Chapter 9

Holding the peculiar bas-relief, Melin did not examine it further. This bas-relief was too strange, capable of causing hallucinations. He decided to wait until he returned home and was in a safe environment to study it in detail.

Next, Anson selected a palm-sized jade artifact, but Nason's asking price was as high as over a hundred gold coins. Although Anson was also from a noble family, he had two older brothers above him, and the gold coins he could use each month did not exceed thirty. Over a hundred gold coins far exceeded his ability to pay.

Therefore, Anson had to reluctantly give up. However, Kellis chose a jade bracelet. Nason's asking price was even higher, at 120 gold coins. Jade jewelry from the Morta Empire era, known for its fine craftsmanship, was very popular among the nobility, so Nason was not worried about the high price affecting sales.

Kellis wore a pair of emerald earrings and a jade bracelet on her right hand, indicating her fondness for jade artifacts. Despite the high price of over a hundred gold coins, she gritted her teeth and bought it.

Gute stepped forward to show his attentiveness, offering to buy the bracelet for Kellis. It was clear that the fat Gute liked Kellis very much, but Kellis rejected him without any courtesy, leaving Gute somewhat dejected.

"Hey, fatty, Kellis is already gone, what are you still looking at?"

Seeing the fat Gute's dispirited appearance, Anson chuckled.

"Anson, who exactly is this Mr. Nason? His antiques clearly have questionable origins, although he is discreet, the city guard cannot be unaware. Why haven't they taken any action?"

Melin asked in a low voice.

"Hehe, why would the city guard investigate here? Mr. Nason is just the front man; the real boss behind the scenes is the city lord himself!"

"The city lord?"

Melin's face showed surprise, but he quickly calmed down. If Nason was the city lord's man, it made sense that the city guard would not investigate.

In Blackwater City, the highest noble was a baron, and the city lord was firmly controlled by the Ogdin family. Although they were all barons, the city lord had the greatest power. In most cases, the barons in Blackwater City were slightly inferior to the Ogdin family in status. The city guard, nominally a public force, was actually the private army of the Ogdin family.

The group walked out of the passage and immediately encountered a cold wind, which chilled them to the bone.

"Look, it's snowing." Anson shouted.

Melin squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky. Indeed, what had been cold raindrops earlier were now white snowflakes.

Snow in September, the weather was certainly abnormal!

"Phew... It's so cold, let's go, we need to get home! What a nightmare, it's snowing in September. By the way, Melin, I'll take you back to Wilson Castle first."

The chubby Gute wrapped himself in his coat and quickly climbed into the carriage.

*****

The carriage slowly stopped in front of Wilson Castle. Melin got out of the carriage, still feeling cold despite the fur coat.

"Melin, see you tomorrow, damn, this weather!"

Anson and Gute waved goodbye to Melin. After watching the carriage slowly drive away, Melin walked into the castle.

"Phew..."

Back in the castle, Melin let out a sigh of relief. He saw that the maids had already started a fire in the fireplace, making the room warm. Melin took off his coat and gently patted the snow and ice off it.

"Hmm, this bas-relief?"

Melin's eyes fell on the bas-relief wrapped in his coat. He looked around, and seeing no one paying attention, he went upstairs to his room.

After closing the door, Melin took the bas-relief out of his coat.

"Let's try again."

Melin rubbed his eyes lightly and then focused his attention on the bas-relief, following the patterns on it with his eyes.

"Buzz."

The entire bas-relief seemed to vibrate slightly. Then, that familiar feeling came again. Melin felt a blur in his vision, and the naked man on the bas-relief seemed to "come alive," performing a very strange action right before Melin's eyes.

The movements were very complex, almost extending the human body to its limits. In a daze, Melin's body began to unconsciously follow the naked man's movements.

"Pain..."

Melin couldn't help but cry out. With this sound, Melin also regained his senses. However, at this moment, Melin was lying on the ground, the bas-relief had fallen but did not break, and he was in a very strange and complex position.

Melin quickly got up from the ground. Recalling what had just happened, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"The bas-relief, there's something wrong, something seriously wrong!"

Melin was still shaken and dared not look at the bas-relief again. The feeling of being unable to control himself was truly terrifying, and even now, thinking about it made him feel a chill. The bas-relief was indeed sinister.

After half an hour, Melin's emotions had calmed down. Although he did not look at the bas-relief again, he had memorized the strange posture on it.

"What is the purpose of this posture?"

Melin pondered for a moment and decided to try the complex posture on the bas-relief while fully conscious. It seemed to have an irresistible allure for him.

The movements were very complex and had to be done slowly, step by step. Fortunately, Melin had firmly memorized the movements, so it didn't take long for him to complete the posture on the bas-relief.

This time, Melin's mind was very clear, not in a daze. He could carefully experience the peculiar nature of the posture.

"Hmm, it was cold just now, but now I feel warm, and my muscles seem to be swelling." Melin carefully felt the changes brought by the posture.

Maintaining this posture for half an hour, Melin did not feel any discomfort. Instead, the swelling in his muscles became more noticeable, and it felt as if something was stirring inside.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

The sky gradually darkened, and Melin seemed to be immersed in the posture, experiencing a strange sensation.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door.

"Melin, what are you doing in your room?"

It was Mei Xue's voice. Melin was startled awake. He got up and opened the door, seeing that it was already completely dark outside.

Mei Xue looked at Melin with confusion, and her nose seemed to catch a whiff of sweat. She saw that Melin's body was drenched in sweat.

"Melin, what are you doing? You're sweating so much?"

Melin also noticed. He was drenched in sweat, but he felt warm inside and was full of energy, not at all tired.

"Nothing, it's dark already, I'll be down soon."

Mei Xue tried to look into the room, but Melin blocked the doorway, so she couldn't see anything. She covered her nose and said, "Have Lucy bring you some hot water, wash up before you come down."

Melin nodded. The smell of sweat was really overwhelming, even to himself.

Soon, Lucy filled the bathtub with hot water. Melin took off his sweat-soaked clothes and jumped into the wooden tub. The warm water almost made him moan with pleasure.

Melin soaked in the hot water, motionless, his head leaning against the edge of the tub, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.