“Do you feel like something is wrong here?”
Before Xia De could reasonably voice what he had heard, Professor Katia spoke up on her own initiative.
Leia looked at Xia De, who blinked, signaling her not to speak first:
“It is indeed wrong; this is too abnormal. In fact, this house itself gives me a very bad feeling.”
As he spoke, he walked to the window and then bent down to examine the broken-armed statue.
However, even with Xia De’s strength, he couldn’t lift the statue. And when he tried to turn the statue, blood actually dripped from its mouth.
The statue itself was just an ordinary object, seemingly using a clever mechanical device to allow it to spray liquid. This kind of morbidly humorous decoration once again proved that Mr. Jude was definitely problematic.
Seeing the statue’s peculiarity, the vigilant Old Professor also cautiously came to the window, looked outside, and then motioned for Xia De to check the door.
Xia De quietly walked to the door, leaned against it to listen for sounds outside, and raised a finger to signal everyone to be silent. After confirming no one was there, he carefully gripped the doorknob and shook it, then found the door was locked from the outside.
“There really is something strange!”
The folklore professor was highly vigilant. He asked his student to try pushing the window, then explained to the reporter and assistant:
“Those of us who study folklore often encounter various strange things, so we must be cautious. This Mr. Jude is probably strange.”
“Teacher, the window won’t open.”
Mr. Scott said somewhat anxiously.
“Don’t be anxious; don’t be anxious no matter what happens!”
The Old Professor reprimanded, then picked up the cane leaning against the chair. He gripped the cane with his left hand and the handle with his right, pulling sharply, and surprisingly, a very thin rapier was drawn out. Even in the dim light, the rapier seemed to gleam.
Seeing Xia De and the reporter curious, the Old Professor explained:
“It’s normal for us as folklore scholars to carry personal weapons when conducting field research.”
He then said to his student:
“Although your academic performance at school is excellent, you still have much to learn if you want to become an outstanding folklorist.”
From Mr. Scott’s expression, he also didn’t know that his teacher’s cane contained such a thing.
“Alright then.”
Xia De paused, reached into his coat, then pulled out a black revolver and explained:
“As a reporter’s assistant and bodyguard, it’s normal to carry such a weapon when going to such a dangerous neighborhood. Don’t worry, I have a legal gun permit.”
The latter part of the explanation greatly reassured the scholars.
After everyone sensed something was amiss, Professor Katia tried to break the window glass to escape. But breaking the glass would certainly make a loud noise, and if the people outside rushed in, the four of them couldn’t possibly leave through the broken window in the moment.
The Professor, holding his dangerous weapon, searched for gaps in the window, wanting to pry it open, muttering that there was no crowbar in the room. Xia De and Leia exchanged glances, confirming their plan, then Xia De suggested:
“Now he’s locked us in here instead of a group of people rushing in to tie us up, which means he won’t act against us for a short time. Why don’t we search the study first, confirm what’s wrong with Mr. Jude, and then make a plan.”
Staying in a dangerous location is one of the most perilous plot points in horror novels, but for Xia De and Leia, the current situation was still under control. Even Xia De hadn’t had the chance to get close enough to determine Mr. Jude’s identity, and it was even less likely that Mr. Jude knew they were Ring術士.
The Professor accepted Xia De’s suggestion, perhaps also feeling that their side was still safe after seeing the pistol.
The four of them searched the study together. There wasn’t much on the desk, but the three walls of bookshelves would take a long time to search:
“Leave the bookshelves to me.”
The Professor said confidently:
“I’ve been around books for years and understand the books on these shelves. I’ll definitely find things faster than you.”
So Xia De searched the desk, Leia went to search the tea table over there, and the two scholars searched the bookshelves.
The desktop was very tidy. What lay at Mr. Jude’s hand was a New World adventure novel, with a leaf as a bookmark inside, which was of no value. To the left of the desk were four drawers, and to the right were one drawer and an openable cabinet.
As expected, all the drawers and the cabinet had locks, but they opened automatically with a light touch from Xia De.
“There’s another gun here.”
Pulling open the left-side drawers one by one, the top drawer contained a paper box with a pistol of a model Xia De couldn’t identify and several bullets. The Old Professor knew how to use a pistol, so Xia De gave him the gun. In the second drawer, there were some scattered bottles and jars; Xia De immediately understood these were spellcasting materials.
The third and fourth drawers on the left contained documents and letters in file folders. Xia De briefly flipped through them and found they were all related to Mr. Jude’s antique business.
Then he reached out and pulled open the top right drawer. His hand felt nothing unusual when it touched the drawer, but as soon as he pulled it open a crack, a shriveled severed hand actually reached out from the crack, flying up and stabbing towards Xia De’s throat.
“Hmm?”
Because he was searching a Ring術士’s desk, Xia De had already been on guard. As soon as the severed hand appeared, the woman’s voice in his mind warned him. Xia De raised his right hand, and Moonlight flew from his hand, precisely splitting the severed hand into two.
Because everyone else was examining other places, no one noticed this scene. It wasn’t until the severed hand fell to the floor with a thud that Leia and the scholars noticed.
“Oh~”
Mr. Scott, who directly witnessed this scene, covered his mouth to prevent himself from screaming. Professor Katia also looked grim, not expecting such a thing to appear. Leia, meanwhile, walked over worriedly:
“This Mr. Jude really has collected quite a few strange items. Mr. Watson, are you alright?”
She was explaining the origin of the hand.
“I’m fine. I touched something strange just now and pulled it out, didn’t expect it to be this. I was startled.”
This severed hand was an alchemical item; presumably, as soon as the drawer was pulled open, it would fly out and choke people. Such a thing was very dangerous for ordinary people without knowledge, but merely a trifle for Ring術士.
“Let’s keep looking. Mr. Jude probably has a big secret.”
Xia De said. Professor Katia nodded, whispering something to her student, probably comforting him not to be scared by the severed hand. Leia then quietly said:
“Before coming, for safety, I arranged people nearby. I have a steam bomb on me; as soon as the bomb explodes, the Coldwater Port garrison will surround this area within twenty minutes.”
“Understood, but don’t do that unless absolutely necessary, otherwise you won’t be able to explain why you’re here.”
The cooperation between the Royal Family and Zaras Academy was not official, meaning the Orthodox Church did not know that Princess Leia was a Ring術士.
“No problem. Aren’t you curious why I carry a steam bomb with me?”
“Isn’t Dorothy the same?”
Xia De said.
There was nothing else in the drawer containing the severed hand; the top right drawer was purely an anti-theft measure. Finally, only the cabinet on the lower right remained. When opened, it surprisingly contained an iron-gray safe.
This kind of safe required simultaneous rotation of a combination and a key to open. Xia De touched it with his hand and even felt a hint of elemental power, indicating that other unknown Ring術士 methods were protecting this safe.
“Door Key.”
He carefully touched the surface of the safe with his finger, then clearly felt a force resisting the effect of the spell.
Xia De narrowed his eyes, very carefully controlling his spirit to maintain the spell’s operation. The feeling now was like he and an unseen force were pushing a rock against each other. But fortunately, the safe’s power was ultimately limited, and the spell’s power came from Xia De. Therefore, after a few minutes, as the sound of gears turning and chains clattering came from inside the safe, the keyhole and the somewhat rusty combination dial rotated simultaneously.
With a click, the distinct sound of a piston popping open was heard, and then the safe door automatically opened.
“Opening safes, is that also a skill of a reporter’s assistant?”
Mr. Scott, who heard the safe open nearby, asked with extreme surprise. Those drawers might not have been locked, but for the safe to open like this was truly abnormal:
“There was a note with the password in the drawer, and I found the key under the cabinet. This teaches us a lesson: don’t casually write down passwords.”
Xia De vaguely explained, then looked inside the cabinet:
“Oh!”
His exclamation of surprise successfully diverted the young scholar’s attention.
The first thing he took out was an oil painting. The painting itself was fine; what was problematic was its content. This was not an abstract painting style, but a rather realistic, almost line-drawing style. On a turbulent red ocean, a reef abruptly stood, and on the reef was a terrifying creature with a human body and a fish tail.
It clearly had the face of a human female, but that face displayed an ugliness Xia De had never seen. Its entire upper body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of mucous membrane, yet it also looked like a transparent layer of scales.
The merman’s expression, looking out of the painting, was like a cruel smile, yet also like it was gazing at the person looking at the painting. The red ocean, black reef, dim yellow sky, and pale merman—although the painting itself was an ordinary object, this sense of realism made even Xia De feel a chill down his spine.
And the merman’s upper body in the painting was at least eighty percent similar to the merman form of the Fishbone Pirate Ship’s captain after his transformation; this was a familiar of an evil god.
“Oh! The merman in the painting is blinking!”
The young scholar who saw the painting at the same time as Xia De wanted to scream. Leia immediately looked towards the door, while Professor Katia rushed over and quickly covered her student’s mouth.
At least half a minute later, Leia, who was leaning against the door, slightly shook her head, indicating it was temporarily safe. The Professor released Mr. Scott’s mouth; the latter looked pale with terror, his eyes bulging from tension, the bloodshot in his eyeballs looking like he hadn’t slept for three days.
And just a few minutes ago, this was a very healthy and energetic young man.