Salted Fish Chapter 17: Secret Art Contract

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Once he left the alley, Duan FeiZhou turned onto a large road. Across the road was a row of low-rise office buildings in which Mr. Smith’s office was located.

A few pedestrians occasionally came and went on the road, but they ignored Duan FeiZhou, who was carrying a strange long object. It seems that this was the effect of the Phantom Leaf. As long as Duan FeiZhou didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, their attention wouldn’t be drawn to him.

Following the address given by Mrs. Vilyuy, Duan FeiZhou entered one of the office buildings and came to the third floor.

Duan FeiZhou found Smith’s office, and crouched at the door.

This office building was old and dark, and most of the offices were empty. Smith had rented this place as an office, but was he really doing serious business? He pressed his ear to the door to hear if anyone was talking in the office, but he was disappointed. Duan FeiZhou even wondered if there was anyone in the office. Maybe Smith left the tailor’s store and didn’t return here?

After squatting for a long time, Duan FeiZhou’s legs were almost numb. He thought he had flown the coop today, and was about to go back when the office door opened.

Smith gripped a cigarette, while cloaked in a coat, left the office.

Duan FeiZhou was crouched right under his nose, but he seemed to see nothing.

The power of the Phantom Leaf was amazing!

While the door was still open, Duan FeiZhou quickly slipped into the office. Smith didn’t realize that he had ‘lured the wolf into the room,’ when he closed the door and headed for the stairs.

Duan FeiZhou looked around the entire office. There was only a coffee table, sofa, a desk and chair, while the walls on both sides of the bookshelves were empty. The carpet was dirty, hadn’t been not cleaned for a long time, and was full of insect holes.

It looked like an ordinary poor self-employed person’s small rented office. Of course, that was in the eyes of ordinary people.

In Duan FeiZhou’s eyes, many of the books on the shelves were emitting a shimmer unique to occult items.

“Now the evidence is overwhelming.” Duan FeiZhou walked past the bookshelf and muttered, “Next I only need a word to tell the enemy to come and surrender…Ah no, I just need to send an anonymous letter to Scotland Yard, telling them that Smith is a scourge of the earth’s occult practitioners, the Nightmen will sanction the guy.”

Sword in the Stone shouted, “Wait!“

“What do you have to say again?”

“Is there a piece of paper on the desk? You go over there and look!”

Duan FeiZhou went to his desk. At first glance, he had no idea which paper Sword in the Stone was referring to, but he soon found the one Sword in the Stone was referring to among the messy papers.

It was a piece of paper with a Secret Trading House line spell.

Duan FeiZhou’s heart stuttered.

“How can Smith have this thing?!” He picked up the rune paper and examined it carefully. He confirmed that it was indeed a customer-specific rune paper with the exact same spell formation as the trading house customer entrance.

Sword in the Stone sneered, “That means that Smith guy is also a customer of the trading house.“

…Uncle Joseph, you couldn’t filter a little when you expanded your clientele? You dared to let any kind of cats and dogs in the trading house! This also shows that the group of occult practitioners was mixed. No wonder the Nightmen saw them as a thorn in their side.

“Even if he was the old owner of the trading house, I can’t condone it.” Duan FeiZhou was righteous. “We have to report the case!”

Sword in the Stone yelled, “Hey, did you forget one important thing? All customers who hold the keys to the trading house have invariably signed a secret contract. They cannot reveal the identity of the owner of the trading house or other customers, and likewise, the owner of the trading house cannot reveal the identity of the customers. You want to report Smith’s case to Scotland Yard, but don’t you want to live?”

Duan FeiZhou scratched his head. After Sword in the Stone reminded him of this, he just remembered that there was still the contract.

“I’m just sending an anonymous letter, not shouting ‘Smith is a trading house customer’ in front of the Nightmen. It should not trigger the contract, right?” He speculated.

“Hmph, you go ahead and try. If you stomp your legs on the spot and hold your body, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”

Duan FeiZhou was skeptical. He found a piece of white paper from the cluttered papers, and pulled a pen from the pen barrel of the desk, ready to write down Smith’s name and address.

He suddenly stopped.

The tip of the pen twitched slightly, but it couldn’t land on the paper.

At the same time, his heart jerked, and a sharp pain spread to all his limbs. He couldn’t help but scream miserably, as he dropped the pen, covered his chest and knelt on the ground.

Was this the power of the secret contract? Duan FeiZhou’s eyes were tearing up from the pain. Just by thinking about how to expose Smith’s identity in his head, he almost suffocated from the pain. If he really wrote Smith’s name on the paper, wouldn’t he die a violent death on the spot?

“Ha, I told you so!” Sword in the Stone laughed gleefully. “I remember your uncle saying that the point of this contract is ‘not to reveal the identity of another person against their will’. Unless Smith agrees to your telling others his identity, you can’t disclose his identity, whether by dictation or by words, not even by body language suggestion.“

“What’s with something so ridiculous as that!” Duan FeiZhou said in annoyance. “Doesn’t this mean that Smith can get away with it? This contract was originally used to protect the safety of the trading house patrons, but now it has become an umbrella for the black and evil forces!”

I’m afraid Joseph Chester couldn’t have foreseen this when he set up the contract! Duan FeiZhou was so angry that he slammed his fist on the ground.

There was a sudden noise outside the office.

Duan FeiZhou hurriedly put the paper and pen back on the desk and quietly retreated to a corner of the room. As long as he did not make too much noise, Smith could not find him.

The door to the office was thrown open with a bang, and Smith walked in with a 12 or 13 year old boy in his hands. Mrs. Vilyuy’s son Al. He threw Al hard to the ground. The teenager screamed and landed right at Duan FeiZhou’s feet.

Duan FeiZhou moved to the side.

Smith, cigarette in hand, glared viciously at the teenager. “What are you doing sneaking around in the doorway?”

Al climbed up, his eyes red and his expression aggrieved.

Duan FeiZhou took a look and knew that the boy must have sensed Smith’s bad intentions, and followed him there. This was the first time he’d ever seen a child of this age who didn’t know what it meant to be a ‘false alarm.’ In the case that he and Smith got into a fight, won’t he be silenced by occult practitioners?

But Al’s calmness exceeded Duan FeiZhou’s expectations. The teenager brushed off the dust on his body and bowed deeply toward Smith.

“Dear Mr. Smith, I came here to deliver a message for my mother.” He said respectfully, “I dare not disturb you at will, so I wandered in front of your office. Please do not misunderstand me.”

“Oh?” Smith raised his eyebrows, watching the young man with interest. “Your mother is finally willing to sell me that wind lamp?”

Al squeezed out a regretful look. “Unfortunately, sir, my mother asked me to tell you that she is not going to sell it. She apologizes to you a million times…”

Smith grunted coldly, walked to his desk, picked up an ashtray, and knocked the ashes off his cigarette. “It’s not like it’s uselful to keep that thing in your mother’s hands, so why won’t she sell it?!”

“Because…Because it’s my grandfather’s relic. So, Mom, she…”

“That bitch doesn’t know the philosophy of mysteries! The treasure in her hands is simply a pearl in the dust!” Smith said indignantly. “I’m your grandfather’s rightful pupil! I’m the one who should have inherited his legacy! But the old man would rather give his legacy to his daughter, who doesn’t know the philosophy of mysteries, than to me! Just because I’m an outsider!”

Al scowled, “Sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about…I’ve got the message, I’ll take my leave now!”

The teenager bowed deeply again and walked to the door. He gripped the door handle and was about to retreat, when Smith suddenly barked, “Stop!”

Al’s hand trembled. “Sir, what else can I do for you?”

Al cried out in pain.

“Boy, did you just sneak into my office?” Smith looked grim.

“No, sir!” Al’s eyes were tearing up in pain.

“Then why did the position of the stuff on my desk change?” Smith continued to push, practically crushing the teenager’s wrist.

“I don’t know, sir!”

Duan FeiZhou covered his mouth. I didn’t expect Smith’s mind to be so meticulous that he even remembered the placement of the items on the table! The one who messed up the position of the items was him, but Smith mistakenly thought it was Al who did it. Sorry to let you take the blame Al!

Smith lifted the teenager up and pressed him to the desk.

“Your mother sent you, didn’t she?” He gritted his teeth. “That bitch should have died last night, but why did she live to see this day? Did she find out about the pearl necklace?”

“Pearls?” Al’s expression was blank for a moment, “That necklace, my mother used it to cover her debt…”

“Ha! Then she really got lucky!”

Smith held the teenager down with one hand, and with a slight shake of the other, a small knife slipped out of his sleeve. He used the dagger on the teenager’s finger twice, a hideous smile, “How about I cut off one of your fingers and send it to your mother? Do you think she would be willing to trade that baby for the rest of your finger?”

Al was pale and trembling. “Sir, this is a crime! Aren’t you afraid my mother will go to the police?”

“Would she dare?” Smith laughed. “She has so many secret items in her own warehouse, and she dares to report me to Scotland Yard? Is that not a thief trying to catch a thief? Do you think the Nightmen will arrest her first, or me first?”

After saying that, he raised his knife high. Al closed his eyes in despair. He was ready for severe pain, yet he waited and waited, and nothing happened. He opened his eyes with fear and trepidation, only to see that someone else had appeared in the office at some point.

It was the strange customer who had previously patronized his store. He had blocked Smith’s hand holding a knife with one hand, and carried a strange rusty sword with in other – one with a stone stuck on the tip.