Silver Knight? !
The one Catalina keeps talking about?
Ed's fingers on his knees were slightly arched. If this is the case, this deal is really a good idea.
"I don't know exactly what it is, but it must have been left by Sir Galt himself. It's just..."
"Just how?"
"To be honest... if you want to open this treasure, you must use the Auckland family's seal ring as the key. That's why I plan to reluctantly part with this treasure."
Hearing this, Ed almost laughed out loud——
Of course he knew the other party's difficulties: if they proposed cooperation, the Baiyue family would definitely not distribute this treasure to outsiders. If the seal ring is stolen or simply robbed openly, it may lead to fire and enmity.
But for me, this really can’t be considered a problem——
The eldest lady of the Auckland family is far away and close at hand, and can be contacted at any time. And Ed can be sure that she is absolutely willing to cooperate.
"This...please let me think about it."
Even so, he couldn't let the other party see the clues. Ed deliberately pretended to be embarrassed, closed his eyes, licked his tongue, and scratched his ears and cheeks.
Sure enough, seeing Ed in such a difficult situation, the other party gave him a new bargaining chip:
"How about this, I can give you an extra gift: as a recommender, I invite you to join the One-Eyed Club and become an informal member."
"Oh? What kind of organization is the One-Eyed Club?"
"The One-Eyed Club is the manager behind this auction house, a secret society. It's more like an alliance in some form, and the members are interdependent on each other."
"What's in it for me?"
"After becoming an informal member, you can enter and leave the auction house at will without relying on a ticket. In the future, becoming a formal member will also enjoy more rights, such as privately contacting the seller before the official auction."
Being able to enter and leave the auction house at will is quite a convenience. If you have mysterious items that you want to sell or buy in the future, it is equivalent to a new trading channel.
“What are my obligations as a member?”
Ed raised his head, his words slightly alert.
Such secret societies often have strict hierarchies and a series of strict rules and regulations, and may even worship some... dark and festering ancient gods deep in the chaos.
"As I said before, this is just a small circle of mutual help, without any requirements of belief or identity. You must treat other brothers and sisters sincerely, and you cannot disclose the existence of the club to the outside world, and you cannot show your identity to non-members, that's all .”
"Well...at least it sounds good, deal."
He presented the Book of Darkness with both hands, and an ancient parchment scroll was also politely delivered to him.
When the scroll was unfolded, it was revealed to be a network of veins, as intricate as a spider web. In addition to length and width, it also contains the third dimension - depth. Just glancing at it for a moment will make you feel dazzled.
Rat trail? My dear...
Ed recognized the contents of the map. This turned out to be a map of the entire underground rat trail network in Silvermist City. The content was extremely complete and detailed, and even marked subsidence areas and ghoul activity areas.
Deep in a secret path in the East District, there is a steel-blue long sword pattern marked on it. Apparently that's where the Silver Knight's Vault is.
"There is also a simple initiation ceremony. Come with me." The man in black robe stood up and opened the door, signaling to Ed.
"Well……"
Ed folded the map and hid it in his arms, moved his fat body to stand up, and followed.
"Take me to see Dr. Qian." The man in black robe walked quickly through the corridor and ordered the welcome doll.
"Okay, he's in the meditation room." The welcome doll opened the elevator for the two of them. The square metal cage was decorated with green and pink flower patches.
Dr. Qian. What a weird name...is it some kind of abbreviation? Chandler? Chains?
Standing and listening to the roar of the elevator, Ed lowered his head and chewed this strange title over and over in his mind.
Click, the elevator stopped.
Through the cage door, Ed saw a man wearing a star-blue robe, a gorgeous snow-white hat on his head, and a pure gold cane on the ground, standing silently.
I saw the man slowly turning around, wearing a brocade-red vest and blue tie on his chest, and the monocle of his left eye was engraved with a hollow gold pattern.
Different from Tia's bright silver hair, his hair was as white as fresh snow, but his face was young and handsome, without any beard, and he looked to be in his early thirties at most.
"I brought a new person." The man in black robe said.
"Understood. Please bring him in."
Dr. Qian smiled slightly, changed his cane to his left hand, and reached out with his right hand to signal. The man in black robe strode out of the elevator, Ed followed behind.
"Before the initiation ceremony begins, I hope you can make a promise: you will not mention anything you see and hear here to any outsiders. Is that okay?"
"Of course, I won't mention to any outsiders what I see and hear here."
Ed stretched out his palms expressionlessly and said solemnly.
"Then please kneel down. Not to me, but to freedom, reason and justice."
Dr. Qian walked behind Ed. When Ed knelt down on one knee, he put his golden cane on Ed's left shoulder:
"Dear sir, are you sure that your free will has not been violated and that this decision is entirely based on your will and judgment?"
"Yes."
The golden cane rested on Ed's right shoulder:
“Will you defend private property, free others from slavery, and end hereditary power?”
"certainly."
"So, now you are one of us." Dr. Qian put his cane against his chest:
"You can choose a name as your code name in the club. After that, you will get a copper coin as a certificate of our membership. If you are threatened by others, we will defend your freedom with our lives."
"...Now, tell me an address. No matter where you are in the world, you will get your own coins in three days."
"Red Rock Cafe. Give it to Mr. Downston."
Ed thought for a moment. He didn't dare to tell his real address. He had to have an informed and trustworthy person collect it for him.
Father Dylan may keep it a secret for him, but the church has always been hostile to secret societies; Buck will probably throw away the money; no one from the Bureau of Divine Investigation can know about it; as for Tia... her connection with him is too close, it's very difficult Easily noticed.
After thinking about it, Mr. Downston is the only one I can trust.
"As for the code name, you can call me..."
You should try to choose a name that has no connection with the real world. Finally, he spoke:
"ash."
"Now we are brothers, Ashes, you can call me 'Dr. Qian'." The white-haired man smiled politely, took off his gloves and shook hands with Ed.
The man in black stretched out his palm from under his robe, and it turned out to be a cold black iron claw:
"prince."
