Chapter 101

She saw Tiliang staring at her, and she smiled even more brightly, extending her arms to support her clothing, and gracefully turned a circle in the stream.

If it weren't for seeing that face, Tiliang would have been clapping and whistling.

She stepped on the water, walking upstream; the stream still flowed gently, as if it parted at her ankles, and not a single splash spilled out.

She gradually approached Tiliang, and Tiliang silently stepped back one step.

Seeing Tiliang flustered, she broke into a hehe laugh.

Two guards heard the commotion, crossed the small stream, and quickly walked up behind Tiliang.

Tiliang's pressure suddenly felt much lighter; even though the two guards were still wounded, they basically had no combat strength.

"Did I scare you, old lady?" she said in the common tongue, a bit hoarse, but her voice was warm, gentle, and melodious, not like the harsh, grating voice of a legendary wicked witch.

Tiliang examined her from head to toe; her skin was fair, her black hair coiled into a bun, adorned with specks of gold and silver jewels, and her white splendid robe was exquisitely embroidered with birds, beasts, flowers, grasses, sun, moon, mountains, rivers—everything of spring, summer, autumn, winter, rain, mist, clear skies, and snow—just from this embroidery one could tell this outfit was no cheaper than pearls, jade, gold and silver hairpins.

It's just a pity that these decorations are on an old woman with deep wrinkles. Looking closely, Tiliang felt that even though the old woman's wrinkles had eroded her face, one could still faintly see from her facial features the beauty she had in her youth.

"I'm not scared, but I'm quite surprised," Tiliang said, swallowing his throat carefully, "Madam, how should I address you?"

If the old woman were the master of demons and ghost knights, no matter how many lives he had, he would sacrifice them all here today.

"Oh, some call me the Mother of Demons, some call me the Mother of the Lake, ah, but in reality I am just an ordinary old woman!"

An ordinary old woman couldn't afford silks and satins, nor would she appear for no reason in such a gloomy, terrifying place. Damn, people rumor that the dwarf's second son has magical power; he only hopes the old woman didn't come for that thing.

"Madam, please don't joke. Haha, my legs have gone weak from fright." Tiliang laughed and said, "How could someone like you be involved with demons, right?"

"Someone like me?" the old woman slowly squatted, took a staff from the water, and leaned on it. Although her skirt was submerged in water, when she stood up again, not a drop of water clung to her hem. "Someone like me is just an insignificant ordinary person on this land, oh, and I was once enslaved. Hehe, we generation after generation have suffered this great disaster; back when the Waleiliya were still around, they enslaved us, they're gone now, but those slave masters still want to keep enslaving us." She said this while leaning on her staff, slowly and leisurely.

Her staff was like jade, crystal clear; the top of the staff was a coiled, wing-flapping dragon, but the dragon was pierced through by the staff, forming a handle for its owner.

"Good lady, I am neither a Waleiliya person nor an inhabitant of this land, nor have I ever been enslaved by the Waleiliya; I am merely an innocent passerby who happened to come fetch some water." Tiliang took the waterskin from the guard, swayed it toward the old woman as a gesture, and said, "Madam, why are you telling me, uh, all this?"

No matter what the Waleiliya did, it had nothing to do with Tiliang; he neither cared nor minded, he only wanted this old person to leave quickly, or to let him go.

"Hmm, I heard someone used water as a vow to free slaves—that's a rare thing; as a follower of Luoen, how could I not come out to meet and bless them?" the old woman revealed a smile.

"Loen? Mother River of Loen?" Tiliang felt the sound was similar.

"Some call it that." The old woman tapped her staff, and Tiliang felt as if the whole stream had become lively.

"I know, the Luoyina people believe in this god. Hmm, there are also many believers in Duoen, heard they still live on the river, refusing to go ashore." I can't fathom what faith could be so steadfast, "history books tell me they were threatened by the dragon kings of Waleiliya, so the heroine Namelia led them to retreat from this continent to Westeros."

"Yes, I also know this history. But Namelia after all only took a portion; many remained, most of whom were enslaved, becoming slaves, imprisoned in the mines of the Fourteen Flame Peaks, mining ore and lava for the dragon kings. Of course, some escaped the demon's clutches and still tenaciously live on this land, but compared to their ancestors, their wandering rivers are not as wide as their forebears'."

Tiliang grinned. The one before his eyes might be just such a one.

"I'm truly happy for them." Tiliang felt his tongue turn clumsy, "Madam, you said someone escaped the demon's clutches and still lives here?"

"Of course. Some people headed into unfamiliar wilderness and grasslands, living on lands the dragon kings disdained, living together with herdsmen and the Dosilake people, gradually changing their faith, becoming grassland sheep people, Dosilake people, cave people; they abandoned Loen, or renamed Loen, retaining only some of their spells and divine techniques." She seemed eager to confide, and Tiliang thought it best to chat amicably with her.

"Someone? Looks like there's another group of people." Tiliang felt she would soon introduce her own kind.

"Of course. There is another part of people who, for revenge, delved into darker realms, using voodoo curses on the Waleiliya; hehe, even to this day the residual poison has not been completely eliminated."

"I know, that's the gray plague; when I was in the Mourning Lands I saw plenty of stone folk!"

"Gray plague, are you sure?" the old woman smiled, "Hehe, the voodoo curse is far more terrifying than the gray plague; even the dragon kings who ride dragons have no burial place, the curse is so strong that even a giant dragon finds it hard to resist; after hundreds of years, the curse can still injure the giant dragon Belerion and kill the dragon rider—this is the power of the voodoo curse, the dragon kings remember it deeply, so few reckless dragon riders dare to go there."

Aegria Targaryen. Tiliang knew the person the old woman was referring to, but he felt there was no need to show off his erudition in front of her.

"After the voodoo curse spread, the Waleiliya's magic could no longer control the Flame Peaks!" the old woman wore a meaningful smile.

"It seems not only the Waleiliya are unlucky; who knows how many slaves also lost their lives together!" Tiliang went along with it, but he didn't believe this nonsensical story or the nonsensical explanation placed before him, even if these were revealed by the miraculous old woman.

"The ancestors of the Lohain people resisted the dragon kings with magic for two and a half centuries; although they ultimately lost the war, not all water mages died. After that, some water mages turned to dark research."

"Voodoo curse, huh!" the little demon said with a smile. "You're one of those, aren't you?"

"Hehe, the voodoo curse is just a trifle; the dark research the old woman spoke of is prophecy."

"What's dark about prophecy?"

"You actually don't know? Your current situation is caused by being affected by prophecy." The old woman stood in the water, looking at him with a beaming smile.

Tiliang wanted to laugh. A weirdo suddenly stands before you, saying your current state is due to being affected by prophecy—who could believe that?

"Then I can only be grateful for being affected; otherwise, how could I have the honor of meeting you, madam?" Tiliang said with a laugh.

"Heh, the future foretold by prophecy cannot be changed; afterward, everything in the world will revolve around the direction of these prophecies and develop accordingly." The old woman smiled elegantly, her clothing suddenly shifting in color and pattern, "Unconscious prophecy often lacks great significance, while dark prophecy uses blood as a medium, causing fate to unfold as the caster envisions."

Tiliang wanted to say, he completely didn't understand.

"Good lady, the one standing before you is just a little dwarf; what could he possibly understand about fate?"

"Let Valyria be destroyed, let the dragon fields sink into the sea, let the dragon kings fall one by one, let the giant dragons go extinct, let the last descendants of the dragon king family be devoured by beasts—this is the dark prophecy of one water mage." The old woman beamed at Tiliang, "This water mage escaped from the defeat of Prince Geleyn, using his own intellect to arrange the grandest dark magic in history. Hehe, this water mage is also a dwarf, so the little dwarf not only understands fate, but also decides it."

Tiliang felt even more guilty.

"You really should let my father hear this." Tiliang forced a smile by pulling at the corner of his mouth, "If I had to say, the current dragon kings are not extinct."

"But it indeed was extinct once, so the dark prophecy of the dwarf water mage has been perfectly fulfilled." The old woman still beamed, as if she had seen something wonderful, "As for the current dragon queen, huh, you wouldn't think she could rule the world for hundreds of years and defeat the Lohain people's dragon king in the final battle, would you, that she's so feeble?"

"Of course not, I admire the dragon kings! My family bowed and submitted to the dragon king line for nearly three hundred years. Although my father almost killed the last dragon lineage." If Xiao Gelifen is Zhen Yigeng. "But I just heard you say the dragon king family's last descendant was devoured by beasts? Where do these beasts come from!" Moshan would not be pleased.

"Hehe, the Targaryen family is the last descendant of the dragon king family. Who devoured it, if not the beasts of Weisitelo?" The old woman stared at Tiliang, who was left speechless.

Lion-wolf-eagle-fish-deer, could they not be the beasts that devour dragons?

Tiliang could not answer.

"No matter what, nowadays the dragon queen has risen again, and dragons have revived as well." Tiliang lifted his head and looked toward the old woman.

Her splendid robe changed color again, turning into a gray background with snow covering the earth, branches laden with snow.

The Dragon Kings can rival water mages—how could they be so feeble as to be felled by a single strike? The Dragon King family also has its own prophets and dreamwalkers. But even if they survived the great calamity and struggled for hundreds of years, they still could not escape their final fate. As for the birth of the Dragon Queen, perhaps it is a miracle of the human world, perhaps it is another prophetic art painstakingly arranged by her ancestors—who knows?

Madam, you actually have something you don't know! Ti Liang Ang exclaimed, "If divination is that miraculous, I, this little dwarf, would also want to prophesy every day! Haha, but I'm a good dwarf; I wouldn't do some bloody prophecies."

A complex blood sacrifice of one black goat can only exchange for one, as you say, a demon; the blood sacrifice of one horse and one goat can exchange for a ghost rider. You say, to exchange for the dwarf's dark prophecy, how much blood is needed? She asked in a pretentious manner, but Ti Liang Ang felt she had omitted all the human sacrifices therein.

As much as the sea's water. But anyway, we've already gathered enough, right? Ti Liang Ang curled his lip.

The dwarf water mage used the lives of all slaves who died under the Dragon Kings' tyranny as sacrifices, launching the dark prophecy; it was not until nearly two hundred years later that enough sacrifices were gathered for the dark prophecy to come true—at that time, the Dragon Kings struggled desperately but could not save themselves. Her splendid robes turned red, as if blazing with fierce flames, Ti Liang Ang felt he could even smell the sulfur within.

Damn, if I had this ability, I would surely use prophecy to do some good deeds, Ti Liang Ang curiously looked at her clothes, feeling her splendid robes turn into a tender green spring, "Hehe, for example, damn it, to make the four seasons more regular—I think we don't need one season per year; at best, a season lasting half a year, or even half of that."

Heh, is this the dwarves' prophecy?

Damn, if this kind of prophecy could be fulfilled, I'd die happy!

The old woman smiled, pointing her staff at the streambed; the stream trembled and a thin flow split off, flying toward the waterskin in Ti Li Ang's hand. Ti Li Ang watched this scene even more astonished than when he had seen a dragon, and hastily steadied the waterskin with both hands.

The two guards also looked shocked.

Changing the seasons is something even a true god cannot do. Never mind accumulating two hundred years of sacrifices; even eight thousand years would be just as hopelessly out of reach.

When the waterskin was full, the old woman pointed her staff and let the thin flow of water retreat back into the stream.

Ti Li Ang felt that what he had seen today was even more miraculous than the first time he had seen a dragon.

"Even a mountain, if dug slowly, can be hollowed out." Ti Li Ang said indifferently, "Thank you, lady, for the water. I declare that this waterskin is for my own tasting alone."

The old woman smiled and nodded.

"Just consider this a blessing from Ron."

"This blessing is surely very precious!" Unless it has miraculous uses, "Little dwarf, thank you very much!" Ti Li Ang felt his life was secured, he suddenly relaxed, and broke into a happy smile.

At this moment, the old woman's robe changed color again, reverting to the appearance it had when they first met.

"I just heard you say a black goat for a demon," Ti Li Ang, feeling an itch of curiosity, said, "I don't know whether the demons and ghost cavalry we encountered are related to you."

"Hehe, little brat, you're really bold!" The old woman showed no anger, "I have my own purposes; like the Dragon Queen, I bear no goodwill toward slave-holding cities, so I have taken up here as the mother of demons who block the road, or the Mother of the Lake."

"In my view, gold is certainly one of them!" Ti Li Ang felt his courage was great.

"Otherwise, where do you think I get the money to buy sheep and horses, and adorn my robes? I still have to support many people!" She sneered, "I can smell the enemy's scent, and also the scent of gold."

"Then what do I smell like to you?" the little demon chuckled.

"The musty odor of a dark water mage," the Mother of the Lake's words froze his smile on his face, "and the stench of crushing debt."

"I'm not a water mage!" Ti Li Ang laughed, pressing his lips, "And all the gold of Victory Rock City is mine!"

"Hehe, Victory Rock City belongs to your brother." The Mother of the Lake smirked. "Not a single piece of gold inside is yours; in Victory Rock City you have nothing, not even a chair or a book."

"That's so unfair!" Ti Li Ang said.

He certainly didn't want to tell her about the Imperial Forest Iron Guard!

"Ah, lady, you're so powerful, why not move to a more comfortable place instead of settling here?" Why would you rob here?

"Little brat, you have quite a few questions." She squatted again, placing her staff into the water; when she rose, the staff had vanished. "I despise the slave cities of Mílín and Wālántīsī, and I must stand here to block their land-based communication, so they can forever only suffer the pain of traversing the ruined lands of Wálèilìyà; I must also interrupt their communication on the miraculous lands built by the Dragon Kings. As for launching an attack on the great army, it is because I wish to support the Dragon Queen a little and strike at her slave‑holding enemies."

She revealed a smug smile.

"I thought you wished all the Dragon Kings were dead."

"How could that be?" she chuckled, "I support them and even fed them dragons! Have you seen how happily the dragons eat?"

The dragons ate with great relish, but the little demon was about to vomit his guts out.

"If you want to support the Dragon Queen, why not go straight to Mílín to find her?" Ti Li Ang asked curiously.

"I support the Dragon Queen, but I would rather have her personally destroy the great daughter of Wálèilìyà, hehe, and let the Dragon Kings' descendants annihilate the remnants they left behind—wouldn't that be more wonderful?" Her smile first looked a bit mad, her tone beginning to resemble that of a legendary witch, "Hehe, I have already foreseen it."

"She has already destroyed Mílín, and now she will destroy Wālántīsī?" How wonderful, the world is about to descend into chaos. "Ah, for such an important prophecy, lady, why would you tell it to a little dwarf?"

"Because the little dwarf is the sacrifice; knowing or not makes no difference." After saying that, she burst into loud laughter.

Ti Li Ang felt his scalp begin to go numb, and he almost wanted to turn and run.

"Hehe, little brat, you don't like this joke?" The Mother of the Lake withdrew her smile and said, "Only by sacrificing these slave‑holders can I set the dwarves' prophecy in motion."

"Damn, what the hell needs an entire city's slave‑holders to be sacrificed?" Ti Li Ang felt tense and exhausted.

"Little brat, you're truly forgetful yet adorable." The Mother of the Lake laughed as she plunged both hands into the water, "In short, the dwarves are responsible for thinking, and the water mage for acting."

The stream trembled, and a flash of light shot downstream like lightning.

Ti Li Ang felt a new world unfolding before him.