Chapter 164: Thirteen People on the Snow Mountain

The blizzard howled outside the tent. Solving the shadow of death would not make the blizzard in the Bai Yin Mountains stop.

That roaring wind was so terrifying. Xia De looked up at the other three in the tent again; it seemed that everyone's face had strange shadows.

He turned Little Mia, who might have been frightened by the wind, back into a toy, calculated that it would take another two or three minutes to go back, and asked Miss Chloe hesitantly:

"Next time I come, do I need to prepare anything for you?"

The witch thought for a while, and this time she didn't refuse Xia De:

"Prepare whatever you want. The journey has only the last leg left. Next time you see us, we will probably be preparing to climb the highest peak."

"Okay, I will try my best to prepare."

Xia De nodded. He was still holding Miss Chloe's hand, and the latter seemed not to notice this, not pulling away.

Whether it was "her" or Xia De's own perception, it proved that Miss Chloe was indeed a living person.

He confirmed again that he had obtained the third "Witch Echo," and then found that the knowledge contained in this echo was exceptionally small.

And if Xia De wanted to investigate Miss Chloe's physical condition in more detail, he would have to have deeper contact. Xia De didn't have this plan for the time being, but the three people preparing to climb the snow mountain undoubtedly had problems.

He planned to return to the Sixth Era before trying to check information to solve this problem. Miss Chloe saw Xia De looking at her all the time and brushed the broken hair beside her ear unnaturally:

"Is it that once we climb to the summit, you won't appear again?"

Xia De nodded, and the witch pursed her lips:

"Then what about later? Will you come to see me later?"

"I'm not sure either."

Xia De gave the answer, and Miss Chloe also looked up at him:

"I don't know who you are or where you come from, but... a man like you is really not bad."

A faint smile appeared on her face:

"You said you were a lover of a witch, so next time if there is still time, tell me about the story between you and her."

There was unnatural sadness in her tone:

"That is truly a lucky witch."

Xia De was still thinking about the third Witch Echo at this time, and for a moment didn't know how to respond to Miss Chloe's words, so he asked:

"I remember you once said that when you entered the Bai Yin Mountains, there were nineteen people in total. Do you still remember the identities of the others? Among them, were there any people related to the god who helped us?"

Miss Chloe was silent for a while:

"My memory is already very chaotic. I only remember the faces and identities of twelve of them. Besides Mrs. Marquez, there was an ordinary person, also a witch's servant, but no devout believer of that god."

This was indeed a quite large team, knowing that even Miss Violet four thousand years later only brought her distant niece and six personal maids.

"That is to say, plus the gentleman in the corner who was met later, you actually only remember thirteen people including yourself?"

Xia De confirmed, and Miss Chloe was unwilling to recall the dead companions, only nodding silently. Mrs. Marquez gave the answer for her:

"Yes. But now we need to add you; it's fourteen people."

Xia De smiled and nodded to the lady who was cooking vegetable soup, having his own thoughts in his heart. So he asked again:

"Miss Chloe, just now when you faced that black shadow of death... was your mood a bit abnormal?"

He had fought with that black shadow at close range just now, but didn't feel his positive emotions being absorbed, only feeling that the other party seemed to be a mixture of death and fear. Xia De's knowledge was not enough to let him understand what that was.

"It seemed to be deliberately targeting me. Once I came into contact with it at close range, I... as if facing death directly."

The short witch bit her lip and said:

"The environment here is trying to drive me crazy. If you hadn't appeared in time, we would have had no hope of climbing to the summit of the mountains."

"No, even if I didn't appear, you would still have a chance. This is not only because that god is still watching over you, but also because I can see that you are not a girl who gives up easily."

Xia De lowered his head slightly and looked at her:

"Miss Chloe, please continue to climb forward. The mountain is there, waiting for us to conquer it. Please believe in this point, believe that you who are lost here can eventually reach the end."

The witch pursed her lips and looked at him, nodding slightly before reaching out her hand to him. That golden flame of the sun was floating in her palm at this moment:

"Swearing to the sun, I will definitely climb to the peak of the mountains, climb to the highest point of the material world."

At this time, white mist had wrapped around Xia De's body. The forty-minute adventure had come to an end again, and he should go back.

"In short, please be sure to pay attention to safety. I will come back again."

"I know."

Miss Chloe hesitated for a while, took the initiative to reach out and hug Xia De, but then pushed him lightly:

"Really, if I can't make you stay, why let me meet a man like you?"

She complained softly, watching him disappear in front of her.

(Little Mia running...)

1853, Sixth Era, No. 6 St. Derand Square, Room 1, Second Floor, Living Room.

【Outsider, you have returned to the present time.】

Xia De, stumbling, walked out of the bedroom door:

"Why is there still a Witch Echo left?"

He still couldn't figure it out, but still remembered to trot to the fireplace, trying to draw heat from the fireplace.

"Could it be that the black shadow we encountered is her soul that has already died in the future?"

【Impossible, what you defeated is not a spirit body.】

"So, I knew that the Tree Father's task could never be simple."

He was in front of the fireplace, turning Little Mia back into a cat. The orange cat didn't seem to feel cold; after turning back, it still meowed to express dissatisfaction to Xia De. And at this time, Dorothy, who was preparing to get up in the bedroom, also walked out. Last week, when Princess Lei Qianya saw Xia De looking like he was about to freeze to death, she personally used her body temperature to warm him, but the real writer lady wouldn't do this. She walked quickly to the kitchen to prepare hot tea for Xia De.

Dorothy and Xia De finished breakfast and left. Xia De took advantage of the morning being free and took a carriage to Miss Galina's manor outside the city. But because there was no appointment in advance, neither the witch nor Tifa was there, so Xia De left a letter and returned to the city.

It was around 11:00 AM that day that there was a sudden boom~ in the west of the city, and a loud explosion sounded, which could even be heard in St. Derand Square.

Xia De had already returned home at that time, guessing in his heart that this was related to Ring Ringed Shushi again, and tomorrow's newspaper would have a piece of news about a gas pipeline explosion.

Although Xia De had an appointment with Sir Prisha at 3:00 PM in St. Derand Square, Miss Dannister arrived in the St. Derand Square neighborhood at 1:30 PM that day.

The bell sound from downstairs made Xia De mistakenly think a client had come. Opening the door, he saw the thirteen-ring female Ringed Shushi standing outside.

She was wearing a black long dress, wearing a lady's soft hat with lace edges and beautiful small yellow flowers on the side. The red long hair was braided into a complex style and hung behind her head. She wore a pair of small gold-rimmed glasses on her face and carried a very beautiful plaid lady's bag in her hand.

Compared to the strongest female Ringed Shushi of the human race in the material world, she looked more like an intellectual and elegant university female professor:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton."

She greeted Xia De with a smile, then looked up at the house with emotion:

"Is this the famous haunted house in Tobesk? Truly interesting."

"Every Ring Ringed Shushi who has heard of the reputation here will sigh like this."

Xia De answered, letting go of the doorway to let Miss Dannister in. This lady was the strongest Ring Ringed Shushi Xia De had received at home so far. He even thought that if there was time, he would let Miss Dannister visit the house to determine if there were any problems with other locations in his house.

Due to the Zhengshen Sect and her duties, Miss Dannister hadn't set foot in Tobesk for many years. But she told Xia De that when she was a student at St. Byrons, she had visited here because of summer off-campus practice activities, but the three correspondence groups in Tobesk at that time had nothing to do with the current three.

She put her bag aside, held the teacup Xia De handed over, and curiously observed the living room on the second floor:

"Your place is really not bad. I always thought that the living environment of men living alone would be very chaotic."

Xia De sat on the long sofa holding Little Mia, hesitated for a while before saying:

"Someone cleans the house for me regularly... Miss Dannister, you must know Mr. Shelf Tim and Miss Shana Aya, right?"

These were the two Ring Ringed Shushi when the doctor joined the group.

The female Ringed Shushi retracted her gaze from looking around, held the teacup, and pressed her body's center of gravity on her left arm, with her left arm on the soft armrest of the sofa. She raised her eyebrows unexpectedly:

"You actually know these two names. No, please don't ask about this matter; this involves a very terrible thing. Your team leader Bill Schneider is suspected of having problems, also because of that matter."

Xia De nodded and didn't ask anymore, instead pointing to the direction of the kitchen behind him:

"You can see Yodel Palace from this window. If this wasn't a haunted house, I think my uncle, Mr. Sparrow Hamilton, wouldn't have been able to buy it so easily."

"Yes, the location here is quite good. You can live for a few years. When your team plans to set off for the academy, this house will definitely be able to sell for a large sum of money. Oh, actually, selling it to the academy is also fine; the academy also needs such hot properties. I just need to operate it to make this place an asset of the Library Management Academy. When you inherit my position, this house can naturally be transferred to your name."

She said about the academy, put down the teacup, and took out a box at least four times the size of the handbag from that small handbag:

"Almost forgot, the thing you want."

The female Ringed Shushi smiled.

Xia De opened the box, and inside was indeed the last stone slab, with four corners wrapped in yellow gemstones. He tried hard to control his smile. In this way, he only needed to unseal the Red Moon spirit rune, and the mystery of time could unfold before him.

In front of Miss Dannister, he didn't use the 【Yellow Moon】 spirit rune to shine on the stone slab, but put it away. After thanking Miss Dannister again, he talked about the recent news in Tobesk.

Although the library administrator lady came here mainly for the 【Bai Yin Moon Library】, her true duty was the matter of the Chosen One, so she was happy to get some information from Xia De. And besides Xia De telling Miss Dannister about local matters, this lady also talked to Xia De about St. Byrons, about the amazing academy city in the far north, about stories between various departments, and about the history of the library and the library administrators.

Xia De only then knew that most of the library administrators at St. Byrons could reach twelve or thirteen rings. This position had been passed down for two eras and carried power itself. Obtaining this identity, one would gain extra inspiration and wisdom in academic exchanges and learning within the scope of St. Byrons.

This was the convenience left by Miss Filiana and the initial library administrators for future generations when the library was first established.

Seeing that the time was almost 3:00 PM, Xia De, who had finished chatting about the weather in the far north with Miss Dannister, suddenly said:

"Speaking of which, I opened a time key a few days ago and haven't had time to write an investigation report. I went to the year 903 of the Fifth Era and saw an adventure story of a witch named Chloe climbing a snow mountain. I haven't heard of this witch's name, and checking information didn't find anything. Miss Dannister, may I ask what kind of celebrity this is?"

The female Ringed Shushi pointed her slender fingers at her chin and tilted her head slightly to ask:

"The name Chloe is common in the northern civilization of the early Fifth Era. Do you know the full name? This is not a very rare name."

Xia De shook his head slightly, only then thinking that he actually didn't ask Miss Chloe's full name:

"I don't know the name, but I can describe her appearance. She is not very tall, and in the year 903 of the Fifth Era, she looked like seventeen or eighteen years old. Very rare silver-white long hair, and her eyes are crimson."

"During the time investigation process, most of the truth will be covered by fog. You actually saw it so clearly."

Miss Dannister teased, but didn't go into detail:

"It's hard to judge who that is just based on these. If you can know what big things she did, it's easier to search in the few remaining materials of the early Fifth Era. But you also understand that the older the historical materials, the more incomplete they are. I don't think you have any possibility of finding information about that Miss Chloe."

She sighed softly:

"Time investigation is just like this, filling in the blanks, supplementing the completely incomplete history. Perhaps in the distant past, they were all people who could influence an entire era. But for us in the Sixth Era, they have long since gone away. That name represents only a piece of history, a few lines of text, and a story that has long ended." ===== CHAPTER 165 =====