Chapter 1624: Back to the Tavern
Ning arrived at the Spirit Department late in the morning the next day, waiting until he saw someone he recognized. When he finally saw the woman from yesterday, he caught up to her.
“Miss,” he called her.
The woman turned around. “Oh, it’s you,” she said.
“Yes,” Ning said. “Any information?”
“I’m not sure,” the woman said. “The director should have some idea. You should talk to him.”
“The director… is the old man from yesterday?” he asked.
“The one with the white hair, yes,” the woman said. “Come, I’ll take you to him.”
The woman began walking away and Ning followed behind her. “Did the girl not come with you?” she asked.
“No,” Ning said. “She… her time of the month started, so she is in a bit too much pain to walk this far. I came here in her stead.”
“Oh,” the woman said in understanding.
They walked until they arrived at a small hallway with couches along the side. “Sit here, I’ll see if the director is around.”
“Yes,” Ning said, sitting down on the couch. He waited for a while and the white-haired old man walked up to him not long after that.
“Young man, you’re here,” the man said. His eyes seemed tired, as though he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night.
“Are you alright, director?” Ning asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” the man said. “I heard Shara didn’t come with you. Is she alright?”
“She’s fine,” Ning said. “Any results on your searches? What is she?”
“I did find something, but I’m not sure if I’m comfortable sharing with someone that’s not her directly.”
“You can tell me,” Ning said. “I will pass it along to her.”
“No, I’m afraid that’s not possible. This is a serious matter and the privacy of it is of the utmost importance,” the man said. “But, do you happen to have her birth certificate by any chance?”
“No, she has it with her,” Ning told the man. “Do you need it? I can go get it.”
“Oh, it is better if I come along. I can deliver the message to her directly,” the old man said.
Ning thought for a bit if that was right. The fact about Shara’s situation had been a lie, which he had only made up because he didn’t want to bring her here.
Shara was someone special, which he wasn’t yet sure was a good thing or a bad thing. So, before he brought her along to a place full of Spirit awakeners, he wanted to be sure he knew what she was.
“I’m not sure if she would want visitors today,” Ning said. “She said she was in quite a pain.”
“Oh, that’s not good,” the old man said. “But I only need to tell her what she is. That’s all.”
Ning thought for a moment and nodded. He didn’t see any plausible reasons he could use to stop this man from going. That would only make the old man more suspicious.
“Do we leave now?” Ning asked.
“Yes,” the old man said and began walking outside.
Ning quickly followed him, walking outside along with him. They boarded a carriage when Ning told him how far the tavern was, and made their way to it in record time.
The carriage was twice as fast as Ning and Shara were, and that was after they took shortcuts through narrow streets and alleyways.
The man asked Ning a bunch of questions regarding who he was and how he came to meet Shara. Ning answered truthfully as all of the information he held was public knowledge.
“Oh, so you helped with her grandmother, and that somehow triggered her awakening?” the man asked.
“I think so,” Ning said.
“She had no powers before that?” the man asked.
Ning was about to say no, but he paused. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea if that was the case or not. He had thought that was the first time she had awakened her power, but the truth was that was the first time she had used her powers.
Whether she had awakened it before or not, Ning had no idea.
‘I only thought she awakened it the other day because her grandmother had been with her this entire time and hadn’t died,’ Ning thought. ‘But I know now that non-hostile spirits are safe from her. So she could have awakened a long time ago.’
“What’s wrong? You seem confused,” the old man said.
“Yeah, a little,” Ning said. “She hasn’t used her powers before, but I now realize that I’m not sure when she awakened.”
“I see,” the man said. “I’m sure Shara can answer us that.”
They arrived at the tavern and got out of the carriage. The director put on a disgusted look. “This is where she is staying?” he asked.
“This is the only place I could afford,” Ning said, slightly annoyed at the director’s disgust.
“You should keep a girl like her in a better place,” he said.
“I’ll keep that in mind for when I am richer,” he said and walked in.
The director didn’t seem to recognize the annoyance in his voice and simply nodded as he walked in too. He walked through the tavern bar with his hands behind his back, his vibrant clothes sticking out of the dull colors of the rags that people wore within this tavern, like a flower growing on mud.
Ning walked upstairs and arrived before a door. He knocked on the door. “Shara, the director is here to see you,” he said. “Do you wish to see him?”
The old man coughed a little. “Shara, please open the door. We must talk in private.”
The door opened slowly and Shara poked her head out. “Talk?” she asked.
“Hello there,” the old man said. “We need to talk about your powers and your situation. Can I come in?”
Shara thought for a bit and nodded. “Sure, please come in,” she said.
The old man walked in and tried to close the door behind, but Ning stopped it. “Sorry, I’m coming too.”
pronovels.com
