Chapter 284 The Mysterious Phenomenon <TOC> Chapter 286 The Changing Nightmare Domain
Translator: SumTLMan
“Has Lady Red Lotus really arrived at the Shadow Demon Castle?”
The one speaking was Wimbledon, who timidly poked his head out from the corner of the staircase.
Daring to eavesdrop on a conversation between wizards, David frowned at the audacity of the ordinary man. Just as he was about to scold Wimbledon, he heard a flurry of hurried footsteps coming from the other side of the second floor, heading toward the staircase.
Ananda then burst out, exclaiming as she pressed Wimbledon’s head down, forcing him to bow repeatedly with her in front of the group.
“My apologies, it’s my fault. I dozed off for a moment, and this little rascal slipped away. I’m sorry for disturbing the wizards, it’s all due to my negligence. If you must punish someone, punish me!”
Ananda continued to bow in apology, her earnest attitude making it difficult for David to scold her any further.
“Stop it. If you keep bowing, his head is going to break off,” Angel stopped Ananda, pointing to Wimbledon, who was already dizzy and disoriented, his eyes swirling.
Ananda had been pressing down on Wimbledon’s head as she bowed. Her strength was already well-known throughout the Shadow Demon Castle, and she hadn’t controlled it well in her haste. Looking back, Wimbledon was indeed disoriented, stumbling around, not knowing his direction. The bright red handprint on the back of his neck was clearly visible.
David scoffed disdainfully, “Ugh, so violent.”
Ananda quickly withdrew her hand, but it was already too late. With swirling eyes, Wimbledon spun around twice at the staircase entrance before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
“Wimbledon!” Ananda anxiously helped the young boy up, and after a frantic check, she finally calmed down when she realized he had only fainted.
Ananda scooped Wimbledon up in her arms, princess-style, and bowed again to everyone: “I’ll take him upstairs right away. He won’t escape again, please forgive him.”
Angel stopped her.
“I have a question that I need him to help me answer. Since he’s unconscious, you can answer for him.” Angel pointed to an empty seat, signaling Ananda to sit down.
With a hesitant expression, Ananda sat down with a hint of trepidation. As she sat, she gently placed Wimbledon down on the couch so he lay flat, his head resting on her lap.
Angel smiled at Ananda, whose face turned slightly red as she lowered her head.
“I just want to know, you broke my illusion, but didn’t leave. What were you after?”
Before leaving, Angel had set up a simple illusion on the second floor. When he returned, he found that the illusion had been broken, but Wimbledon and Ananda hadn’t taken the opportunity to leave, which made him curious.
Ananda whispered softly, “Weren’t we supposed to wait for you?”
Angel replied, “Yes, I did say wait for me to come back. But my intention was for you to behave. Since you broke my illusion, you obviously weren’t behaving. Why would a mischievous child pretend to be well-behaved and wait for me to return? Clearly, you had another purpose.”
While Angel was talking to Ananda, Promi and David consciously moved to the other side of the couch, not making a sound. Before they went to the auction, Promi had promised to let Angel handle Wimbledon. Since he had promised, he wouldn’t say anything more.
Ananda’s words were somewhat vague: “It was Wimbledon who was interested in your illusion, playing with it on his own, and I didn’t interfere. Somehow, the illusion disappeared, so I brought Wimbledon back.”
Angel didn’t comment on Ananda’s explanation. Instead, he pondered for a moment and said, “Never mind, I’m not really interested in your story either.”
Ananda looked up at Angel, unsure why he would say such a thing.
“Take Wimbledon upstairs to sleep. Tomorrow morning, you can leave on your own.” Angel waved his hand, making this decision.
He had initially thought that Wimbledon, as a thief, could be a good servant to Promi. But after meeting Ananda, Angel learned that Wimbledon still had family, and although the family’s act of restraining him was a bit strange, they were generally harmonious. With that in mind, Angel didn’t want to break up a happy family, so he decided to let Wimbledon go.
The reason he had kept Wimbledon before was because the boy had stolen a wizard’s money, which, due to the wizard’s dignity, warranted some punishment.
Before going to the auction, the illusion that Angel had set up wasn’t very difficult; in fact, he had intended for Wimbledon to leave on his own.
After Angel said this, Ananda’s expression wasn’t as joyous as one would expect from someone who had regained their freedom. Instead, she looked at Angel, seemingly hesitant to speak.
“Go back, don’t come out and disturb us for no reason.”
Under Angel’s urging, Ananda reluctantly carried Wimbledon upstairs, looking back every few steps.
After they left, David sneered, “Huh? Angel, you let them go so easily? The girl is one thing, but that brat stole my money bag!”
Angel sighed, “You’re exaggerating… I don’t want to get involved in any trouble. Letting them go is the best choice.”
“Trouble? What trouble?” David was puzzled.
At that point, Promi sighed and tapped the back of David’s head with his knuckle, “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what the kid was asking just now?”
“What? Wasn’t he just asking if Lord Red Lotus had gone to the Shadow Demon Castle? Wait…” David paused, “That’s not right. How would a mere mortal know about Lord Red Lotus?”
“Well, we don’t know that,” Promi said, “Since it involves that Lord, that’s the biggest trouble. Letting them go is the correct choice.”
Angel nodded. He had thought of this as well, which is why he didn’t probe further and decided to let them leave.
“You’re three years older than Angel, but you’re not as clear-sighted as him. Did you live your years in a dog’s body?” Promi mercilessly teased.
David chuckled, “Who would pay attention to such details all day long? I think you guys are the ones living a tiresome life!”
“You’ve grown quite bold, joking not just about me, but also Master Promi,” Angel joked.
David grinned, “I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”
The wall clock showed it was already 3 a.m.
“Didn’t I say yesterday that we would talk about alchemy all night long? Why don’t we start now? I’m really curious about the music box Angel made,” Promi said and then turned to David, “You should stay too.”
David’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he nodded eagerly.
“Speaking of the music box, I wanted to ask then, how did the music box you made for Toby end up at the auction?” David asked Angel.
Angel didn’t answer the question, just smiling without saying a word.
Angel’s attitude revealed everything, and David sheepishly said, “Alright, never mind if you don’t want to talk about it. But I have to say, your music box was truly amazing! I was dumbfounded at the time!”
Following the topic of the music box, the three of them began their alchemy exchange.
At first, it was Angel talking about the concept of refining the music box and the ideas behind the design of the blueprint. Later on, it was all Promi talking about his alchemy mixing experiences.
They talked until almost dawn.
In the middle of the exchange, Ananda took a drowsy Wimbledon downstairs. As she left, her eyes were fixed on Angel.
Angel hesitated slightly in his heart. Since they were ordinary people, after leaving this place, they would be forced to forget their experiences at the wizards’ market.
After thinking for a moment, Angel finally said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ananda glanced at Wimbledon, and a hint of struggle appeared on her face. In the end, she shook her head and said, “It’s nothing, thank you for forgiving Wimbledon’s rudeness.”
After saying that, Ananda gently placed Wimbledon on the ground, then respectfully bowed on his behalf to everyone before slowly leaving.
“That woman certainly understands things better than that brat,” David commented as he appeared at that moment.
Angel smiled and said, “Understands things? If I told you her identity, I guess you wouldn’t think so.”
“Identity? What identity?”
“Actually, she’s also a pickpocket, and even the leader of a group of pickpockets.”
……
David, who hadn’t slept all night and had experienced the ups and downs of the auction, was already exhausted. After greeting Angel, he went to rest.
Promi’s spirits were quite good. As a third-level wizard apprentice, even if Promi didn’t rest for ten days or half a month, it wouldn’t cause much trouble.
“Do you want to go rest?”
Angel shook his head, “I slept a lot yesterday, so I’m not sleepy now.”
“Then do you want me to take you to the alchemy shop?”
Angel had been planning to create a space item and was initially missing three ingredients: the Stone Core of White Dredging Stone, Plane Dark Erosion Fragment, and Plane Creation Fragment. But last night at the auction, he spent a lot of money on a higher-quality Stone Core of Black Dredging Stone than the white one, so now he only needed two more ingredients.
Plane Dark Erosion Fragment and Plane Creation Fragment were quite common, but they were generally only sold in alchemy shops catering to official wizards. Angel had no connections, so he needed Promi to show him the way.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I just happened to ask a shop yesterday to help me inquire if they had any alchemy weapons capable of restraining the undead within their inventory. I have to go ask anyway, so it’s no trouble at all.”
Angel nodded, washed up a bit, changed into a wizard robe that could conceal his face, and left with Promi.
……
At the same time, in a small private room at the Twilight Auction House.
Lydia was sitting with her legs crossed, her smooth, fair, long legs slipped out of the side slit, slender and beautiful.
When the Twilight Auction House staff brought in two young girls, they saw the alternative view of these two long legs, and their cheeks immediately turned red. Stammering, they said to Lydia, “Re-Red Lotus, I-I’ve brought the people. Sh-she is the consignor of On Cloud 6.”
Lydia looked at the stammering staff member and chuckled, “You must be a newbie, right? So cute. Do you want to come to my room tonight?”
The staff member, remembering the terrifying rumors about Lydia, quickly shook their head and waved their hands in fear.
“Tsk, you’re no fun. Get out of here.”
When the staff member left, Lydia finally looked up at the two somewhat uneasy wizard apprentices, “So, you two are the consignors of On Cloud 6?”
Chapter 284 The Mysterious Phenomenon <TOC> Chapter 286 The Changing Nightmare Domain