After Gregory had left, the elderly judge handed Jared a token and said, “Here you go. You have won first place in this competition, so someone from Jipsdale will deliver the prizes to your house later. You may use this token to meet the count tomorrow.”
Feeling curious about the special prize, Jared said, “Thank you, sir. Could you tell me about the special prize the count mentioned?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what it is either. You’ll only find out after you meet the count,” the elderly judge replied and leaped away immediately after. Seeing as he wouldn’t be getting his answer from the elderly judge, Jared had no choice but to return with Viola and the others.
Later that evening, people from Jipsdale showed up with all sorts of resources. Everyone’s lips curled into wide smiles when they saw the mountain of resources in front of them. Ghaylen and Viola then began cultivating using the resources received.
Jared had been planning on cultivating as well, but he saw Yuven spacing out in the yard and decided to approach him instead. Yuven was unable to cultivate because his powers were suppressed.
He’s probably worried about Ivasha and Imperial Beast City… With that in mind, Jared walked up to Yuven and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry! I’m sure the count will be able to help you with your poisoning tomorrow.”
Yuven nodded. “Yeah.” The next day, Jared brought Viola and the others over to the count’s residence, which was located in the middle of Jipsdale.
There were tons of guards stationed all over the place. On top of that, Jared also noticed several arcane arrays around the building. “What’s with this high level of security? Is the count paranoid or something?”
Jared let out a chuckle when he saw the fortress-like defenses around the count’s residence. The guards immediately let them in the moment Jared brandished the token he received from the elderly judge yesterday.
Jared bumped into Hester shortly after he entered the residence. It was as though he knew Jared and the others would come and was waiting there for them.
“Come with me,” Hester said upon noticing. them. Jared and the others followed Hester through at series of doors before arriving at a shabby- looking, two-story house.
The entire count’s residence looked so beautiful that it resembled a palace, so the shabby state of the house before them formed a huge contrast and stood out like a sore thumb.
Jared couldn’t help but frown as he wondered if the count was living inside that old house. “Wait here while I report your arrival,” Hester stated before entering the house and closing the door behind him.
“Don’t tell me the count lives here? This house looks ridiculously shabby!” Viola exclaimed in confusion while staring at the two-story house in front of them. “We don’t even know the count’s gender,” Ghaylen added curiously..
“Why would the count behave so mysteriously and stay in a place like this? Do you think the count has some kind of strange kink? It’ll be hard for us to escape if the count tries anything funny!” Yuven said worriedly.
“I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of anyone in Jipsdale being hurt by the count before. Besides, Jipsdale is pretty much a safe haven in these parts, so we shouldn’t be in any danger here,” Ghaylen replied.
While Ghaylen and the others chatted away, Jared remained completely silent as he stared at the old house and frowned from time to time.
“What’s wrong, Jared?” Viola asked when she noticed Jared’s expression.
“Do you guys find anything strange about this house?” Jared asked. Viola shook her head. “No, not really. Apart from it being a little shabby, I don’t see anything strange about it.” Ghaylen and Yuven, too, were unable to find anything strange after looking closely at the house.
“I feel as though this house is more of a container than a building. Also, there’s definitely an arcane array in this house. I felt a wave of fluctuating spiritual energy coming from inside when the door was opened. That typically comes from a Soul Nourishing Formation,” Jared explained with a frown.
