Hallucination

Holding the strange relief, Merlin did not examine it any further. The relief was too bizarre—it could actually cause hallucinations. He would wait until he got home and was somewhere safe before studying it carefully.

Next, Anson picked out a palm-sized jade ornament, but Nathan asked for over a hundred gold coins. Although Anson was also the son of a noble, he had two older brothers above him, and he could use no more than thirty gold coins each month. Over a hundred gold coins was far beyond what he could afford.

So Anson could only give it up regretfully. Kailisi chose a jade bracelet, but Nathan's price was even higher. He would not sell it for less than one hundred and twenty gold coins. Fine jade jewelry made during the Molta Empire was very popular among nobles, so Nathan never worried about his prices being too high to sell.

Kailisi wore a pair of emerald-green earrings and a jade bracelet on her right wrist. She clearly loved jade ornaments. Though this bracelet cost over a hundred gold coins, she still gritted her teeth and bought it.

Gute stepped forward eagerly and offered to buy the bracelet for Kailisi. It was obvious that the fat Gute liked Kailisi very much, but Kailisi rejected him without the slightest courtesy, leaving Gute somewhat dejected.

"Hey, fatty, Kailisi's already gone. What are you still staring at?"

Seeing the fat man's dazed expression, Anson snickered.

"Anson, who exactly is this Mr. Nathan? These antiques obviously have questionable origins. Even though he keeps things hidden, the City Defense Corps can't possibly be unaware. Why haven't they taken action?"

Merlin asked in a low voice.

"Hehe, why would the City Defense Corps investigate this place? Mr. Nathan is only the public face. The real owner behind this place is the city lord!"

"The city lord?"

Surprise appeared on Merlin's face, but he soon calmed down. If Nathan worked for the city lord, then naturally the City Defense Corps would not investigate this place.

In Blackwater City, the highest-ranking nobles were only barons. The position of city lord was firmly controlled by the Ogdin Family. Though they were all barons, the city lord possessed the greatest power. Under normal circumstances, the baronial nobles of Blackwater City stood slightly beneath the Ogdin Family in status. The City Defense Corps was a perfect example—called the City Defense Corps in name, it was actually the Ogdin Family's private army.

The group left the passageway. The moment they stepped outside, a cold wind struck them, chilling them to the bone.

"Look, it's snowing!" Anson shouted.

Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly and looked up at the sky. Sure enough, what had been icy raindrops earlier had now become flakes of white snow drifting down.

Snow in September—this weather was far from normal!

"Whew... so cold. Let's go, hurry home! What the hell is this? Snow in September? Oh, right, Merlin, I'll take you back to Wilson Castle first."

The chubby Gute pulled his coat tight and quickly climbed into the carriage.

*****

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of Wilson Castle. Merlin climbed out, and despite being wrapped in a fur coat, he still felt terribly cold.

"See you tomorrow, Merlin. Damn this weather!"

Anson and Gute waved goodbye to Merlin. After watching the carriage slowly disappear into the distance, Merlin headed into the castle.

"Whew..."

After returning to the castle, Merlin let out a soft breath. He saw a maid building a fire in the fireplace, and the room was warm. He took off his coat and gently patted the ice and snow from it.

"Hm, this relief?"

Merlin's gaze fell upon the relief wrapped in his coat. He then looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he went straight upstairs and returned to his room.

After closing the door, Merlin took the relief from his coat.

"Let's try it again."

Merlin gently rubbed his eyes, then focused all his attention on the relief and followed the patterns carved upon it downward with his gaze.

"Buzz."

The entire relief seemed to tremble slightly. Then that familiar sensation returned. Merlin's vision blurred, and the naked man on the relief seemed to come "alive." Right before Merlin's eyes, he began performing an extremely bizarre movement.

The set of movements was highly complex, pushing the human body's flexibility to its limits. In his hazy state, Merlin's body unconsciously began to imitate the naked man's movements.

"Pain..."

Merlin could not help crying out. With that cry, he came to his senses. Yet he was lying on the floor, the relief had fallen beside him without breaking, and he was holding an extraordinarily bizarre and complicated posture.

Merlin hurriedly got to his feet. Remembering what had just happened, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"This relief... there's something wrong with it. Something seriously wrong!"

Still shaken, Merlin did not dare look at the relief again. That feeling of losing control over his own body had been truly terrifying. Even thinking about it now left him frightened. There was something deeply sinister about the relief.

Half an hour later, Merlin had calmed down. Though he did not look at the relief again, he had completely memorized the bizarre posture carved upon it.

"What is this posture for?"

Merlin pondered for a while. Still conscious and alert, he decided to try performing the complex posture from the relief. It was as though the movement held an irresistible allure for him.

The movement was very complicated and had to be performed bit by bit, slowly. Fortunately, Merlin had firmly memorized it, so it did not take him long to reproduce the posture from the relief in full.

This time, Merlin was fully conscious, no longer in that hazy state. He could carefully experience the peculiarities of the posture.

"Hm, I was cold just now, but now I feel very warm. My muscles also seem a little swollen." Merlin carefully felt the changes brought by the posture.

He maintained the posture for half an hour without feeling anything wrong. Only the swelling sensation in his muscles grew more distinct, as though something inside him was stirring restlessly.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

The sky gradually darkened. Merlin seemed to have immersed himself in the posture, experiencing a strange sensation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, a rapid knock sounded from outside the door.

"Merlin, what are you doing hiding in your room?"

It was Macy's voice. Merlin snapped awake, got up, and opened the door. Outside, it had already become completely dark.

Macy looked at Merlin suspiciously. Then she seemed to catch the smell of sweat, and she saw that his body appeared to be soaked through with perspiration.

"Merlin, what were you doing? Why are you sweating so much?"

Merlin noticed it as well. He was drenched in sweat, yet his body felt pleasantly warm, and he was full of energy without the slightest fatigue.

"Nothing. It's already dark? I'll be down soon."

Macy tried to peer into the room, but Merlin stood in the doorway and blocked her view. Unable to see anything, she covered her nose and mouth and said, "Have Lucija bring you some hot water. Go wash up before coming downstairs."

Merlin nodded. The smell of his sweat was truly overwhelming—even he could barely stand it.

Before long, Lucija filled the bathing tub with hot water. Merlin took off his sweat-soaked clothes and jumped straight into the wooden tub. The warm water nearly made him moan in comfort.

Merlin soaked his whole body in the hot water, motionless, his head tilted against the edge of the tub as he stared blankly at the ceiling.