Chapter 1660: Hot Springs and Night Phantoms

Xia De still did not understand the appearance of that note—whether Clara the maid's sister had really left a clue, or if the deity had deliberately provided a clue that shouldn't have appeared to increase the fun of the journey.

But just as the deity said last time, they were just travelers, not detectives, so Xia De also understood that he didn't need to understand everything.

"The ice crystal that appeared by accident brought new challenges to the travelers. The angel gave guidance, the witch left a key, and the key opened a new map. The loyal dog felt sad because of that map, while the unicorn was full of hope. The travelers camped and rested at noon, so what will you do in the afternoon? Continue to rush forward to face new unknown challenges, or climb the snowy mountain according to the map's guidance to find that slim hope?"

The deity asked the group. The bard usually had no right to speak, so he was waiting for others to make a decision. The witch and the maid, of course, both wanted to find their missing relative, so the beautiful brown-haired lady looked at Xia De:

"Let's continue according to the map; after leaving here, whatever you want, I can give it to you."

"You say that as if I'm some kind of bad person."

Xia De stroked the obedient cat and asked the deity again:

"Can the travelers judge the approximate location of the destination through that map, so as to calculate the time it will take to get there?"

He did not forget that the seventh night was the end of the journey.

"Yes, whether it is the parrot, the unicorn, the loyal dog, or the traveler under the moon, they all have the ability to read that map. The destination of the map is at the higher reaches of the snowy mountain, and if you want to reach it, I'm afraid you will have to witness two complete sunrises and sunsets. There will be other unknown stories waiting for you on the way; this is... the story of the journey."

The story had developed to the noon of the fifth day, which meant that if they moved forward along the map now, they could reach the destination before the end of the journey.

The witch pursed her lips, and her eyes looking at Xia De became even more earnest. She knew that Xia De also had someone to find, but she didn't know if they would still be able to meet the person Xia De was looking for once they moved along this map, so she also didn't know how to speak to persuade Xia De to agree.

"Alright then, let's move forward along the map."

Xia De nodded. As long as the demon in the bottle last time didn't lie, then Chloe must be on the snowy mountain. If they could meet, they would meet no matter which path they took. Moreover, judging from the current situation, even if they couldn't meet, the God of Travel would let them meet.

The deity made a gesture of invitation, and Xia De reached out to flip the next card on the top of the deck. However, before his hand touched the back of the card, he looked down at the cat lying on his lap.

Last time he let this cat flip the card, although they encountered a terrifying sandstorm in the desert and even glimpsed some kind of indescribable object as terrifying as the sun in the sandstorm, everyone benefited from it, and Xia De's 【Shedon Seal】 also made great progress.

So he thought about it, and grabbed Little Mia's paw and pressed it on the deck. Amidst the cat's dissatisfied meows, the card was flipped to the front; it was a hot spring emitting smoke in the snow.

"The traveler under the moon has a keenness like a cat in the snowy weather. In that vast snow, he miraculously led you to discover a hot spring in the snowy mountain. That is not an ordinary hot spring; the equally keen unicorn sensed its extraordinary power. Of course, it is fortunate to encounter a hot spring in the snowy mountain, but do you want to try its power?"

The dusty traveler asked, and the witch asked boldly:

"May I ask, can we identify what it is without touching the hot spring?"

"Oh, yes, the unicorn's horn has the power to identify curses and poisons."

The deity smiled and nodded, looking very happy that they were gradually finding the secret of this story.

"So, the unicorn put her horn into the spring water."

The witch narrated, and then her forehead grew a phantom golden unicorn horn again. She immediately turned her head slightly, not wanting anyone to look closely at her forehead.

"The warm power permeated the unicorn's soul; although slight, it was indeed a power sufficient to heal the soul."

The deity gave the answer.

"Having confirmed it was safe, the travelers decided to accept the baptism of the hot spring in order. First was the most powerful unicorn, followed by her loyal hound, the traveler under the moon was third, and the parrot was the last."

Xia De also said, this order was to prevent the men from entering the spring first—although the only man in the story was Xia De, and the bard was a parrot.

As his voice fell, everyone felt warm and comfortable. That was a warmth different from the small campfire by the deck at the moment; the warmth of the hot spring was more inclusive, instantly clearing away the influence of the cold, and even making Xia De feel the comfort of his soul.

Xia De and Miss Alela Andriana the witch themselves had strong souls, so the influence they received was smaller, while the maid who had just become a witch and the bard who had always been an ordinary person directly groaned out loud.

That was not a lewd groan, but a long sigh as if they had put down all the burdens in their hearts. It was not obvious on the newborn witch, but on Mr. Enriques the bard, his whole person seemed to be at least five years younger.

If it weren't for the fact that he was only in his thirties himself, this effect might have been even more obvious.

【Outsider, your soul has been washed.】

"She" also reminded softly in Xia De's ear, but did not continue to say what effect this had, which meant that this effect was actually not obvious to Xia De.

So the journey of the fifth day came to the night. Although Little Mia's "luck" seemed good, Xia De did not continue to let the cat touch the cards, but signaled Mr. Enriques the bard to do it.

From the initial excitement and fear, the sorrow and sadness after the old knight left, to the calmness of today, this ordinary man of the Fifth Era seemed to be the one who gained the most from this journey.

He put down the paper and pen in his hand and flipped over the next card. The card face was very familiar; it was still the scene of the small camp where everyone was currently located, which had appeared many times. But unlike before, this time the camp was surrounded by pairs of red eyes; no matter in which era, these were not kind eyes.

"On the night of the fifth day, the parrot chose the location for the travelers to camp. The campfire and the tent made you relax a little, but soon you noticed the malice appearing in the shadows of the snowy mountain."

Pairs of red eyes really appeared in the jungle with thin mist outside the camp in the Lost Forest in reality. Those dense eyes spied on the people; everyone was very vigilant, but the owners of those eyes did not truly appear.

"The moon and the sun will protect you, so you are still safe tonight. But the malicious eyes will bring false hallucinations; tonight everyone must face their own fears and anxieties. Although false, it is still terrifying."

This time, after the deity's voice fell, the scene did not undergo that kind of wonderful transformation; everyone was still sitting in their original positions, but everyone saw figures with red eyes walking out of the forest drifting with thin mist.

Xia De, who was holding the cat, didn't know what others saw, but what he saw was the "self" he saw from the mirror at No. 6 St. Derand Square when he first came to this world.

It is worth mentioning that in the nearly one year since coming to this world, although the outsider's height and weight had not changed much, his appearance had changed a lot. Simply put, what he relied on to fascinate the witches was not just power.

This change in appearance, according to "her", was the uniqueness of the outsider's soul and the powerful power of divinity, which caused that slightly ordinary face to change toward the outsider's true appearance. And this subtle change, no one could discover; everyone would only think that Xia De was originally like this; this is the peculiarity of divinity.

But the outsider himself, of course, still remembered the shock when he first saw that face in the mirror, so he completely remembered the original appearance of this body.

He did not panic, but watched the person with "red light" in his eyes getting closer. As that thing got closer, Xia De also saw more details. Although the appearance was the same, its body appeared strange gray-black as if it had faded, and it carried shadows while walking, suppressing the light of the campfire behind the deity.

But this happened to show that this was an illusion; if it were real evil power, it would be impossible to walk to a position so close to the deity.

So, Xia De pinched Little Mia's waist with both hands and lifted it up:

"Meow~"

Even though it had also seen the initial appearance of the outsider's body, the cat still issued a warning sound at the first time. Xia De even felt that if it weren't for him grabbing it, Mia might have even rushed up.

This cat was clearly so timid, but every time Xia De encountered danger, it would "stand up". The outsider liked this cat and even thought about forcibly "snatching" it from Miss Mia Gao De regardless of his principles; it was not just because this cat was good-looking... of course, good-looking also accounted for a large proportion.

The strange thing with red eyes stopped its steps under the cat's warning, and then a voice exactly the same as Xia De's came:

"You occupied my body, don't you ever feel ashamed?"

Xia De, who was in a very good mood because of the cat's loyalty, looked at him with strange eyes:

"Guilt? I can't even be sure if you have ever truly existed."

Occasionally he would think about this question at the beginning, but later as he encountered more and more things and had more and more doubts about this body, Xia De didn't think much about it:

"I once called out to you in death, but you just wouldn't appear. All traces of your past are very blurry, and all the evidence proving your existence actually has doubts. If you really want to question why I became 'me', then at least you have to tell me, who exactly was 'I' in the past?" ===== CHAPTER 1661 =====