"Is the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild the city's stronghold?"
"Yes, it's a trading point in a city where secret items can be traded at any time. I want to go there to trade some things. Do you know if there's a place like that in Truva?"
In the living room of the apartment, Brandon said casually, and the woman code-named Fog Swallow began to think after hearing these words. After thinking for a while, she responded with a nervous expression to the unwelcome guest sitting on the sofa.
"During previous gatherings, Mr. Jieshi once told us that if we had urgent matters to trade outside of the gatherings, we could go to a place to find people there. They can trade many Extraordinary items there, but they are usually much more expensive than the prices we trade at during the gatherings, and the level is also higher. It is not recommended for low-level people to go…"
Fog Swallow said this. After hearing her words, Brandon's eyes lit up, and then he continued to speak.
"According to your description, it is indeed very likely. May I ask where the place you mentioned is specifically?"
"According to Mr. Jieshi, it is in Pebble Lane on Silver Staff Road in the East Water Bay area. In that alley, there is a watch shop called Jose Watch Shop. There, as long as you say you want to buy a stone-heart watch, the clerk will take you to the trading location…"
"A watch shop? I see. Have you been there before? Are there any points to note when going there?"
"Hmm… I only went there once before. At that time, I went to buy some medicinal herbs, but after asking the price and thinking it was too expensive compared to the gathering, I didn't decide to buy… As for points to note, there's nothing particularly noteworthy. I just feel that the shop owner there looks a bit fierce, and treats the employees very strictly. If they make even a small mistake in their work, they will be scolded. If you go there to deal with them, it's best to communicate directly with the employees. The owner is not very easy to talk to."
Fog Swallow said this. Listening to her words, Brandon nodded, and then spoke.
"I see. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Fog Swallow. Your information will save me a lot of trouble."
Brandon said this while taking out a small envelope from his pocket and placing it on the coffee table in the living room, then continued to speak.
"Here is a little bit of the experience I have accumulated from exploring the secret transmission path. You can take it and have a look. Consider it my reward. When reading, pay attention to the protection of Spirit Sight. I have already written down the reading rhythm and order for you."
"This… This is truly too much to thank you for. It is my honor to be able to help Captain!" Seeing the envelope on the coffee table, Fog Swallow said with sparkling eyes, and then bowed to Brandon. She had not expected that this powerful Extraordinary in front of her would actually take the initiative to pay a reward. She had originally just wanted to safely deal with the other party and be done with it, and had not expected any reward from the other party at all.
"It's nothing, just mutual help. The exploration of the secret transmission path is full of dangers. Take care of yourself in the future."
Brandon said, and after tasting another sip of tea, he got up from the sofa. After putting on his hat, he walked to the door of the living room and opened the door under Fog Swallow's nervous expression.
"Finally, your tea is quite good."
After speaking, Brandon went out and left, leaving only Fog Swallow looking at the re-closed door.
...
In a restaurant not far from Huijin Community, Dorothy sat in her seat, eating cake and pastries while examining the Truva city map spread out on the table in front of her, confirming the specific location mentioned by Fog Swallow.
'East Water Bay area… Let me see, it doesn't seem too far. It should be within a kilometer from here. Since that's the case, I'll just have Brandon take a taxi over.'
After inquiring enough information from the local secret transmission practitioners in Truva, Dorothy decided to have the Corpse Puppet Brandon go to the new location without stopping. Under Dorothy's control, the Corpse Puppet Brandon directly stopped a rented carriage not far from the entrance of Huijin Community, and then had the carriage take him all the way to the area indicated by Fog Swallow.
Early this morning, Dorothy followed her plan and found shops in Truva that sold medicinal herbs and were most likely frequented by local secret transmission practitioners. Then, she used several dog Corpse Puppets to stake out the entrances of these shops, using the dogs' sense of smell to sniff the scent of the customers of these shops, and determine who were the secret transmission practitioners from the combination of scents on them, just like she had used the sense of smell of a dog Corpse Puppet to sniff the living Brandon back in Igwinte.
Although the effect of directly using dog Corpse Puppets to smell is obviously not as strong as the Finding Breath Seal, and requires getting very close to smell, it is still sufficient for dealing with this situation.
As of now, Dorothy's plan is progressing smoothly. After successfully obtaining information about the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild, she also incidentally gave Miss Fog Swallow a little reward, mainly some Student promotion rituals, the method for preventing Spirit Sight passed down within the Shining Light Church Historical Scripture Department, and harmless Spirituality accumulation methods like body forging, etc…
"Alright, now let's focus on going to that stronghold. Hopefully, they have what I need there…"
Thinking this, Dorothy, who had finished eating the cake, called the waiter to serve her a cup of black tea. Then, she began waiting for Brandon to arrive from afar while sipping her tea.
As time passed, the rented carriage Brandon was riding finally arrived at Silver Staff Road in the East Bay Water area. After Brandon got off here, Dorothy had him search along this seemingly ordinary street. After asking passersby on the street, she finally found the alley called Pebble Lane.
Under Dorothy's control, Brandon walked into the alley that was truly paved with countless pebbles. Unlike the dark and dirty alleys in the west of the city, this alley appeared very clean and tidy, and also had more shops and pedestrians. Brandon didn't walk far inside before he encountered the place he was looking for, the watch shop named Jose Watch Shop.
After glancing at the shop's dignified sign and admiring the large grandfather clock in the display window that was already covered with a thin layer of dust, Dorothy immediately had Brandon open the door and walk into the shop. What then came into view was a room full of clocks and watches.
Inside the simply decorated watch shop, many various wall clocks hung on the walls. Most of these wall clocks were slowly running with ticking sounds. On the exquisite dials of various styles, different hands faithfully ran at their own speed, most of them indicating the current time, which was around three-thirty in the afternoon.
Besides the wall clocks, there were many tall and beautiful grandfather clocks on both sides of the shop. Facing the door was a glass display cabinet, which displayed various smaller pocket watches. Behind the cabinet, two young male shop assistants were sitting bored in their seats. After seeing Brandon enter, a hint of vigilance appeared in their eyes, and one of them stood up and said.
"Welcome, Mr., is there anything I can help you with?"
Listening to the shop assistant's words, Brandon did not answer immediately, but instead walked around the watch shop, scanning the various wall clocks and grandfather clocks hanging on the walls around. After fully surveying the surrounding scene, he slowly walked to the counter and began to admire the pocket watches inside the display cabinet through the glass, saying as he looked.
"Is your boss not here?"
"Mr. Felipe has gone out on business. Do you need something from him, Captain?" With vigilance in his eyes, the shop assistant said seriously to Brandon, while Brandon replied lightly.
"No, I was just asking. I'm a bit interested in clocks and watches. I heard that his craftsmanship is very good, so I wanted to meet him. It's a pity if he's not here."
Brandon said this while focusing his gaze on a certain spot in the display cabinet. After looking for a while, he pointed to a watch with dense patterns and fine workmanship and said.
"How much is this one?"
"Hmm... please wait a moment, customer. Let me see... For this one, you can just give 80 Bita..."
Listening to Brandon, the store clerk took out the watch and gave his quote after examining the finely crafted timepiece. Bita is the currency of Castile, and the exchange rate to pound is roughly 140 Bita to 1 pound.
"Okay, I'll take it..."
Saying this, Dorothy had Brandon directly hand the Bita, which he had exchanged at the bank yesterday, to the store clerk. After receiving it, the clerk immediately handed the watch to Brandon. Brandon glanced at the small gift boxes displayed on the counter behind the clerk, then quietly put away the watch without setting the time. He then put on a more serious expression and spoke to the clerk.
"Oh right, I also want to buy a watch. Do you have any watches with a Stone heart here..."
As soon as Brandon finished speaking, the expressions of the two clerks slightly froze, and then immediately became serious. One of the clerks spoke directly.
"Ah, we have this item, but due to its preciousness, it is not displayed outside. Please come inside with us to take a look." Saying this, the clerk left the counter, opened a small door beside the room, and went in. Seeing this, Brandon did not hesitate and followed directly.
Following the clerk ahead, Brandon walked through a narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor, he arrived at a dark, small stone room. The stone room was lit by a few gas lamps, and the surroundings were almost entirely thick, airtight stone walls. Only the stone wall ahead had a small window. Most of the window was sealed with thick steel bars crossed over, with only a small opening at the bottom for receiving and sending items. This was somewhat like the bank teller windows of Dorothy's previous life, but the protective measures were even more insane. Even with Extraordinary abilities, it would be extremely difficult to shake these thick steel bars and stone walls.
"Here is what you need. Please leave as soon as the transaction is completed."
The leading clerk said this and then turned around and left the scene. After scanning the surrounding environment, Brandon spoke to the tightly sealed transaction opening.
"Do you have any'Shi' (Stone) themed secret transmissions here? How many?"
Brandon finished speaking, then stood there silently waiting. After a while, a deep sound came from the transaction opening.
"'Shi' (Stone) secret transmissions... We have them here, a total of three."
"So what are the prices for these three?"
"Three secret transmissions, one is 70000 Bita, one is 84000 Bita, and one is 77000 Bita. Do you need to know the titles?" The voice from behind the transaction opening continued. After listening, Dorothy calculated in her mind for a while and found that this was roughly equivalent to around 1650 pound. She had exchanged about 2000 pound worth of Bita initially, so it was affordable.
"No need for the titles, let's make the deal..."
Dorothy had Brandon say this, then he directly took out an unsigned check and some cash and handed them through the transaction opening. After a brief wait, three wrapped oil paper packages were handed out from behind the transaction opening.
"Thank you for your patronage."
After receiving the oil paper packages, Brandon went straight out of the stone room and returned to the watch shop. Then, under the gaze of the two clerks, he walked out of the shop and returned to Pebble Lane.
Holding the newly purchased secret transmissions, Brandon walked from the lane onto the street. Unlike Brandon, who was walking quickly on the street, Dorothy, who was still in the restaurant at this time, was lost in thought. Her thoughts returned to just before entering the Jose Watch Shop. Detailed scenes were recalled from her mind, starting with the scene at the shop entrance.
'There was fine dust on the grandfather clock in the display window, it probably hadn't been wiped for a while.'
Next was the scene inside the shop. Dorothy's attention was focused on the floor and the wall clocks.
'The floor was a bit dirty, it probably wasn't cleaned often. The wall clocks that were supposed to run on time were all slightly behind. Mechanical clocks of this era needed frequent adjustment to be accurate. This was a sign of not being adjusted for a long time. For a watch shop... this is a bit casual...'
After that, Dorothy continued to recall. This time, she focused her attention on when she bought the pocket watch alone.
'I bought a watch at the watch shop, and the clerk just handed it to me directly. They didn't help set the time, nor did they find a gift box to put it in. A watch at this price is not cheap...'
'With so many issues in this watch shop, if the strict store manager named Felipe knew about it, he would definitely scold them severely... How long has he been gone for these clerks to become so lax?'
While thinking this, Dorothy controlled Brandon to continue walking forward. After walking for a long time, Brandon saw another watch shop open by the roadside. Without a word, he walked in and spoke to the owner inside.
"Boss, could you help me appraise this pocket watch?"
"Okay, Mr...."
After receiving the new watch handed over by Brandon, the watch shop owner put on his glasses and began to examine it carefully. After examining it for a while, he gave his quote.
"Mr., the craftsmanship of this watch is excellent in all aspects. It is a genuine exquisite piece of craftsmanship, definitely made by an excellent watchmaker. Compared to ordinary watches, it can certainly fetch a higher price. If you want to sell it, I am willing to offer 200 Bita."
"Ah... I see. Thank you very much. However, I don't intend to sell it at the moment. This is the appraisal fee, thank you for your help..."
Saying this, Brandon took back the pocket watch he had just bought. Then, under Dorothy's control, he began to wander around the city of Truva, visiting several watch shops and pawnshops to get the new watch he bought appraised. The results all indicated that the value of the watch was between 150 Bita and 300 Bita. Although the range was wide, it was still higher than the 80 Bita Dorothy paid when she bought it.
After witnessing this phenomenon, Dorothy confirmed one thing: the clerk who gave her the watch didn't understand its value; he didn't know how to price it.
'Heh... I didn't expect the storefront of the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild to be managed so carelessly, even doing business at a significant loss like this. It doesn't match the style of those guys... Tivian's Golden Contract Bank, just considering its ordinary banking business, is handled very well.'
In the restaurant, Dorothy thought this. At this moment, she already had some other ideas about this watch shop.
Next, Dorothy controlled Brandon to go to a secluded spot by the riverbank. He found an empty place to unwrap the oil paper packages he had bought. After unwrapping, she saw two old booklets and a scattered manuscript. Dorothy temporarily ignored the content of these documents and instead activated Spirit Sight to quickly flip through and scan the texts she had bought. Then, on the back cover page of one of the old booklets, she found a trace of Spirituality.
This was a trace of the Spirituality of """Lamp""". After a brief identification, Dorothy confirmed that it was a Beacon Sigil that had been pasted on.