Chapter 709: The Story That Continues

The god squinted his eyes and asked Xia De in front of him with a smile. The way his wrinkles piled up on his face was just like an old man walking on the street, asking a boy he met by chance if he wanted candy.

Xia De turned to look at Miss Olanode, and the latter nodded carefully and said very respectfully:

"God, I am preparing to build a library to assist my teacher in collecting knowledge. Please grant me your blessing within the allowable scope."

It was indeed this wish; Xia De once again had the feeling of witnessing history. Giving up the wish was of course a pity, but at this moment, he understood that he had done the right thing.

"This wish is truly good; it is a wish I can fulfill."

The kind-looking old man nodded with a smile:

"I appreciate your determination, and I can also see how excellent the library you want to build in your heart is. Very good, descendant of the Long-Leaf Elf, I am willing to give you my blessing."

"Long-Leaf Elf" was a division of the ancient elf race, which Xia De had mentioned in his elf knowledge.

He extended his empty hand, and dots of white light were gathering. But suddenly he looked at Xia De and withdrew that hand. He casually pulled his pipe back from the air, smiled, and asked:

"If you want to build the library you want, a simple blessing is probably not enough for you. So, do you want more blessings and power? I can give them to you."

The witch of Zhalas was slightly surprised, while Miss Olanode was terrified:

"God, I do not have enough price."

The god's blessing was never free; Xia De knew this best.

"What I want is very simple. I am the guardian of the library, but I also like to collect stories. Give me some interesting stories... stories that have never existed in this world, stories that should not have existed in the past, present, and future."

He took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. In that swirling smoke, Xia De seemed to see the phantom of the Saint Byrons Comprehensive Academy Library. Although it was not exactly the same, it was so familiar.

"I originally only wanted to give you a simple blessing, but your determination moved me. Now I give you a chance, mortal; you can choose to try."

The gray-robed god raised his eyebrows with a smile:

"This is a rare opportunity."

"I..."

Miss Olanode wanted to speak, but was pulled by her sleeve by Miss Samuel behind her:

"Think clearly before you speak; you know what the current situation means!"

She adjusted her glasses, her speaking speed fast, her face flushed with excitement:

"Knowledge that should not exist in the past, present, or future is the most forbidden knowledge. Blaney Olanode, since the god has made a request to you, then what you can obtain after completing the request is absolutely beyond your imagination."

"Forbidden knowledge..."

The two witches discussed in low voices, while Xia De, whose time was running out, looked at the gray-robed god sitting on the pile of old books as if sitting on a throne, the latter looking at him with a smile.

"Please let me answer for her."

Xia De pointed to himself.

"Are you sure?"

Of course he was sure, because in this world, no one had mastered more stories that the world had never had than the outsider.

The two witches behind him could not see Xia De's expression, but the god could. He stroked his beard like a wise man in an oil painting thinking:

"I only give you one such opportunity. If you help her, then no matter what, you will never be able to obtain knowledge from me about enhancing time perception until you explore forbidden secrets."

Xia De frowned slightly:

"Do you know? I once almost had my heart pierced and died on the street just to help a woman I didn't know on the street find her child; I also turned to face the shadow of an evil god in the sky just to help a girl I had only met once. I don't want to be a saint who helps everyone, but I never begrudge helping those who need help within my capabilities. What's more, the witch over there is my friend."

"Then, what interesting stories do you have?"

The conversation between the two did not care about the witches behind them at all; this was not a place where they could interject.

"This..."

There were actually many options, and Xia De was also happy to share stories from his hometown with the god in front of him. His eyes scanned the surroundings casually, then looked at the ice coffin, and the red-haired girl whose waist was wrapped by her own tail, and he immediately had an idea:

"Are you willing to listen to an interesting fairy tale? That is indeed a story that should not have appeared in this world."

The gray-robed sage revealed a kind smile:

"What story?"

"The story of the princess, the long sleep, and the kiss."

Xia De said with a smile, then paused. The figure of the blonde girl appearing in the study every Saturday for more than a month, and the appearance of the princess holding the spindle, immediately jumped before his eyes.

He took a deep breath; the chaotic time was continuous for Xia De, and he touched history again:

"Ha, so that's how it is; I knew there weren't so many coincidences."

The old man wearing a pointed hat in front of him revealed a somewhat unfathomable smile:

"You seem to have understood some things."

"Yes, and it seems you have understood too, so... do you want to hear the story?"

Xia De made an inviting gesture.

"Of course, sit down and tell it, everyone sit down."

The old man wearing a pointed hat exhaled a puff of smoke toward the bonfire, and the smoke made the firelight somewhat hazy:

"Sitting around the bonfire and listening to a child tell a story; this can be said to be the thing I look forward to most."

Miss Samuel and Miss Olanode did not understand why the atmosphere had become somewhat strange and wanted to ask Xia De, but Xia De only shook his head:

"Sit down, ladies, please sit down and listen to me tell a story about a princess and a prince. I don't have much time left."

The god left the pile of old books, holding a staff in his left hand and a pipe in his right, and sat on the ground in front of the bonfire. Xia De sat on his left, and to his left were Miss Samuel and Miss Olanode in turn, except that the two witches were leaning against each other.

No one spoke, but watched the bonfire surrounded by them. In the flames swaying because of the god's puff of smoke, the firelight became brighter and brighter, until a grand palace scene appeared. This was not Xia De manipulating the flames; it was the guardian god of the library helping Xia De to tell the following story completely.

The scene in the flames became more and more realistic, until it dyed the faces of mortals and gods red. It covered up the chill and concealed all worries. Sitting by the bonfire and telling the story of that distant hometown was indeed a pleasant thing.

Xia De squinted his eyes and looked at the bonfire, thinking about the story connecting the past and the future, and the meaning of his own life:

"Long ago, in a distant kingdom, the queen gave birth to a princess."

The flames formed a palace, and the middle-aged man and woman holding the baby were showing the "treasure" in their hands to the dense crowd outside the palace.

"The king invited all the people of the country and the twelve witches living in the Black Forest to attend the feast, but he did not invite the old witch living in the Black Forest."

The scene in the flames was divided into two halves; one half was the beautiful witches in the banquet hall blessing the newborn princess, and the other half was the terrifying witch in the forest brewing soup.

The flames of the bonfire kept splashing outward, illuminating the four people by the bonfire. Xia De's voice was very steady, the gray-robed god squinted his eyes and enjoyed the tobacco in his hand, Miss Samuel frowned and looked at the flames, and Miss Olanode tilted her head and looked at Xia De.

"Thus, after the twelve witches offered their blessings to the princess, the witch cast a vicious curse of fate—on the day the princess turned sixteen, she would definitely touch a spindle and fall into a long sleep!"

As Xia De raised his voice, the bonfire actually burst into flames, shooting straight into the sky, even swallowing the clear yellow moon summoned by Miss Olanode. The bursting bonfire not only went upward but even spread outward, until it almost submerged the people by the bonfire.

The wind and snow outside could no longer be heard at all. Feeling the extreme high temperature in front of them, everyone stared at the scene in the flames—

The flames constructed a life-sized, vivid young princess, who even looked somewhat similar to 【Desire】 in front of Xia De, as she carried a candlestick and walked up the attic stairs constructed of flames. And in the flames at the very top, facing that huge clear yellow moon, was none other than a spinning wheel.

"This is the spinning wheel that represents fate."

Xia De said softly, and the princess in the flames had also walked to the top floor. In the flickering firelight, both the princess and the spinning wheel were enlarging until they occupied the entire bonfire. The princess holding the oil lamp extended her finger and touched the spindle of the spinning wheel.

"Just as the witch cursed, the princess fell, but she did not die because of this, but fell into a permanent long sleep."

Xia De paused, because white mist had already wrapped around his body. This mist seemed to seep out from the bonfire in front of him, and in the time it took to lower his head, it had almost completely wrapped him up.

"This story, to be continued. Gray-Robed Sage, please allow me to tell it next time."

"Of course you can, then see you next time."

The old man nodded.

That white mist completely wrapped Xia De and took him away. At the same time, the god sitting before the bonfire also disappeared, leaving only the shrine on the pile of old books, as if he had never left at all.

"There is a feeling of witnessing an epic."

After everything became quiet, Miss Samuel said softly, her eyes looking at the bonfire in front of her, her glasses reflecting the flickering firelight:

"Blaney, is he truly here to witness our story?"

Miss Olanode shook her head and waved her hand to control the flames; Xia De's vivid appearance appeared in the fire:

"Teacher once said, it is us who are witnessing his story." ===== CHAPTER 710 =====