Chapter 102: If we find them based on this, pigs might as well climb trees!

"Alexander, how are you feeling? Do you feel better now?" Laura and the others donned their clothes, gazing at Alexander with gentle expressions.

With a subtle smile, Alexander said, "I’m fine now! Feeling invigorated, I’ve almost fully recovered."

Laura was astonished. Staring into Alexander’s eyes, she sensed a change in him—something was different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. If she had to describe it, she would say he was... imbued with an unquenchable fighting spirit! Yes, his eyes were brimming with resolve.

Turning around, Alexander surveyed the forest that had been reduced to ruins from the explosive confrontation with Dalina. "Let’s go! Let’s go see if Dalina was killed in the blast!"

Laura and the triplet sisters immediately nodded in agreement. The four of them swiftly reached the blast site to scour for clues.

Surveying the devastated landscape, Laura took a deep breath. Had they not witnessed the preceding events, they might have thought the place was subjected to an onslaught of hundreds of intercontinental missiles. It was terrifying.

While Alexander searched the area, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a charred ruler lying beneath a large tree—its darkened surface testament to the inferno that had consumed it.

His eyes lit up.

"Damn! Isn’t this the ruler that woman was holding earlier?"

Alexander dashed over without a second thought, kicked aside the large tree with a powerful thrust of his leg, and picked up the charred ruler.

Despite being burned for so long, it felt remarkably cold to the touch—a sure sign that it was an extraordinary magical artifact.

Just then, a voice from the system resonated in Alexander’s mind.

"Mountain God’s Ruler, a highly rare artifact. Once fully activated, its weight could rival that of Mount Everest. Dalina clearly lacked the skill to unleash the full potential of this ruler. Had she managed to do so, you would have been easily crushed by it."

Stroking his chin, Alexander mused, "Heh, now this ruler is mine. How do I use it?"

The system responded, "This ruler is bound to Dalina and can only be activated by her spiritual energy. But don’t worry; just place the ruler in the space within your ring, and I will attempt to decode it for you. It should take about an hour."

Alexander’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Truly worthy of my system—absolutely brilliant!"

He carefully placed the Mountain God’s Ruler into his ring. Just then, Laura’s voice rang out from the other side. "Alexander, come quickly! There’s blood over here!"

Without missing a beat, Alexander pivoted and walked toward Laura.

Alexander’s eyes immediately fell upon a pool of pitch-black blood on the ground, a trail that extended into the depths of the forest.

Laura frowned, her lips parting slightly as she said, "This must be Dalina’s blood. It appears she hasn’t died but is likely seriously injured. Alexander, should we pursue?"

After a moment’s thought, Alexander lifted his gaze toward the forest and declared, "Let’s go check it out!"

The group immediately followed the blood trail into the forest. After traversing several hundred meters, the trail abruptly ended in the center of a clearing.

Alexander bent down, touched the soft, sunken soil, and solemnly stated, "It’s gone."

Laura’s eyebrows furrowed further. "I sense some unique spiritual energy fluctuations here. If I’m not mistaken, she likely used some kind of escape technique."

"Can you track her?"

"It’s difficult. Tracking her would require specialized tracking methods that I haven’t learned."

Turning around, Alexander proclaimed, "In that case, let’s let her go for now. First, we’ll find Robert and the High Priest and then head to the inn to rest."

Laura expressed her concern. "But how will we find them? The forest is vast; the chances of running into them are minuscule!"

Alexander smiled faintly and produced a Summoning Ghost Staff from his ring. "Step back," he commanded.

Laura and the triplet sisters immediately retreated. Upon seeing the staff, Laura gasped, "Alexander, how can you possess such a malevolent artifact?"

She had read about the Summoning Ghost Staff in ancient texts. Crafting such an artifact required an inhumane process—sacrificing countless souls and fresh blood. It was a dark and evil relic, scorned by those who walked the righteous path.

Alexander grinned, "I took it from an enemy! But with this artifact, we should be able to find Robert and the others quickly."

With a loud shout, the Summoning Ghost Staff in Alexander’s hand glowed with an eerie light, stirring up gusts of wind around them. The next moment, under the astonished gazes of Laura and the others, one ghostly apparition after another materialized before them.

"Ah, ghosts!" The triplet sisters turned as white as sheets, huddling together in fear.

Alexander barked, "What do you think you’re doing? Can’t you see you’re frightening my women? Wearing such long faces—you’d think I mistreated you. Smile, all of you! Ever heard of customer service?"

The surrounding spectral figures, with their grim expressions, forced smiles upon their faces and responded, "Yes, Master!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"It’s even more terrifying when they smile!" the triplet sisters shrieked.

Alexander shouted, "Enough! Now, I have a task for you. Go into the forest and find a few people for me. One is named Robert, another is Louis, and the third is an old man. Once you find them, use the ghost bead to communicate the information back to me. Got it?"

Alexander paused to think, then swiftly pulled out paper and pen from his ring. After a moment of contemplation, he furiously sketched three faces onto the paper. Holding up the sketches, he bellowed, "Take a good look; it’s these three people!"

The ghosts hesitated, glancing at the figures Alexander had drawn, and asked, "Master, are you absolutely certain this is what they look like?"

Alexander glared, "Are you questioning me?"

The ghosts shuddered. "No, no! Of course not, Master! We understand; we’ll go at once!"

Watching the ghosts vanish into the forest, Alexander finally showed a satisfied smile. "Alright, with their help, it won’t take long to find them."

Laura curiously took the sketches from Alexander and said, "So, you’ve studied fine arts?"

"Of course," Alexander said, brimming with self-assurance.

However, the next moment Laura looked at the sketches, she was stunned.

"Is this... Is this really what Robert and the others look like? Isn’t this a bit too casual? If you can’t draw, you could’ve let me do it! What’s the deal with these stick figures? If we find them based on this, pigs might as well climb trees!"

In the heart of the forest, Laura and the triplet sisters followed Alexander with increasing apprehension. As minutes ticked away into a half-hour, hope seemed a rare commodity.

Alexander furrowed his brow and mused aloud, "This is strange. Half an hour has passed and not a single ghost has reported back. How hard could it be to find three people?"

Laura couldn’t help but shake her head in amusement. Alexander was acting more like an impish child than ever. Asking ghosts to find people based on stick-figure drawings? If they did succeed, it would truly be a haunting miracle.

Although she was his woman, Laura resolved that she must inform Alexander that their leisurely forest stroll would never yield results.

She opened her mouth to voice her concerns, but before she could say a word, a faint green glow emanated from Alexander’s Summoning Ghost Staff.

Eyes lighting up, Alexander immediately seized the staff, exclaiming, "What? They’ve found Robert and the others? Where are they? I’m on my way!"

Upon hearing this, Laura’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment, her pending words swallowed by her incredulity.

What... What?! How is this even possible?

Those malevolent ghosts actually managed to find Robert and the others based on those stick-figure drawings?

Are you kidding me? This must be some sort of cosmic joke!