71 Shifting Destiny 3 (1/2)
Chapter 71: Shifting Destiny 3
Knock! Knock!
”Open the door, old man!” Garen kept knocking on the door of the antique shop.
It was early in the morning, and there were only a couple workers in blue walking down the street. They saw Garen violently knocking on the door but did not bother to stop.
”Old man! You still sleeping?” Garen was out of patience and started to yell. He went to bed early last night and wanted to ask Gregor a few questions before heading to the Martial Arts Association for the ranking test, but no one was answering the door.
”Is he not here?” Garen thought and scrunched his eyebrows. He looked around and made sure no one else was around. He tiptoed and reached the edge of a window with his hand. He grabbed a blue key from the windowsill.
”I knew it would still here.” Garen smiled and opened the door with the key.
Creak.
The door opened slowly, and the place remained silent. The floor was covered with a black carpet, and there were several paintings hanging on the wall. The paintings were done in various colors, but mainly gold and silver.
Garen closed the door, walked toward the wall, and touched all the new items. He shook his head in disappointment. There was nothing that could increase his potential. Garen turned back and walked to the inner chamber.
It was dark behind the door curtain, so Garen carefully lit the oil lamps on the wall.
”Old man? Are you alright?” Garen scrunched his eyebrows and looked at the bed. It did not seem like anyone had slept in it. The blanket was still well organized.
Garen walked toward the bed and put his hand on the blanket. Cold.
”No one slept in here for sure. Did he go out last night?” Garen wondered. He knew something was not right. He walked toward the front of the shop and sat down on the old man’s chair.
(P.S. I thought of using Double Gourd Vase with Slender Neck, but amphora seemed more appropriate)
Garen suddenly saw the dark red stain on the white Slender Neck Amphora. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed the amphora. Scratching off some of the dark red stain with his finger, he smelled it.
”It’s blood…” Garen stood up slowly, a serious expression on his face.
”I hope the old man is okay…” he thought.
Garen started to investigate the situation and after several minutes he found some more bloodstains on the black carpet. He carefully checked around, but that was the only thing he found.
”Huh?” Garen found a white rectangular letter lying on the carpet under the table.
It said ‘To Little Bastard’ on the envelope. The words were written in black ink, and the handwriting was a bit messy, but still easy to read.
”It’s the old man,” Garen scrunched his eyebrows and opened the envelope. He pulled the letter out, noticing that there was almost no empty space left on the paper.
‘I am on vacation kid! Don’t try to find or contact me. I am good. An old friend invited me, and there are a lot of delicious dishes and nice drinks here. I heard he also prepared beauties for me. Hahaha. Don’t get jealous. I don’t think I am coming back. I opened the shop for fun, and I will leave it to you. You can do whatever you want with it.
Wait. I taught you how to identify the antiques. You better keep learning. I am counting on you.’
The letter ended here.
Garen finished the letter, but his expression did not change. He became even more serious.
”Old man… You think I will be tricked by this?” Garen thought and took the letter to the table. He lit an oil lamp with a match and toasted the paper carefully over the flame.
Sentences started to slowly show up on the back of the letter. Garen read the letter again after all the hidden sentences appeared.
‘Garen, I’m sure you’ll find my hidden message. But by the time you’re reading this, I’ll probably be gone already. To be honest, you remind me of myself. Though you aren’t talented like me, our personalities are really similar. Well, make sure you take care of the necklace I gave you and don’t lose it. It might help out in a certain situation.
Also, if… I mean, if you find something is strange in the shop, you need to leave it immediately! If anyone asks you about me, never say you knew me! There is barely anyone who can deal with them in this world. Don’t call the police and don’t seek help from others. It will only put them in danger. Only people with equivalent power would be able to fight them.
Sadly… You don’t have the talent…’
The message ended here.
It seemed like the old man still had something to say.
Garen was breathing heavily while reading the message. He knew something happened to the old man, but he tried not to think about it.
”They? Old man, who are they?” Garen thought
There were many thoughts going through Garen’s mind, and he just stood there with the letter in his hands.
Ka!
Suddenly, he heard some noise.