The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1164 Ch.1163 Dragon Bones

Although Rose didn't want to admit it.

But as Cinder said, she had only been on Golden Island for two nights when she learned of a strange object that could 'almost still' flesh and soul.

However, the other party said that they needed to talk to the buyer 'in person'.

The real buyers.

"How else do I resemble a poor person?" Rose wondered.

“You are already a glorious lady, Ms. Shelley. If I had to nitpick, I suppose it would be your ‘elegance’…”

“I’m not asking you to nitpick, Kratofer. Shut your mouth.”

Rose rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a round mirror with a gray-silver rim. The mirror was covered with blue silk cloth, and the exquisitely carved arched back had two vertical rod-like supports that could be discerned with fingers.

It happened to be propped up on the table.

"Here."

Rose nudged Kratofer.

“Think of a way to cause it trouble, isn’t that what you’re good at?” Rose certainly wouldn’t easily put her face into this mysterious mirror—even though the other party told her it was a ‘harmless’ ‘bridge’…

If she were so trusting, she would have died long before Anne.

"You've finally been careful for once, Shelley."

“…I always feel like you call my name in a weird, sarcastic way,” Rose pouted. “Is there any way to ‘test’ it? Holy water?”

Shandel shook his head, led Rose to her feet, and walked through the living room corridor to the kitchen.

The flames on the stove gently sizzled, soothing a pot of hot milk.

"milk?"

Rose frowned.

Lacking knowledge, the thief had naturally never heard of the effects of "milk"—just as Roland had told her about the uses of many herbs, she was absolutely ignorant in this regard.

"Can milk detect 'malice'? No, it's for examining strange objects...?"

She muttered to herself around Xander, who slowly uncorked the nipple, shook the wrinkled skin, and sniffed it with satisfaction.

then.

Take the perforated tray off the wall hook, find the spoon in the drawer, and set out the tea set on the corner table.

Next.

Pick them up and hand them to Rose.

"Am I here for the 'test'?"

Sender smiled slightly at her.

Walk through the corridor.

As Rose entered the living room carrying the tray, she saw Roland examining himself in the mirror, which had been uncovered.

"Magic mirror, magic mirror, am I the man with the most dragons in the world?"

Rose was silent for a moment, then turned to Xander.

The other person still had a smile on their face.

Rose: ...

I glanced down at the milk jug on the tray.

…………

……

This is just an ordinary mirror.

As midnight approached, the scent that followed some kind of anchor landed on the frosted mirror surface.

The three people were leisurely drinking tea and playing cards, while another, smaller round table was covered with golden cream cakes—it was Little Candle who first noticed something amiss.

It called itself Roland, its tail flaring up and down as it pointed towards the mirror: a mirror rippling like a lake.

In less than ten seconds.

A voice, neither clearly male nor female, rang out in the living room.

"...Good night, lady or gentleman behind the mirror. I hope I'm not late."

Roland, with his black hair loose, sat down in the high-backed chair in front of the mirror.

The surface of the silver lake first reflected a blurry figure with a head veiled in a thin white veil. Soon, as the illusion faded, Roland saw the 'person' behind the mirror:
A silver 'vortex' that is constantly shrinking inward.

The voice sounds like a woman's.

"How should I address you, Your Excellency the Winged One of the 'Tea Party'?"

Without hesitation, Roland said, "Hammerhead." The voice in the mirror remained silent for a moment.

"...You may call me: Coffin. Mr. Hammerhead."

Roland glanced to the side for a moment, and Xander and Rose simultaneously looked up—at the coffin.

Roland and the others had spoken of the ritualists who frequently appeared at the Taylor's house.

The 'good friend' that Beatrice Taylor mentioned.

It must be said that people will always marvel at the wonder of fate at some stage of their lives, a wonder so coincidental that it's like a terrible story created by a gloomy and eccentric novelist who often sprains his ankle and never gets any attention.

“The coffin…” Roland rested his chin on the heel of his hand, his face very close to the mirror: “Madam, I hope our adventure tonight has been worthwhile.”

“I also hope so, Mr. Hammer… Winged One,” the person behind the mirror changed his words, “I heard you are looking to purchase a rare artifact that can freeze flesh and soul… To be honest, what I possess is only ‘near’ stillness… Would you mind discussing its purpose?”

Roland tilted his head, tapping the table absently with his index finger.

"Of course it's inconvenient."

The vortex quieted down for a few seconds.

“I think so too… So, I can only guarantee that it will alleviate the injury to some extent, even a fatal one, and slow down the user’s ‘time’ flow to the greatest extent possible—”

Sándel suddenly realized.

It turned out to be the case.

This is the 'near' answer: the artifact held in the coffin can slow down the forward movement of time within the holder, and under this premise, the outbreak period of any curse or plague will be continuously extended...

If its effect is strong enough, this period could even be close to indefinite.

"What's the price?"

Roland asked.

“The Blood of the Long-Lived, sir. Every month, you must nourish it with fresh blood—the blood donor's age must be twice the user's age, and each ‘long-lived’ can only be used once… Since it's called ‘longevity,’ I suppose you can't use it to save a child.”

Roland thought for a moment.

Fortunately, Enid's age is neither too young nor too old. If she were eighty, the price of using this artifact would be too high—he would have to seek the blood of a long-lived high-ringed ritualist.

"what would you like?"

No one would exchange such a rare, life-saving treasure for gold pounds.

The person in the mirror said softly:

“Skeleton. Dragon skeleton, sir. I want… at least half a dragon skeleton. I want it to be a true ‘dragon,’ the most mysterious and powerful of the alien species… I want half a skeleton. Give me the skeleton, sir, and I will give you this wonder.”

Suddenly, Sender spoke up from the side:
"Dragon bones. You probably don't understand how important skeletons are to ritual practitioners. If we could really find half a dragon bone, how many people would be eager to trade with us?"

There was a moment of silence in the mirror, followed by a soft laugh.

“Indeed, madam. But ritual practitioners never seek ‘fairness’ in their transactions—we pay a price in exchange for the rituals or artifacts we need… Excuse my rudeness, but you are from the Church of Justice?”

Sender let out a dissatisfied groan.

"I think it's more appropriate to exchange rare items for rare items. What do you think?"

The person in the mirror lowered their voice slightly: "...I apologize, everyone at the tea party. This wondrous item I possess will only be used to exchange for dragon bones..."

Rose pursed her lips, her worries creeping past her on tiptoe.

Dragon.

Without any 'education' from Sandel, she knew how rare such mutants were—during her happy days with Roland, as the executor's 'companion' (in her opinion), she had seen many strange and unusual mutants.

But only the dragon…

Only that one time.

This is a dragon.

“Agreed. That’s fine, Ms. Coffin. Please contact me before the end of this month—then we can discuss how to exchange what we need…”

Roland gently closed his palms.

"At midnight, smear the liar's tongue blood on the mirror and you can summon me... Sir, I await your good news."

After she finished speaking, the wave-like mirror surface quickly returned to its original shape.

Rose rushed forward and quickly covered it with a silk cloth.

“You shouldn’t have agreed so hastily, Roland. Where are we going to find dragon bones? The last time the Decapitation Club sold dragon bones—the size of a little finger—was fifteen years ago.”

Roland rubbed his hands together and stared quietly at the floating flames before him.

"Roland".

"I know where to find dragon bones."

(End of this chapter)