CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 44: EXCHANGING INFORMATION

"I don’t know."

Gu Xi ignored the attendant. He had figured out the situation just now—the attendants all knew what those luggage parcels represented but insisted on having them taken off the bus.

They were trying to shift the disaster onto others.

Gu Xi had no respect for such behavior.

So when the attendant came over to ask him this question, Gu Xi didn’t even think of responding.

He walked over to where the Mysterious Skull had been thrown earlier, reached out, and picked up the skull from the ground.

As he picked up the skull, Gu Xi couldn’t help but sigh.

The enhancement had failed just now.

[Corrupted Skull (Gray): A skull affected by multiple powers that ultimately failed to reach balance. This skull has lost its original function, but inside it, there’s still a trace of a deceitful aura. If managed properly, it could still be a good material for making equipment.]

Looking at the attributes of the skull, Gu Xi couldn’t help but curse a couple of times in his heart.

However, if it hadn’t been for the skull’s upgrade failing due to the disturbance caused by the appearance of the Deceitful Cultist almost causing an explosion, Gu Xi wouldn’t have realized an enemy was nearby.

This incident also made Gu Xi miss the chance to salvage the skull.

Now, it seems the skull can only serve as manufacturing material in the end.

Putting away the Corrupted Skull, Gu Xi searched the compartment again.

He did all this in front of the attendant.

However, the burly attendant didn’t dare utter a single word, just watching from afar.

Gu Xi ignored the man, searching the compartment thoroughly. Finding nothing unusual, he pushed open the bus door and jumped off the steam bus.

Standing at the bus door, Gu Xi glanced outside and found that the steam bus had already stopped at the main bus station on the outskirts of Victoria City.

At the station, six of these steam buses were parked, and outside the station, many carriages were also parked.

Gu Xi looked toward the carriages, and the coachmen on them immediately noticed him.

"Sir, heading to Midida Farm? My carriage is the fastest."

"Sir, this is a lightweight carriage, the fastest in speed."

"Sir, looking to buy something? I’m familiar with the area."

"..."

"Sir, there’s a flea market today over in Cairns Town, why not let me take you to check it out?"

Just as he was about to leave, Gu Xi heard these words and couldn’t help but turn to glance at the coachman.

The coachman, seeing business coming, immediately stood up and said, "Sir, you must have heard of the flea market in Cairns Town, right? It’s the biggest flea market in the area.

Every time it happens, people from ten miles around come to buy and sell things.

Sometimes some Professionals even bring out unwanted stuff to sell.

Last time, I got good medicine at that flea market."

As he spoke, the coachman winked at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi immediately understood the implication in the coachman’s words, hopped onto the carriage with a flip.

"Timing couldn’t be better, might as well go see it."

Hearing this, the coachman quickly said, "Sir, just sit tight. I know a famous Pharmacist there. If you mention my name, you might get a discount."

Gu Xi frowned, "I’m not that kind of person, I’m just going to take a look."

"Oh dear, we’re all men here, no need to explain, we all get it."

Though a bit speechless with the overly familiar coachman, Gu Xi was luckily well aware of how to deal with such people.

"By the way, uncle, you travel a lot, you must have seen many things, right?"

"Of course, I’m on the road every day, I’ve seen everything. Let me tell you, one night while on a run, I saw a girl on the roadside waving.

I almost wanted to give her a lift, but I noticed something was wrong with her. Her face was pale, didn’t look human at all.

So I didn’t pick her up and just drove by. When I got home, I thought to myself, that must not have been a living person, but some deceitful in the woods that lures people in to devour them."

"That still shows your sharp eye, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t even escape."

Gu Xi said politely, not expecting the coachman to take him seriously.

"Exactly, I’ve been driving here for nearly thirty years and never once encountered danger."

"So, there are some weird things one might encounter on the road, right?"

"That’s right," the coachman hesitated a bit but eventually said, "but don’t worry, as long as you don’t leave the main road or wander into the woods, it’s fine."

"What if you accidentally enter the woods?"

"Well, if you don’t go too far, you can still come out alive, but if you wander too far, you might not even be found dead.

Let me tell you, if you accidentally end up in the woods, just lay down some breadcrumbs; even if you get lost, you can follow them to get out.

Also, I’ve heard from the elders that in the woods, never look down, because once you do, weird things will fixate on you. Keep your head up, eyes forward, and even if you encounter something strange, never run.

Running shows you’re afraid, and it will pursue you relentlessly.

You might’ve just experienced a deceitful influence; someone’s likely got their eyes on you, be careful in such times.

You carry a deceitful mark, easily attracting more deceitful things."

Thinking of the strange setup involving cultists he encountered after leaving Westminster Cathedral and just taking a bus, Gu Xi nodded affirmatively.

Seeing Gu Xi’s agreement, the coachman cheerfully shared more stories.

Throughout the journey, the coachman continuously talked about some ’survival’ knowledge of the wild.

Gu Xi didn’t reveal his strength or profession, just listened along.

Sometimes he would say a few words to guide the conversation further.

The coachman knew a lot—some he had encountered personally, others he had heard about. No matter the situation, he could always come up with some rationale.

Taking advantage of his words, Gu Xi subtly inquired about some things related to the cultists.

Everyone knew about the Mirror Image Underground Palace, but the person imprisoned in the exiled city remained a subject of wide speculation.

However, one thing most people inside and outside the city agreed on, was that the person deceived into the city was referred to as the Great Monarch.

The more rural the place, the more the people seemed to believe in such powerful figures.

In some villages, people would even make wishes to the Great Monarch in front of mirrors, hoping to gain tremendous power.

Whether these pieces of information were true or false, Gu Xi wrote them all down, believing that perhaps these messages might prove useful later.

After chatting this way along the journey, by the time Gu Xi and the coachman arrived outside Cairns Town, his mind was filled with all sorts of countryside mysteries, including various rural tips for dealing with strange things—though Gu Xi wasn’t quite sure if these tips were effective.