The two quickly arrived at the entrance of the cemetery. Although it was in the wilderness far from the village, the stuffy summer night was far from quiet. The wind carried the chirping of cicadas and the rustling of tree branches to their ears, but muffled in their hoods, they couldn't feel a hint of the cool breeze.
Of course, there wouldn't be obvious lights near the cemetery, only a faint glow from the caretaker's hut in the center of the cemetery.
The outer perimeter of the cemetery was enclosed by an iron fence. Due to the heavy rain a few days prior, the path was covered with dried mud. The gate seemed locked, but upon closer inspection, the two spiked fence gates were merely chained together.
Although it was a village cemetery, it looked relatively formal, perhaps because of its proximity to the City. After unchaining the lock and entering the cemetery, a straight path less than thirty steps long led directly to the caretaker's hut in the very center of the cemetery, while the rest of the cemetery contained graves from the past and present.
Unlike the Outsider's homeland, according to Delarion tradition and Tobesk's burial regulations, the height of a grave mound generally cannot exceed the length of a thumb, but it is permitted to use long white stone crystals to enclose the edge of the grave on the ground, making it easier to identify the grave's location. Following Miss Louisa and looking at the cemetery under the Moonlight, one could only see numerous similar-looking graves lying there, a terrifying chill in the silence.
The styles of the tombstones varied. Most small stone tombstones were directly embedded in the muddy ground in front of the grave, which was a cheaper burial method. Although Xia De had not visited Sparrow Detective in the City's public cemetery, his grave was probably of this style.
A tombstone that could stand upright on the ground, on the other hand, represented that the deceased had noteworthy achievements in life, or that their relatives were willing to pay for an expensive grave. For example, Xia De himself, if he unfortunately died tragically, then with his current savings and the "Delarion Honorary Knight Medal" he was about to receive, he would be qualified to have an upright tombstone.
"Hmm? What am I thinking?"
He silently asked himself.
After entering the cemetery, the temperature seemed to suddenly drop. The woman's voice in his mind had once asked Xia De if he was afraid of ghosts. Although Xia De was indeed not afraid, in this environment, he still couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"However, in a world with Miracles, visiting a cemetery at night seems like a good plot point for a story."
He thought to himself, amusing himself, when Miss Louisa suddenly stopped and looked to the left of the path.
Xia De also looked over. Two long and two short white stone crystals surrounded the grave, and by the Moonlight, he could faintly make out what was written on the tombstone: the unlucky fellow lying there died 24 years ago, his cause of death being choking on a peanut during breakfast. It was three days later when people discovered his body.
What was unusual was not the cause of death, but the Vibration of the stones on the grave. But this was not an earthquake. Under the gaze of Xia De and Miss Louisa, a rotten finger first emerged from the muddy ground, followed by a foul-smelling corpse hand piercing through the ground.
"Mr. Corpus, next time, why don't you use a malevolent spirit to scare me?"
Miss Louisa shouted loudly towards the lit caretaker's hut, a match appearing in her right hand under her robe. She simply twirled the match in the air, and the match head lit up.
She then threw the burning match towards the hand extending from the grave. Almost the moment the flame touched the rotten corpse, the fire flared up like fireworks. But it was only for the moment. When the light disappeared, only the blue smoke of the match rose from the ground, the grave was intact, and the extinguished matchstick lay quietly there.
"Another one of these little tricks."
Miss Louisa commented with dissatisfaction. Then, both of them heard a thud. Turning their heads, the door of the caretaker's hut opened.
Unlike Xia De's imagination, even for a village cemetery, the caretaker's hut was not a simple straw structure that looked like it would collapse with a puff. It was a real stone house. Inside the door was the dim light of a kerosene lamp, and a scrawny, pale-faced middle-aged man, looking like he had overindulged, stepped out of the light from the house, looking somewhat impatiently at the two people in black robes:
"I knew tonight wouldn't be peaceful. What do you want?"
Although he looked peculiar, the caretaker, Mr. Corpus, spoke normally.
Miss Louisa nudged Xia De, and Xia De knew it was best not to linger here:
"A small bag of bone meal, a bone whistle made from human hand bones, two eardrums, thirty milliliters of putrid blood, and a piece of human-faced stone."
The "human-faced stone" was a stone material cultivated from corpses using special techniques. Rather than a mineral, it was more like an alchemical material, and it was also the most expensive of these materials.
"Did you bring enough money?"
The impatient middle-aged man asked. Xia De noticed he was wearing a black apron, which inexplicably made Xia De think of a butcher:
"How much?"
"12 pounds."
"I can pay now."
"Then wait."
After a brief conversation, Mr. Corpus turned and returned to his hut. The two outside could hear him rummaging for things. Before long, he came out holding a paper bag.
He walked towards Xia De. As they got closer, Xia De smelled a familiar corpse odor (Note), which was definitely something that only someone who had been in contact with corpses for many years would acquire, and it wouldn't wash off.
Money and goods exchanged hands, and then Mr. Corpus returned to his hut and closed the door, showing no intention of bothering with the two any further. If he were running a normal shop, this attitude would probably ensure he'd never get rich.
Even including the time Mr. Corpus spent rummaging, the entire transaction process didn't exceed 10 minutes.
"Don't forget to re-wrap that chain when you leave."
This was the last thing he said to the two of them.
Miss Louisa shrugged at Xia De:
"He's always like this, don't be surprised."
Leaving the cemetery and entering the small grove, Xia De immediately used the materials in his arms to learn the Miracle. He didn't want to walk around carrying this pile of things.
"Xia De, you will gradually come into contact with more Ring術士 in the future, and then you will find that Mr. Corpus is definitely not the strangest person."
This was Miss Louisa's assessment of Mr. Corpus. She leaned against a tree, watching Xia De examine the bag of bone meal. Among the three effects of the Miracle 【Soul Echo】, the only active one, "Spirit Communication," required casting materials, which was bone meal. Fortunately, the dosage was very small, so this small cloth bag would last Xia De for a long time.
He then pressed the stone to his ear.
"But the Ring術士 I've encountered all seem very normal... except for Lasoya."
Xia De spoke, but his attention was mainly focused on the human-faced stone in his hand. This peculiar stone was made from corpses, and according to alchemists, they had the ability to speak because they absorbed fragmented souls. One of the steps in learning the Miracle was to listen to what the stone said.
As for the bone whistle, eardrums, and other miscellaneous materials, they were all for auxiliary use.
"Detective, that's because most of the Ring術士 you've encountered are formally trained by the academy and the Church. Ring術士 who are not formally employed have a greater risk of losing control and have stranger personalities."
She said this, then yawned. Seeing Xia De look over, she turned her head, her face slightly flushed. Although she had already taken off her hood, the Moonlight in the forest was even dimmer, so Xia De couldn't see her expression.
"What, haven't you seen a lady yawn?"
The Golden-haired girl asked.
"...I've seen a lady burp."
Xia De joked, then realized the joke was a bit out of place, as Miss Louisa reached out, broke off a branch above her head, and threw it at him.
(Mia running...)
In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday again. When Xia De opened his eyes from bed, he couldn't help but sigh at how quickly the week had passed since he started working at MI6 on Monday.
The most important thing today was to attend the commendation banquet at the royal estate outside the City in the evening. If it weren't for this, Xia De would have used the white stone crystal during the day for his first spatial teleportation.
Of course, he didn't waste the day. After breakfast, he first wrote another letter to his client, Mrs. Lemeier, to confirm more details about receiving the inheritance next week.
Then, Captain Rades visited again. Although Captain Rades did not receive a medal or similar award, he was also on the commendation list, so he invited Xia De to go with him in the evening.
After seeing Captain Rades off, he had planned to go out to mail the letter and then go to find Priest Augustus. He wanted to listen to the sermons at the Dawn Church and at least make himself known there.
Unexpectedly, before he had even changed into his Going out clothes, Xia De's superior, Mr. Anlos, showed up at his door.
He didn't come in, only stood in the hallway and talked to Xia De:
"Hamilton, there's been a change. The 'Delarion Honorary Knight Medal' you were originally promised might not be yours."
This gentleman had probably rushed over, his forehead covered in sweat as he gripped the doorframe behind him.
"Why? Oh, please come upstairs with me, we can sit and talk."
"No need to go upstairs, I have other things to attend to. You know, our department is never idle. As for your medal..."
He suddenly leaned closer to Xia De, his eyes wide but his voice very soft:
"I heard news that you're going to receive a greater reward than a medal."
Then he returned to his original position, and the middle-aged man wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, disregarding his image:
"Speaking of which, your house is really cool... So, be sure to arrive on time tonight, and be sure to dress appropriately. Absolutely do not be late."
"Greater than a medal? Is the royal family going to give me a title?"
Xia De was stunned for the moment, then asked in surprise.
"What good things are you thinking of?"
Mr. Anlos chuckled, waving his hand at him:
"What I heard might not be accurate, but the Dawn Church put in a lot of effort. You are truly clever, knowing to get support from the Orthodox Church. Oh, and the royal family, I don't know who it is, but someone is strongly helping you Strive for the reward. No, it's not Queen Diana or Miss Jialinna, it's another influential member of the royal family..."
He scrutinized Xia De, as if he wanted to reacquaint himself with the young man in front of him:
"In any case, absolutely do not be late tonight. Remember, absolutely do not be late."】}