Unfortunately, I still fell ill. Although my fever has subsided, the excessive blood loss has left me weak. It might also be a side effect of the Black Magic. Regardless, I’m confined to bed, with Jayad taking care of me.
He’s so much stronger than I am. The day after he nearly drowned, he was already back on his feet, unlike me, lying sick in bed. I’ve barely left my room, except to use the toilet.
The new house we rented does have one good thing: a communal toilet for the tenants downstairs. And because it’s used mostly by us, it’s kept relatively clean, which I appreciate.
However, as Jayad was helping me downstairs, the Landlady was sitting in the living room, playing cards with some other women. When she saw us, she looked at us with a peculiar expression.
Thinking about how she had rushed out of the room after showing us in last night, I have every reason to suspect that the Landlady actually knew the room was haunted.
After all, the creation of a Wraith has its reasons. It must be someone who died unjustly. Something must have happened in that room, and as the landlord, she couldn’t have been unaware.
Furthermore, I had only just moved in yesterday, and the female ghost couldn’t wait to attack me. Such an aggressive female ghost would surely show no mercy to anyone else renting that room, right?
No wonder the room was so cheap. That damned Landlady, she concealed the truth from us, letting us live in a haunted room. Was she trying to kill us?
I glared at her furiously. Perhaps out of guilt, the Landlady lowered her head. But since I’m still sick and don’t know how much commotion last night’s incident caused, I didn’t confront her immediately.
For now, my priority is to avoid any further trouble. I’ll lie low for a few days and find out what’s happening outside.
I asked Jayad to gather information about the Factory district, but I cautioned him not to get too close. He was only to listen if people around were talking about the incident. He also had to remember to wear his hood, blend into the crowd, and stay far from any Patrol officers—all of which Jayad already knew.
As for myself, I stayed in my room to recover. It was a risky move, but I wanted to draw out the female ghost. Of course, I had already prepared my magic. If she dared to attack, I would kill her directly, eliminating the threat.
As a result, I lay nervously in bed all day. Even when Jayad returned, she hadn’t appeared. Jayad told me that the incident at the riverbank had spread throughout the city, but the rumors had fragmented into countless different versions.
Some said there was a gang war, others claimed two Mages had engaged in a magical battle by the river channel, and some even said a river monster had come ashore to eat people.
Only the true version of events seemed to be untold. Perhaps it was lost amidst the numerous, misleading rumors, or perhaps the officials were deliberately releasing these false versions to cover up the truth.
Jayad also went to the Bulletin board but found no wanted posters for either of us, not even for Bartholomew. Instead, they were looking for a Necromancer of unknown appearance and the Witch who had escaped last time.
Jayad had already killed that Witch long ago, and even her corpse, having turned into a Water Ghost, was reduced to dust by me. Yet, they didn’t even know she was dead and were still issuing a wanted notice for her.
While I was confined to my sickbed, by the river channel, Police Officer Rothes was still investigating the scene. Most of the clues at the scene had been collected and recorded, and they were now collecting the corpses. These bizarre bodies were to be sent to the Church for immediate cremation.
“Officer, he’s here. This is Mr. Zhang, a Qing official here to procure warships. He’s said to be particularly skilled in linguistics, so we’ve invited him to assist with the investigation,” a Civil official introduced an Eastern man to Rothes.
The man was elegant and refined, wearing peculiar Manchu official attire, carrying a fan in his hand, and adorned with an incense pouch and jade at his waist. His hairstyle was strange, appearing as if his Long braid had been coiled on his head, topped with a black hat.
“Mr. Zhang, this is Police Officer Rothes. He’s investigating a strange case and has encountered some difficulties, possibly related to the East. We hope you can offer some assistance,” the translator said to Mr. Zhang.
“Not at all. I’ve already heard about the case, and I speak Castilian. I hope I can be of help to the officer,” Mr. Zhang’s Castilian was a bit stiff and accented, but he could indeed speak it.
A slight smile appeared on Police Officer Rothes’s tense face. Finally, a professional had come to help him resolve his current predicament. Having only recently arrived in Iberian, he had learned Castilian, which demonstrated his considerable talent in linguistics.
“Mr. Zhang, this way, please. Follow me,” Police Officer Rothes said with a smile, engaging in idle chatter as they walked. “May I ask if your purpose here has been successful?”
“Very successful. Your country indeed boasts an invincible fleet, with strong ships and potent cannons. The ambassador has ordered five medium-sized warships. As for subsequent orders, we may have to wait until these are tested before making a decision. The ambassador also wishes to purchase some other weapons, as you know,” Mr. Zhang flattered subtly.
“It would be good if it could assist your country’s Navy,” Police Officer Rothes replied with a smile. Of course, both were merely exchanging pleasantries. An officer’s word wouldn’t determine whether warships could be purchased, and Mr. Zhang was only here to act as a translator for the ambassador.
Police Officer Rothes led Mr. Zhang to a cave entrance. The surrounding crime scene had already been cleaned up, but this cave remained untouched. The police feared that they couldn’t accurately transcribe the Eastern script, so they decided to leave it as it was, awaiting an expert.
Now, the expert had finally arrived. Mr. Zhang took one look and saw that the walls and the ground were covered in glowing text. It indeed resembled the script of his motherland, but…
“These characters were previously erased. We managed to restore them using special methods. We are certain that a murder occurred in this cave. We entrust it to you,” Police Officer Rothes said.
“Ah, this…” Mr. Zhang frowned, carefully observing the text.
Police Officer Rothes asked, “Is there a problem, Mr. Zhang?”
“These characters are very strange. I’ve never seen this kind of script before,” Mr. Zhang said with difficulty.
“What, isn’t this your Chinese character?” Police Officer Rothes frowned. If not, they had made a mistake.
“No, they are indeed Chinese characters, but not any of the mainstream scripts I’m familiar with. The writing is so chaotic, it’s more like vernacular script used by commoners. Could this possibly be the Heavenly kingdom script created by those rebels?” Mr. Zhang said with some astonishment.
“What are you talking about?” Police Officer Rothes was completely bewildered. He disregarded the messy parts afterward. “I just want to know if you can understand what these writings say?”
“Uh, it’s a bit difficult, but I can try. I recognize some of the characters here,” Mr. Zhang replied.
