When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

Since the Frozen Age, these Spirit Touchers, skilled in manipulating minds, have become cunning and treacherous, no longer engaging in direct confrontation...

This is mainly thanks to the potion revival movement; if it weren't for the sudden increase in compatible potions, they would have disappeared long ago!

A revival of potions?

Richard swallowed hard; he wasn't in the mood to think about these things right now.

The rhythm of Engel's piano music, which suddenly turned somber and had a heavy, oppressive style, echoed in his ears. He nervously took a sip of the honey goat milk coffee that the waiter had just brought him.

The taste is not bad... Richard anxiously stroked the coffee cup, his eyes fixed on the contents of the newspaper.

The newspaper was torn apart by people circling around the bombing section, leaving only half a sheet.

It turned out that Alice was indeed dead; the voice inside her body hadn't lied. And she seemed to have just been under some kind of illusion, the medium for which the illusion was cast—the newspaper in her hand.

Anna is definitely searching for the real cause of Alice's death!

But what exactly was her purpose... Richard was extremely frustrated. In his memory, Alice had never had a friend named Anna.

He never imagined he would be deceived by such a despicable lie!

"By the way, can other people see Anna and Alice?" Richard pondered.

He got up, paid for his coffee, placed the remaining two copper coins from his pocket on the table as a tip, and then, looking troubled, called over the waiter and asked, "Did you see a blind girl with braided pigtails and a black floral dress just now?"

Upon seeing the tip, the waiter's puzzled expression immediately turned into a joyful smile. He took the tip, repeatedly saying "thank you," much like a circus performer changing faces.

He racked his brains for a long time: "No! My memory is pretty good, I remember... no blind customers came into the store today."

Hey……

Richard sighed deeply.

Therefore, the waiter's suggestion that Anna was at the front desk before he entered was also an illusion created by the newspaper.

The waiter's inquiry about Richard's preferences likely occurred, as he still remembered Richard ordering a honey goat milk coffee but couldn't recall mentioning Anna...

This is probably an illusion that lies somewhere between reality and illusion.

At that moment, the waiter exclaimed, looking at the newspaper in Richard's hand, "Although I haven't seen the girl you're talking about, I've seen the female student in this newspaper! Do you know her?"

More than just acquaintances!

Actually, while you weren't looking, I was having a pleasant conversation with these two beautiful ladies, but they weren't there in person... Richard turned his head to look at them.

He asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"She came to our shop two days before the accident and ordered a flat white. I even whipped the milk for her! But that's not important. What's important is that she mailed something to us!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know either," the waiter said with difficulty. "It should take a few more days to arrive. She said it was sent from a very far place."

Alice had actually come to the coffee shop early… Richard asked anxiously, “Did she say who it was reserved for?”

"It seemed to be a classmate? Her face was very pale, as pale as a child who had been frightened by a street clown. She seemed completely disoriented, and I couldn't remember exactly what she said..."

Could it be left for him? Richard swallowed hard, then thought that Alice back then must have been just like the original owner, terrified by the inescapable "death"...

He felt genuine pity for the two unfortunate students.

"Alright..." Richard dismissed the waiter.

He didn't intend to reveal that he might be the classmate Alice mentioned, or to ask her to leave the mailed items behind, because it could be a trap deliberately set by the inspectors to catch criminals who coveted Alice's property...

The probability is very small, but not zero.

"I'll have to come back in a few days..." Richard folded the newspaper, stuffed it into his coat pocket, and walked out of the cafe.

On his way home, he passed by Xixi Creek Beauty Store. Through the glass wall, he could see the luxurious interior. The shelves were all carved from rare narcissus wood, and the goods were all high-end-looking women's dresses, shawls, belts, wide-brimmed hats, perfumes, and so on.

Richard inexplicably thought of the silk worth 20 gold coins...

Heart is bleeding.

Why is Xixi Creek everywhere?

[Of course, it's a very famous shop. I love its perfumes, especially the green fruit scent!]

Xixi Creek Beauty Shop...

It is said that the shop was originally just a street stall, and the stall owner was the first student of the history department of Tehran University. Although more than a hundred years have passed, the legendary story of that student is still widely circulated in the school.

Richard remembered that the other party also had the surname Via, which the original owner had used to tease Alice.

A refreshing and soothing aromatherapy scent occasionally wafted from the small window on the upper floor of the beauty store, making him linger: "Although the curse within me has already erupted once, causing the original owner's death, it doesn't seem to have completely faded. If it erupts again, I might never smell such a wonderful scent again..."

Richard took a deep breath, savoring the lingering aftertaste, as he walked back to his dilapidated rented room.

Upon returning to the narrow wooden staircase, Richard encountered Mrs. Rosalie, who seemed to be waiting for someone…

He reasonably suspected that the person being waited for... was himself.

I hurriedly tried to sneak away, but the floor couldn't support the weight of a normal human being and creaked under my feet.

The noise drew Rosalie's attention; Richard had been caught red-handed. She grumbled:

"Where did you go? Did you find the spare key? You know, if one day you suddenly have an accident in your room and scream for help, and I happen to not have the spare key, how desperate would that be?"

It's like being subjected to PUA...

Actually, the deaths are more serious than the plummeting housing prices! Richard silently reminded himself.

Rosalie continued, "Not only will you be in danger, but my house price will also be in danger. It will plummet because of the discovery of the body. Can you afford the consequences?"

It's definitely not for the safety of the tenants!

You only care about the value of the rental property...

Richard reluctantly pretended to agree and nodded, "Yes, Sister Rosalie, I couldn't find it just now, I'll go up and look for it again."

"I'll be with you."

That's not good...

Although Richard was reluctant, Rosalie still went up the small wooden stairs with him.

The cramped space made the two of them twist and turn.

During this time, Richard suddenly thought of a question: When did Anna start to hallucinate him?

Is this really the time to borrow charcoal ash?

Could it have been even earlier...?

He tentatively asked, "Sister, have you received Miss Anna's rent payment?"

Rosalie paused for a moment: "I haven't received any rent from you and Anna in the entire building."

"Anna never even appeared?" Richard thought to himself.

Rosalie noticed Richard's inexplicable absent-mindedness and her brows furrowed. "You two know each other? Could it be... you're plotting something together?"

Richard panicked for a moment: "How could that be? I don't know her at all!"

"Last month, two tenants conspired to steal my sofa, bookshelf, and even an iron pot. They even put up a notice in the hallway saying that it was what they deserved. They not only stole, but also shouted that 'stealing' was righteous..." Rosalie recounted the past with a sense of helplessness.

Anna's paints might have been stolen by those two... Richard quickly explained, "You must have misunderstood! I just have a classmate named Anna, and this morning I heard someone calling 'Anna, Anna'! So I was a little curious."

This is too big a burden for me to bear!

"That's good... Anna hasn't come back these past few days, and I was starting to suspect she'd run away." As she spoke, Rosalie showed the two rent bills she had received.

Richard looked at the bill carefully and wanted to comfort the other party.

However, if I were to tell her about what happened today, the landlady probably wouldn't be so concerned about the small amount of rent anymore. She would know that Anna is a very dangerous woman!

The other party is not only very good at pretending to be well-behaved, but also somewhat cunning. Perhaps she even has normal eyesight. Don't be fooled by her blind appearance...

Upon arriving upstairs, Richard hadn't even entered his room when he found his spare key next to the carpet in the hallway.

No wonder I couldn't find it in the house...

He handed the key to Rosalie and was about to return to his room when Rosalie suddenly produced a yellow and blue striped oil-paper ticket:

"I forgot to tell you... before you came back, a white-bearded old man who claimed to be your professor left you a ticket. Although I really wanted to keep it for myself, I have to admit... I don't have much of an artistic sense."

Richard took the ticket.

This is a limited-edition ticket to the "Steam Array" gallery, a joint event between Naan Sanho and the University of Tehran! The event will be held on June 27th, which is three days from now. The venue is located on East Lisbon Street, and it takes about two hours to walk there from No. 17 West Street.

If Rosalie didn't have any self-awareness, wouldn't she be missing out on an extremely rare limited-edition ticket?

"Naansanjo, a famous painter..."

Richard put away the tickets, coughed twice, and asked, "Where did my professor go?"

"Oh right! I almost forgot again. He said he'd be going on a long trip soon, and told you to focus on your studies and not worry about him." Rosalie tried to recall. "He also said... he was relieved that you were still alive after reading the letter he sent!"