Thump!
The body, wrapped in a sheet, was thrown to the ground by Lex. He looked around; it was a basement that hadn't been used for a long time, a bit damp, but very secluded. What was even better was that the house above had residents, just an elderly, single woman with inconvenient legs.
"I can't believe you actually found a place like this," Lex said, then pulled back the sheet, seeing that the person's beyonder characteristics were precipitating but hadn't yet fully formed.
He searched the body but found no magical items, only a worn wallet and a tin box containing rolled cigarettes.
Seeing the wallet, Lex was surprisingly happy, then self-deprecatingly said, "I never thought there'd be a day when I'd be happy to pick up someone else's wallet."
He opened the wallet and found some copper pennies and some paper money, totaling about a dozen pounds.
"This is too poor, isn't it?"
Lex complained while unceremoniously putting the paper money and copper pennies into his pocket; he had been quite poor recently too.
"No one carries large amounts of cash on them; his money should be in a bank account." Kaven put the blue cat he was holding down and took out a small dried fish to feed it.
"Scooper, come here," Lex beckoned to him.
Kaven evidently hadn't heard of this term from Blue Star culture, so he paused before walking over.
Lex asked, "You can commune with spirits, right? While his spirit hasn't dissipated yet, quickly see if you can dig up any useful clues."
"At least, you need to know who wants to kill you."
"Oh yes, Mr. Bodyguard, your experience is truly vast," the Seer praised Lex sincerely, then prepared to commune with spirits.
You, young man, are far inferior to a certain charlatan among Seers; you have no experience at all.
Kaven took a glass bottle from his robe pocket and poured some powder from it. He first calmed his mind and spirit, and when his eyes deepened, he pinched the powder and sprinkled it on the ground.
The Seer circled the body, a scene that reminded Lex of 'exorcism rituals'.
When the powder was all sprinkled, Lex immediately felt as if invisible walls had risen around the body, isolating it from the outside world.
This was the Wall of Spirituality, which Lex was not unfamiliar with, having learned about it in his mother's mysticism class. Furthermore, the magical items on him, such as the evil bandage, which had carrying-direction side effects, all made Lex establish a Wall of Spirituality.
Of course, it was the small kind.
After a period of busy activity, the Seer began chanting incantations, extending his right hand to touch the body.
Suddenly, Kaven twitched as if electrocuted, his eyes turning completely black, losing both pupils and whites.
After a moment, he took a deep breath as if a drowning person had found air again, inhaling so deeply that he started coughing.
The Seer sat down on the ground and, after a moment, said, "His name is Makadas, and like me, he is from Intis. I probably know why he wanted to kill me."
"By the way, he is a Baron of Corruption."
Baron of Corruption? The Sequence 6 of the Lawyer pathway?
Lex took off the ring of distortion and threw it onto the body. Kaven watched as a metal straw extended from the item, pierced into the body, and absorbed the still-uncoagulated blood, making him retreat a bit in fear.
"Can you divine the potion formulas for Baron of Corruption and Briber?"
Lex squatted down, looking at the beyonder characteristics that had already surged to the deceased's tongue and were condensing on the body.
After condensing, a section of the tongue, which had become crystal-like, fell off; it was a deep black.
"I'll try."
Kaven picked up the Baron of Corruption characteristic and used Dream Divination. In a trance-like state, he began to say, "The Briber potion formula, the main material is one Crying Infant Flower..."
Lex quickly wrote it down.
"...one Grotesque Face Cannabis Crystal..."
"...Auxiliary materials are 5 drops of Golden Mandrake Juice, 5 drops of Black Mandrake Juice, 4 drops of Hallucinogenic Grass Essential Oil, and 80 milliliters of Red Wine."
Really?
Red Wine can actually serve as an auxiliary material?
Lex was half-skeptical and planned to perform a divination himself later.
"Baron of Corruption..."
At this point, the Seer 'woke up'. He shook his head, "There's no formula for Baron of Corruption; he directly drank the potion."
"Then forget it."
Lex patted his shoulder and said, "I need the Briber potion formula. You get it for me, and we'll use that to offset the commission."
Kaven happily said, "Really? I saved this 500 pounds for a long time. That's great, this way when I go to Tingen, I won't have to worry about money."
Lex picked up the rolled cigarette, threw away the cigarettes inside, and used the tin to hold the Briber's beyonder characteristics.
Then, when it was completely dark and the body had been dead for more than two hours, they left the basement, taking the body with them.
Thursday evening.
Evergreen Street, No. 12.
When Cromwell opened the door, he found that besides the lawyer Lynn, Lex had also returned to the living room.
"Is your commission finished?" The Arbiter closed the door and walked into the living room.
"I saw my employer onto the train and watched it depart before I came back. So, yes, the commission was successfully completed." Lex had already changed his clothes and taken a shower.
"I knew I could always count on you." Cromwell narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on the lawyer, "What are you so happy about? Did you just win a lawsuit?"
"No, it's even more worth celebrating than that."
The lawyer Lynn clapped Lex's shoulder vigorously, "Our friend, the esteemed Duke, helped me get the Briber potion formula. I can start collecting materials and prepare for advancement."
Cromwell was very surprised, "Duke, where did you find it?"
"Speaking of which, I have to thank my employer for this," Lex said with a smile.
Lynn raised his glass and said, "Where I found it isn't important; what's important is that I see the hope of advancement."
"Duke, you're definitely my friend."
The Arbiter laughed, "Coincidentally, I also have good news to share with you all. I have gathered all the materials, and starting tomorrow, I will be a Sheriff."
Lex stood up, "That's great, two pieces of good news tonight, worth celebrating."
Lynn generously said, "Let's go, my treat."
Sunday arrived in a flash.
Backlund Bridge Area, Rose Boulevard.
Lex, dressed in formal wear and a semi-tall top hat, walked unhurriedly towards Lynn's house in the evening.
The lawyer had asked him to pick up some documents and materials from his home, saying they were needed for monday. Originally, Lynn wanted the Arbiter to go, but Cromwell had taken on a commission, so he could only ask for Lex's help.
After Lex agreed, he first went to visit the Miss writer, telling her that he had already bought a train ticket for monday and was preparing to leave Backlund.
After bidding farewell to Fors, he came here. Just as he was nearing Lynn's house, someone suddenly rushed out from an alley ahead.
It was a large boy, about fifteen or sixteen, wearing an old overcoat, his crimson eyes quickly scanning his surroundings.
Lex remembered him.
Detective Zreal had asked him to bring the Miss writer's reporter to him. Why was he here?
At this moment, footsteps faintly echoed from the alley, and Lex also heard someone shouting.
"Don't run!"