Shameless Warlock

Watcher's Keep, Commercial District, Silver Needle Tavern.

In stark contrast to the deserted street, when Xu Nan opened the door and walked into the tavern, bypassing the stone pillars and reaching the hall, what greeted him was not only the warm air waves but also the loud shouts of the crowd.

Only the boring bartender at the front desk cast a wait-and-see look.

Xu Nan took off the cloak on her body, shook the snow, ordered a glass of juice, and casually sat at the bar.

It was already midnight, but the nightlife in the tavern had clearly just begun.

The air smelled of bad perfume and the sour smell of burning coal.

He couldn't help but twist his nose, forcing himself to accept the chaotic atmosphere.

Your juice, I'm sorry I can't find fresh ones. The bartender shrugged.

Xu Nan took the glass of juice, took a sip, and tried not to frown.

The taste is really not that good.

However, given the precarious material situation of the Watcher Fortress, we really can't ask for too much.

But Xu Nan's desire to relax was also in vain.

He came out to breathe.

After flipping through five or six books with thousands of pages, the drowsy Xu Nan chose to give up.

Evelyn slept soundly. This is due to the mild hypnotic powder hidden in the water that Xu Nan handed her.

She needs a good night's sleep.

And Xu Nan, who originally wanted to take advantage of this time to find relevant information about the Atsam family, almost fell asleep in the end.

Considering that these books are only ancient books, once they swallowed them, there would be no second ones, so he could only shake his head and run out to get some air.

Evelyn's clues and the information he asked from Elliott's mouth hardly form a complete jigsaw puzzle.

As for the more news about Atsam, even the gossip system of Paradise Lost does not involve too much specific information, which is normal. Paradise Lost is not a panacea after all.

In order to get more information before the celebration tomorrow afternoon, Xu Nan could only run out by himself, trying to find out something from the local people.

But now, sitting in the tavern, feeling the noisy atmosphere, Xu Nan could only smile wryly.

He felt sick all over.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that he was exuding an aura that was incompatible with the whole tavern.

Well, I'm not much of an undercover material at all.

He smiled wryly in his heart.

There is no news from Qin Lele, which makes Xu Nan a little worried. His instinct told it that there must be an internal logical connection between the celebration of the Cold Day and the Heart Eater spell in Elliott's hand, but he couldn't find it.

It's all here, I still have to try.

After drinking the juice in one gulp, he encouraged himself.

What are you playing over there? He threw a silver coin on the bar and pretended to ask casually.

The bartender took it nimbly, wiped it casually, and stuffed it into his pocket, but his expression became a little stiff:

That's the arena for the honeysuckle.

Everyone is here to have some fun. The rules of the competition are very simple, run along the track, from the start to the finish, whoever has the fastest speed is the winner. The winner takes all.

You can buy one of your own honeysuckles to compete in, but you can't feed it random drugs. Boss York doesn't allow that to happen, there was an outlander last month...

Under the bartender's rambling narration, Xu Nan roughly understood the rules.

The honeysuckle is a very small mouse, generally only one finger long and two fingers wide. This thing is very cold-resistant and has very little flesh on its body, but in times of famine, many Kutlings would still go to underground caves to find the nests of honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle has a strong reproductive ability, and their running speed is actually average, but since someone invented this game and put it into practice, the business of the Silver Needle Tavern has more than doubled, and the number of orphans in the slums has doubled A new daily quest: Capture the Honeysuckle.

A strong honeysuckle can be sold for a high price at the Silver Needle Tavern, the stronger the more popular it is, even if the money paid is not directly proportional to the possible income, but some gamblers are willing to pay.

Xu Nan leaned over and endured the taste to watch a game.

For him who has experienced the baptism of various wonderful programs on the earth, it is actually not exciting at all.

But for everyone who paid real money and experienced the thrilling race at the gambling table, it was undoubtedly an audio-visual feast.

In the whistle of the referee.

A gray honeysuckle took the lead and knocked down the finish line pennant, causing everyone to curse.

And the owner of that honeysuckle was holding a cage in one hand and a chip in the other, smiling from ear to ear. The gray honeysuckle got into the cage and was immediately stuffed with several handfuls of rations.

The people at the table walked away dejectedly.

The next round is said to start in fifteen minutes.

The rest of the people left, and Xu Nan was standing there. Suddenly, a few sharp-eyed people ran over to sell the honeysuckle in their hands. Before Xu Nan had a few words with them, suddenly, there was a sound outside the pub door There was a knock on the door, followed by heavy footsteps.

Several young men in blue clothes walked in.

Their clothes were covered in snow, and they looked frozen from walking in the snow for at least a few hours; but their expressions were enjoyment.

Most of the people in blue sat far away from the fireplace. They ordered some water and bread, but they didn't eat much.

After the group of people in blue walked in, Xu Nan could clearly feel that the atmosphere had changed a bit.

Blue dog!

Someone cursed under his breath.

The people in blue turned a blind eye. After they finished their food, they asked the bartender for two bunks, and left the hall in a hurry.

who are they?

Xu Nan was a little curious, so he grabbed a bystander and asked.

The man froze for a moment, and replied vaguely:

It's the person taught by Lanyi... I'm a fool? Why are you?

Xu Nan took a closer look, and the other party looked like he had seen a ghost, which made Xu Nan inexplicably surprised, thinking that he had accidentally traveled back to Wildfire City!

Grey? He was also surprised.

Gray couldn't help but rolled his eyes: Why are you everywhere?

What did you come to Watcher Fortress for?

Xu Nan looked at Ge Lei, and suddenly had an idea, and pulled him to sit beside him:

Don't worry, let's talk slowly.

Gray looked vigilant: What do you want?

Xu Nan said in relief:

Don't be afraid, I'll pay for it.

Gray was immediately relieved: You didn't say it earlier.

The two of them crossed their arms and walked towards the booth next to them.

Only a few guys selling honeysuckle with cages next to them were left dumbfounded.

...

You actually came here after accepting Geralt's employment mission? How long have you been away?

On the booth, a glass of high-strength spirits and a cup of coffee with higher strength were placed in front of the two of them.

Xu Nan warmed his hands with coffee, it was a little funny to think about it.

I didn't expect to meet acquaintances from Wildfire City here.

Don't mention it. Gray said sadly, I haven't touched a woman for more than two weeks.

Xu Nan laughed and said, So Geralt is here too? Has he gone to find his teacher?

Gray nodded: That guy deceived me.

I thought he had been a pastor for so many years, at least he was a bit oily, who knew he was a pauper, and almost couldn't even afford my employment fee.

Xu Nan laughed dryly, not believing the story at all.

In the overspiritual vision, Gray's emotional changes revealed that he was lying.

It seems that you have changed a little. Xu Nan said with emotion: I am very happy for you, and you have your own friend.

Gray raised his eyebrows, as if he wanted to refute, but soon, he shook his head, mocking himself:

Friend? That's right. That guy, Geralt, is really the dumbest idiot I've ever seen.

Unable to identify the authenticity of that letter, he insisted on taking the risk of crossing the remaining veins of the First Mountain Range... I don't know what to say anymore. Believe me, without me, he would have become Some beast's dung.

Damn it, the more you speak, that idiot has gone to find his teacher now, and I have to investigate the background of those blue-clothed dogs for him!

Xu Nan's heart moved:

The dog in blue?

Is it those men in blue?

Gray nodded: It's those young people in blue clothes with strange expressions. I don't know where they got so much blue dye...

Xu Nan nodded thoughtfully.

He had already experienced Gray's investigative ability, and it was normal for Geralt to ask him to investigate these strange men in blue.

So, what about your findings? Can you share them with me?

Xu Nan asked.

Gray hesitated for a moment, and said briskly:

Anyway, you are not an outsider.

At that moment, he lowered his voice, and began to confide to Xu Nan the results of his investigation, together with what happened along the way, in a half-statement and half-spoofing manner.

...

After Gray and his party entered the Watcher Fortress, they immediately searched for the traces of Quellas.

According to Lancer's guidance, they found the inner city, but were told that it was the preparation time for the celebration, and outsiders could not enter.

It's the same even if Geralt reported Quellas' name.

Xu Nan speculated that it was probably because of Elliott's plan that the inner city had increased its vigilance.

In desperation, they could only leave temporarily.

Along the way, they encountered a lot of people in blue clothes, and they seemed to be operating in the city in the name of the Ice and Snow Goddess Church.

Most residents don't like the men in blue.

Perhaps remembering those things in Tassar, Geralt suddenly asked Gray to investigate the origin of the man in blue.

He himself and the black cat were waiting for the teacher's reply in the hotel. After all, although the guards at the city gate did not allow them to enter, they should still do the reporting work.

Gray went directly to investigate the man in blue.

As a high-level mercenary who has been around for a long time, Gray's investigation methods are naturally beyond doubt.

Before meeting Xu Nan, he had just completed the preliminary investigation.

These blue-clothed people are all people from the ice wind collar, that is, people from Kutlin.

They promote the banner of the Ice and Snow Goddess, and their methods are very radical. They don't even look down on the moderate believers, and often do some exaggerated things.

They are called Blue Shirts. Because they invariably chose blue clothes as their uniform.

This is quite similar to the blue and white teaching uniform of the Ice and Snow Goddess Church, but it is not the same.

The leader of the Blue Clothes Sect is a woman named Lingque, who lives in Xueyuan City. It is also the birthplace of Lanyi Sect.

It is said that the control of the Blue Clothes Sect in Xueyuan City is already terrifying, and even the city lord there is a follower of the Blue Clothes Sect.

The teachings of the Blue Clothes Sect believe that with the coming of winter, the goddess of ice and snow will soon enter the age of domination, and the rage, cruelty and ferocity sleeping in her body will soon wake up. Only by imitating these qualities can she win the favor of the goddess.

They distorted the teachings of the Ice and Snow Goddess Church to a certain extent, but they always believed that what they believed in was the real goddess.

Hearing this, a word came to Xu Nan's mind: heresy.

Unexpectedly, within the Ice and Snow Goddess Church, there would be such a fanatical faction as the Blue Clothes Sect; what was even more unexpected was that these members were actually Kutlin who had resisted the invasion of the Goddess' teachings for generations!

It seems that because of the relatively long distance, someone has done enough intelligence work, so that until now, the headquarters of the Ice and Snow Goddess Church has not noticed the problem.

In fact, according to Gray's investigation, the entire area north of the snowy mountain pass is already dominated by the Lanyi Sect.

Even for Bingfengling, who has always been against the goddess, there are large-scale young people who join the Blue Clothes Sect and engage in some irrational behaviors. It's just that the Ice Wind Territory is on the verge of the devil's territory, and it may be in danger of being invaded at any time, so it maintains a semi-war state all year round, and the Blue Shirts have not caused too much trouble under the control of the army.

The Blue Clothes Sect has been acting frequently recently. They occupied the Tasar Temple, which originally belonged to the moderate faction. It is said that because the original miracle of the goddess was discovered there, they wanted to restore the miracle.

...

I didn't expect Quellas to be Geralt's teacher.

According to Evelyn's description, Quellas is also a quasi-legendary magician, and Geralt... is just a poor priest.

The gap between master and apprentice is too big, right?

Xu Nan was a little puzzled: Could it be that Quellas didn't teach Geralt the real skills?

Gray shrugged.

According to Gray, Quellas is a moderate faction of the church, and he should be very against the Blue Clothes Church.

Such a powerful magician, could he just let the dangerous forces of the Blue Clothes Sect spread in the Ice Wind Territory?

Xu Nan had more doubts in his heart.

Where's Geralt? he asked casually.

We made an appointment to meet at the Pancake Inn. Gray stretched his waist:

He doesn't know if he saw his teacher now. Anyway, I've done my job.

Time to go back to sleep.

Before he finished speaking, Xu Nan grabbed him:

etc.

You have to do me a favor.

Gray yawned sleepily: Give me the money first.

Crash!

A large handful of gold nuggets appeared out of nowhere.

Gray's eyes were almost dazzled by the golden light.

What a life!

he asks.

I want you to investigate to see if any rogues with malicious intentions have sneaked into this fortress recently. Their target may be the people at tomorrow's celebration.

The celebration starts in the afternoon, you still have time, just tell me before the celebration starts.

Xu Nan said quickly.

If he wanted to grasp the movements of possible people in the Shadowlands, he had to call in experts.

He thought about it carefully, and besides being handsome, he was really not good at other aspects.

Gray swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said with red eyes:

make a deal!

What else is there?

Seeing that Xu Nan didn't appear to be leaving, Gray asked strangely.

Well, where's the Muffin Inn?

Xu Nan asked with some embarrassment:

I'm also new here. If I have time, I'd like to visit Geralt.

...