154. Purchase

at night.

The hotel where Sulu stayed.

"Anguskin ... Anguskin ..."

The faint, almost imperceptible calls, like murmurs or whispers, lingered in Sulu's ears.

"It's a curse!"

Sulu jumped out of bed, his expression wary.

Suddenly, a figure appeared.

It was a pale, sculpted human figure, its entire body covered with grooves as if scorched by flames, its limbs and body creating a highly incongruous visual effect.

"This is... Demon Portrait?"

Sulu immediately thought of the Demon Gallery incident in Nia City.

Just then, the surrounding walls transformed into curtains, from which numerous arms and palm prints bulged out, firmly gripping him.

The Demon Portrait moved closer, almost face to face with his.

On that severely burned face, new flesh and blood suddenly grew, creating a face full of Roman style.

With blond hair and blue eyes, he was handsome, possessing a subtle, alluring charm.

"This is... a portrait from the Ancient Mansion... Dale Anguskin? Am I cursed by it?"

"No... where is this?"

Sulu's mind raced, and suddenly, as if he understood something. "This is... my dream!"

Upon realizing this, everything around him was rapidly dissipating; the numerous arms and even the Demon Portrait were all illusions.

The real world.

Sulu woke up, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "Another nightmare... No, this is a reminder from my Inspiration, suggesting a connection between this Demon Ancient Mansion and the portraits in the Demon Gallery?"

Although it seems absurd, upon closer examination, it seems quite normal.

The Demon families capable of giving birth to Cursed Spirit are among the most elite, even in the Dark Realm; there are only a handful in the entire world.

Within the White Eagle Federation, there may only be one.

"Anguskin... the Demon Family... could they be high-ranking members of the Ancient Serpent Society? And this is their abandoned old mansion?"

Sulu couldn't help but have some guesses.

At this point, he had come to regard the Demon and the ancient serpent as a single entity.

The so-called ancient serpent appears to be nothing more than a Demon in disguise.

"Of course, it's also possible the other way around... The ancient serpent is disguised as Demon; in any case, they are both top-tier Evil God, beings whose mere glance can be fatal..."

Sulu drew back the curtains; the night outside was serene and beautiful.

He took a deep breath, put on his cloak and hood, climbed out of the hotel window, and entered the Black Market through a hidden bar in the suburbs.

Although it was late at night, business here was booming, quite the opposite.

Sulu went to the restaurant in the center, ordered honey-glazed pork chops and wine, and also wanted to see if there was any news.

However, to his surprise, the group of drinkers today were all very tight-lipped and did not reveal any valuable information.

"Bartender!"

Sulu stared at the parrot in front of him. "Is there anywhere here that sells information?"

"A Silver Eagle!"

The parrot chirped merrily, its tone so shrewd and unsavory—I wondered who it had learned it from.

"No problem!" Sulu tossed a silver coin over.

"Go straight and turn right, the third stone house!"

The parrot gripped the Silver Eagle with its claws. "Don't say I introduced you."

"Could it be that these two families have a feud?"

Sulu got up in confusion, walked straight to the end, turned right, and saw a row of shops.

"Flame and Hammer! This is clearly for forging and crafting Curio..."

"Exceptional job guidance? Are you sure you're not just trying to scam me?"

"The Witch Doma's bookstore? Could this be it?"

Sulu counted to the third house and went inside.

Inside the witch's bookstore, numerous shimmering fluorescent crystal balls served as light sources, causing various colors to dance and dazzle the small space.

Sulu almost thought he had stumbled into a disco in another world. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the displayed crystal balls. "Where are they?"

"Hehe... It's rare to have a customer!"

A witch slowly emerged from behind the counter, hunched over, her figure barely reaching Sulu's waistline.

She looked up and glanced at Sulu with her cloudy eyes. "You're not a male wizard! You also want to buy witch's books?"

"Books? Where are they?"

Sulu asked curiously, then suddenly looked at the large number of crystal balls.

"That's right... We Witch Society use unique methods to seal information in various crystal balls, which are the source of our Magic Power! But... those who aren't witches can't see them at all."

The old witch spoke slowly.

"I'm not here to buy books, but... I heard you also buy and sell intelligence and information here?"

Sulu hesitated for a moment before revealing his purpose.

Who told you that?

The old witch's eyes widened suddenly. "I know... it must be that dead bird, right? I swear... one day, I'll pluck all its feathers out!"

"This... witch!" Sulu sensed something was wrong. "She was just trying to help you find business..."

"It was just to apologize... You know what, it added... added..." to my breakfast.

The old witch was furious, but thankfully she glanced at Sulu and managed to suppress her anger.

'Could it be... bird droppings?'

Sulu's lips twitched, and he suddenly felt nauseous, questioning the hygiene standards of the catering industry in the extraordinary world.

"I don't care about your grudges with it, and even if you roast it, it's none of my business... I need information!"

He snorted coldly, releasing a wisp of Spirit Pressure.

"Um?!"

The old witch shuddered, giving Sulu a deep look. "Come with me!"

Behind the counter, there was a small door that seemed to lead out of the stone house and connect to a black tent.

The old witch went to the host's seat and sat cross-legged, holding a crystal ball on a velvet cushion in her hands. "Tell me your needs, guest! I will give you the information you require; you cannot refuse my offer!"

"That's impossible. Do you expect me to agree to roast that bird in the restaurant?" Sulu frowned.

"Of course I won't let you do that, but if you do, I'll be very pleased, and I'll give you a 20% discount on future intelligence reports!"

The old witch laughed like an owl, "Equivalent exchange, that's our principle as spellcasters! The value of information is commensurate with its intrinsic worth..."

"If that's the case, then there's no problem."

Sulu said, "What I need is rather broad, for example... the supernatural forces throughout Charles City, overall intelligence, several restricted areas, etc..."

"Roughly speaking, five Gold Dragon! If we were to go into detail, there are a total of fifty-five Gold Dragon, plus five Silver Eagle and twenty-seven Toner!"

The old witch's crystal ball lit up, and she answered in a hollow voice.

"Let's take a brief look first..."

Sulu pulled out five Gold Dragon, while also wondering how the other party had determined the price of the information. Perhaps they had simply made it up?