Chapter 205: The Bird-Faced Plague Doctor
Afterward, they discussed the previous Water Ghost attack. I was an eyewitness to that incident, which seemed to be the trigger for the Royal Family to send people to investigate the corrosive agent, and it had already been classified.
The Water Ghosts had resurrected corpses in the water into Undead due to the corrosive agent, and they instinctively attacked an adventure team by the riverbank. According to the Lord of the City’s wanted order, the members included an Egyptian Priest, a Fangshi from Great Qing, and a Witch.
The informant also said, “If you can find any information about these people, you can provide it to the Lord of the City’s, and the Lord has a generous reward.”
I almost spat out my drink when I heard this. I knew the Witch referred to me, but what was a Great Qing Fangshi? That must refer to me too, right?
The most absurd part was, where did the Egyptian Priest come from? I had no idea where this information originated.
However, everyone present seemed to have heard about this news to some extent. They exchanged information but all stated they hadn’t heard of anyone from Egypt recently, let alone seen anyone from Great Qing.
“Anyway, after the Royal Pharmacist Association finished their inspection, the results were shocking. It’s said the Queen was furious that day. Such an oversight occurring near the Royal Capital led to the Minister of Water Resources being dismissed on the spot,” the informant continued.
“But if it was just the Undead corrosive agent, why is there a defense against Magical Beasts outside the city? Logically, they should be asking the Church to eliminate the Undead,” another person asked doubtfully.
“I don’t know. The Royal Family might not have finished their analysis yet, but in my personal opinion, the Undead corrosive agent alone is not enough to cause a Magical Beast riot. Since this year’s Magical Beast tide is more severe, there might be a more potent corrosive agent than the Undead corrosive agent,” the informant said.
“More potent than the Undead corrosive agent? Could it be, the Sacred Corrosive Agent?” someone asked with a hint of panic, causing a stir among the crowd. The Angelic Calamity incident had made many here very wary.
“Impossible, the Sacred Corrosive Agent isn’t like that either. It looks more like the Chaos Corrosive Agent. It depends on what kind of mutations those Monsters have,” another expert offered their professional opinion.
How do you guys know everything? The more I listened, the more I felt my knowledge was insufficient. No way, I thought I had learned enough from Old Golden Tooth last time, but unexpectedly, it wasn’t enough. I need to study seriously when I get back. Luckily, Old Golden Tooth specifically gave me a book about corrosive agents.
I couldn’t understand what they were discussing later, so I turned and left to see other transactions. I have to say, this Trade Fair truly has everything imaginable for sale, and much of it walks the line of legality.
For instance, over there, a suspicious guy with a gloomy aura was hawking: “Five urns of ashes, guaranteed to be from single individuals, cremated immediately after death, not purified by Holy Water. Excellent materials for Necromancy. Only accept transactions with Indulgences.”
Hmm? I didn’t expect anyone to specifically ask for Indulgences. I looked at the suspicious man. Judging by his aura, he must have suffered greatly from mutations. And using urns of ashes for trade? That’s a bit immoral, isn’t it?
Then, someone actually came to trade with him, exchanging five Indulgences for three urns of ashes and leaving with the ceramic jars.
I also saw the Indulgences. They were golden tickets with religious imagery painted on them and text from the Bible written on them. The material seemed unusual too, as a Sacred aura emanated from the paper even from a distance.
Someone was selling a suspicious powder, rumored to aid cultivation if placed in an incense burner, and could even allow one to see gods. It was touted as fine Arab goods from Granada.
I immediately moved far away. Whatever that stuff was, it was absolutely not to be touched. Seeing gods? I’ve seen them, and I never want to see them again, unless I’m a madman.
There were also people selling treasure maps, claiming to have a treasure map from a Pirate King and selling it for a mere one hundred Gold coins. But no one paid attention to him; either they thought it too expensive, or they didn’t have the money to set sail.
Anyway, amidst the dazzling array of transactions, I searched for what I needed. Although I didn’t have much money left, I still had two Gold coins, so maybe I could find something affordable.
Just then, I noticed someone. This person’s attire was too conspicuous, to the point that even at this Trade Fair, where unusual clothing was common, they still stood out from the crowd.
It was a Plague Doctor. At least, at first glance, I felt it was a Plague Doctor. He was wearing a full-body black leather coat, a black hat, black gloves, and black leather boots. Several shiny steel syringes were tied to his belt, and he wore a white bird-beak mask on his face.
This was the typical attire of a Plague Doctor in the Middle Ages, and it gave off a chilling vibe. He had no intention of interacting with anyone around him, nor did he look at anyone’s wares, just sitting in his spot.
Only when someone approached him to talk would he open his medicine chest beside him, take out some medicine, and the other person would then hand over money, pay quickly, and leave with the medicine.
I had a feeling he might have what I needed. Although I also felt that a person wearing such an outfit and a bird-beak mask was too suspicious to be trusted, the circumstances forced me to approach them.
As I drew closer, the bird-faced doctor merely turned his head and looked at me silently with coldness from the narrow eye slits of his mask. I couldn’t discern his emotions at all, not even his gender.
My momentum faltered. The courage I had finally gathered seemed to have half-disappeared. The bird-face was too terrifying, and I was uncertain of his identity or his intentions.
“Um, do you have any Sedatives here?” I asked, steeling myself.
“Yes,” came the reply, in a voice that sounded severely distorted by a voice changer. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.
My heart eased a little. Luckily, he answered. I pressed on, “Is it the kind that can suppress Madness and restore reason?”
“Of course,” the bird-faced doctor seemed unwilling to say any more than necessary.
“Can you sell me three doses?” I asked. One for Jayad, one for myself, and one as a spare.
“No, I’ve already sold out. You can only make a reservation,” he said.
“Alright, then I’ll reserve three doses.” Cold sweat streamed down my face. It seemed I’d have to come again next time.
“Five Gold coins per dose, a total of fifteen Gold coins. You need to pay a five Gold coin deposit first,” the bird-faced doctor said coldly.
So expensive! While I could afford it, it would clear out a large portion of my family’s savings. And most importantly, I didn’t have that much cash on hand.
“Um, I don’t have five Gold coins right now. Can I pay two coins first? I’ll pay the rest when I come for delivery next time,” I asked hesitantly.
“No, five coins are required. A two-coin deposit can only reserve one dose,” the doctor remained firm.
I had no idea when the next meeting would be. One dose of medicine was barely enough for me. If I reserved again, Jayad would have to wait an unknown amount of time for the medicine, and no one could predict what might happen in the meantime.
“Um, can I use this as collateral first?” I took out the Life Elixir I had refined.
