Chapter 593: Chapter 591: Hands Up
In the library of Deep Blue Castle Station.
Following the hints provided by Wizard Roland, Richard had found the materials regarding the “surrounding environnt of Deep Blue Castle over the past few centuries” in a corner on the first floor of the library.
He took down one ancient-looking book after another and opened several slightly blackened parchnt scrolls, quickly scanning through them.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
One hour, two hours, three hours…
Before he knew it, a full three hours had passed. The reading motion Richard had maintained finally changed as he set down a heavy parchnt scroll and, while massaging his temples, rapidly recalled the content he had perused.
Extracting information from the content and piecing it together like a puzzle, he ford a map of the surroundings of Deep Blue Castle in his mind.
By then, he had learned the so-called location of Yadisi Village, but it was not precise, partly because the materials didn’t provide a detailed description, and partly because the records were so ancient that many details could not be confird.
For example, in the records, there was an ancient entry that stated Yadisi Village lay fifteen miles north of rkel Town. Yet, there was a newer record claiming Yadisi Village was located more than thirty miles to the south of rkel Town.
So, where exactly was Yadisi Village in relation to rkel Town? North or south?
Or were there two Yadisi Villages?
Or could it be that there was only one Yadisi Village, but two rkel Towns that happened to sandwich Yadisi Village in between?
This was just a typical example among the nurous pieces of information, many of which were contradictory. Hence, after three hours, Richard could only determine that Yadisi Village was sowhere in a large area to the west of Deep Blue Castle Station. Within this area, there were more than ten suspicious sites; to find out which one it was, he had to visit them in person.
In that case…
Without much hesitation, Richard took action imdiately, leaving the library and mounting his horse to depart from Deep Blue Castle Station, heading westward.
…
In the afternoon.
Richard arrived on horseback at potential site number one for Yadisi Village.
He pulled on the reins to stop his horse, dismounted, and looked around.
He saw a relatively dry ground around him, with sparse vegetation and trees and many rocks of various sizes, giving the place a rather desolate look.
“Could it be here?” Richard murmured to himself.
Although it didn’t seem at all like a village would be here, anything could happen over a long period of ti. Perhaps so natural disasters or changes in the landscape had buried what once was a village underground.
In that case, only by carefully digging up the ground to see what lay underneath could he confirm whether it was indeed Yadisi Village or not.
However, this was no small task; the workload would be considerable.
Richard glanced over the entire ground surface, contemplating this thought.
Calling Pandora might be a good choice, though she was capable of exertion, asking her to dig carefully might be a bit difficult. Besides, Pandora had recently found her interest in studying, and it was best not to interrupt her if possible.
What should he do then, perform the task completely on his own?
Or perhaps…
Richard’s eyes twinkled, and suddenly, he turned his head to look in a certain direction and spoke aloud, “The person hiding over there, co out. You’ve been hiding so long, don’t you need to stretch a bit?!”
When his words fell, the surroundings beca dead silent, with even the wind coming to a halt.
The atmosphere grew sowhat awkward, as if everything were just a fignt of Richard’s imagination.
However, Richard wasn’t embarrassed at all because he firmly believed in his senses. Seeing no response, he raised his voice and asked again, “Are you coming out or not? If you don’t co out now, I’m going to have to resort to so ans. Whether your intentions are good or evil, don’t bla for anything that happens!”
Despite his words, the silence continued, with no reply.
Richard raised an eyebrow and decided not to dilly-dally. In a swift motion, he waved his hand—a sprinkle of Magic Salt flew out, triggering an explosion.
With a “boom,” a rock over a ter tall was blasted to smithereens, sending fragnts flying in all directions.
Finally, there was a response. From a patch of dried grass not far from the stone ca a voice: “Don’t attack, we’re coming out!”
“First, throw out your weapons,” Richard said without a hint of courtesy.
“Uh, alright—” The people in the grass hesitated and then threw out two Longswords.
“Co out,” said Richard.
“Alright.” Two figures erged, one male and one female, both with expressions of one furrowed brow and one awkward grin, resembling mischievous children caught in the act. Who else could it be, if not Nancy and Gro?
“It’s you,” Richard said, spotting Nancy and Gro.
“Um, it’s us,” Gro replied, scratching his head. “Lord Richard, let explain. I didn’t an to follow you; I just wanted to check your identity after spotting you, and unexpectedly, you discovered us. But, to be honest, I really didn’t expect to bump into you here.”
“I feel much the sa,” Richard replied with a smile.
“Hey, Lord Richard,” Gro said as sothing occurred to him and asked, “When did you notice us? Was it right when you dismounted?”
“No,” Richard shook his head. “I noticed right after leaving the Deep Blue Castle Station. However, I didn’t pay much mind and thus didn’t realize it was you two.”
Gro: “…”
Nancy suddenly interjected, glaring at Gro, “You heard him, right? He noticed us the mont we left the Deep Blue Castle Station. This is all your fault! If you hadn’t been making all that noise when we left the station, we wouldn’t have been detected.”
“How can you bla !” Gro retorted, clearly unwilling to accept the bla. Normally, he would have let it slide since he couldn’t beat Nancy anyhow, but with Lord Richard present, he inexplicably felt emboldened and defended himself against Nancy, “It’s not my fault, okay? I was really quiet when we left the station. It was you who were yelling at to hurry up, not to get lost, or else… Bang!”
Gro didn’t finish his sentence before he was struck hard on the head. Nancy pulled out a black Short Wand from her embrace and hit Gro on the top of his head with force.
Gro’s eyes widened: “You!”
“What about ? It’s clearly your fault!” Nancy said, hitting him hard again, her deanor fierce, “If you’d been faster, I wouldn’t have had to rush you. And now you say it’s my problem!”
“I…” Gro looked pitifully toward Richard, seeking justice, but saw that Richard was watching with keen interest and had no intention of intervening. Nancy, on the other hand, had raised her Short Wand again, seemingly ready to strike his head once more.
Gro instantly backed down, looking at Nancy and saying ekly, “Fine, fine, it’s my fault, okay?”
“It was your fault to begin with,” Nancy said earnestly.
Gro: “…”, following a suffocating silence, protested with his gaze: You shouldn’t bully like this; otherwise… perhaps I can’t beat you, but I will curse you, you know?!
Nancy huffed dismissively as if she couldn’t care less, her attitude saying: Go ahead and try!
Gro: “…”, feeling even more aggrieved.
Reviews
All reviews (0)