met her in front of the pet shop a few days ago, and then she hurriedly left.
Xia De remained in that ridiculous posture until he was sure he couldn't hear the footsteps of the Ring術士 team before leaving.
“My luck seems to have suddenly turned bad. Whether it was eavesdropping near the stable, encountering foreign spies just now, or meeting the Orthodox Church’s Ring術士 here, is this the price of good luck? However, meeting the Captain should be a good thing.”
Xia De thought to himself, but the woman in his mind asked back:
“Why can't these be part of good luck?”
“What's good about these things?”
He asked in confusion, walking quickly along the elegant courtyard path lit by brass gas lamps with his head down. Suddenly, someone patted him on the back. Xia De thought “bad luck” was coming again, but when he turned around, he saw the smiling blonde Writer, Dorothy Louisa.
She was wearing a pretty long dress, but the style was relatively conservative, and the pleats on the hem were decorated with white lace ornaments.
“Oh, this must be good luck!”
If it weren't for the fact that they weren't very familiar with each other yet, Xia De would have wanted to hug her.
“What good luck... What's that smell on you?”
The blonde Writer asked with a smile, her green eyes scanning Xia De up and down, wondering why he was wearing a shirt and holding a coat. Xia De thought there was still a lingering smell of horse manure and patted his clothes somewhat awkwardly.
“Detective, why are you here? Just in time, I just met Luvia. She actually came back from Carson Rick yesterday, but she didn't attend our study group. Let me introduce you to each other.”
Xia De thought with confusion:
“Luvia? Who is that... Oh, it’s Miss Luvia Annett.”
Miss Luvia Annett was the only Ring術士 in Doctor Schneider's team whom Xia De had not met. She was a three-ring Ring術士, whose main job was a staff member of the Prophet Association, and a joint training student of Saint Byron's Comprehensive College and the Prophet Association.
“Let's talk about this later, there's something more important now.”
The two left the well-lit courtyard path together and entered the dimly lit bushes nearby.
Xia De briefly talked about his encounters with various strange people tonight, skipped the rhode cards part, and then talked about his conversation with Priest Augustus an hour ago:
“Priest Augustus said that the Church is very likely to close in tonight and arrest Mrs. Lasoya of Mercury Blood, who is also Jack Deon. The Priest asked me to inform you to leave as soon as possible and not to risk for the forged philosopher's stone.”
Miss Louisa's expression also became serious when she heard this:
“Tonight is indeed not suitable for action, but your luck is really good. The Orthodox Church’s Ring術士 team usually deliberately avoids ordinary people when they go out on missions, and you actually encountered them three times in one night... Detective, you absolutely must not approach the mansion. Since you and the Priest separated an hour ago, then...”
“Dorothy!”
They both heard someone quietly calling Miss Louisa’s name, and looked towards the courtyard path under the gas lamp, seeing a young lady in a blue evening gown with neat short brown hair, walking over with two glasses of wine.
For some reason, Xia De understood that this lady, who looked slightly older than himself, was the Diviner, Luvia Annett. The last member of the Ring術士 team finally appeared.
He was not happy, but instead thought in surprise:
“Wait, they all appeared here? Oh, what on earth is going to happen?”