He Holds a Rose from the Abyss
Chapter 21.1

Sheffield stopped and asked him, “Why are you acting so… embarrassed?”

Chi Lang pretended to be calm: “Normal people seeing others so close would be a little embarrassed, right? And also, to look you in the eye, I could not help but want to laugh.”

Sheffield repeated his words and smiled softly: “So…is it because you saw me so close?”

Chi Lang didn’t quite understand the reason for Sheffield’s question, so he nodded: “Yes…”

Sheffield moved the rose from his chin and pressed the rose to his lips.

Chi Lang was startled, not quite understanding the strange direction, Sheffield’s eyes curled: “What if you can’t see?”

Then Chi Lang felt the darkness in front of him.

—Sheffield covered his eyes with his hands.

Sheffield’s hand was cold, and the rose petals were cool, but Chi Lang’s heart was hot.

The scent of roses swirled around his nose, as if he was in a beautiful dream.

Sheffield leaned down and kissed the other side of the rose.

His movements were light, and even though his eyes were gloomy, his kiss was gentle.

Chi Lang felt Sheffield’s breathing approaching and going away, but he didn’t feel the kiss on the rose.

It’s just that in this state, Chi Lang didn’t know what to do or say, and he was at a loss.

His eyes trembled gently under Sheffield’s hand, and then heard Sheffield say, “Chi Lang, since you feel embarrassed to look at me, do you want us to… talk like this from now on?”

Chi Lang shook his head: “No, no, no, this is even more strange.”

Sheffield chuckled softly again and asked him, “Why are you embarrassed?”

Chi Lang was silent for a while, then replied, “Change the question.”

Sheffield: “Why don’t you want to look at me?”

Chi Lang sighed in his heart and replied, “Let’s change the question again.”

Sheffield’s tone rose: “Why do you want to know the information of that priest?”

Chi Lang used the same rhetoric: “He looks like a friend of mine.”

“And what about me?” Sheffield almost whispered the words close to his ear, “Do I look like anyone you know?”

Chi Lang broke the jar and said, “No…no one will look like you…you are very special…to me.”

Sheffield finally moved his hand away. Chi Lang suddenly saw the light and was a little dazed. He saw Sheffield stretch out his hand and straighten the folds on his clothes.

Chi Lang clenched his fists.

In a trance, he thought, wait for Sheffield’s birthday to confess.

*

On the day of Sheffield’s birthday, Chi Lang went out early in the morning, the breeze was cool and refreshing. The academy was getting less and less crowded, and Chi Lang didn’t encounter any people on his way.

He stepped on the stone road, occasionally stepping on some fallen leaves, and stopped at the sculpture.

Chi Lang remembered what Margaret said, Hubert’s magic handbook was lost in Zefnar City, and no one has ever found it.

He didn’t hold out much hope either. He just saw this sculpture every day in the academy and was a little curious about this man’s story.

Chi Lang just took a step, then turned to look at the sculpture.

This Hubert sculpture did not get a bit of dust on it, every day there will be someone to use the cleaning technique.

“Hubert” always had a kind smile on his face, looking up to the sky.

The Academy explained the reason why this sculpture was looking at the sky, as if following the edge of the sky, exploring the endless knowledge.

But Chi Lang followed Hubert’s eyes and looked over, “Hubert” was looking at the…clock in the academy?

“Don’t look, it has nothing to do with that clock.” Someone next to him interrupted Chi Lang’s reverie.

Chi Lang looked over, and this person turned out to be Luth.

Luth held a colorful dress in his hand and said helplessly: “I don’t know how many people thought that Hubert’s magic handbook was in that clock. They all rushed over there, and almost dismantled and reorganized that clock, but couldn’t replace it.”

Chi Lang echoed: “Yes, even I can see that. How can it possibly be hidden there?”

Luth stretched out a finger and shook it in the air: “It doesn’t have to be that way, the more powerful the magician, the simpler the idea. Maybe it’s really a very ordinary person who can replace Hubert’s magic handbook.”

They began to walk in the direction of the laboratory, the sun was slowly rising, and shining on the road in front of them.

“Stay in the lab by yourself today, I need to go out,” Luth’s words sounded vague.

“Are you going to the opera house?” Chi Lang asked.

Luth nodded, his expression a little weird, like he was embarrassed and trying to force himself to be calm.

“I may have to give you the homework you assigned previously a few days later.” Chi Lang was also a little guilty, “I need to be busy with something else recently.”

Luth waved his hand: “You don’t need to tell me about this kind of thing. It’s better for you to arrange your own learning. It’s good to pass the assessment in the end.”

Luth was walking, when suddenly he tripped over his feet and the clothes in his hand fell to the ground.

Chi Lang saw the appearance of this dress clearly, um, after seeing it clearly, he retracted his gaze wisely.

It was a clown suit, colorful, with some patterns on the chest. In short, it didn’t match Luth’s style at all.

Why would Luth, a person who gave up all entertainment, even sleeping, for research every day, come back with a clown suit?

This was not the strangest thing. After Luth came to the laboratory, he still picked up the flintlock gun and prepared to go out.

“Aren’t you going to the opera? Why… bring a gun?”

Luth’s expression was a bit weird: “…When I went to the Magic Research Society that day, a friend said that there were a lot of star stones in the city recently…”

“Isn’t the star stone used to store magic? Does this have anything to do with you carrying a gun?”

The star stone is a type of magic material that can store specific magic and is generally used when researching new magic.

Luth’s voice was hoarse: “Chapter 2, Section 3 of “The Science of Magic Materials”, I forgot how many pages it is, anyway, there is a note that says that if the number of star stones is large enough, it is theoretically possible to achieve full magic shielding.

“Young man, you read too little.”

Chi Lang: “Does this… have anything to do with opera?”

“To show that group of priests well, the most important thing about magicians is not the level of magic power, but the amount of knowledge ah.”

Chi Lang felt that he didn’t understand Luth’s words at all.

Luth sighed heavily: “You are so unenlightened.”

“The Opera House has always been a magician’s territory, every month there will be a trade of magic materials from other places, but the Church has to intervene here, every new priest comes and tries to interfere with our trade. Magic shield, this method has been used not once or twice.”

Chi Lang was stunned.

“This is the same for the new priest. He secretly bought a lot of star stones. He did it quite secretly, but he didn’t hide it from the Magic Research Society. Today’s opera house, if he dares to come in, let him have a good look.”

Chi Lang kind of understood: “So the… Opera House is actually similar to a black market place? Not only the trading of magic materials, but also the trading of what can’t be on the table?”

When Luth looked at him with the expression of “You know too much, boy”, Chi Lang stopped in time.

“Now you are very enlightened,” Luth grunted, Of course, it can’t be on the table, the trade items that have appeared before such as the bones of the former pope, the interior layout of the church, how to use simple magic to break the holy light detection…”

Chi Lang was choked: “So… menacing?”

Luth: “Of course, that’s a magician trade in other cities, there hasn’t been anything like that in the city of Zefnar.”

Luth said with a slightly smug expression: “We call the place of this kind of trade the ‘Palace of Knowledge’.”

“The name…is really meaningful,” Chi Lang echoed.

“Do you want to go along?” Luth asked him, “There will probably be some new things, such as muskets passed down from the dwarves, their craftsmanship is much better than ours.”

Chi Lang’s heart jumped: “Can I go along?”

“If you want to see it, you can follow. The ‘Palace of Knowledge’ is generally in good order, but I can’t guarantee that nothing will happen…”

Luth narrowed his eyes and said in a slightly mocking tone, “But if you’re so afraid of getting hurt, and if you’re so afraid of accidents, you won’t go far on the road of research.”

The sunlight shone on the dust in the air, and the moment seemed to be stretched out for a long time.

Chi Lang looked Luth in the eyes: “Then can you give me another flintlock gun?”

Luth smiled, and the wrinkles on his face deepened: “In the basement.”

Today’s “mechanical time” has not been used, in this case, if there is this gun, then there should also be a certain amount of self-protection ability.

It was with this idea that Chi Lang followed Luth to the opera house.

But he soon regretted it.