Old Jack's funeral was held the afternoon of the second day.
He was unfortunate, having lost his life to a werewolf attack.
Yet he was also fortunate.
As an East Borough resident, as a homeless man with no family, he had an entire flock attending his funeral.
"Old Jack has received the Lord's favor, has been forgiven by the Lord. The Lord will grant him rest."
In a corner of the public cemetery on the edge of East Borough, Silas presided over the funeral ceremony, solemnly announcing to everyone.
The people weren't very familiar with Old Jack, only feeling slightly touched as companions.
But compared to the small amount of sadness, their gazes toward Silas clearly became much more grateful.
The Preacher not only provides for our living, but even after we die, we can have a proper funeral...
Group activities naturally brought a sense of belonging, especially such major occasions involving life and death.
When the flock realized they were being treated as actual people by Silas, their identification with him naturally rose.
As a result, Silas clearly felt the potion within him digest.
It's basically half digested now...
He looked at Old Jack's tombstone with some emotion.
The latter's death had actually advanced many of his affairs.
It really was somewhat lamentable.
Seeing him in this state, the people in the flock all thought the Preacher was still grieving.
"Old Jack was really unlucky, getting killed by bandits who broke into the factory to steal... Fortunately, the Preacher arrived and brought him justice."
"I'm a bit worried. Should we leave work together from now on?"
"What's there to fear?
Mr. Charles has already, what's the word... oh right, upgraded the security. Now there are gang members guarding the place. Thieves definitely won't dare come!"
The crowd discussed in low voices.
Bandits?
Among the crowd, Oliver's youthful face remained calm, unaffected by the atmosphere.
He only secretly observed Silas. He instinctively felt this matter wasn't so simple.
The funeral had ended.
The dead had passed, but the living still had to continue surviving.
The flock soon dispersed, heading to the textile factory on the other side to work.
Silas also left the cemetery, heading to the agreed location to meet with Sharron.
***
Backlund Bridge District, the Bravehearts Bar.
It was afternoon, and business at the bar was quite ordinary.
The burly doorman sat listlessly on a wine barrel by the door, barely acknowledging Silas as he passed, letting him push open the dark wood door and walk in.
Inside the bar was cold and deserted, with only a few idlers.
The central boxing ring stood empty. Behind the bar counter, the bartender was wiping glasses with a dirty rag.
"What'll you have?"
He asked Silas listlessly as he approached.
Silas ignored him, instead staring absently at the glass in his hand. The surface of the glass reflected a sheen, vaguely showing Sharron's delicate figure.
She reached out a hand, pointing toward the passage beside the kitchen.
Sharron's meaning was probably to meet over there.
So Silas naturally changed direction, walking toward the kitchen side.
"Hey, where are you going..."
Seeing he'd ignored him and seemed to be heading to the back kitchen, the bartender grew anxious and called out to stop him while moving out from behind the bar.
"Go back."
Just as he was chasing after Silas's back, an illusory woman suddenly appeared before him, smiling and speaking in a gentle yet unquestionable voice.
The bartender abruptly stopped.
Confusion quickly appeared on his face.
He obediently turned around and returned to the bar, continuing to wipe glasses, looking as if he'd completely ignored Silas.
Silas paid no attention to this interlude.
He proceeded along the dark corridor beside the kitchen.
Sharron's figure appeared in succession on the glass face of a clock, on the surface of kitchen knives, on door handles, ultimately leading him to a card room.
The Shepherd's ability activated accordingly. He could sense two Beyonders inside, of lower sequences.
Pushing the door open, in the somewhat dark room sat two men.
One had a pale complexion, wearing a white shirt and black vest, his eyes seeming to hide intense malice.
The other wore gold-rimmed glasses with a beard on his chin.
"It's you?"
Silas and Klein saw each other and said simultaneously in surprise.
Silas was genuinely surprised, while Klein's surprise contained some deliberate element.
Last night, through the ceremony Silas held for [The Fool], Klein had learned the werewolf came from the Rose School of Thought and naturally connected this to Sharron.
Actually, Sharron had sought him out a few days ago, hoping he could help her kill the Rose School's pursuers.
Klein had been planning battle strategies these past days, preparing Beyonder items.
He'd originally planned to use this opportunity to digest the "Magician" potion but hadn't expected to see Silas kill the werewolf last night.
And this morning, Sharron had proactively invited him over.
He'd anticipated this and guessed that the Rose School's pursuers might have already been dealt with by Silas.
"You know each other?"
Sharron's figure slowly materialized in the card room. Her delicate face showed no ripples, her tone very flat, as if what she spoke wasn't actually a question.
"We know each other."
Silas and Klein exchanged a glance and said briefly.
Seeing he didn't plan to elaborate, Sharron naturally didn't press further. Instead, she introduced the other extremely pale man.
"This is my companion, Maric."
"Thank you very much for your intervention."
Maric said gratefully. On his corpse-pale face appeared a trace of excited flush.
"That 'Crimson Crown' has helped me tremendously. It allows me to escape from the pain of the curse."
"No need to thank me. We each got what we needed."
Silas shook his head, then looked at Klein. "What are you doing here?"
"He's the Beyonder I originally planned to invite for combat.
Since the plan was canceled, I felt it necessary to explain to him, so I called him over as well," Sharron said. "But I didn't expect you two would actually know each other."
"That's how it is."
Klein smiled bitterly. The payment at hand had flown away, and he'd have to find other channels to digest the potion...
Silas didn't know his thoughts, only feeling somewhat surprised. After a moment, he turned to Sharron.
"Do you know why I came today?"
"For that Fourth Epoch noble's tomb, right?"
Sharron said.
"Correct. Since the pursuers have been dealt with, we can continue exploring that Fourth Epoch tomb, right?"
Silas nodded.
He actually had a guess in his heart. Previously, the reason Sharron had risked exploring the tomb might have been to find some useful Beyonder items from inside, thereby gaining an advantage when the pursuers arrived.
Fourth Epoch tomb?
That Fourth Epoch tomb with the Human-skin Shadow?
So the Beyonder [Temperance] mentioned losing contact with at the time was Sharron?
Klein on the side quickly recalled Silas's statement at the Tarot Club and couldn't help feeling joy in his heart.
It seemed his "Faceless" main ingredient was within reach!
۞۞۞۞
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