Chapter 831: Xia De and the Red Butterfly
Xia De didn’t inquire about how much power Grace and Helen still possessed; instead, he happily told them that the Red Butterfly pendant had genuinely helped his two friends.
He elaborated on Leia and Dorothy’s current state, described the scene when the two girls met that night, and then mentioned that their souls already showed signs of partial fusion.
But even the Red Butterfly Twins were powerless to do anything about it:
“Sir, if the great one we believe in had not yet departed, your friends could have become Chosen Ones. This is a true Twin Union; my sister and I, after so many years, have never been able to achieve such harmonious soul fusion.”
Helen said with some regret.
The twin girls had experienced the complete span of time from the fifth epoch to the sixth epoch. Even though their power was gone, their Knowledge and experiences were still very valuable assets. Unfortunately, the change of epochs also caused them to lose some memories, and the cost of the sleeping princess sealed away the few remaining memories related to the epoch transition.
But apart from those memories related to hidden history, their Knowledge had not completely disappeared. Xia De could consult them on questions about relics, antiques, and even the customs and practices of the fifth epoch, which was the greatest help they could currently offer Xia De.
“Sir, are you leaving soon?”
As they spoke, listening to the rain, Grace suddenly asked.
Xia De thought for a moment and nodded:
“Yes, I plan to visit Sister Devlin this afternoon; Grandma Cassandra has already been asked to send a letter. I’ll visit Miss Aurora tonight; with the Chosen One matter concluded, she’ll likely leave Middlesburg soon.”
Grace hesitated, first glancing at her sister, then softly said:
“Could you stay with us a little longer?”
“Of course, Grandma Cassandra also said we’d have lunch together. Besides, it’s raining now, and I have nowhere else to go. Speaking of which, do you know that Tobesk also rained all day yesterday? It’s truly late autumn; I can almost feel the chill of early winter.”
Xia De said with a smile.
Grace bit her lip, and Helen, knowing what her sister was thinking, said:
“Sister means, can you stay here and talk with us all day today… maybe even very late.”
Xia De was startled and shook his head apologetically:
“Girls, I still have many things to attend to. And, although Tobesk is a thousand miles away, for me, it’s just over an hour’s journey through the mountains. In the future, we’ll have plenty of time to chat. When you recover, I can even invite you to my home. But for now, what you need to do is rest well.”
“Sir, what we mean is…”
Helen looked at her sister somewhat at a loss, and Grace, wearing a white nightgown, continued:
“You’ve done so much for us, from the last epoch until now, yet we can’t repay you.”
“I wasn’t doing this for you to repay me from the very beginning.”
Xia De emphasized again, standing up at the same time:
“I need to talk to Grandma Cassandra about the Witch Council; the Witches should be overjoyed. See you at lunch, girls. Don’t worry, I’ll leave after lunch.”
“Sir, wait a moment!”
Helen struggled to reach out to the other bed, finally grasping Grace’s hand. Dense red butterflies flew out from nowhere, blocking Xia De’s sight like a curtain.
When the butterflies disappeared, only one of the two four-poster beds still had someone on it. It was a black-haired girl in her twenties with blue eyes, wearing a white nightgown decorated with black butterfly embroidery. Since Helen and Grace looked almost identical, this was what they looked like when they grew up:
“Now… do you still want to leave?”
The girl asked Xia De with a slight blush. Xia De thought for a moment, walked to the bedside, and, amidst her shy and somewhat fearful expression, helped her pull up the covers:
“If you like the hamilton detective story collection very much, this Wednesday, the 30th of the withered leaf month, the serialized novel will be released. I’ll bring you a new book with the author’s signature this Wednesday.”
He tucked in the corner of the quilt for the girl on the bed:
“Then I’ll see you at lunch later.”
Although the girl on the bed was a little disappointed, she still said:
“Then, Sir, see you later… Next time, can you tell me a story about you and the other pair of twins? Your story, the three of you, must be very interesting, right?”
“Of course.”
Xia De nodded, and as the latter smiled, he turned and walked out of the room.
“Are you truly unaware of what they mean, or are you pretending not to know?”
“Her” voice appeared amidst the sound of raindrops hitting the glass.
“How could I not understand?”
Xia De replied in his mind, following the maid at the door to see Grandma Cassandra again:
“But they are different from Leia and Dorothy. In my eyes, they have always been the young girls at the ball. I don’t have too many shared experiences or emotional foundations with them. Their feelings for me are probably more reverence and gratitude. As for Leia and Dorothy, I’ve experienced many, many stories with them, and they also know exactly what they want… Besides, with their current physical state, do you really think I’m a scumbag?”
“She” chuckled:
“So, even though the Sin Mansion records consider you guilty of great promiscuity, at least you are a promiscuous person with great principles?”
“If you could remove the modifier and just leave ‘very principled,’ I would probably be happier.”
“Then, what if you have more stories in the future?”
“That’s for later.”
Xia De said with a smile in his mind, following the maid down the corridor and away.
After all this, it was a good ending for Grace and Helen. A hundred years later, if Xia De didn’t die but successfully completed the path of the Twelve Divinity Ascension, he would be willing to help them truly break free from the shackles of fate. Of course, as he said, that was all for later.
There were still many things to do in Mi Fort today. After seeing Grandma Cassandra again, Xia De discussed Helen and Grace’s physical condition with her, and then they talked about Sister Devlin.
The cooperation between the Witch Council and this death Chosen One was handled by the council’s Speaker, the Thirteen-Tier Great Witch, who negotiated with Sister Devlin. The specific negotiations concluded over the weekend. Although Grandma Cassandra didn’t know the detailed specifics, she knew that the Spiritual Cultivation Order and the Witch Council would become even closer in the future.
The Thirteenth Ring Great Witch didn’t know what conditions she offered, but she actually managed to persuade Sister Devlin to side with the Witch Council in the whispering chapters. This meant that even if the council and the Orthodox Church clashed over the Chosen One issue in the future, Sister Devlin would help the council.
Lunch was delivered from “Gaudis Restaurant,” a high-end restaurant in Mi Fort opposite the Cassandra Auction House. There was a dining room on the third floor of the auction house, with Xia De, Grandma Cassandra, Grace, and Helen seated around the dining table. Miss Swift, the Witch’s apprentice, served as a maid. She wasn’t unhappy; instead, she felt this was a sign of Grandma Cassandra’s greater trust in her.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious, and when the last dessert, candied yam, was served, the Old Witch had her apprentice bring a brass-colored box. The six sides of the box had patterns representing six punishments: immolation, stabbing, tongue-pulling, drowning, live burial, and castration.
When the box was opened, a very pretty silver cross pendant lay on the red velvet lining. The cross itself and the chain were silver, and on the cross was a pattern of a coiling long snake, with a seemingly glowing ruby adorning the snake’s head.
And the end of the long arm of the cross was a very sharp cone, with some dark marks resembling bloodstains on it. After Xia De blinked, he confirmed that they were indeed bloodstains:
“A relic?”
“Yes.”
The Old Witch nodded, letting Miss Swift place the box in front of Xia De:
“The keeper-level relic, profane cross. Legend has it that it once pierced the chest of a saint. The relic’s characteristic: holding it and piercing it into the chest of any extraordinary humanoid creature can absorb and imprison the opponent’s soul, allowing the user holding the cross to absorb the soul into their body, forming a special blasphemy Ling Rune with the opponent’s soul as the core.”
The Old Witch closed her eyes and drew what was probably the holy emblem of the ancient god Chaos Witch on her chest:
“Once done, there’s no turning back. That means the degradation of the soul and will even attract Evil Spirits and demons. In fact, this so-called positive characteristic is inherently a negative one. Besides, wearing it around your neck for a long time will inevitably cause your own blasphemy element to go out of control. This effect cannot be exempted by any means, whether for a Thirteenth Ring or a One-Ring.”
“This is for me?”
Xia De asked in surprise.
“Yes, you once said you were looking for a relic that could absorb tangible or intangible things like energy and spirit and transmit them to the user. Originally, I wanted to hand it directly to the Orthodox Church; it’s too dangerous. But I think it’s just right for you.”
Xia De carefully took the cross out of the box. The originally faint whisper element immediately became Rich, indicating that the box itself was a containment measure. This artistic cross pendant seemed to be made of pure silver. On the opposite side of the coiling long snake’s head, there was an inscription on the cross:
“Divine Word: The wise are fearless.”
“Sir, please take it. Consider it our thanks for helping us.”
Grace said, and Helen added:
“Yes, Sir. Since you just refused our special reward, please take this. Consider it a small repayment.”
Grandma Cassandra showed a benevolent smile:
“He refused? Teachers, that’s truly a shame, but that’s how a Knight should be, isn’t it?”
Miss Rita Swift, holding the red wine bottle, first looked suspicious, then shocked, at Xia De, wanting to ask but not daring to.
