Chapter 192: 128. The Founder of the Healing Room (6000)
“Zzzzz!”
Just as Jasmine crouched down with her head in her hands, a yellow lightning bolt, as thunderous as a storm, suddenly burst from the entrance of Snakehead Street. The speed of the lightning was rapid, twisting along a path like a crooked branch.
The intense lightning carried a force of destruction, instantly penetrating the body of the giant monster.
“Roar!”
The monster didn’t emit a sound of pain, for as its massive mouth opened, the lightning had already passed through its body, swiftly splitting it in two due to gravity.
The blood, flesh, and foul, hot acid within were ignited by the extremely high temperature. The smell of burnt filth filled the air, reminiscent of a rotten egg dancing with flames, making one extremely nauseous.
The body of the shark-headed monster was cut in half mid-air, while Jasmine, who had been crouching and holding her head, shuddered slightly, likely thinking that she had already been swallowed by the creature.
Just a moment ago, when Fisher was beside her, infinite courage surged within her, but now that the injured Fisher had been sent to the tavern, she felt an emptiness in her back, and the fear of the monster surged back.
“Eh? Am I not eaten yet?”
After waiting for several seconds without the terrifying sensation of being devoured, Jasmine cautiously lifted her small face buried in her cheeks to look around.
She saw that on the not-so-wide Snakehead Street, the charred body of the giant fish, split in two by the lightning, was emitting a putrid smell. Old Jack behind her was safe, albeit painfully covering his waist and gasping as he looked towards the road ahead.
Ahead, countless human-worms were raging and roaring, but they weren’t directed at Jasmine. They were all roaring towards the entrance of Snakehead Street, where a group of Royal Guards in golden uniforms stood out against the darkness of the street.
One soldier at the forefront held high a parchment emitting a charred odor; the magic rune on it had entirely lost its luster. Originally, there should have been a six-ring lightning spell there, and it was he who had cast the spell that saved Jasmine.
“Block this area, kill all those monsters.”
“Yes!”
Over a hundred human-worms roared like a tide, charging towards the guards behind them. The front line of soldiers half-squatted and raised their firearms, while several heavily armored knights wielding giant swords slowly walked toward the front line.
“Blessing One: Immune to toxins and curses.”
“Blessing Two: No interference from—”
“Enough! Stop reciting that bird blessing, we’re wasting the magic runes. We’ll be back soon!”
The knights wielding the giant swords waved their hands, interrupting the royal mage holding the magic runes. They raised their heavy swords, waiting for the advance of the enemy in front.
“Fire!”
“Charge!”
After a round of firing, the front line of human-worms fell in the face of the attack, while the ones behind charged forward, only to be cut down by the knights bursting through the line with their giant swords. Each strike, accompanied by the name of Godlin, was filled with tremendous force.
The knights acted like a meat grinder, blocking countless surging human-worms, pushing forward instead of just holding the line.
In an instant, numerous remains were flung everywhere; physical attacks and acid attacks did no harm to these knights, barely seeming like a tickle.
In contrast, each swing of the giant sword left a golden gash deep in the bodies of the human-worms. After just one strike, they were left with little option but to perish on the spot, though it was uncertain whether they could still be considered alive given their current condition.
After a fierce battle, the outcome leaned heavily in favor of one side.
The Royal Guards’ First Division reached the end of Klein River first. The fight lasted seven minutes. By the time the last knight withdrew the blade from a human-worm’s corpse, the street was only graced by the cold wind carrying a rancid odor, with no human-worms left standing.
“Quick! Follow me, do you really think our gang is easy to mess with?”
At that moment, countless gang members holding torches and screaming rushed towards the entrance of the street with guns and knives.
The leading gang leader, upon spotting the golden knight wiping his giant sword amid the melting bodies of human-worms, felt his legs go weak, but fortunately, a loyal subordinate behind him quickly reached out to support him.
“Sir?”
“Cough, cough, what are you standing around for? Turn around and go back to sleep!”
The gang fell silent, not daring to lift their torches, orderly turning back as if a snake had shifted its head, slowly retreating deep into Snakehead Street.
Even if the gang had some powerful connections, they still understood who they couldn’t provoke in Saint Nali. Since the guards had come to “protect” Snakehead Street, these good citizens of Saint Nali naturally welcomed them.
“Your Highness, everything has been dealt with, but no traces were left.”
The leading knights stood neatly lined up outside Snakehead Street. Countless footsteps echoed along the cobblestones of Snakehead Street. A hurried set of steps entered the messy street first, followed by a wave of sharp odors, but Elizabeth, dressed in a white dress, did not pause at all, walking straight towards Jasmine and Old Jack.
Old Jack’s expression slightly changed, and he hurriedly tossed his double-barreled shotgun aside, bowing his head respectfully towards the golden lady, saying,
“Your esteemed Highness, Elizabeth.”
“…Y-Your Highness!”
Old Jack lowered his head, not daring to meet Elizabeth’s golden gaze. She glanced at Jasmine, who had also spoken, paying no attention to the whale tail behind her, instead asking,
“Where is Fisher?”
Jasmine bit her lip, quickly standing up to point towards the tavern beside the street. Behind Elizabeth, two knights holding giant swords stood like gatekeepers, staring intently at Old Jack and Jasmine to prevent them from making any moves.
Without stopping, Elizabeth walked towards the nearby hotel. Old Jack suddenly recalled something, cold sweat breaking out on his back; disregarding everything, he prepared to follow Elizabeth into the tavern, but the two knights blocked his and Jasmine’s path, not allowing them to advance.
“Let them in.”
“Yes!”
Elizabeth’s voice echoed from within the tavern. The knights obediently stepped aside, permitting Old Jack and Jasmine to enter the tavern.
The tavern still had its lights on, but all the stools inside had been turned upside down on the tables. At the only table not covered with chairs, Fisher lay with his eyes closed, covered in wounds, surrounded by three small chattering mouse girls.
“Fisher hasn’t woken up.”
“He’s seriously injured…”
“Grandfather’s here!”
Old Jack’s expression changed slightly, not daring to make a sound, he frantically waved to Kalma and the little ones, signaling them to come to him quickly.
The mouse daughters were very perceptive; sensing the atmosphere was off, they promptly quieted down, jumped from the table, crawled onto Old Jack’s back, and peered quietly at Elizabeth, who had approached the table.
They found the lady’s demeanor quite intimidating, so usually talkative, they became mute.
Fortunately, she made no other moves, merely observing the man lying on the table.
Knights and soldiers did not enter, standing quietly at the door, holding their swords and watching the surroundings.
Elizabeth approached Fisher, examining the wounds on his body. Just as she was about to summon a mage from her troops who could cast healing magic, Jasmine, already at her side, carefully extended her hand and said,
“Your Highness, let me take care of him; I can heal Fisher.”
Elizabeth glanced at Jasmine, appearing to ponder for a moment, and then took a step back, silently giving her space and signaling her to proceed.
Jasmine gently reached out her finger towards Fisher, the blue water flowing in her eyes once more, and Fisher’s injuries began to heal little by little. The miraculous sight of his wounds regenerating like flesh reborn captured everyone’s attention, with only Elizabeth remaining still, gazing at Fisher’s sleeping face.
“All done.”
Jasmine exhaled, and in the next second, Fisher suddenly regained consciousness and sat up, disorientedly checking his belongings—his wallet, playing cards, and Fluid Sword were all still there; the Completer Manual definitely wouldn’t leave him.
But his staff was missing!
When fleeing earlier, he had no time to worry about anything else; he had lost consciousness halfway and wasn’t even able to grip his staff tightly.
The thought of losing his staff pained Fisher, especially since it was a gift from Renee. He wondered where it might have drifted along Klein River now.
“Fisher, are you okay?”
“Fisher!”
Fisher turned to look at Elizabeth and Jasmine beside him, feeling a strange sense of danger at their simultaneous appearance, as if he were on the verge of experiencing life-and-death escape once again.
“I’m fine.”
“Great! It’s so good that you’re okay.”
Seeing Fisher safe, Elizabeth finally let out a sigh of relief, whispering a few words of thanks to the Mother like a prayer.
Upon hearing this, Fisher’s gaze shifted slightly, but in the end, he said nothing, only looking towards the Royal Guards standing outside the street. The memory that had been severed in his mind when he fainted was finally reconnected.
Suddenly recalling something, Fisher hurriedly looked at Elizabeth and explained what had happened in the Healing Room.
“I found evidence of Blake’s crimes in the Healing Room, but there were not only his subordinates there; he arrived just in time to destroy the evidence. I was somewhat caught off guard in facing him.”
Thinking about Blake, who could hold his own against two opponents, Fisher felt a headache coming on. It was unfair; once armed with the Completer Manual, these people seemed to cheat.
Not to mention the ancient soul technology of Feilon, to which he had lost to all his high-tier magic accumulated over the years, ultimately striking him down using a dragon’s flame when he least expected it.
Blake was even more formidable; even though he had been heavily injured at that time, neither he nor Jasmine could inflict any damage on him. Especially, the Fluid Sword had caused him no harm at all; being over a hundred years old, the Completer Manual had made him feel rejuvenated.
Upon hearing Fisher’s words, Elizabeth frowned, turning her gaze towards the nearly dissipated bodies of human-worms outside the window, softly speaking,
“Don’t worry about the evidence; just knowing it’s Blake, even without proof, I…”
But before she could finish her sentence, Fisher interrupted, unable to help but chuckle at Elizabeth’s tone.
Elizabeth was clearly upset, wanting to act against Blake without caring for the consequences, but Fisher’s rational mind told him he couldn’t let Elizabeth proceed.
“If Blake were anyone else, it would be different, but he is a director of Nali Exploration Company. Acting against him without concrete evidence would send the wrong signals to Nali Exploration Company. They have a monopoly in many industries in Nali; your actions could easily be misunderstood as the royal family attempting to strike at them.”
“Once the royal family and Nali Exploration Company openly come into conflict, it would lead to quite a stir for the entire country. Even if I don’t stop you, your brother Dexter will likely do so.”
Elizabeth’s lips trembled slightly, her fingers clenched tightly where Fisher couldn’t see, but after hesitating for several seconds, she eventually relaxed her grip, letting out a sigh,
“But if we fail this time, it will certainly be more difficult to take action against Blake next time. He will be on guard.”
“There is evidence!”
Just as Elizabeth and Fisher were in discussion, Jasmine suddenly raised her hand, fitting her statement into Elizabeth’s words.
Fisher and Elizabeth both turned to look at Jasmine, their expressions vastly different; Fisher was quite surprised while Elizabeth’s expression was difficult to read, but she appeared relatively calm.
“You have evidence?”
In response to Fisher’s question, Jasmine pulled a book from behind her skirt, which Fisher hadn’t noticed she had hidden there.
Upon closer examination, it was one of the books from the stack of evidence Fisher had previously held.
Fisher was taken aback, hurriedly reaching to take the book from Jasmine’s hand. The words “Experimental Report” on the cover made his heart race.
“When Fisher told me not to pick up evidence, I actually brought back a book—heh heh.”
“Well done, Jasmine!”
He instinctively reached to pat Jasmine’s little head, but when he withdrew his hand, he noticed Elizabeth still sitting next to him, her expression calm yet with a slight dangerous curve at the corner of her lips, as if she was about to explode.
Fisher quickly retracted his hand and turned to Elizabeth, saying,
“If we have this evidence, even if Nali Exploration Company is displeased, they will have to bear with it.”
“Mm, what’s recorded in there?”
Fisher gently opened the experimental record in his hands, finding it very similar to previous records, but this one seemed to be from a much earlier period, with the date roughly three and a half years ago.
Just seeing that timestamp filled Fisher with a very bad premonition, but he continued to read from the first page.
It was a record written by a researcher employed at the Healing Room’s laboratory, detailing each experiment’s process, results, and reflections, without specifying the goals of their experiments.
“March 8, today, I conducted experiments on two types of magical herbs as required to demonstrate their effects, but the specific results were very unsatisfactory. According to original theories, the efficacy of these herbs should last at least three weeks, yet the experiments only lasted for about three hours. Hmm, failure.”
“March 9, I replaced other materials to repeat the previous experiment, but the properties of these materials were completely incompatible with the previous herbs, requiring a redesign of the experimental process. Hmm, still a failure.”
Such records continued day after day, entirely normal herbal efficacy experiments, contrasting sharply with the experimental styles Fisher had seen previously.
Fisher knew a little about the Healing Room; it seemed to have been established three years prior, initially promoting itself as a venue for magical or biological therapists from the Royal Academy and society to conduct experiments. Essentially, it had not originally been intended to provide cosmetic services to the public; it began doing so only in recent years.
After several pages of repeating such content without any results, Fisher felt a growing agitation, just as the researcher who had actually performed the experiments had experienced.
Day after day of failure, repetitive records that led to failure in the end. Eventually, this researcher began to question whether this research was meaningful at all or if they were merely wasting time.
“October 6, the experiment failed. By now, I am weary of sorting herbal materials here every day. Initially filled with fellow researchers, the lab is now just me and the Muxi landlady. Frankly, I admire her immensely; founding the Healing Room as an academic research institution is something many others cannot achieve. I mean, I have never doubted the quality of this great lady.”
“But even so, this experiment will ultimately not yield any answers! It’s destined to be a journey without an end; not only will we not see hope in our generation, but our next generation, even the generations after that, for hundreds or thousands of years, will see no progress whatsoever.”
“We all understand the wisdom of benefiting from the labor of predecessors, or we wouldn’t have invested our time into this research. But to be frank, humans are selfish. I just got married and have a wife, and I need more time and energy to accompany my family. Although the pay here is substantial, working here daily makes me feel like a machine, tirelessly printing money.”
“I am worn out. After recording this experiment, I will officially propose my resignation to Lady Muxi. This is it; the experiment ends here.”
Upon reaching this point, although there wasn’t concrete evidence to substantiate Blake’s heinous crimes, Fisher uncovered a shocking secret within the initial experimental records.
The founder of the Healing Room wasn’t Blake, but rather Jasmine’s aunt, Muxi!
Instinctively furrowing his brows, a series of thoughts raced as Fisher anticipated Elizabeth’s reaction. Just as she inclined to lean forward, he abruptly closed the experimental record, preventing Elizabeth and Jasmine from seeing that last entry.
“What’s wrong, Fisher? Is there evidence in there?”
“No.”
Fisher paused for a moment, then shook his head, saying to Elizabeth,
“The records are from three and a half years ago; at that time, the Healing Room hadn’t conducted human experiments, and Blake hadn’t interfered either.”
As he spoke, Fisher’s thoughts suddenly expanded, though he did not show it. He chose to leave his words at that, his inner thoughts extending until they reached the other shore.
Elizabeth opened her mouth, about to say something, but a soldier outside the tavern called out a command.
“Report, General Barroha is on the line.”
Elizabeth’s gaze shifted slightly, understanding, she raised her hand to signal him to leave,
“I understand; you may go.”
“Yes!”
Fisher had heard of General Barroha’s name; after Elizabeth quelled the tensions with Shivali, she appointed the middle-aged general to lead there to maintain border stability, formally reporting his appointment to the Golden Palace.
Fisher speculated that Barroha must be a trusted aide of Elizabeth; otherwise, she wouldn’t have handed such an important role to him.
He wondered what the general was contacting Elizabeth about, perhaps there was an issue at the border, but Fisher didn’t plan to pry.
“So, the leads are cut off now?”
“No, not yet. I have obtained clues about Blake’s treasure vault; he prefers to store all treasures and experimental tools there, and it wouldn’t be difficult to find evidence once we gain access.”
Elizabeth’s expression subtly changed as she rapidly questioned Fisher,
“Where is that vault located?”
Fisher smiled bitterly and shook his head,
“I just escaped from a life-and-death situation; I just woke up, where would I find the time to decipher that riddle?”
But as he spoke, the riddle replayed in his mind, each word recited clearly,
“The king once shed tears here, his tears pooled day and night, symbolizing his longing.”
“Knowledge carries concealed history, fabricating a disrupted history.”
“Ah, all of my being, where are you? In the most dangerous yet safest place!”
So, where is Blake’s treasure vault?
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(End of this chapter)
