My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 143 News of the Gravekeeper's Fragment
The next day, early morning.

The sorceress strolled around the abandoned monastery, and seeing that it remained as still as ever, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"It can't be that bad, can it? Could that old man really be alive?" she murmured.

She knew the power of her own poison.

One sentence perfectly encapsulates its danger: since its invention, the people killed by this poison most often are its creators.

Even she only dared to store it in her body because her body had been transformed by the ritual of Winter and Heart.

Even so, she still needs to expel it periodically to alleviate the toxicity in her body so that it can be stored for a long time.

Although the assassins did not return, she knew that using her method, the priest would be poisoned without any chance of being able to defend against it.

But strangely enough, the poison, which should theoretically be deadly within three hours, has already exceeded twice that time, yet there is still no sign of anything happening here.

The sorceress pondered for a while, then took out some scale powder from her bosom and haphazardly smeared it on her face.

Moments later, in other people's eyes, her appearance had undergone a dramatic change compared to before, and no one could associate her with the sorceress from her appearance.

She walked toward the door, feigning ignorance. The newly appointed guards at the door frowned when they saw the sorceress arrive.

"Sorry, we are not accepting outsiders at this time."

As they spoke, they drew their weapons, as if to drive the people away.

The sorceress pursed her lips and said pitifully:
"Priest, you promised me you'd arrange a place for me to stay..."

Her acting was so natural that tears welled up in her eyes without her even realizing it.

Seeing this, the guard hesitated for a moment, then said:
"What is your name? Where do you live?"

“I…I have no home…” The sorceress lowered her head, feigning humility. “I also have no surname; everyone calls me Ellen.”

“Eileen…” one of the guards sized up the sorceress for a moment, then sheathed his weapon and said:

"I'll go and inform them."

"Thank you." The sorceress seemed to have completely embraced her role, and even bowed deeply to the mortal guard in front of her, who was less than an ant in her eyes.

However, if someone pays close attention to her facial muscles, they will find that she is laughing silently.

A moment later, the guard came out and greeted him:

"The priest wants you to go in, go quickly."

"Your Highness..." The sorceress nodded without changing her expression and quickly walked inside.

"So the old man really didn't die... But he should be close to it by now, right?"

Thinking of this, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

That was precisely her purpose in poisoning him.

Even if she couldn't kill the priest, she could still negotiate with him as long as he didn't want to die.

At that time, there will be a chance to break the seal and enter the ghoul graveyard.

Once she finds the remaining fragments of the Gravedigger's Page, Blankoug will be completely under her control...

Thinking about the wonderful future, her smile became much brighter.

However, this radiant smile didn't last long before it was broken by a calm voice:

"Who are you, sir? What is the purpose of your visit?"

The sorceress slowly suppressed her smile and sized up Jules, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"And who are you? I'm here to see the High Priest."

“The priest is unwell and unable to see outsiders, so I will take his place.”

Jules stood with his hands behind his back, his tone calm, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever due to the sorceress's disrespectful words.

The sorceress frowned, sensing something was amiss.

The old priest never easily trusted outsiders. Even when he tried to sneak into the ghoul graveyard under the guise of becoming an apprentice, he was kicked out.

How did this stranger, who appeared out of nowhere and whom she had never seen before, gain the priest's trust?
She stared at Jules and said in a deep voice:

"I'm sorry, I have something very important to tell you, High Priest."

Jules smiled:
"What a coincidence, I also have something very important to tell you."

He threw out the head he had been hiding on his back, and at the same time deactivated the power of the Blood Tide, causing the blood on it to flow and its scent to dissipate.

Then, amidst the other party's shocked gaze, he calmly said:

"He's your mole, isn't he?"

Last night, the head of that confidant rolled to the ground with a thud, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the sorceress.

Upon seeing the severed head before her, the sorceress was instantly overwhelmed with shock.

The other party had already recognized me?!

She was breathing rapidly, her expression shifting between light and dark.

"This man is even more terrifying than I imagined..." She quickly gave Jules a very dangerous assessment in her mind.

Little did she know that Jules was finally able to confirm from her reaction that the other party was the mastermind behind it all.

"What's this? Would a murderer like to return to the crime scene to admire his masterpiece?" Jules thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile.

He waved his hand, instantly slicing the head on the ground to pieces, then smiled and turned to the side.
"Let's talk somewhere else."

The sorceress was completely overwhelmed by Jules' powerful aura, and her every move became inevitably a little sluggish.

Inside the monastery, morning light streamed through the dilapidated window frames, casting dappled shadows on the stone floor.

Jules casually pulled up a stool for the sorceress, then sat down himself, smiling faintly:

"sit."

There was no aroma of tea, only a lingering stench of blood permeating the air, making the already somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the room even more eerie.

He simply stared at the sorceress silently, without saying a word, which increased the psychological pressure on her.

Finally, the sorceress couldn't hold back any longer and said coldly:

"Tell me, who are you to that old man?"

Jules smiled and asked in return:

"Does it matter?"

“It’s important,” the sorceress said, looking directly at Jules, “because it determines whether you are qualified to make decisions on his behalf.”

Jules casually stroked the armrest and said:

“The priest is not dead, so I am not qualified to make decisions on his behalf—all decisions should be made after he is well.”

Hearing that Jules' words seemed to have a hidden meaning, the sorceress narrowed her eyes and said:
“I can cure the poison he has been afflicted with.”

After she finished speaking, she paused, as if observing Jules's reaction.

Jules simply nodded, signaling her to continue.

The sorceress took a deep breath and softened her tone:
"Let me into the ghoul graveyard and get the gravedigger's fragment."

The sorceress looked directly at Jules, her voice low:

“I will protect the priest’s life. Otherwise, he won’t make it through the night.”

The Gravedigger's Fragment?
Jules' heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm, simply saying:

"I think if you had come earlier, you might have said that he wouldn't last three hours?"

The sorceress lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then said:

“I don’t know what method you used to temporarily suppress this toxin, but I can tell that his condition is not optimistic.”

Jules simply countered with a leisurely question:

"Oh? Are you sure you're not optimistic?"

The sorceress was initially quite certain that the priest was in poor condition, but Jules's question made her somewhat unsure. "Heh... how about we discuss something else first?"

Jules looked at the sorceress with a half-smile:
"For example, what exactly is this so-called 'gravekeeper's fragment' that you mentioned?"

He had never figured out the use of this thing he had gotten from Old John, but now he had just happened to hear about it from the person in front of him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the information on the surviving pages from the tomb keeper.

The Secret of the Gravekeeper, Part One

[Quality: First-class rare item]

[Effect: Can be used as a key to some rooms in the Silent Dwelling; combines with the other six secrets of the Gravedigger to create new effects; holding this fragment and remaining silent allows you to resonate with the rest.]

[Introduction: It is said that certain kinds of knowledge can only be expressed through a specific kind of silence.]

According to the instructions, there are seven fragments of the tomb keeper's book.

And judging from the other party's statement, it seems that one of them is in the ghoul graveyard?

The sorceress lowered her eyelids slightly and said:
"This is not within the scope of our transaction."

She was clearly very wary of this information and was unwilling to reveal even a single word to Jules.

Jules clasped his hands together and said calmly:

"If you do not explain clearly, I am afraid I cannot help you."

What he needs to do now is put pressure on the other party.

If cooperation is reached too easily, it will only reveal our weakness.

As expected, the sorceress narrowed her eyes upon hearing this, her gaze clearly filled with a hint of murderous intent.

But he simply met the other person's gaze calmly, his eyes as still as a deep pool.

After a long while, the sorceress finally closed her eyes and said:
According to legend, whoever collects all seven fragments of the Gravekeeper's Page can rule Blancog and become the 'Gravekeeper' of this place.

Become a gravedigger? Jules couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

This aligns with what Father Arcmoon said.

Surprisingly, this woman wasn't lying to him.
He pondered for a while and said:
"What, have you already collected all the remaining fragments and are planning to rule Blankogg?"

The sorceress curled her lip and sneered:
"It's not that easy. I just want the occult knowledge that can be pieced together from some of the fragments."

Jules didn't know whether what the other person said was true or false, but he already knew what he wanted.

He smiled, extended his hand, and said:
"Well then, Miss Ellen, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

Upon seeing this, the sorceress smiled emotionlessly.

"You fool who doesn't know what's good for him..."

She subtly expelled a trace of poison from her hand, but her smile remained unchanged as she prepared to shake hands with Jules.

Just then, she suddenly felt a sharp, knife-like pain in her palm, which startled her so much that she quickly pulled her hand back.

In just a moment, that delicate hand became covered in blood.

"Sigh...why bother?"

Jules shook his head and said calmly:

"No need for these petty tricks, they're useless to me—hand over your toxin sample, and I'll naturally keep my promise."

The sorceress stared at Jules and said calmly:
“I will personally prepare the antidote and take me to see the priest.”

Jules gave the sorceress a deep look, then stood up and said:
"Let's go."

He knew that the other party would not trust him.

To avoid being discarded after their usefulness is over, both sides will choose the method that is most advantageous to themselves—and for the sorceress, this means taking control of the antidote.

……

Soon, the two arrived at the door of the room where the priest was resting.

At this moment, what the priest was lying on was more like an altar than a bed.

The room was cold and damp, with ancient runes carved on the stone walls, emitting a faint silver light.

The priest lay on the altar, surrounded by four bronze lamps with rose-red flames burning in the air, and a faint scent of incense filled the air.

In the center of the altar, a fist-sized crystal floated in the air, emitting a gentle pulsation, as regular as a heartbeat.

Jules pushed open the door and entered, the sorceress following behind, her gaze sweeping over the altar, her pupils slightly contracting.

The priest's eyes were half-open, his face was ashen, and his breath was weak.

However, he is still alive.

The sorceress frowned and whispered:
"The principles of the heart... no wonder he didn't die."

But she still had some doubts—this should only suppress the toxins, but she could clearly see from the other person's face that a considerable portion of the toxins seemed to have been expelled.

Jules looked at her coldly:
"Hand over the antidote."

The sorceress took out a small bottle from her bosom, which contained a dark green liquid that emitted a pungent odor.

She held the small bottle, waved it in front of Yu Le, and said with a confident smile:
"This can indeed neutralize the poison, but I need to perform the technique myself, so you can forget about killing and stealing the treasure."

"I can remove part of the toxin from him first, and we can deal with the rest after our cooperation is complete. What do you think?"

"Yes," Jules said briefly.

The priest had already overheard the conversation between Jules and the sorceress. He struggled to open his eyes and looked at the sorceress walking towards him with his cloudy eyes.

“It really was you…” His voice was unusually hoarse.

The sorceress smiled and said:

"My dear teacher, you never thought this day would come, did you?"

“I am not your teacher,” the priest slowly closed his eyes. “If I had taught a disciple like you, I would have been so ashamed that I would have committed suicide by hitting my head against a wall long ago.”

Upon hearing this, the sorceress's eyes turned cold. Just as she was about to say something, Jules's even colder gaze fell upon her.

She immediately put on a smile again.

"You should be glad you have a good friend."

After saying that, she poured a little of the antidote from the small bottle in her hand and gently put it into the priest's mouth.

At the same time, doubts began to creep into her heart.

Speaking of which, Jules was clearly here last night, so why didn't he show any signs of being poisoned?

"The other party may possess some means to evade the poison... We must not be careless." Her eyes flickered slightly, but her hands continued to move, forming mysterious hand seals while she muttered incantations.

Jules could see that the priest's originally withered complexion had visibly regained some color.

However, when the process was halfway through, the sorceress stopped chanting, turned around, and said:

"Alright, now it's time to keep your promise."

Jules nodded and silently led the way, with the sorceress following closely behind.

Before long, the two stood in front of the gate of the ghoul graveyard.

The sorceress, seeing Jules fiddling with the corpse of the Crescent Moon Priest, frowned and shouted:
"What are you doing?! I'm warning you, if you deepen the seal on the ghoul graveyard, our cooperation will end immediately!"

Jules glanced at the sorceress and said:

“Fool, this is a ritual to reduce the concentration of the curse, otherwise I wouldn’t dare let you in.”

what?
Upon hearing this, the sorceress's expression froze for a moment.

So, the other party obtained this corpse not to deepen the seal on the ghoul graveyard?

Why was she so eager to take action, even at the cost of missing a better opportunity?
She suddenly realized that what she had done was somewhat absurd and ridiculous.

(End of this chapter)