A few minutes later, the inn was illuminated with bright lights. Several cavalry members tied up the man with thick rope. As for the wound on his shoulder, they had only bandaged it simply to stop the bleeding.
Many people were watching in the inn, curiously observing, asking questions, and whispering among themselves.
In the room, Captain Frien, the innkeeper, and the merchant Vandersea gathered together, while Sylvia and Talia sat by the bed.
"After I was woken up by that dark shadow just now, I immediately called for help. He became very flustered and wanted to escape through the window, but Tia stopped him immediately..." Talia excitedly explained what had just happened.
"So he was a thief, then." Frien rubbed his eyebrows, still not fully rested.
"Boss, do you recognize that man?" He turned his head to look at the innkeeper, who was standing uneasily to the side.
"Him, I have some impression of him. He is a person from the town, usually idle, doing some odd jobs. I didn't expect him to be a thief." The innkeeper explained with his hands folded uneasily in front of him. Although it didn't have much to do with him, it was hard to say he had no suspicion. If this cavalry captain were to pursue the matter and take him away, the outcome would not be good.
"Take your time. Are there any other people in town who are familiar with his situation?" Frien thought of the local sheriff.
"This... I don't know much about that." The innkeeper really couldn't recall much; after all, he had only seen the man a few times before and heard others chat about him.
"Alright, you wait here for now. I'll have someone go call the sheriff." He waved his hand.
Riverstone Town was the territory of Viscount Snow and did not belong to Baron Holin. Regarding the security incident that happened here, he could not avoid discussing it with the local sheriff.
"Mr. Frien, can you go with me to see the place where that person is being held?" Sylvia stood up.
At this moment, she had already put on her reddish-brown cloak again, with only a little silver hair showing from her neck.
Wondering why she would make this request, Frien still nodded in agreement.
Soon, the two of them and several cavalry members arrived at the place of detention. This was the inn's cellar, which had just been cleared out by the cavalry to hold people.
"Captain!" A young cavalry member stood straight and saluted.
"Hmm." Frien scanned the area and felt it was passable, then had a few people guard the door, and then walked in with Sylvia.
The man who had sneaked into the inn to steal was currently tied up layer by layer with ropes, lying on the cold ground, with dark red bloodstains seeping through his clothes.
"Miss Tia, did you discover something?" Frien looked at the thief on the ground and asked.
"Yes, he is not weak in strength. He should know a Breathing Technique and also have some kind of ability to hide his figure." Sylvia's eyes blinked slightly, and the other party's data appeared in her mind again.
——
Name: Unknown
Race: Human (Mortal body)
Status: Injured (Bleeding stopped)
Talent:
Shimmer Vision [Good Grade]: Even in dim places, you can see a bit. Do not rely too much on this; if it is too dark, you still won't be able to see clearly.
fate structure Card: [Person with agile hands and feet] (essence rank: None)
In the gray border, a figure is walking stealthily, with nothing else around.
ability card:
[Breathing Technique Lv.1] (Blood Law): Relying on breathing to regulate the flow rate of blood, and driving and enhancing the strength and reaction speed of the whole body. This ability has load requirements on the heart and body, and cannot be used for a long time (It is recommended not to exceed 1 minute/day)
[Concealment Method Lv.0] (Mist Shadow): Can blur the figure in a dim environment, making it difficult for the opponent to see clearly and hit. (If there is a candle, this ability has no effect)
——
"You mean, this guy knows a Breathing Technique?" Frien was somewhat surprised after hearing Sylvia's account.
Breathing Technique is not a rare ability, but if one knows it, they can generally find a job, or at the very least be a patrolman in the village, which is much easier than doing other work.
"Yes, he should also have an ability to hide his figure, but it is not strong, only having a slight effect." The young girl added again.
"If he really knows it, then I have to suspect whether he is a member of the Thieves' Guild." Frien rubbed his beard on his chin.
After a while, he shook his head.
"No, he shouldn't be from the Thieves' Guild."
"Although the Thieves' Guild is not a very powerful organization, such a character would still be too much of a disgrace to their reputation. He should have stolen some things through some channel."
"Leave the interrogation to me, Miss Tia. You still have to set off tomorrow, so you can go to sleep early." He had some means that were not suitable for display in front of the young girl.
"I understand. You should rest early too." Sylvia nodded, glanced at the man curled up on the ground, and left the cellar.
...
Back in the room, the candles had already been lit. Talia was eating the apologetic food sent by the innkeeper, looking quite happy.
"Tia, look, I saved half a roast chicken for you. It's especially delicious~"
There was half a roasted chicken on the wooden plate, still exuding heat and fragrance. It should have been made temporarily by the chef at the request of the innkeeper.
At this moment, Sylvia was also a bit hungry. She didn't refuse, sat down, and carefully picked up the chicken leg with her fingers to eat. It must be said that this was the best food she had eaten in ten days; no wonder Talia was so excited.
After enjoying this rare, delicious meal, Sylvia asked curiously, "What is the price of such roast chicken usually?"
"The price of a chicken is about 8-12 copper coins. If it is made into roast chicken, the price will rise by another 2-5 copper coins." Talia recalled.
100 rotten copper coins = 1 silver leaf coin (usually it takes 110 for others to be willing to exchange), and an ordinary villager's monthly income is 2-3 silver coins. Roast chicken is about 1.5 days' wages.
If you want to eat meat every day, it is indeed a luxury. Tia thought, and at this moment, she missed the prices of her previous life.
After finishing the late-night snack, the two returned to bed to sleep, but this time they did not blow out the candles, but instead fell asleep with the candlelight on.
...
The next morning, with some drowsiness, Sylvia and Talia walked downstairs. At this time, there were already many people eating in the inn lobby.
Everyone was discussing last night's incident, and several members of the town's security team were sitting there.
After asking the boss for a complimentary breakfast, the two sat at a corner table and ate quietly. Until they finished, a cavalry member came over and asked Sylvia to come over.
"The captain is looking for you, and the sheriff is also there." He explained.
Sylvia got up and followed. Soon they arrived at a room in the backyard of the inn. Besides Frien, there was a short, pot-bellied man wearing a chainmail shirt, who should be the local sheriff.
"This is Miss Tia, right?" As soon as the young girl entered the room, he focused his gaze on her face.
Regarding Sylvia's appearance, the sheriff looked quite surprised, and his originally lazy and casual attitude became slightly more formal.
"Yes, may I ask who you are?" Sylvia's light blue eyes lifted and looked at the other party.
"Cough, cough, I am the local sheriff. I know about last night's incident." If it were a commoner, he would have dismissed them casually and would not have stayed here to explain.
Although he didn't know which family Sylvia was from, he could tell that this young girl was of high birth, so he was a bit more polite.
"I am very sorry for disturbing Miss Tia's rest. I will take that thief back to interrogate him properly and let him know the consequences of offending you."
"This..." The young girl's voice hesitated, and her eyes looked at Frien on the side.
After getting along for a few days, Frien guessed what the young girl meant, probably hoping not to be too harsh.
"Lord Mote, I think it is necessary for me to take this thief back to Three Towers Town for detention."
"Oh, why is that?" Sheriff Mote frowned slightly.
Although a thief is a small matter, he is a subordinate of Viscount Snow. If he let the cavalry captain of Baron Holin take the person away at will, wouldn't that lose the face of the Viscount?
Whether work is done well or not, there are always various reasons to explain, but if you lose face and cannot explain it well, you will be reprimanded by the Viscount, or even lose your position.
"The other party's target was Miss Tia, who is an honored guest of Lord Holin. Such a big thing happened last night. If I don't take the person back to complete the mission, I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with Lord Holin."
Frien's words made some sense. As a fellow, Mote could understand it, but these were Frien's affairs after all and had nothing to do with him.
Shaking his head, Mote indicated that he was also in a dilemma and could not easily let the person go.
The scene fell silent for a moment, and neither of them spoke again.
"Lord Mote." Sylvia spoke at this time.
"What is it, Miss Tia." Mote turned around.
"I hope you can agree to Mr. Frien's request." She said directly.
"This..." Mote didn't know why the young girl would say that.
"I am about to set off for Cinderstone City. Mr. Frien is escorting me on this trip. If I see Lord Snow in Cinderstone City, I will praise your excellent work and performance in front of him." Sylvia's words dispelled the concerns Mote had in his heart earlier.
"In that case." He looked hesitant, and after a little reservation, he nodded in permission.
"Then I will fulfill Frien's request, but you still have to fill out a detailed report for me, so that if Lord Snow really asks, I can explain."
"Thank you, Lord Mote." Frien knew that asking someone to invite Sylvia just now was definitely the right choice.
Afterwards, it was a logical handover. Frien had people tie the man from last night to the carriage, and then came to a separate room with Sylvia to talk in detail.
"The details you discovered yesterday, after my interrogation, have indeed yielded a lot of gains." This was why he wanted to take the person away.
"This is some money found from his house." He put a purse on the table.
"Of course, these are incidental. The important thing is a thief's diary and a bottle of 'cold mist wine'."
He took out a tattered diary from the cabinet on the side, as well as a dark glass bottle with gray mist-like wine inside.
[Thief's Diary]: Records a thief's life and memos, can learn simple lock-picking skills, as well as the secret method for practicing the 'Concealment Method'.
[cold mist wine] (First Order - Mist Shadow): A special wine containing the 'Mist Shadow' essence, which can be used for the practice of 'Mist Shadow' essence abilities, or other purposes.
The liquid in this bottle of wine is less than a quarter left. It seems it has been used.
"He should have learned the concealment ability according to the methods in the diary and this bottle of cold mist wine." Frien explained.
"Except for the essence inherited in the bloodline, if you want to obtain other 'Nature', you have to use external objects as seeds for practicing the ability."
"Every one of us has a weak and recessive 'Blood Law' essence in our body. Learning Breathing Technique can directly cultivate and strengthen this weak Blood Law essence. But other essences are not, so we have to use some methods. For example, this bottle of 'cold mist wine' can open the practice of 'Mist Shadow' essence power."
"Every Mist Season, on moonlit, hazy nights, some flowers and plants in the forest will be stained with weak 'Mist Shadow' essence power. If you collect them before dawn and give them to someone who is good at special secret methods, you can refine them into 'cold mist wine'."
"This is what I heard from Scholar Fegen. He is the advisor to the Baron. Many years ago, when I was still a little soldier, I went to the forest to look for such flowers and plants, but unfortunately, the harvest was not great."
Frien picked up the wine bottle and shook it gently. The wine inside rolled like mist, which was quite strange.
"Looking at it, it should have been refined in the last Mist Season. It has been at least twenty years since then, and the 'Mist Shadow' essence in it has dissipated by more than half."
"That man's talent is average. He used more than half a bottle and still didn't complete the cultivation of 'Concealment Method'. It is also possible that the essence power in this bottle of 'cold mist wine' has dissipated too much." He analyzed.
"Tia, you probably can't use this, and I don't recommend you learn it. I will take this bottle of cold mist wine and the diary back and give them to the Baron and Scholar Fegen."
"Even if it's not very useful, Scholar Fegen is very interested in such things and should give a reward of money." As he said this, he took out about 20 silver coins and put them into the pocket on the table.
"Take these as travel expenses. Your background must be high, but the process of finding relatives will not be too easy. It is always much more convenient to have money."
Taking the purse, Sylvia bowed in thanks, then straightened up.
"Where did that man get these things?"
"I asked about this. He found it in a hidden cave by the river. That place should have been a place where some thieves hid stolen goods, but later an accident happened, several members died inside, and the things were not taken away, so it was cheap for that guy."
"The valuable things inside have now been secretly sold by him, and many other things have rotted and are useless. If you are interested, I can have someone take you to see it."
"No need." Sylvia shook her head. That kind of place probably had a very bad environment, and who knows how much sludge and foul smell there was. She didn't want to go.
"Hahaha." Frien also laughed at this.
"Alright, get ready in a while, we should set off."
After delaying for a morning, the group set off after finishing lunch. Not long after leaving Riverstone Town, they separated at the intersection.
"I am quite familiar with the blacksmith Muyan in Cinderstone City. After you go there, report my name, and he will not cheat you. If you want to maintain your sword and weapons, you can go there." After the battle last night, the short sword Sylvia had just received had a few small nicks. If she wanted to continue using it, she had to find a blacksmith to maintain and repair it.
"Understood, thank you, Mr. Frien." Sylvia said goodbye to the departing cavalry, then returned to the carriage and set off again.
Recalling the encounters last night and today, Sylvia rubbed her eyebrows gently, feeling a bit incredible. Perhaps it was because such experiences were too different and exciting compared to the dull life of the past?
Leaning on the back of the chair, Sylvia organized her thoughts and then returned to that [Thief's Diary].
Before leaving, she asked Frien for this diary and read it completely on the road, remembering the important content in it, and then returned it to Frien. She also had a lot of understanding of the 'Concealment Method' and 'Mist Shadow' essence in it.
Unexpectedly, the 'Mist Shadow' essence would be related to 'Brilliant Moon'. She opened her light blue eyes and looked at the forest scenery outside the window.
As one of the three major moon attributes split from 'Phantom Moon' in ancient times, 'Mist Shadow' inherited the hazy, illusory, hidden, shadow, obscuring, confusing, and other characteristics of 'Phantom Moon', while 'Brilliant Moon' inherited the clarity after 'Phantom Moon' stripped away the haze, which is the pure moonlight.
————
essence [Mist Shadow]: (The vacancy of brilliance, blurred form and lightless shadow)