"Teacher, Teacher!"
Mr. Scott, still shaken, pointed at the painting Xia De had put back into the safe. Professor Katia shook her head.
"Calm down, Scott. Do you think the work of a folklorist is just to read documents in an office? Calm down, oh, Scott, you're a good lad, calm down!"
"Teacher, have you seen this kind of thing before?"
"I've seen worse. This is the first time I've brought you out to see the world. If you're still willing to study with me, you'll encounter many more things sooner or later."
The young scholar looked terrified. Professor Katia was slightly disappointed and then said to Xia De,
"Sir, judging by your expression, you're more than just..."
"Yes."
Xia De took out his identification and flashed it in front of Professor Katia.
"MI6. We're investigating a batch of contraband. I'm an agent on loan, and Princess is my superior."
This explanation was also acceptable.
Professor Katia was clearly a worldly person. She took the identification, glanced at it, and knew it was real.
"Then it seems we've really run into big trouble this time. Agent, what else is in the safe?"
"Deeds and titles. It looks like besides this house, most of the houses on this entire alley belong to Jude. There are also some jewels, banknotes, and peculiar badges and seals."
The professor took the stone seal Xia De had taken out, looked at it, frowned in thought, and then suddenly her eyes widened.
"Scarlet Cult!"
"What?"
Xia De asked in surprise. Mr. Scott, still shaken, was also puzzled, but Leia thought for a moment and offered an explanation.
"Scarlet Cult is an ancient name. The current official name is a Cultist group that worships the evil god, lord of the scarlet spiral."
"Teacher, is Jude a Cultist?"
The young man looked even more panicked. He had only thought this was a normal academic investigation and hadn't expected to encounter something so stimulating.
The professor, however, was much calmer.
"Don't be so flustered. As a folklorist, you'll inevitably deal with these kinds of people. Oh, look at this book."
Professor Katia took the book Xia De had just retrieved from the safe. The book's black cover read 'Ocean Mysteries.' The entire book was as large as two ordinary letter papers put together and thicker than two ordinary red bricks.
"I can't believe I get to see this! Now, I suspect Jude himself is one of the organizers of the Cultist. Gentlemen, madam, look at this. This book is forbidden. When I was young, I assisted the church in their research and saw a handwritten copy of this book. 'Ocean Mysteries' was a symbol of identity for the leaders of the Scarlet Cult back then. It records some very terrifying things in an ancient language, even more terrifying than that painting. Even ordinary people might go mad just by looking at it."
This description sounded somewhat like those books that could carry Ling Runes. But Xia De did not ask for the book the professor was holding. Instead, he took out more letters from the safe.
Most of the letters were written in delarion common language, a small portion in carson rick, and a very small portion used an unknown, strange script. He picked out a few letters written in the unknown language and opened them. Those conch-shaped characters were clearly not human writing, but Xia De understood them. After a few glances, he basically confirmed Professor Katia's view.
"We must leave quickly. From the contents of the letters, this old alley is a den for the Cultist. The missing people nearby were all taken by them. Our luck is really bad this time; we've probably really gotten into big trouble."
He haphazardly grabbed a few letters and stuffed them into his pocket. The professor looked reluctantly at the book in her hand, but it was too large, so she could only reluctantly give it up.
Xia De and Leia weren't very interested in this book. Although it might be possible to gain Ling Runes by reading it, it was more likely to be contaminated by the Knowledge of the evil god. Even Xia De, with his Divine Radiance, dared not try such a thing.
So, they could only leave the book behind and prepare to depart.
"Scott, get ready to smash the window."
The professor said, raising her gun with Xia De to point at the tightly closed door. The young scholar, whose mind was traumatized by witnessing the strange painting, reacted after a moment, then grabbed a stool and violently smashed it towards the window.
Crack~
Mr. Scott used all his strength, but the glass didn't budge. Instead, the chair in his hand cracked after a loud noise.
The outside was finally attracted by the abnormal sound from inside. Xia De patted the professor's shoulder, handed her his normal revolver, pushed Mr. Scott aside, and punched the window.
Xia De, of course, was not going to use his body to contend with the specially hardened glass. Before his fist swung forward, the silver Moonlight had already flown out.
Just then, the doorknob was turned from the outside, and then the door pushed open.
Bang! Bang!
The professor calmly held two guns and fired outwards. The male servant who tried to rush in was immediately hit by her bullets, cried out, and stumbled to the floor.
And while Mr. Scott's gaze was also drawn to the outside, Leia quickly walked to Xia De's side, placed her hand on the glass, which had already been cracked, and gently pushed. The entire pane of glass shattered into shards.
"Run!"
Xia De shouted loudly, and in the dark corridor outside the door, more and more sounds were appearing.
"You go first!"
The professor shouted. While holding two guns, she was still agile enough to use her thumb to press the hammer of Xia De's revolver.
The male servant, who was twitching on the ground, had clearly been hit in the heart, but he wasn't dead and was still trying to struggle to his feet. A gurgling sound came from his throat; it was actually a language. He was calling for help. It seemed the male servant had been monitoring them in the corridor and was the first to run over when he noticed something was wrong.
"You go first!"
Xia De said to the Princess, and so the red-haired girl jumped through the window into the heavy rain outside without hesitation.
Bang bang bang~
The professor fired several shots, making the male servant twitch even more violently on the ground. But he still wasn't dead. Smoke rose from the bullet holes in his body, and his face was melting as if it was transforming in some ugly and terrifying direction.
"Mr. Scott, it's your turn! Jump!"
"But this is the second floor... I understand."
The young scholar was startled by the sudden scene before him, but seeing that even the frail lady dared to jump, he also shouted and jumped down.
"Professor, it's our turn!"
Xia De pulled Professor Katia over. The professor calmly retreated while firing backward, forcing the shadows in the corridor not to enter the doorway.
The two came to the window. Xia De threw down the frog leg, then pulled the professor and leaped, directly jumping out of the window from the ground. When he lightly stepped into the puddle on the road, hardly any water splashed from under his feet.
He even had enough strength to support Professor Katia's back, allowing the professor to land steadily as well.
This caused Professor Katia, standing in the rain, to look at her legs in surprise, somewhat wondering why her agility was so good today.
"Run this way! My people are a street away. We'll be safe once we get out of here!"
Leia shouted loudly in the rain. The rain was heavier than they had expected. Now, neither gunshots nor bomb explosions would be heard beyond a street away.