Mystery: The Witch of Desire

These two short sentences seemed to have exhausted Jason's last strength; his body went limp, and he closed his eyes forever.

"Jason, no, no!"

Emily couldn't believe what she was seeing. She shook Jason frantically and screamed hysterically.

Reeves felt dizzy, a sense of unreality washing over him. In the six months since he transmigrated, he had come to regard Jason as family, but now…

He had long been mentally prepared for the cruelty of this world, but when that cruelty actually happened, he still found it hard to bear and was on the verge of collapse. He wanted to cry his heart out and let the endless sorrow overwhelm him.

"No, first and foremost, we must survive."

Levi forced himself to suppress the myriad of bitterness in his heart and calm himself down.

Jason likely made some enemies or learned something he shouldn't have while completing his mission for that secret organization, which is why he was targeted for elimination. This burly man is probably also a member of some secret organization. If the organization discovers the burly man is dead, then Jason and Emily will definitely be in danger...

"That's why Jason let Emily and me escape; his suitcase must have contained clues to his murder..."

"We have to move; we need to get out of here!"

Reeve did not place his hopes on police protection; on the lower street of Iron Cross Street, laws and regulations were nothing but empty words.

Despite the pain, Reeves crawled to Jason's body and took a set of keys from his pocket.

"It's this one..."

After several attempts, he opened Jason's wardrobe.

The box that Jason had used to store women's clothing was lying there quietly.

He picked up the box and shouted to Emily:

"Emily, pack your things quickly, we have to get out of here right now!"

Emily remained silent, still weeping over Jason's body.

"Jason, you liar! You promised me you'd get married next month!"

Reeves felt as if his heart had been squeezed, and he convulsed in pain.

He tried to calm his breathing, gently patted Emily's shoulder, and said in a deep voice:

“Jason has taken on dangerous work to support his family. His enemies could come knocking at any time. Let’s go quickly and not let Jason’s sacrifice be in vain.”

Chapter 3 Plan

Emily paused, looked up at Reeves, and her swollen eyes revealed a sorrowful expression.

She glanced at the burly man's corpse lying on the ground, remained silent for a few seconds, wiped away her tears, and staggered to her feet.

"I'll go pack my things now."

As she spoke, she staggered out of the door and headed towards her room.

Reeves quickly packed his bags. Apart from Jason's suitcase, he only took 1 soule and 7 pence in change and a backpack containing some changes of clothes, Emperor Roselle's diary, and two daggers.

It wasn't that he didn't want to bring more things, but rather that there were simply no other valuables in this impoverished home.

Levi looked at the burly man's corpse, hesitated for a moment, then picked up the revolver from his hand and tucked it into his inner jacket pocket.

At this moment, specks of white light emanated from the burly man's corpse, which then turned into a grayish-white mass, while similar dark red substances formed on Jason's corpse.

"This is... an extraordinary characteristic?"

Reeve had heard Jason talk about something similar: when an extraordinary person dies, they release their extraordinary characteristics. These characteristics are very dangerous, as they may retain the mental imprint of the deceased. However, if handled properly, they can be used to create powerful magical items.

Levi pondered for a moment, then picked up the two clusters of extraordinary properties and put them into two separate bottles.

Just then, Emily also came in carrying a package.

"Let's go."

Levi said softly and walked out of the room with Emily.

As the two walked out the door, they both stopped and turned back to look at Jason lying on the ground.

A moment of silent farewell.

After a long silence, Levi finally let out a deep sigh:

Goodnight, Jason.

……

Three days later, on Windmill Street.

This is a slum in Tingen that is as infamous as the Iron Cross Street, teeming with small workshops, workers, prostitutes, gangsters, and idle vagrants.

Its only advantage is that it is far enough away from Iron Cross Street that if the group that killed Jason started their investigation from Iron Cross Street, it would be difficult to find any trace of Reeves and Emily.

Goldfish Hotel is a reasonably decent hotel on Windmill Street—at least there are no more than a dozen bedbugs visible to the naked eye in each room.

Reeve had only 1 soule and 7 pence from home, and with the money Emily had, they only had 2 soules and 11 pence. This amount was not enough to rent any room for a long time, and if Emily, a young and beautiful woman, were to live with others, it would be difficult to guarantee her safety.

Therefore, Levi had no choice but to rent room 207 at the Goldfish Hotel, which cost 6 pence a day, but this provided the most basic security.

After three days, including food and wound dressing, the two had almost spent all the money they had.

Reeve sat on the floor under the bed, looking at the last penny in his hand, and gave a bitter smile.

After a long while, he said to Emily, who was sitting on the bed in a daze:

"I'm going to buy some black bread."

Emily didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Levi tidied his clothes, left the room, reminded Emily to lock the door from the inside, and then left the hotel.

He went out not only to buy black bread, but also to scout out the surrounding area.

For the past three days, he had been observing through the window from inside the room and had not found any suspicious people looking for them, which put his mind at ease.

If the investigation doesn't uncover any problems, he'll begin executing his plan.

After carefully examining the box Jason left behind, a plan gradually formed in Reeves' mind:

He plans to take Jason's place and return to that secret organization!

Besides his women's attire, Jason's suitcase contained two noteworthy items: a notebook detailing the intelligence and knowledge he had gathered over the past two years while participating in the clandestine organization.

This organization is called the 'Tinggen City Women Teachers' Mutual Aid Association'. It has a large number of female teacher members from various schools in Tinggen, as well as some private tutors.

Most of these teachers are ordinary people who participate in the organization's activities normally, and there is nothing wrong with that.

However, the Mutual Aid Society also has a clandestine organization whose members are all extraordinary individuals, a significant portion of whom are assassins. They hold regular gatherings to trade extraordinary items and information. Members, regardless of gender, must dress as women when attending these gatherings.

The mutual aid society's committee members also assign tasks to members, with generous rewards for completing them. These tasks include assassination, kidnapping, stalking, investigation, and so on, and are extremely dangerous.

Jason wrote in his notes that he tried to only take on missions that he could live with his conscience, but he was once forced to take someone's life. Fortunately, the person was a notorious gang leader, so Jason didn't feel too guilty.

Jason's final mission was to steal an item from the Hyenas gang on Iron Cross Street.

The item was a small female statue, which was lying in Jason's box at the moment, and it was another item that caught Revy's attention.

Unlike ordinary statues that depict the figure as holy and dignified, this female statue has an indescribable aura, somewhat alluring, yet it also makes people feel uneasy, as if it contains an aura of impurity.

The statue was covered by a transparent veil, and out of caution, Rivi did not remove it for further inspection.

Jason wrote in his notes that the reward for completing this task was £200! That's equivalent to five years' wages for a laborer!

Jason, unusually, also expressed his vision of the future in his notes:

"Once this mission is complete, I'll marry Emily. I've been delaying our wedding because of the dangers of my work, which has upset her. Now, it's time to make her happy..."

Reeves felt another pang of pain as he recalled Jason's flamboyant handwriting, brimming with happiness.

"No matter what, get that 200 pounds back, give half to Emily, and let her go to another city to continue her studies..."

As for himself, Rivi had other plans.

With the female attire and information left behind by Jason, there's a good chance he can impersonate Jason without being discovered. Even if he is, he has the items the mutual aid society needs, giving him leverage to negotiate.

Continue his activities in the support group as Jason, and look for an opportunity to become an extraordinary one!

This wasn't just about avenging Jason, but also about myself, about uncovering the truth behind my time travel, and about exploring the nightmare that haunted me. Therefore, even taking some risks was worthwhile.

Lost in thought, Levi arrived at the shop selling black bread and bought half a pound of black bread with his last penny.

Then, while carefully observing his surroundings, he slowly returned to room 207 of the Goldfish Hotel.

After three long and one short knock on the door, Emily cautiously opened it. Seeing Levi, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened the door wider to welcome him in.

Chapter 4 Crossdressing

"No one should be spying on us."

While casually recounting the good news, Levi used a dagger to slice the black bread.

Emily nodded, managing a weak smile that seemed out of place with her swollen, red eyes.

Reeves handed Emily a slice of black bread, and the two of them chewed it with difficulty, using only water.

"I really want to dip it in some creamy mushroom soup, at least that would make it a bit softer..."

As Levi pondered this, he chewed even more diligently.

After finishing the black bread, Reeves cleaned up the crumbs and said casually:

"I'll go look for some short-term jobs that suit me later. I have some skills in mechanical repair, and if I'm lucky, I might be able to earn a tael or two a day..."

Emily nodded as well:

“I’ll go out and see what it’s like. I can work as a tutor for a short period of time and I should be able to earn some money.”

Levi gave a wry smile:

“In Windmill Street, it’s probably rare for people to hire tutors. Hmm… I can go to the West and North districts and keep an eye out for families who need tutors.”

“Okay.” Emily nodded gently, then added after a moment’s thought, “I can do laundry or be a maid, anything to make ends meet…”

Reeves shook his head:

“I’m not comfortable with you doing these jobs on Windmill Street. It’s very likely to attract people with bad intentions. I’ll work hard to earn money. Until we move to a safer street, you should stay in the hotel and study. I believe that one day we can both go back to school and continue our studies.”

Emily brought her textbooks and study notes from home in the package.

Emily paused, her gaze towards Reeves becoming somewhat complicated.

"Jason and I used to treat you like a child, but now you're the one taking care of me?"

Levi smiled slightly:

"Men can change overnight."

Immediately, he realized that his words seemed somewhat ambiguous, so he shook his head helplessly, picked up Jason's suitcase, and prepared to leave.

Jason's notes state that the mutual aid society meets regularly every Monday at 8 p.m. at the Flamingo Bar on College Street.

Today is the day for the gathering.

"Revere, you're not going to become a detective like Jason, are you?"

Emily watched Reeves's retreating figure, her beautiful light blue eyes revealing deep worry.

Following Jason's dying wish, Revere kept the existence of the supernatural world a secret from Emily, so he lied to her and said that Jason worked as a private investigator.

Levi stopped and turned around with a smile:

"How could that be? I don't have Jason's skills. I'd be happy if I could find a job fixing clocks or gas lamps."

"Then why won't you let me see what's in the box?"

Emily asked, puzzled.

River paused, then slowly said:

"Believe me, these are filthy things. I will throw them at the entrance of the police station and let this filth leave us forever."

As Levi recited his prepared remarks, he silently thought to himself:

"Jason, don't worry, I'll make sure you leave with a clean slate..."

Under Emily's worried gaze, Reeves pushed open the door.

He didn't leave the hotel, but went to the front desk and said to the front desk manager and hotel owner—Blake, who had a thick brown beard:

"Give me another room. I want a quiet room at the end of the corridor on the first floor."

There was only one room that met his requirements, and that was room 109. Levi had confirmed in advance that room 109 was currently unoccupied.