Chapter 758 Muya's Scroll <TOC> Chapter 760 Seeking the Well
Translator: SumTLMan
Adjacent to the central royal court is Tailmouse Street, which happens to be right next to Widow Street.
So, Angel didn’t continue flying but leisurely blended into the crowd, following the flow of people towards Widow Street.
As he turned a corner, Widow Street was just up ahead, but before he even set foot on it, he sensed a strange feeling, as if someone was watching him.
A thought crossed his mind, and instead of entering Widow Street, he abruptly turned around and headed for the bustling Glare Square.
It was only after he entered Glare Square and confirmed that the feeling of being watched had disappeared that he casually looked back at the shadowy long street. At that moment, there weren’t many people on Widow Street, but Angel quickly spotted two apprentices hiding on a rooftop.
Because the distance was great, he couldn’t see them clearly, but he was sure they were apprentices because they were continuously casting some kind of visual illusion on the crowd. The energy ripples they created were invisible to ordinary people, but he could sense them clearly.
It seemed like they were monitoring the flow of people in the area.
Angel furrowed his brow and thought to himself, “It seems they’ve found their way here too.”
“That’s right, three thousand years ago, more than half of the businesses on Widow Street were occupied by the Lucas family. It’s clearly recorded in history, so it wouldn’t be difficult for them to find this place.” Angel glanced at the direction of Widow Street, where there were already two apprentices on guard at the entrance, not to mention the unknown number of extraordinary individuals inside.
Even if he activated his Boundless Silence to sneak in, the effect of Boundless Silence wasn’t absolute invisibility, and it might fail in the face of a thorough search.
So, Angel didn’t continue towards Widow Street but decided to find another place.
According to the records in Muya’s handwritten scrolls, Lucas had a separate courtyard in Pompeii Lane, bought for one of his lovers. Since that lover was pregnant with Lucas’s child, he was worried that she might be secretly harmed by his other lovers out of jealousy if she stayed in Widow Street, so he specially bought a courtyard for her.
However, Muya also recorded that although the child was eventually born safely, it didn’t survive past the age of three. She was not sure about the cause of death.
Pompeii Lane was far from Widow Street, located at one end of the city’s east side. Angel didn’t know if there were any other extraordinary individuals nearby, so for safety’s sake, he didn’t immediately take off but slowly strolled along, planning to leave Glare Square first.
But when Angel arrived at the center of the square, he suddenly paused.
Previously, his entire focus had been on the direction of Widow Street, completely neglecting the appearance of the square. It was only now that he noticed a tree towering ten meters tall at the very center of the square.
At first glance, the tree seemed ordinary, but in reality, it was not a real tree but a tree sculpture crafted from luminescent stone.
Viewed from a distance, the tree appeared hazy and indistinct. However, up close, it seemed like a fantastical creation that didn’t belong to this world. The entire tree emitted a soft glow, and its branches were adorned with various wind chimes used for prayers. As the wind blew, the chimes jingled, producing a crisp, melodious sound.
There were three reasons why Angel noticed this tree.
First, finding such a large piece of luminescent stone was already a rare feat. Second, the seamless carving was undoubtedly the work of a master. Lastly, and most importantly, Angel recalled a passage from Muya’s handwritten scroll:
“In the late Month of Revival in the year 1347 of the Shining Gold Era…”
“Prince Domingo visited, and the royal family held a grand banquet in the palace. That flirtatious scoundrel Lucas didn’t change his ways and tried to seduce Domingo’s cousin, who was blind. Ugh! Listen to what he said; there’s a luminous wishing tree by Lake Andema, and he wants to take her there to make a wish so her eyes can regain sight? Enough already! Why did I have to meet him here?”
This was merely a venting remark from Muya, and Angel didn’t pay much attention at the time. However, upon seeing the luminescent stone tree sculpture before him, he suddenly remembered the passage.
He didn’t know what the square looked like three thousand years ago. However, he still remembered the map of three thousand years ago he had just seen in the Anru Royal Court. Beside Widow Street, there was a lake called Lake Andema.
A tree made of luminescent stone? A luminous wishing tree?
Could this tree before him be the one Lucas mentioned?
Angel noticed a shop nearby selling wishing wind chimes, surrounded by a group of chattering girls.
Angel approached and faintly heard the girls’ conversation: “I heard this luminous wishing tree is very effective… I hope it can bless me and make Colone fall in love with me.”
“I just wish that next month, Master Fuga would come to Shilok City to hold a concert.”
“I wish I could lose weight…”
They bought a few copper wind chimes, wrote their wishes on them, and the shopkeeper immediately arranged for someone to climb a ladder and hang their wishing wind chimes on the luminescent stone tree sculpture.
“So that’s how the wind chimes got there,” Angel thought to himself, no wonder there were strips of paper hanging from the chimes.
Just moments ago, he glanced at several strips of paper containing wishes with his mental tendrils. Most of them were wishes for blessings for their families, but of course, there were also words reflecting the thoughts of girls like the group that had just left. The most peculiar, however, was a golden wind chime hanging at the top: “I wish for a certain part of me to grow 5 centimeters longer.”
While Angel was lost in thought, the group of girls had already left, and the shopkeeper looked up to see Angel standing in front of him.
“Dear customer, would you like to buy a wishing wind chime?” the shopkeeper said with a beaming smile, “The Luminous Wishing Tree is very effective, you know. The current princess made a wish here to marry a good husband, and it came true.”
The shopkeeper pointed at a few golden wind chimes at the top of the tree carving: “The one at the very top is the princess’s wishing wind chime.”
Angel looked where the shopkeeper pointed and carefully distinguished the wind chimes. The shopkeeper wasn’t lying; there indeed was a strip of paper with a marriage wish written on it.
“How do you sell these wishing wind chimes?” Angel casually asked.
“Bronze wind chimes, 2 gold coins, can hang on the tree for one month. Silver wind chimes, 20 gold coins, can hang on the tree for a year. As for the gold wind chimes, they cost 200 gold coins, and as long as this tree carving belongs to our merchant association, it will hang for you permanently,” the shopkeeper said nonchalantly, but the prices were astonishing.
One gold coin was enough for ordinary people to not worry about food and clothing for a year, yet here, two gold coins could only hang a wind chime for a month.
It was estimated that only wealthy aristocrats and merchants with plenty of disposable income would be able to afford hanging a wind chime.
Angel casually picked up a golden wind chime and played with it. The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up in an instant, and he began to wax lyrical about the advantages of the golden wind chime: cleaning off dust every three days, rain protection with a cloth… and a very high success rate for wishes.
Angel didn’t believe any of this. He had just sensed the tree carving and found no energy fluctuations, which essentially meant it was a scam.
However, he didn’t come here to expose the shopkeeper’s trick.
Angel: “Boss, did you just say that this tree belongs to your merchant association?”
“That’s right. This tree itself was custom-made for our Firefly Merchant Association by Master Warsaw.”
“This… Luminous Wishing Tree indeed looks beautiful and dreamy. I’d like to ask when the tree was finished being carved?”
Angel swallowed and felt a strange sense of anticipation as he asked the question.
The shopkeeper furrowed his brows, growing increasingly annoyed. The man before him didn’t seem interested in buying a wind chime and kept asking questions. Noticing Angel’s somewhat unkempt appearance, he wondered if he was being taken for a ride.
As the shopkeeper pondered whether to have his assistant kick Angel out, a not-so-small bag was suddenly thrown onto the table.
Confused, he opened it to find it brimming with gold coins.
“I find this wishing tree quite interesting. Give me a golden wind chime,” Angel said casually.
In an instant, the merchant’s expression changed. He didn’t even care where Angel pulled out the gold coins from. He respectfully took out a piece of decay-resistant parchment from the drawer and placed a feather pen and ink bottle in front of Angel.
“Honored guest, please write your wishes on this paper. Later, I’ll have my assistant find you an excellent spot where it won’t get wet in the rain!” The merchant rubbed his hands together, putting on a servile attitude towards Angel.
200 gold coins were no small amount. The fact that Angel threw out a bag of gold coins so casually demonstrated his wealth.
Angel took the feather pen but didn’t start writing immediately. Instead, he looked at the merchant and asked, “You haven’t answered my question from before. When was this tree carved?”
This time, the merchant didn’t hesitate, replying directly, “It was over six hundred years ago. Master Warsaw passed away six hundred years ago as well, so I’m not lying.”
Angel listened and nodded emotionlessly.
However, in his heart, he couldn’t help but think, “As I suspected.”
It was like this again!
Though it was something Lucas had personally mentioned, it didn’t appear during his time but rather was delayed to hundreds or even thousands of years later. Although many details didn’t match, the overall core remained unchanged.
Once or twice could be a coincidence, but so many times meant it was inevitable.
There was indeed something strange about Lucas. People in the Shining Golden Era couldn’t discover it, thinking he was a fraud. Only later generations who slowly investigated would realize the peculiarities.
“Guest, why haven’t you started writing yet?”
The merchant’s urging voice came from beside him, and Angel came back to his senses: “Sorry, I was just thinking about what to write. I have so many wishes to fulfill that I’m trying to prioritize them in my mind.”
The merchant nodded understandingly, his gaze towards Angel even more amiable. To think that he hadn’t even decided on his wishes before paying for the golden wind chime – he was practically a naive, plump sheep ready for the slaughter.
As the sheep to be slaughtered, Angel pondered for a moment before swiftly writing a line of words on the paper.
“May mentor Jon’s illness be cured, may my elder brother’s health be well, and… may the Lionheart’s flame burn eternally.”
Chapter 758 Muya's Scroll <TOC> Chapter 760 Seeking the Well