Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Mill Valley, Birch Slope.

"Mr. Alastor, could you help me wash the carrots in the basin?" Giselle called out from inside the house.

At that moment, she was busy cleaning the ashes from the furnace.

For farmers, both wood ash and leftover coal ash are valuable resources.

Wood ash can be collected and made into soap or cleaning agents.

Coal slag can also be reused, reducing consumption.

"Okay, I will."

Alastor moved a chair outside and sat comfortably in the sun. Hearing Giselle's request, he removed the old newspaper from his face and shouted, "Tom! Go wash the carrots!"

Tom responded, "Okay."

He winked at Robin Hood.

Robin Hood understood and stepped forward to help Wesley hold the ladder.

The two of them were helping Wesley repair the roof of his house.

Watching Tom obediently run into the house and sit down to wash the carrots in the basin, Alastor nodded with satisfaction: "I'm such a good family man."

Seeing that there were no chores he needed to do, Alastor adjusted his posture and prepared to continue enjoying the afternoon sunbathing.

The sunlight shone on Alastor, and the pleasant temperature always made people sleepy.

Alastor yawned widely, preparing to take a comfortable afternoon nap.

But just before his eyes became glazed over, it seemed like someone was walking towards them from a distance.

Alastor rubbed his eyes, put on his monocle, squinted, and looked carefully in that direction.

Loose curly hair, a tall and slender figure, and a pair of brown eyes that reflected light in the sunlight.

"Oh! Lyndon!"

When Alastor saw that it was Lyndon returning, he quickly stood up from his chair, spread his arms, and ran to greet Lyndon.

"I thought you were smitten with that blonde girl and didn't want to come back!"

Alastor gave Lyndon a big hug when he returned.

Lyndon looked hurried, his clothes were covered in dust, and a leaf was stuck to his collar.

Judging from the looks of it, he had been traveling for a very long time.

"I'm very worried because we haven't heard from you. The operation needs to be completed as soon as possible; we can't delay any longer!" Lyndon said, supporting Alastor's back.

He pointed to his throat: "Give me a glass of water first. I've been traveling for so long, my throat feels like it's on fire."

"Of course, come on."

Alastor led Lyndon into the cabin.

Giselle, who was inside the house, heard the doorbell ring and instinctively turned her head to look.

When Lyndon’s familiar figure appeared before her, Giselle froze, and the scrub she was using to maintain the furnace walls fell to the ground in her distraction.

The metal box struck the floor with a crisp sound. Lyndon looked up at the sound and his gaze met Giselle's.

Lyndon gave Giselle a bright smile.

Giselle smiled at Lyndon. She wanted to say something more, but didn't know what to say. After thinking for a while, she said, "You're back."

"Yes, I'm back," Lyndon said.

Then he and Alastor sat down at the table, and Giselle poured Lyndon a glass of water.

Lyndon took the water and drank it all in one gulp.

After finishing his water, Lyndon put down his cup and asked about the hunter.

"In all this time, have you found out anything?"

Alastor replied, "We found the guy's house based on the clues."

"So you saw him?" Lyndon's face showed anticipation.

"No, we haven't found him." But Alastor cruelly shattered Lyndon's hopes. "Strictly speaking, he's missing."

"Missing?" Lyndon asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Alastor nodded. "Robin Hood and I waited outside his house for days, but he never showed up."

"Maybe he went somewhere?" Lyndon remained optimistic.

"That's what I thought at first too, but then I got impatient and just barged in. Guess what I saw?"

"What did you see?"

"That guy's room was a complete mess; even the clothes in the closet were gone," Alastor said truthfully.

Upon hearing this result, Lyndon felt as if his heart had sunk into an abyss.

"How could this happen..." Lyndon's features scrunched up as he stared at the wooden table, muttering to himself.

"However, we didn't come away empty-handed."

Seeing that Lyndon was in a bad mood, Alastor suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Lyndon asked back.

At this point, Alastor asked Giselle to bring out a notebook.

Giselle handed the notebook to Lyndon.

Lyndon took the notebook and immediately opened it to read. He discovered that it was a diary.

Based on the contents recorded above, Lyndon discovered that this was a hunter's diary.

The notebook was filled with hunting tips and descriptions of the interior of the Dark Oak Forest.

"This is the hunter's diary," Lyndon said, flipping through a few pages.

"Yes, this is what I found on the ground."

"Great! It contains a lot of information about the Dark Oak Forest's terrain. Maybe we can use this to find a path into the Dark Oak Forest!"

Lyndon said happily to Alastor.

But Alastor didn't show any joy; he sullenly reminded Lyndon to turn a few more pages.

Lyndon did as he was told, but when he turned to the next few pages, he discovered that the diary was incomplete!

Many pages of the diary had been torn out.

It seems they don't want people to know the full contents.

"See? The diary has been destroyed," Alastor said, leaning forward and pointing at the diary with a serious expression. "I have reason to suspect that the torn pages are the key to entering the Dark Oak Forest!"

Lyndon strongly agreed with Alastor's guess.

He flipped through a few more pages and suddenly noticed a drawing on the diary page.

The painting depicts a little boy with wings, holding a magic wand and a torch.

The little boy lay in the clouds with his eyes closed, as if he were sleeping.

Lyndon showed the painting to Alastor: "Alastor, what's depicted in this?"

Alastor glanced at it casually and replied, "It's a painting of Hypnos."

"The God of Sleep?"

Lyndon looked surprised when he heard the answer.

"Yes, it's the god of sleep." Alastor took the diary from Lyndon's hand and pointed to the little boy, his wand, and the torch. "The upside-down torch, the wand that draws water from the River of Oblivion in the underworld, and the wings behind him that can put people to sleep are all ancient legends."

Looking at the painting, Alastor couldn't help but express his nostalgia: "Since the founding of the United Kingdom, fewer and fewer people have told these stories."

"It's Sleepyhead again..."

Lyndon suddenly remembered what the cloaked man had said to him that night.

"Why did he draw a picture of Sleeping God in his diary? Where did he go? Could he have any connection with the Dream Weaver Society?"

Lyndon's mind raced, and suddenly he wondered if he was overthinking things. What if it was just a coincidence? Besides, faith is indeed a elusive thing.

As Lyndon pondered, Alastor casually fiddled with the diary in his hand.

"So these past few days, I've been looking for a replacement. You can't put all your eggs in one basket."

As he spoke, Alastor twirled the diary between his fingertips.

But with that one spin, a strand of hair floated out of the diary.

Her hair floated gently and landed on Lyndon's hand.

"This is?"

Lyndon carefully picked up a strand of hair from his palm and examined it closely.

"Uh...maybe that guy's hair got stuck in the notebook and fell out now?" Alastor said, scratching his head.

"Is that so?"

Lyndon stared at the strand of hair thoughtfully.

Suddenly, a thought struck Lyndon, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"It seems my choice to become an alchemist was somewhat useful after all."