Magicians never make wishes

Ronan was careless, saying something about stealing...

This is way more profitable than robbery!

"Miss Alice, have there been any direct conflicts between the opposing forces and the association?"

After asking the question, Ronan felt that it might be within the scope of the fee, and that asking it was somewhat unnecessary.

"It happened before. I heard that it was when Wuyue City was first established, and the conflict between various forces could only be described as a massive melee."

Alice smiled. "Of course, for specific details, I suggest you purchase the relevant information. I have it at various price points..."

Ronan was starting to understand the association's tactics.

First, throw out an eye-catching piece of news, only giving a general overview without mentioning the details.

Once the audience's interest is piqued, then the passenger transport package can be launched at the appropriate time.

"Next time for sure." Ronan got up and left.

Stepping out of the Adventurers' Guild hall, he suddenly felt a profound sense of emptiness, as if he had nothing at all.

Parker followed behind, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"My lord, I've completed my task of guiding you. Do you have any further instructions?"

He suddenly felt that describing what he was doing as a task made it seem very... professional.

"Let's go back to Jiuwan Village."

After Ronan finished speaking, he strode forward and headed towards the city's exit.

This time, he didn't need Parker to lead the way; he was afraid that Parker might ask him for extra money if they arrived.

Although the other party is unlikely to dare, I can't help but feel that I really have no money and can't withstand any test.

"Sir, aren't you staying in the city?" Parker asked, somewhat surprised.

He thought Ronan would enjoy himself, and maybe he could even get some credit by going to high-end places like Chrysanthemum Villa, Ruby Dream Pavilion, and Grey Elf Rose Hall.

"I've taken on a mission from your village..." Ronan briefly explained the mission to him.

"Oh, so that's what happened. That was a long time ago. That woman is probably long gone."

Parker briefly explained what he knew, which was basically consistent with the mission description.

After learning when the incident occurred, Ronan agreed with his assessment, "I was just passing by; what I was really going to was the abandoned castle."

"An abandoned castle?!" Parker's voice suddenly became shrill. "Sir, you can't go to that place!"

"What's the explanation?" Ronan raised his eyes.

"It's said that the place is haunted, and several adventurers have even lost their lives there..." Although it was just hearsay, Parker felt as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

"That's great," Ronan nodded. "I'm going to fight ghosts."

Gargoyles are also ghosts.

A magician is a sorcerer.

As he left the city, Parker once again drifted away, amidst the respectful gazes of the guards.

Along the way, Ronan chatted casually with Parker behind him.

"Your village isn't far from Wuyue City, so why is it still so backward?" He asked as he saw the wooden house and pigsty at the village entrance again.

"My lord, the village can't compare to the city. The older generation doesn't even know that there is such a place as Wuyue City."

Parker said with a smile, then walked to the village entrance and shouted, announcing his and Ronan's arrival.

Not long after, another group of men, young and old, followed the village chief out.

After seeing Ronan clearly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sir, why have you come back again?" The village chief stepped forward and asked with some doubt.

"Village chief, the lord has accepted a mission from the village." Parker quickly stepped forward and gave a brief explanation.

"So that's what happened... Please come into the village, sir, for a chat." The village chief waved to disperse the crowd and led Ronan into a wooden house.

The cabin was extremely simple, with a wooden bow covered in cobwebs hanging on the wall and rusty short hunting knives, animal traps, and shackles piled in the corner.

It looks like this is a hunter.

Inside the room, a middle-aged man lay paralyzed on the bed, and his mother, whose temples were gray, was feeding him medicine.

When the village chief brought people in, the old woman was about to get up and bow, but after being comforted, she gave up and continued to feed the man on the bed medicine.

"Sir, this is the hunter Khufu," the village chief introduced. "He had an accident while hunting and ended up paralyzed on one side."

"I don't know what ominous thing he brought back. The day his wife came into contact with it, she went mad and ran into the Demon Forest, where she disappeared."

"We asked him so many times but he wouldn't tell us... Seeing that this family couldn't just be destroyed like this, the village had no choice but to pool their money to hire adventurers to investigate."

At this point, the village chief sighed, "The village can't actually contribute much money... Over time, everyone basically gave up."

"Now, the mother and son can only survive on the occasional relief from the village."

Seeing the old woman finish feeding him the medicine and leave, Ronan took the opportunity to walk to the bedside.

Upon seeing the white-haired, elegantly dressed, and dignified young man, the paralyzed hunter's eyes filled with fear.

"Can you speak?" Ronan asked briefly.

The hunter nodded, making a muffled sound in response.

It's true that when you first open your mouth after not speaking for a long time, it'll be like that. But you'll be fine after saying a few more words.

"Do you still want your wife back?" Ronan asked bluntly. "Tell me everything, and I'll help you look for her."

The hunter remained silent.

Ronan turned around and exchanged a glance with the village chief, shook his head helplessly, and turned to leave.

"Any other clues?" Ronan asked the village chief as he went outside, but seeing that the chief didn't know much either, he said, "Never mind, I'll just wander around by myself."

"Sir, it's so late today, why don't you stay here for the night?" the village chief kindly suggested.

"No, I'm very busy. I have to rush to another place soon."

Nighttime is when gargoyles are most active, so going there now might be just in time.

"Sir, that's their abandoned pigsty."

Seeing Ronan heading towards the area behind the wooden house, the village chief kindly reminded him.

"I know, I'm just looking around, don't worry about me," Ronan's voice came from behind.

Left with no other option, the village chief could only leave alone.

At this moment, Ronan stood in the dilapidated and abandoned pigsty, holding a rough stone in his hand, lost in thought.

This is an ordinary stone with no special features; its texture and pattern are no different from the pebbles next to it.

However, in Ronan's eyes, the stone was a different story.

He could clearly see that the stone was just a crude disguise, and that a bead was actually hidden inside.

When did I develop X-ray vision?

Ronan was somewhat surprised, and at the same time, he noticed that his mental energy was being constantly depleted.

He quickly looked at the panel.

Sure enough, the [Analysis] section in the Characteristics column was flashing incessantly; it was the culprit consuming mental energy.

It turns out that this new feature only works when it encounters specific items.

Realizing that the stone was merely a disguise, he focused his mental energy into a single rope and carefully probed into the bead inside the stone.

The moment the spiritual energy came into contact with the bead, it was as if it had been absorbed by the bead, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

Ronan simply increased his output, channeling his immense spiritual power into the bead.

At some point, the bead seemed to reach a critical point, and a faint cracking sound rang out.

In an instant, glowing characters burst forth from the beads, arranging themselves in an orderly fashion in the mind, forming page after page of chapters.

Before he could even read the contents,

The long-dormant book of magical knowledge suddenly emitted a colorful light, incorporating all these chapters into its own book.

Immediately afterwards, the Book of Magical Knowledge moved without wind, and its contents instantly appeared before Ronan's eyes.

"Stargazing Meditation Method..."