"Hello, Mr. Darkholme. I've never heard of you before. Can you tell me more about you?" Anida tried to recall, but he had never heard of this person before. But since Forster had introduced him, it was impossible for this person to have no background.
"I'm from the Ligurian Kingdom in the south." Van Darkholme spread out his hands. "I used to want to be an actor. Well, an actor who performs in the theater. But after failing hundreds of auditions and playing a few small roles, you know, I've had enough. So now I'm involved in the art industry, a special art service industry."
"Special art service industry?" Anida thought for a moment, and his eyes shone with an inexplicable light. "You're very welcome! Mr. Darkholme! On behalf of the Aesthetic Society, I welcome you! "
After that, Anida gave Forster a strange look. The president of the Aesthetic Society thought to himself, So this old gentleman is also into this kind of thing.
"What are you talking about?" When they entered the manor, Forster, the master architect, still couldn't understand what Laing was talking about. He also couldn't understand why Anida suddenly changed his attitude and welcomed Laing's role of "Van Darkholme."
"Haha, Mr. Forster, don't worry. I'm not interested in these hedonistic banquets. But I'm here to investigate something important. I'll reward you handsomely after it's done," Laing whispered.
"What kind of reward can an old man like me give you?" Forster shook his head helplessly. He didn't lack money or fame. The master architect, who already had one foot in the coffin, felt that there was nothing that could move him.
"Forget it. This is Schultz's request anyway. I'll pretend that I'm not feeling well and find a place to rest. Remember, young man, a real artist can't stay alone in a corner. You have to keep up with everyone's topics! Even if you don't know anything, just praise more and criticize less! "Forster stroked his beautiful short white beard and reminded Laing again.
"I know, I know," Laing said. His confident look made the master architect shake his head. The old master architect thought that young people nowadays were really confident.
Inside the fiery manor, Laing held a glass of red wine and quickly joined the conversation. Foster drank a little bit of red wine, chatted for a while, and then pretended to be drunk and found a place to rest.
After all, the master architect was old, and everyone who participated in the salon expressed understanding of his situation. Foster was led by the waiter to the lounge to take a nap for a while.
When he woke up, the art salon had already reached its climax.
What shocked the old gentleman was that in a corner, Ryan had become the focus of the artists. He was alone, talking to a group of artists who were dressed in colorful clothes, wearing all kinds of perfume, and looking dispirited.
"That's right. Thus, during this process, the role I'm portraying is that of the master."
"I transformed my house into a dungeon, and then I became the master of the dungeon. There's a full set of tools and so on … I did a good job, and the guests like me very much."
"If it's the fist, it'll be thirty silver coins each time … That is to say, the guests who like this kind of service are a bit too drunk and want to relax … Then I'll put my fist …"
"It's a long process. You all know that," the artist van Darkholme said humorously.
"Oh! God! Mr. Darkholme! I want to try this! "an artist said excitedly.
"It's an unprecedented stimulation, Mr. Darkholme. Can I be your guest?" a lady's face was also full of excitement.
"Oh! Of course, we can all get enough stimulation in the process. "
"Wow! This is great! "
The faces of the artists and nobles were strangely twisted and crazy. They pulled van Darkholme aside and asked him questions. The atmosphere was very lively. Even the president of the Aesthetic Society, Annette, said excitedly, "Oh, Mr. Darkholme, you're really an amazing artist."
"Yes. Look, I've invented some combinations of leather and rope. I think they're great. They're my works. If you're interested, I can show them to you." Van Darkholme took out some filthy pictures, but the nobles and artists in the corner regarded them as treasures. They passed them around and exclaimed, "What a masterpiece!"
Seeing Foster, van Darkholme gestured for him to excuse himself. He walked to the corner alone and said, "Master Foster, I've been invited to an underground banquet. Ten minutes after I go in, ask the waiter to find me and take me away."
Foster still could not figure out how Laing got into the circle of the Aesthetic Society so smoothly, but he still agreed to Laing's request.
"Mr. Darkholme, this way please." Laing was led to the underground club by the waiter.
Apparently, his depraved and perverted theory had won the trust of the Cult of Chaos. They firmly believed that Laing was just like them, corrupted and depraved.
Only Laing knew why he was there.
Passing through the cold and damp tunnel, Laing took part in an even more secretive banquet.
The chaos of the banquet was indescribable (for fear of harmony). The "artists" were crazily seeking ways to magnify the desires of society. They wanted to discover beauty and happiness, indulging in more brutal pleasures and disgusting perverted pleasures. They were loudly planning how to eradicate the sects that emphasized virtue and discipline, and how to achieve their goal of "building" Marlinburg into a "land of absolute beauty".
"Anything that interferes with the aesthetics of the eyes is like poison boiling in the blood vessels. It must be eliminated or transformed!" It was in a damp and cold cellar, said a respectable and cultured artist madly.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
"That's right!"
The twisted "artists" responded crazily.
"Well, gentlemen, the 'white meat' is here. Please enjoy!" A waiter brought in a plate of steaming meat and gestured for everyone to enjoy.
The composition and origin of the meat could not be seen from the outside. Since the meat was brought in, no one asked what kind of meat it was, and no one asked where it came from. But everyone rushed to eat it. Every bite was like a supreme enjoyment.
Only Laing did not rush to eat. He looked a little confused, as if he did not know what it was, and missed the opportunity.
The white meat was soon eaten up.
A waiter sneaked down and whispered something in Anida's ear. The president of the Aesthetic Society came to Laing regretfully. "Mr. Darkholme, Master Foster is looking for you. Are you going to leave?"
"Ah!" Van Darkholme looked surprised. "Mr. Foster is looking for me? Then I have to go quickly. "
"Mr. Darkholme, don't you want to continue playing? There are more exciting things to come, and there's also 'Life Water'. Drinking it can prolong your life and keep you young forever! " Anida was a little reluctant to let such a great artist leave, so she comforted him. "I can talk to Master Foster for you."
Van Darkholme seemed to have gone through a painful mental struggle before he refused. "But Mr. Foster is my best friend, and I have no reason to leave him. So, I'm sorry, Ms. Anida. I hope there'll be another chance next time, and I'll show you my true dark philosophy."
"That's a pity. The Aesthetic Society always welcomes excellent artists and philosophers like you to participate in our art salon. This is the status symbol of the Aesthetic Society. I hope you can accept it." Anida gave him a purple medal. Van Darkholme reached out and took it. "Thank you."
Therefore, Ryan, who was disguised as van Darkholme, left the Violet Manor.
When he was at least ten minutes away from the manor, Laing took out a 400-milliliter glass bottle from under his cloak. It was the 'Life Water' that he had 'stolen'.
Inside the glass bottle was a purple, filthy liquid. Inside the liquid, countless waves of air were rolling without any pattern. Laing could faintly see the souls of demons wailing and roaring in it.
It was hard to imagine that this was the Life Water produced by the World Tree.
Yes, the so-called 'Life Water' of the Aesthetic Society was actually the Life Water produced by the World Tree in the San Lorenzo Forest, where the wood elves lived, after it was polluted and corrupted.
The Life Water was, of course, listed by the wood elves as something that could never be traded. Under any circumstances, the wood elves refused to give up any of the Life Water. This kind of holy water that could bring the dead back to life was only produced a little every year. No one knew how much was produced, but it was definitely very rare.
However, the wood elves were not the only ones in the forest. Powerful orc tribes had been fighting the wood elves in the forest for thousands of years. Sometimes, they could get some of the Life Water.
The bottle in Laing's hand was a diluted, corrupted Life Water. Drinking it could prolong one's life, but the user had to pay the price of corruption.
Except for Laing.
The geno prototype gently reached out its hand.
The purple chaotic energy kept being absorbed by Laing's body. This violent and corrupted energy kept being converted into clean and pure subspace energy by Laing, which was then absorbed by him.
Two minutes later, the corrupted Life Water miraculously returned to its original appearance. Pure life energy spread in the spring water.
Reverse corruption. This was the only ability that Laing had in the whole universe. As long as the target was a normal creature or object, Laing could absorb the chaotic energy and convert it into pure subspace energy. If certain conditions were met, he could even change it back to its original appearance.
The Life Water was a good thing. Even if it was diluted, it was still good. Laing carefully put it away.
In the end, Laing threw the symbol that Anida had given him on the ground and let the carriage run over it. He began to think about everything about the Sin Cult.
The Sin Cult's main targets of corruption were the upper class nobles, scholars, and artists. Sin Cult was not like a warrior god at all. He? She? Him? He was more like a beauty lover, an artist, a lover, and a perverted god. Therefore, in some of the rich big cities in the southern countries, the worship of Sin Cult was particularly strong. This was because indulgence and pleasure were prevalent there.
Sin Cult's creed was to tolerate all evil thoughts and try all evil. This creed made Sin Cult the most popular chaotic god among the lazy rich class. These people worshipped Sin Cult as a way to adjust to their rich, obedient, and boring lives.
In the beginning, it was easy to fall into the worship of Sin Cult. No matter what the believers did, including eating and sleeping, they could get spiritual enjoyment many times over. This made their boring lives full of fun again.
But this path of enjoyment soon became very narrow, because once people believed in sin, they would no longer feel any joy and satisfaction when they did anything a second time. It was a sharp contrast to the great mental stimulation of the first time. People would not be able to bear this contrast, so they would begin to crazily pursue this sensory stimulation. When ordinary things could no longer satisfy them, they would gradually become dispirited and extremely weak.
In the midst of this despair and hatred, these exhausted and hateful men were driven to seek help from others who understood their terrible thirst, and they became perfect believers in the sin of sin.
Then came the corruption of morals and rules. They would try all the evils in the world to find their own happiness.
So why did the world need faith? It really needed faith and discipline. Only firm faith and mature discipline could prevent people from being corrupted and fight against the darkness.
After thinking a little further, Laing turned his attention back to the matter at hand. So, what was "white meat"?
For the believers of Sin Cult, could eating meat satisfy their spirit?
Don't be kidding. Unless it was something rare like dragon meat, what hadn't these lunatics tried?
Wait!
Laing faintly had a hint of inspiration.
White meat?
Satisfy their spirit?
Rare, difficult to obtain, and meat that needed to be shared in private? Not to be made public?
Laing felt that he was faintly close to the truth.
He carefully recalled all the information he had collected about the Aesthete Society so far. His mind frantically filtered and searched for every key piece of information.
Gradually, his memory returned to that night in Twilight Street, and to the secret that Sarah, the street girl, had told him.
"I don't know when it started, but Anida appeared and became the leader of the Aesthete Society. Her wealth was endless. She alone helped dozens of art groups in the city and built several orphanages. Although we don't like her, what she did was good. It's just that the mortality rate of the orphans in the orphanages seems to be very high. There aren't many adults …"
Orphanages? High mortality rate?
There aren't many adults?
Privately shared white meat that could satisfy one's spirit?
Laing's pupils gradually dilated.
Understood!
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