Chapter 189

Zuo Jian finished speaking, he glanced at the Doctor standing to the side, who waved his hand in response.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't say I wanted to—"

She knew that if she went along, the defense of the ducal mansion would fall entirely on Skadi and Shining for the time being.

Considering Liz, Shining can at least be trusted for the time being, but the key issue is that this means none of them will be able to make decisions based on the situation.

Therefore, the Doctor plans to stay here with Shining and protect the others.

But...

'You're going too, Doctor.'

The long-unheard voice of the Wraith rang in his ears. The Doctor was startled, then subconsciously changed his words.

"I never said I wasn't going, Zuo Jian. Maybe my physical strength can't keep up, but this situation is more about willpower, right? I don't think I'll be inferior to you guys."

As the Doctor spoke, she almost subconsciously believed the Wraith's advice.

But... the latter disappeared again after saying those words, as if he had never spoken at all.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Ambition Now Vanished

"Sir, this is the storage room where Master Warwick kept some valuables. You..."

As the steward finished speaking, he glanced at the three people following behind the Dragonblood Duke.

Two

It was the previous Sarkaz, and another hooded woman, a woman whose name was mentioned before as Skadi.

However... at least in his view, his new master seemed to have some special relationship with the seemingly gentle pink Sarkaz in the middle.

However, even with such suspicions, he wouldn't voice them directly. He simply wanted to remind the new owner of the Earl Warwick's estate that some things, such as a duke's property, were best left unattended to be inventoried by "outsiders."

However, it was obvious that the other party also realized what he wanted to say. Dragonblood Duke turned his head, his scarlet pupils glancing at the butler, who immediately shut his mouth and took out an antique key from his waist, handing it to him respectfully.

At this moment, he knew that the other party was telling him that he was the one in control here, the duke of this territory, and that some things did not need a steward to interfere with.

Meanwhile, after silently categorizing the people behind Dragonblood Duke into the category of "Master's confidants," the old butler respectfully left the basement.

Clearly, he did not categorize himself as one of those "permitted to enter the storeroom" in the eyes of the new duke.

At this moment, the Dragonblood Duke held the key and slowly inserted it into the old lock. With a click, the complex mechanical structure inside the lock was opened, and the heavy door of the storage room was slowly pushed open with a low friction sound.

The group followed the leader, Dragonblood Duke, slowly into the storage room. The last person to enter, the Doctor, gestured for Shining to close the door.

"Weren't you looking at that butler too fiercely just now, Laurentina? She's so old, she can't handle it." The pink Sarkaz patted Dragonblood Duke's shoulder and reminded him helplessly.

"Zuo Jian, I just..."

The Dragonblood Duke's expression changed. Gradually, the cold, hard middle-aged man disappeared from his spot, replaced by Laurentina's lowered head and somewhat remorseful expression.

"I just... want to hurry..." she said, when she suddenly felt a warmth coming from above her head.

Zuo Jian patted Laurentina's head and spoke softly.

I'm so sorry to have worried you so much.

"... Zuo Jian..."

He pulled the other person into his arms and gently stroked their back as he spoke.

"Laurentina, don't worry, I promised you, didn't I? No matter what, I will come back to you."

"Um----"

Shining, who was standing to the side, watched this scene and subconsciously turned her head away.

It's so similar... it's uncanny.

This gentle demeanor...

"Hey you two! Stop standing there and get to the thing!"

"Shining, what did you say was the medium for casting this kind of witchcraft?" the Doctor asked the group beside him as he and Skadi rummaged through drawers.

"The only thing we're missing right now is Originium. Since I'm the only one casting the spell, we need high-purity Originium as a medium," Shining explained, while drawing his longsword from his robes and slowly drawing complex Sarkaz ancient runes on the ground with the tip of the sword.

Upon hearing this, the Doctor's expression suddenly turned somewhat grim, and he couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"High-purity Originium? This stuff is quite valuable, and coincidentally, the previous owner of this storage room seemed to be someone who didn't care about money."

The Doctor slowly stood up from beside a box and waved the things he had found in his hand at the group of people.

Book.

Moreover, it's a book from an extremely long time ago.

"Generally speaking, don't nobles like to put gold coins, gems, and the like in these boxes and lock them in the storeroom?" The Doctor sighed and then closed the box.

"Judging from the Earl Warwick's reputation during his lifetime, he might not actually have much—"

"Impossible."

The Doctor interrupted Zuo Jian's conjecture, dusting himself off and saying...

"Warwick's so-called integrity is only in comparison to other nobles. As Earl, his wealth is definitely beyond the reach of ordinary people. Just the fact that he was able to maintain his mansion, even if it wasn't luxurious, shows that."

"And----"

The Doctor lowered his head and looked at the floorboards beneath his feet.

"You know, don't you, Earl Warwick? Is it really as he appears?"

Faced with the Doctor's question, Zuo Jian remained silent, but slowly approached the wall and placed his hand on it.

Empty?

Could it be...?

"Zuo Jian! Laurentina! The key!"

Just then, the Doctor stood to the side by a bookshelf displaying even more ancient books, waving and calling out to them.

"What did you find?" Laurentina walked up to the Doctor and handed her the key.

The latter squatted down and pointed to the dusty old books, except for one book with a black cover that was free of dust.

The Doctor pulled it out, then reached for a flashlight and illuminated the inside of the bookshelf.

"This is... a keyhole? Is it the same as the one on the outside door?"

The Doctor took the key and slowly inserted it into the hole. Several clicking sounds followed.

The key in my hand is not moving at all.

"Indeed, how could there be only one key? The other key must be somewhere only Earl Warwick knows... Laurentina?"

At Laurentina's signal, the Doctor made room for her. Then, the others watched as she raised her hand, and blood flowed from her palm, forming a crimson key.

However, at the other end of the key were several tiny, constantly wriggling tentacles.

"I'll give it a try."

Laurentina watched as the veins on her fingertips gradually merged with the key, and then she gradually gained control of the tentacles at the other end. She then bent down and inserted the tentacles of the key into the keyhole.

After a few creaking sounds, a crisp sound suddenly came from the keyhole side.

"It's open." Laurentina withdrew her hand, turning the key back into her blood and returning it to her body.

"Damn, this ability can actually be used to pick locks... It's so incredibly useful, I can't help but feel envious." The Doctor couldn't help but look on with envy.

"Laurentina, promise me you won't use your lock-picking skills to do anything illegal or criminal. Once you start something, there's no going back—" Zuo Jian subconsciously pulled her Zuo Jian and lectured her after seeing Laurentina pick the lock.

"Oh, I see." Surprisingly, Laurentina didn't argue this time, but simply lowered her head and accepted Zuo Jian's "nagging".

"But then again, this Earl Warwick is really traditional; I thought he would set up something more advanced..."

After the Doctor finished speaking, as if anticipating something, the bookshelf in front of them began to sway slowly. Then, several shelves rotated 180 degrees, revealing their other side to everyone—

A keypad with numbers on it.

"That Doctor ... you want a more advanced structure." Zuo Jian stood to the side, seemingly somewhat helpless, and patted the other person on the shoulder.

"Holy crap, this is unbelievable! Is this guy crazy? He set up a combination lock on his back after using the key!"

"Should we forcefully destroy it?" Laurentina squinted at the panel, seemingly ready to attack.

"No, they've gone this far; they might have even prepared a device that self-destructs if the door lock or other structural components are forcibly destroyed."

"What should we do then?"

"We have no choice but to try something."

Whoosh!!

Just as the Doctor was frowning in worry, they suddenly heard the sound of bricks collapsing behind them.

Everyone turned around and glanced at Shining, who was diligently setting up the sorcery runes. Shining looked up and gestured with his eyes to the figure standing in the dust beside him.

"Ahem... Um... Did I do something wrong?"

Skadi, looking a bit disheveled, emerged from the dust and blinked her innocent eyes.

"I... I really didn't use any force! This wall is just too fragile!" Facing everyone's gaze, the Orca instinctively tried to explain something.

"Damn it! Skadi, you're a fucking genius!" As the smoke cleared, the Doctor suddenly shouted as he ran to the gap.

"Why?"

"Is this... another room?"

"Wait, so that means..." Laurentina stepped inside and saw a passageway to the side. As she followed the passageway to its end, she indeed saw the bookshelf and keyhole structure that had been flipped over earlier...

"... We really have to Orca for this..."

The group entered the new space and found that various sizes of wooden sealed boxes were preserved around the room.

The Doctor gestured for Skadi to pry one of them open, and soon, a dark orange light filled the entire room.

The items include Pure Originium and a large quantity of Victoria Gold Coins.

As well as...

Zuo Jian reached out and pried open the other boxes.

A standard crossbow wrapped in oiled paper...

The crossbow's hull also contains matching grenade arrowheads...

The Ursus inscriptions on the arrows seemed to tell him where these weapons came from. Zuo Jian stood Zuo Jian and looked at the space, which was many times larger than the original storage room, and the countless sealed boxes scattered on the ground.

Pure Originium, gold coins, weapons, and...

Ursus.

"That's normal, Zuo Jian. It's like right now, in the basement of a noble's house in another country, there might be weapons made in Victoria that are secretly stored... Maybe they were bought, maybe they were 'gifted' to some noble. It doesn't matter, after all, such things are not uncommon." The Doctor patted Zuo Jian on the shoulder and said slowly.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I just... have some regrets."

Zuo Jian shook his head and withdrew his gaze.

Earl Warwick, if I may, I truly wish you were the kind lord the locals described, rather than the ambitious man who tried to exploit his adopted daughter only to be killed instead.

He closed the wooden crate, as if helping a deceased Earl to rest in peace.

"Have you found the Originium?"

"Quite a few."

"Hmm... then... let's begin."

The group from the Zuo Jian left, carrying the Originium.

The Shining outside has been completed and is awaiting everyone's return.

Chapter Twenty-Six,

The beginning of the intersection

"The incantation is ready, everyone. And you?" Shining looked at the numerous complex patterns engraved on the ground by the longsword, then glanced up at Zuo Jian and the others who had surrounded him.

"Is this enough Originium you wanted?" The Doctor waved his hand, signaling Skadi to put the sealed box she was carrying on the ground, lift the lid, and reveal the Pure Originium inside.

You've kept it well hidden, Earl.

She glanced at the Originium on the ground and couldn't help but sigh.