The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

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However, its inherent convenience has led most practitioners of esoteric rituals to abandon the study of its principles and instead focus their energy on how to obtain the materials.

If one day the Six-Eyed Raven stops giving this gift in return... the art of Shadow Manipulation may also be completely lost.

The fragment of the "Black Feather Secret Sequel" provided by the Hermit Lady offers long-term benefits with foreseeable returns.

With just a few decades of deduction and study, [Shadow Chaser] can be completely reproduced at the level of its principles. This effectively eliminates the Order's concerns and worries in this area, and its value is immeasurable by worldly monetary terms...

Moreover, the Light-Staining Feather is usually only auctioned internally by the Raven Crow Order's Raiders, so White Neck had no major concerns and directly decided on the final ownership of this material.

After a period of waiting, the white-necked creature returned to the venue of the full moon auction.

Facing the expectant gazes of the bidders in the courtyard, she gracefully bowed and then announced the winner of the item.

"Alright, this anonymous bidding has ended. The recipient of the material 'Shining Feather' is... the distinguished guest who is visiting the First Habitat for the first time, the Hermit Lady. Her generosity is truly admirable, and I would like to offer my respects from the Six-Eyed Raven Order."

Vivian sat on a velvet armchair on the second-floor terrace, seemingly casually taking a sip of the "winter sprouts" that had just been served. She tried hard to steady her trembling fingers.

In fact, this was her first time participating in an auction of this caliber. Moreover, she was going alone, maintaining her disguise as Dr. Fran, so the pressure was immense.

Phew... At least from the current situation, everything is going very smoothly, and there is no risk of me being exposed.

Through the crow Munin, who was eavesdropping under the curtain, Vivian could hear an impatient guest muttering complaints below.

“I bid a full 70 Mordway Crescent Coins, which is worth at least 6000 Gol Silver, and that's the price I got directly from the Six-Eyed Raven Cult…”

"If you traded them on the underground exchange, 70 Mordway Crescent Coins could fetch over 8000 Gol Silver. To fail even that... just how much did that hermit lady price them? Did she not care about the premium at all?"

Hearing his explanation, Vivian felt inexplicably ashamed.

She was simply grateful that the fragments of the ancient texts Dr. Fran had provided were indeed valuable enough to make her asking price irresistibly tempting to the plunderers.

As for cash for large transactions, she didn't have much.

70 Mordway Crescent Coins, 8000 Gore Silver... To be honest, she had never seen so much money in her life.

This was Vivian's first and only bid in the Full Moon Auction. No matter how precious the materials and treasures the White-Necked High Priestess offered afterward, she remained calmly silent.

Consumption requires confidence.

And coincidentally, what Agent Vivian lacked most at that moment was confidence...

Besides, although Dr. Fran had told her to "buy whatever you like," her spending habits were reserved and cautious. Now that she had obtained the spirit-gathering materials she needed, she naturally had no desire to buy other items.

Even though White Neck repeatedly brought out relics that he felt the Hermit Lady might be interested in, she simply looked at them calmly and did not make any further bids.

Upon seeing this, Detrika narrowed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

Just like at Habitat 3, Ms. Vivian only purchased the first item, and then seemed to lose interest in the Full Moon Auction... Is this her shopping habit? Or is she simply collecting "souvenirs"?

As the full moon rose higher in the sky, twilight deepened.

The White-Necked Priest announced the final winner of the auction, officially concluding the bidding process.

"call--"

After completing his duties, the Raven Feather High Priest sighed softly, glancing with a hint of resentment at the curtained private room on the second floor of the monastery.

These items were all carefully selected and kept by myself. Each one is a treasure, and many of them contain the hidden spiritual elements of lamps and moths... The leftovers from the Third Habitat cannot compare to them at all.

The Hermit Lady only bought the Wisting Feather, which was initially obtained through the ritual? Although the incomplete copy of the Black Feather Secret Manual she provided was of immeasurable value to the Order, White Neck still felt a little frustrated.

I'm a proper auctioneer, yet my haul is no different from that of Gray Mark, who's obsessed with stealing and fighting... Looks like he was right about the hermit.

Although slightly unwilling, Bai Jing was not discouraged. She then instructed her attendant to include some extra gifts when handing the Wiping Feather to the Hermit Lady.

I heard that Graymark sent a section of the immortal branch. Those mass-produced varieties are just a gimmick; they're just an extra in the first habitat.

So, how can you make your gift stand out...?

With his white neck visible through the mask, he gently touched his chin, and after a moment, finally made up his mind.

She called back the waiter who was about to leave, took the box containing the Radiant Feather, and went to the private room on the second floor where the Hermit Lady was.

"Lady Hermit, these are your purchases. Thank you for your trust and patronage of the Six-Eyed Raven Order. We look forward to seeing you again."

As she spoke, she picked up the sealed box and respectfully handed it to Vivian.

"No need for formalities, White-Necked Lady. This is a fair transaction."

Vivian accepted the secret box and carefully considered her words before responding.

After saying that, she breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The full moon auction was finally coming to an end. Maintaining an air of mystery and authority in front of several high priests for so long, while also exuding approachable friendliness like Dr. Fran, was putting her under considerable pressure.

Phew, Vivian, relax. You're a secret agent for the Secret Service; dangerous infiltration missions are unavoidable...

With this thought to herself, she prepared to bid farewell to Detrick and leave the First Habitat.

However, before that, Bai Jing smiled and tried to persuade him to stay.

“Lady Hermit, please wait a moment. On behalf of the Six-Eyed Raven Order… I have a gift to present to you.”

As she spoke, she took out a gold-plated pocket watch.

"This is a high-ranking token of our sect, the pocket watch 'Ten Quarters'. When used as a divination medium, it can provide revelations about treasures and rare items. In addition, its spiritual essence will accumulate as you continue to trade in the Full Moon Auction."

"Both buying and selling will accelerate this process."

"When the spirit essence is full, you will be qualified to enter the Oak Shadow Nest for the meeting. Oh, and one more thing to note is that the 'ten o'clock' hand always points to ten, so it doesn't have the timekeeping function of a regular pocket watch..."

Without a doubt, this is a truly precious gift.

Thus, Vivian roughly understood the significance of the "Hermit" identity in the eyes of the Six-Eyed Raven Cult. Generally speaking, only the innermost circle of Mordway's cult decision-makers were qualified to enter Oak Shadow Nest.

If Dr. Fran asked me to take her place in Oak Shadow Nest... no, that's impossible. Although I have some talent for disguise, it's really unrealistic to think I could fool those people.

Although she knew the doctor wouldn't force her to do something against her will, the mere thought of that possibility still made her stomach ache.

Oh, by the way, Vivian's "stomach ache" right now is purely psychological. Ever since she vaguely took Fran's stomach medicine on the Leviathan, she hasn't felt any discomfort in that regard.

"In that case, I'll accept it. Thank you for your kindness, Ms. White Neck."

As she spoke, Vivian raised her hand to accept the gilded pocket watch "Ten Quarters" and expressed her gratitude to the White-Necked High Priest with a slight smile.

"Lady Hermit, it is an honor for the Six-Eyed Raven Order to serve you, and it is also my honor. Thank you for bringing us the esoteric texts; every revelation they contain is priceless."

Seeing that she accepted the gift without any resistance, Bai Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In fact, there are also some VIPs of "Ninety-Four" who are unwilling to accept this. They are either from sensitive backgrounds and cannot be seen by Lu Guang, or they have a grudge against a certain regular customer of Oak Shadow Nest and cannot get along with him.

Well... there are exceptions, such as the two marquises of the Moon Familia.

The Marquis Jude of the Noralia family and the Marquis Bernhard of the Murdoch family had a very poor relationship, almost to the point of irreconcilable conflict. They both held the "Ten Quarters," but never attended events together.

With the attendants seeing them off, Vivian led Detrick away from the old monastery where the first settlement was located.

Miss Thief felt something was off. Ms. Vivian was clearly here to steal her order's treasures, so why was she behaving like a real buyer in the First Habitat?

She quickly deduced the conclusion based on the information she already had.

It seems that Ms. Vivian's goal is not the First Habitat, but the Oak Shadow Nest... Her ambitions and schemes are far greater than she realizes. They border on arrogance.

……

Having confirmed that the hermit had completely left, Bai Jing blinked and raised his hand to wipe away the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

"Hmm... It's quite stressful to be in the same room with this lady. She exudes the aura of an ancient moth clan, and I always have this inexplicable fear of being eaten."

The gray marks also emerged from a shadow beneath the curtain.

"Well, this distinguished guest has brought you quite a surprise, hasn't he? The Black Feather Secret Manual... Although it's not complete, I never expected that such a precious book from a lost era would appear in the world in this way."

“Hey, White Neck, remember I was her original recommender. Although I don’t handle much bidding business, my eye for people is never worse than yours.”

He let out a sarcastic remark with a rather smug tone.

"Alright, alright, I know you're not some tomb raider whose mind is only on stealing things from ruins."

White-necked seemed to be in a good mood, and his response carried a hint of teasing.

Graymark clicked his tongue at her statement, seemingly dismissing it with disdain.

"What do you mean by 'tomb raiders'? The owners of those ruins are all dead. I just couldn't bear to see their treasures gathering dust forever. Like those academics at White Cup, 'Archaeology is a noble discipline that provides invaluable assistance to the study of modern mysteries'..."

Among the Ravenfeather Disciples, Greymark and Whiteneck were on good terms, neither of them caring about any possible offense in the other's words.

Just as Bai Jing was about to continue the conversation, Huihen's gaze sharpened, his expression turning serious and profound.

After a moment of contemplation, he recounted the unusual situation he had just witnessed at the monastery meeting place.

“Just now, two guests who appeared to be from the Misty Society chose to leave with the Hermit Lady. One was codenamed ‘Brown,’ and held the rank of High Priest. The other was named ‘Api,’ and looked rather dull, probably having undergone some kind of mystical refinement.”

"Although I don't want to think this way, they probably have other plans."

"Oh?"

The white-necked man scratched the raven-head mask on his face, looking somewhat confused.

"But based on the information you've received, the Hermit Lady should also be a member of the Misty Society, right? Perhaps she's a superior-subordinate contact among fellow members?"

In fact, no one understood what was going on in the minds of those eccentric guys from the Misty Society.

Vague and ambiguous statements, mutual deception. Self-criticism, a phenomenon rarely seen in other cults, is quite common among them.

The Moth's disciples worship chaos and longing, while the Lamp's disciples worship radiance and reason. Heaven knows why these two came together and gave birth to the eccentric "Unifying Faction."

"Connections between superiors and subordinates... we cannot rule out that possibility."

Gray Mark did not dismiss the optimistic speculation about White Neck, as that possibility was not small either.

The inchworm in the third habitat was also a disciple of the night moth, and after coming into contact with the hermit lady, his attitude changed from "proud and self-possessed" to "humble".

"Anyway, they've already left the Full Moon Auction venue, so we don't need to be responsible for the safety of the departing guests. Besides, given the Hermit Lady's strength... if those two guys really have ulterior motives, their fate probably won't be pleasant."

-

As they left the First Habitat Monastery and entered the dimly lit alleyways of the deserted district, Detricka looked at Vivian with a hint of nervousness.

Then, the thief whispered a reminder in her ear.

“Ms. Vivian…we are being followed.”

"Ok, I know."

Vivian responded, trying to remain calm.

In fact, the crow Munin, huddled in her breast pocket, had given a warning half a minute earlier.

Vivian can share Munin's perspective, and conversely, Munin can also observe things from Vivian's human perspective, thus capturing some overlooked details.

“Detrika, you may leave now. I would like to speak with these two guests alone.”

After a moment's consideration, she decided to send Detrick away first.

If the newcomer is hostile and is located on the fourth or even higher level of the ladder... Liu'er herself will most likely have to flee for her life in a sorry state.

If Miss Thief were to witness such a scene, it would truly damage Dr. Fran's image and reputation.

"Well... then I'll take my leave now. Please take care of yourself, Ms. Vivian."

Although she had great faith in her abilities, Detrika still offered a polite word of advice.

Soon, she leaped away, her figure gradually disappearing into the moonlit night.

Vivian quietly released the safety from the pistol hidden in her sleeve and looked back at the people who had been following her.

"Gentlemen, following a lady at night is hardly polite."

"Sorry."

A tall, thin man walked into the dim light of the alleyway. He was dressed in a gray moth-like robe covered in velvet, and his eyes were deep and cold, like a wolf spider watching its prey.

The high priest of the Obscure Society, the Moth, is Brown.

Similar to the inchworm, this name also refers to a certain type of moth.

"However, we have never heard of any high-ranking priest of the Unification Faction residing in Mordway, so we would like to know your purpose and intentions."

As he spoke, his voice subtly took on a somber and unfriendly tone.

"There's one more small matter I need to ask you. Recently, one of our disciples, codenamed 'Inchworm,' went missing. He was young and talented, on a mission to retrieve the Holy Remains. Hmm... you, with the aura of the Holy Remains emanating from you, do you have any leads?"

"boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud gunshot rang out in the dark alley!

The person who fired the shot was not Vivian, but the waiter Appi who was hiding nearby.