The Devil’s Cage

“I am thankful to Shaman 2567, who help me locate the Curseman Vase!”

“There is no doubt about his abilities, and he will always be my friend.”

…

Riton Lystie was holding a press conference on TV.

“A brilliant guy. The Lystie Family is really lucky to have him.”

Eckart was praising Riton Lystie’s speech on the TV with a click of his tongue. On the other hand, Kieran, who didn’t care about the press conference, was stuffing pastries from House of Han into his mouth one after another.

It was the promise between Eckart and Riton Lystie.

Eckart requested a part of the payment in cash, and the other part was to cooperate with him to build up the reputation of Shaman 2567.

Eckart already told Kieran in detail while they were in the minivan, so Kieran wasn’t surprised at all. More so, the pastries in his hand looked more appealing.

The sweetness that spread on his taste buds was very satisfying.

Kieran didn’t care about Eckart or Lyn Amie’s attention and squinted his eyes in delight.

“Aren’t you a little too stingy?” Eckart crossed his arms and said.

“This is mine,” Kieran emphasized.

“Fine, fine, it’s yours, all yours.”

“Though, I really wanted to know what was up with the missing Curseman Vase.”

Eckart asked out of curiosity.

Lyn Amie also looked at Kieran curiously.

“The Curseman Vase was swapped with a replica before it went in for exhibition at the museum.”

“It’s just a gold-plated ceramic vase, with quite the weight, though.”

Kieran stuffed a round honey cheese pastry into his mouth before talking slowly.

“The vase was swapped? Then the vault…”

“That’s a joke. Giving three keys to three individuals without any special training, I have over a hundred ways to make a copy of their keys without being noticed.”

Kieran carefully closed the box with half of the pastries left after a quick glance.

He wanted to save it for the reading session at night. Having tea and pastries while reading would be quite enjoyable.

“But what about the password? Even if you can get a copy of the keys, why would Porl Nelson give you the password?” Lyn Amie looked confused with furrowed brows.

“If he had no selfish movies, of course not. But would you count on a person who affiliates himself with thieves to be clean?”

“He must have made more than one plan to ensure the safety of the process, and I am confident that the fake Curseman Vase is inside Porl Nelson’s office. Though, the gold on the surface should be gone, leaving only nothing but pieces of the ceramic vase,” said Kieran.

“Which means… the one who stole Curseman Vase is also affiliated with Porl Nelson?”

Eckart and Lyn Amie looked at teach other in confusion, the latter then asked with an unsure tone.

“Em. More precisely, I think the thieves approached Porl Nelson first, and after they knew about his little ‘bad habit,’ the thieves tricked him and lured him into the trap.” Kieran nodded.

“Then, are the thieves affiliated with the ones who attacked Riton Lystie?” Lyn Amie asked after the sudden realization hit him.

Just when Kieran was about to answer the question, Goror walked in.

“Boss, Officer Lin is here.”

Because of Lin An’s identity, Eckart couldn’t reject the request.

However, when he walked into the villa, saw the news on the TV, Lin An’s already pale face because of the loss of blood looked even uglier.

“We found a suspect in the back alley of a convenience store, he should be the one who attacked you and Riton Lystie, but the man was brutally beaten and is in a coma now.”

The officer was stating what happened just now, and his eyes were glued to Kieran. The moment his words faded, he quickly added: “2567, is it you who attacked the suspect?”

The question came out fast and abrupt. Most people would show an unusual expression on their face after they were asked a question should they be guilty, but Kieran had been through a lot of questioning like this.

“No. I am a shaman, not a hero. I am not stupid enough to engage an armed thug barehanded,” Kieran replied calmly.

“The suspect is kicked into a coma.” Lin An’s eyes got sharper.

“So, you want to check my shoes?”

“They’re on the shoe rack at the entrance, the black one, the first pair on the first row is mine,” Kieran pointed at the door.

“I want to understand something.”

“The case about the missing Curseman Vase, what is it about?”

Lin An took a glance at the door before turning back to Kieran.

Since Kieran dared to lead him there, Lin An knew he wouldn’t get anything from Kieran’s shoes.

And until now, he didn’t spot any inklings on Kieran, not even a bit of unusual behavior.

But somehow, the suspicion in his heart grew stronger.

“You should ask Riton Lystie, not us.” Kieran didn’t speak anymore, it was Eckart who took the initiative to reply as he rejected the officer before him with a smile.

“Fine, I’ll go ask him. If there is anything else, I’ll pay a visit again, so 2567, try not to leave the city for the time being,” Lin An then stood up and was ready to leave.

“We will be glad to cooperate,” Eckart replied with a smile.

Lin An nodded and headed towards the gate, and when he reached the gate, Lin An turned around and suddenly said, “Thank you.”

“What?” Kieran looked at the officer with a confused face.

Lin An saw the confusion on Kieran’s face, and he couldn’t help but frown. In the end, he shook his head.

“Nothing.” The officer then pushed the door open and left.

Eckart couldn’t hold back his puckered lips when he saw the closed gate.

“He is harder to deal with than Mei Huasheng.”

“I bet if 2567 said, ‘You’re welcome,’ he would pull out his handcuffs and pull you back to the station.”

“But, who in the world attacked the armed thug, though?” Eckart asked.

“Who knows. Maybe it’s Riton Lystie’s secret card that he hid somewhere,” Kieran shifted the responsibility to the vase owner.

“Mm, maybe. With the Lystie Family’s background, there might really be some ‘shadow warrior’ or something like that around,” Eckart thought for a while and nodded.

“‘Shadow warrior’?”

“Ya, on top of that, it’s one of a kind.” Kieran then curled his lip into a grin.

…

“Sharp observation.”

“Vigilant and alarmed.”

“Has strong hypnosis techniques and…”

“Even knows something that we don’t.”

Riton Lystie was sitting in a car, talking slowly to the person across from him.

The person was a lady—Nuna, the person-in-charge of the Rain City Hypnotist Association.