Chapter 103
"Yes, it's been over twenty years since I took over this store from my uncle when I was in my twenties. Time flies, oh my... oh my..."
"Did you happen to see a female mage about my age with black hair, green eyes, and a four or five-year-old child about ten years ago, before the Keatler Elemental Chaos?"
The aunt suddenly froze, not expecting her to ask about the Keatler Elemental Chaos.
"Do you remember?" Xerath hooked Sylas's shoulder and pulled her closer to herself. Sylas looked surprised, but her intention in squeezing in was just to create some distance between Virgil and herself, so Xerath and she could be closer.
The aunt looked at her with a thoughtful expression, "I... I'm not sure if it was her, but during that time, someone did come to my store to ask about a person like that, asking about... um... 'a black-haired, green-eyed female mage with a four or five-year-old girl.'"
"Who was asking? Do you remember?"
"Adventurers, but..." Auntie pursed her lips. "They all look similar, fierce and scary, wearing black or gray cloaks, carrying strange weapons on their backs."
"Do you remember what kind of weapon he was carrying?"
"Weapon? It might be a dagger, he had a dark lantern hanging from his waist. I didn't see any noticeable weapons, unlike this gentleman's easily recognizable weapon."
Xerath and Virgil looked at each other, exchanging a glance.
"Is there any other noteworthy information? Like what happened to the mother and daughter? Are there any rumors?"
Auntie shook her head.
"Were there any major events before or after that?" Virgil asked.
"I don't know if this counts, but there was a strange fire near Doloru Town. The rumors about it are quite exaggerated."
"Wow, how exaggerated?"
"Some say that fire is purplish-black, some say bats appear in the fire, some say there are skeletons that walk at midnight, some say there are ghosts crying at night."
"Hasn't anyone come out to put out the fire?"
"I remember very clearly that night, it was thundering, there shouldn't be anyone out late at night. Oh, you know, things that nobody sees are easier to spread and become exaggerated."
"You're absolutely right, which village is it below Doloru Town?"
"It should be the Daisy Village. It's not far from Doloru Town, just three to five miles away. Are you going to Doloru Town for your next stop?"
Virgil smiled and said, "You have amazing insight! I am indeed going to Doloru Town. Thank you so much! Goodbye!"
The three of them left the inn, and Virgil said, "You should have said goodbye to me."
"I made a spontaneous decision."
Sylas suspected that Xerath didn't make a spontaneous decision. Her words before going to bed last night implied that she had been wanting to inquire about the events of the past since last night.
"Why didn't you give me a chance to show off..." Virgil appeared very sad.
"Why should I give you a chance to show off?" Xerath sat directly on the Earth Child summoned by Sylas, and pulled Sylas along. "Did you have a secret affair with the person inside? I thought you were someone who cared a lot about appearances. Did I misunderstand you?"
"What?! What are you saying! What are you implying! I just wanted to show off in front of the young lady!" He pointed at Sylas as a matter of course.
"Not necessary." Xerath bypassed Sylas and gave orders directly to the Earth Child, shifting the conversation back to Sylas. "Sylas, do you have any impression of the purple flames, bats, and walking skeletons she just mentioned?"
"No." Sylas shook her head in confusion.
"Then maybe they're just unrelated."
"I don't believe it," Virgil interjected suddenly, "but esteemed archmage, what kind of weapon is a '提灯'?"
Xerath pondered for a moment. "I dare not say whether a '提灯' is a weapon, at least not a conventional one. Perhaps it's not even a weapon, just a tool."
"You haven't finished your sentence."
"If it's a weapon, I'm afraid it's a dangerous character."
"Old buddy, my old friend, don't speak halfway."
Sylas was also looking at her, with an expression eager to hear a story. The archmage sighed and said, "There is a legend related to a lantern. In the Gmandsa area, pirates used to be popular, but there was one pirate who never returned after going out to sea. It is said that his ship got lost in the fog. The captain, afraid of death, prayed to the grim reaper to only take his physical body but not his soul. The grim reaper agreed and left him with a pitch-black lantern, which could shine through the mist."
"Same world, same dream, huh?"
Xerath smiled and said, "Yes, a shortcut to eternal life. But the light emitted by the pitch-black lantern can only be seen by the deceased. What the living see is a purple-black light coming from the fog wrapped around a tattered sailboat."
"Like the flames just now?"
"Speaking of color, it's exactly the same as the legend. Sylas?"
"Hmm?"
"Nothing, let's go. The control is back to you."
In the morning, we hurried on the road and ate some dry food for lunch. In the afternoon, as we passed through some villages, Virgil took action and targeted women in their thirties and forties. It didn't take long for him to find out the address of the "fire" that happened years ago.
Virgil was very proud and said to Sylas, "Look, this is Uncle Virgil's strength. Gathering information is the most important thing when traveling. Information comes from everyone's mouth, from the neighbors gossiping, from men boasting in the tavern, from the bartender and waiters, and from the harp of the troubadour."
Xerath sneered and said, "The most important thing is to distinguish between true and false information. Rumors always become more and more exaggerated and quickly lose their true form. Not to mention, the person spreading the information may not be willing to tell the truth."
"Can you please let me have a chance to show myself? In your tower, you are the rightful king. In front of Sylas, you have absolute authority. But the outside world is my stage. How can you just take that away from me?"
Xerath maintained a cold and subtly contemptuous expression and said, "You're wrong, I am not an authority. Sylas can question my power at any time and for any unreasonable matter, as long as she makes sense. So when she faces the dazzling world outside and a strange uncle who brags about everything."
Suddenly, she smiled at Sylas and said, "I also have the obligation to remind her to maintain a critical and questioning spirit, not to be blinded by the dazzling appearances."
Virgil glared at the archmage, showing his anger.
Sylas chuckled and said, "Teacher, I haven't let appearances cloud my judgment. I am observing and distinguishing carefully. But the more samples there are, the more accurate the analysis will be, right? If Uncle Virgil doesn't provide more information, I have nothing to compare."
"Ha!" Virgil showed off excitedly, raising his eyebrows and impressing the archmage.
Xerath tightly pursed her lips, pretending not to see, but looking cold and serious ahead. If it weren't for the sun scorching overhead, it would definitely feel like winter.
Hyectra considerately created a dark cloud above Xerath's head.
This lush grassy hilltop must be the legendary place, with ruins that have never been touched by anyone. According to everyone, it's haunted, and only brave children would come here. It's mid-summer now, the sun sets late, and it's still bright outside. Xerath came down from Earth Child and turned to hold Sylas's hand.
Sylas also hopped down and faced the ruins. A familiar yet strange feeling surged in her heart. She looked at the path downhill on the left, then at the open lowland behind the house. Xerath walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering in her ear, "I didn't formally ask for your consent, so you can refuse my request if you want."
"What kind of request?"
"I want you to remember how your mother was killed. If you don't want to, we can leave this place."
"I never felt any... sadness. She... " Sylas stepped into the dilapidated house, stood in the center, and said, "I... she stood here, maybe looking at me. Then she suddenly turned around, and two black spikes appeared out of thin air. I was suddenly thrown out of the house, and those two black spikes pierced her from behind, making blood spurt out. I... I don't remember what happened after that. Maybe I was thrown down the mountain. The 'wind' said which way to go, and I followed. 'They' will help me and provide me with food."
'They'," Xerath repeated the word. It was a word Sylas used frequently when she first arrived at the tower. She still remembers asking Sylas what "they" were, and Sylas said, "wind," "water," "fire," "earth.
Xerath nodded. "The lantern must be related to necromancy. If there is a connection, it must be a connection like this."
"It looks like this place hasn't been damaged much. It's probably still in the same condition as it was after the incident. Can't you see any traces from above?"
"What kind of traces should I look for?"
"I thought this place was burned by dark purple flames. Isn't that what shadow magic does?"
The archmage shrugged, "I'm not a necromancer. I'm not sensitive to Holy Light or shadow magic. In fact, I'm even less sensitive than the average person."
This might be a small price to pay to become the Elemental King.
"But...," the archmage stood at the doorway, "from Sylas's description, it's possible that her mother noticed traces of shadow magic and used a spell to send her away. Maybe it was a variation of a wind elemental spell, surrounded by a gentle breeze."
Gold light sparkled at Xerath's fingertips, "Don't resist."
Sylas suddenly felt lighter, "Whispering Breezes!"
The wind carried her lighter body and whisked her away from the mountain, with Sylas's exclamation coming from below. The archmage followed, and the wind gently placed Sylas on the ground below the hill.
"That's probably it. I can't see anything else, after all, I'm not a detective."
Virgil continued, "Suddenly, she caused an elemental disturbance, and it somehow got mistaken for a precious new demon beast. This attracted many Demon Hunters, and these shadow mages—more likely Lich—they can't openly use shadow magic where knowledgeable people gather, so... their attempts to capture Sylas were greatly hindered."
