Chapter 536: Beyond the Mountains

Not until today, not until just now when thinking about the next arrangements, did Lu Mian seem to wake up from a maze, remembering the matter of wanting to write a letter to "Magician" but forgetting it.

This made his back feel colder and his hair stand on end more than being shot in a battle.

If similar situations continued to escalate, it was very likely that he wouldn't even know how he died!

"This feeling seems to have happened before... Right! In Dadel Town, Lugano and I unknowingly ignored the option of escaping, and kept looking for excuses to enter the town and investigate the madness." As Lu Mian's thoughts raced, he suddenly had a guess:

The woman he saw just now, the crying woman on the "Flying Bird," was the source of the madness, a humanoid sealed artifact that had escaped control!

After she left Dadel Town, she went to Gadi Port and boarded the "Flying Bird"!

"She will instinctively affect the thoughts of humans around her, making us forget the options that might threaten her? This requires monitoring everyone's psychological activities in a timely manner, right?

"Or, like what Anthony guessed before, naturally giving every person who approaches or every fellow passenger a mental suggestion, making us ignore her existence. Even if we see her occasionally, we will forget it after turning our heads. At the same time, all communications with high-sequence powers will be 'actively' forgotten or abandoned? Um, this high-sequence shouldn't be identified by her, but based on our self-cognition. If we think it's high-sequence, then it's high-sequence...

"After she disembarks and no longer gives us natural, continuous suggestions, we can remember the ignored problems through associations from other things...

"Fortunately, this sealed artifact never had an outbreak on the 'Flying Bird,' otherwise, I might have already lost control and become a monster...

"Wasn't it also him who scared away 'Bone-Breaker' Role? No, he was right next to me at that time, and didn't do anything... Unless, 'Bone-Breaker' knows him and knows how dangerous he is? Hehe, thinking about this from 'Bone-Breaker's' perspective is quite interesting. He specifically chose a very ordinary merchant ship to plunder, but as soon as he surfaced, he felt three malicious intents, one more dangerous than the other, one more terrifying than the other. It was like poking a hornet's nest. In that situation, besides running away quickly, there was no other choice.

"Were those strange fish of the 'Death Pilot' also attracted by her?"

Lu Mian was first afraid, then somewhat happy.

This proved that the disasters encountered by the "Flying Bird" were only a small contribution he made, as Aurora said. Throughout the entire journey, only the "Devil Wizard" matter was indeed caused by him!

Lu Mian could accept this frequency.

With a guess, Lu Mian immediately took out a sticky note and a fountain pen, and wrote a memo quickly:

"Find a hotel nearby, then write a letter to 'Magician,' focusing on the death imprint and that humanoid sealed artifact."

After folding the memo and putting it into his pocket, Lu Mian took advantage of Lugano communicating with the sailors, workers, and passengers at the pier, asking which hotels were nearby, lowered his voice, and looked at his left chest:

"Termiboros, you actually didn't even notice that such a dangerous sealed artifact was nearby."

Termiboros's magnificent, layered voice rang out:

"Why should I remind you?"

Yo, you know the "art of speaking" now... Lu Mian complained to himself, turned his head to look at Ludwig, who was holding a long strip of bread and gnawing on it.

He didn't know if it was because of the seal of the Church of Knowledge that he really didn't find it, or if he felt that the other party wasn't crazy and had no danger, so there was no need to care for the time being... Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and didn't take Ludwig and Lugano toward the port exit until Lugano had asked for the way.

Sangtagang was divided into two parts. One-third was provided to fishermen, with large open spaces, and three ice factories were built nearby. Two-thirds belonged to merchant ships, with passengers constantly entering, and items such as smelted steel, forged swords, and woven wool constantly being moved to the bottom of the ship's hold by mechanical cranes.

Lu Mian smelled the fishy smell permeating the air, looking at the mountain ridges in the distance from time to time, and looking at the plumes of black smoke rising from the southeast of the city, which was the downwind direction.

Relying on Lugano and Ludwig each picking two, determining the candidate list, and then staying at whichever one they encountered, Lu Mian came to an ordinary hotel named "Solo."

In the Highland language, this word means "sun."

Although the Feynapotter Kingdom didn't have the belief in the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and only respected the "Earth Mother," influenced by the overall environment of abundant sunshine and extreme heat, words like "Solo" and "Solos" (sunlight) appeared widely in various places that needed naming.

Lu Mian took off his golden straw hat that blocked the October sun, booked a suite from the boss who had gray hair, was thin and tall, had prominent cheekbones, and a thick beard, for 1.5 gold Risos per day, which was 3 Felkins.

—The official currency of Feynapotter is Riso, Seta, and Degen. It is said that when the Feynapotter Kingdom and the Central-South countries had not yet separated, and the Church of the "Earth Mother" and the Church of the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" jointly dominated this vast land, it was designed by scholars of the Church of Knowledge. It is not as anti-human as the gold pound currency system of the Loen Kingdom. 1 Riso equals 10 Seta, 1 Seta equals 10 Degen, and Degen has four denominations: five Degen, whole Degen, half Degen, and quarter Degen. Currently, 1 Riso is about 2 Felkins, equivalent to about 12 Risos per 1 gold pound. Lu Mian had already exchanged 1,000 Risos—this included quite a few Setas and Degens.

After paying the money and walking upstairs, Lu Mian saw a girl with long brown hair and freckles, but full of youthful vitality, coming in from outside the door, greeting the boss with the Highland word for "Grandpa."

The boss, whose cheekbone area was a bit sunburned, hugged the girl, pressed his right cheek against the girl's right cheek, and replied with a smile.

That was not in the Highland vocabulary Lu Mian had mastered. He turned his head to look at Lugano, indicating inquiry with his eyes.

"Old Delva said 'It's really happy to see you, my little cabbage.'"

"Little cabbage..." Lu Mian paused, repeating this address in a low voice.

Lugano, who had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and regular features, opened his mouth in confusion:

"You don't know, there are many descendants of Daliezh people here?"

He then pointed to the wall representing the outside at the second-floor stairwell:

"That mountain range in the distance is the Pilaes Mountains, uh, you Daliezh people like to call it the Daliezh Mountains."

Lu Mian suddenly understood the whole situation:

"This is south of the Daliezh Mountains?"

"Southwest, it takes several hours by steam train to reach the Daliezh Mountains, and there are large plains, meadows, and many towns and villages in between." Lugano introduced while going upstairs, "You also know that Daliezh and the shepherds in the nearby areas will move to the southern plains and meadows for grazing every autumn. Some of them will settle down, and some will try to find opportunities in the surrounding cities. Sangtagang is one of them.

"If you walk to the northeast, it doesn't matter if you don't know the Highland language, because there are many people who know Intis language there. I have a cousin, originally a widow, who later met a local while grazing sheep, married him, stopped grazing, and turned to help those herdsmen introduce sheep, cheese, wool, and other businesses. They even saved up a vineyard. Hehe, her husband is very obedient to her. This might be the Feynapotter man. It's a pity I'm not a woman, otherwise, I would have converted to the 'Earth Mother'!"

Listening to Lugano's introduction, a piece of knowledge that Aurora had once told him flashed through Lu Mian's mind:

The Daliezh Mountains blocked most of the cold wind from the south.

"So, the Gaya Province south of the Daliezh Mountains has abundant sunshine and hot weather. Even in winter, the plains and meadows are green and can be grazed... So that's how it is..." Lu Mian felt that the knowledge "moved," forming a network, helping him clearly grasp the geography and weather characteristics of Sangtagang and the area to its northeast.

In a flash, he thought of another thing:

Most of the Beyonders caught by shepherds like Pierre wouldn't come from this area, right?

With such a port and mountains with many mineral deposits, there would indeed be more Beyonders here...

In that case, my "Hunter," "Provoker," and even "Arsonist" Beyonder characteristics are all inseparable from this area...

I have come here now...

How did I smell the taste of fate...

Lu Mian responded to Lugano's words casually:

"How many children has your cousin given birth to?"

"Three." Lugano replied.

"If she hadn't given birth to children, would her husband still be so obedient?" Lu Mian had long heard about the belief in the "Earth Mother" from the shepherds who moved for grazing.

They respected fertility and reproduction more.

"Definitely not." Lugano didn't doubt it at all.

While speaking, the three of them went up to the fifth floor and entered the suite at the end of the corridor.

Lu Mian walked to the balcony and cast his gaze toward the mottled mountains in the distance.

There were highland meadows, there was Cordu Village.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, Lu Mian returned to the bedroom in silence and began to write letters to "Magician" and Franca.

He had to inform Franca about the humanoid sealed artifact, letting her remind the official Beyonders of the Feynapotter Kingdom through "007." After all, such a dangerous "pathogen" that could go crazy at any time was indeed not suitable for wandering outside.

…………

"Wow! I said so, Lu Mian would definitely encounter that source of madness again!" When receiving the letter, Franca was preparing to go out with Jenna.

They were going to the Trier Underground Catacombs.

A few days ago, Jenna wanted to go see the "Kresmarna Night Pillar" again, hoping to have some gains, but didn't dare to go rashly, fearing to arouse the suspicion of the Demoness Sect—she still lived with Franca and couldn't guarantee that she hadn't been watched by the Demoness Sect.

Through Anthony's introduction, she finally received a task at a mystical gathering that could serve as a reason:

Go to a family tomb on the third floor of the underground catacombs and help that employer retrieve an antique tear bottle.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 537 =====

(End of chapter)