Compared to the bustling royal capital, the night in the wilderness is much darker, and the shrill howls of unknown animals can be heard from deep in the mountains and forests from time to time, which is terrifying.
For ordinary people who are unfamiliar with the terrain, there are huge risks lurking in the mountains. If you accidentally encounter wild beasts, thorns, pits, or even other people with evil intentions, accidents may happen at any time.
But the powerful magician is obviously not among them.
In order to avoid the eyes and ears of others, Wayne did not carry a lamp. By the moonlight and the detection of magic power, he followed the hidden mark left before and returned to the original path.
"I think Wayne's biological mother must be very happy to know that you still want to pay homage to her in the middle of the night." Xiaobai's tone sounded more sarcastic than complimentary.
Wayne, who was holding the dog with one hand, glanced down at it.
"I just want to confirm something."
It was not convenient for him to do something out of the ordinary in front of Bartok before.
"Like digging a grave?"
Wayne looked surprised when he heard this, "Who said I was going to dig a grave? It would be rude to disturb the sleep of the deceased."
Hearing his denial so firmly, Gouzi's eyes narrowed.
"So you know it's not polite to disturb your sleep."
"Of course." Wei Entian nodded shamelessly, "That's why I specially brought you with me - my most loyal friend!"
Although his biological parents were nominally buried together, Wayne knew that Norman was not dead at all, so the situation inside the cemetery might be different from what he imagined.
"A being as powerful as you must be able to help me detect the situation in the cemetery from a distance and then relay it to me, right?" He said confidently.
Xiaobai was furious: "Woof woof woof!"
The dead silence of the night was broken by a series of sharp dog barks, and the sounds of various other different animals also came from the mountains, as if echoing them from a distance.
Fortunately, Wayne's hand retracted quickly, and it only bit the cuff a little bit.
Just as he was trying to get rid of the dog that was biting him, his expression suddenly changed and he whispered softly: "Don't make trouble, someone is coming."
There are actually other people who are sneaking around to explore the cemetery just like me?
The rustling sound made by the scraping of grass blades was so subtle that it was difficult to tell whether it was the sound of the night wind or the noise of intruders. But this couldn't be hidden from Wayne. He could feel that the magic flow around him was more active than before, and the other person was also a magician.
Perhaps sensing something, the man stopped a few trees away.
Wayne didn't make any movement, but the shadows around him became darker.
After a moment of unspeakable silence, several well-spaced rounds of applause rang out out of thin air.
"Master Wayne, you are very alert and calm, which makes me happy." A man wearing a high hat stepped forward from the shadows of the trees.
It was a stranger who had met once in the town he passed through.
He has a short beard and deeply sunken eyes.
"Who are you?"
Wayne nonchalantly took Xiaobai, who was hanging in the air with his cuff in his mouth, back in his arms, and patted its head to comfort him.
Although it seems a bit strange to take a dog out in the dark, the other person's weirdness is no less strange.
"Me? Just an ordinary speculator. You can call me Homa." His tone was light, but his expression was serious. "I think you will definitely come tonight. It seems that I have better luck. I guessed it right."
"Nice to meet you."
The man took off his tall hat and bowed slightly to salute, which was impeccable from the etiquette point of view.
Wayne exhaled slowly. It seemed that his trip had indeed alarmed some thoughtful people.
The lurking shadows flowed invisibly with the moonlight, and there was no second person's breath nearby.
"Speculator? So, you came to me to make a deal?" Wayne's voice was slightly deeper.
How confident he is that he dares to ambush himself in such a wilderness. But looking at it from another perspective, it might be quite convenient if you want to deal with the other party without anyone noticing.
"Of course." He smiled slightly, and the wrinkles on his face that were not obvious at first became more obvious, as if he was happy that Wayne could understand the key points so quickly. "You are truly worthy of the title of genius of the capital."
"It's always nice to talk to smart people, and we can save ourselves a lot of unnecessary pleasantries."
His tone slowed down slightly so that Wayne could hear each subsequent word more clearly: "Did you know that the church has started sending people to track down the whereabouts of Norman Laird?"
Wayne resisted the urge to frown subconsciously.
He tilted his head slightly, pretending to be confused. "Who are you talking about?"
"Well, it's not wise to act stupid at this time." Seeing his reaction, Homa's face turned disappointed, "You should know that I can appear here to meet you at the right time. , naturally I am fully confident.”
"You might as well make it more clear." Wayne said expressionlessly.
Seemingly choked by his aloof attitude, Homa paused for a moment.
After a long while, he finally spoke again: "Perhaps you have forgotten, but when you were still young, I once came here to visit you and Lord Norman."
"At that time, I also gave you a paper pinwheel as a gift when we first met." He recalled the distant time in the past. "Since that separation, I have secretly worked for a certain Lord in the Holy See, traveling to many places on the mainland in various capacities."
Holy See……
Wayne's expression became a little more solemn. .
Throughout the Western Continent, the Holy See has unquestionable influence, and even the coronation of a king must be approved by the Holy See. But perhaps due to some consensus between the pope and the secular kingdom, the Holy See generally does not directly intervene in local affairs, but follows another completely independent set of operating rules internally.
In all the time travels I had seen in my previous life, the Holy See was generally positioned as the villain, always appearing in unexpected places and embarrassing the protagonist at every turn. Therefore, Wayne originally had a natural aversion to the Church. He is even more respectful to church people.
But Tasia made Wayne gradually let go of his past prejudices and see the relatively progressive side of the church.
In the past, when major magic academies discriminated against civilians, the Holy See could be said to be the only way for people at the bottom to learn magic seriously. Even Qingxi Academy, which is the benchmark for the kingdom and has always been at the forefront of innovation, has only slowly relaxed its restrictions on recruiting civilian students in recent years.
In the Kingdom of Lownes, although the church cannot compete with the famous Qingxi Academy in the entire continent in terms of talent reserves, it still actively provides tuition subsidies to the young talents it likes every year, just to have one more child. Good luck.
It can be seen that there are reasons why the church's power can develop and grow.
