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The quiet living room, the dim yellow light spilled from beneath the lampshade, illuminating the central area.
There, Tang Qi had already cleared the small table.
Only a dagger remained on it, pinning down the Essos Ghost Grass, or rather Professor Rick Cassel, next to it was a cup of clear water.
The two were engaged in a bizarre conversation.
Tang Qi had discerned the cause behind the serial tragedies at Messer University, and subsequently brought back the real "culprit," Professor Cassel in his activated state of the Shadow Cage Mushroom; certainly not out of sympathy for his plight.
This old professor doesn't deserve sympathy on either a legal or moral level.
The reason for bringing him back was naturally because he possessed something Tang Qi needed.
And not just one thing.
Tang Qi's gaze slowly retracted from the pile of note manuscripts, then he looked at the mushroom and asked, "Where did you obtain your secret medicine knowledge from?"
If Professor Cassel were still human, upon hearing this question, he would likely immediately show a look of horror.
This was his biggest secret, being pointed out bluntly, he would naturally change color.
Regrettably, he was now just a bizarre plant.
He could only unconsciously twitch the black, slick tentacles, then realizing his current predicament, he decided against any concealment, wetted his tentacle in the water, and wrote his answer on the table.
"I was inspecting an Old Calendar Thirteenth Century shipwreck when I stumbled upon some books that wouldn't rot, containing a great deal of secret medicine knowledge. Since it was stormy that day, and besides me, everyone else went to rest, no one else was willing to clean up those things."
"I found the knowledge very interesting, so I studied it all night, but unfortunately, the next day was a scorching sunny day. When those books were exposed to sunlight, they burned up in an instant, and that knowledge vanished completely except for a portion in my memory."
"Based on my later research, those books likely came from one of the mysterious tribes that were enemies of the Ancient Maya Civilization, and the owner of that shipwreck was not simple. However, due to the passage of time, I couldn't clarify further."
Compared to Tang Qi's concise questions, Professor Cassel's answers were very detailed.
Without much contemplation, Tang Qi asked again, "Besides secret medicine knowledge, do you possess any other mysticism knowledge?"
"No!"
"Other than that accident, the rest of my life's explorations, although I have encountered some weird, mysterious events, they were all resolved by firearms in the end. I didn't acquire more related knowledge, even though I had perceived the existence of the Mysterious Domain."
"However, I couldn't bear to lose my status and reputation, so I never exposed my knowledge of secret medicine, nor ventured into that unknown world."
A reasonable explanation, Tang Qi silently noted.
The following question, however, Tang Qi did not voice out loud.
He wanted to know to what level Professor Cassel had advanced his knowledge of secret medicine, for instance, whether he had successfully become a professional, as promotion to a profession required the successful compounding of those secret medicines to be granted professional certification.
The profession corresponding to secret medicine knowledge, as Tang Qi knew, should start with a "Secret Medicine Apprentice," followed by a formal "Secret Alchemist."
But since Professor Cassel had not truly entered the Mysterious Side, those questions were unnecessary.
Tang Qi sat on the sofa, pondering silently.
Professor Cassel's words should be true, at this juncture, he had no reason to deceive himself, and considering that he recklessly used Curse Secret Medicine, turning the female assistant and the head of the security into Spider Demons, it was clear he wasn't a person from the Mysterious Side.
Anyone with even a slight connection to the Mysterious Side would know that in terms of Extraordinary Power, the official forces were the truly fearsome party.
In fact, even without Tang Qi's intervention.
The serial bloodbath within Messer University would eventually be smoothly resolved.
It's just that by that time, the aftermath would certainly have escalated to some extent, drawing official intervention.
```
By then, Cassel, the main culprit, would likely meet a grim end.
From this aspect, Tang Qi seemed to be Cassel's savior.
Upon this thought, Tang Qi suddenly rose slowly to his feet, stood before the desk, reached out, and grasped the dagger, then drew it out directly.
But he heard a light "sizzle" as several droplets of black liquid shot out from the activated cage mushroom along with Tang Qi's motion, splattering onto the desk.
However, the freed Rick Cassel didn't move, just like a black Big Octopus sprawled on the desk, waiting for Tang Qi's decision.
Smart man!
Tang Qi silently gave his assessment, then without delay, he spoke the terms of the trade he initiated.
"Professor Cassel, I can find you a body that perfectly meets your requirements, and oversee the ritual for you, reciting the spell, giving you a chance to start anew in life."
Upon hearing these words, Cassel did not exhibit an excited demeanor.
Instead, he quietly waited, and sure enough, Tang Qi's voice continued to carry over.
"In exchange, you need to pay a price, the only thing you have to trade now, your... Knowledge!"
"Secret medicine knowledge, you have to trade all the secret medicine knowledge that you've stumbled upon to me."
"Since you could acquire the Essos Ghost Grass from the wizards of the Saha Continent, then you should also know how to cut your own soul. As long as you inject all your secret medicine knowledge into a Soul Fragment and cut it off, our trade will be considered complete."
"Of course, you can choose to refuse, and I will send you on your way, killing the real murderer of a serial killing case, I will bear no burden."
"Or, you could choose to deceive me during the cutting, but if I find out, I will still kill you."
Having said that, Tang Qi then stood aside, silently waiting for it to make a choice.
On the surface, Tang Qi showed no signs of excitement or any other affect.
It seemed that the secret medicine knowledge was not important to Tang Qi; the trade was just a casual undertaking for him.
Because from the very beginning of their contact, Tang Qi had held an absolute advantage. Although Professor Cassel was smart, in his eyes, this high school student, Tang Qi, might be a seasoned personage of the Mysterious Side.
The most crucial point was that it actually had no room for choice.
On one side was complete death!
On the other, exchange secret medicine knowledge for a new life!
Anyone who wasn't a fool or a madman would make the "correct" choice.
Indeed, as Tang Qi's mental countdown reached three, the Black Octopus on the desk moved.
Under Tang Qi's gaze, it slowly lifted its smallest tentacle.
"Squeak~Squeak Squeak"
The simple action seemed to bring immense pain, and it began to emit the desperate squeals similar to that of a dying rat being crushed.
Gradually, under Tang Qi's watch, that short black tentacle began to redden, threads of red light incessantly pouring into it, glowing as if it were a red-hot iron.
At the same time, a special interface popped up at the bottom of Tang Qi's eye.
Streams of Information Fragments flowed past.
When the last fragment passed by, that black tentacle was so red it glowed, and Cassel's shrieks probably led people to believe that the resident of this small building was a pervert who took pleasure in torturing rats.
"Shssh~"
Tang Qi made his move, the sharp dagger slicing through the air, and at the same time, cutting through that tenacious tentacle.