Ji Xun rummaged through the storage ring and found some books on card-related knowledge.
Titles like *"108 Healing Spells Explained,"* *"Techniques for Making Skill Cards,"* and *"Plague Doctor Class Card Templates"*.
Books were very scarce in Innocent City.
Ji Xun had always wanted to buy some but had never succeeded.
He later learned that this was because the nobles deliberately restricted the spread of knowledge to consolidate their rule.
Finding these few books was already quite rare in Innocent City.
He sorted the loot for easier access.
Having found the two important items he was looking for, Ji Xun was quite satisfied.
The remaining loot felt like mere extras to him.
However...
At that moment, he discovered something strange.
Ji Xun touched an ancient silver mirror and seemed to hear faint whispers in his ears.
"Huh..."
He was immediately intrigued.
Upon closer inspection, his Insight did not indicate anything unusual.
Touching it again, the feeling of hearing whispers returned.
This time, Ji Xun was certain the problem lay with the mirror.
...
"Is it demonic whispers?"
Ji Xun was no stranger to this sensation.
Previously, in the cellar on Tailor Street and the basement altar on Redwood Street, he had heard demonic whispers due to environmental factors.
Demonic whispers were not good for humans.
They conveyed information beyond human comprehension.
Listening to them too much could cause mental pollution, leading to madness, confusion, and mental distortion.
After several tries, the silver mirror still emitted whispers upon touch.
Ji Xun suddenly had a thought: "Could this be like a radio?"
He felt that this item might be significant to the Silver Moon cult.
Otherwise, there was no reason for the doctor, a grown man, to carry it.
And if Insight didn't show anything, it was either an ordinary item or something advanced.
With this in mind, Ji Xun picked up the mirror and experimented.
The demonic whispers were indeed headache-inducing, something an ordinary person wouldn't bother testing.
But Ji Xun was different.
His [JOKER] trait gave him a chance to decipher demonic whispers.
The "chance" was unknown.
But if one try didn't work, he would keep trying.
He noticed the whispers from the mirror seemed consistent each time.
Instinct told him there was crucial information hidden in these whispers.
As for mental pollution and madness?
"Hey, why do I find these whispers... somewhat comforting?"
It felt like the whispers subdued the restless parts of his mind, quieting them down.
Like hearing a lion's roar quieting a group of rabbits.
Besides, Ji Xun's mental strength was high, far from mental breakdown.
He checked his status bar and decided that if there was a problem, he would stop and try again later.
...
Ji Xun trusted his instincts.
After many attempts, he finally saw a prompt.
"You listened to the demonic whispers from the abyss, evaded faith corruption, and deciphered part of the 'secret message.'"
"It's here!"
Seeing the prompt, Ji Xun knew his intuition was correct.
He hadn't fully understood the demonic whispers but filtered out three key words: tomorrow night, nine o'clock, Rose Tavern.
This was clearly a communication message.
His eyes lit up as he realized: "This is the Silver Moon cult's internal communicator!"
The mirror was an ancient relic serving as both a walkie-talkie and a phonograph.
Now, the mirror showed some information.
**[Relic: Silver Moon Mirror]**
*Description: Tier I ancient relic; you can use this mirror to talk to other holders, with content encrypted in demonic language; the item retains significant faith pollution, tied to an unknown demon god, perhaps requiring shared faith to decipher the messages.*
...
"Heh, this mirror has hidden faith pollution."
Ji Xun pondered, realizing the power of this faith corruption: "No wonder the Silver Moon cult is so secretive. Anyone who touches this gets corrupted. No fear of information leaks."
Demonic language encryption was one layer of security.
Faith corruption was another, ensuring no leakage even if the mirror was lost.
But Ji Xun's faith couldn't be altered, making the situation unique.
Seeing the meeting information, he felt a mix of excitement and curiosity.
The Silver Moon cult wouldn't know someone outside their circle could see these messages.
So... should he spy from the shadows?
Ji Xun found this a bit amusing.
"Wait, the Rose Tavern... isn't that a popular tavern on Downing Street? The Silver Moon cult is so bold to meet there right after their hideout was destroyed?"
His mind raced with thoughts.
He had infiltrated the enemy's command center. Shouldn't he take advantage of this?
Thinking of the Silver Moon cult, he immediately thought of their possession of mediums.
He was very interested in that.
After a moment of excitement, he had another concern: "But could this mirror have a tracking function?"
The encryption was perfect, making it unlikely.
But he didn't want to risk it.
He decided to leave the [Silver Moon Mirror] in place and set some traps around it.
After checking the doctor's storage ring again and finding nothing else unusual, he left the abandoned building.
He would observe for a few days to ensure no one came looking for the mirror, making sure it was safe.
--------
Before long, Ji Xun arrived at the Dark Rain Street black market.
He had spent a lot of ammunition in his lengthy confrontation with the doctor.
Fortunately, he had obtained some loot from the corpse; otherwise, he would have suffered a significant loss.
He needed to restock his supplies and sell some of the loot he didn't need.
After a few days, the black market on Dark Rain Street had become even busier.
New shops, clearly established by major businesses, had sprung up in previously obscure corners of the street.
Conversely, some old shops had closed down.
The bustling atmosphere was gradually stripping away the black market's mystique, making it more like a high-end hunter market.
Ji Xun walked cautiously, observing his surroundings as usual.
From a distance, he saw the mechanical lucky cat at the entrance of "Big Ivan's Treasure Shop."
The shop was crowded, much more so than the last time he visited.
As he had expected, the shop's owner had grand plans, and business was booming.
Walking further, Ji Xun noticed a group of people gathered around the black market's bulletin board, pointing and discussing.
Curious, he took a look and saw it was a wanted notice.
Innocent City's residents were mostly exiles, many of whom were wanted by the Federation.
Therefore, bounties were rarely used here.
When they were, it was a big deal.
This was a joint bounty notice issued by the Hunter Guild and Gold Oak Security Company.
Ji Xun walked over and saw it was a wanted notice for all members of the Silver Moon cult.
...
The bulletin board was covered with photos.
Ji Xun recognized two of them.
One was Baron, and the other was the doctor he had killed.
From the notice, he learned the doctor's name: Blackson.
1. Cloaked Woman, height unknown, skilled in mental secret arts, suspected high-ranking Silver Moon cult leader, details unknown. Bounty: 1 million for useful information.
2. Cloaked Man, 160 cm, hunchbacked, one of the cult's high-ranking deacons, skilled in controlling undead, second-tier spell card user, class unknown. Bounty: 300,000 for useful information.
3. "Plague Doctor" Blackson, one of the cult's high-ranking deacons, advanced class [Embalming Forensic], skilled in poisons and wields a relic-level scalpel. Bounty: 220,000.
4. "Lone Wolf" Baron, [Spade-4 Beast Tamer], first-tier spell card user, transforms into a fierce black ape during combat. Bounty: 200,000.
5. "Black Ghost" Lao Lu, cult operative. Bounty...
There were more than a dozen wanted individuals, some with photos and others with only descriptions.
...
Ji Xun felt his eyelid twitching as he looked at the bounty notice.
Unlike the curious onlookers, he couldn't help but mutter, "What's up with Gold Oak? They launched a raid, yet so many key figures escaped?"
This made him, the instigator, feel a bit... uneasy.
The reason Ji Xun dared to report the Silver Moon cult was largely because he judged their overall strength to be weak.
God's followers were like rats hiding in the shadows of Innocent City, unlikely to be high-ranking.
The bounty notice confirmed his judgment.
The doctor Blackson was a "high-ranking deacon" and only second-tier.
The leaders were probably of similar rank, at most third-tier.
But this small organization had so many members escape a raid by one of Innocent City's strongest forces, Gold Oak Security Company?
He had high hopes for Gold Oak, but their raid allowed many to escape.
And those who escaped were all troublesome.
Ji Xun thought briefly and realized, "Gold Oak must have Silver Moon cult informants..."
Without informants, so many wouldn't have escaped.
Looking at the bounty notice gave him a headache.
These old god followers weren't highly ranked but had bizarre abilities.
He had witnessed one who was nearly impossible to kill.
He noted the second wanted individual and thought, "This hunchback skilled in necromancy might be the grave digger 'Old Duan' from Blackson's notes."
Necromancy?
Ji Xun was always optimistic. Since they escaped, he looked on the bright side.
The bad news was he had more potential enemies.
The good news was they were still alive, and there might be more mediums.
"And Baron's bounty is almost the same as second-tier Blackson's?"
Ji Xun was surprised.
He had encountered Baron on the train and witnessed him single-handedly wipe out a Blackwater Mercenary squad.
But he didn't expect Baron's bounty to rise from tens of thousands to two hundred thousand in such a short time.
Bounties reflected strength.
A first-tier with a bounty comparable to a second-tier meant Baron was seen as that powerful.
Ji Xun was curious, "What quality of class card did he use to become so strong?"
He was at the black market to restock ammunition and to scout for class cards.
He was particularly curious about such an extraordinarily powerful one.
...
Ji Xun stood by the bounty board, listening to the chatter around him.
The black market's patrons seemed to know some inside information.
"Did you hear? The thing lighting up the sky at midnight these past few days is the 'moon.' It's said to be something that corrupts faith."
"Those old god followers are crazy, trying to corrupt the faith of the entire Innocent City..."
"Yeah. Luckily, Gold Oak discovered it in time, or the consequences would be dire."
"Baron's bounty is up to two hundred thousand? A first-tier spell card user with such a high bounty is rare. Whoever kills him would get rich instantly."
"Kill him? You're dreaming. Did you see last night's battle? Gold Oak's experts besieged their hideout in North City. The fight was intense. Baron transformed into a fierce black ape, injured several second-tiers, and escaped..."
"Really that strong?"
"Absolutely. And the cult leader's methods were even more bizarre. After her raid, her spells lingered, making everyone on the street dream of her all night..."
...
Ji Xun lost interest after a while.
Rumors and gossip tend to become more exaggerated the more they are shared.
Ji Xun didn't waste much time and decided to browse the black market to see if there was anything interesting.
He found something quite intriguing.
Several shop windows displayed Frost Knight armor and greatswords!
In other places, no one would dare sell or wear noble private army equipment so casually.
But in Innocent City, no one cared about nobles.
This finely crafted armor was in high demand here. For a close-combat spell card user, such equipment would greatly enhance their safety in dungeons and monster hunts.
"It seems someone found the Frost Knight relics in the Graveyard Labyrinth..."
Ji Xun felt relieved. This meant he could sell his sensitive loot more boldly.
After all, only a few of the 200 Frost Knights' relics he obtained were valuable; there were plenty left.
...
After wandering around, Ji Xun headed to Big Ivan's Treasure Shop.
For shopping, he naturally preferred places with a better experience.
Besides, the automatic appraisal cat ensured he wouldn't be swindled.
Upon entering, he was greeted by a beautiful sales assistant in a professional skirt.
After explaining his purpose, he was led to the VIP room again.
However, since the opening promotions had ended, skill cards were no longer available.
But the VIP tier system was in place.
VIP 1 required spending a million;
VIP 2 needed ten million;
VIP 3 required over thirty million;
and so on...
Each VIP level had special privileges. For example, to buy the primary skill cards he saw last time, he needed to be VIP 3.
Ji Xun had spent over four million last time, sold some items, and still had a level one anonymous VIP card.
It wasn't necessary, though. A quick look at the catalog revealed the same items as before.
Spell skill cards like [Basic Fireball] and [Basic Wind Blade] were now of little use to him. They were time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, making guns a more efficient option for his current situation.
He restocked his ammunition and checked the class cards.
A card apprentice needs to transfer to a formal spell card user to reach a higher growth limit.
But Ji Xun was slightly disappointed with the catalog.
Even in Big Ivan's VIP section, most transfer cards were plain or black iron quality.
There were a few silver ones, but they were extremely expensive and mostly auxiliary classes, which were not very popular.
For example, the 5 Wisdom Path's [Spade-5 Scholar] or the 7 Art Path's [Club-7 Musician].
One increased wisdom, and the other had a pleasant singing voice but lacked early combat ability.
These were said to be chosen by the noble families' young masters and mistresses for their refinement.
Even with his [Mark: JOKER], Ji Xun had no idea how to develop these career paths further.
Given his situation, transferring to a close-combat class seemed more suitable.
Ji Xun didn't rush his decision on his career path.
...
An hour later, Ji Xun left Big Ivan's Treasure Shop.
One benefit of these wealthy merchant layers was access to items unavailable locally in Innocent City.
For example, extraordinary books.
While he didn't buy any class or skill cards, he did purchase many books.
This world has some contradictions.
There was a mature printing industry capable of mass-producing newspapers.
Yet, most extraordinary-related books were primitive handwritten or gold-printed versions.
Extraordinary books were luxury items, with the parchment alone costing thousands per book.
Ji Xun bought a set of twelve volumes titled "Card Master Encyclopedia," all hand-copied in elegant script.
The sales assistant mentioned it was probably a textbook for noble academies.
Although it was basic knowledge, Ji Xun was very satisfied.
He hadn't seen any similar books in the local shops before.
To others, high-level cards and equipment were more valuable.
But to him, knowledge was an invisible power.
Lack of essential understanding could lead to poor decisions.
Even basic knowledge, to Ji Xun, was like a seed.
It would grow in his mind into a well-rounded tree of knowledge.
Lack of understanding could lead to significant problems when facing tricky enemies.
Additionally, he bought some items for dealing with undead creatures, such as [Holy Water], [Exorcism Talismans], [Witch's Spell Arrows], and some books about undead creatures.
Ji Xun had a premonition that as long as he was after mediums, he would likely clash with the Silver Moon cult again.
Better to be prepared.
With money to spend, Ji Xun wandered the market again.
He also bought some irrelevant items, like photos and rubbings with ancient Taren scripts.
They weren't expensive, as Innocent City had plenty of such antiques.
...
After wandering around town, Ji Xun returned to the abandoned building.
Checking his previous arrangements, no one had been there.
It seemed the [Silver Moon Realm] had no tracking function.
Still, he wasn't careless. He left the mirror in place and moved to another building from where he could observe it.
After last night's commotion, he couldn't go to the Corpse Collector Company for now.
Ji Xun stayed in the abandoned building, processing his purchases.
Reloading ammunition, making booby traps, and his daily physical training and meditation.
He needed to get used to his boosted attributes from absorbing the second medium.
Plus, the books he bought required time to read.
Ji Xun felt his time was never enough.
Another day passed in a blur.
The next evening, Ji Xun went out.
He had deciphered a secret message from the mirror: "Tomorrow night at nine, Rose Tavern."
He was curious if the Silver Moon cult members would actually show up.