Chapter 947

After having lunch at Professor Drake's home, the maid rented a carriage from a four-wheeled carriage rental company in the city, and then Xia De set off with the well-prepared professor.

Although their destination was very strange, the coachman didn't ask anything. After delivering the two to Lake Ness in the eastern part of Huntington City, he stopped by the side of the road and watched as Xia De pushed the professor's wheelchair away.

The dirt road in the countryside was completely unsuitable for the wheels of a wheelchair, but fortunately, they didn't go very far. After confirming that the coachman could no longer be seen, Xia De pushed the professor down the lake embankment and looked out at the great lake from the shore of Lake Ness.

This was a lake in the western part of the city that Xia De had randomly selected on the map. Lake Ness in winter was very calm; although the lake surface had not yet completely frozen, thin layers of ice had already appeared. The cold wind swept over; Xia De had no reaction, while Professor Drake, wrapped tightly, shivered.

He saw Xia De untie the cloth strip from the long object he was carrying, and then saw the long sword inserted in the scabbard.

"Mr. Watson, actually, this is not your real name, is it?"

Moving his gaze away from the silver sword, the old professor held his red knitted towel with both hands, his eyes looking at the great lake in front of him.

"Yes."

"You are actually... no, nothing."

Xia De looked down at the professor; he was standing at the professor's side at this moment:

"I hope that when we return to the lakeside again, you can still thank me like this. The truth might be very cruel to you."

"I might regret it in the future, but at least I won't regret it now."

Visiting the Lady of the Lake this time required a sword. But even with a sword, one still had to meet the condition of "forgetting that one wants to visit the Lady of the Lake." Xia De hoped to divert his and the professor's attention temporarily by chatting with the professor. The professor also had this intention, talking to Xia De intermittently about his knowledge of the great lake in front of them.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a strange sound from the lake. Xia De immediately pushed the professor closer to the lake, and then together with the old professor, saw ripples appearing on the lake shore, as if the bottom of the lake were having an earthquake.

The splashing sound of the lake water became more frequent and dense, and gradually a huge whirlpool appeared near the shore.

Xia De held the Nightwatcher and stood in front of Professor Drake. The professor looked in surprise at the silver light emanating from the sword in Xia De's hand:

"Mr. Watson, do you need any help? I also have a pistol with me."

"No need, I can handle it myself."

In the time it took for just two sentences of conversation, a frog made of pure water, taller than Xia De, jumped out from under the water in the center of the huge whirlpool in the lake. It leaped high, blocking the sun in front of Xia De and Professor Drake. The fear of giant objects made the old professor shrink into his wheelchair.

And when the frog's huge shadow completely covered Xia De, his empty left hand made a throwing motion toward the sky:

"Thunder Spear!"

Silver-white thunder exploded in his hand. Accompanied by the throwing motion, the silver-white thunder spear, centered on his palm, overflowed forward and backward along with the dense patterns. The moment the thunder spear took shape was the moment it was thrown.

Professor Drake only heard a thunderclap and was wondering why there was thunder at this time, when the huge pure water frog in the air had already dissipated into large droplets of water falling toward the lake.

The splashing sound continued to ring out in front of them, stirring up large mists of water on the lake surface. And in that mist, two water arrows shot out from the lake surface near the shore. The two streams of water did not shoot straight into the sky, but first rose and then drew an arc to close.

They constructed the style of an archway. When the archway closed, the water falling after the frog burst fell down from top to bottom, filling the doorway.

"This, this..."

The professor was too shocked to speak.

"That frog was too weak. It seems the Lady of the Lake does not want to make things difficult for us."

Xia De muttered. Seeing that this water gate was in the lake near the shore, still some distance from the lakeside, and having the experience from last time, Xia De bent down to pick up a stone and threw it toward the lake surface, and sure enough, he saw the stone "floating" in the air.

"There is an invisible hidden path on the lake surface."

Xia De said softly to the professor, pushing the professor onto the lake water. The professor looked down uneasily; this scene was a bit too magical for an ordinary person like him.

"Next is the door."

Pushing the professor to a stop in front of the door, Xia De threw the stone toward the water curtain inside the archway. The stone bounced back as if it had hit a hard wall, bounced a few times on the invisible path under their feet, and then fell into the lake.

"Does this require us to solve a puzzle to pass?"

The professor, who was familiar with the legends, asked.

"It's not that troublesome."

Xia De walked forward with his sword and swung it to split the water curtain. The blade passed directly through the transparent water curtain and pierced into another space. As Xia De "picked" the water curtain aside like silk, the water gate opened completely to the two of them.

The professor stopped speaking, letting Xia De push him through the water gate and onto the surface of the Lake of Cherub, which was surrounded by forests.

An invisible path still existed on the lake surface, but after walking only a few dozen more steps forward, they arrived at the island in the center of the lake.

Upon landing on the island, Xia De saw the wild wolf resurrected by the "Swamp Witch" again. Creatures resurrected by relic power belong to the undead, and this wolf already showed signs of full-body decay. Last time it tried to attack Little Mia, who had run to the island first, but was scared away by Xia De. This time it only dared to peek at the two from afar, and upon seeing Xia De, it immediately turned its head and ran away again.

"Is this the place?"

The professor's hands gripped the wheelchair armrests tightly, his face flushed with excessive excitement.

"Can you remember anything?"

Xia De asked, but the professor still had no memory of this place.

They soon arrived at the center of the island. Under the large stone in the center of the island lake, which looked like several long, thin boulders fused and spliced together, the white-robed lady holding a staff was still standing in the same place.

Professor Drake's wheelchair, of course, could not cross the lake surface like Sister Sister Daifulin. So Xia De carried the professor on his back, then lifted the wheelchair with both hands, took a few steps, and jumped violently toward the center of the island lake.

After stepping on the water surface, he carefully put the wheelchair down. After confirming that the wheelchair did not sink, he placed Professor Drake in the wheelchair.

At this moment, the professor was already too excited to speak, and Xia De respectfully greeted:

"Good afternoon, my lady."

"Good afternoon."

The white-robed lady holding a staff radiated a soft light. In the afternoon light, on the strange and sacred lake surface, she responded to Xia De's salute.

"I am here to complete the second trial."

Xia De glanced at the professor:

"Now to answer the three questions of the second trial. I think I have found the answer."

"Professor Kansas Drake, a retired folklore professor living in the old town of Huntington City, Carsonrick, in the Sixth Era, why did he come to me?"

The white-robed lady asked gently.

"Because he was pierced by 【Aikenora's Arrow of Knowledge】, became a gifted one, and then with the help of Haierde Wendiba, became a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi."

The professor looked up at Xia De, and Xia De shook his head:

"But the death of his guide, Haierde Wendiba, made the professor fear what he had always pursued. Yes, he spent his whole life pursuing knowledge and wisdom. When he truly touched inhuman knowledge and power, he was afraid, afraid of the goal he had pursued all his life, so he came here. This was not to distance himself from Haierde Wendiba, but simply out of fear of the knowledge and power of a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi. Otherwise, I couldn't have found that photo."

The professor pursed his lips, lowered his head with a pale face, and the white-robed lady holding a staff continued to ask:

"What kind of wish did he make here with me?"

"Professor Drake was completely terrified, so he asked you to erase the fact that he became a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi. Although the professor's wish was essentially unrelated to Haierde Wendiba, the fulfillment of the wish severed his connection with Haierde Wendiba. Therefore, for so many years, neither the church nor the Pantanal Voodoo Society has been able to find 【Aikenora's Arrow of Knowledge】 hidden in the hands of an ordinary person."

The white-robed lady nodded slightly, and the professor was trembling all over.

"Then, what price did he pay?"

The "Lady of the Lake" asked finally. Xia De's expression was serious. Professor Drake looked at Xia De suddenly, as if begging him not to say the answer. He tugged at Xia De's sleeve, but in the end, he did not beg.

Xia De looked down at the professor:

"Professor, answer this question yourself."

The professor took a deep breath and then exhaled tremblingly. He lowered his head and buried his face in his palms. Xia De did not urge him, just watched him.

This was indeed a very sad story. A person who chases knowledge, yet fears the wisdom he pursues. Extraordinary knowledge and wisdom might really be a curse, at least for Professor Drake.

After a long time, the professor put down his hands and raised his head:

"The price was my legs."

It seemed that every mortal who made a wish to the Lady of the Lake had to pay with a limb, but Xia De did not.

"And my memory. This might be part of the wish, or it might be the price. But the most important price is... my talent."

Xia De looked at the professor, and the professor looked down at the water under the wheelchair:

"Although I still don't remember what happened at that time, I think I can understand the me from more than ten years ago. I spent my whole life pursuing a result, but when I truly achieved my wish, I was afraid of what I had obtained. I was probably really scared, so I made a wish to erase my power, and then paid with my talent and wisdom as the price, completely... completely making it impossible for myself to walk that path again under any circumstances.

I opened the door, saw the scenery behind the door, and then went crazy because of it. I closed the door again in fear and nailed it shut, but more than ten years later, I asked someone else to tell me what was behind the door."

Ripples appeared on the water surface under the wheelchair, as if water droplets were falling into the lake.

"Is it correct?"

Xia De sighed deeply and then asked the Lady of the Lake softly. He opened the mahogany box and showed the arrow inside:

"Haierde Wendiba trusted Professor Drake very much. After helping him awaken and letting him take the job, he temporarily placed the arrow in his hands. This is the core of the Professor Drake incident, as proof of the second trial."

The white-robed lady nodded slightly, revealing a gentle smile:

"Correct, you have completed my second trial."

Xia De maintained a reserved expression, though he actually wanted to laugh out loud. Although investigating Professor Drake's affairs did not involve fighting anyone, the investigation itself was not easy at all:

"Your trial is very interesting, at least these stories are very interesting. Then, what is the third trial? I can't wait. Will the third trial be more complicated than the second?"

"No, the third trial is very simple."

The white-robed lady holding a staff answered softly:

"The third trial is, now, here, defeat me."

Xia De immediately did not want to laugh at all.