Capítulo 1699: Chapter 1698: Tales of Tomb Raiding
“Relationships…”
Durut Giles showed a bitter smile:
“Sir, whether you believe it or not, she attached herself to . Yes, Miss Edwards, attached herself to . I’ll explain more at the Professor’s, but I can assure you, I absolutely did not, absolutely did not bind anyone’s soul.”
As he spoke, the soul of the little girl circled around him, as if she had discovered sothing interesting.
To prevent the frail man from dying on the way, Shard hired a carriage and returned with him to Cat Tail Alley where Professor Manning lived. The first thing upon entering was to tell the Professor that an invisible soul had entered with the two of them.
The Professor was startled, but only startled. In his youth, he had traveled the Old Continent for archaeology, having seen it all. Compared to the lethal relics, ghosts were rely a minor issue.
Three of them settled in the Professor’s living room, with tea already prepared by a servant. Professor Manning was more concerned about Durut Giles’ health, who claid he could recover, but according to Shard, the curse was not as light as he said.
“Before I start asking questions, we all need to be clear on one thing — grave robbing is wrong.”
That was Shard’s opening statent:
“I t a lady with the surna Edwards in the Green Lake Region. She is very angry about you leading people to steal from her ancestors’ graves. That group of tomb robbers may have died out, but you are still alive. I respect the Professor, so I won’t lay hands on you, but I can’t guarantee what she might do.”
The man’s lips moved slightly, slumping into the sofa:
“I know grave robbing is wrong. But isn’t archaeology, excavation, and the pursuit of new knowledge just like that? Besides, I thought there were no longer any Descendants of Edwards.”
“Archaeology doesn’t involve digging up graves that still have caretakers… I understand the general public has similar prejudices towards archaeology and grave robbing, but we are definitely not lawful tomb robbers with legal credentials.”
Professor Manning talked seriously when his profession was ntioned:
“Young man, you’ve lost your way, it’s ti to turn back.”
The floating soul clapped happily:
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I don’t mind Giles robbing my grave. I didn’t like that dark place, I like Giles!”
The spiritual body glowed slightly, indicating heightened emotions; she really seed to like this man. Noticing Shard’s gaze, the spiritual body quickly floated behind the slumping man to hide and then stuck her tongue out at Shard.
“First question: how did you discover the hidden cetery of the Edwards Family? I found it under the guidance of the descendants.”
Shard asked, and Durut Giles sighed:
“I have friends in the City of Glass. In the autumn two years ago, he sent
so items, supposedly of the forr Lord’s family of the Green Lake Region. On both sides of Green Lake, you can find such relics which are viewed as valuable by certain collectors.
I originally intended to use them as supporting material for a new thesis, but unexpectedly discovered a notebook among those relics. The blank parts at the back of the notebook revealed writings when special Reveal Potion was used, recording matters about the cetery. I was quite surprised then, thinking it was the abandoned cetery of a fallen Circle Sorcerer family, and decided to try my luck.”
This likely wasn’t a lie:
“What did you and those tomb robbers encounter on the island? Only one of your companions is still alive, but even he went mad, and couldn’t be queried about anything.”
“He wasn’t my companion, he was hired by … We landed under the cover of night, initially just faced with dense fog, endless, impossible-to-clear fog. Following the notebook’s records into the cetery, everyone instantly lost their sense of direction. Two people, in panic, ran aimlessly and got lost in the fog, while the others waited for three hours to return to normal. But those ordinary people, their ntal state was already seriously abnormal.”
As he spoke, his face showed signs of terror, the adventure leaving a lasting impression on him. The girl’s soul gently patted his back trying to comfort him, but she was actually incapable of affecting reality.
“I still stand by my point; even as a tomb robber, you’ve made a wrong choice. You young people who’ve spent too much ti in offices and schools really don’t understand anything.”
Professor Manning shook his head, uncertain what to say.
Shard continued to ask:
“And then?”
“After our sense of direction was restored, we proceeded as planned into the ossuary, opened the coffin, and took the burial goods. Just as I expected, the tomb indeed held the knowledge of a Circle Sorcerer and even contained a relic… It was only when I was picking up the burial goods and accidentally touched the corpse, muttering, ‘Died so young, truly unfortunate,’ that she appeared.”
He looked helplessly at the spirit beside him, as Laster Edwards at that mont was wrapping her arms around his neck, seemingly intent on strangling him.
“Back then, she wasn’t… as human-like as she is now—it’s the only word that cos to mind. She was expressionless, unlike a normal spirit; she seed more like so sort of automatic response golem. I was worried about causing trouble, so I didn’t pay her any mind, since this type of undead can’t stray far from their remains, and as long as you don’t speak, it’ll be fine. I looted the valuable burial goods, planning to quickly gather the tomb robbers and leave; this island was stranger than I had imagined. Yet those highly stressed, greed-blinded fools wanted to find more on the island, refusing to let , their ‘guide,’ leave alone. Thus, we argued, nearly fighting each other. Fortunately, as a Circle Sorcerer, I could still suppress them.”
Though his narrative was simple, Shard and Professor Manning could envision the harrowing night of foggy confrontation.
“As we argued, sothing on the island awakened. So invisible, unhuman-like monsters attacked us, and we lost part of our crew during the hurried escape. It was she who left her cetery to protect us; otherwise, there’s no way so many could have left.”
He turned again to the spirit beside him, as Laster Edwards clapped her hands, singing a folk song none could understand.
“We fled to the dock, boarded a ship, intending to leave. But upon escaping the thick fog, we encountered water ghosts on the lake… Oh, it’s probably my deserved retribution; I’ve never seen so many undead in my life, lurking densely beneath the water, reaching out to drag everyone into the abyss. Hundreds? Thousands? No, I don’t know. Even now, I occasionally dream of that scene… Yet again, she protected us, but of the three boats, only two managed to escape, and that’s when I lost my fountain pen. I didn’t even have the courage to dive into the lake to retrieve it afterwards. After leaving the island and erasing the tomb robbers’ mories, I practically fled from the Green Lake Region, not even caring what the tomb robbers had taken.”
He covered his face as the fearful mories were revisited, causing involuntary slight spasms.
Shard and Professor Manning exchanged glances, as the Professor rubbed his temples and stood up to refill Durut Giles’s teacup with hot water, while Shard looked at the emptiness in the Professor’s eyes:
“He’s done talking, it’s your turn. What’s going on? How can you leave that island? Why are you following him?”
But Laster Edwards’ spirit completely ignored Shard, hiding behind Durut Giles and uttering in a sharp voice:
“Giles, Giles, he’s so terrifying!”
The man instinctively moved to protect, and upon realizing Shard’s scrutinizing gaze, he said dejectedly:
“I’ll answer; these past two years I’ve understood so things. She can leave that Demon Island not just because she hates it, but because of . My core Spirit Rune is special: Enlightennt – [Soul], Enlightennt – [Fusion], Enlightennt – [Guidance]. They greatly enhance my soul and allow
to shelter other souls; I’m probably a natural-born undead master, though I don’t like corpses and spirits… Oh, don’t cry, I didn’t say I don’t like you… Laster has been with
these two years, gradually regaining her wits; she didn’t even speak before. I could tell she was originally controlled, getting better only after leaving the island.
She protected
back then, and now I’m willing to keep her close; it’s my way of penance. Besides… I picked up a curse on the island, and though I discarded that wealth, knowledge, and relic, the curse still haunts . If she weren’t constantly helping to alleviate it, I’d probably be dead by now.”
“Is she powerful?”
Shard asked, as the Professor looked at Shard with deep reverence for talking to thin air.
“Yes, more powerful than any Circle Sorcerer I’ve known, otherwise she couldn’t have helped us escape the island. Though she’s not great with words, she’s actually quite intelligent.”
The man pressed his lips together and looked up at Shard; it was his first ti eting Shard’s gaze. From his eyes, Shard could see his fragility, fear, and concern:
“Sir, I can tell you’re interested in the Edwards Family, but please, do not delve any deeper. Once, in a nightmare, I touched Laster’s mories; her fear towards the family and the island turned into a terrifying nightmare. Edwards, and that island, are absolutely not simple; her father, the docunted first Lord of the Edwards Family, was a man truly fit to be called demon-like.”
He shuddered again, taking quite so ti to utter words that stunned Shard and Professor Manning:
“Laster Edwards, was actually, was, was murdered by her father. Yes, in my nightmare, I saw the scene from Laster’s perspective, killed by her father… strangled.”
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