Chapter 911

"This is my friend, Sister Sister Daifulin."

Xia De needed to complete the four trials of the Lady of the Lake to obtain divinity, so his business was temporarily concluded. However, the "Lady of the Lake" had promised that after Xia De completed the first three trials, he could receive a gift, or have his friends ask some questions; thus, Xia De now introduced Sister Sister Daifulin.

The nun nodded again; her temperament bore some resemblance to that of the white-robed lady with the staff before her.

Sister Sister Daifulin did not intend to speak herself, so Xia De spoke her request on her behalf:

"Lady, Sister Sister Daifulin is a nun who tends the Primordial Fire. She wishes to gather the scattered fragments of the First Fire once more, so that the flame of civilization may burn undimmed for eternity. We have obtained some clues; the splitting of the Primordial Fire seems related to your legends, so we wish to know where those scattered flames currently reside."

After Xia De finished speaking, Sister Sister Daifulin held her hands in a cupped, raised posture, and a slender red flame appeared. This not only caught the attention of Xia De and the white-robed lady, but even Mia, who had been looking around aimlessly, widened her eyes and looked over.

This was the first time it had seen this flame.

"Yes, the splitting of the First Fire is indeed related to me, but I cannot tell you what happened then."

The white-robed lady spoke softly:

"Someone once made a wish. I will not use your wish to destroy another's wish. But I can tell you the whereabouts of one cluster of the scattered First Fire."

"Thank you for your generosity."

The nun said softly.

"In the center of the Great Lake within the Pantanal Great Swamp, there exists a small lake island perpetually shrouded in mist. A wisp of the First Fire's flame rests atop the old lighthouse at the island's center."

The "Lady of the Lake" had given a clue, and the location she pointed out was one Xia De also knew. The interior of the Pantanal Great Swamp was covered in wetlands and lakes; the central lake lay on the border between two nations, and the islands upon it were a long-standing disputed area between Delarian and Carsonric.

Around the year 700 of the Sixth Era, that island had been purchased by a noble of the time, but later, something happened, and all the living people stationed on the island perished. To this day, although the island remains disputed, neither Delarian nor Carsonric has stationed anyone there.

The reason was simple: no matter which direction one set out from, attempting to cross half the Great Swamp region to penetrate deep into the lake island was a quite difficult task. Even if a unit could be stationed there, supply issues would be hard to resolve. Add to that the miasma, poisonous insects, and the strange things within the Great Swamp; thus, although that lake island was quite famous, it was currently an uninhabited zone.

"But you must know, that wisp of the First Fire was placed there to stabilize the balance of the Pantanal Great Swamp. If you wish to take it, be prepared."

The white-robed lady warned, and the nun nodded slightly:

"I understand."

This meant that the flame cluster might have an effect akin to a "seal." But this did not mean the nun could not move it; methods such as Xia De's mystic lock 【Kiss of the Tree】 could also achieve a similar sealing effect. And once the First Fire was gathered by the nun, the embers of the First Fire on Xia De's person would also grow stronger.

"Are you willing to become an Agent of Wisdom?"

Just as Xia De was pondering this in his mind, the white-robed lady with the staff suddenly spoke to Sister Sister Daifulin again.

Xia De looked at the two in surprise, then realized that Sister Sister Daifulin seemed to have been chosen by the "Lady of the Lake"; this was a treatment even he had not received.

Perhaps Miss Miss Pawo by the shores of Lake Schluch on the night before last was right; his wisdom was not yet sufficient to compare with the top heroes of this era.

【Or, you have already been chosen by others.】

"I am sorry, I have already decided to dedicate my life to tending the First Fire."

Sister Sister Daifulin shook her head in refusal, her silver-gray long hair swaying slightly with the motion. When she had originally become the Chosen of Death, it was because she wanted to trick Xia De into touching the First Fire; naturally, she would not now inexplicably add new responsibilities for herself.

"That is truly a pity."

The white-robed lady said softly, then looked at Xia De again:

"Then depart, and complete your second trial: investigate what happened in the past. I will wait here for you, waiting for you to complete the final trial. May Wisdom bless you, Xia De Hamilton; may knowledge be with you."

The scenery of the lake island of Zhihu gradually became blurred; everything around seemed to fade like an oil painting splashed with water, then was re-dyed with color.

When they came to their senses, Xia De and Sister Sister Daifulin were still standing on the lakeside path; the two horses had their heads down, searching for edible wild grass by the lake. The distant lake surface was so calm it had not even a ripple; in a few weeks, it would freeze over, then be covered by heavy snow. Winter had truly arrived.

The nun's boots were right beside her feet. Xia De looked down at the boots, then noticed Sister Sister Daifulin was "looking" at him. He said softly, "Sorry," then turned:

"Nun, the exploration work of the Pantanal Great Swamp still requires the Spirit Cultivation Order and the Witch Council to resolve."

Xia De said, gazing at the distant lake surface; Sister Sister Daifulin spoke from behind him:

"This is a matter that consumes much time and manpower. I will also probe the Church regarding it."

Such large-scale investigation activities far from human settlements were not Xia De's strong suit; moreover, Xia De had many matters in hand, so he could only wait for the results. But this was for the best; after all, he could not possibly resolve every issue he encountered.

And thus, the second trial of the "Lady of the Lake" trial officially began.

Xia De took the reins, first sending Sister Sister Daifulin back to the White Valley Vineyard, then taking little Mia home, where they had lunch in Tobesque. After lunch, he placed the cat, which slept on schedule for its afternoon nap, at home, then returned alone once more to Huntington City to visit the retired folklorist professor Kansas Deleike, who resided in the old western district.

Today, the sky over Huntington had been gloomy all day, so the elderly professor, whose legs and feet were not steady, had not gone out. When Xia De rang the bell on the gate at two in the afternoon, the fat maid quickly opened the door for him.

Professor Deleike, still seated in his wheelchair, welcomed Xia De in his study. He seemed to have expected Xia De's arrival; only when Xia De stated that he had already met the Lady of the Lake did the professor's hand, holding a teacup, tremble:

"So..."

The professor looked at Xia De with eyes full of expectation and unease, sitting there with his back hunched, as if a prisoner awaiting sentencing on the judgment seat.

"That lady informed me that if I wish to retrieve what was lost, I must pass her trials."

"Yes, a price must certainly be paid."

The professor spoke immediately; he expected an answer, yet feared receiving one. Both Xia De and the professor understood that the professor's lost memories were likely voluntarily abandoned, and retrieving them now might not yield the result he desired.

"The trial I must undergo is to figure out exactly why you went to seek the Lady of the Lake back then, what wish you made, and what price you paid."

Omitting that he had companions with him at the time, Xia De briefly explained his experiences from that morning, and described that when he saw Professor Deleike on the water surface, the news on the newspaper the professor was reading was that the Huntington City Wine Association was recruiting members to participate in the winter wine exposition.

"This..."

The professor was startled; he believed Xia De's words, yet did not expect such a result:

"I did not expect our experiences to become intertwined. But regarding the events of that year, I truly remember nothing."

He inhaled sharply:

"I actually wish I still remembered; this is the only regret of my life. What exactly happened back then?"

"Actually, the trial itself implies information. First, your departure to seek the Lady of the Lake back then must have been due to some encounter, not merely academic research; otherwise, my trial would have no meaning."

Xia De analyzed; this was deducing the answer from the question itself, a skill outsiders were very good at.

Professor Deleike nodded immediately; although this retired old gentleman had physical disabilities, his mind remained sharp:

"Yes, indeed so. Moreover, it must have been an event related to the surreal and the occult; otherwise, there would be no necessity for it to serve as a trial."

"Considering your profession, perhaps you encountered something terrible while conducting folkloric research."

Xia De said; considering that among the professor's private collections before retirement, there actually existed relic derivatives such as a photograph of a "Swamp Witch," the dangers the old professor had encountered during his career certainly exceeded just one.

"Did you retire immediately after that accident back then?"

Xia De asked, and Professor Deleike's brow furrowed as he cradled his teacup and sighed:

"Yes, I was already close to retirement age back then. After my legs ended up like this, I did go through a period of low spirits for a time. The school didn't treat me badly—they kept paying my salary while I was recovering. Four months after the accident, I voluntarily applied for early retirement, and after that I lived on my retirement pay and the money my son sent."

"Where are your pre-retirement research materials now?"

Professor Deleike understood what Xia De meant:

"Most of them stayed at the school—that's the school's property—but those materials should be fine; after all these years nothing has gone wrong on that end, and I can write a letter to ask again later. A small portion is at my home, and if you're interested, you're welcome to look through whatever you like in my study."

The professor was advanced in years and understood he had only a few years left to live, so he harbored an unusual obsession with uncovering the truth of what had happened back then.

"Before you set out to look for the Lake Goddess that year, what were you still researching at the school?"

Xia De asked again, but the old professor could not recall events from so long ago.

"Then back in those days, did anything else noteworthy happen in Huntington City?"

Xia De tried approaching it from that angle, but the professor still shook his head:

"That was over ten years ago. Although my memory has always been good, I never suspected the purpose of my trip back then, so I didn't pay attention to the events of that year... Thinking about it now, perhaps what I lost isn't only the memory of going to Lake Cherub."

Xia De agreed with this point, but precisely because of that gap in memory, he now didn't have a single lead.

Fortunately, after finding the right line of thinking, Xia De and Professor Deleike spent an entire afternoon combing through the professor's old files for clues and finally came away with some gains.

These gains could be summed up simply as three things: a diary, a stack of letters, and a battered old book.

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