A faint call, like a low murmur and sleep talk, lingered around Su Luâs ears.
âItâs a curse!â
Su Lu jumped up from the bed, a vigilant expression on his face.
Suddenly, he saw a human figure.
It was a silhouette as pale as a sculpture, its entire body covered in grooves as if it had been scorched by flames, giving off a severely dissonant visual impression.
âIs this⊠a demonic portrait?â
Su Lu immediately thought of the demonic gallery incident in Nia City.
At that moment, the surrounding walls turned into curtains, from which countless arms and handprints emerged, holding him tightly.
The demonic portrait leaned in, almost cheek to cheek with him.
New flesh grew from that severely burned face, forming a visage full of Roman style.
Blond hair, blue eyes, handsome appearance, with a hint of enigmatic charm. âThis is⊠the portrait in the old mansion⊠Dale Angerskin? Am I cursed by it?â âNo⊠where the hell is this?â
Su Luâs thoughts turned quickly and suddenly it seemed to dawn on him: âThis is⊠my dream!â
After the realization, everything around him dissipated quickly. The numerous arms from before, and the demonic portrait, were all illusions.
In the real world.
Su Lu woke up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: âAnother nightmare⊠No, this is a reminder from my inspiration, indicating a connection between this demonic mansion and the portrait in the demonic gallery?â
Although it seemed absurd, upon careful consideration, it felt quite normal.
A demon family capable of spawning a Cursed Spirit, even in the dark world, definitely rank among the very top, with only a handful in the world.
And in the White Eagle Federation, there was perhaps only one.
âAngus Gold⊠Demon family⊠could it be the top leadership of the Ancient Snake Society? And is this their abandoned old mansion?â
Su Lu couldnât help but speculate.
By this time, he had already considered the demon and the ancient snake as two sides of the same coin.
The so-called ancient snake seemed to be nothing more than a shell for the demon.
âOf course, it could also be the other way around⊠the ancient snake wearing the demonâs shell. Either way, they are both top-notch Evil Gods, merely looking at them can cause deathâŠâ
Su Lu opened the curtain, the night outside was very peaceful.
He took a deep breath, put on his cloak and hood, slipped out the window of the inn, entered the black market from a hidden bar in the suburbs.
Although it was late at night, the business here was booming.
Su Lu arrived at the central restaurant, ordered honey-coated steak and wine, and at the same time, he wanted to see if there was any news.
However, to his surprise, the drinkers today were very tight-lipped, revealing no valuable information.
âBartender! â
Su Lu stared at the parrot in front of him: âIs there any place here that sells information?â
âOne silver hawk!â
The parrot exclaimed cheerfully, its cunning tone presumably learnt from somewhere.
âNo problem!â Su Lu tossed a silver coin over.
âStraight and turn right, the third stone house!â
The parrot grabbed the silver hawk with its claw: âDonât say I sent you.â
âCould there be a feud between these two places?â
Su Lu got up, perplexed, walked straight to the end, turned right, and saw a row of shops.
âFlame and Hammer! Clearly this is for forging and making magical itemsâŠâ
âTranscendent job guidance? Are you sure youâre not here to scam some money?
âThe Doma Witchâs Bookstore? Could it be here?â
Su Lu counted to three, and walked in.
Inside the witchâs bookstore, numerous crystal balls flickered with fluorescent light serving as the light source, causing various colors to bounce around in the small space, dazzling the eyes.
Su Lu almost thought he had come to a disco in an alien world. He squinted his eyes, looking at the displayed crystal balls: âWhereâs the person?â
âHehe⊠Itâs rare to have a customer!â
From behind the counter, a witch slowly emerged. She was hunched over with a bent back, her figure slim, she barely reached Su Luâs waistline.
She lifted her head, sizing up Su Lu with dim eyes: âYouâre not a warlock! You want to buy a witchâs book?â
âBooks? Where are they?â
Su Lu asked curiously, his gaze fell on the numerous crystal balls.
âExactly⊠We witches use a unique method to seal information in various crystal balls. Thatâs the source of our magic power! But⊠people who are not witches canât see it at all.â
The old witch slowly said.
âIâm not here to buy books, but⊠I heard that you also sell information here?â
After a moment of contemplation, Su Lu revealed his intention.
âWho told you?â
The old witch widened her eyes abruptly: âI knew it⊠it must be that dead bird, isnât it? I swear⊠one day, Iâm going to pluck all its feathers!â
âMadam⊠witch!â Su Lu felt something was off: âThey meant well introducing business to youâŠâ
âItâs just trying to apologize⊠Do you know, it put⊠in my breakfast, it putâŠâ
The old witch was incredibly angry, but after a glance at Su Lu, she finally managed to swallow her anger.
âCould it be⊠bird droppings?â
Su Luâs mouth twitched, feeling suddenly nauseous and very skeptical about the sanitary standard of the transcendent culinary industry.
âI donât care about your feud with it, even if you roast it, itâs none of my business⊠I want information!â
He snorted coldly, a trace of spirit oppression released.
âHmm?!â
A shudder went through the old witch, she looked at Su Lu deeply: âFollow me!â
Behind the counter, there was a small door that seemed to lead out of the stone house and connected to a black tent.
The old witch went straight to the hostâs seat and sat cross-legged, her hands holding up a crystal ball on a velvet cushion: âState your demand, guest! Iâll provide you the information you want and you canât refuse my quotation!â
âThatâs impossible, arenât you going to make me roast the bird in the restaurant and I have to agree to it?â Su Lu frowned.
âOf course I wonât make you do that, but if you did, I would be very pleased, and from then on, I could give you a 20% discount on information!â
The old witch laughed like a night owl: âEquivalent exchange. This is our spellcastersâ rule! The value of the information correlates with its original worthâŠâ
âIf thatâs the case, there is no problem.â
Su Lu said, âMy request is rather broad, for example⊠an overall report on the transcendent powers of Charles City, certain restricted areas, and so onâŠâ
âFor a rough estimate, five Golden Dragons! If you want a detailed description of each, a total of fifty-five Golden Dragons, plus five Silver Hawks and twenty-seven Copper Elves!â
The crystal ball in the old witchâs hand brightened, and then answered in an echoey voice.
âIâll start with a brief lookâŠâ
Su Lu took out five Golden Dragons, at the same time curious about how the witch came up with the price for the information.. Could it simply be a wild guess?