Back at the smelting site at the foot of the monastery, after drinking some water and calming his breathing, Huggins stretched his tired legs and pulled a simple hand-drawn map from his waist.

The location of Muxi Harbor is drawn in the very center of the map. To the east and south are a dozen or so black dots, representing villages in the coastal area. To the west is the boundless sea, and to the north is the archipelago.

The man first placed his finger on the harbor in the very center: "This place is desolate. It's called a harbor, but there's only an endless beach."

Move your finger northward.

Huggins tapped the archipelago with his fingertips: "I found that acquaintance who often goes to sea. He told me that there are several pirate tribes in the Northern Islands, some with a hundred or so people, and some with over a thousand. They are constantly at war with each other. The sea route to the south is now controlled by a tribe called Blackhead."

Finally, placing his palm on the eastern land, the man thought for a moment and said, "I inquired in these villages that were once plundered, and the northern pirates determine their southward advance based on the rate at which the snow melts. Experienced elders speculate that this year's attack won't be far off, within the next two weeks."

Todd nodded: "Half a month, that would be the end of January or the beginning of February." After saying that, he beckoned to Huggins, signaling him to come with him.

The two approached the innermost warehouse of the smelting plant, and Todd gestured to Jerry, who was standing at the door, to open the door.

To Huggins' surprise, the windows in the room were all boarded up, making it pitch black even though it was daytime.

The monk lit the torches on the wall, and the man, whose eyes had slowly adjusted to the changing light, saw the wooden crate lying flat in the corner.

Huggins looked at the other man in silence, knowing that there must be a reasonable reason why he brought him here.

Todd lifted the wooden board, parted the straw piled high in the box, and carefully took out an item from it.

Huggins squinted, using the firelight to see clearly what the other person was holding.

"This is……!"

The man was stunned.

It looks like a crystal, but without any sharp edges or depressions. The surface is engraved with a line of small characters in ancient Tarot script: "Wealth changes hands, but the gods remain forever." The colorful light reflects into the eyes of the observer.

"This is a treasure from the ancient Taro era?!" Hudgens suddenly remembered something, grabbed Todd's arm, and said seriously, "You absolutely cannot take this out!" Perhaps realizing his lapse in composure, the man added, "This will bring us disaster!"

Huggins' words sounded somewhat incoherent and nonsensical.

But Todd understood what he meant.

A common man is innocent, but possessing jade is a crime.

Although glassware was common, most of it at the time was green glass with many impurities and thick walls (also known as German antique glass in its previous life), or expensive and complicated metal glass from the south.

A work of art like this, with its perfect color and smooth appearance, can be immediately valued by anyone with expertise at a glance.

Todd brought the small glass pot closer to the firelight, examined it carefully, and replied, "This is a glass craft that Karin and I just made a few days ago. I engraved the ancient Tarot proverb on it."

Huggins gasped behind him.

Under the firelight, the small pot looked somewhat like the wine cups on the table in my previous life. From a distance, it looked quite presentable, but upon closer inspection, there were quite a few problems.

Karin is, after all, a girl, and her lung capacity is limited. She can't shape glass freely when blowing it, and can only make some simple shapes. On the glass wall at the bottom of the bottle, there are some air bubbles suspended in them, which is a failure due to insufficient furnace temperature and immature skills. At the connection between the handle and the main body of the small pot, there are solidified waste liquid, which looks a bit ugly and unsightly.

What Huggins considered a gem was, in Todd's eyes, a flawed and substandard product. But this guy selectively forgot that his previous works weren't even worthy of being called 'garbage'.

Todd placed the small pot into the wooden box and said, "I understand what you mean. Without any means to protect ourselves, if we sell these things, it will inevitably attract unwanted attention. So, I have a plan. Listen to it..."

Northern pirates, the port of Twilight, exorcism guilds, glass artifacts, ancient Tero inscriptions, ecclesiastical and ascetic factions...

As the Slavic man listened to the monk's grand "plan," his mouth gaped wider and wider. His first reaction was to exclaim, "Are you insane!"

After a moment, he lowered his head, thought about it carefully again, and gently shook his head, saying, "How could something like this possibly succeed?"

Pacing back and forth in the room, glancing again at the glassware in the corner, Huggins fell into thought once more. He smoothed his braid with his hand and said uncertainly, "Perhaps... if we're lucky... maybe..."

The man, as if finally giving up on thinking, shrugged and asked the monk, "I don't understand, why would you attempt such a dangerous plan?"

Upon hearing the question, Todd's eyes showed a moment of confusion. But the events of the past few days slowly surfaced in his mind, and his gaze hardened once more.

He touched the bridge of his nose, leaned against the wall, and slowly said, reminiscing about the past: "Back when Master Myris was here, I would go to class every morning, go to the underground alchemy room in the afternoon, and go to sleep at night. Day after day, the same routine. I didn't feel any pressure about the future, nor did I think about it too much. Perhaps I felt that it was fine for life to just pass by like that."

The flickering firelight cast an uncertain shadow on Todd's face, and the monk's tone grew desolate: "After that, Master Myris left without a word. The Church used me as a tool to seize the monastery, and the monks regarded me as a traitor who clung to worldly desires. This is where I now live..."

He stretched out his palms, facing each other, getting closer and closer: "...squeezed, deprived. I slowly realized something: I had always lived in the light, my eyes always turned towards the sun. When the shadows came, my footing was as fragile and vulnerable as this glass."

“This plan may sound like a joke. But if it succeeds, I might be able to build a sanctuary for us aliens; if it fails, we’ll just be back to square one. So, Brother Huggins, are you willing to help me?” The monk straightened up and extended his right hand to the other man.

The two people in the room exchanged a glance, and Huggins suddenly asked a strange question: "Todd, do you believe in miracles?"

The boy thought for a moment and then shook his head.

The man stepped forward, ignoring the other man's outstretched hand, and put his arm around his shoulder, saying with a smile, "I believe... that you in front of me are a miracle."