On the icy surface of Han Shui River.

"Mr. Xiabo Lei..."

"No need to be so formal, just call me Uncle from now on."

"Oh, alright Uncle. You said Silvermoon Fortress was due south of White Horse Town. So why are we taking this big detour across the river?"

Xiabo Lei grinned. "You sly rascal, are you really clueless or just pretending?"

Lawson smiled awkwardly, realizing he could no longer play dumb in front of Xiabo Lei.

"It's for Severus's belongings, right?"

"Bingo."

Xiabo Lei glanced back at the vast whiteness behind them. Not a soul could be seen, let alone Lily's figure.

"The Nightingale Society aren't fools either, so we gotta move fast."

Saying so, he picked up his pace, jogging lightly across the ice.

Han Shui River was extremely broad, generally over 300 meters wide, and up to 2 li at its greatest extent. Though most of the surface was frozen over, there were still unfrozen patches that cracked and groaned underfoot.

Xiabo Lei ran carefully, musing aloud, "Where do you think Severus stashed his luggage?"

"He was planning to flee across the river, so naturally he'd have hidden it on the far bank."

"But his bags contained many valuables and quite a bit of money. He definitely wouldn't have left them too far in case they got lost. Might even have set some zombies to guard them."

Xiabo Lei nodded along. "Not bad, very perceptive. What else?"

"He planned this operation meticulously and was confident of success. So when hiding his bags, he likely didn't take pains to conceal them since he intended to retrieve them soon."

"Thus, there should be some telltale signs around the cache, possibly even footprints."

"Hmm, good point. Anything else?"

"With everything blanketed in snow, it's easy to get disoriented. To avoid accidents, Severus probably left the bags somewhere relatively conspicuous."

Just as Lawson finished speaking, he noticed some odd depressions in the snow ahead. Squinting, he smiled and said, "Look there, a trail of sunken prints half-buried by snow. Must be obscured footprints."

Xiabo Lei immediately changed direction, following the tracks until they crossed the river and arrived at a flat gravel bank.

In the center of the bank were two huge boulders haphazardly stacked together. Wedged between them was a gap plugged with thick snow.

"This is it!"

Grinning, Xiabo Lei set Lawson down, drew his demonbane sword, and started vigorously digging with the blade as a makeshift shovel.

First he excavated a frozen-stiff corpse - clearly a rogue zombie. Further in lay a wooden trunk.

Dragging it out, Xiabo Lei waved Lawson back. "Stay away in case there are traps."

Once Lawson had retreated to a safe distance, Xiabo Lei activated his defensive battle skill, enveloping himself in a silvery aura before using his sword tip to pick the locks.

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The first and second locks opened without incident. But upon prying open the bottom-most drawer, there was a sharp snap and a puff of murky green smoke erupted.

Wherever the mist touched, the wooden box rapidly rotted, shedding a layer of black flakes within seconds.

Having anticipated this, Xiabo Lei casually kicked the box out of the green cloud's reach.

A passing river breeze soon dispersed the mist, allowing Xiabo Lei to drop his defenses and start rummaging drawer by drawer.

Glancing inside, he couldn't help but laugh. "Ha ha, this fellow stashed a ton of money!"

He held up a bulging coin pouch, hefting it lightly as his mouth split into a grin that nearly reached his ears. "At least 200 crowns here! Enough for me to live it up at the Rose Manor in Silvermoon for three whole months!"

Next he pulled out two crystal vials, one filled with sky-blue liquid, the other amber-colored.

"Aha, Wakeful Draught and Dreamless Sleep. No use to me. Here Lawrence, you take them."

"What are they for?"

"Magic stuff. The Wakeful Draught helps you stay highly focused, saving a lot of mana when casting spells.

"The Dreamless Sleep ensures a good night's rest. No matter how drained your mana was, you'll wake up bright and chirpy."

As he spoke, he retrieved an exquisite silver badge.

Examining it closely, he let out an admiring cluck. "An official mage's insignia, pure spellsilver. Even a piece this small is worth 50 crowns. Heh heh."

That seemed to jog his memory, for he suddenly slapped his thigh in immense regret.

"Ah what a shame! I was too caught up getting even that I forgot to strip off Severus's invisibility cloak. Missed out on a huge profit!"

On the black market, an invisibility cloak could fetch at least 100 crowns.

Lawson just shrugged. "Wouldn't have worked anyway since I damaged the cloak."

Xiabo Lei looked slightly consoled by this.

Finally, he pulled out three books. The first was titled 'Severus's Magic Notes', the second 'Principles of Precise Geometry'.

Both were beautifully bound manuscripts.

The third book had a very different style with its black cover and title 'A Wake-up Call'.

Below the title was an upward-facing hand with a flame hovering above it. And within the flames was a vividly depicted burning city, with blazing buildings and countless people writhing helplessly in the inferno.

Xiabo Lei looked shocked. "Tsk, no wonder the fellow's mind was so twisted, reading banned books!"

Lawson asked curiously, "Banned books? What happens if you read them?"

"Nothing happens just from reading. But if the Orthodoxy catches wind that you've read and kept this book, they'll move heaven and earth to burn you to ashes with sacred fire!"

Now Lawson was even more intrigued.

Not waiting for him to ask, Xiabo Lei explained on his own.

"The Orthodoxy is a royal institution established by Emperor Theudas I, nominally commanded by regional temples but highly autonomous.

"Its purpose is to purge evil thoughts from the Golden Lands. Anyone and anything related to wicked ideologies falls under its crackdown, be they people or objects."

He pointed at 'A Wake-up Call'.

"The author is Archmage Grimwald the Immolator. Two of his infamous sayings are: 'Magic is the mortal bridge to heaven', and 'The Golden God is neither holy nor great, merely a fraud of an archmage.' "

Xiabo Lei made a disgusted face. "If you ask me, Grimwald was just a bookworm. What's magic compared to youthful feminine charms, eh!?"

Lawson nodded inwardly. This was practically declaring war against divinity - no wonder the book was banned in the Golden Empire.

As for 'purging evil thoughts', that sounded like the local version of censorship.

He cautiously asked, "Uncle, may I take a look?"

Xiabo Lei passed him the book. "Just one glance. And remember, you can read but don't go spreading word about it unless you want not even the boss lady to be able to save you."

"I understand."

Taking the book, Lawson rapidly flipped through every page, causing loud rustling sounds. It was quite a thin volume, and he finished skimming it in no time.

"Here, I'm done."

Xiabo Lei looked bemused. "That's it? Just 'rustle rustle' in one go? Was it that engrossing?"

Lawson spread his hands helplessly. "Actually, I just wanted to see if there were any interesting illustrations. Clearly there aren't any."

"Pfft, this isn't some picture book, why would it have illustrations?"

Xiabo Lei took the book back. His hand glowed briefly and the tome disintegrated into fine powder.

Next he perused Severus's spellbook carefully before tearing out and pulverizing the last dozen-odd pages. He then passed both books to Lawson.

"Alright, these you can read. Feel free to go through the geometry book. As for the spellbook, look but absolutely do not try the magic yourself."

"Even a small mishap could badly injure or kill you!"

"I understand."

Watching the fragments scatter in the wind, Lawson knew they must have contained dark forbidden arts. Though he had no plans to actually practice them, it was still a slight shame not even getting a peek.

"Let's get moving."

Slinging Lawson onto his back again, Xiabo Lei set off southward at a brisk pace.