Chapter 1756: The Demon's Face

"What rules?"

The great face made of coins asked. Firelight shone through the gaps between the coins that formed its face, making Xia De, who stared at it, feel even more of its strangeness, for he felt not a wave of heat, but cold instead:

"Since you are here and have never actively harmed visitors, you naturally hold a duty like a camp guide. If you can tell them the rules here, surely you can tell me?"

Saying this, he tossed the single 【Power of Existence】 in his hand:

"Or is even this basic, simple information charged?"

That face stared at Xia De and spoke slowly:

"Everything in the Black Fog Camp requires a price to obtain. A small portion requires souls, sins, and so on; most require payment with one's own existence. Visitors, you can exchange all or part of your existence here for coins one by one. And I will only charge a small fee."

Hearing "fee," Xia De knew this was true; if the other party offered free exchange, he would instead suspect a deeper trap.

"Can one exchange part of one's own existence?"

"Yes. The witch behind you exchanged only part of her existence, while the old woman and the boy exchanged all of theirs."

At first, Miss Higgins said she had 23 coins, while Mrs. Miles had 6, and the boy had 7. Clearly, the witch's Power of Existence was far stronger than that of these ordinary people.

Xia De did not fully trust the demon's information. He turned to verify with his companions, whose memories were gradually returning, and confirmed that so far the other party had not lied. But the demon's appearance still added more doubts and gloom to this time-adventure journey.

That giant face continued to question Xia De:

"Then, do you wish to exchange your existence for coins? I can see you could exchange for very, very many coins. Using only a very small portion, you could obtain anything you desire."

Its last half-sentence was nearly a whisper, quieter even than the sound of the bonfire burning:

"I can see you possess the power of Great Sins. This is a good opportunity; it is hard to find elsewhere a way to strengthen your Great Sin power. Did you not experience it last time? The chains of sin increased; these are just small improvements. Have you heard of the 【Abyssal Great Sin Sword】? A man must have his own sword... Oh, how rude!"

The luxurious silver 【Moonlight Greatsword】 thrust at that face, but it dodged it lightly.

"I have my own sword."

Xia De said, while the "she" at his ear chuckled softly.

"Even if you have your own power, do you truly lack nothing? This camp holds infinite possibilities, and knowledge and information obtained through trade are exchanged with oneself, without considering limits."

That face continued to tempt:

"Perhaps you could first try exchanging a small portion of your existence for some coins, and then try spending them."

"What problems arise if one's existence decreases?"

Xia De asked. Miss Higgins behind him turned pale; she had used quite a few coins last time.

"A small consumption causes little trouble, but if much is consumed... This is knowledge; I cannot tell you for free."

That great face said with a laugh. Xia De then stopped paying it any mind and extended his hand to the witch:

"Give me that conch shell. I will tell you how to use it."

Saying this, he took a water bottle from his pocket; inside was seawater fetched from Coldwater Port. He let that face continue tempting nearby while carefully pouring the seawater over the conch shell, ensuring every part was wetted by the seawater. During this process, a layer of transparent, soul-colored faint glow gradually appeared on the surface of the gray, petrified conch shell. This proved that the information Xia De had obtained from Mr. Edmund was correct, and the characteristics of 【Undying Thought】 in the Fifth Era were no different from those in the Sixth Era.

After handling the conch shell, Xia De briefly explained its origin from the sea and its function of summoning souls to appear, then handed it to Mrs. Miles.

Even though fear arose from facing that coin great face that still had not vanished, the old woman now could not suppress the excitement and tension on her face. With trembling hands, she held the conch shell. After Miss Higgins the witch nodded to her, she shouted the name into the conch shell:

"Richard Knight Jackman."

Her voice, influenced by the conch shell, formed a huge echo that spread through the black fog that originally suppressed sound propagation. Xia De, the witch, and the boy all looked around, but saw no soul appear.

Shortly after, a strange sound appeared in the sky, and then a rusted knight's longsword fell from the heavens, stabbing into the ground beside Mrs. Miles. She stared blankly at that longsword, which was nearly broken, knelt down, held the sword, and began to weep:

"This is his sword. I remember; I have always remembered. But why do you not come to see me?"

"The relic did not work?"

The witch asked Xia De. Xia De hesitantly shook his head:

"If the soul has already become a powerful vengeful spirit, been captured, imprisoned, or even destroyed, naturally it cannot be summoned."

Miss Higgins frowned deeply:

"This was not in my plans. I originally thought that gentleman merely died on the battlefield and became an unnamed corpse. Things have become more troublesome."

"One must not give up halfway. Perhaps I can tell you some things. However, there is a price."

The face watching this scene spoke the right words at the right moment. Mrs. Miles wiped her eyes, stood up, and painfully pulled out that sword:

"I want to find him. No matter what, I must find him. How many coins do you need?"

She refused Miss Higgins' interference, and also shook her head to signal Xia De need not speak.

"Look at your pitiful state; even I am moved by you. I know you have only six coins left on you. Give me half that amount, and I will tell you how to find him."

Without any hesitation, Mrs. Miles tossed three coins toward that face. Then the gaping mouth—that is, the gaps between the coins—swallowed the coins.

It immediately made a chewing motion, then suddenly spat out a beam of faint light. That light fell upon the black scale in the small camp. The scale, which had previously remained balanced, tilted once more:

"Follow the scale to seek the next merchant. Remember, He has many goods, but only one can retrieve the person you seek."

It said this to Mrs. Miles. The latter wiped her tear-reddened eyes and memorized this sentence. At the same time, both Xia De and Miss Higgins noticed her abnormality. After losing half the coins she had exchanged with her entire "existence," she appeared to the two of them to have become semi-transparent, yet both she and the boy seemed unaware of this.

Miss Higgins gave Xia De a look, telling him not to point it out, but it was clear she was equally anxious. If Mrs. Miles died here, she feared she would be unable to explain to the old woman's "cousin."

Just then, the boy also spoke with trembling voice:

"May I, from you, exchange for the merchant's position?"

Xia De and Miss Higgins both looked at him. The boy instinctively shivered, and that giant face immediately turned toward him, speaking in a "kindly" tone:

"Of course, child. What do you trade?"

"I wish to reverse the kingdom's destruction."

Last time he said his kingdom was destroyed by a meteor impact, but Miss Higgins clearly knew of no such major event occurring in the world recently.

The demon's face did not question the boy, but continued to speak while maintaining its "smile":

"You little trash. Even if you sell all your existence and your soul, you cannot reverse what has already happened. Child, it is time for you to accept the fact that you have grown up. Listen well: This is a place of fair trade, not a place for you to make wishes at will. However, if you wish to make a wish to me, I am quite interested."

The boy instinctively stepped back. Xia De then said:

"Do not frighten him. You could simply say his money is insufficient."

"But that would be no fun."

The face above the bonfire smiled; the boy's face was deathly pale, yet he mustered his courage and continued speaking:

"It's alright, Mr., I accept the situation. I understand."

His voice grew lower, then suddenly he raised his head and asked:

"I want revenge! I want the power to take revenge!"

"How do you take revenge on a meteorite?"

Xia De asked in surprise. In truth, he knew the boy was certainly lying, so he wanted the boy to reveal the truth himself. But the boy averted Xia De's gaze, still looking at the demon's giant face. The latter laughed again; due to the facial movement, the tens of thousands of coins rattled noisily:

"That's easy. Don't you already have a dagger?"

This referred to the gift given to the boy by the shadow performing the "sword-swallowing" magic trick during their previous entry into the Black Fog Camp:

"Give me three coins, and I will guide you to a merchant who can help you better unleash the power of that dagger. Come to think of it, that merchant's location lies on the same road as the merchant the old Lady is seeking; you can go together along the way."

So the boy also tossed out his three coins, and the demon's face spat out another mouthful of black light, attaching it to the scale.

"Let's go."

Xia De said to Young Lady Higgins. The latter nodded, and everyone picked up torches from the fire. The demon did not stop them; instead, just before the group was about to leave, it spoke to Xia De:

"Guest invited here, although you have rejected me now, I believe you will seek me out voluntarily sooner or later. I look forward to that moment. Although this camp cannot give you everything you want, it can at least answer most of your questions. I am very eager to see what expression will be on your face when you discover the true value of this place."

Xia De paid it no heed, holding his torch and walking into the mist with his companions.

PS: It's the last day of this month! Adding an extra chapter to beg for votes!