Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Cecilia heard the noise coming from upstairs, so she went up to the second floor and went to Lyndon's room.

The sound just now seemed to have come from inside.

Philip hasn't come back, so what could be making that sound?

Looking at the closed door in front of her, Cecilia thought for a moment, then reached out and grasped the brass handle.

Cecilia turned the handle and pushed Lyndon's room door open a crack.

call!

A gust of wind blew out of Lyndon's room.

Cecilia stood in the doorway and glanced around the empty room. There was nothing unusual inside, except that the window near the desk was not closed and was creaking in the wind.

Cecilia walked to the desk and saw the book lying on the floor.

"Was it blown by the wind?"

Cecilia picked up the book and put it back on the table.

She looked out the window and then closed it again.

Cecilia wandered around Lyndon's room for a bit, and after confirming that everything was alright, she left.

As the door closed, a hand quietly emerged from under the bed.

Lyndon, sword in hand, quietly crawled out from under the bed.

He dusted himself off and complained, "I almost got caught."

Lyndon sat on the bed and tidied his hair.

Now he finally had the energy to think about how to put the sword away.

After all, I can't keep carrying this sword to bed from now on.

"This sword was created through a secret technique, and the source of that technique is the spiritual power within one's own body. In other words, the form of this sword is very likely maintained by spiritual power."

If something could provide spiritual power to this sword in my place, wouldn't that situation downstairs not have occurred?

Thinking of this, Lyndon had an idea.

The problem is, where should I look for something that can continuously radiate spiritual energy?

Just as Lyndon was pondering, his gaze inadvertently fell on the bracelet on his wrist.

"Yeah, you little rascal!"

Lyndon suddenly remembered the description of it in the Book of Fate.

Blood Elves are strange creatures born from among humans, spirits, and other species.

Since it is called an elf, it must contain spiritual power!

So Lyndon awakened the Blood Spirit.

The chain on his wrist instantly began to melt, eventually turning into a pool of blood stuck to his body.

The Blood Elf clung to Lyndon, wriggling around like a clingy pet, eager to please its master.

Lyndon pointed to the bone sword in his hand and commanded the Blood Elf, "Little Blood Elf, climb up!"

After receiving the order, the Blood Elf hesitated for a moment before crawling toward the sword.

The moment the Blood Elf touched the sword, the two seemed to react in some way.

The Blood Spirit wrapped around the blade, and the bone sword, which had lost its luster due to Lindenson's handling, suddenly shone with an even more vibrant color after the Blood Spirit wrapped around it.

Lyndon witnessed the unusual change that occurred between the two, and then he tentatively loosened his grip on the sword hilt.

When the sword was completely out of his hand, Lyndon stared wide-eyed at the bone sword. Time ticked by, but the bone sword remained a bone sword, not reverting to its severed form as before.

Upon seeing this, Lyndon breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a success!"

Lyndon tossed the sword aside and lay comfortably on the bed, his hands behind his head.

At this moment, the tainted blood spirit clinging to the sword tried to climb back onto Lyndon's body, but Lyndon sat up and said to the tainted blood spirit, "No, no, no! Little tainted blood spirit, from today onwards, you must stay on this sword! That's an order!"

The Blood Elf had just raised a corner, but after receiving Linden's command, it had no choice but to shrink back.

Lyndon nodded in satisfaction.

He lay in bed, yawned, and instantly felt sleepy.

"I hope I don't have any dreams tonight."

Lyndon murmured something, pulled the blanket over his stomach, and then fell into a deep sleep.

Nothing happened that night.

When the rooster in the henhouse crowed, Lyndon opened his eyes.

He looked at the familiar ceiling, then at the bone sword beside him.

As expected, the bone sword, now possessed by the Bloodstained Spirit, no longer exhibited any abnormalities.

Lyndon got up, put the bone sword in his wardrobe, and then jumped out of the window.

He had to pretend he had just returned to fool Cecilia and Herbert.

And everything went just as Lyndon had predicted.

When he appeared in the courtyard of the sanctuary, Cecilia and Herbert ran out to greet him with joy.

The two of them immediately started asking him all sorts of questions as soon as they saw him.

Lyndon was well-prepared for this, and his answers to the siblings' questions were impeccable.

Therefore, the two did not think much of it and took Lyndon back to the sanctuary.

During this process, Lyndon noticed that Herbert kept giving Cecilia meaningful glances.

Cecilia, however, kept avoiding the topic, even refusing to look at Herbert.

Lyndon noticed their subtle actions.

He had overheard the conversation between the two men and Barkley last night, and of course he knew what Herbert meant with that look in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He could only silently wait for the two men to break through that thin layer of paper.

As Lyndon expected, Herbert couldn't resist any longer before lunchtime.

The three had just finished their daily prayers and hadn't even stood up when Herbert said to Lyndon, "Viscount William sent someone over yesterday!"

Upon hearing this, Cecilia pinched Herbert's soft flesh on his waist hard.

Lyndon raised an eyebrow and asked, "Viscount William? The viscount of the Sutcliffe family? Oh! I've heard of him. What brings him here?"

Herbert pushed Cecilia's hand away and continued, "Yes! The Viscount wants us—no, strictly speaking, it's you! He wants you to deal with the effects of the Dreammoth!"

Upon hearing this, Linden feigned difficulty and said, "The Dream Moth? That's a mid-level variant, isn't it? I'm afraid I can't handle it."

Cecilia quickly chimed in, "That's right! This can't be forced! The Dream Moth isn't easy to deal with! This is really putting Philip in a difficult position!"

Herbert worried that Lyndon, influenced by his sister, would be too afraid to enter the Dark Oak Forest, so he advised, "Philip, you can't back down! If you do, those villagers will suffer!"

Upon hearing this, Lyndon straightened up and asked anxiously, "What do you mean?"

To get Lyndon to agree, Herbert was shameless. He blurted out, "You don't know, there's a huge need for spiritual priests everywhere! You're the only one we can call on around here! If you don't step in, the Dream Moths will destroy even more villagers' property! Can you really bear to watch them suffer?"

These words completely suppressed Lyndon, both logically and emotionally.

After hearing this, Lyndon lowered his head.

Seeing Lyndon lower his head, Cecilia angrily reached out to grab Herbert, but Herbert dodged and continued speaking to Lyndon, "So! Viscount William had no other choice; now it's up to you!"

"Okay!" Lyndon suddenly said.

Cecilia and Herbert were also taken aback.

"In that case, I'll go!" Lyndon said with a determined look in his eyes.

"No!"

"Very good!"

Cecilia and Herbert said in unison.

Cecilia held Lyndon's hand and advised, "Philip, I think you should reconsider this."

Lyndon shook his head: "No, Cecilia. Herbert is right, as a pastor, I should shoulder this responsibility! Who else but me!"

"That's right! That's right!" Herbert put his arm around Lyndon's shoulder. "Sis, look! Philip is so sensible!"

As he spoke, Herbert leaned close to Lyndon's ear and said, "Philip, Viscount William said he'd give us a bag of gold as a reward if it were done. How about we take a loss and give you half?"

Lyndon turned his head, a smile in his eyes: "Then I should thank you, right?"

Herbert didn't catch Lyndon's underlying meaning. He patted Lyndon's chest and said confidently, "It's okay! You did the most work! You deserve the most! Sis, don't you agree?"

Cecilia looked at Herbert silently, without saying a word.

Herbert chuckled awkwardly, "Alright, alright, now that things are settled, I'll go to Sutcliffe Estate after dinner to tell Viscount William the good news!"

Having said that, Herbert stood up and left.

Lyndon knelt there, looking at Cecilia with deep eyes: "You seem to have something to say to me."

Cecilia was silent for a moment, then said, "I shouldn't have agreed to deal with the Dream Moth. You can't handle it."

"I know."

"Then why did you agree!"

Lyndon looked up at the statue and said, slowly and deliberately, "I think Herbert is right. I should go."

"You!" Cecilia exclaimed in exasperation, slapping her thigh in frustration before turning her head away from Lyndon.

The two of them just sat there under the statue.

"I've prepared a mental potion for you," Cecilia said suddenly, looking rather sullen.

Lyndon's eyes lit up: "Where?"

"It's in the basement, do you want to go see it?" Cecilia said.

Lyndon nodded.

"Then come with me." Cecilia stood up and walked towards the basement.

Lyndon followed closely behind.

The two climbed down the wooden ladder to the bottom of the sanctuary.

Cecilia pulled a box of matches from a crack in the wall, struck one, and lit the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall.

The light, illuminated by the folding mirror, instantly lit up the entire basement.

This place is filled with various medicines and glass products, resembling a small laboratory.

Cecilia brought over a basket full of potion bottles.

She pointed to these and said, "You're still at the first level; these should be enough for your cultivation."

Lyndon picked up a bottle, and under the light, the potion inside shimmered with a pale blue glow.

"Thank you, Cecilia," Lyndon said sincerely.

"It's what I should do."

Lyndon put down the medicine bottle and looked at Cecilia. "Can I stay here by myself for a while?"

Cecilia shrugged. "Of course."

She walked towards the ground, and as she climbed the wooden stairs, Cecilia turned back and reminded her, "Philip, I still think you shouldn't go."

Lyndon smiled slightly.

After Cecilia left the basement, Lyndon's smile faded.

He took a broken branch out of his pocket.

A strand of hair was still tangled on the branch.

"Although I don't need you anymore, I still want to know what happened to you, and what your relationship is with that Dreamweaver Society."

Lyndon muttered to himself as he selected ingredients in the basement, based on the recipe in his mind.

"Three drops of Gu Long's tears."

"A small tuft of unicorn hair burned to ashes."

Grind the moonstone into powder and sift out five grams.

"Mix with rootless water... and then add the target's hair."

After dropping the hair into the beaker, Lyndon stirred it clockwise with a glass rod.

He stirred the mixture while muttering incantations under his breath.

As Lyndon stirred, the contents of the beaker began to mix thoroughly.

In an instant, the liquid in the beaker turned into a thick, black paste.

[A promising alchemist, you have successfully concocted a potion for tracking shadows. This marks the beginning of your alchemical career. Proficiency +10]

Lyndon used a glass rod to remove the sticky, black, unidentified liquid from the glass, and frowned.

"Damn! Is this stuff even drinkable?"

Although Lyndon wanted to say it was a failure, the knowledge in his mind told him he was right, he had succeeded.

Lyndon brought the glass to his nose and smelled it. Hmm... there wasn't anything strange about it.

So Lyndon gritted his teeth and poured the potion from the cup into his mouth.

The potion stuck to Lyndon's mouth the moment it entered his mouth.

He still had to exert a great deal of effort to swallow it.

Just after Lyndon swallowed the potion, the scene before him suddenly changed.

In a daze, Lyndon found himself in a small room where the furniture was arranged very tightly.

Just then, a strong, muscular man stumbled into the small house.

Lyndon was standing right in front of him, but the man acted as if he didn't see him and walked straight through Lyndon's body.

The man opened the wardrobe and hurriedly gathered his clothes.

Then he took a pistol out of the cabinet; it was one of those old-fashioned flintlock pistols.

The man poured gunpowder into the gun barrel and loaded the bullet.

After preparing everything, the man packed his luggage and prepared to leave his little house.

But as soon as he reached the door, the man was blocked by a group of mysterious people wearing cloaks.

Lyndon recognized the cloaks of the mysterious group; they were the same ones worn by the guy who had dug up the Laughing Ghost's corpse.

The mysterious people wouldn't allow the man to leave; they demanded that he stay and continue working for them.

But the man refused, and they started arguing.

The man roared, "You lied to me! You promised me a wonderful and prosperous life, but now I'm like a rat living in a gutter! The deity you worship isn't a god at all, it's a monster!"

Then, the man drew the pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger at the mysterious man.

The bullet pierced the leader's chest, but he was not injured. Instead, he had the people around him grab the man and take him away from the hut.

The leader discovered the man's diary and casually flipped through a few pages.

Seeing this, Lyndon, who was standing to the side, quickly went over to them.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late; the mysterious man was already tearing up the diary.

Lyndon only saw one of the pages that had been torn out.

It was also a painting, but it didn't depict the god of sleep. It was an insect, a moth with its wings spread, dancing gracefully.