Chapter 833: The Water of Wisdom
"A fairy tale?"
"Yes, the ancient fairy tale, 'The Water of Wisdom.' My Writer friend mentioned it to me."
Xia De nodded, turned, and raised the portable kerosene lamp in his hand again to illuminate the stone tablet, then coughed and translated:
"A King, a Warrior, and a Scholar sought out the Sage of the Lake, hoping to find a solution to their problems. The reclusive Sage drew water from the lake with a flask, claiming it was the Water of Wisdom that could bring them answers. But each person had to state their own problem, for only the most difficult problems were worthy of this treasure."
Xia De paused, his kerosene lamp slowly moving downwards:
"The King presented the problem of governing his kingdom, the Warrior presented the problem of defeating a wicked dragon, and the Scholar presented the problem of deciphering an ancient mechanism box. To obtain the Water of Wisdom, the King sent an army to defeat the wicked dragon, the Warrior swung his sword and shattered the mechanism box, and the Scholar proposed a method for governing the kingdom. Everyone gained wisdom, and so the Sage poured the water back into the lake."
Reaching forward to touch the stone tablet, confirming it was not a relic, Xia De read out the last sentence:
"Knowledge is power, and extraordinary wisdom is the most precious wealth."
The last line of text was in ornate ancient script. The ending of fairy tales usually used this method to summarize the ideas expressed in the story or to elevate the theme—Dorothy believed this was to make the stories seem more profound than the Writers intended.
"Sister, that's all the content. Of course, some letters are very blurry, so I relied on guesswork to interpret the meaning. The details might be off, but that's roughly the story."
Stepping back, he stood with Sister Devlin and looked at the stone tablet:
"In the past few months, I've often encountered situations where stories themselves metaphorically refer to events that have occurred. Sister, perhaps the King, the Warrior, and the Scholar themselves refer to some kind of divided but united force. These ancient fairy tales, once connected with legends, really become more interesting the more you think about them."
Xia De smiled. Folklore, fairy tales, and literature were keys to the past in this era, and the Outsider was very interested in them.
The fairy tale 'The Water of Wisdom' was very famous in this world, a story both interesting and educational. Not only as literature itself, but it had also been adapted into various versions of plays and operas. In different versions, the three professions of King, Warrior, and Scholar would also be replaced by characters such as gamblers, knights, merchants, or even dragons, but the general plot remained the same.
In operas, the three visitors journeying to the lake were usually presented as one act, the conversation with the Scholar as another, and the final act was their mutual problem-solving.
This was a more famous local fairy tale than 'Kiss of the Tree.' Its discussion of honor, wisdom, and unity still influenced contemporary literature in the Steam Age, and the concept of 'the Water of Wisdom' representing non-existent but tempting wisdom profoundly influenced the philosophical debate on wisdom and sin—all of the above content was mentioned to Xia De by the Golden-haired girl Writer.
Xia De was quite confident that this fairy tale was not brought to this world by him, an Outsider; it was a native fairy tale.
Sister Devlin hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly:
"Although the content was somewhat unexpected, at least it wasn't completely without gain. It seems the Cult will need to find some Ring術士 proficient in ancient literature for help."
Dorothy and Leia were both very proficient, but the person Sister Devlin needed to find was probably even more knowledgeable about these fairy tales than them:
"Sister, do you know about the Light Guidance Hermit Order?"
Xia De thought for a moment and asked, then took one last look at the stone tablet before turning and leaving with Sister Devlin.
The nun wearing a silver eye patch nodded slightly:
"Yes, I know. They believe in the apocalypse and are actively preparing for it. But the Hermit Order does not have public institutions, so it's hard to find them."
"I know a few of them. One of them guards a lighthouse in Coldwater Port and operates a Ring術士 black market. I'll tell you his location; you can send someone to consult him."
Xia De was referring to Mr. Edmund, the folklorist.
"Okay, there's also Snake Heart Hospital in the Coldwater Port area."
Sister Devlin hesitated:
"Xia De, if you are willing to help the Cult, we will not treat our friends unfairly. Last Wednesday, on the cliff of Sicar Mountain, you said you didn't want a reward, only to know the truth. But I cannot tell you whether the end of the world is real, so what else do you need?"
In fact, First Fire itself was power, and Xia De didn't need the Sister to provide further compensation. But seeing this Sister, who usually spoke in a cold tone, looking very resolute at the moment, he thought for a moment:
"Does the Spiritual Cultivation Order understand any true legends related to deities? For example, if a deity once left power somewhere, or if certain evil cults possess special items, or if a Saint once stayed somewhere."
This was preparation for the next drop of divinity. If Xia De could once again find divinity sealed in the material world, like the divinity in the god's gift box and the merfolk's golden pearl, then he certainly wouldn't need to use the profane cross to extract it. But if his luck was bad, he might have to face a deity again.
The Sister thought for a moment:
"There are many such legends across the Old Continent, but the more authentic ones I can only think of for now are the 'Ice God Hunting Ritual' in the far north of the Old Continent, the 'Lake Goddess' legend near Huntington City in Carson Rick, central Old Continent, and the stories about the Forest Spirit in the primeval forest at the southern tip of the Old Continent."
Xia De noted down this information, planning to consult Mr. Edmund again. The Sister added:
"Although I don't know what you want to do, exploring these legends related to the great one will certainly be very dangerous. The Cult's Library has many books. If needed, you can come here anytime from the entrance of Snake Heart Hospital in Mi Fort. Xia De, you are a friend of the Cult."
She extinguished the burning flame in the center of the Sacrificial Ground, drew out the ashes longsword, and left with Xia De.
"Ask her one thing."
A whisper sounded in his ear, and Xia De suddenly asked again:
"Sister, when you arrived at Bena Lake on Wednesday night and saw my cat, I mean, when you saw Mia, did it already have that blood-red ring on its tail?"
"Yes."
Xia De's eyes widened slightly, and he asked again:
"After the Middelsburg war, did the Church find any other relics related to Vampires in Sicar Mountain?"
The Sister nodded:
"Yes, after that deity departed, he did not take away the relics used for summoning. Now, these relics have been transferred to different dioceses to prevent them from being re-aggregated by Vampires."
Xia De finally felt relieved. The vampire ring appearing on Mia's tail was probably because after he defeated the God of Vampires, the ring coincidentally fell to Bena Lake and was picked up by the cat waiting for Xia De.
That afternoon, Xia De stayed at the Spiritual Cultivation Order's base, listening to Sister Devlin introduce the Cult's situation and obtaining better ways to utilize First Fire from her.
In the evening, Sister Devlin sent Xia De back to Middelsburg. The autumn rain had just stopped; although there was a lot of standing water on the road, it was no longer raining. Xia De took a carriage from Snake Heart Hospital to Loranta Manor, where Miss Aurora resided.
The matter of the third Chosen One was concluded, and this Great Witch was also about to leave Middelsburg. She still remembered that Xia De had promised to attend a banquet she hosted, so that evening at dinner, she formally invited Xia De to her farewell banquet on Wednesday.
Xia De naturally agreed. Although he was very eager to find new divinity, he had decided to temporarily put aside other matters besides that and take a break to relieve his fatigue since autumn began.
It was already eight in the evening when he returned home from Middelsburg. Xia De then went to Luvia's rented apartment, and at exactly ten o'clock, he threw the flame from the kerosene lamp into the brazier Luvia had found.
Sister Devlin's avatar then emerged from the brazier, but because it was a long-distance avatar, it was more like a projection, lacking even combat ability. But this was enough, as this time it was only for a conversation.
Xia De didn't know what Luvia and Sister Devlin discussed, as he didn't stay but returned home exhausted, letting Luvia talk alone. The purple-eyed girl seemed to have some things she didn't want Xia De to know, and Xia De respected her secrets.
However, when he opened the door with his key, the lights in the hallway and on the stairs were on. Xia De hesitated; he clearly remembered turning off the lights when he left:
"Did we have a burglar? Who would be so bold as to steal in the Saint Delan Square district?"
Carrying the cat that came downstairs to greet him, he went to the second floor and saw Dorothy sitting on the sofa.
Hearing footsteps, the Writer stood up from the sofa:
"Good evening, Xia De. I came to return the key."
She jingled the key in her hand. Xia De had given it to her on Saturday night, but because so much had happened that night, Xia De had forgotten to ask for the key back.
"Return the key? No need, this key belongs to you now."
Xia De said, hanging his coat on the coat rack by the door:
"Don't you often come here to look through the Detective records in my study? With this key, you can come in anytime, even if I'm not home."
He tried to keep his tone as normal as possible.
"It belongs to me?"
The Golden-haired girl smiled brightly, not refusing, and carefully put it into her dress pocket:
"This Wednesday, the first volume of the hamilton detective story collection will be released. I brought you a box of books; you can give them to your friends. I put those books in your study... But, passing by your bedroom door just now, why is your bed gone?"
"It collapsed after Saturday night. Later, Leia's maid came to clean up the carpet and those flowers and took away the bed's wreckage. Leia said she would choose new furniture for me this week and redecorate the bedroom."
Xia De said hesitantly, trying not to show any strange expression.
But the Writer almost immediately understood what he was trying to convey. Her face flushed slightly, wanting to laugh yet feeling a bit shy:
"Oh, Leia was really too excited that night. I'll talk to Leia tomorrow and ask her to get a new bed as soon as possible, otherwise, are you going to sleep on the sofa? This one will definitely be sturdy."
