Chapter 196

Chapter 196 The Necklace

Outside the west gate of King Campus, in Green Shade Town.

At noon, in a second-floor cabin of a teahouse in Green Shade Town, Dorothy and Nephnis sat across from each other at a table. At this moment, Dorothy was leisurely sipping her black tea, while Nephnis appeared somewhat nervous.

“Excuse me, Miss Dorothy, is the society that you and Mr. Brandon belong to called the Rosy Cross?”

“Yes, the Rosy Cross. That is the name we have. We are even more secretive than most secret societies, and very few people know about us. You, Nephnis, are one of them now.”

While drinking her tea, Dorothy pointed at Nephnis with her finger. After a slight pause, Nephnis responded seriously.

“Even more secretive… Very few people know… Miss Dorothy, why did you tell me such a secret name?”

“No, no, you’re not just an outsider. Since you were saved by Mr. Brandon, you can’t stay out of this anymore. You are already connected to the Rosy Cross.”

Dorothy interrupted Nephnis and said, “Don’t you want to use our strength to oppose the Eight Pinnacle Nest? If you want to do so more smoothly, we need your closer cooperation. That’s why I came to see you.”

Nephnis was slightly stunned as she listened to Dorothy and murmured, “Closer cooperation… You mean…”

“After our preliminary investigation yesterday, dealing with the power of the Eight Pinnacle Nest within the school is somewhat troublesome. We’ve encountered some obstacles. The best way to overcome these obstacles right now is you, Senior Nephnis,” Dorothy continued, leaving Nephnis in a state of shock.

“Me? What can I do?”

“You didn’t tell Mr. Brandon? That Thistle uses his books to control the original members of your society. His eight books, the more you read, the more trust he gains. Reading enough of these books allows entry into areas where general members cannot go.”

“Now, isn’t there a long corridor full of cobwebs between the inner and outer areas?”

Dorothy asked Nephnis, who nodded in agreement.

“Yes, there is indeed such a dirty corridor filled with spider webs, and it seems never cleaned. The so-called inner area was originally the president’s office, warehouse, and underground library of the Secret Knowledge Society. But since Thistle took over the entire society, those places became off-limits to ordinary members. Only he and his outside followers, along with members who have read more than four books and been thoroughly influenced, can enter.”

Nephnis recalled and said. After hearing this, Dorothy nodded slowly and continued, “Very good. Now, we need you to finish reading all four books and gain access to the inner area. I remember Mr. Brandon said you have already read two. So, you only need to read two more.”

“Ah, finish reading all four?”

Hearing Dorothy, Nephnis was slightly alarmed and immediately replied, “No, Miss Dorothy, didn’t Mr. Brandon tell you? Reading that guy’s books makes you abnormal, gradually controlled by him. Originally, I was fine because of the necklace left by my grandfather. But now, the necklace is broken, and I can’t read those books anymore.”

Seeing Nephnis’ anxious expression, Dorothy smiled slightly and continued, “I know Thistle’s books are problematic. I won’t let you read them unprotected. In fact, the Rosy Cross has means to help others resist such influence. We can help you resist the poison from Thistle’s books…”

“Poison…”

“It’s the poison of knowledge. Something contained in all secret knowledge. In extraordinary cultivation, it must be guarded against. Some people might also use its characteristics for hidden purposes. Thistle’s books contain such elements.”

Dorothy briefly explained to Nephnis, who nodded thoughtfully after listening. She remembered how seniors in the past warned her about which books to read and which to avoid, and to stop immediately if she felt anything strange. It seemed those were the effects of the poison.

“So, according to what you said, Miss Dorothy, the Rosy Cross has ways to counteract the poison, meaning you can protect me from the influence of Thistle’s books, like my grandfather’s necklace.”

Nephnis said, and Dorothy nodded. Then, she took out a book from her small bag. The cover showed it was a history book of Prit.

“Take this. On the first page, there is a Honorable Name. After reading any part of Thistle’s books, think and pray to that name. The accumulated poison will be eliminated under that grace, and then you can continue reading safely.”

Dorothy explained to Nephnis. Nephnis accepted the history book with a mix of doubt and curiosity and opened it. Sure enough, on the first page, she saw a line of handwriting. She couldn’t help but read it aloud.

“The great recorder of all things…”

“You can just think it in your heart; you don’t need to say it out loud,” Dorothy interrupted. Nephnis raised her head in surprise and said, “Miss Dorothy, you said this is an Honorable Name… The being referred to wouldn’t be…”

“Hush… For now, you don’t need to know much about that existence. Just pray for protection when the time comes.” Dorothy put her finger to her lips and said mysteriously. Seeing Dorothy’s action, Nephnis closed her mouth and nodded silently, though her mind was in turmoil.

‘The Honorable Name… Those descriptions… They must refer to a deity. Only a true deity could deserve such words. Indeed, the research of the past society was correct. Besides the Three Saints and the Savior, there are many other deities in the shadows. Are they the evil gods and demons exiled by the Savior? Or something else?

‘This Rosy Cross actually worships a hidden deity, and I can pray to this deity for protection… Oh my, this is incredible…’

Nephnis thought incredulously. At this moment, Dorothy warned her again.

“We hope you can finish reading the remaining two books within six days and gain access to the inner area. Is that possible?”

“Well, two books in six days, that should be doable. Thistle’s books aren’t too thick, around two hundred pages each. With tight timing, I should be able to finish them within six days.”

Nephnis responded. Dorothy sighed in relief after hearing Nephnis’ answer.

“Alright, Senior Nephnis, the main content of this conversation is these points. Hope you can study hard after returning. Whether Thistle can be overthrown depends on you.”

Dorothy said solemnly, and Nephnis nodded earnestly.

“Mm, I’ll try my best.”

“Alright, it’s time to part ways. Before that, I want to take a look at the broken necklace your grandfather once gave you.”

Looking at Nephnis, Dorothy continued. She wanted to confirm whether there was any residual spirituality left in the necklace and if it could still play a role. Last time, she saw the necklace through Brandon’s zombie puppet’s vision, but zombies lack spiritual vision and couldn’t detect it.

“The necklace? Wait a moment…”

Saying this, Nephnis searched through her bag. After a while, she found a handkerchief, which she unfolded on the table. Before Dorothy’s eyes was a pile of fragmented gold pieces.

Dorothy activated her spiritual vision and looked at the fragments, but saw no trace of spirituality. It was certain that the stored spirituality had been used up.

“No way… There’s truly no spirituality left. Nephnis, having only read two severely diluted secret transmissions, could have drained all the spirituality from this item? This extraordinary item is quite disappointing.”

Looking at the gold fragments, Dorothy thought. In her view, this should have been an extraordinary item capable of resisting poison, but it had been damaged due to the lack of spirituality. However, the poison from the two books of Thistle wasn’t much, yet it had drained the spirituality from the necklace.

After thinking for a moment, Dorothy asked Nephnis beside her, “Was this necklace given to you personally by your grandfather? When did he give it to you? How is your grandfather now?”

“My grandparents passed away a long time ago. This necklace was given to me by my grandfather when I was young.”

As she spoke, Nephnis began to recall. After a while, she continued, “I remember I was very mischievous when I was little, loving to sneak into my grandfather’s collection room to look at artifacts from North Ufeiga. Once, I fainted inexplicably while looking at those artifacts. It took a long time to wake up.”

“After waking up, my grandfather was extremely worried and blamed me, warning me not to enter the collection room again. But I loved looking at those artifacts, so I cried. Eventually, my grandfather reluctantly gave me this necklace, saying I could only enter the collection room if I wore it. After wearing it, I never fainted again in the collection room.”

“After my grandfather passed away, I kept wearing it as a memento. Until a few months ago, it suddenly broke while I was reading Thistle’s books.”

Nephnis finished speaking and sat quietly. Watching the necklace, Dorothy frowned slightly, pondering something.