Who hid My Corpse!

"Teacher, we've arrived."

Isaiah opened his eyes, seeing that his student, Mina, had already opened the carriage door for him, waiting respectfully by the side, holding his cane.

"I don't think I've reached the age where I can't move on my own yet." Though he said this, Isaiah still smiled and accepted the student's kindness, letting her help him out of the carriage, while he surveyed the surroundings. "Is this the Nameless Town of the Black Merchants?"

"Yes." Mina nodded. "A message came from the Contract Land, instructing us to wait in Nameless Town. They will send a representative to take us to the location of the meeting."

Saying this, Mina paused for a moment, then asked with a slight hint of confusion.

"Hasn't the Contract Land confirmed the location of the gathering yet?"

"That's quite normal," Isaiah said with a smile. "You must understand, this is the first opportunity in a millennium for Contract Land to officially announce its existence to the outside world. Do you think they would handle it casually?"

Mina furrowed her brow: "Do you mean that the Contract Land is preparing something beyond the gathering? Do they intend to make their appearance?"

"If given the choice, they certainly wouldn't want to be confined to that place, much like us," Isaiah said lightly. "If not for the constraints of the stars, why would we be willing to curl up in that remote land?"

Mina pondered this, while Isaiah slowly walked forward. Before long, two Black Merchants appeared before him.

"Welcome, Mr. Isaiah." The Black Merchants placed their hands on their chests in salutation. "The Nameless Town extends its heartfelt respect to you."

"Respect for a client?"

"Of course," the Black Merchants said with a smile, "Naturally, it's respect for our most distinguished client, meant with no other implication."

Upon hearing this, Mina, standing next to Isaiah, immediately called over the accompanying guards, whispered a few words to them, after which the guards dispersed and began to drive away the onlookers.

Because, on the surface, the Black Merchants are considered "enemies" of the Four Great Orthodox Sects, a heretical organization that should be purified. The first task of the Star Legacy Guardians arriving here is supposedly to purge these heretics and ensure the Orthodox's justice and purity.

But unfortunately, that's only what's on the surface. In reality, all Four Great Orthodox Sects have clandestine ties with the Black Merchants, with Star Relic having the deepest connections.

Being located on the borderlands of the continent, Star Relic naturally relies on trade more than the other Churches, be it legitimate or illegitimate. Thus, among the Four Great Orthodox Sects, Star Relic has the best relationship with the Black Merchants, and is perhaps the biggest Orthodox client of the Black Merchants.

However, this cannot be brought to the light, so Isaiah and the Black Merchants still address each other as "seller and buyer," as if wholly unaware of each other's backgrounds.

This formality doesn't have much practical use but is absolutely necessary.

"Rest assured, Mr. Isaiah." The leading Black Merchant said with a smile, watching as the Star Legacy Guardians dispersed the few spectators around. "Only our own people can come to the Nameless Town, you needn't worry excessively."

"Haha, I'm just a passing guest, what is there to worry about?" Isaiah said with a smile. "It's just my student who is a bit anxious, relax, Mina."

Mina lowered her head: "Yes, teacher."

In truth, Mina was somewhat displeased; after all, they were bona fide Orthodox. How could they come so openly to the headquarters of the Black Merchants? What would this do to their reputation if word got out?

But this was the arrangement of the Contract Land, and Isaiah had no objections, so naturally, she could not refute it. Therefore, when Isaiah spoke again, she simply stayed silently by his side, pretending to be a little mute.

"Mr. Isaiah, this is your first time visiting us." The leading Black Merchant said with a cheerful smile. "We have prepared a small gift for you, please take a look..."

The leading Black Merchant handed a finely crafted folding telescope to Isaiah.

"Oh? That's quite interesting."

Isaiah took the telescope.

It was an extremely rare mechanical creation, and when the telescope was extended, one could hear the crisp and pleasant sound of the gears rolling inside the joints.

Yet it was not entirely a mechanical creation, as the telescope's body was marked with a row of small runes, which upon closer inspection, turned out not to be runes but musical notes.

"This was originally a product of Lyra." The Black Merchant beside him introduced with a beaming smile. "Later, it was further refined by the Players of Holy Sound, greatly enhancing its performance. While it still cannot compare to your eyes that gaze upon the stars, it serves as an adequate toy."

"Haha, you are quite thoughtful. I don't think any stargazer would refuse such a gift; it is indeed precious." Isaiah said with a smile. "But you just mentioned where it came from—Lyra and Holy Sound? If I recall correctly, things are not going well in those places now."

"Indeed," the Black Merchant sighed softly. "Honestly, as a merchant, I really don't wish to see such disasters occur, they make our business difficult."

"Oh?" Isaiah said, smiling as if not really smiling. "Isn't it true that the more chaotic things are, the more prosperous your business becomes?"

"Listen to you." The Black Merchant shrugged, saying, "We would like that very much, but the reality is not as favourable. Let's not talk about Holy Sound. The 'Purification' activities there haven't stopped, and our former guests have been hung from the masts like pigs, with not a penny to their names to buy our goods. As for Lyra, I have no idea why they would rather rebuild their city with rubbish scavenged from the ruins than purchase more convenient things from us. It's quite odd, really. The current Lyra seems even more impenetrable than before, and we can't get involved."