I suddenly felt a chill, my heart and lungs almost stopped. There was actually someone behind me, and I hadn’t noticed it at all. Not only that, but he also knew that I had killed the Piper. Was he a Custodian?
I was truly scared and intended to shout, but then another withered hand suddenly covered my mouth. My startled cry was choked in my throat, “Mmmph mmmph!?”
“Don’t shout so loudly, do you want them to know you’re hiding here? Little Witch,” the voice seemed to be an old, hoarse female voice?
I suddenly remembered someone and tried desperately to turn around and look, but the strength in that skinny as a rake hand was surprisingly great. Just one hand covering my mouth made it impossible for me to turn around.
“Don’t make a scene, and I’ll let go. If you calm down, just nod,” the old voice said.
Of course, I nodded vigorously, and then the hand that had covered my mouth loosened. I immediately turned around and saw who it was that had scared me from behind.
Her face was wrinkled, her gray hair was disheveled, and she was hunched over. She was wearing a tattered cloak adorned with feathers and animal bones. It was the eccentric old woman I had met in the small fishing village before. How had she suddenly appeared behind me? It had truly startled me.
“Heh heh, you did well, little witch. You actually solved the source of the disaster on this ship. Although it was a dangerous journey, your split-second decision-making had the old woman in awe,” the old woman chuckled.
“Uh, how did you know what I was doing on the ship? And even, well, you knew I killed someone,” I asked cautiously, trying not to anger her. She seemed to know everything.
“Of course, I’ve been watching you,” the old woman smiled. She had been watching me?
She definitely wasn’t following me directly. Otherwise, she should have intervened when I was in danger on the ship, as our goals were temporarily aligned. I didn’t believe she could have followed me without me, Sebastian, or Mr. Zhang noticing.
Had she used some remote method to watch me? For example, had she left some magic on me that allowed her to observe me from afar? She was watching from a safe place outside, and the only contact I had with her was in the small fishing village. She had grabbed my hand then, and I remembered it hurting quite a bit.
I immediately reacted and pulled up the sleeve of my right hand. As expected, the red mark from when she had grabbed me was still there.
I had already been on the ship adventuring for over an hour, yet this red handprint remained. This was definitely not a normal phenomenon. This should be the mark she left.
“Heh heh, you’re quite quick to react, little girl. Good. I’ve been watching your every move through this. You did well this time, although you reacted too slowly and were always surprised by sneak attacks. If it were the old woman, those Mutants wouldn’t have even touched me,” the old woman chuckled.
“If you’re so capable, why didn’t you go onto the ship yourself to deal with that blood oil? And if you knew it was a pollution leak, why didn’t you tell me in advance?” I said with great dissatisfaction.
Just imagine someone being a riddle-solver before you set off, watching a live broadcast from the safety of their own place while you’re on an adventure, and then criticizing you after you return. You’d be angry too.
“Don’t get agitated, don’t get agitated, little witch, you don’t understand. If the old woman had gone up there, it might have triggered a greater disaster. So I tried to avoid direct contact as much as possible. As for the leak, hehe, actually, the old woman didn’t know the specific situation. It’s better not to say uncertain things that might affect your judgment,” she chuckled.
“Tch, I’ve solved it now anyway. Are you satisfied?” I looked at her as if to chase her away. If it weren’t for my virtue of respecting the old and caring for the young, I would have wanted to curse her out right now.
“Don’t be so agitated, little witch. The old woman is here to help you. You were too sloppy. Do you really think the Custodians won’t find you because of this?” she said again.
“What? Did I leave any loopholes?” I quickly asked, my previous dissatisfaction completely gone.
“You missed the point all along. To those Custodians, the most important thing has never been people, but the contained items. You took their contained items and haven’t done anything to them. Do you think they won’t find you?” the old woman asked.
I was suddenly startled. Contained items? Could it be the Pied Piper of Hamelin? I immediately took out the flute and asked, “Are you talking about this?”
“Of course. Every item from the Custodian Association has a number. And to prevent them from going berserk, breaking seals, or escaping, every contained item has a tracking spell on it. Besides, the Custodian Association also has many skilled diviners,” the old woman said.
“Really? Items can also break seals and escape?” I felt a bit incredible and examined the Pied Piper of Hamelin in my hands. The aura of the flute was too chaotic, and I couldn’t discern any tracking enchantments for the moment, but it did seem to have a strange magical power.
“Who said all contained items are mere objects? Didn’t he also want to contain you? And who told you that objects can’t break seals? Anything they deem necessary to seal is extremely dangerous,” the old woman said.
“What should I do now? Should I throw this thing away or destroy it?” I asked, feeling a bit reluctant. This flute was an incredibly powerful Magic Apparatus.
But I had already believed what the old woman said was true. Weighing the options, my own life was more important. I’d just pretend I never got the flute from the start.
“That’s not necessary. The old woman will handle it for you. Hand it over.” She extended her withered, wrinkled hand. I hesitated for a moment before handing the flute to her.
“Impressive, very impressive. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. It was obtained during the Black Death War when I signed a contract with the Lord of Calamity. With it, you can command Ratmen, but at the price of contracting the sickness yourself,” the old woman said, looking at the flute with obsession, making me wonder if she had made up that story just to get her hands on the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
But then, she traced the flute with her fingers, which were like withered tree branches. Wisps of dark green smoke seeped into the flute from the holes, and then, with tiny scattered specks of light, it sprayed out from the mouthpiece. The entire flute seemed to turn into a pipe.
After doing all this, the old woman exchanged the flute back to me. Looking at the flute, I asked, “Is it done like this?”
“Of course, it’s done. Now, even if you walk right past those Custodians with the Pied Piper of Hamelin, they won’t know the flute is in your hands anymore,” the old woman chuckled eerily.
“Lastly, I’ll give you a small gift. It’s also your remuneration for helping to resolve the disaster. That makes us even,” she said. As soon as she finished speaking, I suddenly felt the tattoo on my hand become scorching hot.
