Lord of Mysterious Wizard-Chapter 289 - 287: Old Ship Anchor

Having a store on the main street, no matter what kind, clearly wouldn’t be as narrow and shabby as the "Tree Grandma" bookstore.

Golden Goat Antiques Store!

When Tang Qi pushed open the vintage doors, what he saw was a scene very much in line with the store’s name: a vast space, probably about the size of several bookstores combined. However, there wasn’t much room to move around, as various antiques had claimed the space.

Especially the large pieces like antique furniture, just randomly counting a few could make a spacious area impassable.

This scene was obviously not what one would expect from a qualified antique store.

At that moment, inside the store, besides a middle-aged, fat man who appeared to be the shop manager, attending to a few well-dressed customers behind the counter, there was only one other person—a skinny young man in a work uniform, covered with freckles, sweating profusely as he tidied up the disorderly antiques.

Clearly, this was the reason why Golden Goat Antiques Store was looking to recruit an apprentice.

At the root of it, they were just looking for cheap labor.

"May I help you with something, sir?"

The middle-aged, fat man, dressed in a handmade suit, donning a monocle, and holding a magnifying glass, didn’t show a hint of disdain for Tang Qi’s shabby attire and politely asked.

"I’m here to apply for the job!"

Tang Qi didn’t beat around the bush, pointing to the recruitment advertisement outside the store, then said.

Seeing he wasn’t a customer, the fat manager put down his magnifying glass, and his scrutinizing gaze fell on Tang Qi. He pinched the little mustache above his lips and spoke with a somewhat stern tone, "Although I am recruiting an apprentice, I require someone attentive, educated, and good at communicating with people.

"This isn’t a warehouse. If you damage an item, you probably wouldn’t be able to afford the compensation even if you sold yourself. Especially since I do not offer a salary. In addition to some guidance, you must create profit for Golden Goat to earn your own compensation."

"I think you are better suited to simpler tasks; if you need, perhaps I can help you find such a job."

It was clear that the fat yet presentable store manager was very skilled at dealing with people.

Even with someone like Tang Qi, who was akin to "cheap labor," he could easily win favor.

If it were the original John Watson, he probably would have been very grateful by now.

However, this was Tang Qi.

He didn’t mind making eye contact with the fat manager and then lightly smiled, saying, "No need, I’m certain that this apprentice position suits me best."

"Hum"

As he spoke, a faint red light flickered in Tang Qi’s eyes.

A strong suggestion simultaneously surged into the minds of the manager, the other shop assistant, and the few customers wandering around the store.

They would come to believe that the next scene was as follows: Tang Qi, the young man, with his meticulous attitude and unexpectedly extensive knowledge, impressed the store manager and successfully got the job as an apprentice. The name John Watson would appear on the staff list of Golden Goat Antiques Store.

A classic scenario from "feel-good literature" was effortlessly implanted into their minds.

It didn’t even cost Tang Qi much spiritual power, "Red" was cast quickly and withdrawn quickly.

When everyone in the store came to their senses, what they saw was the manager handing over a new uniform to Tang Qi, saying with a smile, "Starting today, you are the second apprentice of Golden Goat Antiques Store. Work hard; you’ve earned Big Arthur’s appreciation."

The manager’s name was Arthur Wilson.

Additionally, this fat middle-aged man was also the director of the only museum in Winston Town.

According to his resume exhibited on the wall, he was also an honorary member of the Secret Phoenix State Collectors Association, ranked among the top ten collectors in Secret Phoenix State, and an expert in categories like antique furniture, pirate antiques, ancient coins, firearms, and art...

Just looking at the resume was impressive enough.

But considering he could open an antique store on Winston’s main street and also run a museum, one thing was certain: he was a wealthy man.

And wealthy people quickly showed their true nature.

After Tang Qi joined, without hesitation, he was tasked with laborious work, alongside another apprentice named "Taylor Wilson."

That’s right, the other apprentice was actually the nephew of store manager Big Arthur.

Moving and organizing the antique furniture and other items was, of course, not difficult for Tang Qi. The challenging part was pretending to be very fatigued, as if he really was.

Fortunately, he could still slip by using Illusion and Body Control Spells, until both were sweating profusely, and they finally got their first opportunity to learn.

The manager began to infuse both of them with some sales techniques for antiques and threw each of them a hefty tome titled "Encyclopedia of Antique Types and Introductions," then he left the store grandly to tend to his other business, Winston Noble Museum.

The fat manager felt at ease leaving Tang Qi, an apprentice recruited just half a day ago, in the store because of his nephew Taylor and for another somewhat ridiculous reason.

The so-called "antiques" in the store were almost all fake.

The only genuinely antique furniture wasn’t something a thief could even move if they wanted to.

As soon as he left, just as Tang Qi was about to do something,

suddenly, an item in his pocket began to heat up, and Sally’s voice came through faintly.

One-way Iron Plate!

Brutally modified by Sally into a "Word Spirit Spell" magic mental phone.

The information she conveyed was simple: no need to continue attending classes at Winston High School, but all teachers and students were summoned there.

Reportedly, because a very impressive "Divine Detective" from the Secret Phoenix State was conducting an investigation, requiring cooperation from the teachers, staff, and some who attended the party last night.

For this, the officials were even preparing to broadcast a search for travelers who had entered the campus that night.

The murder case, was beginning to ferment.

Although he was in the antique shop, Tang Qi could still faintly sense that the housewives passing by on Main Street, the visiting guests, and even the shopkeepers and clerks in other stores were all discussing the same topic.

Taylor was also very interested, itching to go out and inquire.

However, it was clear that he had received a private instruction from his uncle not to let Tang Qi, the new apprentice, be alone.

Tang Qi could sense this but remained indifferent.

Because it was of no use.

Even a Professional Level might not be able to see through Tang Qi’s Illusion Spell or the "Red", let alone an ordinary Antique Store Apprentice.

Tang Qi casually cast an illusion, while his real body turned into a shadow and instantaneously appeared inside the warehouse of the Golden Goat Antiques Store.

To be precise, the second warehouse.

The first warehouse was full of fakes. Behind a concealed door on the wall was the real storage place for antiques.

Although not an antique expert, Tang Qi could still tell that the texture of the neatly arranged antiques here was somewhat different from those outside.

But no matter how different they were, they had nothing to do with Tang Qi.

He didn’t care about the antiques; what he cared about were the "Curios" that might be hidden within the antiques.

That was one of the reasons he applied to be an apprentice.

Do antiques hide a lot of Curios?

That was an illusion.

However, the chance of Curios appearing among antiques was indeed higher.

Especially for an antique shop like Golden Goat located within Winston Town, aside from selling some fakes to travelers, it also had a project for collecting antiques. The sellers they faced were mostly locals from Winston Town. The antiques they brought out were very likely to be related to the old Earl’s Domain.

With this connection, it was quite normal for Tang Qi to show up here.

"Humm!"

He silently walked through the warehouse, uncovering some concealed antiques, his gaze sweeping over them, and his Special Ability operating.

There were quite a few antiques in the warehouse, but Tang Qi spotted the details at a glance.

Soon, the result appeared.

The first and only Curio at the moment caught Tang Qi’s eye.

A faint ghost light was flickering.

That rusty but well-preserved anchor.

It was placed inside a wooden box, without any rope, the thick metallic texture clear. The anchor was engraved with patterns of skulls and Sea Monsters, and beneath the rust, one could vaguely see some strange black stains, which seemed to be blood remains preserved over many years.

Tang Qi’s gaze focused on it, and a strong resentment, seemingly composed of many small grievances fused together, was being released.

This aura was very similar to when he saw "Tebat’s Sword."

Sure enough, some familiar images were generated the next moment.

[Curio: Blood Deer Ship Anchor.]

[State: Scrapped.]

[Information Fragment One: It belonged to a pirate ship that was active in the waters near the Federation during the Old Calendar Era. While in perfect condition, it possessed Extraordinary Abilities such as calming tsunamis and stabilizing the ship. However, now it is just a piece of scrap metal and an antique that could fetch some price.]

[Information Fragment Two: Hidden within the anchor are the resentments of the entire crew of the "Blood Deer". They were feared as cruel pirates, but secretly, they were loyal to Samuel Winston, who was a naval officer at the time. Their plundering and killings were to help Winston accumulate initial wealth, but in the end, they were abandoned and silenced.]

[Information Fragment Three: The crew of the Blood Deer knew some secrets about Earl Winston, but after being submerged at the bottom of the sea for many years, the Information Fragments contained within had long since vanished, leaving behind only grievances and nothing else.]

...

"Secrets again?"

As the last bits of the Information Fragments passed by along with the grievances, Tang Qi frowned.

Once again, he saw words related to secrets and silencing.

If it were Tebat’s Sword from last time, there might be some explanations to find.

But what was revealed within the current anchor was enough to confirm it.

The Immortal Earl!

The person of Samuel Winston, compared to the depiction of the Witch Leader in the comics, had a very obvious discrepancy.

In the comics, Earl Winston was portrayed as a decisive, strong soldier with a sense of justice, and an explorer.

But what Tang Qi saw now was a heartless old-era tyrant.

In the Old Calendar Era, it was not unusual to have tyrants.

But there was a problem here. The perception of Samuel Winston before and after started to conflict.

If you asked Tang Qi whether to believe the comic or to trust his own Special Ability.

The answer was, without a doubt, clear.

ps: Starting from today, the 2000-character Chapters will be changed to 3000-character Chapters. I will still update with 6000 words every day, without decreasing the amount.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶