"Cellar? Fine, you make the arrangements."
After wandering in the woods for a while longer, Tarry Mercury seemed to have found the large tree marker he remembered. After locating several landmarks, they finally arrived at a slightly more spacious area of the forest.
"This is the place. Last time I came here, I even had a picnic," Tarry Mercury said with a smile, stepping onto the grass. He pressed his foot against the ground in the middle, and suddenly his expression changed.
"Something's wrong! Someone else has been here! Ceylan!"
Miss Ceylan quickly stepped forward, bending down to search the ground. Soon, she lifted a metal ring from the dirt.
The ring was black and red with rust, apparently covering another metal that faintly gleamed with a silver shine.
Tarry Mercury, who had also been searching, wasn't as quick as Ceylan. Upon discovering the ring, he grabbed it and pulled hard.
With a whoosh, a square wooden plank was lifted, revealing a dark hole beneath as soil and debris fell away.
Galon didn't ask how Tarry Mercury knew someone else had been there. Seeing their serious expressions made the atmosphere tense.
He approached the hole, peering into the darkness, unable to see its depth.
"I'll go down and check," unexpectedly, it was Miss Ceylan who volunteered, not the great detective Tarry Mercury.
"Be careful," the detective actually agreed, nodding solemnly at Miss Ceylan.
"Let me go down instead. It doesn't seem right for Miss Ceylan to go down for this kind of thing..." Galon hesitated.
"It's fine. Ceylan is not as delicate as she appears. Just watch carefully," the detective replied calmly.
Ceylan, covering her nose and mouth with a white handkerchief and holding a black dagger, secured a rope around a nearby tree before tossing the other end into the hole.
"I'm going down. Keep an eye out up here. The tracks are fresh; the other party may not have gone far," Ceylan said gravely.
"Understood, take care," the detective, pulling Galon back a few steps, looked even more serious.
Ceylan descended into the hole, disappearing instantly as the rope tightened.
After about ten seconds, the rope slackened, indicating Ceylan had reached the bottom.
"Sir! You should come down too, there's something down here!" Ceylan's voice echoed from below.
Tarry Mercury's expression grew even more somber.
"If Ceylan says there's something, it must be serious. I need to go down myself. Mr. Kelly, I'll leave the surface to you. Here's a gun, please don't stray far from the hole."
Galon was surprised by Tarry Mercury's trust in him but realized, considering his own plans for the detective, he wouldn't harbor any ill intentions.
He nodded firmly.
"Rest assured, I'll stay close by!"
"Thank you!" Tarry Mercury handed Galon a hunting rifle, then made his way down the hole slowly.
In just a few seconds, he disappeared from sight.
Galon stood by the hole, holding the double-barreled shotgun, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
Thankfully, there was no movement, only the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Soon, Ceylan climbed back up, her face grimy and exhausted.
"We found two decomposed bodies down there."
"Bodies?" Galon feigned shock, swallowing, "You're not joking, right?" After directly or indirectly causing two deaths recently and understanding the inner workings of his sect, such discoveries couldn't faze him.
"No joke. They were indeed two men's corpses."
Ceylan sat on the grass, stashing the dagger and pulling out a white handkerchief with a faint red palm print.
"What's this?"
"A blood print of the murderer, a crucial clue," she said, carefully folding it and putting it away.
"Also, these were in the cellar. The sir couldn't identify them." She pulled out several black objects, covered in mud.
"Oh?" Galon took them, peeling away the mud to reveal four rusty black iron pieces, each about the size of a finger joint, with vague inscriptions.
"How about these?" Ceylan asked.
"They're antiques, indeed useful to me. Very useful!" Galon's face twitched, trying to maintain composure.
"The sir said to give them to you as a shock gift for this ordeal."
Holding the iron piece, feeling a slow stream of potential energy similar to the medal, Galon shook his head.
"I don't believe Tarry wouldn't see the value of these iron pieces. It's a generous gift, but I must accept."
"Within that piece of iron, there lies a potential as vast as the ocean, far greater than the initial potential aura of the medal! Galon, unable to release the iron from his grasp, glanced at Ceylan. This young and beautiful woman was watching him with a half-smile, causing his face to flush. He could not possibly give up on this iron piece. Fully absorbing its potential would surely grant him nearly 10 attribute points, and it might even be an antique that provides a continuous supply of potential over a long period, much like the medal.
He felt this premonition.
"This gift is no small matter..." Clutching the iron piece tightly felt like holding a block of ice, with a continuous flow of cold entering his hand without any freezing sensation.
"It's just that the absorption rate is too slow; it would take months to fully absorb."
Gazing at Ceylan, Galon slightly narrowed his eyes.
"I have a check for one million here." He pulled out a neatly folded white bank check from the inner pocket of his chest and placed it beside the iron plate.
"If I'm not mistaken, this iron plate should be the Black Jade Disc that Tarry mentioned before. Another piece of Black Jade Disc was auctioned for over six million in the Wisman Empire not long ago. So, no matter what, I am getting a great deal this time."
He fell silent, seemingly pondering something, hesitating.
"I'll remember this, owing Tarry a favor."
He spoke gravely, word by word. Galon, in his previous life, was someone who took promises very seriously. He never made promises lightly, but once he did, he would definitely fulfill them.
This iron plate was like a massive treasure, not only bringing him wealth but also a real enhancement in his personal strength. As long as he kept it with him, his comprehensive attributes would experience a significant change over time. Catching up with his senior brothers and sisters, or even surpassing Master Fei Baiyun, could be possible in a very short period.
"Mr. Tarry knew you would recognize its value. He needs your help with something, and you can immediately repay your favor," Ceylan seemed to have anticipated Galon's reaction, saying softly with a smile.
"What help? Just say it. I'll do what I can." Galon's pupils contracted slightly, knowing Tarry Mercury might have seen through his disguise.
"Block the Gold Ring that's about to pursue us," Ceylan's gaze darkened, whispering, "Just hold them off for half an hour, and the reinforcements we've called will arrive quickly! Of course, if you can eliminate them, that would be even better!"
"Gold Ring?" Galon suddenly turned to look towards the distance on the right.
From the bushes, a man dressed in dark green, his face covered and wearing a black headscarf, was slowly approaching, his right ear quietly adorned with a golden earring.
"Last time it was you guys hunting me, this time it's my turn to hunt you."
The man's voice was hoarse, creating a disturbing, raspy sound.
At this moment, Tarry Mercury emerged from the hole, panting as he climbed up the rope, glancing at the approaching Gold Ring.
"It's all on you, Kelly!" He patted Galon's shoulder, made a gesture to Ceylan, and the two quickly got up and ran towards the castle without looking back.
And the man, surprisingly, did not pursue.
After running a great distance, with trees and bushes sliding past them, the black fence of the castle soon came into view.
"Sir, can that Kelly really hold off Gold Ring?"
"Huff... Huff... It's just to delay a bit, I never expected him to stop Gold Ring." Tarry Mercury gasped for breath, "The Black Jade Disc I left him is for trading his life. According to Gold Ring's rules, Kelly won't be in life-threatening danger."
"It seems you've thought this through." Ceylan was slightly out of breath but appeared physically fit.
"Let's go, quickly, Gold Ring will catch up soon." Tarry Mercury squeezed through a large hole in the fence.
In the woods.
Galon pocketed the Black Jade Disc, slowly standing up with his bones cracking in a series of sounds, like firecrackers, "I owe Tarry a favor, killing you is just the way to repay it, don't blame me. Blame your bad luck."
His body inflated slowly, his height stretching from 1.7 meters to over 2 meters. A violent aura rapidly spread around him. His muscles and skin quickly turned from pale to a leathery dark shade.
Gold Ring's expression changed drastically, overwhelmed by the formidable aura, involuntarily stepping back.
"Who exactly are you?!"
Galon didn't reply, his arm stretching out, reaching for him over a distance of several meters. His terrifyingly veiny, muscular arm, like a python, violently aimed for Gold Ring's head.