by Zhuang Bifan
Evan's hanging heart finally descended into its place. All is well, all is well…
"Mr McGrenn." As soon as the middle-aged adventurer entered the hall, Lin Li rushed over to hold him. His movements were light and careful as he was afraid of tearing the wounds on his body.
Lin Li always had an indescribable gratitude towards McGrenn for bringing him out of the Sunset Mountains. He was such a person. Once he had received the favor of others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he would always remember it in his heart; just like in the case of Gerian and the Guild of Magic—the kindness Gerian had shown him and the respect that he had received from everyone in the Guild of Magic were things Lin Li had seen with his eyes and remembered in his heart. He did things for the Guild of Magic in the open and in secret without decline.
In Lin Li's heart, McGrenn was his friend and his benefactor.
Whether it was his friend or benefactor, Lin Li would not allow anyone to hurt him.
If he was hurt, then someone had to pay the price.
"Mr McGrenn, how do you feel?" Lin Li looked at the bruises on his face. There were streaks and streaks of them—which showed that he should have been whipped.
"It's… It's you… Mage Felic… How did you come?" Every word McGrenn uttered seemed to come with extreme difficulty. Every wound on his body was painful, like the bites of a venomous snake.
"I heard you've been captured by the Merlin Family…" Lin Li whispered and suddenly remembered Cromwell's words. His heart tightened as he cried out involuntarily, "Oh right, Mr McGrenn, where is Ina?"
"Ina escaped…" There was finally a smile on McGrenn's face, which was full of whiplashes and bruises. "I've helped her escape…"
"Oh, then that's good." Lin Li nodded, his heart finally at ease.
"Mage… Mage Felic…" McGrenn struggled again and called Lin Li's name with much difficulty.
"You're badly hurt. Don't talk for the time being, I'll get someone to treat you." Lin Li patted McGrenn on the back of his hand and coaxed him in a soothing tone.
But the voice of the middle-aged adventurer sounded exceptionally resolute. "No, I can't rest… Mage Felic, I have a request."
"I will agree to it as long as I can do it. Just tell me. But before that, you need to rest, Mr McGrenn. Your injury is really serious…"
"No need." McGrenn shook his head with a bitter look, but his spirits seemed to improve, and his face brightened a little. He pushed away the two mages holding him. "Mage Felic, no need to persuade me any longer. I can't live much longer."
"What!?" Lin Li was startled.
"In order to let Ina escape, I've used my family's secret method to break through to level-ten. Now my time is almost up…"
"I can cure you. Let me think, I will come up with something…" For a moment, Lin Li had completely lost his bearings. He desperately tried to recall the formulas for different potions, trying to find one that could cure McGrenn. But McGrenn was already cut off from life and could no longer be treated with potions. No matter how hard Lin Li tried to recall, he could not think of a possible formula.
"Mage Felic, I don't have much time left… Can you promise me to find Ina?"
McGrenn's spirit was getting better, and his face was getting rosier. Lin Li knew that this was the momentary recovery just before death. "I promise you."
"Thank you." McGrenn reached into his coat and trembled as he took out half of an arrow. "If you find Ina, hand her this half of an arrow. Tell her to bring it to the Eternal Shrine to look… to look for her mother…"
The voice of the middle-aged adventurer sank lower and lower, and the flush brought on by the momentary recovery faded. As he uttered his last word, his life also came to an end. His once strong body fell softly and the arrow in his hand dropped onto the thick carpet, rolling lightly as it touched the ground…
Lin Li quietly picked up the half an arrow from the ground and held it tightly in his hand. As he looked at the tightly shut eyes of the middle-aged adventurer, his face displayed an unprecedented seriousness. "Rest assured, I will hand this half an arrow to Ina… As for those who had hurt you, I will not let any of them off!"
After a long while, Lin Li turned around and looked at Evan coldly. "Where's another one?"
"There's another one?" Not to mention Evan, even Gerian was bewildered by the question. Didn't McGrenn just say that he had helped his daughter escape? When was there another one?
"She's called Ina."
Evan panicked. "But… But she has escaped…"
"I don't care. I only know that it was the Merlin Family that had captured her, and now I'll only look for the Merlin Family for the person."
Gerian suddenly realized that this gentle kid was even more aggressive than he was. He had more or less found an excuse for himself, but this kid didn't even try to look for an excuse; he had just made up a reason and planted it on them first.
Chapter 89 - Investigation
However, that was exactly what Gerian wanted. He had come today to humiliate the Merlin Family. If it hadn't been for Lin Li's persuasion at the door earlier on, he would have blown up the living hall. Now that Lin Li changed his mind, he naturally had no opinion. The old fellow's expression turned cold, and he began raging.
"That's right! It was the Merlin Family who had captured them, so why should the Guild of Magic look for her? Damn it, Evan, are you looking down on me?"
"…" Evan broke out in perspiration as he thought inwardly, Who dares to look down on you?
"Mr Evan, you had better think it over. If you don't hand her over, it will most likely affect the friendship between our two forces. If something happens when the time comes, we, the Guild of Magic, will not be responsible."
"I really don't know where she is…" Evan was about to cry in panic. Darn it, what kind of place is the Guild of Magic? First there was the old shameless Gerian and now there is the young shameless Felic. Why are they all so unreasonable?
"Felic, cut the crap with him. You're not handing her out? I'll look for her myself!" Gerian couldn't wait and issued an order to the wolf-like Magic Shooters, "Search! Even if we have to tear down the Merlin Family's house today, we have to find Felic's friend!"
"Yes!"
The group of bandit Magic Shooters' eyes lit up at the words "tear down"; they were like wolves that had been hungry for days and suddenly saw a large piece of fresh meat. Before Gerian continued giving out his orders, everyone had gotten the message as they rushed out of the living hall.
"You guys… You guys can't do this!" Evan felt he was about to black out watching the group of wolf-like Magic Shooters hurrying out of the living hall. If this group of bandits was allowed to charge into the heart of the Merlin Family, the Merlin Family would be in ruins by the time they came out.
But everything was far from the end.
"Mr Evan." Lin Li's voice sounded again. "As a matter of fact, I, personally, am willing to believe that this is a misunderstanding; and I also believe that it won't affect the friendship between the Guild of Magic and the Merlin Family. But…"
Evan's heart tightened. "But what?"
"But, the Merlin Family has to hand over the murderer who hurt my friend."
"This…" Evan hesitated slightly. To be honest, this request was not too demanding. With the current strength of the Guild of Magic, they could take the person involved directly from the Merlin Family regardless of his objections. But Evan was absolutely not willing to do so until they had come to the final step.
In the hundred years of history of the Merlin Family, there had never been a precedent of voluntarily surrendering a member of the family. Once this precedent was set, it meant that the Merlin Family had lost the ability to protect its family members, and that the family had completely submitted themselves to the Guild of Magic. From then on, who would still be willing to work for a family that did not have the ability to protect themselves?
"Can you let me think it over?" Evan asked cautiously, afraid of angering the young Magic Shooter.
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"You don't have much time." Lin Li nodded and did not rush him anymore.
The sweat on Evan Merlin's forehead became denser with every passing second. Under the tremendous pressure of the Guild of Magic, he had completely broken down. This decision concerned the future of the Merlin Family—if he refused, what awaited would be the wrath of the Guild of Magic and the insults from the other forces of Jarrosus; if he agreed, there would be dissension in the family, and no one but the core members would be willing to serve a family that might sell themselves out at any time.
Just as Evan was vacillating, footsteps were heard from the living hall.
Several Magic Shooters had returned, most of them smiling in excitement. Their bulging pockets indicated that they had brought something back with them.
"President Gerian, we found a suspicious place!" It was a middle-aged Magic Shooter who spoke. Gerian remembered that this fellow was Giorgio—he was the one who led the casino smash.
Gerian was surprised. "What place?"
"The bas.e.m.e.nt just behind. Do you want to have a look?"
"Mm, we should investigate."
"…" Evan listened to this serious conversation and immediately wanted to vomit blood. Suspicious your foot! The bas.e.m.e.nt behind was the Merlin Family's treasury. F*ck you, Guild of Magic. You're a bunch of bloody bandits!
Gerian rubbed his chin with a serious face, then went on to investigate the suspicious bas.e.m.e.nt with a group of Magic Shooters, leaving the poor Evan crying to no avail in the living hall.
"Mage Felic, I… I will hand over the murderer…" Evan knew that the matter could not be delayed any longer. If it continued to drag on like this, who knew if the bandits from the Guild of Magic would find more suspicious places? At last, after repeated struggles, Evan gave in.
"Very well." Lin Li stood up from his seat and called over the few Magic Shooters who were standing guard by the door. "Go with me to the dungeon."
Evan followed them down the dungeon nervously, and then he saw Lin Li stretching out his finger. "This, this, this, this, and this… Bring all of them away!"
"Yes!" The few Magic Shooters had received the orders and got to work without further ado.
"Wait!" After a whole round, Lin Li had pointed out all the family's mages guarding the dungeon. Evan stopped him in fright hastily. "Mage Felic, you've said only to hand over the murderer!"
"Yes." Lin Li replied matter-of-factly. "But now, I'm not sure who is the real murderer that killed Mr McGrenn, so I'm going to bring all the people suspected of murder back for questioning. Why… Do you have any objection, Mr Evan?"
"…" It wasn't until now that Evan realized how good a person Gerian was as compared to this young Magic Shooter…
Most of the mages guarding the dungeon were only level-eight or nine in strength, how could they compete with the bandits from the Guild of Magic? There was no resistance at all in the process of arrest. A couple of control magic spells had brought them down completely, and then they were tied up firmly with ropes. After the dozen mages were arrested, they gradually understood what was going on. When they looked back at Evan, their eyes were full of hatred and disgust.
In the face of these looks, Evan, who knew he was guilty, could only lower his head and avoid any eye contact with them.
Chapter 90 - A Rag
By the time Lin Li came out with the group of suspects, Gerian had returned from the bas.e.m.e.nt. The old fellow seemed to have gained another round of weight. The large mage robe he was wearing was bulging out; it seemed that the bas.e.m.e.nt was indeed very, very suspicious!
"There's good stuff, I'll tell you when we go back…" Lin Li had just walked into the living hall when Gerian leaned over in a haste. Then, he looked at the dozen mages who were tied up. The old fellow asked in puzzlement, "What did they do?"
"They are suspected of murdering Mr McGrenn."
"…" Gerian admired this kid from the bottom of his heart. What was the real meaning of having no sense of shame? This was—a dozen mages arrested on suspicion of murder. Compared with this kid, what was the big deal with investigating the bas.e.m.e.nt?
Then, he found that his admiration came too early…
"Oh right, Mr Evan, I have to trouble you with something again."
"What is it?" Evan asked in trepidation.
"As far as I know, Mr. McGrenn was abducted into the Merlin Family by violence, so I hope Mr Evan will hand over the people involved in the kidnapping."
"What!?" Evan jumped up abruptly like a cat having its tail stepped on. Gesturing in a threatening manner, he screamed, "You're too much! This is impossible!"
As soon as Evan's voice fell, he noticed a sudden silence in the living hall. Then, he saw Gerian squint his eyes. Behind him, more than 30 Magic Shooters rubbed their fists as their eyes were filled with excitement.
Evan realized at once that he had said something foolish. At present, the bandits were eagerly looking forward to having an excuse to continue their investigation, and he was too foolish to give them the chance. Wasn't he pushing himself into a pit of fire?
"Mr Evan, you're unwilling to cooperate?"
"No, no… But Cromwell was the one who did it, I have no knowledge of it at all. Even if I want to hand them over, I have no idea who has done it…" Evan's face was troubled, but in his heart, he was secretly proud of his quick-wittedness. In such a critical situation, he could even think of pinning things onto Cromwell. Now they had no choice. Wanna know who had captured them? Sure, you can ask Cromwell…
"It's alright. If Mr Evan really doesn't know, the Guild of Magic can also find it out on your behalf. We can bring all the people back for questioning slowly. I believe someone will say it under tortures."
"…"
In the end, six more Magic Shooters were arrested. When Evan called out their names one by one, he really had the heart to die. The Merlin Family had never lost six Magic Shooters at once in its hundreds of years of history; and this time, he was the one who had pushed them out to die.
"Alright, Mr Evan. Thank you for your cooperation." Lin Li shook Evan's hand politely when they left the Merlin Family.
"Don't mention it. Mage Felic, you're too polite." Evan wiped his cold sweat off while squeezing out a stiff smile. In his heart, he had let out numerous sighs of relief. God bless, I'm finally sending away this group of bandits.
"However, there are still many questionable points about this matter. If necessary, the Merlin Family may need to cooperate with us in the future. I hope Mr Evan can understand." Who knew that the following words would almost cause Evan to pass out on the spot?
Evan had gone nuts. Things have ended up like this on the first cooperation. And you're still coming? Will the Merlin Family be able to live any longer?
By the time the people from the Guild of Magic left, Evan wanted to cry, but no tears would fall…
"Hahaha!" Gerian's laughter was rampant in the Guild of Magic's reception room. "I've long wanted to do this since 30 years ago. I've finally tasted the satisfaction today…"
But Lin Li, who was sitting opposite him, was obviously not in high spirits; he was merely staring at the half an arrow in his hand.
"You're still thinking about McGrenn?" Gerian laughed for a while before he sensed there was something wrong with Lin Li's mood, so he had to put away his laughter awkwardly and then patted Lin Li's shoulder with a comforting look. "Cheer up. No one can escape such matters as birth, old age, illness, and death. Even if you're grieving, it won't be able to bring him back to life."
"I'm not grieving." Lin Li shook his head and kept the half an arrow close to him. "I just think it's rather sad that a good, living person is gone just like that…"
"It is precisely because of this unpredictability that life appears more wonderful. Who can predict matters like life and death? Maybe it'll be my turn or yours tomorrow… Forget it, let's not talk about things that'll dampen our mood. I'll show you something good!"
"What is it?" Lin Li k
new that his mood was inappropriate; so, when Gerian opened his mouth, Lin Li also headed off the topic along with him.
"Suspicious evidence!" The old fellow shamelessly took out a staff from the mage robe. "Do you remember how I told you about Matthew's million gold coins staff back at the auction?"
"This is it?"
"That's right!" Gerian smiled like a fox who had just stolen a chicken. "Matthew, that fool, had actually left the staff he had carried everywhere at home before going to the Daylight Square. When I saw it in the bas.e.m.e.nt just now, I went ahead…"
"Eh…" Gerian went on unceasingly but not a word went into Lin Li's ears, for he saw that Gerian had dropped something on the ground when he took out the staff.
It was an old rag. It looked black, covered with all kinds of stains, and even had a foul smell. Most people would throw it away as an old rag when they saw it, but it was quite different when it fell into Lin Li's eyes because he had an exact same rag with him. The difference was that the piece of rag he had had been smeared with various dyestuff by the Leviathan Gorilla.
But apart from dyestuff and stains, the peculiar runes on the two rags were exactly alike!
Lin Li picked up the rag carefully and, perplexed, asked Gerian, "Where did you get this stuff?"
"Devil knows…" Gerian rolled his eyes and felt sympathy for him. It seemed that the kid had been hit hard. Someone who did not even appreciate the Mannes Family's treasury was actually holding a piece of ragged cloth and treating it as a treasure.
Chapter 91 - The Truth Behind the Rag
Then, Gerian saw the kid taking out an identical rag from somewhere. What was slightly different was that the rag he took out looked even dirtier and torn; it was also colorful, but it was unknown what was painted on it.
"What is this?" Gerian leaned over curiously.
Lin Li did not answer, but placed the two rags on the table and slowly pieced them together…
"As expected…" The originally jagged corners coincided and the adjacent symbols became an integrated whole at once.
