Chapter 1659: Angel, Witch, and Clues

"Please rest assured, I will help you."

Xia De made a gesture of invitation, and the witch walked toward the ice crystal on the far left of the campfire that was freezing a human body. However, as she took another step forward, the humanoid witch actually transformed into a snow-white unicorn in the flickering firelight.

It was evident that the unicorn was also shocked, but this was not the first time, so she continued forward and then slammed her golden horn into the ice crystal.

Crack!

The unicorn's horn possessed the unique ability to break seals; with one strike from the glowing horn, the ice crystal shattered. Yet, when the unicorn raised her head, her sky-blue eyes did not see a familiar figure, but a beautiful lady with long golden hair and a bewildered expression.

She possessed exquisite beauty, which alone was enough to confirm she was definitely a witch. If not for the "what is happening right now" expression on her face, Xia De's evaluation of her appearance would have been even higher.

"A unicorn? In the snowy mountains?"

She looked at the creature before her in surprise, but did not look at the people not far away; clearly, she could only see the snowy mountains and not the snowy Lost Forest scene.

The unicorn wanted to explain, but at that moment, she saw the golden-haired lady emitting a holy white light. A golden pillar of light descended from the sky, enveloping her, and a golden halo appeared above her head, accompanying her as she ascended toward the invisible void.

Pure white wings spread out behind her, and that "what is happening right now" expression quickly transformed into a gentle, loving smile. The slowly ascending witch smiled as she looked at the shocked unicorn and opened her arms to her:

"My soul has passed the final test, and my Lord has opened His arms to me. You have helped me, so what reward do you desire?"

Shocked by the scene before her, the unicorn hurriedly spoke:

"I want to find my apprentice, my lover!"

"No problem."

The soul about to become an angel gave a hint:

"She is in this snowy mountain. To find her, you need to let the traveler you pass by become your companion. But finding the girl you seek does not mean you can take her away. When faced with a choice, between the ruby and the sapphire, which one will you discard?"

After speaking, she vanished into the heavenly light. All the anomalies disappeared, leaving only the shocked people watching the scene.

"Was that... an angel?"

The bard asked Xia De in a low voice, and Xia De, who was holding the cat and looking up at the end of the heavenly light, nodded:

"Yes... I have seen it once before; I never expected to see it a second time."

As the two exchanged words, the unicorn transformed from the witch had already lowered its head and charged toward the second ice crystal. But as the ice crystal shattered, Xia De was certain that this target was also not the person Miss Adriana was looking for, as it was an old woman with a face full of wrinkles.

More precisely, this was another humanoid relic. The moment the ice crystal shattered, whispers swept through the surroundings. As Xia De quickly stood up, the campfire, the tent, and the god had already vanished. On the snow-covered ground under the heavy snowfall, there was only him holding Mia, along with the unicorn, the parrot, and the hound.

The wind and snow assaulted them. If it weren't for the fact that it was daytime and the faint light of the sun could be seen in the sky, Xia De would have thought he had returned to the Silver Mountains. But there was no time for him to dwell on it; the old woman who had stepped out of the ice crystal grinned and raised her hand, aiming at them.

A violent blizzard, sharp as blades, flew out from her wide robes, instantly freezing the parrot and the hound in ice. The unicorn let out a cry, its glowing horn charging straight at the opponent once more, forcing the unknown humanoid relic to stop casting spells.

Xia De also hurried over, placing the two blocks of solid ice beside the golden bracelet of Yin Luna that still remained on the ground. The light and heat melted the solid ice, rescuing the shivering parrot and hound.

"Mia, don't run around, protect them well!"

He placed the orange cat on the hound's back. Although it was somewhat ridiculous to do so, in this environment, the cat's combat power was truly stronger than that of the parrot and the hound.

"Moonlight Greatsword!"

The magnificent silver greatsword, resembling transparent crystal, was drawn by Xia De from the void. He swung the sword at the old woman who was entangled with the unicorn, and the latter hurriedly transformed into wind and snow to dodge.

But when she returned to her human form, Xia De and the unicorn launched an attack on her together.

The golden power of the unicorn and the silver moonlight symbolizing the moon tangled with the old woman, who was waving her hands like a madman, amidst the snow and ice. The agitation of spirits and elements caused the snow higher up on the nameless snow mountain, shrouded in the blizzard, to tremble.

Xia De, deeply worried about an avalanche, wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible, so he launched a more fierce offensive together with the witch, who was becoming increasingly proficient in using the unicorn's power. In story mode, the humanoid relic, whose power was severely restricted, actually fell into a disadvantage under the cooperation of the man and the beast.

Thus, after shattering the silver moonlight strike once again, the old woman pulled a broom from under her skirt and then rode the broom, flying toward the distant sky.

"Moonlight—Strike!"

Xia De clapped his hands together violently, and as he pulled them apart, a brilliant silver blade of light flew toward the direction of the old woman. But this strike did not take effect; the blade of light was barely shattered by the old woman. She wobbled as she flew further away, and at the same time, something shiny fell from the sky.

"What is that?"

Suddenly feeling a bit dazed, when he came to his senses, the surroundings had once again turned into the appearance of the Lost Forest. The maid and the bard, shivering from the cold, quickly reached out toward the golden bracelet to draw warmth. Little Mia let out a confused "Meow~" and crouched on Xia De's cushion, while Xia De stood by the campfire with the unicorn.

"Chasing the hope of a lover, the unicorn resolutely chose to break the ice crystal. In the first one, she released the pious soul that had walked to the end through the trial and received the guidance given by the angel; in the second one, the sealed evil was released by her, and the escaped relic would become her crime, but the joint attack with the traveler under the moon also brought her unexpected gains."

The god narrated the story. Xia De was wondering what "gains" referred to, when he saw the unicorn take a step back, and where its right front hoof had originally been, there appeared a shiny little key.

Xia De bent down to pick up the key, looked at the key, and then looked at the box-like object in the last ice crystal.

He made a gesture of invitation, and the unicorn poked it hard, shattering the last ice crystal.

A small, rectangular red copper metal box fell into Xia De's hands. Because it had been sealed in ice for a long time, the metal was very cold. Xia De inserted the key—

Click~

The box itself was not large, so the largest thing that could be put inside could not exceed the cat that was curled up on the cushion, obediently waiting for Xia De to return. In fact, there was only a folded piece of paper inside, which left Xia De, who had thought there might be some secret treasure, extremely disappointed.

"Do not come looking for me."

He read the only line of text on that piece of paper; the cursive letters were very beautiful.

"What does this mean?"

He handed the paper to the witch beside him, and then returned to their respective cushions with her. He picked up Mia again, and the cat squirmed excitedly in Xia De's arms; he didn't know why it was so energetic early in the morning.

"Your expression looks wrong."

Teasing the cat, Xia De looked up at the witch again. The latter silently handed the paper to her maid, who took one look and also fell silent.

The bard on the side asked tentatively:

"Is this... left by Miss Clara's sister?"

"Yes."

The maid in the black dress pursed her lips as she looked at the paper in her hand, but Xia De felt puzzled by this:

"This isn't right. How did your sister know that you would see this paper? This was hidden too well, wasn't it?"

Xia De asked in confusion, so the witch took the initiative to explain:

"Although Clara's sister, Lux, was my apprentice, she was stronger than me in some aspects. She was an excellent diviner, and even the Diviner Association praised her. Oh, the Diviner Association is..."

The Diviner Association of this era was not yet a very famous organization.

"I know, I know."

Xia De nodded:

"So, that Miss Lux divined in advance that you would eventually come looking for her one day, so she left a letter telling you not to look for her... Actually, I have always wanted to know, what did that missing young lady go out to do in the first place? Although it was said just now that it was related to Miss Clara, what was it specifically for?"

"She believed Clara's words and wanted to find a way to break through for me."

The witch answered very straightforwardly:

"Also to find a way for Clara to become a witch. It is shameful to say, although she was my maid and apprentice, most of the time, it was she who accommodated and helped me."

Thinking of past events, the witch's already bad mood became even worse:

"I couldn't understand her heart very well in the past. The furthest distance in the world is probably like this; she was clearly by my side, yet I failed to cherish her..."

Patter~

The sound of the maid in the black dress's large tears falling onto the letter paper, although covered by the sounds of the campfire and the wind and snow, was noticed by everyone present except the bard. And after Miss Maid's tears wet the paper, a map outlined in black pen actually appeared in the blank area of the paper.

"This... is this a bit too dramatic? Was this also arranged by that Miss Lux? I am not questioning her divination level, but this matter seems very strange no matter how you look at it."

Xia De asked the god who had been smiling and watching everyone talk and communicate. The traveler with his back to the campfire gave him a smile:

"Travel, after all, is always full of various surprises. Although being plain and simple is good, with a story, isn't travel more exciting? And this is a story of travel, not a real journey; didn't you already understand this point?"