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墨書 Inktalez
Second Uncle called me to ask if there was any news. I replied, "What news? The sounds from next door, does that count? What kind of hotel is this with such poor soundproofing..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Second Uncle hung up. A few hours later, around two or three in the morning, Second Uncle called again and asked, "Still no news?"
Half-asleep, I asked, "Who are you?"
The call ended again...
Ten minutes later, Second Uncle kicked open the door and dragged me out of bed, hitting me without hesitation.
"We're out here working hard, worried that something might happen to you! And what are you doing? Sleeping!" he shouted like an enraged lion.
I felt extremely wronged; I had waited all day without anything unusual happening—why shouldn't I sleep? I hadn't closed my eyes for over twenty hours at the police station! Second Uncle wasn't really angry with me; he was just frustrated about waiting around for nothing. As for why the Sorcerer hadn't shown up yet, I wondered if he had been killed by Azan Menta's counterattack. Second Uncle said that Azan Menta had confirmed that the Nail Curse was broken two hours ago and the backlash had already failed. This meant that the Sorcerer wasn't dead; he was just hiding somewhere.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and we all turned to see Barrister standing at the entrance.
He didn't seem too surprised to see everyone in the room; they must have met before. After entering, the lawyer greeted several Ajan, and before he could speak to Second Uncle, Azan Menta suddenly walked up behind him and took something off his back. After examining it closely, he asked, "Where did this come from?"
It was a flower, white and looking very beautiful. The lawyer seemed surprised because it had been taken from his back. He shook his head and said he didn't know. Second Uncle jumped up from the sofa to take a look at it and then asked in Thai. Azan Menta nodded in response.
Second Uncle's expression changed slightly; he immediately made a gesture and pointed at the lawyer. One of the Ajan approached and sniffed around the lawyer before pulling out a hair strand to examine it for a moment, then shook his head. Second Uncle sighed in relief while the lawyer looked confused and asked, "What's wrong? Do I have something on me?"
Second Uncle shook his head and said, "Nothing's wrong. By the way, where did this flower come from?"
Just as the lawyer was about to answer—having never seen this type of flower before—he couldn't clarify where it came from. Second Uncle asked if he had encountered anyone on his way here. The lawyer thought for a moment and said, "Only when I was collecting evidence at the school and hospital might I have interacted with someone. After that, I drove back alone; there was a parking attendant at the hotel entrance, but other than that, I didn't see anyone until I entered my room."
Second Uncle made another gesture, and an Ajan Master immediately turned and left, presumably to verify the identity of the waiter. The lawyer looked at the flower in Azan Menta's hand and asked, "Is there a problem with this flower?"
Second Uncle replied, "This is a petal from the Mandala Flower. I previously suspected that the true culprit is a Sorcerer skilled in Flower Curse. I followed the clues to the school but didn't expect him to come here and attack the Child. Fortunately, Azan Menta was here, allowing us to escape a disaster. I thought he was hiding nearby, so I brought people back to stake out for a day, but no one showed up. Now we find the Mandala Flower on you, and if that waiter from the hotel is innocent, it means the Sorcerer likely met you at the hospital or school. What does this damn guy want, running around like this?"
The lawyer asked, "So this petal isn't some kind of curse?"
Second Uncle said that Ajan had confirmed it was just an ordinary Mandala Flower, which has some toxicity but poses no significant danger as long as it isn't ingested directly. This raised questions; why would the Sorcerer leave a flower on the lawyer, thus exposing his hiding place?
After much speculation, we concluded there were two possibilities.
The first possibility is that he wanted to use a diversion tactic to lure Second Uncle and the others back to the school. This is quite likely because if he were cautious enough, he might have sensed Second Uncle's plan to trap him. In this case, without first drawing away several Ajan Masters, it would be impossible to approach me.
The second possibility was more infuriating. This was suggested by the lawyer. He said that the other party might be trying to tell us that while we think he's at the school, he actually isn't. And while we think he's not at the school, he actually is! It’s like he’s playing tricks on us, making us spin in circles.
The flower serves as a signal representing his arrogant attitude!
Hearing this made veins bulge on Second Uncle's forehead as he said, "If he dares to play us like this, I will make sure he suffers terribly!"
This statement seemed somewhat boastful; after nearly two days of searching without catching sight of him or even knowing whether he was male or female. The fact that Azan Menta had to feed blood to a Ghost Fetus already indicated the other party's formidable strength. As long as he doesn't deliberately seek death, it would be nearly impossible for us to fulfill Second Uncle's "wish."
With such a terrifying enemy appearing out of nowhere beside us, I felt both helpless and afraid. If even Second Uncle couldn't handle him, what could I do? Just wait for death?
When Ajan returned after verifying the waiter's identity downstairs, he said that there was no issue with that person; the flower must have been brought back from either the school or hospital. In this situation, Second Uncle could no longer accurately determine the enemy's location. One flower not only indicated an attitude but also added another layer of mystery to the situation.
At that moment, the hotel waiter walked in and said someone had left a letter for us a few hours ago.
Azan Menta took it and carefully examined it before handing it over to Second Uncle after confirming there were no abnormalities. Second Uncle opened it and as he read through it, his expression grew darker until he finally threw the paper on the ground and cursed loudly, "This damn guy clearly doesn't take me seriously!"
The lawyer picked up the paper, and I followed behind to take a look. The content was very simple, just a line of printed text: "Flowers will drift with the wind; what is fixed is decaying branches and leaves. I had a lot of fun, goodbye."
The first half sounded like a poet, while the second half resembled a mischievous child.
There was no doubt this was left by the Sorcerer, as the envelope contained not only the paper but also a petal identical to the Mandala Petal that the lawyer had brought back.
This line was filled with mockery and teasing, no wonder Second Uncle was furious. Almost getting someone killed—can that really be considered fun? I was angrier than anyone else, yet there was nothing I could do. Deep down, I hoped that what the other party said was true: goodbye! It would be best if we never met again.
If I understood correctly, the meaning of this letter was to inform us that things had come to an end. He wouldn't come looking for trouble again, and it would be best if we didn't stir up any either. The lawyer thought the same; he believed that the other party should know we were not to be trifled with, especially since Azan Menta's retaliation could leave them injured. In such circumstances, mutual consumption was meaningless.
Second Uncle was so angry he wanted to kill someone. Over the decades, there had been few things that left him helpless, but this was one of them. That feeling of having power but nowhere to use it was the most frustrating. Moreover, we could hardly determine whether what the other party said was true or false. What if Second Uncle left, and then they came back to trouble me?
This letter was even more perplexing than that flower.
The lawyer said that the other party's thoughts were delicate and their reasoning meticulous. It seemed they wanted to tell us to end the fight; in reality, they left behind a dilemma.
Second Uncle snorted and said something about how it was nonsense to call it delicate; they were just a coward hiding away! If they had any ability, they should step out and fight for real!
Of course, this was just anger talking; no one took it to heart. In this oppressive atmosphere, the lawyer brought good news. His evidence collection had been very successful, and the evidence obtained could completely clear me of all suspicion. Of course, that was his claim; the police would still consider me a suspect, so there was no hope of getting back that bail money.
Second Uncle didn't care much about that money; he just felt quite frustrated. The most important thing was that we still couldn't figure out who was causing trouble and why. As an ordinary student, even if I had done some Amulet business a few times, it wouldn't be possible for me to offend such a powerful Sorcerer. Second Uncle had suspected that Hong Kong Sorcerer, but from what Second Uncle reported back, they likely didn't have that capability.
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