My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 21 Human Skin Map
More scary? Yule's eyes flickered and he said:
"Can you take me to see it?"

Seeing that Jules still insisted on watching, the girl said no more and just drove away in her wheelchair.

"Follow me."

The light was dim in the depths of the villa, with only a little sunlight squeezing in from the window trying to shine and generate heat.

Jules followed the girl and looked around the villa again and again.

The deeper you go, the more weird the feeling becomes.

Just as he was watching intently, the girl suddenly stopped in front of an iron gate.

"Next, please be mentally prepared."

She took out a key, opened the iron door, and slowly walked in.

When the iron door was pushed open, what hit me was not only darkness, but also a fishy smell.

The smell quickly penetrated Jules's nostrils, making him frown.

It's not just because the smell is pungent and strange, but also because he always feels that the smell is somewhat familiar.

"...the smell of blood?"

Still the kind that hasn't dried out yet.

The girl looked back at Jules, who couldn't help but cover his nose, and sighed slightly, saying:
"Sorry, the smell here is indeed a bit pungent, please bear with it for a while."

She picked up an oil lamp from the low table and lit it, illuminating the wall in front of her, allowing Jules to clearly see what was on the wall.

One, two... complete or incomplete human skins are neatly hung on the wall, as if telling stories of the terrible past.

Jules' eyes twitched as he watched.

He finally understood why the shop owner said "a little scary". He even felt that there was no need to say "a little", but rather "very scary"!

These human skins had obviously been specially processed, and were engraved with the directions of mountains and rivers, and the boundaries of city-states and kingdoms with exquisite craftsmanship, giving off a strange feeling of the combination of civilization and barbarism.

The girl turned around and saw that Yule was not too scared, but his brows were furrowed. She said helplessly:
"Sir, this is the only map we have. Sorry, if you don't want it, we can try asking other places if they have it."

Yule's eyes did not move away from the human skin maps, but he just shook his head:

"No need, let me take a look first."

He came forward, looking like an old history scholar, and examined each human skin map carefully.

On the surface, he was studying these maps, but in fact he was using his ability to obtain information about items to check if there were any that met the requirements.

"Can I touch these maps while I'm looking at them?" Jules turned his head and asked.

The girl thought for a moment and shook her head.
"Although I don't mind, some beings may mind. If it's not necessary, you'd better not touch it."

Does it exist? Yule was slightly stunned.

Could it be that the owner of these things is actually someone else?
Or, there is another possibility...

He scanned the human skin map with a frown on his face.

Are these items the ones that would mind?
Since the other party said it, Jules had no choice but to listen.

However, he had also tested it and found that his ability did not need to be triggered by touching, but only required a connection with himself in some sense.

Even if you just look at it from a close distance for a longer time, it’s fine.

He stuck the maps together and examined them carefully.

Many of these maps have been damaged, and some even have holes in the human skin used as the carriers eaten by insects. It is obvious that they are very old.

As he looked, his gaze stopped on a map made of cut human skin.

Judging from a rough estimate, it should be the skin on the back.

【Human Skin Map】

[Quality: First-class rare item]

[Effect: Can be used as a material to carry secret history, used in the first-level promotion ceremony of the synthesis sequence "Traveler"]

[Introduction: When your fingertips touch it, you can feel the condensed particles of subcutaneous fat and a tremor that is older than death. Perhaps this is the fate of the explorer - all those who explore the secret history will eventually become the annotations of the secret history itself.] The girl's explanation sounded at the right time:
"Do you like this map? It's from the time when Alexander the Great was conquering other kingdoms. At that time, Alexander was preparing to launch a war against the Shadowless Empire. This map records the terrain and strategic locations between the two countries, bearing witness to the confrontation between the two nations. It's an extremely valuable physical historical document."

When she said this, she acted nonchalantly, without even a moment's thought, as if those distant past events were her own experiences.

Yule took a deep breath and said:
"Just this one, how much is it?"

"One hundred pounds."

Hearing this number, Jules almost fell down, but he still gritted his teeth and said:

"Okay, deal."

The corner of the girl's mouth showed a smile:
"Then I will bring it to you later, and you can go back and continue looking for the ancient gold coin that suits your taste."

As he left, Jules couldn't help but look back at the wall of human skin, and then he felt a vague nausea again.

Although he had killed people with his own hands, this "human product" in front of him still made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

Why didn't this antique shop have normal parchment maps, but only human skin maps? He couldn't help but think about it.

In his mind, the weirdness of this antique shop was no less than the wreckage of the Titanic that day.

……

It didn't take Jules much time to select the ancient gold coins.

【Bloodstained Ancient Gold Coin】

[Quality: First-class rare item]

[Effect: Can be used as a material to carry secret history, used in the first-level promotion ceremony of the synthesis sequence "Traveler"]

[Introduction: This gold coin, unearthed from an ancient battlefield, once had text printed on its back, but now it has become blurred and buried with the past.]

"Well, here are the maps and ancient gold coins you purchased. Please take them."

The girl handed the map wrapped in papyrus to Jules and said with a smile:

“Welcome next time.”

Holding the map and ancient gold coins in his hands, Jules felt his heart bleeding.

In just a short while, one hundred and thirty pounds was gone!
No, I must find a way to make money when I go back!
He said goodbye stiffly to the two people in the antique shop, and stood at the public carriage stop, suddenly hesitating.

"...Forget it, let's just walk back and save some money."

He felt the same sense of poverty and embarrassment again after a long time.

……

Since the walk would take about half an hour, Jules had the leisure to think about the composition of the ceremony while walking.

"Ruth's notes, the human skin map, the blood-stained ancient gold coin... well, it's all done."

He felt incomparable excitement - after so much hard work, he was finally going to take this step!

However, when he was about to synthesize it, he was stunned.

"Huh? Why don't you allow synthesis?" Yule frowned.

After he studied it carefully for a while, he suddenly understood.

"Although the result is a card, does the synthesis process require the physical object?"

He was speechless.

Forget it, let’s talk about it when we get back to the apartment.

……

However, when he was still some distance away from the apartment, Jules suddenly heard faint cries and scolding coming from the apartment.

His expression suddenly changed:
"Is there a situation?"

(End of this chapter)