The Trial Game of Life – Chapter 155

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 155: Sword of Judgment (2)

[Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight]

Fifth Round: [Sword of Judgment]

Main mission: Go to No. 14 Walling Street and look for Roger Reeds.

The main mission had been refreshed. Tang Cuo found that his hair colour had gone back to silver, and his disguise had been removed. So walking in the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers at this moment was the younger brother of the current Duke of the White Knight family, while Lancelot was —

Still the same Lancelot the bard, but with more accessories on his body. The piece that was wrapping a few rounds around his wrist seemed to be a string consisting of stones from the Forest of The Elves and gems from various places. A feather necklace was hanging around his neck, while the collar of his white linen shirt was wide open and his hat was crooked. Holding a small harp in his arms and hiding a dagger in his deerskin boots, he exuded an air of pure freedom, that of someone who wasn’t tied down by anything.

Unfortunately, his own face didn’t get to be displayed here. Jin Cheng felt a tad saddened by this.

Tang Cuo ignored him and went to ask for directions.

The vendor selling flower cakes was very enthusiastic: “Walling Street? Sir Knight, you really should go to the bookstore at the corner. The black forest cake there is so delicious that you won’t find a better one in the entire Kingdom of Hundred Flowers.”

Walling Street wasn’t far from here. About fifteen minutes later, they passed by a fountain square. The magic fountain was small yet exquisite, and in the middle of the fountain stood a statue of a lady in a crown, hugging flowers.

Goddess of Nature, Cynthia.

It seems that just like the elves, the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers also worshiped this lady.

Turning another corner, the two of them saw the bookstore that the vendor mentioned, which meant they had arrived at Walling Street.

There were more flowers on this street than any other, and most of them were climbing roses. Clumps of roses were crawling all over the houses and shops along the street, each having its own shade of pale pink, crimson, champagne or even orange. Although the scent of flowers was potent, it wasn’t overpowering.

There were plenty of customers in the bookstore. A few men clad in business suits were reading in front of the bookshelf, and even more people were queuing up at the counter. The display cabinet behind the counter was filled with pieces of cupcakes, black forest cakes, red velvet cakes, et cetera, that donned so many colours.

The queue stretched from the counter all the way to the entrance of the store. Wearing a broad smile, an old man with a white beard and walking on crutches was talking to the little girl carrying a flower basket in front of him.

This scene reminded Tang Cuo of a milk tea shop that was opened by an internet celebrity.

Obviously, Tang Cuo wouldn’t join in the fun. He walked along the street and soon found No. 14. It was a standalone two-story building. Jin Cheng went up and knocked on the door. The person who opened the door was a limping old servant. Although his hair had turned gray, it was meticulously combed, and he himself was well-dressed and gentle in manner.

Seeing Tang Cuo’s silver hair, the servant seemed to recognise him but didn’t say anything. He smiled and said: “You two are here to see my master, aren’t you? Please come in and have a seat. He’ll be back soon.”

Right behind the main door was the living room.

The room was adorned in crystal chandeliers, magic fireplaces, a Renaissance-style carpet, as well as paintings that were hung everywhere. A few books were scattered around, and there was also an animal wood carving, a music box and a hat stand made of antlers. The room was full but didn’t feel cluttered, giving off a remarkable sense of aesthetics.

The old servant’s name was William. He invited the two of them to sit down on the sofa covered with lamb wool before turning around to pour tea.

Jin Cheng looked at the paintings on the wall with immense interest and said: “I didn’t expect that The Watchman indulged in this kind of style in his private life.”

Originally, he thought that No. 14 Walling Street was the Greenvines Alliance’s office in the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers, but now he knew that it was a private residence. Old William referred to Roger Reeds as ‘master’, and there was a portrait of him on the wall.

Tang Cuo didn’t expect it either.

Roger Reeds was cold and serious. During the few times they met, he always wore a black double-breasted suit and carried a black cane, and there was even a black eyepatch on one of his eyes. Just like a gentleman of the old times, he never smiled.

“Meow.” A black cat suddenly poked its head out from under the sofa, looking at the two strange visitors with its round eyes. Jin Cheng was delighted to see the cat, and being reminded of the little black cat that Tang Cuo had once transformed into, he couldn’t help but tease it.

“Do you think it looks like you?” When Jin Cheng pulled the cat out from under the sofa, it didn’t resist. It was only after he brought it out that he realised — it was a pretty chubby cat.

“Like me?” Tang Cuo was expressionless.

“Like Wen Xiaoming.” Jin Cheng instantly flipped his words.

At this point, Old William came out with tea, and Tang Cuo could catch the smell of milk from a distance away. As he took a closer look, it turned out to be milk tea — black tea with milk, in fact.

It was sweet, but still retained the taste of tea.

The black cat seemed to have taken a liking to Jin Cheng, lying obediently on his lap and even spreading its four limbs out, all while letting out a soft purr. Old William smiled and explained: “This is the cat raised by the master. Its name is Charles II.”

Jin Cheng pinched the back of its neck and asked: “Charles II. Where is Charles I?”

Old William: “Indeed, its father is Charles I, but it has passed away. The father brought Charles II back from outside, and they happened to look just like father and son, so the master raised them together.”

Even their name was passed down the family tree.

Old William was very chatty. Moving on from Charles II, he continued to talk about the bookstore on the street. Jin Cheng wanted to get information about Roger Reeds, but Old William remained tight-lipped and only said: “Three days ago, the letter from the master said that he would be back before sunset today. Please wait patiently.”

Saying so, Old William turned his head and looked at the chiming clock in the corner. It was almost four o’clock, which meant there was less than an hour before sunset. He picked up a basket and headed out to buy food.

Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo were left in the house, yet Old William didn’t seem worried one bit about what they might do there. When Tang Cuo was at the stairs leading to the second floor, he realised that it wasn’t that Old William wasn’t worried, rather, he didn’t need to worry.

There was a magic lock at the top of the stairs, which made it impossible to go up. The door to the backyard was wide open, but behind it was just a small garden of four to five square meters and contained nothing out of the norm.

Back in the living room, Jin Cheng was still hugging the cat in front of the painting. He seemed to have taken a strong liking to that painting, just like when he was in [On A Snowy Night, He Returns]. He played a jigsaw puzzle when he had nothing to do, and he could even accurately name the painting on that jigsaw puzzle.

Tang Cuo flipped through the books on the shelf. He felt that books were usually important. They might not be eye-catching, but they might contain some vital clues, such as the [Secrets of The Lake] that he discovered in the magic school at the Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight. Another example was the [Fairy Tales Of Sicilit] given by Lin Yandong, even though he didn’t yet know what use this book would eventually have.

When Wen Xiaoming told them the story that K obtained from Scarlet, K even seemed to want to write a biography for her. That was also very intriguing.

A while later, their surroundings turned totally silent, and in No. 14 Walling Street, there was only the faint sound of pages being turned and the occasional soft purr of a cat.

Jin Cheng turned around to find that Tang Cuo was still reading in front of the shelf. Through the glass window, the setting sun happened to fall on his shoulder, dimming his profile. This, in Jin Cheng’s mind, blurred Theodore’s face and made it slowly turn into Tang Cuo’s.

As he watched, he couldn’t help but shift to a more comfortable position. Still holding onto Charles II’s chubby claws, he leaned against the wall and continued to admire the scene. But he didn’t make a sound to disturb Tang Cuo. He simply grabbed Charles II and played a bit of ‘cat punches’ with Tang Cuo from a distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tang Cuo caught a glimpse of Jin Cheng’s minute movements and wondered if something was not right in his head.

But at the same time, he was also in a trance. It seemed that he had not experienced such a serene, peaceful time for a long while. When was the last time? He thought as his mind slowly went down memory lane, as if they were still at the time of the first round [Death of The Poet].

He was sitting in front of Little Jack’s door, repairing his pocket watch, while Jin Cheng was sitting next to him, playing the harp and humming gently.

Obviously, it happened not long ago, but when he thought about it, it seemed to be a very distant past. The pace of Yong Ye City was so fast and so tense that it caused time to lose the flow it was supposed to have.

Jin Cheng, on the other hand, was always unhurried, always calm. Even when Wen Xiaoming disappeared and Lilith was captured, he never looked nervous.

Tang Cuo closed the book and wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words and continued to flip through the pages. He replaced it with a new one, took it out and saw that it was his old friend [Fairy Tales of Sicilit].

This book was at the magic school, at Lin Yandong’s place, and also here. It was probably a bestseller in the continent. He didn’t have a close look at it back in the magic school. He only knew the title of the book, but Lin Yandong had already memorised the whole thing by heart. At this moment, he was holding the book that belonged to Roger Reeds in his hand. He was going to casually flip through it, but after a few pages, he suddenly came to a pause.

The contents of the two books were slightly different.

Seeing him frowning, Jin Cheng walked over and asked: “What have you found?”

“Look here.” Tang Cuo pointed to a passage in the book: “This story was called The Lucky Little Blacksmith. It tells the story of a little blacksmith who was an orphan in a small town and accidentally inherited his master’s blacksmith shop. It was a story about him being envied by others, being rumoured that he was a thief, and finally being able to prove his innocence. There are two differences here.”

Firstly, in Roger Reeds’ book, the little blacksmith was framed for theft, but in Lin Yandong’s, he was accused of killing his master.

Secondly, the little blacksmith proved his innocence by defending himself with sincerity, while in the other version, it was changed to him cutting off one of his little fingers.

The fairy tales weren’t long, and the difference between the two was only a matter of a few sentences, but the feeling it gave was completely different. Tang Cuo then pulled out Lin Yandong’s [Fairy Tales of Sicilit], which he had always kept in his Inventory Bar and carried with him everywhere.

There were also differences in the two books’ covers.

Roger Reeds’ was dark red, with gold-plated, beautiful cursive letters. Lin Yandong’s was black, with complex gold patterns printed on the spine and four corners, and the title was written in crimson letters.

“These designs don’t look like they come from the same period. The font was different and the black book seems more sumptuous.” Jin Cheng said, then he thought of another thing and asked: “Do you remember the one at the Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight?”

Tang Cuo: “It’s similar to Roger Reeds’.”

Jin Cheng: “Well, Lin Yandong’s may be the style of the Tucha Empire. Under the rule of Louis XIV, the design was prettier and more exaggerated. In the Dark Ages, the content of the story was also more sinister. After the destruction of the Tucha Empire, future generations made some changes and published a new version.”

Tang Cuo nodded, this was the most reasonable explanation. If it was true, the Dark Ages had passed for thousands of years, and even in the faraway Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight, a new version was circulated. Lin Yandong’s was very likely the only one of its kind.

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Tang Cuo calmly put the book away and looked over it with Jin Cheng to see Roger Reeds slowly walking down the stairs with his cane clanging against the ground, his expression as cold and solemn as ever.

“Your Excellency Roger Reeds.” The two of them preemptively saluted him.

“You’re here.” Roger Reeds’ calm eyes swept across the two men’s faces before finally settling on Tang Cuo. He asked: “I’ve visited your brother and discussed with him about taking you in as a student. However, according to the Continental Convention signed by the Greenvines Alliance and other countries, someone with noble or royalty bloodline cannot serve as an Arbitrator in the Greenvines Alliance. Being my student means that you must give up where you came from, so I would like to ask one last time — are you willing to?”

It turned out there was such a rule in place. According to Roger Reeds, once Theodore became his student, he would be trained as the next Arbitrator.

But later Theodore did inherit the title, which meant that not only did Theodore’s brother die young, he also had no descendants. Otherwise, the Greenvines Alliance wouldn’t let Theodore go so easily.

“I’ve thought about it, teacher.” Tang Cuo placed one hand on his chest in a solemn manner.

“Then, from today on, you’ll be my student.” Roger Reeds nodded slightly.