Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1113

He turned to leave the underground black market, but after only a few steps, a woman in a black robe crossed his path. It was a perfectly ordinary sight; aside from those like Jenkins who used items or abilities to disguise themselves, most of the Enchanters here wore similar garb.

But Jenkins hadn't had a chance to deactivate his Eye of Reality, so he instantly recognized the woman as his neighbor, Silver Flute Miss.

"Well now, talk about a stroke of luck."

He chuckled to himself, abandoning any thought of returning to the antique shop for the moment, and began to quietly tail Silver Flute Miss.

Jenkins's tracking skills were rather clumsy; he'd never received any formal training, after all. To avoid making any mistakes, he deliberately kept her out of his direct line of sight, instead using his Eye of Reality to intermittently check her spiritual aura and pinpoint her location.

This way, even if she felt a prickle of suspicion and glanced back, there was no way she could spot him. The only problem was the sheer number of Enchanters in the market. Jenkins had to remain constantly vigilant to avoid losing track of the specific glow that marked her position.

Sure enough, her entrance to the black market was different from the one he had used. When he saw her turn into a deserted section of pipe, Jenkins immediately realized she was heading back to the surface.

Following quietly behind, he watched as she passed through a hard-to-spot hidden door in the pipe wall, crossed two abandoned sewer lines, and finally ascended a rusty iron ladder to leave the underground.

Jenkins had no idea where that exit led, so he didn't dare follow her blindly. Instead, he quickly backtracked, returned to the surface through the bar, and then began moving in the general direction of her exit, scanning for her spiritual aura.

"Perfect," he thought. "But if I approach her now, I'll definitely startle her. After all, in this disguise, I'm a complete stranger..."

Even so, after placing his order, Jenkins gestured for the waiter to bring the food to Mrs. Folant's table. The waiter was naturally puzzled, but Jenkins explained that they were friends. As he handed back the menu, he slipped a banknote inside. The young waiter's expression cleared instantly; he nodded knowingly and thanked Jenkins.

"Excuse me, sir, but I don't believe I invited you, and I'm not in the habit of sharing my table."

As Jenkins confidently sat down opposite Silver Flute Miss, the middle-aged woman spoke bluntly. Fortunately, his current disguise was that of a tall, slender, and respectably dressed middle-aged gentleman in a tasteful suit; otherwise, she would have likely summoned a waiter to have him thrown out.

"I have some business with you."

As she spoke, the woman subconsciously clutched her handbag. Jenkins could see it held the items she had just purchased in the black market. On the bright side, he mused, it might even contain a pistol.

"Are you sure you don't know me?"

Jenkins said with a cheerful grin, stroking his adorable white cat, Vanilla. As if on cue, Vanilla let out the sort of endearing meow one would expect from a pampered aristocratic pet, then nudged its head affectionately against Jenkins's hand.

Silver Flute Miss froze, then whispered in shock, remembering to keep her voice down.

After uttering the name, her eyes darted to Jenkins's face again, and it dawned on her that he was seeing her without her disguise:

"You've been investigating me?"

"No, no, no," Jenkins said reassuringly. "I haven't been investigating you; I simply happened to learn your true identity. Please, madam, don't be so alarmed. I mean you no harm. Besides, you're not the only one at our gatherings whose identity I know. You were introduced by Magic Miss, weren't you? You could ask her. I know who she is, too, but I've never done anything to compromise her... Honestly, I'm one of the good guys."

To accompany his words, Jenkins offered what he believed was a friendly smile. It didn't have the intended effect. The woman across the table only grew more vigilant, her hand even slipping inside her purse.

"I should warn you, this is a busy part of town. If you pull out a pistol or anything of the sort, neither of us will have an easy time getting away."

He leaned back slightly, cradling the cat in his arms. Choc—Vanilla seemed perfectly content with this arrangement, as it allowed her to settle more comfortably into the crook of his arm.

"What exactly do you want, Mr. Candle?"

Her tone was laced with suppressed anger and fear.

"I'm looking for something," Jenkins explained. "In the course of my search, I found that you once possessed it. That's how I accidentally discovered you were Silver Flute Miss. So, you see, I wasn't investigating you personally. You were just a bit careless, and quite unlucky."

As he spoke, he produced a photograph. It wasn't of the ring Silver Flute Miss had sold, of course—showing her that would lead her suspicions straight back to Pops Antique Shop. Instead, the photograph Jenkins presented was of the ring Papa Oliver had sent him to retrieve from York Town just two days prior.

"This is it," he said, gesturing to the photo. "There are ten in the complete set. You don't need to worry about what I want them for. I just need to know where you came across something like it. It's very important to me. I tracked down the similar ring you sold, and that's what led me to you..."

Papa Oliver had already secretly recovered the ring she sold. It was part of his work for the Church, so no traces would have been left behind. Even if Silver Flute Miss tried to investigate the buyer, she would never be able to connect the purchase to Jenkins Williams or Pops Antique Shop.

As he spoke, Jenkins took out his wallet, counting out ten one-pound notes. He pushed them across the table toward her, along with the photograph.

"This is for the information, and as an apology for startling you."

The middle-aged woman across from him silently tucked the banknotes into her purse. She cast a wary, almost reverent, glance at the man opposite her, hesitated for a moment, then finally turned her attention to the photograph. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⦿fire.net

"What exactly do you want to know?"

She had regained her usual composure.

"You once owned a ring similar to the one in this photograph. What is its origin?"

"As I imagine you know, it's likely a relic from the ancient Carmel era, dating back at least four thousand years. Last week, some friends and I... we excavated an ancient... an ancient ruin..."

Jenkins corrected her. She glanced at him but didn't argue the point.