Similar to two months ago when he ventured into the Darkness Domain, Xia De carried almost all of his belongings when he departed from home on Wednesday morning.
However, this time, he didn’t bring the god's gift box, as he didn’t need to prepare to imprison demons, and this box had no effect on Joey Barton. But while packing, he realized that he hadn't tried to take a gift this week. So he reached into the gift box and pulled out a book.
It wasn't a book for reading, but a book that could be cut for jigsaw puzzle training. This was a contemporary print, very popular among children of noble families, so its price was not very affordable. As the price for the gift, Xia De needed to complete at least two puzzles from it before the end of the week.
“Once I resolve the situation in Mi Fort, I’ll have plenty of time this week to deal with these puzzles.”
Besides not bringing the god's gift box, Xia De didn’t go to Dorothy to borrow leaves because he still had two youthful immortality leaves.
He did want to ask Luvia to temporarily look after Mia again, in case he couldn’t return home tonight. But this time, the cat struggled surprisingly hard and refused to leave Xia De, so Xia De could only transform the cat into a toy and carry it with him.
If he hadn’t been worried about Dorothy finding out he was going on another adventure, it would have been better to leave Mia at Feather Pen Street.
Of course, most importantly, Xia De also brought the Soul Fishing Rod. Even though this fishing rod was retractable, carrying it around was still very cumbersome. But this time, Xia De had no choice but to bring it. The hooks of this relic were now two: one was the relic's original hook, and the other was a bent hook taken from the gift box last week, made of the exact same material as the gift box.
Xia De probably guessed why this gift appeared.
There was a small interlude before departure: a carriage stopped downstairs at Xia De’s place, and the visitor was not a rare client, but Tifa, who had rushed over:
“Xia De, thankfully you haven’t left yet.”
At this moment, the living room coffee table was covered with relics and spellcasting materials, and the coat spread on the sofa was piled high with small toys.
The Black-haired maid lady came to the living room with Xia De and handed him a red velvet jewelry box held in both hands:
“The young lady said to lend this to you.”
Xia De opened the jewelry box, and inside was the sage-level relic, the Golden Necklace of the Ancient Magic Witches.
“This is…”
“The young lady said she knew what would happen in Mi Fort today, so she guessed you had something to do. She lent this to you as thanks for the rose from the stable that was given to her.”
Tifa smiled:
“See, you really are leaving. I was just on my way, worried I wouldn’t make it in time to give this to you.”
Xia De was at a loss for words:
“Please thank Jialinna for me.”
He said solemnly, putting away the golden necklace. With this relic, he felt even more confident about his upcoming actions.
“The young lady said she wouldn’t stop you from adventuring, after all, the growth of a Ring術士 cannot be without risks.”
Tifa moved closer to Xia De, then reached out and hugged him, a light embrace before pulling away:
“The young lady asked me to hug you for her and wish you a successful journey.”
Xia De nodded:
“Tifa, every time you accompany me to play rhode cards with others, my luck is better than normal. I think, perhaps, you are my lucky lady.”
The Black-haired maid’s face flushed slightly:
“The young lady said, if there’s a chance, kill Joey Barton. Others don’t know what you will do, but the young lady said you must be doing the upcoming things for the Chosen One. The young lady and I both know you have incredible power, but please take care of yourself.”
She leaned forward slightly and kissed Xia De on the cheek.
“Did Jialinna ask you to bring this to me too?”
“Of course not.”
Tifa shook her head slightly, her bangs swaying:
“This is my kiss for you, wishing you a smooth journey. As for my thanks for that flower, next time you visit the manor, would you be willing to go with me to that secluded corridor again?”
Though very shy, Tifa still looked up at Xia De with her dark eyes. Her skin was fair, her eyes seemed to glow, and the curve of her lips was very captivating.
Xia De quickly recalled that secluded corridor after the candle was kicked over and felt his face flush a little:
“Still five minutes?”
A smile appeared in her curved eyes:
“This time, it can be ten minutes. So, you must come back safely.”
After bidding farewell to the Black-haired maid, Xia De entered Sicar Mountain from the ruined tower and then headed down the mountain through the pervasive fog. The Witches were probably leaving for the Gap around ten in the morning, so Xia De arrived at the House of the Blind to meet Sister Devlin before their departure; he had already sent a letter to make an appointment yesterday.
He had already told her about the Chosen One, so there was no need for further explanation. Xia De came this time to ask the Sister for help, to have the Spiritual Cultivation Order help open another passage for him to enter the Gap alone.
“Why not go with the Witches?”
The Sister stood by the window, her hands clasped together and hanging in front of her, asking softly with her head bowed. Behind her was the pervasive fog of Mi Fort. Today, City Hall had issued a City curfew, clearly to cooperate with the Church’s actions.
“There are some things I don’t want the Witches to know.”
For a moment, Xia De thought the Sister in front of him smiled, but upon closer inspection, she still maintained her expressionless demeanor.
Her head slightly raised, her textured silver-grey long hair was braided into an unusually complex style, cascading down her back. The silver eye patch was aimed at Xia De, that exquisite and elegant silver ornament still as stunning as ever:
“Mr. Hamilton, you are participating in an epic.”
“No, I’m just going to witness an epic. You are the protagonists; I am merely an audience to this scene.”
This time, the Sister truly smiled, a faint and gentle smile beneath her eye patch:
“The way you’re fully armed right now, you don’t look like an audience member at all.”
Xia De glanced at himself: two guns tucked into his waistband, the Soul Fishing Rod on his back, the Night Watchman in his left hand, fingers almost covered in rings on his right hand, the Witches’ golden necklace around his neck, and his bulging coat stuffed with various toys and relics.
“No need to explain, Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps others might think you are merely an audience outside of destiny, but I, who guard the Original Fire, understand that you are the hero of this world.”
This was the first time someone had called Xia De that:
“I am no hero.”
The Sister did not refute:
“I am the Fire Keeper of the First Fire. I seek firewood for the First Fire, and new sources of fire, and the First Fire also gives me the power of the world in return. The Spirit of the World is reminding me that many incredible things will happen tonight.”
“Then do you know who the deceased Chosen One is?”
Xia De asked, and the Sister shook her head slightly:
“Perhaps the answer is completely different from what you imagine.”
The degree of overlap between the Gap and the real world was now far greater than when Xia De first arrived in Middlesburg in early autumn. Therefore, opening a passage to the Gap did not require the same complexity as when rescuing Priest Augustus.
Sister Devlin needed to go to the mountainside of the Gap with the Witches, but she arranged for three other high-rank Sisters from the Order to help Xia De. Furthermore, she separated a portion of her flame and sealed it in a dilapidated portable kerosene lamp obtained through a trade with Sin Mansion.
This lamp was a relic that could store any form of flame. Now containing a portion of the First Fire, a slender flame quietly flickered within the lamp, making the already ancient bronze kerosene lamp appear even more marked by time and history.
The Order could send Xia De into the Gap, and leaving the Gap required the guidance of the First Fire. With Sister Devlin currently unable to attend to Xia De, giving him a portion of the flame was the best option.
Bidding farewell to Sister Devlin on the fog-shrouded street, the Sister’s carriage quickly disappeared into the dense fog, and Xia De unexpectedly discovered that the First Fire kerosene lamp in his hand could slightly disperse the surrounding mist.
“But carrying a kerosene lamp seems to make combat even more inconvenient.”
Sister Devlin would notify others in the Spiritual Cultivation Order to prepare to open a one-time Gap passage, and all Xia De needed to do was patiently wait for news at the House of the Blind.
The City was not under martial law, but rather travel restrictions, so even the House of the Blind saw few visually impaired citizens visiting. Sister Michelle, who managed the House of the Blind, arranged a top-floor lounge specifically for Xia De. Xia De then transformed Mia back into her true cat form, cradled the cat, and spent the morning reading the pink book.
The City was quiet, and the autumn sunlight could not penetrate these white mists containing whisper elements. On the other side of the dense fog, the Orthodox Church, the School of Miracles, the Witch Council, and even Ring術士 groups whose names Xia De didn't know, were surely all in action.
When Xia De occasionally looked up from the Knowledge in his book to gaze out the window, he wondered if the actors on that unknowable stage of destiny knew how people would evaluate today centuries later.
The City was very quiet in the morning; nothing happened except for a squad of soldiers passing through Lufu Lane.
After lunch, the cat lay beside Xia De, napping, and Xia De put away the parchment, then took out the Book of Raging Thunder to continue flipping through it. This was a book on the Ling Rune 【Thunder】 prepared by Saint Byron's for Xia De, part of the second-year curriculum.
At half past one in the afternoon, a knock on the door temporarily interrupted Xia De’s studies. But it wasn't that the Spiritual Cultivation Order had prepared to “open the door”; instead, Sister Michelle had something to ask Xia De for help with.
The situation was this: this morning, Mr. Beirut, who lived in the southern district of Middlesburg, visited the House of the Blind to receive treatment and psychological counseling. Because the fog became denser at noon, the carriage sent to pick him up did not arrive, so Mr. Beirut, a teacher at the blind school, temporarily took a nap at the House of the Blind.
But after he napped for an hour, the servants of the House of the Blind were unable to wake him up. After examination by Ring術士, it was discovered that he had dreamed into the Gap.
“You need me to go deep into the Gap to find him?”
Xia De pointed to himself in surprise.
“To retrieve an ordinary person who has dreamed into the Gap, you don’t need to truly enter the Gap. The Order has a regular method, but at least a Ring術士 of 6th ring or higher is required to perform the ritual at the risk of mental corruption from the Gap.”
Sister Michelle looked a bit troubled. The House of the Blind was a local stronghold of the Order, and she was the highest-ranking member there, with most others being low-ring.
“I understand. Then I’ll do it; it’s just a small favor.”
Saying this, he put down his book and stood up. The movement of standing disturbed the cat on the sofa. It opened one eye to look at Xia De, and seeing that he wanted to leave, immediately yawned and got up to follow him.
When this cat yawned, its mouth opened especially wide.
Rescuing ordinary people who had dreamed into the Gap was done through a method similar to “spirit communication,” allowing a living person in reality to see the scenes in the “dream” in reverse, and then communicating with them in the dream to wake them up.
This didn't even require Xia De to lie down. He sat on a backrest chair by the bed, and after drinking a potion with the Spiritual Cultivation Order's emblem, he placed his hand on the forehead of the sleeping Mr. Beirut.
The low-ring Sister from the House of the Blind, whose eyes were wrapped in linen strips, lit the incense in the room, while Sister Michelle unfolded a parchment and placed it in front of Xia De.
He leaned back slightly in the chair, his eyes fixed on the strange image on the parchment, which looked like a goat but also like a Unicorn. His mind gradually grew hazy and then fell into a semi-comatose state.
He could feel that he was still sitting in the chair, but at the same time, he also saw the blurred scene of the Gap.
His gaze followed Mr. Beirut, who was running up the stone steps on Sicar Mountain. In front of him, in the blurry mist, the transparent figure of a woman continuously moved forward. The surrounding scenery was very familiar; a dark forest stood on both sides of the stone steps, and the steps themselves looked dilapidated as if no one had set foot on them for a hundred years.
“Are they going to the summit of Sicar Mountain?”
However, there were traces of human activity around; on both sides of the mountain top steps, there were signs of the Church setting up rituals, and even every step underfoot was carved with divine runes. There were no evil spirits in the surrounding dense fog because the large team of Ring術士 from the Five Gods Church was currently performing the final checks of the ritual.
But these living people who had entered deep into the Gap completely failed to notice Mr. Beirut and the soul of the woman in front of him. After all, the former was merely dreaming, not even as real as Xia De’s state yesterday, and the latter was just a phantom generated by longing.
Souls lingering in the Gap could not pass into death through the three passages in the Gap. But phantoms generated by longing could lead living people to fall into death. Once one falls while pursuing longing in the dream world, then Mr. Beirut would truly die. Middlesburg had such urban legends a long time ago, but recently, such incidents had become more frequent.
