“This is my friend, Sister Devlin.”
Xia De had completed his discussion with the Lake Goddess, as he needed to pass her four trials to obtain divinity. However, the Lake Goddess promised that after Xia De completed the first three trials, he would receive a gift or his friends could ask some questions. Therefore, Xia De introduced Sister Devlin at this time.
The Sister nodded again. Her demeanor was somewhat similar to that of the White-robed Lady holding the staff before her.
Sister Devlin did not intend to speak herself, so Xia De conveyed her request on her behalf:
“Lady, Sister Devlin is a Sister who guards the Original Fire. She wishes to re-collect the fragmented First Fire to ensure the eternal flame of civilization. We have received some clues that the fragmentation of the Original Fire seems to be related to your legend. Therefore, we wish to know where those fragmented flames are now.”
After Xia De finished speaking, Sister Devlin held her hands in a cupping gesture, and a slender red flame appeared. This not only attracted the attention of Xia De and the White-robed Lady, but even Mia, who had been looking around, widened her eyes and stared.
This was the first time it had seen this flame.
“Yes, the fragmentation of the First Fire is indeed related to me, but I cannot tell you what happened then.”
The White-robed Lady said softly:
“Someone once made a wish, and I will not use your wishes to destroy others' wishes. But I can tell you the whereabouts of one wisp of the fragmented First Fire.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
The Sister said softly.
“In the Great Lake at the center of the Pantanal Great Swamp, there is a small Lake Heart Island perpetually shrouded in mist. A wisp of the First Fire is at the top of the Old Lighthouse in the center of the Island.”
The Lake Goddess provided the clue, and Xia De also knew the location she indicated. The Pantanal Great Swamp is filled with wetlands and lakes, with the central lake located on the border between the two countries, and the Island on it has historically been a disputed area between Delarion and Carson Rick.
Around 700 years into the sixth epoch, that Island was once purchased by a noble at the time, but something happened later, and all the living people stationed on the Island died. To this day, although the Island is disputed, neither Delarion nor Carson Rick has sent anyone to station there.
The reason is simple: no matter which direction one starts from, it is quite difficult to traverse half of the Great Swamp region to reach the Lake Heart Island. Even if a military unit could be stationed there, the supply problem would be hard to solve. Coupled with miasma and venomous insects, as well as strange things within the Great Swamp, that Lake Heart Island, though famous, is at least currently an uninhabited area.
“But you must know, that wisp of the First Fire is placed there to stabilize the Balance of the Pantanal Great Swamp. If you wish to take it, you must be prepared.”
The White-robed Lady reminded, and the Sister nodded slightly:
“I understand.”
This also means that the wisp of flame might have a “seal” effect. But this does not mean the Sister cannot move it; various methods, such as Xia De’s Mystic Lock 【Kiss of the Tree】, can also achieve the same sealing effect. And once the First Fire is collected by the Sister, the First Fire remnants on Xia De will also become stronger.
“Are you willing to become an agent of wisdom?”
As Xia De was contemplating, the White-robed Lady holding the staff suddenly spoke to Sister Devlin.
Xia De looked at the two in surprise, then realized that Sister Devlin seemed to have been favored by the Lake Goddess, a treatment he had not received.
Perhaps Miss Pa Wo, who was by Schluch Lake the night before last, was right; his wisdom was not enough to compare with the top heroes of this era.
【Or, you have already been chosen by others.】
“I apologize, I have already decided to dedicate my life to guarding the First Fire.”
Sister Devlin shook her head in refusal, her long silver-gray hair swaying slightly with the movement. When she became the Chosen One of death, it was because she wanted to earn Xia De to touch the First Fire; naturally, she would not randomly add new responsibilities to herself at this time.
“That is truly a pity.”
The White-robed Lady said softly, then looked at Xia De:
“Then depart, go complete your second trial, and investigate what happened in the past. I will always wait for you here, waiting for you to complete the final trial. May wisdom bless you, Xia De Hamilton, and may Knowledge be with you.”
The scenery of Lake Cherub’s Lake Heart Island gradually blurred, and everything around them faded like a painting splashed with water, then was re-colored.
When they came to their senses, Xia De and Sister Devlin were still standing on the path by the lake, and the two horses were bowing their heads, looking for edible wild grass by the lake. The distant lake surface was so calm that there were no ripples; in a few weeks, it would freeze over and be covered by heavy snow. Winter had truly arrived.
The Sister’s boots were by her feet. Xia De looked down at the boots, then noticed that Sister Devlin was “looking” at him. He softly said “I’m sorry” and then turned around:
“Sister, the exploration work of the Pantanal Great Swamp still needs to be resolved by the Spiritual Cultivation Order and the Witch Council.”
Xia De looked at the distant lake surface and said, and Sister Devlin said from behind him:
“This is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive task, and I will also sound out the church.”
Such large-scale investigative activities far from human settlements were not Xia De’s strong suit, and Xia De had many things on his hands, so he could only wait for the results. However, this was also good, as he could not possibly solve all the problems he encountered.
And so, the second trial of the Lake Goddess’s test officially began.
Xia De took the reins, first sent Sister Devlin back to White River Valley Vineyard, then took Mia home, and had lunch in Tobesk. After lunch, he left the cat, who regularly took naps, at home, and then returned alone to Huntington City to visit the retired folklore Professor Kansas Drake, who lived in the Old Town in the west.
The sky in Huntington had been overcast all day, so the Old Professor, who had difficulty with his legs, did not go out. When Xia De pulled the bell on the fence gate at two in the afternoon, the plump maid quickly opened the door for him.
Professor Drake still welcomed Xia De in his study, seated in a wheelchair. He seemed to have expected Xia De’s arrival, but when Xia De said he had already met the Lake Goddess, the Professor’s hand, holding the teacup, trembled:
“So?”
The Professor looked at Xia De with eyes full of anticipation and unease, sitting hunched over, as if he were a prisoner awaiting judgment in the dock.
“The Lady told me that if I want to find what I have lost, I must pass her trials.”
“Yes, there must be a price.”
The Professor immediately said. He was eager for an answer, yet afraid of receiving one. Xia De and the Professor both understood that the Professor’s lost memories were most likely willingly given up, and recovering them now might not necessarily yield the result he desired.
“The trial I must undergo is to find out why you went to seek the Lake Goddess back then, what wish you made, and what price you paid.”
Omitting the fact that he had companions with him at the time, Xia De briefly explained his morning’s experience and described that when he saw Professor Drake on the water, the news on the newspaper he was reading was that the Huntington City Wine Industry Association was recruiting members to participate in the winter wine industry expo.
“This…”
The Professor was startled. He believed Xia De’s words but had not expected such a result:
“I didn’t expect our experiences to be intertwined. But as for what happened back then, I truly don’t remember anything.”
He suddenly inhaled sharply:
“I wish I still remembered. This is the only regret of my life. What exactly happened back then?”
“Actually, the trial itself contains information. Firstly, your journey to find the Lake Goddess back then must have been due to something you encountered, and not just for academic research, otherwise my trial would be meaningless.”
Xia De analyzed, this was deducing the answer from the question itself, and the Outsider was very good at this.
Professor Drake nodded immediately. Although this retired Old Professor was physically disabled, his mind was still sharp:
“Yes, that’s right. Moreover, it should have been an event related to the supernatural and mysticism, otherwise there would be no need for it to be a trial.”
“Considering your profession, perhaps you encountered something terrible during your folklore research.”
Xia De said. And considering that among the Professor’s private collections before his retirement, there was even a relic derivative like a “Swamp Witch” photograph, the dangers the Old Professor encountered in his professional career were definitely more than one.
“Did you retire immediately after that accident back then?”
Xia De asked. The wrinkles on Professor Drake’s forehead creased together, and he sighed, holding his teacup:
“Yes, I was already nearing retirement age at that time. After my legs became like this, I was indeed disheartened for a period. The school did not treat me unfairly; they continued to pay me while I was recovering. Four months after that accident, I voluntarily applied for early retirement, and since then, I have lived on my pension and the money my son sends.”
“Where are all your research materials from before your retirement now?”
Professor Drake understood Xia De’s meaning:
“Most of them are left in the school; they are the school’s assets. However, those materials should be fine; the school hasn’t had any issues for so many years. I can write a letter later to inquire again. A small portion is at my home. If you are interested, you can look through my study freely.”
The Professor was old and knew he did not have many years left, so he had an unusual persistence in finding the truth of what happened back then.
“What were you researching at the school before you set out to find the Lake Goddess back then?”
Xia De asked again, but the Old Professor could not recall such distant events.
“Then, back then, did anything else noteworthy happen in Huntington City?”
Xia De tried to approach it from this angle, but the Professor still shook his head:
“That was more than ten years ago. Although my memory has always been good, I never doubted the purpose of my outing back then, so I didn’t pay attention to the events of that year. Now that I think about it, perhaps what I lost was not just the memory of going to Lake Cherub.”
Xia De agreed with this point, but precisely because of this memory loss, he currently had no clues at all.
However, fortunately, after finding the correct line of thought, Xia De and Professor Drake spent an afternoon sifting through the Professor’s old materials for clues and finally made some progress.
These findings could be simply summarized as three things: a diary, letters, and a worn-out book.
