Chapter 286: Discovery

Chapter 286: Discovery

“Must you meddle so much?” Dan Marina slightly curled her lips, looking somewhat displeased.

Deya shook her head. She knew the threat posed by a Witch quite well, so she wouldn’t consider Dan Marina’s feelings at all regarding this matter and would simply avoid doing certain things.

“He’s different.” Dan Marina glanced at Deya, having no interest in saying more. She simply stood up to leave. As for Qin’s dark expression, it returned to normal the moment this woman stood up, showing no flaw.

After all, there were people from the Sanctuary Church here. If it were just Witches, she wouldn’t need to hide her emotions, but with outsiders present, she still had to be somewhat cautious.

Inside Zheng Yichen’s residence, he was inspecting a section of bone Dan Marina had bought, driven by curiosity. The bone was about a foot long; if the broken ends were removed, it would only be twenty-five centimeters. The broken parts were slightly curved, but the intact sections were perfectly straight—the bone was broken quite neatly.

It was hollow inside, with nothing in it, looking just like a tube. Its hardness was decent, but just decent; it couldn’t compare to excellent materials. Probably, it had been stored for too long. What truly surprised Zheng Yichen were some of its characteristics: it seemed to share similar traits with that piece of Flesh Stone!

“So it’s still not clear…” Zheng Yichen muttered. Since this thing had characteristics similar to the Flesh Stone, making something from it could probably yield good results. For now, though, Zheng Yichen couldn’t think of where to use it—it wasn’t easy to utilize. Might as well keep it for now.

The Auction matter had also concluded. The Power Core needed time to grind; that thing didn’t require any conductivity… after all, it was just a small thing, and power transfer there would be point-blank.

“Hmm… for now, should I deal with logistics matters?” After some thought, Zheng Yichen ultimately couldn’t let go of using his Personal Space. The space there was simply too large; even after storing many things, it remained ample. A fifth of the space was enough for Zheng Yichen to use for a long time.

However, before Zheng Yichen could get to handling this matter, someone came knocking—the person he least wanted to see!

“…” Zheng Yichen looked at the young girl before him with some awkwardness, unsure of what to say. Should he simply close the door and pretend he didn’t see her? That was impossible. If a fight broke out, this house would be gone. A broken door couldn’t possibly stop her. “Come in.”

Fortunately, earlier, when Dan Marina came back, she brought a bunch of stuff and temporarily set up a Workshop for him… and also to get their stories straight.

Deya glanced around Zheng Yichen’s home. From certain details, it wasn’t managed by him primarily. Dan Marina? Thinking of this, Deya’s expression shifted slightly, using a rather polite approach: “Have you ever thought about developing within the Sanctuary Church?”

“Eh?” Zheng Yichen scratched his head, his expression somewhat strange. Those words sounded a bit… “It sounds like a hassle, so no!”

Zheng Yichen shook his head frankly. Deya couldn’t help but momentarily freeze. The Sanctuary Church… was almost like a ‘civil service.’ While it had many members, the assessments were quite strict. However, if it was a direct invitation, the person invited would basically never refuse.

Especially someone like Zheng Yichen, a free agent!

Before coming here, she had looked into Zheng Yichen’s identity a bit. He had only settled in Kaja a few months ago. His background wasn’t particularly special. During that time, he adopted a little girl, and he didn’t go out often. When he did, it was mostly to the market to buy materials related to Magic Potions, or to the Academy to visit that little girl. As for his detailed routine… given that he seemed a clear shut-in, being able to ‘investigate’ this much already spoke to the Sanctuary Church’s profound resources.

This kind of pattern… well, Deya had heard of it. Some people especially immersed in research had done things like this, specifically adopting one or two orphan girls to raise. After all, they’d need a partner eventually, and compatibility mattered, so might as well raise one themselves. In the Otherworld, age was hardly an issue; some who looked young were actually in their seventies or eighties.

“If there’s nothing else, please leave. I’m very busy.” Zheng Yichen waved his hand. “And during my time in Kaja, I haven’t contacted anyone, nor have I done anything wrong. You’re not here to cause me trouble, are you?”

“I’m here to help you.” Deya shook her head. Being so directly shown the door, and being treated as a nuisance here, made her somewhat awkward. She wasn’t very practiced at being a persuader; she was the Saintess, after all…

“Help me? Do you also have some incomplete Elixir Formulas?” Zheng Yichen’s eyes lit up as he asked curiously.

“Elixir Formulas?” This time, Deya was the one confused. “What Elixir Formulas?”

What did this have to do with helping?

“The kind that are incomplete, usually can’t be made, but are very rare Elixir Formulas.” Zheng Yichen said. “If it’s that, I can accept it. Otherwise, please leave.”

“…” Deya fell silent for a moment. She suddenly felt like she had been fooled by that Dan Marina woman. That expression of hers earlier must have been entirely for her benefit!

“Ahem, sorry to disturb.” Deya stood up somewhat helplessly. Their lines of conversation weren’t on the same channel at all. It seemed the initial direction of the investigation was wrong. He had some connection with a Witch, but it wasn’t the kind she thought—it was probably related to those so-called incomplete Elixir Formulas?

“Elixir Formulas?” Achille thought for a moment, looking at the young girl before him. “It might be related to the Magic Potions acquired at the Auction. I’ll look into that.”

The Auction was organized by the Sanctuary Church. Even though some information was confidential, it was easy to obtain certain details, like the providers of certain auction items. They had mainly investigated the target’s activity patterns before, so this aspect wasn’t deliberately looked into.

Actually, according to Achille’s thinking, if someone was connected to a Witch, they could just be taken away. If the person was truly innocent, some compensation could be provided afterwards. If they really were connected to a Witch, and in a special relationship, that was fine too; they could just reveal the Witch’s identity. Most ordinary people would waver. Although Achille found this ‘Curse’ rather strange, such matters were a deep secret of the Sanctuary Church, something even some senior Bishops couldn’t access.

Soon, information about the Magic Potions from the Auction was sent to Deya: “The source of the Fixation Potion is him. This potion has no existing records, so the possibility of it being an innovation can’t be ruled out. Also, the Mana Enhancement Potion that appeared in the market a few months ago is significantly linked to him. The Purple Vine Guild is now fully responsible for that potion. As for the Fixation Potion, it’s possible the Purple Vine Guild is still handling it too.”

“Ah~ Achille, you have other responsibilities. If you could stay here all the time, I’d have a much easier job.” After hearing Achille’s report, Deya said somewhat regretfully. The matters of the Witch’s Arcane Treasure and the Auction were over. Achille still had to handle affairs related to the Demon Sword Sect, and he was also partly responsible for the Evil God born from the Holy Spirit Hammer.

“…” Achille placed the documents on the table before Deya. “Saintess, you are already fully capable of standing on your own.”

“Are you suggesting I should use my brain more?”

“Using your brain is never a bad thing.” Achille said meaningfully, then slightly shook his head. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“Eh? Weren’t you leaving the day after tomorrow?”

“Some issues require me to go and handle them personally, so I can’t wait that long. I leave the matters of Kaja to you.”

Aside from Dan Marina, there was at least one more Witch hiding here. It was just that if a Witch wanted to hide, finding them would be very difficult. However, with the Saintess here, even if they had any bad plans, they couldn’t act openly. Kaja was a major city after all; it couldn’t be ignored.

“You really know how to create work for me.” Zheng Yichen rested his chin on his hand, looking at the few incomplete Elixir Formulas before him. He intended to use this body as a side account, specifically for researching Magic Potions. With Qin, the occasional appearance of new potions wouldn’t arouse suspicion, but if new types kept appearing continuously, it would surely attract some attention. At that point, it became necessary to push forward a ‘master’ of potions.

But since it was a side account, it couldn’t be used as the ‘main account.’ However, now that the Sanctuary Church was taking notice, he did have to use it more. Even though this Alchemical Avatar had his original appearance, it was still fake. Aside from the familiarity from the looks, it really wasn’t as comfortable as his Dragon Body after transmigrating.

To put it bluntly, it was like wearing a layer of rubber suit that blocked most bodily sensation—how good could that feel?

“Aren’t they just a few incomplete Elixir Formulas? With your skills, you can perfect them directly, right?” Dan Marina waved her hand nonchalantly. She saw Zheng Yichen’s hesitant expression and gave a light laugh, saying nothing more.

This made Zheng Yichen even more uncomfortable. She clearly saw what he wanted to ask but remained silent—it was really infuriating. Yet, he couldn’t help but bring it up: “That section of bone…”

“It’s just a piece of bone. It’s useless to me. If I didn’t give it to you, I’d probably just toss it somewhere and forget about it.”

“It makes me uncomfortable when you say that.” Zheng Yichen scratched his head.

“Then I’ll give you a better reason. Actually, that bone’s main purpose was for the Sanctuary Church to use it as bait to draw out another Witch in Kaja. Not Qin. That Witch is a senior among Witches, and she’s a good person, so I just intervened a bit.”

“But I’m still uncomfortable. Anyway, that’s that.” Zheng Yichen shook his head firmly. Whether intentional or not, he already had the item; saying anything more would be disingenuous. “I’ll remember it.”

“I think it would be better if you forgot.”

“If it came to that point, it would be a different matter.” Zheng Yichen picked up those few incomplete Elixir Formulas. The paper retained traces of Magic, likely protected by some sort of magic. Even so, these pages—made from some kind of animal hide—still looked extremely old, indicating a very long history.

“Then make me a special Fixation Potion. One that even Witches can use. How about that?”

“This… I’ll try!” Zheng Yichen paused briefly, then nodded. Improving a Fixation Potion was no easy task; the formula itself was problematic. The best way was to use certain Arcane Arts to cultivate some forcibly upgraded potion ingredients.

This meant making originally low-grade materials break their limitations so their effects could match high-grade materials. However, this was obviously a case of doing twice the work for half the result. After all, they were low-grade materials; their potential for improvement was too limited, and the method itself was quite time-consuming.

“When do you need it?”

“Well, let it happen naturally. Give it to me whenever you make it.” Dan Marina saw Zheng Yichen’s troubled face again and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Prophecy Art doesn’t work on you; otherwise, I’d give you a precise time.”

“So now it’s my fault? Then you’ll have to wait. I’ll try to figure out a way to make it quickly.” With that, he focused on studying these ancient incomplete Elixir Formulas.

Within Kaja City, a seemingly ordinary short figure walked along the street. When this figure noticed someone at the entrance of Kachi Academy, its eyes brightened slightly. “A Corpse Puppet? How interesting…”

Like a little girl discovering a new toy, the short girl stood still, pinching her chin as she thought for a moment. The little girl she saw was definitely a Corpse Puppet, but her body was disguised by a ‘membrane’ that prevented Detection Magic from sensing her abnormality. However, lacking a Soul, the little girl’s body, even if alive, was in a sense ‘dead’ as well.

Her perception regarding death wasn’t as keen as the Undying Witch’s, but her type of power still allowed her to clearly sense the aura of death—just as the Undying Witch could clearly sense traces of the living. It was precisely because of opposing powers that they had extra sensitivity towards their respective aspects.

She had researched Corpse Puppets and understood them somewhat. That little girl was a Corpse Puppet but seemed different from the ones she had studied. The specifics of those differences could only be understood after fully interacting with her. No, no, better to just find an opportunity to take her away. As for the Protection Barrier at the academy, even if it was sophisticated, it probably couldn’t stop her.

The powers in Kaja were somewhat complex. Not only was the Sanctuary Church’s Saintess here, but two other Witches were also active here. In fact, one could say that before she and Dan Marina arrived in Kaja, this was Qin’s territory. If a student went missing from the academy, especially not during a training period, it could be a big or small issue.

Considering the little girl’s physical identity, whoever sent her here must know about it. So, taking her away without a word would undoubtedly cause some trouble. The main reason she was waiting here was her agreement with Dan Marina, to find the one who crafted the Magic Eye.

It wasn’t worth causing avoidable minor troubles just because she encountered something interesting… Fine, she’d just go over tonight and give her a ‘little check-up.’