Chapter 712: The Girl in the Mountain Stream

Stuffed God's Gift Box into the backpack he made, and carried it from the abandoned tower to the city at the foot of the mountain. The Cassandra Auction House, located in the city center, was still as lively as ever in late autumn. And Xia De also met Grandma Cassandra and Sister Devlin in the reception room on the top floor of the auction house.

The nun would also accompany and witness this ritual, and besides the three, because Grandma Cassandra's teacher did not want too many people to know the details of the ritual, only Grandma Cassandra's young apprentice would follow up the mountain.

The apprentice, Miss Rita Swift, was a young girl who looked about the same age as Ajielina, with a slender figure and flaxen-colored slightly curly long hair.

She responded to Xia De's greeting very cautiously, but was not puzzled by the existence of a man like Xia De. It was probably that Grandma Cassandra had already mentioned this matter to the young apprentice.

Before setting off, Grandma Cassandra expressed doubt about the box Xia De was carrying, and Xia De explained vaguely:

"This is a box used to seal evil beasts."

"I thought it was the angel-level relic 【Jin Huang Holy Garment Cabinet】; I remember that relic was clearly in the Holy See of the Creation Sect."

The old witch was in a good mood today and even made a joke.

Performing the ritual on Monday was something planned long ago, so they could go up the mountain without extra preparation. Miss Aurora was not there; Grandma Cassandra did not want anyone from the Witch Council to see that ritual. And Miss Helen Black, who was supposed to participate in the ritual, was also not there. When Xia De asked about her whereabouts, the old witch smiled and said she had already gone up the mountain.

The carriage that had been prepared long ago was parked at the main entrance of the Cassandra Auction House, and four people sitting in the same carriage was just right.

However, just as the carriage started, Sister Devlin claimed that she had forgotten important items at the auction house and asked the carriage to drop her off; she would rush to the ritual site on the mountaintop by herself later.

"Would someone like Sister Devlin also forget to take things?"

Xia De found this very funny; in his eyes, Sister Devlin was the kind of reliable person who wouldn't make mistakes.

The carriage then carried three people forward, but just after leaving the core of the city and entering the western district near the mountain, Grandma Cassandra asked the carriage to stop again, saying quite apologetically:

"Just now, I saw an old friend outside; this must be met."

The old witch said, and actually left the carriage, claiming that she would go to the ritual site on the mountaintop alone later.

"Which one is Grandma Cassandra's friend?"

After the carriage started again, Xia De asked the young apprentice of the old witch, Miss Rita Swift, curiously. The latter flushed, as if she was very unaccustomed to talking to Xia De, so Xia De did not ask again.

Being in the same carriage with a strange girl felt very strange, especially when the other party was unwilling to talk. But fortunately, this strange feeling did not last long. When the auction house's carriage carried the two to the western part of the city near the mountain area, the young Miss Swift suddenly spoke:

"Oh, I actually forgot the thing Grandma told me!"

She hurriedly shouted for the carriage to stop, and then said to Xia De with an apologetic stutter:

"Teacher asked me to go to the Mid-Hill Castle train station last night to pick up a batch of goods; I accidentally forgot last night, and now..."

"It doesn't matter, let the carriage go now; it's not far from the train station here."

Xia De said very understandingly.

"But, that batch of goods... cannot let others know."

Xia De looked at her suspiciously, then nodded:

"That doesn't matter, I will get off here and wait for you, and you can come to pick me up later."

The young girl with flaxen curls bit her lip, lowering her head and not looking into Xia De's eyes:

"Sir, why don't you walk toward the mountain first, and I will chase after you later. If you go from Mid-Hill Castle train station and then come back here, it's equivalent to going around in a circle, but if you go directly into the mountain to chase, the speed will be faster."

After speaking, she also said very apologetically with a flushed face:

"I'm truly sorry, this is all my fault; please forgive me for the trouble caused."

Since the other party said so, Xia De could only agree.

So he carried the box and the sword, jumped off the carriage, and after explaining his route into the mountain to Miss Swift in the carriage window, he set off alone toward the entrance of the Xikar Mountains.

It was already very close to the entrance of the mountain, so Xia De chose to walk for the next part of the journey to prevent the carriage from not being able to catch up with him. And to make the journey fun, Xia De let the cat out of the box.

Of course, Little Mia would absolutely not climb the mountain by itself, so it squatted on Xia De's shoulder.

Although the four of them went into the mountain together, it ended up being himself and Mia going up the mountain alone, but thinking that he would be able to see the twins he hadn't seen for a long time soon, Xia De wouldn't complain about anything.

The Xikar Mountains in late autumn were already golden everywhere, and the main road into the mountain was also covered with fallen leaves. The crisp sound of shoes stepping on those leaves was very pleasant, and the suggestion of a passing cargo truck asking if Xia De wanted a ride also made him feel quite good:

"Thank you for your kindness, but I am still waiting for someone."

He pointed toward the foot of the mountain, then watched the carriage carrying grain leave.

North of Mid-Hill Castle at the northern foot of the Xikar Mountains was the open Lanserld Great Plain in the northern part of the Old Continent, which produced a lot of grain; while south of the Xikar Mountains was still the range of the Rommel Mountains. Although there were scattered towns, the supply of grain was not so easy, so farmers in Mid-Hill Castle often transported grain across the Wind-Rise Path checkpoint to countries in the south in autumn.

The witch's apprentice claimed she would catch up soon, but until eleven o'clock in the morning, Xia De did not see that carriage again, let alone Sister Devlin and Grandma Cassandra who went down the mountain earlier.

He had already passed the height of the abandoned tower in the mountains and was heading toward the higher parts of the Xikar Mountains.

The mountain road that allowed carriages to pass only extended to the vicinity of the Wind-Rise Path at the mountainside, but the ritual site was on the mountaintop. According to Xia De's current speed, he would probably reach the vicinity of the Wind-Rise Path around four in the afternoon. And in order to be able to go home tonight, he really hoped his other three companions would catch up as soon as possible.

"Can someone help me?"

While thinking, he heard a cry for help. The sound was not on this mountain road that allowed carriages to pass, but in the dense forest on one side. Although entering the forest rashly was not a wise choice, the sound seemed to be not far away, so Xia De hesitated for a moment and left the mountain road.

Pushing aside the bushes and walking in the dense forest, he heard the sound of gurgling water not long after, and a few steps further, the view suddenly opened up. It was a mountain stream, and there was a very low dam a few dozen meters upstream, making the stream form a small waterfall style nearby.

Beside the stream was a shallow beach made of gravel and pebbles, and the midday sun shone directly on the surface of the stream. Walking out of the dim dense forest and facing the sparkling water, Xia De even had to raise his arm to block the somewhat dazzling reflection on the water.

The autumn wind blew across the stream, bringing a bit of coolness.

Although the Xikar Mountains had already turned golden, on both sides of this mountain stream, the trees were still as lush as in midsummer. The tall tree crowns extended from the dense forest toward the top of the mountain stream and converged above the mountain stream. The sparse branches allowed the midday sun to project patches of mottled shadows into the stream.

Those shadows swayed slightly with the wind. Squinting his eyes, Xia De listened to the gurgling sound of the stream and saw a young girl wearing a black dress with a red butterfly pendant hanging from her waist, who was currently sitting on a large rock in the stream.

Her arms were supporting her backward on the stone surface, and her fair feet, which were not wearing shoes, were sliding in the clear mountain stream, leaving scratches in the stream that looked like silk.

The stream was very shallow, and one could even see the stone surface below and small fish swimming by.

Xia De was stunned, and the girl covered in mottled leaf shadows also looked at the young man walking from the forest.

The stream gurgled as if flowing in his heart; the tree shadows swayed but could not shake the eyes that met; the insect chirps were low, as if sighing for this scene; the sunlight was slightly drunk; Xia De would definitely remember this scene for many years.

"Sir, can you help me?"

The girl looked like she was in her twenties, but her face looked like she was only fifteen or sixteen.

She had long black hair, and her eyes were beautiful blue. Her skin was fair, and her appearance was not inferior to any other girl Xia De had seen. Outside the black dress she was wearing, she also wore a black ladies' coat, probably to resist the cold wind in the mountains, and her height looked about half a head shorter than Xia De.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but the mottled sunlight shone exactly on her feet, and that skin was so white it seemed to reflect light.

"My shoes and socks are placed by the water; can you help me bring them over? This stream is very cold."

Xia De stood stunned, feeling the wind, listening to the water, and for a moment, he even felt that history and himself overlapped.

It took a long time for him to nod slowly:

"Okay, I will..."

"No, please carry me to the shore instead. If the shoes get wet, it won't be easy to go down the mountain."

The black-dressed girl continued, looking at Xia De with a smile. Xia De withdrew his stunned expression and revealed a nostalgic and relieved expression:

"Okay, then please wait a moment. I'm coming..."

"Don't make me wait too long... it's been truly too long."

Xia De put down the long sword in his hand and the 【God's Gift Box】 on his back, stuffed the cat that looked sleepy into it to prevent it from getting lost in the forest or being carried away by a big bad wolf.

Then, he took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his trouser legs. Stepping into the water, the slightly cold stream made him shiver. Although he had the 【Water Walking】 spell, he did not show it at this moment.

"Should I carry you away, or should I carry you on my back?"

Xia De asked while standing by the large rock in the stream, and the black-dressed girl thought for a moment and said in a low voice:

"Please carry me on your back; sorry to trouble you, sir. Do I need to introduce myself? I am a second-year student in the History Department of the Mid-Hill Castle Mechanical Academy."

She said, and Xia De also turned around, letting the black-dressed girl lie on his back, and carried her to the shore.

【Outsider, you felt a "whisper."】

"I know."

He sighed softly in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 713 =====