Chapter 380: Forgotten Things

Although she didn't plan to stay here at night, Duo Luo Qian still decided to have dinner with Xia De before leaving.

So when the transaction was in the evening, Duo Luo Qian was still at 6 Saint Deran Square, helping Xia De observe the whole square through the window of the living room.

Xia De calculated the time and walked out carrying the briefcase containing the money. The sun was setting, pigeons were waiting for food on the square, and the vendors who hadn't left yet were waiting for the last batch of customers today.

When Xia De walked through the pigeon flock, they suddenly flew up and flew over his head when he arrived at the fountain.

He didn't wait long before he saw Mr. Rundall walking over from the intersection on the west side of the square with a file bag.

"I won't reveal the secrets of your organization, but I also hope that except for the person who meets me, others in the Cult won't know my identity."

This was the requirement Xia De put forward before the transaction. The two men shook hands under the statue of the girl holding a water bottle in the sunset. Both of them had half of their faces illuminated by the sunset, and half hidden in the darkness.

"Of course, please never mention the matter of the Hidden Cult to anyone; we haven't appeared in public for a long time. But if you wish to trade in the future, you can go directly to the address on my business card to find me; we welcome any fair trade. If you cannot find me, you can also go find this person, but be very careful—this old gentleman's temper is not as good as mine."

Mr. Rundall handed Xia De a business card, the business card of Old John's Pawnshop.

The corners of Xia De's mouth twitched, and he actually felt that he wasn't

"Does this Mr. John know my identity?"

"He does. He asked me to write it down and note your expression when I gave you the card."

Exchanging the items in their hands with Mr. Randol, neither of them checked them on the street; they both trusted that there would be no problems with this transaction.

"Also, these banknotes are not in sequential order; you can spend them as you please."

Xia De said, and the secretary of the University Federation nodded, his expression very serious:

"Very well, Mr. Hamilton. I must also warn you: although I know you are only doing this for research, if you truly become crazy enough to attempt this God-Calling Ritual, you must be extremely careful. Even among the God-Calling Rituals we have encountered, this one is extremely dangerous. The ritual is divided into two stages, and once you forget one very important thing, it will cause an exceptionally terrible result."

"I certainly won't go calling upon gods. However, forgetting..."

Xia De narrowed his eyes; the question that had arisen under that giant tree had actually been answered at this moment.

"Mr. Randol, is the second stage the fairy tale you spoke of?"

The middle-aged man nodded:

"Yes, it is 'The Tree's Kiss'. In some versions of the story, the entire content of the ritual is clearly specified. For example, 'The Coconut Story Collection' published in the year 1200, Carson Rick's 'Appreciation of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales', and the 'Complete Collection of Ancient Deraerion Fairy Tales', of which only a few copies are currently in circulation."

For some reason, at this moment, Xia De did not feel the slightest bit surprised:

"'Complete Collection of Ancient Deraerion Fairy Tales'?"

"Do you have this book?"

Mr. Randol asked in surprise.

"So that's how it is."

Everything made sense now.

Time reached midnight. Xia De, who was lying on the sofa with a book covering his face, sat up abruptly, forcing the cat that had been lying on his stomach to jump to the side.

He glanced at the documents scattered on the table; besides the materials Xia De had spent a high price to buy, there was also a reply from the librarian, the Red Moon Witch. Xia De had once asked Miss Daniste about the original founders of the Academy; she had not given a specific answer, but she had provided information regarding the traditions of the librarian's duties.

Everything was much as he had thought, and at the same time, many of the doubts from the past could now be explained.

Tidying up his clothes, which were somewhat wrinkled from lying down for too long, Xia De picked up the cat, which had regained its energy after being woken up, and soothed it. Then, leaving the cat on the sofa, he walked alone toward the bedroom door.

He took out the key from the year 3005 of the General Calendar, which was covered in cracks:

"This is probably the last time I'll see Miss Feilian... May the World Tree protect me in the infinite time... Mia, don't meow; it's not like you haven't seen me do this before. See you in three seconds."

"Meow~"

Xia De complained about his cat, yawned, turned the door handle in front of him, and stepped into the white fog door.

【Outsider, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time."】

【Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":】

【Autumn, 3002 of the Fifth Era, Western Continent, Forest of a Thousand Trees.】

【Event: God-Calling Ritual - Contact the Old God "Yaobian Doorway".】

【Duration: Thirty minutes (33).】

【You have obtained additional information.】

【The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree continues to watch you.】

【The Ancient God of Time's trial for you will continue.】

【Assist the mortal in completing the God-Calling Ritual - Contact the Old God "Yaobian Doorway".】

【The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: The truth of a segment of history (The Witch War at the end of the Fifth Era), the Miracle - Space Stabilization Aura.】

White fog filled the surroundings, but Xia De did not immediately step into the Forest of a Thousand Trees.

【Do you have any other questions?】

She asked softly in his ear.

Xia De looked at the white fog in front of him:

"I was just thinking that in front of an Old God, even a powerful mortal like Miss Feilian could actually make such a mistake. Mortals are truly too fragile in the face of gods."

She chuckled in his ear, and Xia De shook his head. He took a step forward, the white fog slowly dissipated, and the forest in the dark night gradually became clear. Whispers came almost immediately, and at the same time, in the deep darkness, the twisted branches looked like the hands of corpses in a horror story, and the dense tree trunks seemed to have grown one after another terrifying eyes.

"Silver Moon!"

He said softly without panic, and the moonlight from his fingertips barely illuminated the path ahead. Just like the lower deck of the fish-bone pirate ship, this forest could also suppress Xia De's moonlight; this phenomenon had occurred last time as well.

The light and shadow of that reddish-gold bonfire could not be seen through the gaps in the surrounding thickets; if he walked around blindly, he would get lost in the Forest of a Thousand Trees again.

Last time, he had accidentally encountered the Moon Witch. The silver moon held the opposing concepts of holiness and evil, while the yellow moonlight held the opposing concepts of guidance and confusion. The Moon Witch could move through the forest, but Xia De could not.

Fortunately, last time, the witches had already told Xia De what to do.

Maintaining the light at his fingertips, Xia De drew the holy silver greatsword from the air beside him. With one hand, he thrust the sword into the soft soil beneath his feet; the sensation was very much like stabbing into flesh and blood.

Maintaining this posture, he whispered in his mouth:

"Moonlight guide me, may the Silver Moon be with me."

After waiting for a while, the light of the bonfire appeared silently in the gaps of the thickets in front of him. The Moon Witch had left power around the clearing under the giant tree; Xia De only needed to activate it with similar power nearby to receive guidance.

Xia De put away his sword, walked over, pushed aside the thickets, and finally arrived at the clearing under the giant tree.

Under the tree trunk, the bonfire flickered, someone was singing softly, and the rustling canopy seemed to be accompanying the singing:

"The princess in the castle will not understand, that the freedom to walk the world is what we pursue."

"Meeting a witch at the crossroads overgrown with lavender, where are you going, to pick that bunch of herbs."

"Holding up white snow on the top of the snowy mountain, watching the sun in the depths of the desert."

"If you can meet us, my dear girl~~"

"Please whisper our names, please ask your doubts."

"In the flower beds where lilies bloom, or, where the sunflowers face west."

"Please wear a beautiful dress, and hold up the purple thyme."

"The one who loves you and the one you love, are all here, in this hall filled with sunshine."

This was probably a folk song of the witches popular in the Fifth Era, only for some reason it was somewhat sorrowful.

Three hooded ladies sat around the bonfire, and it was Miss Feilian who was singing.

As the singing stopped, only Miss Feilian turned her head to look at Xia De; the other figures merely trembled slightly, looking as if the forest's erosion of them was becoming increasingly severe.

It was the same as before here; powder was sprinkled on the ground with the bonfire as the center to serve as a warning. Beside the bonfire where the witches sat were two small tents, a kettle, a small mirror, a wooden box, a basin of water with clothes soaking in it, and other daily sundries.

Wood was piled into a small mountain to the side, but no matter how vigorous the bonfire was, it could not save their dull spirits.

Xia De nodded to Miss Feilian under the hood, stood there hesitantly looking at the giant tree, and only then walked over.

The positions of the three witches were very interesting; they were not sitting close together, but were sitting in different directions. Among them, the Giant Tree Witch sat under the tree trunk, ninety degrees counterclockwise was Miss Feilian, and the Moon Witch sat opposite the Giant Tree Witch.

Xia De walked over quietly, unwilling to disturb the peace of the moment.

Sitting down beside the crackling bonfire, Xia De chose a position opposite Miss Feilian, adjacent to the two young witches.

"Good evening, ladies."

He said softly in this place where there was no daytime.

"Good evening."

Miss Feilian responded. The bonfire was not vigorous, and the two could see each other's faces.

There was no concept of time here, so Xia De did not ask how long he had been away. He looked at the witches' faces in the light of the bonfire; every face was filled with exhaustion.

After a long while, Xia De sighed slightly. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and took out the "Complete Collection of Ancient Deraerion Fairy Tales".

Placing the book on his lap, he asked softly:

"Now, can you still hear my voice?"

"We can."

Still, only Miss Feilian was speaking.

"Miss Feilian, actually, since the first time I came here, I have been a bit curious: why, why is it that even though there are three of you, there have always been only two single-person tents here (Note)? Was it lost when entering the forest, just like the ritual items?"

The three faces under the hoods all looked at him, and two pairs of beautiful eyes were filled with confusion.

Clearly, before Xia De brought it up, they hadn't realized this problem at all.