Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2350: Chapter 2351: Angelo

Wilderness of Dreams.

Angel’s figure appeared directly on the first floor of the attic where Nis lived. After nodding slightly to Tullas and Mandhela, he quickly walked up to the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, Angel saw Ironclad Granny and Nis.

Besides them, there was also a fat, somewhat apprehensive Wizard Apprentice, who, despite sitting, kept his head lowered, looking quite uneasy.

"Granny." Angel greeted Ironclad Granny and walked over. When passing by the slightly chubby male apprentice, Angel paused for a moment.

"Are you, Ju Linton?"

Upon hearing his name, a look of astonishment and an indescribable complexity and awkwardness flashed through Ju Linton’s eyes, which were squeezed into a slit by fat.

"G-g-great Sir... you still remember me?" Ju Linton’s voice was slightly trembling, not daring to make direct eye contact with Angel.

Angel shifted his gaze, gently responded with an "Mm," and passed by him, sitting opposite Ironclad Granny.

On the other side, Nis, sitting on a single sofa, looked over curiously: "How come, Angel, you know this apprentice?"

Being called again, Ju Linton’s body stiffened, and he buried his head even lower.

"I met him briefly in Apprentice Town shortly after I arrived at the Barbarian Cave." Back then, Ju Linton came with a few beauties, trying to forcibly establish a relationship with newly advanced Angel by offering beauties.

After being rejected, Ju Linton seemed a bit embarrassed and angry. During that period, Angel was worried about Ju Linton’s retaliation. After all, Ju Linton was already a Third Level Apprentice and was rumored to be quite petty. However, later he found out that his worries were needless; Ju Linton might have had the intention of revenge, but with Sanders backing him, Ju Linton didn’t make any moves.

Angel didn’t mention these minor frictions.

However, seeing Ju Linton so fearful and hesitant, he probably feared revenge for what happened back then.

Ju Linton was overthinking it. To Angel, what happened back then didn’t even count as a footnote, and since Ju Linton hadn’t made any actual moves, Angel wouldn’t be so bored as to target him.

"Is that so? Seeing his fearful face, I assumed there was one of those novel-like scenarios where after years, the roles are reversed, and you smack him in the face... or something." Nis spoke in a rather regretful tone.

"I thought Wizard Nis was busy studying stone slabs in the library of Originheart City. I didn’t expect you to have time to read those fictional novels." Angel raised his eyebrows. The slap-face plot novels mostly came from the library in Originheart City, curated from Earth novels by Jon.

"You read them too. Aren’t those novels quite interesting?" Nis shook the communicator in his hand: "The Tree Group Development Team recently started a project called Project Blue View. They’re planning to put those novels on the tree group forum soon; I’m looking forward to it."

Angel turned his head, too lazy to respond.

At this moment, Ironclad Granny spoke: "Alright, enough with the side talk, let’s get to business."

During the conversation, Angel also learned that the so-called business was indeed about those two Task Teams. Ju Linton was the representative of the team sent to the Nirvana Continent to investigate the Man Huan Family.

"Ju Linton, recount what you said before in detail, once more." This time, it was explicitly meant for Angel.

Ju Linton nodded, opened his mouth with large gold teeth glinting, and recounted the process of executing the task.

According to Ju Linton’s account, after their team set sail, it took them a week to reach Nirvana Continent. Then, they spent a day traveling to Windchime County in Leidu Province of the Night Lily Kingdom.

In Windchime County, they found the Man Huan Family.

Out of caution, they didn’t immediately approach the Man Huan Family but split into two groups. One group secretly observed the Man Huan Family’s estate, while the other group investigated any folklore about the Man Huan Family in Windchime County.

The group that observed didn’t notice anything unusual, but the group gathering information did uncover two anecdotes.

That was an event from thirty years ago.

In the Man Huan Family’s castle, a distant relative of the family head but with the same bloodline, known as Silver Miss, had been living there since long ago.

This Silver Miss was never favored by the family matriarch, and there had always been rumors in Windchime County saying that Silver Miss was actually a mistress of Viscount Man Huan and even bore him a pair of children. Only such a relationship could explain why the pitiable Silver Miss was so targeted by the matriarch.

Initially, it was just a salacious tale in Windchime County, meant for idle gossip. But subsequently, something happened that spread Silver Miss’s name rapidly throughout the county.

While out on a trip, Silver Miss’s carriage, for unknown reasons, fell off a cliff. The driver and servants all perished, but Silver Miss survived, although she was paralyzed. Except for her head, which could barely move, her limbs lost all sensation, and it seemed her future would be confined to bed.

At this point, everyone still felt a sense of pity for Silver Miss—having just entered an age to enjoy life, yet facing such a calamity.

But what happened later shocked everyone.

About two months later, Silver Miss’s paralysis mysteriously healed, and at the same time, the wife of Viscount Man Huan, who had been antagonizing Silver Miss, suddenly died.

For a time, speculation ran rampant.

Later, it was announced from Man Huan Estate that Silver Miss was never paralyzed; she had only broken her leg, which healed after two months. The viscountess’s death was due to natural illness.

People believed the first half of this statement, but not the latter half.

Many speculated that perhaps Silver Miss was indeed not paralyzed, and the rumors of paralysis were to lower someone’s guard, allowing for a counterattack. The carriage falling off the cliff was simply someone’s scheme to eradicate Silver Miss.

That someone referred to was the viscountess.

Thus, the gossip about the love-hate dynamics within the Man Huan Family became the hot topic of discussion.

However, anyone analyzing the situation would realize there were still inexplicable aspects, such as the initial reports of the viscountess’s paralysis coming from a renowned doctor in the county, a Puritan who wouldn’t intentionally spread rumors for personal gain.

Upon investigating, it was discovered that after the incident thirty years ago, the doctor resigned and returned to his hometown, disappearing from public view.

Another oddity was that although the Man Huan Family was a powerful entity, the true authority in Windchime County, they did nothing to suppress the rampant rumors or the discussions about their internal love and hatred.

This was very unusual. No matter how enlightened or benevolent a noble might be, when faced with matters concerning the matriarch’s reputation, orders to silence gossip would definitely be issued.

But this matter was not at all forbidden to discuss, as if deliberately trying to spread this information.

When Jon got to this point, he paused: "Besides this, we also found out about a strange rumor concerning the Manwhale family, and once again, it centers around the Silver Lady."

Fifteen years had passed since the Viscountess died.

The Silver Lady was old by then, and should have been addressed as the Silver Lady Madam. She still resided in the Manwhale family’s castle, and the old rumors had faded over time, with few remembering the past events. People’s impression of the Silver Lady Madam had shifted from a hidden lover to a powerful figure in the Manwhale family.

Besides the old Viscount, the Silver Lady Madam held the highest rank. It was even rumored that the old Viscount would conduct affairs following her words. Of course, the populace didn’t believe it.

Though the Silver Lady Madam was truly powerful, she acted with great discretion, and not much was known about her among the county’s people. According to the normal course of life, the Silver Lady Madam would grow old, die, and completely fade into obscurity with time.

In reality, the Silver Lady Madam did age, and indeed she did die.

But... she was resurrected.

Fifteen years ago, a servant from Manwhale Castle reported that the Silver Lady Madam contracted an unknown illness, often suffering from heart spasms and even coughing up blood. One night, the Silver Lady Madam’s illness struck again, the doctors couldn’t save her, and she died from the illness.

The death of the Silver Lady Madam didn’t stir much commotion, mainly because she kept a low profile. However, three days after news spread of her death, she came back to life. This event caused an uproar, with talk of her resurrection sweeping through most of the county in an instant.

This time, the Manwhale family didn’t let the rumors go unchecked.

They quickly dispatched a large number of guards and knights, ostensibly patrolling the county, but in truth enforcing a gag order. Anyone caught discussing the Silver Lady Madam was imprisoned on charges of defaming nobility.

With forceful control, the public discourse was finally contained.

The Manwhale family then released new information, claiming that the Silver Lady Madam was not resurrected but had fallen into a coma due to the illness, and it was a misdiagnosis by the doctor. Later, they found a new heart specialist, who finally saved her.

Jon: "These are the two strange incidents related to the Manwhale family. We don’t know the exact truth. However, I feel there’s something wrong with this Silver Lady Madam."

Nis: "You don’t need to feel it; there definitely is a problem... Go on."

Before Angel arrived, Nis and the Ironclad Granny had heard just these parts from Jon. What Jon was about to say next, they hadn’t heard yet.

Jon: "After observing the Manwhale Manor for several days and finding nothing unusual, we infiltrated the family. After our investigation, we didn’t find any extraordinary life forms."

"It’s normal for the Manwhale Manor not to have extraordinary life forms." Nis: "After all, wizards rarely stay in mortal lands."

Angel: "What about the Silver Lady Madam?"

Jon: "She’s already dead. According to those inside the Manwhale family, the Silver Lady Madam died of old age three years ago. But strangely, we didn’t find any remains in her grave."

No remains. This Silver Lady Madam is truly mysterious... Angel pondered and said: "Wizard Nis is right; for various external reasons, wizards rarely stay in mortal lands. Personally, I think this Silver Lady Madam, who lived in the Manwhale family for decades, suffered illnesses and coughed blood, doesn’t seem like a transcendent entity, probably just a mortal."

"But all signs show this Silver Lady Madam is problematic. I’m wondering if she might know a transcendent person? Also, that person must be very close to her."

"I remember you mentioned before that it’s said the Silver Lady Madam bore a pair of children for the Manwhale Viscount?" Angel looked at Jon.

Jon nodded: "Yes, sir, what you’re asking is exactly what I was about to say next."

"The Silver Lady Madam bore a pair of children; the girl died very young, but the boy disappeared suddenly at the age of twelve."

Nis: "Disappeared?"

Jon: "Yes, we looked through the Manwhale family tree and found that the girl’s name was clearly marked as deceased, but the boy, although missing, doesn’t have any death notes, even though it’s been over thirty years, and all the other names below in the family tree have death annotations, yet nothing was written about him."

"After discussing within our team, we feel that this Silver Lady Madam’s son is somewhat strange."

"So, we captured a descendant of the Manwhale family. Using some minor methods, we inquired about this man named Angelo Silver Manwhale."

"According to the information from this descendant, Angelo appeared at the Silver Lady Madam’s funeral three years ago."

"Clearly, Angelo didn’t die. Based on some information in strange rumors and various clues we’ve found, we deduced that this Angelo might be a transcendent being."

Ghostly light flashed in Nis’s eyes: "Indeed, a wizard is involved in this... could this Angelo be the person in Dororo’s prophecy picture?"

Nis raised his head to look at Jon: "One more question, what does Angelo look like?"

Jon thought for a moment, then said: "When Angelo came to attend the funeral, he wore a black cloak all along. The descendant we asked didn’t see his appearance clearly, just said he looked very young."

"Oh, right! There was also a ’19’ tattoo on Angelo’s face."

19!

A tattoo!

Angel, Nis, and the Ironclad Granny exchanged a glance; there’s no more guessing needed now. This Angelo must be one of the masterminds behind the Earth Cavern relic disaster!

After learning about his transcendent status, the previous strange rumors involving the Silver Lady Madam can now mostly be understood; Angelo must have been behind all of it.

Perhaps, when the Silver Lady Madam fell off the cliff, she truly was paralyzed, and it was Angelo who saved her.

The public’s speculation might be correct too, that the Silver Lady was harmed by the family matriarch, and so Angelo, for the sake of his mother, killed the Viscountess without hesitation.

The Manwhale Viscount likely also knew Angelo was a transcendent, or else he wouldn’t allow defamatory rumors about his wife.

Later, when the Silver Lady was resurrected, it surely was Angelo’s doing.

It’s just unknown whether the Silver Madam’s funeral three years ago was real, whether she truly died.

But these things are not important; the key figure now is this Angelo.