Chapter 6: Pretending to Be Ghostly (Pulling a Trick)

On the bustling streets of Wokan in the early morning, Dorothy stood by the roadside, turning her head to look at the signs of the shops beside her. She was concentrating, lost in thought.

'Photo studio? Right... if this world resembles modern foreign-style settings, there are specialized photo studios for taking pictures during this era.'

Dorothy thought to herself. In her original world, taking a photo was an everyday affair, but in this world, it was still a luxury. Dorothy had never taken a single photo in her life.

At this moment, looking at the photo studio in front of her and recalling the content of the two letters she'd previously seen, some ideas popped into Dorothy's mind.

Thinking of this, Dorothy slowly walked to a shop selling black bread by the roadside and asked the boss.

"Excuse me, how long has the photo studio next door been open in town? Are the skills good?"

"Ah, you mean Henry? It's been open in town for nearly ten years. The skills are beyond reproach. If you've got some spare cash, going to his place to take pictures is definitely a great option."

After getting the feedback from the bakery boss, Dorothy nodded thoughtfully.

"It seems necessary to take a photo..."

Muttering to herself, Dorothy stepped into the photo studio. The lighting in the photo studio wasn't very good. A bald old man wearing glasses was sitting behind a long table, concentrating on fixing a massive camera. A pile of various parts was strewn across the table.

When he saw Dorothy come in, a hint of doubt appeared between the old man's brows. While he was still trying to figure out if the girl in front of him was a homeless waif begging for alms, Dorothy had already slapped a few coins down in front of him.

"Mr. Henry? The studio can take pictures now, right..." Looking at the old man with a glint in his eyes, Dorothy said with a smile, and the old man also replied with a smile.

"Hehe... of course, miss. We can take pictures at any time."

"Ok... good. Then can I ask? Do you have any props for taking pictures here?" Looking at the old man in front of her, Dorothy continued to ask.

"Of course. Our store has a variety of costumes and backdrops to choose from. I can tell that you've got really nice features, miss. With a little dressing up in the clothes in my store, you'll definitely have the air of a countess... No, no, the bearing of a duke's daughter!" Looking at Dorothy in front of him, the old man said quite confidently, and Dorothy waved her hand and replied with a smile.

"No need for clothing. Do you have any ropes and strips of cloth here?"

"Ropes... and strips of cloth?"

Looking at the smiling girl in front of him, a hint of doubt appeared in the old man's eyes.

...

Unlike in Dorothy's past life, taking pictures in this world was still rather troublesome. The exposure time was long, and after taking pictures, they needed to be developed. Usually, it would take a few days to get the developed photos. However, because Dorothy used the Pay Extra skill, this time was significantly shortened.

After taking the pictures, Dorothy took two more strolls around the street. After having lunch and buying herself a change of outfit, it was already afternoon.

Returning to the photo studio, under the somewhat odd gaze of boss Henry, Dorothy picked up the photos she'd taken that morning.

Walking on the street, Dorothy opened the envelope containing the photo and took out the photo, holding it in front of her eyes. In the photo was a young girl tied to a chair, with a cloth wrapped around her mouth. The girl looked at the camera with hatred on her face. The color of the girl's long hair was extremely pale, even showing its original color in this black-and-white photograph.

This was the photo Dorothy took in the photo studio in the morning. She had pretended to tie herself up with a rope and wrapped a cloth around her mouth before sitting on the chair to take the photo. The owner, Henry, had watched her actions with a strange look throughout the whole process.

Putting the photo back into the envelope, Dorothy continued walking on the street. After asking for directions several times, she wandered around Wokan Town until she reached the edge of Wokan, a street named 'North Street'.

At the corner of an intersection, she quietly observed an abandoned house in the distance that had been severely charred, seemingly due to a fire. Counting the house numbers along that row, it was precisely number 24.

Dorothy looked around and saw a homeless person begging by the street. Then she walked over with a smile, took out two coins from her bosom, and dropped them into the broken bowl in front of the homeless person.

"Ah... heh heh... May the Virgin protect you, kind miss..." Seeing the coins in the bowl, the disheveled homeless person looked up and smiled at Dorothy, showing a mouth missing several teeth.

Seeing this, Dorothy smiled slightly. Then she took out two more coins and waved them in front of the homeless person. After the man's eyes widened, Dorothy took out the envelope with the photo and held it in front of him.

"Put this into the mailbox in front of number 24, and these two coins are yours too."

Seeing this, the homeless person nodded vigorously, then grabbed the envelope and ran towards the distant abandoned house. After he stuffed the envelope into the mailbox, he quickly ran back. When he returned to his original spot, he found that the girl who had hired him was already gone, and there were two more coins in the broken bowl he left behind.

After quickly leaving North Street, Dorothy wandered around the town once more. After finding a grocery store, she purchased a bottle of ink, a fountain pen, several sheets of letter paper, and an envelope. By the time she finished buying, it was almost dusk.

Carrying the items she bought, Dorothy walked in the twilight of the setting sun. She found a restaurant with a relatively pleasant environment, ordered a large steak for dinner, and then sat down in a secluded corner.

While waiting for her dinner to be served, she placed the pen and paper on the table. After filling the fountain pen with ink, she started writing on the paper. After writing, she thought it wasn't satisfactory, so she crumpled it up and started over on a new sheet, trying her best to make her handwriting a bit messy and suppressing her original writing habits as Dorothy.

Finally, after writing several sheets of scrap paper in a row, Dorothy finally wrote a satisfactory one. She held the letter paper in front of her eyes and carefully examined it.

...

Dear Mr. Edric:

The plan has changed, but the deal continues. However, we need to change the time and location.

The new deal location is in the middle of the Western Woods of Wokan Town. The time is 12 midnight tomorrow night, April 10th. We will wait for you there with the reward promised to you. This reward can help you make a significant leap forward when you first enter the extraordinary realm.

Also, I need to remind you that we seem to be being targeted. It's not the An Yin Bureau or the church. For now, the origin and purpose of the other party are still unclear, but their methods are extremely strange and very dangerous. This is also the reason why we changed the plan temporarily. Therefore, please be more vigilant when you come.

Finally, may you and I enjoy a grand feast at the same table in the future and share the wonderfulness bestowed by the great Blood Cup.

...

Dorothy read the short letter in her hand once and nodded with satisfaction. Then she put it into the envelope. Just at this time, the steak she ordered before arrived.

After having a steak with a knife and fork, something she was not used to at all, Dorothy walked out of the restaurant with her things and then headed straight towards the outskirts of Wokan Town.

In the secluded outskirts, Dorothy first used the matches on her person to burn the waste manuscripts she brought out when she wrote the letter earlier. Then she found the place where she hid the corpse puppet last night.

Looking at the lush pile of weeds in front of her, Dorothy stretched out her hand. With the activation of the power of the Corpse Puppet Ring, a figure stood up from the weeds.

Wearing a set of damp dark-colored clothes and pants, with a pale face and empty eyes, this was exactly the corpse of one of Edric's subordinates that Dorothy manipulated into action last night.

Walking up to the corpse, Dorothy stretched out the envelope in her hand forward, and the corpse puppet reached out and took the envelope.

...

As the sun set and the moon rose, night fell.

Wokan Town welcomed the night again, and the streets became deserted once more.

Due to limited lighting resources, not all the houses in the town had their lights on. There were few places that could stay brightly lit throughout the night, and the police station in Wokan Town was one of those few places.

The police station in Wokan Town was located at an intersection slightly east of the center of The Market Town. At the entrance of the police station, a police officer wearing a helmet, a black uniform, and a truncheon on his waist was standing guard under an electric lamp. His eyes scanned the deserted and empty street in front of him, and he yawned from time to time.

"What time is it? Isn't it time to change the shift..."

The police officer on guard complained, his eyes sleepy. After rubbing his eyes again, he saw a figure appear on the dark street in the distance.

At first, the police officer didn't pay much attention, thinking it was a hanger-on or someone who was working late and on the way home. But after a while, he noticed that the figure was getting closer and closer to him.

It seemed that he was walking towards the police officer...

Seeing this, the police officer on guard began to be a little more vigilant. When he found that the figure's speed was getting faster and faster and the target was clearly him, the police officer had already tightly grasped the truncheon on his waist.

"Hey! Stop right there. Where did you come from? What do you want?"

The police officer took out his truncheon and pointed it at the figure that was already very close to him. At this time, he could clearly see the appearance of the figure.

It was a man, wearing dark trousers and a shirt. He was strong and muscular, with tattoos on his hands. His face was pale and his eyes were empty.

After seeing the figure clearly in front of him, the police officer was stunned for a moment, then warily blurted out.

"You, you are Wood, the thug of Ed, the Strange Hound?! What are you doing here? Did that guy Ed send you?!"

Facing the man in front of him, the police officer was a little nervous. After all, Ed, the Strange Hound had a rather bad reputation in this town.

The man named Wood didn't respond to the policeman's words. He stared blankly at the policeman in front of him with listless eyes. Just as the policeman sensed something was wrong, Wood's mouth twitched suddenly, revealing a rigid and creepy smile.

Right after that, Wood fell straight forward towards the policeman like a stiff plank.

"Ah!"

Facing this terrifying scene, the policeman was so frightened that he jumped backward. After calming himself down a bit, the policeman wondered if the man was just drunk and had passed out. So he swallowed hard, bent down, and reached out his hand to feel the man's breath, and then his pupils constricted suddenly.

"Dead... dead..."

The policeman on guard's legs went weak and he plopped down on the ground. He scooted backward a good distance, desperately trying to keep away from this creepy corpse. After taking a few deep gasps, the policeman stood up, using his truncheon for support, then turned around, pushed open the door behind him, and entered the police station.

A few minutes later, several policemen came out of the police station. They stared in shock at the body lying at the entrance.

Among them, a middle-aged, hatless policeman who seemed to be in charge sized up the situation with a solemn look and then spoke.

"It's really Wood... How did he die..."

"I... I have no idea, Captain! He was just alive a moment ago. He came from over there... and walked towards me, didn't say a word, just gave me a smile and then dropped dead right there on the spot! This... this... this is just like encountering a ghost! Ah... Holy Father in heaven..."

Beside the captain, the policeman on guard was gesturing frantically and explaining excitedly. Towards the end, he started babbling incoherently. Hearing the policeman's state, the captain knitted his brows.

"So creepy... Could it be..."

The captain's expression became even graver. After thinking for a while, he gave instructions to the policemen around him.

"Keep an eye on the scene. Don't touch anything..."

After giving the order, the captain walked straight into the police station. He came to the telegrapher who was dozing off and woke him up.

"Confidential matter. Immediately contact the Ygwynte Hermitage. Tell them to send the hunter teams near Wokan over here quickly...

"Just say... there's a confidential incident... involving a death..."