12: Rowling's face

Under the moonlight.

Ron subconsciously reached out, touching his face.

The touch was cool, his skin slightly rough, and he could even feel his pores.

“Is this what Rowling looks like?”

“As expected of a love-struck… er, an Alchemist. This is too realistic, isn’t it?”

Ron muttered to himself, a look of novelty in his eyes.

According to the second piece of intelligence today, after he [clicked to expand], he learned the origin and usage of the Alchemical item.

The creator of the mask was an Alchemist named Harrington.

In his early years, he had a wife named Rowling, and they were very much in love.

Furthermore, both were mages; one specialized in Alchemy, and the other in potions.

Later, due to an accident, Rowling unfortunately passed away.

Harrington was heartbroken and found it difficult to accept his wife's departure.

Thus, Harrington wanted to resurrect his wife, but no matter how hard he tried, he ultimately failed.

However, while researching resurrection magic, to alleviate his longing for his wife,

Harrington created a series of Alchemical items related to his wife.

Among them was this mask with the ability to change one's appearance—[Rowling's Visage].

This mask could not only transform into Rowling but also into the appearance of other people.

At any one time, it could store the facial features of nine people in total.

Eventually, Harrington’s research yielded no results, and his desire to resurrect his wife gradually faded.

Finally, Harrington decided to let his wife rest in peace, no longer disturbed by him.

So, Harrington packed his bags and came to his wife's birthplace—Hibo Town.

After living in the wild for some time, to avoid seeing objects that reminded him of her, he left the mask in the stone house.

“But this old gentleman is quite interesting.”

Ron’s eyes became a little strange.

“On the surface, he said he was afraid of seeing objects that reminded him of her, which is why he abandoned the mask.”

“But in reality, wasn't he just trying to show off in front of people, leaving behind a love story between you and Ms. Rowling?”

It wasn’t Ron’s fault for guessing wildly; Harrington’s actions were simply too abstract.

If he truly didn't want to see the mask, he could have simply thrown it away, or even destroyed it.

However, he not only kept it but also filled it with a new energy stone!

One must know that all Alchemical items require energy to operate.

This mask was no exception; its energy came from an energy stone located in the center of its forehead.

Moreover, the pattern of the magic array was even more peculiar.

If it were copied onto paper, one would discover that it was actually a riddle with various hints.

The riddle was both simple and complex, and in short, it could be described in one sentence—

Who is Alchemist Harrington’s beloved?

Ron, through his daily intelligence, naturally got the answer instantly.

However, if it were someone else, to activate this mask,

They would first have to follow the information in the riddle to find various clues.

Once all the clues were collected and the answer deduced,

Then, that answer would be chanted as a spell.

And simultaneously, the magic array would be lit, only then could the mask be activated.

“Such a cumbersome process, isn't it just to make people remember the love between you and Ms. Rowling while obtaining the mask?”

Ron was a little speechless and shook his head.

“Fortunately, I have system intelligence; otherwise, if I really had to follow your plan and go look for clues first, wouldn’t I be searching until the Year of the Monkey and Horse?”

Ron chuckled inwardly, but then, his expression turned somewhat serious.

“However, no matter what, I still have to thank you, Mr. Harrington. Your mask truly solved my urgent problem.”

Ron silently thanked him in his heart, placed the mask back on the table, and respectfully bowed.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

On a narrow path in the Clear Spring Forest outside Hibo Town.

A young man on horseback was galloping towards it.

“Faster, faster!”

This person was Nem, Barto’s eldest son. At this moment, he looked anxious, constantly flicking his horsewhip.

The night before last, due to the loss of the Wild Wolf Breathing Technique notes, Barto was so enraged that he fainted on the spot.

He remained unconscious for an entire day, only waking up around dawn today.

So, Nem hastily found Doctor Litton, wanting to see how Barto was doing.

It turned out that Barto had only fainted from anger and was not in serious danger.

However, the wound on his leg had worsened again because another day had passed.

Thus, Doctor Litton told everyone,

If they didn't go to Kura City soon to find a senior doctor or even a priest to treat him, Barto might not live for another week.

Barto was terrified upon hearing this, and due to the worsening wound, he was unable to move.

Therefore, he could only let Nem take the gold coins himself and go to Kura City to request Dr. Gavin to come and treat him.

Although Nem usually idled around and was irresponsible,

At this critical moment, he still mustered the courage and took on this responsibility.

So, he rode his horse to Kura City.

To save time, he specifically chose the small path through the Clear Spring Forest.

“Father, you must not have anything happen to you!”

Nem prayed silently in his heart. Although his relationship with his father was not deep,

He was not foolish and knew that all the family's money-making affairs were handled by his father alone.

If Barto died from his severe injuries, Nem alone would be completely unable to support such a large family business.

Therefore, Nem sincerely hoped that Barto would recover soon.

So that his father could continue to oppress the common people and plunder wealth in the future.

And he himself could continue to lie at home, living a comfortable life where everything was handed to him.

As Nem was riding and letting his thoughts wander,

He completely failed to notice that the road ahead was somewhat different from usual.

When Nem rode his horse between two large trees,

Suddenly, a taut rope abruptly appeared on the road surface.

“Whoa!”

The horse, caught off guard, was directly tripped by the rope.

“Damn it!”

Nem, on horseback, also let out a cry of alarm.

Then the world spun, and he was thrown backward, crashing heavily into a tree.

“Damn, damn horse…”

Nem was in unbearable pain, cursing and struggling to get up.

At this moment, he still hadn't figured out the situation, thinking that the horse had stepped into a muddy pit and accidentally fallen.

However, just as he stood up,

He heard a violent whooshing sound from behind his head.

Bang!

The next moment, Nem’s vision went black, and he slumped to the ground.

Seeing Nem unconscious, a thin, expressionless middle-aged man walked out.

He observed carefully for a moment, seeing that Nem had indeed been knocked out by him.

Then, he crouched down and fumbled around in Nem’s embrace for a moment.

Then, he pulled out a money bag.

“Barto, thank you and your son for the wallet.”

The middle-aged man’s lips curved upwards; this person was Ron!