Chapter 1712

Only then did Xia De notice that this young witch's spirit was abnormally excited. This was definitely not the joy generated by being favored by a big figure, but rather a stress reaction after her spirit was affected.

However, compared to haggardness and silence, this reaction was at least somewhat normal, and there was no need to worry for the time being.

So Xia De looked at the boy who was holding a torch and keeping a distance from the three, as if avoiding suspicion and indicating he didn't want to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Judging from his clothing and attire, the boy must have come from a noble family. His figure wasn't sturdy, but he definitely wasn't malnourished, so his age could be inferred from his height, probably around fifteen or sixteen.

"He arrived earlier than you. Because everyone can only take one torch in this place, gathering together to act is safer, so I didn't drive him away."

Miss Higgins said, and the boy thanked the witch tremblingly, and then answered the question:

"Hello, hello, and hello to you too. I am Andor Ade, I am also here to buy things."

His timidity at this time was much more normal; ordinary people in this era had no way to protect themselves when facing such a strange location.

"Since we have all introduced ourselves, it's your turn, sir." The young witch looked at Xia De, and Xia De gave his name: "Xia De Hamilton, considered a travel writer and detective."

The witch nodded lightly, continuing to explain to Xia De:

"The place we are going to next is the market hidden in the black fog not far away; this is only considered the market entrance. You must hold a torch to act inside. Please be sure not to extinguish the torch. As for leaving here..."

She looked around, the firelight couldn't break through very far, and the black fog had quite a sense of oppression:

"Outside, that Witch Emperor of the Desert will pick us up at a specific time. But you can probably also feel that this is a place of chaos in time and space, so it's hard to say how long we have to wait."

Although she said this, her tone was very relaxed:

"But I don't care. If I unfortunately die, that Majesty will give my sister a large compensation. For a witch like me without a background, if I want to go further, I can only gamble on my luck."

"Your sister and you wouldn't be twins, would you?"

Xia De asked hurriedly, and Miss Lia Higgins looked at him suspiciously:

"Of course not, my sister just became an adult, I have already... Why would you think we are twins?" "Just pretend I didn't say anything. Then, the camp is over there, right?"

He pointed to the direction he had just prepared to walk toward, and the witch nodded:

"Mrs. Myers wants to come to make up for past regrets, that boy's country was destroyed, he wants to save the tragedy. As for me, although I was hired, I also prepared to do some trading; after all, this kind of place isn't visited for nothing."

She paused, and added very cautiously:

"Most transactions in the Black Fog Camp require currency, a small part requires emotions, sins, or even souls, but Her Majesty doesn't recommend us to use things other than currency. Since you said you came here by accident, you shouldn't have currency for trading on you, right?"

She pinched a black coin from her pocket and showed it to Xia De, and deliberately brought her hand in front of Xia De.

Xia De took a look and knew this was a coin he had never seen before. The black coin was about the same size as a one-shilling alloy silver coin; one side was the witch's own portrait, and the other side was a symbol representing money, but this wasn't a relic. Of course, Xia De also knew the young witch was deliberately testing him:

"I don't have this kind of thing, don't worry, I won't try to snatch it."

"You can't snatch it either; these coins cannot be transferred to the owner by any means other than trading. Look at my portrait on this, this represents I am the owner of this coin."

"Then can you take me to the Black Fog Camp to have a look?"

"Of course, let's set off now."

The witch said, taking the initiative to support the elderly old woman, although she claimed to be hired, she was still very dedicated. At the same time, Xia De noticed that Mrs. Myers' hat was adorned with small purple flowers; that seemed to be thyme.

The old woman smiled at Xia De:

"I'm old, I want to make up for my past regrets before I die." She took the initiative to tell Xia De what she was going to do:

"When I was young, my lover said goodbye to me and went to a distant place to participate in the war. I promised him that after he returned, I would marry him, but I waited for a lifetime."

"Didn't you divine his whereabouts? Isn't that cousin of yours very powerful?" Xia De asked curiously, and Mrs. Myers shook her head:

"He promised to return, I believe he won't break his promise... Even if he can't return, I want him to tell me personally what he encountered. Look at this old-fashioned hat of mine, it was a gift he gave me before he left. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme; my memory of that day when we parted only has these left. That day was really good weather."

She coughed a few times, and under the support of the red-haired witch, left the side of the campfire and came to the path. The boy followed behind them holding a torch, but didn't dare to get too close.

The witch patted the old woman's back a few times, and continued to say to Xia De:

"We can't stay in the market for too long. You and I are fine, Mrs. Myers and the boy over there are ordinary people, they must return here before they can't hold on."

The group raised their torches and walked toward the depths of the black fog. Xia De asked: "About how long can we stay?"

"In a place where time and space are chaotic, it's hard for me to give you a time scale. If you can't hold on, you can't... You must protect the flame; without the flame, you will be lost here forever. So, it's best for everyone to act together; even if one person's flame is extinguished, others can protect her."

She supported Mrs. Myers and walked behind Xia De, while the boy was further behind. Moving away from the campfire, the temperature dropped rapidly, and one could already breathe out mist when speaking. The visibility was further decreasing, the black fog became even thicker, and the area illuminated by the four torches seemed to be the only safe zone left in the world.

"I have one last question."

Xia De, who was leading the way, could already vaguely see dark shadows like shadows appearing in the black fog ahead. His body could clearly resist the severe cold, but at this time he still couldn't help shivering:

"Is this strange place related to the gods?"

The Tree Father's task was to trade with that God of Commerce and Wealth, not to trade with those strange things that were gradually appearing in front of him.

"Never heard of it, don't know."

The young witch pulled up her collar and shook her head decisively. She was wearing very thick cotton clothes, and only the hand holding the torch was frozen white. Xia De nodded while panting; he understood, perhaps his main task wasn't to help the group complete their respective transactions, but to find that god first. Thinking of this, he didn't forget to quietly look at his three companions this time. The boy and the old woman were also panting because of the cold and the sense of oppression; their faces were pale, but none of them gave up moving forward.

"I don't know if the gods have already ambushed us, just like in the Forest of a Thousand Trees."

Thinking in his heart, he didn't forget to take out cotton clothes from his pocket and put them on. The other three were prepared, so they didn't need Xia De's help.

And the so-called "Black Fog Camp" was quite close to that campfire, but because of the influence of the black fog, he hadn't noticed it just now. As the shivering crowd gradually walked forward holding torches, after no more than ten steps, the end of the upward path was their destination.

The terrain was very open, and the strange wild grass and wildflowers on the ground were cleaned up, revealing black land covered with a layer of frost. In the fog, translucent human shadows like shadows appeared as the fog was driven away by the firelight. They were either sitting cross-legged or standing; these shadows had similar postures, and each had their own goods and stalls in front of them.

But all the black shadows here were completely static and didn't move at all, and there was no sound around. This place was like a solidified oil painting; besides the black shadows, there were stalls and roads extending in all directions between the stalls. As for the camp itself, it looked quite large, or rather, because the field of vision was restricted and one couldn't see very far, one couldn't see the end at a glance.

Besides the four, there shouldn't be any other guests here. The strange scene illuminated by the firelight made the four of Xia De subconsciously stop their footsteps.

"Look here."

At the entrance of the camp at the end of the path, a dilapidated notice board was inserted obliquely into the soil. Holding the torch to look carefully, various messy claw marks formed crooked letters on the notice board. Those dense letters could not only be understood by Xia De, who knew all languages, but also by the remaining three.

Because these were the characters of this era of the Fifth Era: 【Fair, Fair, Fair】

"This is not bad."

Xia De praised softly, and the white fog in his mouth extended into the fog that the firelight couldn't illuminate. He adjusted his breathing and asked the young witch beside him:

"Who do you want to trade with?"

Judging from the camp entrance, most of the things on the stalls were covered by thicker black fog, and it was impossible to see what they were selling at all. A small part of the goods that could be seen clearly were bloody limbs, or strange pieces of meat squirming in dirty bottles. Plus those black shadows had no characteristics, so it wasn't easy to find a specific target.

"I don't know either, but I took other people's money, so I can't take no risks. I already have a plan, please follow me."

It could be seen that she was also a bit afraid of this place, but she still bravely stood out. First, she gave a few instructions to Mrs. Myers while shivering, then bypassed Xia De, and approached the stall on the left side of the camp entrance holding a torch.