Chapter 167

Chapter 139 – Traces

Theresa briefly informed me of the situation.

Those heretics… They seem to have noticed something. The merchants who were originally expected to arrive in four or five days have quietly quickened their pace on the road and arrived ahead of schedule. To prevent them from silently transferring the lotus grass away, they are currently being watched by people from the Sword of Kanri, but… Theresa is not entirely reassured.

“The Sword of Kanri, we haven’t interacted with them before,” I followed Theresa quickly down the stairs, and she asked me, “The Queen mentioned that you’ve fought with those people before?”

“Mm-hm, in the Empire.”

“The Empire… I seem to have heard rumors… Can they be killed?”

“Yes. When their strength runs out.”

“Is that so.” Theresa nodded thoughtfully, “Later, if we end up fighting… Silviana… I’ll leave her to you.”

“Mm.”

I understood what she meant.

The monks trailing behind us looked very nervous.

The Gate of Truth hasn’t appeared in West Continent for a long time. The Church has always portrayed them as extreme evil, bloodthirsty madmen, which inevitably leaves a terrifying impression akin to savagery. These monks are likely encountering them for the first time, and feeling fear is inevitable; it’s uncertain whether they can be relied upon in a fight.

She wants me to understand this.

We walked in silence out of the main building. At a corner on the way to the iron gate, I heard faint breathing sounds from behind the wall… Someone was lying in wait!

I reached out to stop Theresa’s steps.

“How…”

She asked in puzzlement, and I immediately turned my head towards her, gesturing for her to be silent, then pointing at the corner nearby. Theresa quickly understood my meaning, her brows slightly furrowed.

Is someone trying to stop us…

Whooosh—

The wind whistled sharply by my ears, the grass and trees beside me rapidly receding. A petite figure instantly rushed around the corner, twisted her body, grabbed the person hiding behind, and slammed him against the wall with a “thud.”

“Uh—”

“Who are you!… Huh?”

Gradually, I could make out the face with a look of terror— it was Abel.

… This foolish thief, what’s he up to?

Wasn’t he supposed to be praying with the children? Why is he here?

I hurriedly let go and patted his disheveled collar, “Sorry, are you okay… What are you doing here?”

Abel didn’t speak, just shook his head, extending his right hand to me. His rough fingers were clenched white, but there seemed to be something in his hand… Was he going to give it to me?

I instinctively reached out to take it, but saw Abel hastily retract his hand and shake his head again.

He seemed anxious, as if hesitating over something. His rigid eyes showed tension, then he swiftly stuffed something into my small shoulder bag.

“Don’t let anyone see it.”

Abel whispered to me, then ran off without looking back.

Strange… What’s wrong?

“Something happened?”

Theresa came over with a furrowed brow, and then she saw Abel’s departing figure, a hint of surprise on her face.

“That’s… Abel? Why isn’t this child praying and instead running around here?”

“He…”

I was about to answer Theresa’s question when I suddenly remembered Abel’s words still echoing in my ears. After a moment’s hesitation, I shook my head.

“When I came, I gave him candy. He wanted to tell me… thank you.”

“Really?” Theresa still seemed puzzled, “Praying is a ceremony to cleanse sins and purify the soul. Such an important matter… How could he miss it? He’s usually quite sensible… Did something happen?”

She looked at the distant figure, then shifted her gaze to me, her beautiful blue eyes full of confusion.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, then urged her, “Theresa,

“Shasha姐, let’s go.”

“Mm, let’s go.”

She glanced in the direction Abel had left and soon laughed. “That kid really… I’ll have to scold him when he comes back.”

…………

The old man opened the door for us as before.

Two familiar Church ostrich-drawn carriages were parked outside the iron gate. Teresa and I got into one of the carriages. The driver whipped the ostrich into a fast gallop, racing towards the city gates. As we came to a halt, we saw a hook-nosed man in his thirties walking briskly toward us. I recognized him as a member of the Sword of Canri from the emblem on his shoulder.

There was no time for pleasantries. The moment the hook-nosed man arrived, he got straight to the point. “The merchants just left for the eastern outskirts of the city.”

“Did you notice how they passed through the inspection?” Teresa asked impatiently.

“There wasn’t any inspection,” the hook-nosed man replied with a grim face. “Those merchants didn’t even open their cargo boxes; they merely chatted with the guards and were let in. A man wearing a top hat met them.”

“A man with a top hat…” I frowned at the mention, looking at the man before me. “The Sword of Canri sent someone to follow them?”

“The deputy captain led the pursuit. They will leave resin-scented marks along the way as markers. Follow me.”

With that, he turned and leaped onto a nearby roof.

The ostrich carriage started moving again.

The hook-nosed man sped off following the markers, our carriage close behind, jostling through the streets until it finally stopped at the edge of an old, sparsely populated street.

As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw the silhouette on the roof gesturing to us. Without greeting Teresa, I took two running steps and used the Moon Step to jump onto the roof, landing not far from the hook-nosed man.

The unpredictable speed of the Moon Step clearly startled him, and he looked at me with a mix of shock. Two others were crouching beside him, their emblems indicating they were also members of the Sword of Canri. Among them was a woman with a graceful figure… she seemed to have appeared in Victoria’s mansion that night.

When the woman saw me, her pretty face lit up with a smile, her red lips curling slightly. “Hello, Miss Sylvieja.”

I had no interest in small talk and quickly squatted beside her. “Where are they?”

The woman nodded her head toward a distant alleyway. “Over there.”

I followed the direction of her gaze.

The old alley was winding and deep, narrow and long. The cobblestone road was uneven, with some stones protruding and grass peeping out from the cracks, clearly indicating it hadn’t been maintained in a long time. On both sides of the alley were ancient residences, cold and desolate, giving the impression that few people lived there.

At the end of the alley, several wooden carts were parked in front of an old building, blocking the path completely. There were many people in plain clothes standing around chatting idly. I roughly counted at least fifteen or sixteen people. Most were men, but there were women too. I even saw a woman holding a baby, nursing the child without a care in the world.

This reminded me of the merchants who were executed by fire in the Frost City. I recalled Varal telling me on his deathbed that most of those people… hadn’t even heard of the name of the Gate of Truth.

He wouldn’t have lied to me then.

I would need to explain the situation to Teresa later.

“Where is the man with the top hat?”

“He went inside the building.”

“Did you see anyone familiar?”

“Not yet.”

“Notify the people across the street. Don’t make any moves for now. Let’s see what they intend to do.”

Hearing the brief conversation beside me, I whispered to them, “Victoria, what does this mean?”

“Her Majesty ordered us to track the whereabouts of the Grassfruit, to see who it ultimately ends up with… Her Majesty already has suspects in mind.”

“Who are they?”

The woman looked at me with interest.

“I’m sorry, I can’t say.”