The Villain Saint is my secondary account

The complicated discussions surrounding the collaboration will not be repeated here. In short, Ye Xiao and the others learned from Freya that no respectable sculptor would be willing to produce such forbidden statues openly, and their circulation and sources are usually limited to some secret channels.

Therefore, finding this channel within the imperial city was their breakthrough point.

Asking around the vast imperial city settlement one by one would be time-consuming and laborious, but fortunately, Ye Xiao already had a plan he was very confident about.

After recovering some of his strength in the afternoon, he rode his horse to the "Five Fingers" tavern in the eastern district of the imperial city. Entering, he placed two silver coins on the bar counter, relying on his memories from his previous life. Then, he tapped the edge of the table three times and whispered:

"A friend recommended the Hylandi cocktails here, would you like a glass?"

The bartender looked at Ye Xiao, who was wearing a black trench coat, fiddled with a few bottles of wine, and then pushed a wooden cup filled with blue liquid in front of Ye Xiao.

Taking advantage of the bartender's action of pushing the drink, Ye Xiao grabbed the man's wrist, leaned close, and said in a very low voice, "I'm looking for the person with the severed finger."

After saying that, he released the bartender's hand and tapped his knuckles on the edge of the table twice.

The bartender wasn't annoyed by Ye Xiao's actions. He just glanced at Ye Xiao, picked up a towel to wipe his wrist that had just been grabbed, and turned to walk backstage.

The other party did not take the silver coins from the table, and Ye Xiao did not drink the blue wine. He just sat at the bar and waited quietly.

About five minutes later, the bartender came out from backstage and nodded slightly to Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao stood up and followed the bartender toward the back door on the other side of the tavern.

Outside the door was a narrow alley, with some garbage piled up on the side, and some weeds and muddy puddles on the ground.

Ye Xiao followed the bartender silently along the alley until he saw a muscular, bald man at a corner.

He sighed, turned his head, and found that a burly man had appeared behind him at some point.

Ye Xiao flexed his wrists, watching the two burly men slowly closing in from the front and back, and said softly, "Personally, I advocate communication first, and then considering violence."

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man standing in front of him threw a punch directly at Ye Xiao's face.

Ye Xiao dodged by turning his head, and at the same time gently nudged the other person's arm with his left hand. The fist, carrying a strong wind, struck the person behind him in the face.

He then raised his knee, striking the man in the lower abdomen, and pulled out a loose brick embedded in the wall next to him, smashing it onto the man's shiny head.

Then, with a swift turn, he struck the neck of the burly man behind him who had just been punched in the face and lost sight.

In no time, the two burly men lay down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

Then, Ye Xiao turned his gaze to the bartender, whose body was trembling slightly, and twisted his neck slightly, "I told you I don't recommend you consider violence."

The bartender swallowed hard, his trembling body leaning against the wall, so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud.

He never expected that this seemingly ordinary guy would fight so fiercely!

"You can't blame them for this. Hailandi is indeed one of the liquor names we use. It's just that the code word changes every week, and you gave the wrong one."

Suddenly, a mature and slightly charming female voice rang out, and a woman wearing a dark red leather coat and with her hair tied in a low ponytail appeared on the other side of the alley.

The other party's hibiscus purple hair stood out in the bluish-white alley. Ignoring the trembling bartender, she walked gracefully to Ye Xiao with her long legs in leather boots, and smiled as she leaned her shoulder against the wall.

A pair of captivating eyes looked into Ye Xiao's eyes: "So, what kind of information do you want to buy, little brother?"

The woman held a thin hookah between two fingers, took a puff, and then parted her thin lips slightly, sending a faint smoke ring onto Ye Xiao's face.

Artorina Garland. Her elegant appearance instantly awakened Ye Xiao's memories from his previous life—good heavens, the future leader of the assassin society "The One-Finger" who would lead the rebellion was originally in the capital city of Valond.

Five years later, the wanted posters of her released by the Human Alliance could almost circle the entire continent if laid end to end.

Although he recognized the person in front of him as dangerous, Ye Xiao remained calm and composed.

In his previous life, Ye Xiao had little interaction with this guy, or rather, Ye Xiao's strength in his previous life was not enough to warrant any interaction with him, so he couldn't say whether he liked or disliked him.

Ye Xiao took out the small demon statue he had obtained from the settlement from his pocket and handed it to Artorina.

"I'm looking for a place in the capital city where this statue is sold."

"'For sale'... Ha." Artoria toyed with the statue in her hand, her deep purple pupils like a mysterious abyss. "How many gold coins are you willing to pay, little brother?"

"Huh? Shouldn't you be the ones quoting prices first?"

"Judging from the price you offered, I now know whether your knowledge of this information is worth telling you." Artoria casually tossed the statue back to Ye Xiao, and also gave him a flirty wink. "Fit your hair, you'll look much more handsome, little brother."

"There's no need for that. My handsomeness doesn't need to be so dazzling." Ye Xiao's skin was thicker than a city wall, and he wasn't so easily provoked. "Two gold coins, how about that? Consider the extra half a coin a gift for you."

“You seem more mature than your appearance suggests.” Artoria narrowed her eyes, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “To be honest, I’m a little curious.”

Ye Xiao shrugged. "Please, I'm a huge fan of this devil. I can't sleep if I don't fill my house with it."

"Pfft." Even this well-traveled and knowledgeable woman couldn't help but chuckle. "Your hobby is quite unique."

"Everyone is free to have their own hobbies, and one day everyone will accept mine." Ye Xiao crossed his arms and looked righteous.

"Fine, I won't force you if you really don't want to say." Artorina twirled her hookah between her fingers. "Since your made-up reason is quite interesting—go outside and find the second bottle of wine in the third row."

Ye Xiao bowed slightly politely, turned around and made a farewell gesture with her fingers, "Thank you."

"call"

Artorina watched Ye Xiao's retreating figure, a smile playing on her lips. She exhaled a thin cloud of smoke, then gently traced the smoke with the pipe in her hand.

Back in the tavern, Ye Xiao followed Artorina's instructions and bought the corresponding drink from the bartender who had reappeared at the bar for two gold coins.

It was a bottle of orange-yellow malt beer. He pinched the wooden cap and pulled it off the bottle, revealing a small roll of paper embedded at the bottom of the cap.

He pulled out the slip of paper and unfolded it, revealing neat handwriting: "Six Anstan Avenue. Also, the code for next week is 'roasted taro,' don't mispronounce it, little brother."

Then, the words formed by magic turned into smoke and slowly dissipated, leaving only a blank note.

Roasted taro? You can order this at a tavern?

Ye Xiao was a little confused, but he didn't care too much; he just needed to get the most important information.

After leaving the tavern, Ye Xiao headed to the Adventure Hall, where Freya and Li Cheng were still waiting for news of him.

Chapter Thirteen: The Crystallization of Dreams

At the same moment, at the Second Princess's residence in the western part of the imperial city, a carriage slowly came to a stop at the gate.

A group of fully armed Templar Knights, riding fine horses and surrounding the carriage, dismounted in unison. The tallest of them walked to the carriage and slowly opened the door.

Slender legs encased in milky-white stockings and high heels adorned with lace ribbons emerged from behind the door. A silver-haired girl with twin ponytails, wearing a gilded dress, stepped out of the carriage, her skirt billowing in the gentle sunlight that fell upon her shoulders like a golden veil draped over her by a deity, elegant and sacred.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty." Winnie, the little maid at the door, bowed politely to Ella and made an inviting gesture.

Ella smiled and returned the greeting, then entered the manor surrounded by a group of knights.

The flowers, plants and trees in the courtyard are still as neat and beautiful as before, and the lobby on the first floor of the mansion has been restored to its original state, showing no trace of the corpses that littered the ground that day.

Four Templar Knights remained outside the manor, while the remaining two followed Ella to the second floor of the residence, and then, under Ella's orders, stood guard outside Lilia's bedroom door.

As soon as Ella pushed open the door, she saw a black-haired, purple-eyed girl sitting in a wheelchair—Lilia Betis.

Lilia leaned against the window, which was tightly covered by curtains. She was wearing a fitted navy blue strapless dress, with a small cape embroidered with pearl red lace around her shoulders. Two azure blue hair ribbons tied into bows were styled into two low ponytails, just like Ella's hairstyle.

"Your Grace, you've arrived." "Good afternoon, Princess Lilia."

Their gentle and elegant tones, along with their light and melodious voices, sang in harmony, like two lovely larks.

The dignified young woman and the exquisite and elegant furniture create a tranquil and graceful scene.

However, the moment Ella closed the door, the seemingly delicate and quiet girl suddenly jumped up from her wheelchair as if electrocuted, and without any grace, stomped her fluffy slippers and pounced on Ella.

"Lord God!!!"

The battle-hardened Ella was already used to it. She immediately raised one hand and pressed down on the restless little head like stopping a basketball in mid-air.

"Keep your voice down, Lilia, they're standing right outside!"

"It's alright, I set up a soundproofing array!" Lilia grabbed Ella's arm and hugged her, then rubbed her head against Ella's chest like a kitten. "Ahhh, I missed you so much, my God!"

"If you really think I'm a god, then at least show some respect!" Ella quickly shoved the restless head away with her other hand. "Besides, it's only been a few days!"

Lilia dodged Ella's hand, her pink nose twitching against Ella's neck, "Ah, I can't take it anymore, it smells so good..."

Why does this girl seem increasingly strange? Is it just my imagination, or is she heading in some weird direction?

Ella was exasperated. It took her half a day to finally get the little princess off her, who was clinging to her like an octopus. "So you asked to meet me in the soul link just to take the opportunity to climb up to me?"

“Of course… ah, that’s only one of the reasons, hehe.” Lilia returned to the table next to the wheelchair and picked up a delicate little box from it. “I also wanted to show you this.”

Ella took the box with some confusion and sat down on the down-cushioned chair opposite her at the table.

Upon opening the box, she found a deep blue sphere, resembling a water droplet. However, when Ella touched it slightly, she discovered it was hard. "This is..."

“This is the crystallization of a dream.” Lilia leaned closer, took off Ella’s gloves, and then held her exposed fair hand on the small ball. “My God, please feel it carefully.”

Looking at the smiling Lilia, Ella felt strange. This was clearly such a pretty and cute girl, so why did she have a subtle feeling that she had been taken advantage of?

As your fingertips touch the ball, it feels like an electric current is running from the surface of the ball along your fingers into your palm.

Images not belonging to her memory flowed into Ella's mind like water, like a hazy dream. In her daze, she saw two men shrouded in shadows arguing in front of her, but their conversation was extremely blurry and difficult to understand, while there were also voices in the background that sounded like babbling.

"Are you crazy...you're crazy!?"

"Perfect art."

“Kill Lilia Betis…”

"...The gods have abandoned us! The gods! Abandoned us!!!"

“Kill Lilia…”

"help me!"

"Kill, kill, kill, kill..."

"God...please forgive me."

These complex and intertwined words seemed to have the effect of influencing people's minds, and Ella sensed this but was not affected in the slightest.

It's like watching a TV program that has nothing to do with you, except the signal is ridiculously bad.

As one of the men in the conversation stood up, the scene gradually faded away, but just before it disappeared completely, Ella noticed a blurry oil painting appearing on the wall behind the man.

It's hard to describe what that oil painting is; it vaguely resembles a blonde woman whose body is entangled by gear- and chain-shaped objects.

The image then disappeared completely, leaving only a somewhat confused Ella.

“That was… the memory of the person who used the flesh puppet to attack your mansion last time?” Ella tried to withdraw her hand.

“To be precise, it was the dream of the attacker who claimed to be a member of the Mystic Alchemy Society.” Lilia reluctantly let go of Ella’s hand. “After using the Healing Light spell that you taught me at the council last time, my God, his soul-level trauma was indeed healed, and then this thing was extracted from his soul.”

"Separated from the soul..." Ella was somewhat puzzled as to how the soul could be separated into a physical form, but she didn't want to ask directly for fear of damaging her dignity as a god.

Although the guy in front of her didn't seem to care much about her authority.

“The divine being surely knows Talos, the god of dreams and trickery.” Lilia closed the box.

"Hmm." Ella nodded, pretending to understand, but she knew nothing.

“You are indeed learned, my divine being. There are rumors that my father, the current king of Loren, is a follower of this dream god.” Lilia shook her finger, and a book wrapped in blue magical light floated from the bookshelf behind her and opened on the table. “This deity is a rather special one, neither among the righteous gods nor as an evil god causing havoc on the human world.”

"This book, called 'Collection of Anecdotes of the Wild God,' mentions that 'the followers of the dream god spend their entire lives pursuing perfect drama and trickery.' Although no book records the manifestation of the dream god's power, the ability of 'the crystallization of dreams' appears in the story about the dream god in the book."

Chapter Fourteen: The Talking Crow and the Believing Dog

"In the story, there was a nobleman who was often troubled by nightmares. When he slept, he would always see himself tied to a dining table and being eaten by diners whose faces he could not see."

"He sought doctors everywhere to no avail, and even the priests of the time could not solve his strange problem."

"Until one day he saved a talking crow in the courtyard, and the crow, in gratitude, took a bead from his head."

"This bead is the crystallization of a dream. After touching the crystal, the nobleman saw a special dream and discovered that it all stemmed from his dog."

"The dog was a follower of the god of dreams. It was dissatisfied with the nobleman feeding it the leftovers of the servants, so it planted dreams in the dog as revenge."

"The nobleman was furious. He caught the dog, cooked it, and then hosted a banquet to celebrate the disappearance of his nightmare."

"When he served the dog to the table, he was shocked to find that the scene of them eating the dog meat was exactly the same as the nightmare he had had."

What a mess...

This was Ella's first reaction after hearing it. She tried her best to suppress her urge to complain—what kind of ridiculous story is this? What are talking crows and dogs that worship dream gods?

Fortunately, after telling this inexplicable story, Lilia explained: "Your Majesty, you may find this story to be extremely absurd, but in fact, ordinary people, as storytellers, often need to use veiled methods to describe things involving the secrets of contemporary royal families and nobles in order to save their lives."

"Another historical record recounts that the emperor of a certain country killed his own son, boiled him, cut him into pieces, and threw him into a lake to feed the fish. A few days later, at a royal banquet, the king learned by chance that the fish in the fish soup he was eating came from the lake where his son had been thrown. He then drew his sword and committed suicide on the spot."

"Cold history books usually only record what is known to the public on the surface, but not what is hidden beneath the surface."

Ella nodded, even she was a little confused by what she heard. "So actually, in that absurd story, the nobleman represents the king, and the dog represents his son."