Leisi, subserviently, led Xia Xiu to a two-story building. He awkwardly smiled at Xia Xiu and said, "Stephen is here. He's usually here during the day. I..."
Xia Xiu glanced at him. He naturally knew what Leisi was embarrassed about. The other party knew he was an Arcane Master, and that only leaders who were also Arcane Masters could deal with Xia Xiu, which was why Leisi unhesitatingly led Xia Xiu the way.
If it had been an ordinary person who had hit him, he would have long since called his brothers to fight alongside him.
Leisi believed that his leader, who was also an Arcane Master, would definitely be able to defeat this callow kid, but deep down, this act of being a guide was still very embarrassing.
"Thank you."
After Xia Xiu thanked Leisi, he walked straight to the door. He twisted the doorknob; the door was unlocked, so he opened it directly and walked in.
Xia Xiu's overly direct action left Leisi, who was standing outside the door, stunned. He just went in. He was now at a loss, not knowing whether to stay or leave.
The interior of the house looked unusually dim. The curtains by the windows were all drawn. These curtains had excellent light-blocking effects, and the outside light, filtered through them, appeared particularly weak.
Through the dim light, Xia Xiu looked at a painting hanging in the center of the room. It was a life-sized portrait.
The painting depicted a man with a white wig and formal attire. The man had his right hand tucked into the button-seam of his overcoat, and his left hand held a ceremonial sword. He had a pair of sharp eyes, which were currently fixed on the front.
Xia Xiu approached the painting, politely and gently took off his hat, and nodded slightly to the figure, saying, "Good afternoon, Mr. Stephen."
Silence.
The entire room remained quiet. Xia Xiu stood silently before the portrait, his eyes slightly narrowed.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Five minutes later, Stephen in the portrait spoke.
"Kid, do you need something from me?"
Stephen in the portrait withdrew his hand from his coat seam, then stretched his hand towards the edge of the painting. A chair was pulled out of thin air by him. He sat on the chair and raised his head, questioning the golden-haired, golden-eyed youth before him.
"Three Portland is about to land in Fog City."
"Oh."
"Deer Academy has started a new round of recruitment."
"Hmm."
"I want you to recommend me to Deer Academy."
"Oh, really."
Stephen raised his eyebrows, then said flippantly, "How can I, a Blank Gang member, be qualified to recommend a student to Deer Academy? I think you, kid, have an extraordinary physique; those owls should be bringing envelopes to you, eagerly inviting you to join Deer Academy."
"The Spirit of Knowledge will not deliver instructions to those with a Lineage," Xia Xiu continued, looking at Stephen's playful gaze.
"The Three Portland Municipal Council is organized in a mayor-council model, with the Three Portland Municipal Council exercising legislative and executive functions uniformly, supervised under the mayor's name. The Municipal Council is a unicameral body, with members elected city-wide, adopting a single transferable vote mechanism to achieve proportional representation."
As Xia Xiu's words progressed, Stephen's eyes gradually changed from playful to gloomy.
"Moreover, the Three Portland Municipal Council is one of the few cities that allows ghost voting—"
Clang—
The sharp blade was unsheathed. Stephen had walked out of the painting at some point, and the rapier in his hand was pressed against Xia Xiu's Adam's apple. If he pushed his hand forward, blood would gush out.
"Mr. Stephen, be careful."
Xia Xiu raised his hands and lightly smiled at Stephen, who stared coldly at Xia Xiu and said to him, "You know I'm a ghost, and you know I'm from Three Portland. You seem to know even more."
The reason Xia Xiu knew Stephen was because the latter was the transmigration NPC in the previous life responsible for issuing the quest to transfer to the Deer Academy Lineage in the Fog City area. Stephen was originally a ghost councilor of Deer Academy, but later, upon learning that the Sixth Seat of the Clock Tower's main subject, Colin Crevey, had created a unique portrait manifestation Arcane Master, he left Deer Academy and came to Fog City to study.
The portraits were manifested through spells and potions.
Whether it was a photograph or a painting, the Arcane Master of the Clock Tower could cast magic on it to make it move. Even if Colin Crevey took it with his ordinary camera, he could activate such photos with Arcane Master—as long as he used the correct potions on them.
The more invested, the more lifelike the portrait would be. Many Families of the Clock Tower began consciously creating these manifestation portraits, as these portraits were convenient for passing down their Legacy.
And with further research into this Arcane Master, Arcane Master discovered that portrait technology could also preserve ghosts. Ghosts could freely travel through portraits, and ghosts in portraits were easier to observe the Ether Ocean.
It perfectly conformed to the three major laws of Arcane Master.
Stephen left Deer Academy for Fog City because he was interested in portrait Arcane Master. He should have been diligently studying new technologies at the Clock Tower.
Unfortunately, he himself was a ghost who couldn't stand loneliness, so he always wanted to find some fun. Thus, to find fun, he joined the Blank Gang.
At this moment, Stephen's rapier slightly pierced the skin on Xia Xiu's throat. Tiny beads of blood gathered on the tip of the sword. Stephen looked sharply at Xia Xiu. If Xia Xiu didn't give him a reason why he couldn't kill him next, or if the reason was insufficient, then the next scene would be a Bloodline gush.
"Mr. Stephen..."
Xia Xiu shrugged helplessly, then light surged from his left hand, and the red book floated above his left hand.
Stephen looked at Xia Xiu's left hand, then he seemed to sense something and immediately retracted his rapier, then looked at Xia Xiu with an extremely disgusted expression. That look was as if Xia Xiu was something filthy—whoever saw him would have to retreat three paces.
"So it's a bastard from Heaven. How unlucky. You'd better not die here, I don't want to be marked as a heretic by Heaven's Think Tank Eden, and then inexplicably become the Gray Knight's prey."
"I'm still a newcomer, at the very bottom of the Think Tank's 'Book of Life' sequence," Xia Xiu said with a shy smile.
Who are you pretending to be innocent with, you bastard from Heaven? None of the Heaven's bastards are good, especially the squinty-eyed ones. Stephen looked at this despicable squinty-eyed brat with disdain.
"Heaven's red book. Shouldn't someone like you be in the Knight Order of the Holy See, the Tribunal, or the Burial Agency? Why are you eagerly running to me, begging me to go to Deer Academy?" Stephen then sneered at Xia Xiu.
Because I'm two-timing and afraid of being dismembered if found out. Xia Xiu muttered to himself, but on the surface, he said with a profound expression, "There's naturally a reason for me to do this."
"Heh, then why should I recommend someone with ulterior motives to my alma mater..."
"Thirty thousand central currency."
Stephen angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Am I the kind of person who would sell out my alma mater for money?"
"Add ten thousand."
"Deer Academy is my youth! All my knowledge was nurtured by her. How can you be so disrespectful of my feelings for my alma mater!"
"So—"
"You have to add more money!"