Chapter 2147: Arcane Transition, Illusion

After sending Talafu away, Xia Duo continued by summoning Jiabulile, indicating that he had already completed the task Grand Archon Fahede had requested of him—the third-party investigation had yielded a brand-new result distinct from the previous two.

Xia Duo asked the other party to bid farewell to Grand Archon Fahede on his behalf, as he himself would not go to disturb the Grand Archon. To this, Jiabulile tried to persuade him to stay repeatedly:

"Lord Xia Duo has contributed too much to Calimshan. If Lord Fahede knew that I let you leave without persuading you to stay, he would certainly punish me."

"I ask that Lord Xia Duo allow me a moment to report to Lord Fahede. Lord Fahede and Calimshan will certainly not let you down!"

【With the recommendation, Wild Fruit Reading is really easy to use for catching up on books. Download it here. Wild Fruit Reading, everyone can go and try it.】

Since Jiabulile had put it that way, it would seem somewhat heartless if Xia Duo just walked away like that. After all, Jiabulile had been busy running around for him these past few days; even if there was no credit, there was at least hard work.

After thinking about it, Xia Duo gave a final deadline, "Then I will stay in Kalim for two more days. If Grand Archon Fahede has any other needs, provided it does not affect my itinerary, I am also very happy to be of service."

In any case, it was the last two days, so Xia Duo did not care about making more empty promises. Anyway, any work he couldn't do could be pushed onto his itinerary; once the two days were up, he would be leaving.

……

That evening, Xia Duo received an invitation from Fahede. It was the Cloud Palace Night Banquet again, but compared to the cold and cheerless first meeting when he had just arrived in Kalim, this time it was much livelier.

Not only were there a large number of Pashas and Princes, but there was even a Princess of Syl Pasha, who was about the same age as Xia Duo. Fahede's words and tone carried the implication of playing matchmaker.

But unfortunately, Xia Duo already had his own wife, and he was even more indifferent to this kind of deliberately arranged union. In fact, in the beginning, he had been quite repulsed by his union with Niya.

It was only because Niya was already his mentor before they were married, and the two of them got along reasonably well, plus he was weak at the time and unable to resist, so he had no choice but to accept it.

The relationship between the two was very cold at first after marriage, and only gradually became harmonious later. If it were the current him, no matter what kind of status the other party had, he would not compromise.

But Fahede seemed to want to persuade him further:

"Lord Xia Duo, will you really not reconsider? Princess Saliha is the apple of the eye most doted upon by the great Syl Pasha. Your union might open up a brand-new situation for development in both the north and south."

"No, Lord Fahede, I have no doubt about the friendly relationship between Netheril and Calimshan, but this is not built upon a private marriage alliance, but rather on our shared desire for cooperation and development."

Xia Duo expressed his refusal again without hesitation, and then said, "If this banquet tonight is just to talk about this matter, then I can only choose to leave early."

"Hmph! You think I fancy you! Easterner! If it weren't for the Prophet telling me to come, I wouldn't have come at all!"

Before Fahede, who had been rebuffed by Xia Duo, could speak, Princess Saliha, one of the protagonists of this banquet, could not help but rise from her seat and fly out of the banquet hall like a whirlwind.

But just as she reached the door, she stopped again, tore off the thin veil clipped to the bridge of her nose, and said triumphantly to Xia Duo, "Regret it after seeing my true face, it's useless to regret it!"

After saying that, she turned and ran away.

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo could not help but feel amused; this Princess Saliha was truly mischievous. He had already seen the other party's true face.

Although Fahede said that he and the Princess were of similar age, what he saw was a young girl at most fifteen or sixteen years old. She was indeed very beautiful, but she also looked truly too young.

"Could it be that I look so young in the eyes of outsiders?" Xia Duo could not help but fall into deep thought.

It is very inappropriate to judge a Spellcaster's age by their appearance, because there are too many Life Extension Spells and illusion spells. However, he guessed that Fahede might have used some kind of judgment method based on bloodline.

If judged solely by life expectancy ratio, he could even claim to be a minor, but this was obviously even more inappropriate.

……

Just as Xia Duo was deep in thought, Fahede could not help but tease, "Does Lord Xia Duo regret it? If you regret it, I am willing to intercede with Princess Saliha on behalf of Lord Xia Duo. She is someone I watched grow up; she can still listen to my words."

"……"

Xia Duo was speechless for a moment, "I thank Grand Archon Fahede for your kindness, but I do indeed already have a wife, and we love each other very much. There is no room for anyone else between us."

"Sigh—the Prophet prophesied that Lord Xia Duo would be a good match for Saliha. It seems that is indeed the case now, but it is a pity that Saliha could not meet you sooner!"

"Lord Fahede, and the 【Prophet】 that Princess Saliha mentioned just now, is that an existence similar to an Elf prophecy mage?" Xia Duo hurriedly changed the subject.

Moreover, he was indeed quite interested in this so-called Prophet. He had already discovered that, apart from the Priests of the Gods, it seemed that other types of Prophecy had various limitations. He did not know what was going on with this Prophet.

Regarding Xia Duo's doubts, Fahede did not evade them, but instead introduced them in quite some detail: "Calimshan's Prophet is an advanced state of a Scholar. Unlike a prophecy mage, a Prophet cannot actively perform Prophecy; they can only passively receive revelations from the Plane. The price paid is lower, but even so, only a very small number of Scholars in Calimshan have the talent to become a Prophet."

Passive prophecy, huh?

It indeed has great limitations, and if the prophecies of two Prophets regarding the same matter conflict, then it would be interesting; there wouldn't even be a possibility of repeated verification.

Then how to interpret it becomes very critical. The influence of a Prophet in Calimshan might be very great!

Xia Duo suddenly thought that it had been a while since he arrived in Calimshan, and that legendary Syl Pasha had never appeared, even though he had solved a big problem for Calimshan!

Could it be that that Syl Pasha is a Prophet?

Not being able to appear for a long time might be some kind of price for becoming a Prophet!

Looking at it this way, perhaps he triggered some Prophet's prophecy the moment he arrived in Calimshan, and that was why Fahede so easily handed over a task that determined the fate of a country to him.

If there were no Prophet's prophecy to support it, how much trust would it take to cooperate in every way like this!

……

After Princess Saliha left, the banquet became normal. It was almost dawn when Xia Duo returned to the seaside palace where he was temporarily staying.

But as soon as he returned, he realized something was wrong. It was too quiet, and even the clear sound of the wind, which filled the territory of Calimshan like background music, had disappeared.

Although it was an avatar, Xia Duo still called out to the Floating City at the first opportunity, but what made his heart turn cold was—there was no response from the Floating City!

Then, he tried to contact Saville, but there was also no reply.

Xia Duo's heart sank, realizing that he was likely in big trouble!