Mystical Journey

When he reached the city from Canoe Town, it was past eight o’clock at night. Garen headed straight home, washed up, and went to bed.

His parents were not home. They were probably at some work gathering together. His sister Ying Er, who was reading on the sofa, raised the book to cover her face when she saw him come in. He couldn’t figure out what was up with her.

Garen still felt some pain from his shoulder dislocation even though he had applied the ointment. Coupled with everything that happened at the castle today, he was too physically and mentally exhausted to take notice.

He had been resting at home for a week. The swelling in his shoulder had reduced, but he still couldn’t do exercises that were too intense, including training in martial arts.

Garen couldn’t bear to stay at home any longer. His sister was always sulking and didn’t talk to him. Things like computers and television, which could occupy free time, did not exist in this era and world. He took a little change with him and went directly to the library in the city.

“This is your library card. Keep it properly, and don’t wear out the serial number.”

The receptionist at the lobby service counter handed a black square card over to him with both hands, a smile on her face.

“Thank you.” Garen took the card and glanced at the serial number: 233. “Is the serial number based on the number of people?”

“Yes it is, sir.” The receptionist nodded. “Turn left for general reading, and head right for classics, rare books, and the special and foreign language collections.”

“Okay.”

Holding the card, Garen directly headed down the left corridor.

It was slightly dark inside the black corridor. On the walls on both sides were yellow wall lamps that dimly lit the whole corridor.

Only after entering the corridor did he notice two young girls walking in front of him, one in front of the other. The ground was covered with thick black carpet. There was almost no sound of footsteps.

“There are too few people, mainly because it’s too expensive. 5000 dollars for a card, someone has to introduce you, and you’re only allowed to loan for a month. Most of the people who are really interested in coming here to read can’t afford it, and the people who can just don’t have the time.”

Nodding slightly, Garen followed them for a distance and turned left into a small, narrow room.

The room was illuminated with a pale yellow light. All the walls were covered by bookshelves, and the densely arranged red-covered books had completely blocked the walls behind. In the room were two single red sofas and a black wooden table full of books.

Looking straight across from the entrance, there was a door on the opposite wall that led to another room similar to this one, and there was another door opposite of that room, connected to the new room.

The rooms linked into a straight line like meat on a kebab, door to door, until they reach a corner at the far end. Guests could walk in a straight line through all of the rooms.

The two girls walking in front of Garen didn’t stop. They kept walking on until they stood in front of the third room.

Garen retracted his line of sight and scanned the books on the walls. Wooden category signs hung below the wall lamps. The books in this room were history books.

He kept walking on through to the next room. The second room was geography.

The third room was dance, drama and illustration arts. The two girls weren’t pretty, but as they stood there with a book in each hand, they looked quite ecstatic.

The fourth room was mathematics, chemistry, and philosophy.

The fifth room was marriage, sex, and healthcare. In fact, it was the place where they stored those books.

The culture in the Confederation was influenced by the Weisman Empire: it was very liberal. Even though there weren’t many of these types of books, but they could be publicly published.

Inside the room, a 30-odd-year-old woman sat on the sofa immersed in her reading.

In the sixth room, once he stepped in, Garen noticed a girl in a white skirt with black lace sitting on the sofa. Her pale blonde hair was draped behind her with a white hairband tied in the middle. She looked extremely ladylike.

“Felicity? You’re here today too?” Garen was slightly surprised but instantly laughed. He walked to the girl and sat down beside her on the sofa.

“What a coincidence.” The girl looked up, showing her delicate and pure face.

She had porcelain white skin which had a slightly translucent quality to it. Her eyes were big and clear, the dark blue irises focused coolly on Garen. She gave off the impression of a cool young girl, completely different from the arrogant rich girl at the riverside picnic.

This was her in real life, the mild side that only showed when around recognized friends.

Felicity sat on a wide comfy sofa. Her petite frame almost sank into it, enveloped by the sofa’s redness. She had a large red-covered book on her lap. The book covered most of her upper body, which made her look dainty and cute.

But Garen already knew that this pretty girl was the type that was cool on the outside but friendly on the inside, so he wasn’t deceived by her appearance. It was, after all, Felicity who introduced him for his membership at the library. Otherwise, he would not have gotten in because he had no idea about the existence of such a library in the city in the first place.

Garen switched to a more comfortable sitting position, took a red-covered book from the table and casually browsed it. The book was a record about coats of arms. It had detailed entries about the coats of arms of famous families within the Confederation and throughout the world.

“Even though it’s a holiday, how did you find the time to come over to Huaishan?”

Felicity continued to read with her head down. “It’s quiet here, unlike in Manroland, where I’d be bothered by a bunch of flies.”

After they had previously met, they chatted about Jewelry of Tragedy. Garen’s immense interest in Antiques of Tragedy had fueled Felicity’s eagerness to chat about the topic, given that she had always been fond of unique and mysterious antiques and jewelry.

Felicity could tell that Garen wasn’t the type of person that would deliberately approach her for ulterior motives, so she let down her guard. When it came to her favorite topic of mysterious antiques and jewelry, he showed a very serious attitude and seemed very eager to listen. Felicity couldn’t help but have a good impression of Garen, and the both of them chatted in a small café for five to six hours before reluctantly calling it a day.

Since then, Felicity had taken the initiative to help Garen apply for access to the library and a library card. Both of them could be regarded as pure antique and jewelry enthusiasts.

“That must be tiring for you, always hiding.” Garen smiled. “Oh yeah, I thought you said you found a new goodie the last time? How’s that going?”

Felicity put down her book. Her brows furrowed; she seemed frustrated.

“It’s difficult for me to get my hands on it. The seller wouldn’t sell it, even after I made him two offers. Looks like he is genuinely reluctant to part with the item.”

“What is it?”

“A lucky bow from the great maritime era—a mermaid bust that has been said to bring luck.”

“A mermaid bust? How much did you offer?” Garen licked his lips and asked.

“Two-hundred and fifty thousand.”

“For a mermaid bust bow, two-hundred and fifty thousand is indeed a bit low.”

“But this is the maximum amount of cash I can move recently, any more and I can’t afford it. I don’t even have much pocket money.” Felicity’s small face looked distressed.

“Let’s not talk about that then. Oh yeah, any news about the two pieces of jewelry I asked you to help me investigate?” Garen changed the topic.

“That’s easy.” Felicity paused, and started recalling, “Those two pieces of jewelry, one of them is Marceline’s Blue Fantasy. According to legend, it was an antique jewelry created by a master jeweler named Marceline for her lover. The master passed away due to illness shortly after finishing the piece. But peculiarly, the lover wearing this jewelry had continuous good fortune. Soon, he grew from an ordinary person to become a jewelry master himself and became very wealthy. The jewelry in question was displayed in one of his jewelry stores as a store treasure. Later after it was stolen, a series of countless forgeries kept appearing, and this made it impossible to recover the real thing.”

“This person isn’t dead?” Garen was surprised.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “He’s alive and well. Why would he be dead?”

She enjoyed this relaxed feeling whenever she chatted with Garen. In front of others, all they cared about was her beauty, family, and background.

In front of this ordinary boy her age, he didn’t care about her appearance and background, but instead valued her most for her knowledge, her understanding of antiques and jewelry, and especially her knowledge of mysterious jewelry.

“Hehe… I misspoke.” Garen gave an embarrassed smile. “What about the other piece?”

Felicity leaned back, caught a black rope hanging from the wall, and gave it a light tug. “Wait a minute. What do you want to order?”

“Uh… Cuzzolini Black Tea then,” Garen casually said.

Felicity nodded.

A while later, a girl in a black-and-white maid uniform entered the room. “Anything I can get for the two of you?”

“A cup of Tornado Coffee, a cup of Cuzzolini Black Tea, both warm,” Felicity ordered softly.

“Your order is coming, please wait.” The girl maid bowed in ceremony then left the room.

To a side, Garen was laughing at her. “I thought you liked cold drinks?”

“What are you laughing at?! Can’t I occasionally have a change in taste?” Felicity’s cheeks turned red and started to get defensive. “Do you think I’m copying you?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know, I know.” Garen kept waving his hand and suppressed a smile. “I understand,” Upon saying that, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Alright, get serious!” Felicity hit the top of Garen’s head with a book. The force seemed heavy, but it was actually light. “Let’s talk about the other piece, also a store treasure owned by this jeweler. Called Avril’s Eye, it was inspired by a princess of the Weisman Empire named Avril. According to legend, she was blind from birth, but had a pair of extremely beautiful eyes. This piece was named after her eyes. It doesn’t have any mysterious background, but it is said that the piece was blessed by Weisman the Third, in hopes that the princess’ eyes would forever be as clear as the jewelry. Rumor has it that ever since this piece of jewelry went into circulation among the masses, it hasn’t been seen for years, and it’s unclear whether it is even real.”

“It should be real…” Garen touched his chin and whispered.

“How do you know?”

“Just a guess.”

“…”

Garen smiled then got serious. “Alright, down to business. Last time you mentioned there was a new change in the Halo of Tragedy you bought. What change? Mind letting me have a look?”

Felicity pondered but did not say anything. At that moment, the maid entered bringing in the black tea and coffee, served it in front of them, and then quietly left.

Hot steam rose slowly from the brown cups. Suddenly, the room seemed unusually quiet.

After a while, Felicity started to open up. She frowned and rubbed her temples, seemingly bothered.

“I can’t put my finger on it… It’s just… it’s just a peculiar feeling. Nothing has gone right recently: my pocket money has been restricted, friends quarreled with me for no good reason…” she paused.

“You know that I don’t have many friends in the first place. My circle has always been narrow. Ever since I bought the Halo of Tragedy, it’s been like this. Do you think it’s really the effect of that thing?”

“Where’s your Halo of Tragedy? Let me have a look.” Garen started frowning too.

Felicity’s face went scarlet in an instant.

“I didn’t bring it with me. I’ll bring it over to you next time.”