Cataclysm King

Chapter 462 Witch Doctor Priest Illuminati Sect
The so-called "trust" can be simply understood as, if the relationship is good, the person will tell you all the secrets.

This is also human nature.

Normally, this method can be used to conquer NPCs and gain their trust in any different dimensional space.

But this trial space specifically uses enlightenment as a reminder.

From Ji Xun's perspective, the cause and effect relationship is obvious.

The will of space is to remind the trial-taker that by improving the trust, he can obtain the hidden plot known by the NPC.

So after Ji Xun discovered this rule, he began to make clever plans using various psychological techniques.

"Searching for the missing hunter" This is a C-level mission.

The normal idea is that you must complete the task to get the reward.

Regardless of what the tailor Caroline will come up with, this story mission will also be counted in the completion evaluation.

Ji Xun decisively gave up the reward.

This also allowed him to quickly gain the trust of the tailor Caroline.

First, he simply didn't care about that little reward;
Second, in his deduction, this side quest is likely to be a "preliminary" to some hidden quests.

His experience of clearing S-level plots many times told him that A-level missions could be completed by risking his own strength. But for S-level missions, he would need to use characters and props related to the plot to survive.

Now that he had guessed that someone from the academy's upper echelons wanted to do something in this space, Ji Xun had to make some preparations in advance.

He didn't think that it was worth mobilizing so many strong teams just for a main storyline that might only be A-level at best.

Of course, only Ji Xun himself knows the complicated thoughts involved.

It’s like playing poker. Others may see him only dealing one hand, but in fact he has already considered the cards that will be dealt after several hands.

And as more intelligence is obtained, the ideas become clearer and clearer.

But as for teammate David, things seemed a little cloudy.

He was unable to engage in conversation the entire time.

He watched as his teammate "Su Lun" asked this apparently inconspicuous tailor village woman some clues that made him more and more shocked.

"Do you know where the bandits in Black Crow Castle came from?"

"I heard that they were professional mountain bandits from other places. The leader of that group of bandits was called 'Red Smoker'."

“When was the castle built and who built it?”

"It has been abandoned for hundreds of years. It's been so long that I don't know who built it. But my grandmother once said that there is a story about a beautiful countess in that castle."

"We heard before we came here that the castle was haunted?"

"Oh, this legend has been around for at least a hundred years. No one knows whether it is true or not. It is just said that a hunter who went up the mountain saw it."

"."

Ji Xun's questions were also very clever.

He played the role of "bounty hunter" well, patiently and gently asked those questions as unobtrusively as possible.

To ordinary people, this doesn't seem to be anything special.

But in fact, this is Ji Xun’s valuable experience after experiencing so many different dimensional spaces.

Don't treat plot characters as NPCs, but as normal human beings.

At the same time, you must integrate yourself into the plot world and regard yourself as a character in the plot.

After entering an alternate dimension, many people instinctively feel that they will never come back and can do whatever they want.

This will make the participants feel out of tune with this world, and they will be almost as if the word "outsider" has been labeled on their foreheads.

This will make the NPC instinctively alert.

This is also the reason why Ji Xun can easily get so much information from the tailor Caroline.

If it were someone else, the trial-taker would probably just trigger a mission and learn that a hunter is missing if they came into contact with her.

And Ji Xun asked for more hidden clues.

"Can you tell me more about the Vatican?"

"Of course. That was a long time ago. According to my grandmother, the witch doctors in several nearby villages are actually priests of the Holy See of Light. They can cure diseases and also dispel and purify the dark pollution in the mist of the abyss."

"The Holy See of Light?"

"Ah, that was more than a hundred years ago. At least in my grandmother's generation, witch doctors were part of the village. When I was a child, the village chief thought I was good at hands and wanted me to learn medicine to treat the villagers. Unfortunately, thirty years ago, the witch doctor in the village went to the forest to collect herbs and was attacked by a monster and died. After that, there was no witch doctor in the village, and the forest became dangerous. The village does not allow outsiders to talk about witch doctors. Don't tell them that I told you."

"."

In fact, when Ji Xun heard the word "Vatican" before, he knew that this plot was deeply involved.

He didn't ask in a hurry, but waited until he had enough trust before he opened his mouth to explore the topic.

Sure enough, things are becoming more and more interesting.

The "Holy See of Light" during the Alterac period is not the current "Holy See".

This usually means that it is not the same god that rules the land.

When Ji Xun heard that the witch doctor in the village was a priest whose duty was to dispel the fog pollution.
He roughly guessed in which direction to explore the hidden plot outside the main storyline.

Ji Xun continued to ask.

"Why is there such a high fence in the village? Is there a large monster nearby?"

"Yes. Every night, the fog in the abyss rift will spread up, and many man-eating monsters will appear in the forest. Therefore, you must not leave the village at night. Even the most experienced old hunter in the village will encounter unexpected events."

"."

When Ji Xun heard this, he finally understood where the sense of crisis came from.

It turns out there is a taboo against leaving the village at night.

No wonder Master Feren of Duke Simon’s Mansion had been so sarcastic before.

Now it seems that this is not some stupid attempt to stir up hatred.

Most likely, he had known about this situation for a long time and wanted to force Young Master Sack to leave the village and then test the risks.

Hearing this, David on the side couldn't help but frown, thinking that it was a good thing that he didn't rush out of the village.

At the same time, he glanced at Ji Xun.

If I remember correctly, it was Su Lun's suggestion that the two teams of the Langdon family did not go out.

Otherwise, many people would have died.

But it was precisely because of this belated realization that David couldn't hide his shock.

Everyone has received the same information, so why does it seem like this teammate knows more than everyone else?

But it's not over yet.

Ji Xun once again captured a key clue.

As he asked these questions, he was observing the expression of the tailor Caroline.

In Ji Xun's eyes now, he can see clearly whether the other party is lying or hiding something.

Obviously, when he said this, he found a trace of worry and self-blame between his brows.

So Ji Xun didn't give the other party any time to think, and asked directly: "Since your husband knew that the forest was dangerous, why did he go out hunting?"

When asking this question, he saw the other party's psychological defenses and quietly used mental intimidation.

"what"

Caroline's haggard face was obviously stunned, unable to hide her regret and shame.

She didn't tell the truth even to the people in the village. But for some reason, she couldn't help but say it out of guilt when asked: "Well, actually Chloe wasn't hunting, but was serving as a guide for a big shot from the city."

When the tailor said this, Ji Xun and the others immediately received an enlightenment prompt: "Trigger the hidden plot: the mysterious adventurer. A mysterious noble hired the hunter Chloe to explore the depths of the Silver Fir Forest. Extra plot exploration +10%. Explore related plots to get unknown mission plot rewards and Kong'a's extra settlement rewards."

David on the side widened his eyes. The moment he saw the enlightenment, he could no longer hold back his amazement and looked towards Ji Xun.

That shocked look seemed to say: How can this be possible?

He never expected that there would be a hidden mission behind the plot of the C-level mission?!

You know, it is generally recognized in the adventurer circle that "hidden plot" is synonymous with triggering high risk, high difficulty and high rewards in the different dimension.

Once a hidden plot is triggered, it usually means rich rewards, so adventurers also call it a "treasure plot."

David had only heard of it.

But I have never encountered it in another dimension.

Because the probability of triggering is extremely low.

The probability of completion is also extremely low.

According to adventurers, it requires "extreme luck" to trigger it.

But how do you feel
Now, my teammate just asked a few questions and it was triggered?

Could it be that they are just extremely lucky?

David couldn't understand Ji Xun's actions and could only attribute it to luck.

But he felt that if he were to do it himself, there was no way he could trigger the plot; even if it was triggered, he would probably just accept the task and think about how to find someone in the forest.

However, his teammate "Su Lun" gave him a new idea to explore the plot.

"Hidden plot" is a very unfamiliar word to David.

But to Ji Xun it was all too familiar.

Ji Xun narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had received the expected information: "As expected"

This is what he was looking for.

Perhaps normally, you can only get clues about the "mysterious nobleman" after completing the "search for the missing hunter".

But because I noticed some logical problems in the previous deduction, I used some tricks.

The hidden plot was triggered immediately.

Ji Xun had experienced many hidden plots before, and would not be as surprised as David.

He just continued to dig deeper calmly: "Big shot?"

Tailor Caroline revealed the secret she had been hiding in her heart and felt relieved.

She did not hide it any more and said, "Yes. They said they were 'adventurers' and wanted to see the castle. But I felt that they were very distinguished, possibly nobles. The girl in the team had many servants and guards with her."

They kept it secret because they knew the dangers in the forest.

But the money given by that big shot was too much.

Caroline was so infatuated that she persuaded her husband to take on the task.

After she finished speaking, she was already sobbing and regretful, "Oh, please forgive me, a lowly village woman, for my greed. As long as Chloe can come back safely, I don't want anything else."

After listening to this, Ji Xun had already deduced the whole picture of the matter.

After asking a few more questions, he realized that he could not get any other clues, so he turned around and left.

Hunter Chloe is the "big shot" you meet in the forest.

Tailor Caroline concealed the fact of employment, and even the people in the village did not know the truth.

In other words, currently only Ji Xun and the other person know about it.

This is an exclusive mission.

Walked out of the tailor's house.

Ji Xun and David walked in the village.

Looking at other members of the Langdon family who were still knocking on doors to inquire about the mission, David felt more and more like he was in a dream.

As for the information he just heard, David didn't know what it meant.

But his intuition told him that this was more difficult than the main storyline that could be triggered by the village chief.

After walking a few steps, David came to his senses and realized that they had already come out.

He wanted to sort out his thoughts on his own, but after thinking about it, it seemed like nothing special. Just asking a few questions, and then it was triggered?

David's mind was still unable to glimpse that kind of long-term layout, but his intuition told him that this was definitely not luck.

He glanced at his teammates and finally couldn't help but ask curiously: "Su Lun, how can you ask so many questions? I mean, I mean."

He stuttered for a long time but couldn't express what he wanted to ask.

Ji Xun knew what he wanted to ask, so he smiled and said, "Do you want to ask why I saw the tailor's problem and triggered the hidden plot?"

David nodded: "Yeah."

Since he was Gong Wu's disciple, he was willing to give some pointers, and added: "The laws of the universe have always been in the universe, and the truth of things has always been only in the cause and effect of events. Look carefully, it is there."

"what?"

David seemed to understand, pondered for a moment, and nodded: "Yeah."

I wanted to ask more questions, but I didn't know how to start.

Turning around, he saw his teammates knocking on the door not far away, searching for clues, and asked, "Su Lun, should we tell them these clues?"

Young Master Sak had previously instructed that if any clues were found, he must be told.

He was thinking about the surprise of the "hidden plot" and that his teammates, as knights of the Landon family, should report it.

However, Ji Xun shook his head and said, "No need. They will soon find out the clue that you can't go out at night. As for the hidden mission, it is just a broken clue now. We still need to find something specific."

Then he asked again: "And do you really think that the Simon family will just watch us looking for clues?"

David didn't understand: "Huh?"

Ji Xun didn't beat around the bush this time and said directly: "Master Sack has always been watched by the Simon family. Whenever we go to report, someone will go to find the tailor in a blink of an eye. Although it won't change anything, there may be some changes in the mission. And if those guys don't get the mission, they will definitely come to cause trouble for us. It's not worth it to have a conflict now."

David finally understood and his eyes widened.

If a fight really came, he wouldn't be afraid.

But if it ruins your teammates' plans, the result will be more trouble than gain.

David was a slave and didn't care about anything.

Now following Ji Xun to explore, it actually aroused his strong curiosity, and he asked again: "Where are we going now?"

Ji Xun said: "If I'm not mistaken, there may be some important clues in the witch doctor's house in the village."

Not many people can survive and have the experience of S-level clearance.

But Ji Xun just happened to have it.

He knew very well that an A-level plot could be completed with strength, but if he wanted to survive an S-level plot, he had to rely on the plot itself.

Ji Xun felt that if he guessed correctly, there must be some key clues or props in the witch doctor's house that could help them have a chance of survival in the difficult plot.

"Ah oh."

When David heard this, he remembered that they had talked about "witch doctors" in their previous conversation.

But didn’t the witch doctor die thirty years ago?

He couldn't understand what this had to do with the plot.
Soon, Ji Xun and his companion came straight to a small wooden house in the south of the village with the aroma of herbs.

The family of the witch doctor who died thirty years ago, as the tailor Caroline said before, lives here.

Although there is no doctor in the village now, the simple medicine recipes left behind are still in use.

These recipes are also kept by the witch doctor's descendants.

Hunters usually rely on these potions to cure injuries and minor illnesses.

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk!"

Didn't knock on the door.

An impatient response came from inside: "Didn't I tell you that I know nothing? It's late now, don't disturb an old woman like me."

Obviously, someone had come here before.

It is hard not to notice a house like this with medicinal herbs hanging on it.

It's not necessarily just the Langdon family, even the Simon family has been here.

After being turned away, David looked at Ji Xun awkwardly: "This?"

He had already thought it through. He had just learned from his teammates' meticulous thinking method of digging out the plot, and he wanted to explore it carefully this time.

However, I didn't expect that even after I had thought of all the questions to ask, the other party would not open the door?
Old lady, how can you not play by the rules?

This really stumped David.

You can't open the door violently, right?

It was already evening, and they had to stay in the village for the night. Moreover, the hunters and woodcutters in the village were quite strong, and if they really fought, this trial would be completely ruined.

When David was thinking about what to do, he suddenly saw Ji Xun took out something that looked like a token, and then said directly to the closed door: "I am a deacon of the 'Holy See of Light'. Is this the ancestral home of the Water family? I have something I would like you to help investigate."

As soon as these words came out, the air seemed to freeze.

There was a sudden silence in the room.

David on the side opened his eyes wide, as if his brain could not process what he just heard, and it seemed as if his mind and thoughts were frozen.

what's going on?
When did my teammate become the "Deacon of the Holy See of Light"?

After a moment, he knew what Ji Xun was planning.

but
How did this guy do it?
If I didn't know that this was my teammate "Su Lun", and that he had been tinkering with it on the road and had dyed it gold.

David even felt that the teammate with a serious face at the moment was the deacon of the Vatican.

From the demeanor to the props, it doesn't look like acting at all.

This momentum even frightened the teammates, not to mention the people in the room.

Soon, someone opened the door a crack and saw the emblem engraved with a sun disk in Ji Xun's hand, and the other party immediately opened the door.

When David saw this, he forced himself to remain expressionless so as not to expose his teammates' plan.

Ji Xun looked at the person who opened the door and walked in arrogantly without asking any questions.

No matter what era, as long as it is a theocracy, the clergy of the Holy See are supreme.

Arrogance is standard.

David was stunned for a moment when he saw Ji Xun, who had become a completely different person.

I was wondering if this would offend this key character in the plot.

However, she never expected that the old woman not only did not mind, but felt extremely honored and respectfully led the two people in: "Dear Deacon, please come this way."

"B-level side story completed: You have obtained the relic left by the priestess of light Maya. Extra exploration of the story +15%, get extra settlement reward"

Ten minutes later.

When Ji Xun walked out of the wooden house with a package, David, who had been trying to suppress his expression, could no longer hold back his eyes and twitched violently.

If he hadn't witnessed the entire plot development process with his own eyes.

He couldn't believe it at all. He had completed a B-level branch quest?
At this moment, David looked at his teammate who had remained calm from beginning to end, and his heart was already filled with surprise.

He felt that today he had used up all the surprise he had accumulated over the past decade.

He saw with his own eyes that this guy perfectly played the role of "Deacon of the Holy See of Light", and then after some questioning, he actually got the inheritance relic left by the witch doctor thirty years ago.

This is not the most incredible thing.

David couldn't understand. It was fine if it was a perfect performance, but where did Ji Xun get all those professional terms from ancient civilization?

The two walked out of the house, and Ji Xun breathed a sigh of relief.

After getting this crucial relic, the story in this village was no longer important to him.

Now no matter what conflict occurs, it will not affect my plans.

It was with this relief that David beside him felt that he had turned back into the "Su Lun" he was familiar with.

While following the whole process just now, David often doubted whether his teammate was really a deacon of the Vatican, and that the student was his disguised identity.

The moment I took off the role, the sense of unreality finally disappeared.

David felt as if he was dreaming. He thought that asking too many questions would make him look stupid. But even so, his thirst for knowledge made him ask, "Brother Su Lun, how do you know so much about the Church of Light of the Alterac Civilization?"

Although he knew how Ji Xun did it.

But I can also guess that the other party is definitely not making it up on the spot, but really understands it.

Although the old woman just now is a plot character, she is also a supernatural being. She is wiser than most people in the village.

If Ji Xun didn't have enough professional knowledge, it would have been impossible to scare the other party just now.

So the question is, how does this guy know so much about the ancient civilization that existed tens of thousands of years ago?

Ji Xun casually said, "Oh, you're talking about this. I'm a polymath, so I read a lot of books. I just happened to have seen some of them."

This is of course modesty.

If Ji Xun had only read books related to the Alterac civilization, and happened to encounter it in an alien dimension, then it would be called a coincidence.

But if you have read thousands of relevant books on ancient civilizations, it would not be a coincidence.

That is erudition.

If there is really any coincidence, there is only one.

That is, it was only after he entered this different-dimensional space that he learned from the tailor that the "Sun Disc" symbol on the relics from the Alterac civilization period that he had seen in the Adventurer's Market in the City of Spirits was the symbol of the Church of Light.

So I made a fake one temporarily.

Anyway, no one would dare to check.

but.

The fact that I was able to successfully get words out of the NPC's mouth was mostly due to "acting".

The little knowledge he had about the Church of Light was too fragmentary.

But he knew very well about the affairs of the Holy See.

Regardless of the era, human nature is the same and history repeats itself over and over again.

There are only so many rules within the Holy See. With just guessing and acting, it is not a problem for Ji Xun to scare a first-level magician.

David wanted to ask something else.

At this moment, he happened to run into four teammates including Seri and Gang Duoduo.

The two sides were far apart, and Gang Duoduo called out from afar: "Su Lun, David, we just got an important intelligence! Don't leave the village at night."

The first thing they did when they got the intelligence was to alert their teammates.

This information is indeed important.

But after David followed Ji Xun on this journey, he suddenly felt that he had also caught on to his teammate’s “expressionless” habit, and was neither happy nor surprised by anything.

Seeing that Ji Xun and the other person had calm expressions, Zhuo Sha asked in surprise, "Why aren't you surprised?"

You know, when they learned this information just now, they were all very grateful.

Fortunately, I didn’t leave the village.

Otherwise, something big might happen.

However, the performance of these two guys was not as surprising as they had been before.

David looked at the puzzled expressions of the four people and knew that Ji Xun was a man of few words, so he could only say, "Yeah. We knew that before."

Gang Duoduo was also surprised and said, "Got it? Ah, but this is the clue we just got with great difficulty. Those guys from the Simon family blocked the clue and used the power of the village chief to spread rumors that we are 'a certain greedy and despicable bounty hunter group'. Now everyone in the village is wary of us."

"Ah this."

David didn't know how to explain his complicated feelings at the moment.

If he were to tell them what had happened between the two of them, he thought his teammates would be shocked.

Seeing David's expression, the lizard wizard Seri also keenly noticed something and asked, "Su Lun, David, did you find any important clues?"

(End of this chapter)