Bluestone City

The crisis had been averted, but all the goods brought by the caravan on the return journey had been burned because of the fire. Besides, the carriages had also been destroyed.

The only fortunate thing was that the oxen and horses pulling the carriages were fine. They had run far away when the battle had just begun, and when everything was settled, they had come back again.

"Have a good rest! We'll enter the city with them tomorrow." John reminded Parr, and then he ran toward Quinna, busying himself, chatting happily.

"Heh!"

Parr curled his lips in disdain again, thinking, what's so good about women? Women would only serve to affect his performance in battle! It was a classic case of being jealous. Even if Parr had lustful thoughts in his mind, his body was not old enough! 

…

Soon, the second day arrived. John and Parr followed Quinna and the others to Bluestone City.

"We're here!"

"We're finally back!"

"This feels great!"

When it was almost evening, Parr, sleeping on the back of a brown furry cow, heard the crowd's cheers. They had arrived at Bluestone City.

"Is this Bluestone City? It's magnificent!"

Parr straightened his body and raised his head to look ahead. At the end of the road was a small city. Although it was not large, its walls were particularly dazzling under the setting sun. The whole city was greenish-gold in color. Looking from afar, it was a magnificent sight indeed.

After everyone cheered, they continued on their journey. At this moment, the rapid sound of horse hooves could be heard from the direction of the city. A team of five cavalrymen in iron armor stopped in front of them.

The patrol team leader of Bluestone City looked at the group of people. When he saw that they brought along a bunch of tied up bandits, he narrowed his eyes and asked with a serious expression,

"Miss Quinna, what happened to you?"

"My Lord, we bumped into bandits last night."

Quinna got off her horse and walked over. Apparently, she knew the leader of the patrol team. She briefly recounted what happened last night and whispered a few words to him. Quinna's expression froze before she stuffed five shiny Wind Wolf gold coins into a cloth bag hanging on the side of the warhorse that the patrol squad leader was riding.

The gold coins fell into the bag. The patrol squad leader finally revealed a smile on his face. He nodded and said, "Alright, Miss Quinna, don't worry! Leave everything to me."

"Then I'll be counting on you."

Quinna bowed slightly. The patrol squad leader and his men took away the bandits. The group set off again. This time, no one stopped them, and they arrived at the west gate of Bluestone City smoothly.

"Stop!"

The guards stood in front of the group. Quinna went up to show her identity, handed a few silver coins, and then smoothly led the group into the city.

When Parr entered the city, he felt that someone was watching him. However, when he turned his head, he found nothing. There was no one else at the city gate except the guards!

…

"Quinna, I have to go to the Church tonight to handle a certain matter."

"Got it, Sir John. After you're done, you must come to the Chamber of Commerce and look for me! I will give you a satisfactory reward."

"I shall do so."

After entering the city, John jumped off the packhorse and said something to Quinna. Then, he picked up Parr, who was swaying on the back of the oxen.

"Uncle John, I feel that someone is watching me." On the way to the Chamber of Commerce, Parr finally couldn't help but voice out the doubts in his heart.

"There is indeed someone watching us."

John looked ahead and strode forward. As he walked, he said, "The person watching us is the guard who let us into the city just now. He has been following us, but ignore him. Let's continue walking."

"Oh!"

Parr tilted his head and looked behind him from the corner of his eyes. Just as John had said, the guard from the gates was following them from a distance, looking at them from time to time.

"But why is he following us?"

"There are many reasons. I'm not sure at the moment. Just ignore him for now."

"Oh!"

…

It was close to evening. There were not many pedestrians on the streets of Bluestone City. Most of the shops that were open in the surroundings had closed their doors. Under such a quiet atmosphere, John and Parr came to the Church of Bluestone City. When they arrived, the guards behind the two stopped and hesitated for a moment. Then, they turned around and left.

No matter where the Church of Neutral Light was on the mainland, its architectural style was all spiked. It did not have any requirements on the color of the buildings. Therefore, the church of Bluestone City was built with lapis lazuli, just like the other houses around it. They were all resplendent and shiny.

Bang!

John went forward and knocked on the wooden door of the Church in Bluestone City.

Creak.

After a few breaths, the Church door was opened by someone inside. A pink-haired girl wearing a white pharmacist's robe walked out while rubbing her eyes. Her cute face looked a little haggard. She stretched out her hand to cover her mouth and yawned. Then, her eyes carefully analyzed John and Parr, who looked like beggars. Her gaze paused on the sword hanging by John's waist.

"Are you adventurers? Are you here to treat your injuries?"

John and Parr's attire was not unusual to the members of the Church. Most of the adventurers who had finished their journey were like this. Their clothes were dirty, and they carried packages of various sizes like refugees. The only difference was that adventurers would carry special weapons with them. This was their most conspicuous symbol.

"Yes! We're here to treat our injuries."

John nodded with a smile. Then, he grabbed Parr's arm and said in a low voice,

"Don't say anything further. We'll talk when we're inside."

"Okay."

Parr nodded imperceptibly. Although he didn't quite understand John's motive for doing this, he still chose to believe him. Ever since he entered Bluestone City, he always had a strange feeling in his heart, which made him a little uneasy.

"Since you're here to treat your injuries, then come in!"

The girl pushed the Church's door open a little and let John and Parr in. Then, the Church's door closed heavily.

Bang!

…

The guard who followed John and Parr did not return to his post. Instead, he took a detour to the headquarters of the patrol team in Bluestone City and knocked on the vice-captain's door.

Bang!

"Enter!"

Creak.

The guard pushed the door open and walked in. He saw Vice-captain Massey eating a piece of beast meat. The beast meat was not completely roasted, and the sight of fresh blood was shocking.

Gulp!

Swallowing his saliva, the guard retracted his gaze and lowered his head to say respectfully, "Lord Massey, two adventurers came from the west today, one adult and one child. After entering the city, they went to the Church."

The tall and strong Vice-captain Massey frowned. After swallowing the beast meat in his mouth, he thought for a moment, then took out a handful of silver coins from his pocket and threw them to the guard. 

The silver coins scattered all over the ground. The guard hurriedly picked them up one by one. During this process, Vice-captain Massey said, "You did well. Go back to your duties. I shall reward you further." 

"Yes, sir!"

After picking up the silver coins, the guard lowered his head and left the room. Vice-captain Massey waited for a while, then wiped his hands, changed into a set of plain clothes, and left the room, heading in the direction of the Bluestone City Adventurer's Guild.

…

The girl with long pink hair that reached her waist led John and Parr to a room, somewhat absentmindedly. This was the Church's treatment room, and it was a little dark. There were a few wooden chairs and two simple wooden beds.

After entering the room, the girl rubbed her eyes and turned around. "Which one of you is injured? Which part? If it's not serious, I can heal it."

John did not say anything but silently took out his Church's honorary Knight badge. The girl's eyes widened when she saw the badge, and her expression became serious. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and saluted.

"You're an Honorary Knight! May I know what your orders are, sir?"

In the Church, an honorary Knight was equivalent to an official Knight of the Church.

"Call your Knight or doctor here. I have important information about the cultists," John said with a serious expression. Then, he handed the Honorary Knight Badge to the girl.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

The young girl nodded, took the badge, and walked out of the room.

A few minutes later, a white-bearded old man wearing a white pharmacist robe pushed the door open and walked in. He swept over the two people in the room, and then his gaze fell on John. He stroked his beard and said with a chuckle,

"Aren't you John? We haven't seen each other for four or five years, right? Have you returned from the Eastern Region? Did your journey go smoothly? Did you kill more cultists? Are you here to collect the bounty again? You have to be really careful, you know."

The old man obviously knew John, and he couldn't stop talking as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Larry, stop nagging. I have something important to tell this time."

John hurriedly interrupted the old man's words, and his serious expression didn't change. This made the old man realize that John really brought important news and not merely asked him for a drink. He stopped nagging.

"Speak!"

"When I came from the east this time..."

As John spoke, he asked Parr to take out the small package containing the ashes and relics of the Knight named Bolen. He also took out the list of all the dead cultists in Viscount Bluestone's territory.

"What is this?"

Larry showed a sad expression. However, now was not the time to be sad. What John showed was the most important thing. It recorded the names of all the cultists in Viscount Bluestone's territory! With this, the sacrifice of Bolen was not in vain.

"That's it. When we came here, we met the corpse of Bolen in the deep forest."

Suddenly, John stopped talking. He turned to look at the tightly shut door and slowly pulled out his sword. Then, he signaled for Parr, who was closest to the door, to open the door.

Parr had also heard the faint sound coming from outside the door. He walked to the door, took a deep breath, and suddenly pulled it open. However, his Danger Foresight had not been triggered at all. Parr was stunned for a moment when he saw the girl who had brought them in just now turn around and run away while crying.

Sigh.

Larry sighed and touched the small package containing Bolen's ashes. He said to John and Parr, who was trying to chase the girl with a sad face,

"Stop chasing. Edith and Bolen are very close. She should have heard what we said just now. Bolen is dead. She should be the saddest person here now."

"I understand."

John nodded, but despite that, he still turned his head and whispered to Parr, "Little boy, just in case, keep an eye on her and be careful."

"Okay."

Parr put down all the packages, turned around, and chased after Edith.

In fact, John had sent Parr away to tell Larry something in private.

…