The Haggard Miss Magician

The Haggard Miss Magician. The Red Moon was obscured by clouds in the night sky, and the suburbs of Backlund immediately sank into complete darkness.

A shadow stopped before a common rural courtyard. After looking around and seeing no one, he nimbly climbed over the courtyard wall.

The moment the shadow's feet touched the ground, a hoarse voice from inside the house asked, "Who is it?"

"Lord Hillman, it's me."

"Oh, Hayman!"

The clouds drifted overhead, revealing the Red Moon once more.

Under the moonlight stood a middle-aged man with a sincere smile on his face. He was none other than Hayman the Swindler, who had escaped right under Hobart and Xue's noses.

"Lord, I came to ask you about two people. One was a tall young man who seemed somewhat resistant to mental influence. The other was a short woman, very agile and looked quite capable in a fight," Hayman said. "They had been secretly following me all afternoon. Fortunately, I noticed them and managed to shake them off."

The person inside the house was silent for several seconds before saying, "You suspect they were sent by me?"

Hayman smiled sincerely. "I don't suspect anyone. It's just that only you know some of my secrets."

Hillman sneered. "If I wanted to deal with you, you'd already be dead! You should think about whether you offended some big shot while carrying out your scams."

"Since it wasn't you, then they were most likely Official Extraordinary," Hayman spread his hands. "They ruined your plan. Zachary has probably already been taken under their control.

"I thought about it all night, and there's only one possibility: the ritual you had Zachary conduct drew the attention of the Official Extraordinary. They found me through Zachary."

Hayman had never considered that Mr. Robin, whom he had swindled, might have provided someone with clues about him. In his view, Mr. Robin and his cousin were merely insignificant people in Backlund. At most, they could find Zachary, but they would never settle the score with him.

"Ha!" Hillman gave a sinister laugh. "I understand now. Your aggressive manner just now was only meant to cover up the failure of the plan!"

He said coldly, "Although Mr. A said that ours is a cooperative relationship and that I should show you sufficient respect, "you still have to be punished for messing things up."

Before Hayman could argue, a solemn murmur immediately rang in his ears. It felt as though someone were stirring his brain with a knife, causing him unbearable pain. He flung his head about, smashing it against the wall with repeated thuds.

He deeply regretted approaching this group of madmen three years ago in order to obtain the Acting Method.

But it was already too late. Enduring the intense discomfort in his head, he shouted, "I'll cultivate another Secret Supplicant and make him willingly undergo Lord Hillman's experiments!"

The solemn murmur began to fade. Hayman collapsed into a seated position in the corner, gasping for breath, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death.

Hillman said from inside the house, "Find somewhere to hide. If someone is still investigating, you should know what to do. Don't worry. When the time is right in the future, we'll avenge you.

"If no one continues investigating, then cultivate a new Secret Supplicant.

"Go. I won't report your mistake to Mr. A."

Hayman pushed himself up against the wall. "Thank you. Thank you for helping me conceal this. I won't make a similar mistake again."

The murmur had left him feeling as though he had suffered a serious illness. He no longer had the strength to climb over the wall and could only support himself against it as he left through the courtyard gate.

Just as Hayman stepped out of the courtyard gate, a hand reached out from the shadow of the wall and shut it.

Southern Continent, Town of Nonexistence.

Early morning dew glistened crystal clear as it slowly slid down blades of grass before finally falling to the ground.

Whoosh~ A young woman with messy hair and somewhat shabby clothes ran back and forth through the grass, humming an off-key nursery rhyme. Dew clung to her trouser legs, but she paid it no mind and seemed to be having a great time.

Elliot caught up to her with a smile and plucked a blade of grass from her hair. "I'm going out for a while. Listen to the teacher, all right?"

She was Elliot's older sister, Moira. Because the family possessed limited Extraordinary Characteristics, usually only one child in a family could consume the Lawyer Potion at the age of twelve.

When Moira was twelve, she gave her chance to consume the Potion to her younger brother.

Thus, under the torment of the Mad Howl, she became like the other family members who had not consumed a Potion: mad!

After becoming a madman, that mad howl seemed to disappear. However, whenever the symptoms of madness improved even slightly, the Mad Howl would return.

Therefore, the Balk Family's madmen would remain mad forever.

After the Balk Family settled in the Town of Nonexistence, they bought many slaves to care for the family's madmen.

Those who remained lucid, like Elliot, had to leave town and participate in Extraordinary Battles to provide income for the family. Only then could the family continue operating in the long term.

Sometimes warlords hired them to fight. Sometimes the various churches of the Southern Continent hired them to do dirty work.

As Extraordinary of the Lawyer pathway, who possessed considerable combat strength after Sequence 8, they never had to worry about lacking commissions.

The only jobs they would not accept were from the Rose School. Of course, the Rose School would not commission them either. Though the Balk Family and the Rose School were not Adjacent Pathways, they were mortal enemies who would fight to the death whenever they met.

Elliot looked at his sister. "I think I may have found a way to save our family. Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I'll do everything I can to break free from the family's Curse. You'll get better. Everyone will get better."

At that moment, someone shouted in the distance, "Elliot! Time to go!"

Elliot squeezed his sister's hand, which was covered in weeds and mud, then left without looking back.

Moira watched her younger brother's figure grow farther and farther away with a foolish smile on her face. Two streams of tears unconsciously slid from the corners of her eyes.

At 8:10 in the morning, Gasbin Street, East End of Backlund.

Dressed in a light trench coat and carrying a cane, Hobart checked his Pocket Watch again. Miss Arbiter was already ten minutes late.

Another Rental Carriage arrived. When its door opened, Hobart finally saw Xue.

Xue jumped down from the carriage. "Sorry, I'm late."

Hobart smiled. "No, I just arrived early."

Seeing the dark circles beneath Xue's eyes, he asked, "Didn't rest well last night?"

Xue cautiously surveyed the surroundings. "Yes. I never sleep well whenever I change pillows."

Just as Fors had imagined, there weren't seven or eight Beyonders waiting to seize her the moment she stepped out of the carriage.

Naturally, Hobart had no idea that Xue and Fors had changed residences overnight, only taking turns resting after they had finished moving well past midnight.

Xue and Hobart walked side by side for some distance. Hobart suddenly turned around. Behind him, the street held only workers hurrying to work and a vagrant slumped against a wall.

Hobart's expression remained natural, but he whispered to Xue with certainty, "We're being watched."

Xue was slightly taken aback. That was right, someone was watching them. However, the person trailing far behind them was Fors, whose dark circles were even worse than hers, whose skin looked awful, and who looked as though she had not slept for three days and nights.

Thanks to Ji Wanyi for the 100-point reward.