Chapter 501 Outsiders and Letters (3k)
The clear morning of the next day saw light snow still falling in Lovagragle City, but the sun, devoid of warmth, could already be seen through the mist. Many citizens were out shopping. Due to the harsh weather and accumulated snow, no one was willing to drive. People walked bundled in thick cotton-padded jackets, but the steam occasionally wafting from the stalls dispelled the feeling of cold.
At this moment, a figure with a long scarf appeared near the streets leading to the town. Su Jiu was still in his usual attire, looking down at the missed calls on his phone from [Ren]. He frowned, realizing he had probably missed the calls last night due to being drunk.
He glanced at the text message sent by the other party: [Any other arrangements?] (Read).
Su Jiu thought for a moment and pressed a button on his phone. [Can you contact Gunazha City? There is an undercover agent from the Law Enforcement Hall there, codenamed “Cuckoo,” whose actual identity is Li Ziwei, from the Law Enforcement Hall.] Gunazha City was one city away from where Ren was, but with Ren’s capabilities, reaching it shouldn’t be difficult.
At this moment, Rancy, who was leading the way, pointed at the country road leading to the outer city district. “Those outsiders are scattered everywhere, but last night, I inquired about the specific direction for you. It should be the outer area of the east city district. There’s a rather strict retired Mander officer there.”
Bairnis followed beside Su Jiu, jotting down notes in a small notebook and chuckling softly from time to time, like a child rediscovering the world, curious about everything. Paired with a purple butterfly hairpin in her hair and her alchemist uniform, her light blue eyes even held the clarity of a university student.
“Mander people? It’s normal for them to be serious.” Nodding, Su Jiu agreed with the statement. The three of them didn’t linger or dilly-dally. Led by Rancy, they slowly passed through the somewhat dark city gates, and their vision brightened.
The three stepped into the outer city district with its thick snowfall. Lacking any cleaning, their feet immediately sank into the snow as soon as they entered. However, to Su Jiu’s surprise, it was actually more bustling than the inner city. Laughter and shouting continuously filled the air on the main streets. On both sides of the street, there were small stalls of varying sizes, and one could even see some selling Jianbing Guozi and Doufunao. Beside these stalls, there were always streams of people coming and going, and even the snow had been spontaneously cleared. Taking advantage of the rare good weather, these vendors had chosen their timing well.
Su Jiu and the other two walked slowly along the street, their eyes constantly scanning the small stalls on both sides. Along the way, they even saw people who didn’t look like Bearfolk selling alchemical items and some beast pets. Su Jiu bought them three cups of savory Doufunao and went in to inquire. The alchemical items were all used for hunting monsters and even carried a touch of exotic style. Looking at the chili and cilantro floating on top of the Doufunao, Bairnis, for the first time, shook her head and refused Su Jiu’s purchase. As a Western Blood Clan member, she still couldn’t get used to these snacks from the East. Her taste was actually very similar to Vivian’s, both preferring something sweet.
On the other side, although they didn’t find much, Su Jiu did acquire some daily alchemical items. He could finally do more than just refine weapons and bombs. The most valuable of these daily alchemical items was a short-range communicator. Long-range alchemical communicators were basically proprietary technology, with finer formation lines in the circuits. As for the pen Su Jiu obtained from the Yeye battlefield, it was even a special-grade alchemical item, which even he could only repair, not re-refine.
After turning down two streets, the pace of Su Jiu and the other two finally stopped at a place that looked like an unfinished building. The base of the building was exposed on all four sides, somewhat resembling the place where Su Jiu first faced the Black-clad Bishop alone. People in clothes leaning towards other countries at the base supported an alchemy array, making the entire building appear quite gentle.
The arrival of Su Jiu and the other two naturally attracted the attention of those outsiders. Two guards, one old and one young, scanned the three. The young guard’s gaze lingered on Rancy’s more upscale clothing for a moment before settling on Su Jiu, who was leading. He asked nervously, “What do you need? We have already paid the residency fee to the security officers. This land belongs to the Count, and he has specially allowed us to live here again.”
As he spoke, everyone around, whether vendors or passersby, turned their gazes towards them, with a hint of scrutiny, but more predominantly, fear. Rancy stepped forward with a smile, her posture very polite. She placed one hand on her chest and bowed slightly to introduce herself, “I am Count Herbert’s granddaughter…”
However, before Rancy could finish, someone stepped forward and coldly interrupted, “Those Bearfolk nobles before also claimed to be the Count’s relatives and tried to drive us away, but it was later confirmed that they had no relation to the Count at all…” At this moment, the children also took a few steps back fearfully and said with a trembling voice, “Big sister, we just want to live here, please don’t drive us away, okay?”
“No…” Rancy’s expression stiffened. She spent most of her time in the school training room, so it was normal for these people not to have seen her before. Hearing that they seemed to mistake the three of them for nobles who wanted the land, Su Jiu’s mouth twitched. He quickly took out the token given by the Old Master Herb and said softly, “The Old Count sent me. I heard someone received a letter, and the Count is somewhat interested in its contents.”
“It’s the Count’s family crest.” The people exchanged glances, their eyes falling on the bird pattern on the token before slightly relaxing their guard. At this moment, the young guard slowly spoke, “Officer Stun has gone up the mountain to hunt. The refugees’ money has been frozen by our national bank. Although the Count is kind, we also understand that we cannot always rely on handouts.”
Seeing that the atmosphere had slightly eased, Su Jiu also smiled and looked at the children in thick cotton-padded jackets inside the unfinished building. He took out some pastries from his ring and distributed them. “This is some bread and other food I bought earlier. You can have some to satisfy your cravings. We’ll just wait here for Officer Stun.”
The children glanced at the young guard, and after receiving his nod, they came forward to accept the pastries, each with a rare smile on their faces, as sugar can indeed bring happiness. Su Jiu, like a big sister, half-bent over, continuously took out pastries from the shopping bag and handed them out with a smile, while Bairnis stood behind him, noting down this rare scene in her little book.
[Missy likes children. I also know a little about the Blood Clan’s secret arts… (〃’▽’〃)] Bairnis wrote slowly, her lips curving slightly, her eyes shimmering as if they could draw silk. After drawing an emoticon, she restrained herself and let it dissipate.
“Thank you, sister!”
“Big sister must be a good person!”
After receiving the pastries, the children bowed gratefully to Su Jiu, their movements stiff but full of childlike charm.
“Actually, that letter is nothing strange. It’s very likely a provocation between monsters. It’s written in [English]: ‘Contact the only Ice Phoenix and unite to drive out the Western humans.'” The younger guard, seeing this, seemed to have opened up a floodgate of words, as if telling Su Jiu and the other two the main content of the letter.
“Don’t easily fall for it! This is definitely fake!” Rancy’s voice came out almost instinctively. Her expression was one of disbelief. Unlike the Ice Vulture, the Ice Phoenix held a different emotional significance for the locals. “Lord Ice Phoenix has guarded this land for longer than I have been alive. Anyone else might betray this land, but… not Him.”
“Those Snow Guards also reacted like that, and you are reacting like that. If you don’t believe such real information, we’ll just have to show it to the Count or the Duke.” The guard, seeing Rancy’s reaction, had an attitude of wanting to complain but not daring to. These people seemed to have a blind faith in this Ice Phoenix, making the note seem useless.
Su Jiu was also shocked by this content. If this were true, his purpose for this trip to find Fen Shuangluan would likely be in vain. He then thought of something and asked, “Do you know what’s inside the storage bag?” Could this just be a diversion? The guard pondered for a moment and then strangely turned sideways, revealing a few fires lit inside the unfinished building. “It’s some coal, the kind we use. There’s nothing else besides that.”
“Coal? What does that mean?” Hearing this, Su Jiu pondered for a long time, his eyes slightly dimming. Was the letter problematic or not? But if it were true, the plan to find Fen Shuangluan this time might end here. Bairnis then put down her pen, put the notebook with her notes into her pocket, and gently patted Su Jiu’s shoulder, smiling, “Don’t be discouraged. Let’s read the content of the letter first. Didn’t the photo say earlier? Don’t believe too much in what you hear or see.”
Su Jiu looked at Bairnis and nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, that was the case. Thinking practically, why would a letter delivered by a Frost Ghost be written in English… Was it for fear that others wouldn’t understand? It gave off a feeling of “protesting too much!” Thinking of this, Su Jiu came back to his senses and asked a rather crucial question: “What level was that Frost Ghost? Do you know?”
“Initial Stage Battle King. I remember it very clearly. I was with Officer Stun when we went up the mountain. The fight was very fierce. If we hadn’t been so numerous, it wouldn’t have been easy to take them down.” As soon as Su Jiu finished speaking, the older guard suddenly stepped forward and answered quite sincerely.
Hearing the other party’s words, Su Jiu fell into thought again. If they were trying to play a very low-intelligence provocation, there would be no need to send a Battle King-level Frost Ghost to deliver the letter. Thus… Su Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly, and the flower in his right pupil rippled. There was only one possibility: this letter was definitely for conveying information, but through some other method.
“Who are the three young ladies?” A hoarse voice sounded, and a thin, dark figure walked towards the three. He carried the smell of fresh grass, which could be smelled from afar.
