“No problem, this is what I came to get.”
Xia De nodded, simply re-wrapping the cosmetic box with newspaper:
“The Lady did not send any payment for you.”
“She already paid. She threatened us and then bought this at a low price.”
The Ring術士 of Mercury Blood said in a muffled voice, glancing at the stranger:
“You were hired by The Lady, right? She doesn’t want us to know her true identity. But we can probably guess, with this way of doing things, she must be a Witch from the Witch Council, just don’t know which specific one. Those crazy women…”
“You don’t have to tell me your guesses.”
Xia De stopped him. He hadn't forgotten that Mercury Blood were not good people. Even if what they said was true, it was better to listen less.
“Oh? Are you afraid of hearing too much and being silenced? Those women who claim to have inherited the legacy of the Ancient Magic Witches are quite averse to men. Hiring you is just using you. She probably doesn't want people to know of her existence, so you definitely don't know who she is either. Or rather… you’re not a man at all?”
The other party asked again in a provocative tone. Xia De deliberately sneered, expressing disdain. This method of provoking conflict was too low-level.
Ignoring the other party, he watched the coachman, slowly retreating. Only after reaching a safe distance did he turn and leave.
Tonight, a thick fog permeated the air. After just a few minutes of briefly picking up the goods, standing in the middle of the bridge made it difficult to see the bridge entrance.
The man dressed as a coachman saw that Xia De wasn't listening, chuckled, and then also tried to get into the carriage to leave from the other side of the Tower Bridge. But at that moment, a figure wearing a black robe and a hood suddenly shot up from under the bridge.
Her timing was very clever, utilizing both the heavy fog and the relaxed state after the handover was complete. After getting onto the bridge, she rushed towards the coachman. The coachman casually threw a punch forward. Mercury-like liquid enveloped his arm, causing the fist to cut through the air with an astonishing shriek.
The hooded figure agilely dodged sideways, then summoned her Destiny Ring to the sound of ringing bells. The Destiny Ring spun, and the brass-colored inspiration rune 【Frozen Man】 flickered. In the Summer night fog, the rustling sound of water vapor sublimating could actually be heard.
Xia De turned to look at this sudden battle. The mercury on the coachman's fist seemed to be having problems in the low temperature, but the hooded figure still dared not easily confront him head-on.
Both combatants summoned their Destiny Ring, and the rising steam mist made visibility even blurrier.
“Stranger, this is my conflict with Mercury Blood. This has nothing to do with you. Leave here.”
The woman’s voice came from under the hood. Xia De, who was about to leave, stopped. He carefully placed the newspaper-wrapped cosmetic box on the bridge surface, and behind him, the Destiny Ring belonging to a One-Ring Arcanist gradually appeared.
“One-Ring Arcanist? Come help me, you won’t lose out.”
The man from Mercury Blood shouted.
“Of course, no problem.”
Xia De said, then quickly walked towards the two entangled individuals.
The current situation was evenly matched, but the hooded person seemed to have a slight advantage due to the surprise attack.
The brass-colored inspiration aura emanating from the hooded person's body was countering the power of the mercury on the coachman's fist. Both of their Destiny Rings spun. Both the hooded person and the coachman were Four-Ring Warlocks, but clearly the latter was more skilled in direct combat.
Xia De had already passed through the thick fog on the bridge and approached the two. A silver light flickered in his right hand, drawing a dazzling streak of light in the air. That light was extremely bright and dazzling. Appearing in this Summer night shrouded in thick fog, it actually made the coachman lose focus for a moment:
“So beautiful… No, why is this light coming towards me…”
The Silver Moon Slash instantly struck his face. Although he saw that the opponent was a One-Ring Arcanist and knew that the power of Miracle would not be very strong, the subconscious alarm in his heart still made him raise his other arm to block.
However, he didn't expect that the silver light actually cut a long, thin wound on his arm. Blood mixed with a silver sheen flowed from the wound, quickly soaking the clothing on his shoulder.
“No! How could you cut through my skin?!”
Xia De knew that the huge difference in Ring levels could not be compensated for by the Divine Radiance state. Therefore, a second Silver Moon light trace immediately shot out from his hand. At the same time, a thin silver mist gradually gathered from around, and Moon Shadow's Illusion hid his figure from the enemy.
Facing the second Moon trace, the coachman chose to dodge immediately this time, but while he dodged the distant Silver Moon light, he didn't dodge the hooded figure close by.
The hooded person grabbed his shoulder. As her fair hand tightened and her knuckles bulged, Xia De understood the meaning of the incantation:
“At the end of the fairy tale, the firelight takes away the traces of life!”
A dazzling firelight shot up into the night fog. The coachman, held by the hooded person, burned like a torch. He screamed, breaking free from the hooded person's grasp, and then was struck on his left arm by the third Silver Moon light.
It still only broke through the inner layer of mercury protection on his skin, but it wasn't fatal. The coachman in the firelight violently broke free from the hooded person's hand, then leaped fiercely, and in the thick fog, jumped into the Terraril River nearby.
The hooded person hesitated for a moment, then, following the traces of firelight in the air, also jumped off the bridge. When Xia De dispelled the illusion and leaned over the bridge to look down, he couldn't penetrate the thick fog to see the water surface or the two people.
So he could only activate Blood Echo to observe the bloodstains. There was indeed a long string of red halos in the air, but once in the water, the blood was quickly washed away, making further tracking impossible.
“So the nemesis of the tracking ability Blood Echo is water surfaces or rivers.”
He thought this, shrugged, and exchanged glances with the startled horse for a moment before turning to pick up the cosmetic box that had been placed on the ground.
Five minutes later, Xia De met up with a soaking wet Louisa under the bridge. She had already taken off her hood, and her drenched golden hair clung to the side of her face, which further highlighted the Golden-haired girl's bad mood:
“Good evening, Detective. It’s a coincidence to meet you again. It’s so unlucky that he escaped even in this situation!”
She said dejectedly, recognizing Xia De from the silver Moonlight from earlier. Xia De, on the other hand, recognized Louisa by her voice; it was very simple, her voice was very distinctive.
“This is a coincidence. Someone hired me to retrieve an item, so I happened to be here.”
He shook the item in his hand.
“I was on the bridge just now and saw it. Is that The Lady’s mission? It’s quite simple.”
Louisa said while tidying her hair. She didn't seem to care that The Lady's trading partner was Mercury Blood. As long as it wasn't a deep-level cooperation with Mercury Blood, but merely buying and selling items, it was a very common thing. Moreover, according to Xia De's information, “The Lady” had a high status and powerful strength, so she absolutely could not be a cooperation partner of Mercury Blood.
“Detective, do you still have that water that can heal?”
After tidying her wet hair, not bothering to deal with her still-dripping clothes, Louisa asked Xia De.
“Are you injured?”
He asked while taking out some water from a small bottle he carried, lightly touching it to make the water surface emit a silver sheen.
“Just a minor injury. I was punched in the river. He seems to have the ability to transform into a fish, or it’s a relic. I’m fine, just feel a bit uncomfortable in my lungs.”
Louisa said, but learning from the previous hiccup, this time she only drank a very small amount, then avoided Xia De’s gaze and poured the remaining water onto her abdomen, before handing the bottle back to Xia De.
During this process, Xia De politely looked away, pretending to be interested in the Tower Bridge and Tobesk City's night scenery.
“Do you need Cindy's Silver Moon Gift?”
Xia De asked again, casually handing his robe, which he used to conceal his identity, to the soaking wet Louisa. It was Summer now, and the robe's purpose for Xia De was only to hide his identity, not to keep him warm.
Louisa didn't expect him to do this, and thanked him quietly before wrapping herself tightly in the robe.
Although she could make others catch fire, she couldn't use fire to warm and dry herself. After all, in no version of the match girl story did the match girl manage to redeem herself with flames.
“No need for healing for now. That punch didn’t contain any mental attack components. Also, your Silver Moon Slash is really good. It can even break through a Four-Ring Warlock’s defense, but the power is still not enough, after all, the Ring level is too low…”
She sniffed.
Xia De's reason for appearing was to help someone pick up goods, while Louisa's appearance dressed like that in the middle of the night was still for Doctor Schneider's academy bounty.
Although the doctor was bedridden now, Louisa, as a partner, could still do some things.
Currently, under the pursuit of the Orthodox Church, the Mercury Blood organization had dispersed into smaller groups throughout the City. Louisa, while tracking one of their important members, learned of tonight's transaction. Therefore, she thought about whether she could capture a live one to ask about the forged philosopher's stone, but she didn't expect that even with Xia De's unexpected help, she still failed.
“Now all Ring術士 in Tobesk City know that the Five Gods Church has reached an agreement that next week, the Sun Church will send a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer to fill the temporary vacancy of a Thirteenth Ring in the Tobesk Diocese. The Cultists and Mercury Blood are eager to hide, scattering important items and information throughout the City, entrusted to ordinary people for safekeeping. So now is a good opportunity to find the forged philosopher's stone.”
“Then do we still need to continue looking for that guy who went into the water? If we can find where he came ashore, I think my eyes can find him.”
Xia De suggested that as long as the guy was still bleeding, he would definitely leave traces after getting out of the water.
But he shook the item in his hand again:
“I can only stay for half an hour. This thing needs to be delivered to the employer as soon as possible.”
