Chapter 9: Strange, Familiar

Mali shook hands with Xia'er, "Mali, I should come from the place you call the Forbidden Land."

The girl was stunned for a moment, and after a while, she burst into laughter. While laughing, she tapped Mali's chest with her other hand.

"I can't tell you have quite a sense of humor. Hahahaha, it's a pity that even the children who are still babbling on the Leiwateleisi Continent know that there are no living things in the Forbidden Land, which is shrouded in death mist all year round.

"Well, it's not that no one has explored inside before, but without exception, they never came out again. Even the former principal of the Guangyao Staff Alchemy Branch, Wein Aolai Xien, who was hailed as the strongest mage in the last three hundred years, was ruthlessly swallowed by the death mist.

"Oh, by the way, there is also the guardian of the River Bay Kingdom, the Sword Saint Fula Xiaosi, who is said to have contacted the red mist of the Forbidden Land. He just stretched out a finger and touched it lightly like this."

Xia'er pointed into the void with her finger, and then quickly retracted it like an electric shock, "Bang, his whole arm disappeared.

"If he hadn't reacted fast enough and cut off that arm in time with the holy sword at his waist—Dawn Light—he would probably have ended up the same way as Principal Wein. He is also the only person who has touched the death mist and survived."

The chestnut-haired girl vividly described the horror of the Forbidden Land to Mali, but didn't notice that the latter's expression was becoming increasingly strange.

"Is that red mist really that powerful?"

"Of course, otherwise why would the depths of the Black Stone Canyon be called the Forbidden Land by everyone."

Mali had lived in the red mist for more than a month. At first, he was indeed terrified, but as time went on, he hadn't encountered any danger, and he gradually relaxed his vigilance.

Now hearing Xia'er talk so seriously, he subconsciously looked down at his body. Fortunately, there was no abnormality so far.

As for whether he had any hidden illnesses, he would have to continue to observe.

However, according to the girl's description, the red mist worked quickly, and the arm of that so-called Sword Saint disappeared in the blink of an eye, which didn't look like there was an incubation period.

Mali continued to ask, "Do you know when the red mist appeared?"

"For the specific time, you might have to ask the scholars of the Transcription Hand; they like to dig up and record history very much. I only know that the Forbidden Land has existed for a long time, even longer than the Jiadelan Gongguo itself."

Xia'er said, "I have heard many legends about it since I was a child, um, the earliest ones might have been hundreds of years ago."

"It has actually been so long..." Mali muttered.

As a modern person, he was naturally no stranger to the concept of time travel. In fact, this was also the most reasonable explanation he could find at the moment. At least Mali thought so before talking to Xia'er.

It was just that unlike ordinary time travelers, his situation was a bit special. It looked like he had traveled with the city.

But Mali was a bit shaken now.

Because if Xia'er wasn't lying, he and Luoyang were sent to this new world by some inexplicable force hundreds of years ago.

But humans... shouldn't be able to live that long.

And he saw with his own eyes that the goods on the shelves were clearly quite fresh. Not only were the dates close, but they didn't taste like they had been left for hundreds of years.

There were also the buildings in the city and the cars parked on the street. Um, although some did look like they had experienced the baptism of time, they hadn't been long enough to be hundreds of years old; more of it was aging brought about by normal use.

Those new energy vehicles were the best proof. Some of the batteries even had a lot of electricity left. Logically, the parking time wouldn't exceed half a year.

In addition, what Mali cared about most was, where did the other people in the city go? Did they also come to this world?

"You have always lived here, have you seen any strange guys nearby?" Mali asked Xia'er again.

The chestnut-haired girl blinked, "Strange guys, do those goblins count? Since last month, they have stolen several sheep from the village, and three days ago they also attacked Aunt Milagelosi who went to pick firewood. I entered the forest this time to find their nest."

"Okay."

Mali didn't hold much hope originally. Judging from the reaction of Xia'er and the people in the village to the G300p, they clearly hadn't seen cars or similar things before.

He wanted to ask a few more questions, but the next moment he saw the chestnut-haired girl's brows wrinkle again, her hands pressed on her lower abdomen, her expression becoming painful again, and her body swaying.

Mali's expression moved, "Is the magic backlash coming again?"

"No, this time it's hunger."

Xia'er said with difficulty, "I haven't eaten for a day, and I was chased by those hateful goblins all the way. Now I don't have any strength at all. Can you trouble you to chop some firewood behind the house? I want to cook something."

"............ Still, let me cook," Mali said, "You can rest."

"Really?" The chestnut-haired girl was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Dad always said that alchemists are mostly strange in temper and difficult to deal with, but I think you are quite good."

Mali first went to the car to get a can of yellow peaches, twisted open the lid, and brought it back to Xia'er to pad her stomach.

Afterward, he turned around in the vicinity. He got half a bag of coarsely ground flour from the kitchen, a bag of beans, and a few potatoes and onions, and found cabbage and carrots in a small open space behind the wooden house.

Looking at the roots and leaves still carrying soil in his arms, his footsteps couldn't help but become lighter.

Mali hadn't forgotten that one of the goals of his trip was to find food.

Having eaten pre-made food for nearly two months, he missed the taste of fresh vegetables more than ever.

It just so happened that he was also a bit hungry after driving all night, and he planned to use these vegetables to pair with luncheon meat cans and emergency biscuits to make a salad or a mixed vegetable dish.

Just as he was preparing to return to the house, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a corner under the eaves.

The next moment he was suddenly stunned in place.

Mali walked closer and carefully examined the few "little grasses" growing exceptionally thick. They had ovate leaves with coarse serrated edges, and the stems were covered with white fluff, smelling of a rich spicy fragrance.

This is... schizonepeta?

If there was anything that could be associated with Henan in the first place, schizonepeta was definitely one of them.

Although there are schizonepeta in Yunnan and Sichuan, and some people eat schizonepeta, the ones who have a mysterious obsession with schizonepeta are the Henan people.

It was about from the Song Dynasty that the Bianliang people were crazy about schizonepeta, and this dietary tradition has been preserved to this day.

Mali, who was born in Henan, was naturally no stranger to schizonepeta. The most common cold dish at home when he was a child was cucumber mixed with schizonepeta, as well as schizonepeta noodles, schizonepeta pancakes... so he could recognize it at a glance when he saw it.

And he was very sure that this wasn't mint, nor was it European basil; it was definitely schizonepeta. ===== CHAPTER 10 =====