Chapter 114 The Black Market (Part 2) An inauspicious start, Skeleton Shuddon, Little Death...
Temuqi paid the money, and Laiyi and the unfamiliar uncle stood in the front row, watching him walk to the display shelf.
The display stand was separated from the crowd by a railing, with a burly, menacing-looking orc guarding each side.
Two glass lamps hung on the wooden frame, illuminating the stones and making the entire stall bright.
The last seventeen stones on the shelf varied in size, shape, and color. Furthermore, the magic was partially blocked, making it almost a matter of blind selection for those who came to try their luck.
Temuqi walked around the shelf several times but still couldn't decide which stone to choose.
The stall owner only allows people who want to try their luck to watch from a distance, and does not allow them to touch the items.
Finally, urged on by everyone, Temujin made his decision. He chose a watermelon-sized, oval-shaped stone, its surface pitted and uneven, indistinguishable from any ordinary stone.
"This one will do."
Temuqi said, and the stall owner took the stone down.
"Once we've confirmed it's this piece, we'll start cutting."
"good."
The stone was taken to the craftsman in charge of cutting it, and Temuji held his breath as he watched the craftsman slowly chisel away at the surface of the stone with a special tool. Unfortunately, after chiseling off a small piece, he didn't see any surprises inside the stone.
Lei gradually became nervous as well.
Could it be like that stone from which jade was just unearthed? It took a long time to carve out a piece of white jade that wasn't very valuable.
"Should we enlarge the area that needs to be cut open?"
The master asked, and Temuqi nodded.
Ding ding.
The craftsman then began chiseling open about a quarter of the way through, and this time it didn't take much effort and he succeeded easily. The stonecutter, quick-witted and nimble, caught the falling portion, preventing the stone from opening.
"It's open."
Everyone watched with bated breath, and Temuji blushed with nervousness.
"A piece of fine amethyst ore!"
The crowd erupted in applause, but Temujin's disappointment was clearly visible.
Actually, he wasn't unlucky; most of the stone was hollow. The hollow inner wall of the stone was covered with a layer of purple amethyst, reflecting a shimmering, fragmented light. Just looking at it, you could tell it must be very expensive.
Upon closer inspection, you can also see a small cluster of high-quality crystals inside; it would be very beautiful to make it into an ornament.
Unfortunately, Temujin wasn't interested in them; these glittering ores were nothing more than useless decorations to him. The same went for the crystals; he wouldn't even use them as weapon decorations because they took up too much space.
Temuji took his spoils, his face crestfallen, and hugged them to his chest before following Lai out of the crowd.
"Here, Ray, I don't like it."
Temuji forcefully pulled Stone Serai into his arms, as if he wanted to resolve the problem quickly.
Of course, Lai couldn't accept it and quickly refused.
"Then just throw it away. You can have as many of these useless little gadgets as you want."
"..."
Okay, I'm poor, but I want it.
Lai turned the stone with the window facing him to avoid attracting too much attention.
"Temuki, don't be too disappointed. Most of these gambling stalls are scams; they certainly won't let themselves lose money."
Lei tried to persuade Temugi, who was emanating a black aura.
"I was just about to say that the person who drew the rare mineral ore was very likely a shill hired by the stall owner."
What is a tout?
Upon hearing the new term that Lei used, Temuji looked at him in confusion.
“A ‘shill’ is someone pre-arranged to win a prize or something good to attract attention, so as to get more people involved and make money.”
Temuqi recalled his impulsive behavior just now and felt ashamed, and embarrassment gradually enveloped him.
"Oh, those cunning swindlers, I'll never fall for their tricks again!"
Temuji regained some of his energy.
Well, although I don't know if they are scammers or not, it's good that it made Temugi realize that things are not so simple and that he won't gamble in such places again.
Ray comforted himself.
Having taken care of everything they needed to know and everything they needed to buy, Lai and Timuki decided to leave the black market after discussing it.
The wide hood obscured Ray's face well, but it also blocked his vision. Not daring to take the hood off easily, he had to look down at the road.
Although there were many people on the road, with the seemingly intimidating Temuji clearing the way, the return journey was relatively unobstructed until a person also wearing a hood blocked Lai's path.
This person is very strange.
When Ray walked to the left, he also walked to Ray's left; when Ray walked to the right, he blocked Ray's right side, as if doing it on purpose, which made Ray very unhappy.
"Excuse me, could you please make way?"
"Hello, guest with an alluring soul."
Upon hearing this eerie description again, Lai felt a chill run down his spine, and the terrifying experience of staying at the Kako Hotel last year immediately flooded his mind.
The voice on the other end was hoarse and dry, with a strange sense of distortion, like a call from a demon in hell.
Lai was certain he hadn't heard that voice before. He frowned, looked up, and saw the empty eye sockets glowing green under the hood of the person opposite him.
"..."
We're not familiar with each other, please let me leave.
"Guest, perhaps we can have a talk."
He pointed to a small shop that was closed and almost deserted.
The skeleton, hidden beneath a large cloak, swaggered into the crowded black market, seemingly unconcerned about being discovered by others for its unusual appearance.
Are all undead creatures this bold these days? Damn, it doesn't feel good to have someone eyeing your soul.
Ray was filled with mixed feelings. He wanted to refuse him without hesitation, but the skeleton seemed to know Ray's weakness and made him give up struggling with just one sentence.
"Don't you want to know about my master, that necromancer?"
I'm sorry, I really don't want to know.
"He's very interested in your soul."
The skeleton spoke in Ray's ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"..."
Ray could no longer find an excuse to refuse; he didn't want to be at the mercy of others, so he figured it was better to meet Him for a while.
It's currently unknown whether this skeleton is friend or foe, but it's unlikely to act rashly in such a densely populated area. Furthermore, the bone knife inlaid with elemental stones is hidden under the cloak; if any danger arises, I still have a fighting chance.
"I ran into an acquaintance and chatted for a few minutes."
Lei greeted Temuki.
"I'll be waiting for you here."
"Um."
Timur also sensed the danger posed by the cloaked man, but since Laiyi claimed to be an acquaintance, he couldn't say anything more and could only stay as close as possible to protect Laiyi's safety.
Stone returned to Temuqi's arms. He found a small stall and, while browsing, kept an eye on the movements of Laiyi and the cloaked man who had walked to the corner.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Hughton Egrich, an undead."
Egrich?
According to what Ray learned from books, Egrich is a very old surname.
Ray found it in the "List of Surnames and Totems that Have Disappeared on the Continent," which means that the surname Egrich had disappeared a hundred years ago.
The book recounts that a century ago, the Eggridge family suffered a great calamity, with the entire family perishing tragically overnight in their family villa.
This matter remains a famous historical mystery on the continent of Casa.
What did this undead named Shudon go through to stay by that mad necromancer's side after death?
Lai Yi was torn between two conflicting thoughts, and in return, she introduced herself using a false name.
"My name is Arthur, and I am a human."
"Arthur? What a powerful name."
There seemed to be a hint of amusement in Hughton's mechanical voice.
He was a complete skeleton; his flesh and blood had long since dissolved with the passage of time, so he shouldn't have been able to speak. It was the little contraption the alchemist had created around his neck that gave him the chance to speak again.
The necromancer's forbidden magic bound his soul forever to his own skeleton. As long as the forbidden magic remained, he was destined to serve that necromancer forever.
This is a sorrow that will never rest.
He doesn't know whether their meeting a hundred years ago was right or wrong.
“You’re quite a clever human being. I think you might know that there’s something wrong with that little plaster skeleton.”
Ray awaited his next move.
“If you had just thrown it away, Seral would have gone absolutely mad and taken your soul. He’s interested in so many things, and luckily you didn’t attract his attention for long. This little spy has protected you to some extent.”
Hughton deliberately revealed some information beforehand to show his sincerity. But this only made Ray more suspicious.
He didn't understand why Shuddon would reveal so much information to him; He must have some deeper purpose.
How did you recognize me?
Ray asked Him.
There were many people wearing hoods on the street, and they had only met once. How did Shutton manage to recognize him directly from the crowd?
He once said that your soul is special.
Well, the answer lies in this somewhat chilling reply.
What is your purpose?
Ray didn't want to have too much contact with him, but judging from Hughton's behavior, who was rambling on and on, he didn't seem to want to let him off easily, and Hughton had taken the initiative to send him a message of goodwill.
“Arthur, you are a clever human and a clever mage. Seral has only temporarily forgotten you; one day he will remember you again. I want to make a deal with you.”
Shuddon finally revealed his purpose.
"I think you've misunderstood; I don't have that ability."
Lei rejected Hughton outright.
"Is that so? The descendants of the Victor family never expected to say such a thing. You should know that our Egrich family and your Victor family's ancestors maintained a very friendly relationship for generations."
Ray grew increasingly impatient as he listened; he didn't want to get involved with these nonsensical and tangled relationships.
"I'm sorry, I really don't have that ability. I'm just a novice mage. I just want to support my family."
"Okay, I see. Maybe I really did misjudge him."
Hughton noticed Ray's impatience and stopped pressing the matter.
“Think it over carefully, my friend. You and I have never been enemies. One day you will come to me on your own initiative, and I will be here waiting for you. Until then, I will try my best to divert Seral’s attention and keep him from noticing you, Arthur.”
After saying something cryptic, Hughton left Ray alone.
Ray's mood began to be worse than ever before.
"let's go."
Lei called out to Temuji, who had already touched the items on the stall two or three times.
"Who is he? He has a very strange aura about him. You should stay away from him in the future."
"good."
I also want to stay away from him...
Lei and Timur agreed not to call each other by name on the black market streets to avoid exposing their identities.
"It's getting late, shall we go back?"
"Ray asked."
“Go back, I’ll take you to a nice place in town to stay the night. There’s plenty of wine to drink.”
Mentioning the familiar tavern, Temugi's unpleasantness from just buying the stone vanished.
"You'll like it there."
"Then let's go."
The two walked out of the stone statue and left Rosen Town, a secret stronghold unknown to ordinary people.
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A small mountain village, Lai's house.
Not long after Ray and Timur left home, Neil returned home with his schoolbag on his back.
The gate was chained up, and the door to the house was locked with a padlock. Neil knew at a glance that his brother was gone.
He rummaged through his backpack for his keys, deftly unlocked the padlock, pushed open the door, and went inside.
The two puppies barked a few times, then stopped barking when they smelled the familiar scent, wagging their tails and acting cute.
"Ouch."
I'm back.
Tata let out a howl, simply as a way of greeting Neil that he was coming home; it had no other meaning and was equivalent to "read" or "understood."
But Neil clearly misunderstood him, laughing heartily and reaching out to him without even taking off his backpack, even attempting to "attack" his soft belly, only to be suppressed by Tata's claw.
"Awooo!"
You audacious human brat! I should have just ignored you.
Tata sulked again, turned her back to Neil, and ran into Ray's bedroom without looking back.
"Tata, come back quickly! Don't mess up your brother's room."
Ignoring Neil's calls, Tata jumped onto Ray's bed.
Neil didn't continue chasing Tata; he had already finished his schoolwork at school. His brother wasn't home, and he didn't dare go out alone, afraid of causing trouble for Ray. He sat at the dining table in the living room, took out the book Ray had lent him, "Vagura's Anecdotes of Races," and began reading it with great interest.
Lamb arrived shortly afterward, and he began preparing dinner with Lamb.
Meanwhile, Tata, sitting on Lei's bed, was not at peace.
He didn't know why a small ghost with a big "囧" character written all over its face was floating next to Lai Yi's cabinet.
It was so weak that it couldn't even maintain its own body.
Actually, the little undead wasn't this weak when it first arrived. It was just that the light magic in the steel blade's dark patterns prevented it from absorbing external energy. Over the past few months, as its own energy was depleted, it gradually became like this.
Tata scoffed at the messy mess and didn't think much of it.
There are also undead in Eaton Forest, and most of the time they are snacks for some powerful monsters.
This guy who suddenly appeared in Lei's room is definitely an intruder on his territory!
Tata suddenly erupted in fierce fighting, howling at it.
This territory is mine, get out of here now!
The poor little ghost was trembling with fear, but the forbidden spell on its body prevented it from getting too far away from the plaster skeleton.
Taking advantage of the moment the steel knife was picked up, he had his first chance to leave the inside of the skull statue. But before he could crawl back in, the steel knife was put back, leaving him outside.
It couldn't leave, nor could it go in, and a small monster was watching it intently from the side.
Being an undead is so difficult!
The little undead wanted to cry, but it had no tears; any extra emotions would only deplete its already dwindling undead power.
Waaaaaahh ...
The little ghost howled without tears, emitting only muffled sobs.
Humans can't hear it, but Tata hears it clearly.
"Aww!"
I'm so annoyed! I'll eat you up!
Waaaaah...
The little undead howled even louder.
Tata stared speechlessly at the scene before her.
His mother said he shouldn't eat dirty food casually, and he didn't currently have the ability to absorb the power of the dead; eating it would only bring a heavy burden to his body.
He was just trying to scare it, but he didn't expect it to be so timid and easily frightened.
"Aww!"
Stop crying! It's so annoying! I'm not eating you then!
The little undead stopped its characteristic wail and huddled on top of the insectivorous plant, afraid of attracting the attention of the little devil on the bed.
Waaaaah, this time when I go back, I'm never coming out again!
The little undead made up his mind, wanting only to return to the plaster as soon as possible, and he forgot about the mission as if it were nothing.
"Neil, what are we making for dinner tonight?"
Lamb couldn't cook, and he had planned to take Neil to his house for dinner, but Neil refused, saying that he had already made plans for dinner.
"My brother has prepared vegetable noodles and meat. We'll have hot pot for dinner tonight."
Lamb's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he quickly began to help. Neither of them noticed what was happening in Ray's bedroom.
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Author's note: To be continued tonight!
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