Half-elf Notebook

Chapter 165: Selling Intelligence (2)

"Don't make it sound like I'll use space jumps whenever I need to. That thing consumes a lot of mana."

Shu Xi extinguished the cigarette that was about to burn out in the white porcelain ashtray on the table.

He took out another cigarette from the cigarette box in his pocket. The cigarette was a mixture of tobacco and several mild magical materials, put it in his mouth, and relit it with the flame from his fingertips.

"Take two bites less."

Looking at the Shu Xi that was connected to each other, Rick's mouth trembled, and he reminded helplessly:

"It's okay. I use magic to check and heal my body every day. If that doesn't help, I won't be able to avoid common diseases."

"Then I'm afraid I can only look for Chenxi, a bishop-level priest of the Goddess Church, or some of the most famous pharmacists in the kingdom."

He looked up at Rick with deep eyes, smiled bitterly and said:

"And it's not often that I smoke this much."

Rick, who was not sure what to do, asked the question, and Shu Xi leaned hard on the soft sofa.

"Rick, I have bad news."

Isn't this a coincidence? I have news too, but it's good news.

However, seeing Shu Xi's serious expression, he also stopped joking:

"What exactly happened?"

"A noble has set his sights on you, the new-school Duke Eric."

Shu Xi took out an opened envelope and pushed it in front of Rick.

The envelope is pure white and decorated with unique patterns. Even without touching it, you can tell that it is not the product of a small urban workshop.

——But the most eye-catching thing is the blood-red wax seal pattern, with flags and roses intertwined, which is obviously one of the six most famous seals of the kingdom.

Seal of the Eric family.

Rick took out the folded letter, opened it, and glanced at it:

"I don't know them very well... When I was in the army, I rarely interacted with the new faction and nobles related to the Eric family."

"Among the officers, if I have to say, they are closer to the conservative side. This is for work reasons, you know."

"Even today, the dominant force in Cyrilor Province is still conservative, not to mention the Blackstone Fortress ten years ago... Before I served in the Blackstone Fortress, I was at most a mid-level bronze-level captain."

Rick spread his hands, saying he couldn't think of the reason:

"What are your thoughts on this, Shuxi?"

"They hope that you will join the new faction and at least establish friendship with the Eric family in the future. There is no doubt about that."

"The reason...may be to prepare for factional struggles, or perhaps to provide a basis for the new faction to expand its influence and territory and compete with the conservatives."

"No matter what, they need one more gold-rank professional."

Shu Xi glanced at Rick silently.

"That's it..."

Rick knew that Shuxi's answer made a lot of sense, and it might even be the real consideration of the Duke behind this letter.

But he remained calm.

Only he knows his situation best.

It is true that he has already touched the boundary wall of rank, and a year ago he was standing at the door of rank promotion.

That invisible yet heavy door may be pushed open at any time within a year or two.

Perhaps no one in the kingdom is closer to gold than he is.

But he was the only one who knew that he could never and would never take that step.

And it has nothing to do with talent, hard work or opportunity.

This warrior, who looks to be in his prime, at this moment, has sadness, attachment, and a hint of vicissitudes in his grey eyes.

He lowered his head, and his right fingers involuntarily stroked the ring on his left ring finger.

It was a silver ring that was no longer shiny and had turned a little black.

Compared with Rick's space ring inlaid with magic crystals and gems, the silver ring without even any carvings looks particularly simple and cheap.

It's like an ordinary gift given to each other by an ordinary couple.

Just as he could never find the owner of the other ring, there were some things that Rick didn't want to change.

For example, this ring, the long sword that has been stored in the locker and has long been rusted, and myself.

"That's a shame, I'm afraid they found the wrong person."

Rick no longer believed that promotion to gold would bring any good changes to him.

I just hope that I can watch the growth of my only relative in peace.

"I understand."

Seeing that Rick didn't go any further, Shu Xi didn't continue the discussion:

"If anything happens, I'll let you know in advance."

Rick was stunned, and couldn't help but laugh from the bottom of his heart:

"Thank you for your help, my friend."

"Don't be too happy too soon."

Shu Xi took a deep puff on the cigarette. Ample air rushed in, and the sparks between the tobacco suddenly became brighter. He worked hard to burn the cigarette into gray.

He then shook the ash off into the ashtray.

"From the Warcraft riots, the assassination of the princess, and the cleansing of the gangs in the past year, we can see that the fighting between factions is becoming more and more frequent. You have to be careful. The nobles above only care about their own interests and don't care much about the lives of civilians."

"If you don't want to get involved, don't get involved."

After giving the reminder, his expression relaxed a bit, and at the same time, he also showed his usual leisurely and mysterious expression:

"Okay, tell me about yourself. You and Ina didn't just happen to wander into the guild for no reason, did you?"