Both books were written in the language of this era and are well preserved. They are "The Secret of Ether: One to Thirteen" and "The Collection of Wise Men".
After a quick look, the former discusses the fundamental operation and usage rules of the ether, or "spirit" as it is called in the Sixth Age, which is somewhat similar to the "Ether Mechanics" that Dr. Schneider is preparing for the exam. The latter is not a book about witch power, but a book that explores philosophy, human character, and inner spirit.
The ring among the sundries was not an extraordinary item, but it looked like a symbol of identity. The newer of the two notebooks contained knowledge written by Miss Chloe Yin, and it looked like a notebook for her studies. The other one had signs of being frequently flipped through, and it was only after opening it that it was discovered to be a diary.
"Oh! Ladies' diaries cannot be looked through casually."
Shad thought to himself that only about two-thirds of the contents of Lecia and Dorothy's diaries had been opened to Shad to satisfy his peculiar reading hobby.
So Xia De first apologized softly to Miss Chloe Yin, who was in his arms, and then opened the diary.
There were no time marks on the diary, and all the content was written line by line. Xia De didn't have time to read from the front, so he turned directly to the last page with words in the middle and back of the diary. There was not much content on this page, only six paragraphs of letters, and the first three paragraphs were:
The vegetables are running out, I hope that gentleman comes back soon, otherwise we will be forced to eat snow again.
It's really cold, but luckily they didn't kick me out. Let's get to the top as soon as possible, I want to be free.
I am Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin.
The three paragraphs were written in the same font, but with some differences in details. The first paragraph had spelling errors and the letters were a little crooked; the letters in the second paragraph were much smaller than those in the other two paragraphs; the content of the last paragraph seemed particularly crazy, and the letters were written in a sloppy manner, as if the writer had gone crazy.
I heard "her" chuckle, obviously referring to what Xia De saw. Xia De did not comment on other people's diaries. He continued to look down and looked at the last record:
Please don't leave, please don't leave me alone, oh, teacher, I am willing to inherit your ideals, please don't, please don't leave me alone anymore.
This paragraph is written exactly the same way as the "Vegetables" paragraph above.
Please forgive me, I am willing to repent. I know I have touched a taboo, I know I have made a mistake, I know, I have always known...
This paragraph is written exactly the same way as the "freedom" paragraph above.
I am Chloe Yin, I am not Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin, I am not Chloe Yin, I am Chloe Yin, I am not Chloe Yin.
This paragraph is written in exactly the same way as the "Klo Yin" paragraph above.
"I think I understand what's going on."
Xia De closed the diary and looked at the three semi-conscious people with a complicated expression.
He first came to the man, helped him sit up straight and said to him:
"If you don't leave this snowy mountain, you will never be able to make up for your mistakes."
After a pause, seeing that he didn't respond and still had his head down, he continued:
"It is not wrong to seek knowledge, but it is wrong if you cannot control your desires. Since you have confessed in your diary, it means that you understand what you have done. I think you don't want your mistakes to be just mistakes forever, right? No one can make no mistakes in their lifetime, but you have to know your mistakes and make amends..."
Before Xia De finished speaking, a slight moan came out of the man's mouth. This made Xia De feel a little relieved, and he went to help Mrs. Marquez who fell beside the campfire:
"You will not be left alone. There will always be others around you. Maybe you have experienced separation before, but at least not this time."
After a while, there was no response, and he added:
"If you are not sober now, I will leave immediately. Ma'am, you don't want to never see me again, do you?"
Mrs. Marquez's eyelids trembled a few times, and Shade carefully helped her sit down, and then picked up Miss Chloe Yin. The young witch's lips were pale, and her head was tilted, looking like some kind of delicate and fragile porcelain.
"You are indeed Chloë Yin. You are Chloë Yin Marcus Marquez."
Shad said the full name that Mr. Edmund of the Guiding Light Hermitage had investigated. The witch squirmed in his arms and then slowly opened her eyes.
There was a look of confusion in her eyes at first, but then she recognized Xia De. Her originally pale face suddenly turned red. She wanted to struggle out of Xia De's arms, but Xia De held her down:
"Take a break and we'll be leaving soon. I don't have much time left, and neither do you."
Although she was forcibly awakened by Xia De this time, she would not have another chance.
Unlike Miss Chloe Yin, who was still extremely weak, Mrs. Marquez and the unnamed man regained their mobility almost immediately after waking up. They also heard what Shade said about the plan to set off, so they packed up their scattered luggage, seemingly reluctant to part with these daily necessities.
Miss Chloe Yin's mental state and living conditions were quite worrying. Seeing that Xia De would not let her go, she had no choice but to be hugged by him with a red face. While feeling Xia De's body temperature, she whispered:
"I'm so glad to see you right after I woke up. I know you'll come back... We're not far from the top of the mountain... You can carry me up on your back."
"No."
Xia De said decisively. When Miss Chloe Yin pursed her lips in confusion, he said:
"Climbing this mountain is your own decision, and you have to climb it yourself. You have come such a long way and have come here. Are you willing to give up your persistence for a moment of warmth?"
He persuaded:
"I can carry you on my back and go to the top to witness the scenery of the snow-capped mountains. But you are a witch, Miss Chloe Yin, and witches are always confident, strong and independent. Yes, I believe you are such a girl. Now tell me, how are you going to climb the last section of the way?"
"I will... climb up myself."
Her lips looked a little chapped, and Shade dug out a water bottle toy from his pocket, but after restoring it to its original state, he found that the water was all ice water. Although his "toy making" could not keep objects warm all the time, it should not turn the water directly into ice water.
"Mrs. Marquez, please boil some hot water. We can leave after the water is boiled... No need."
Then she remembered that the flame could not heat the surrounding environment, let alone boil hot water. While Mrs. Marquez showed an embarrassed expression, Miss Chloe Yin whispered:
"This is the coldest place in the entire Silver Mountains. No warming process is allowed here. Ice water is fine. I don't care about these. Please trust the witch's ability."
"We have to climb mountains next, and I don't want to bring a girl with me who might faint from hypothermia at any time."
He thought for a moment, and stretched his wrist to Miss Chloe Yin's mouth. The latter looked up at Xia De with a pale face, and said a few words that made her a little breathless at this moment:
"what are you up to?"
"My blood is hot."
Xia De said with certainty, and he was quite sure that with his physical fitness, his blood-forming ability must be very strong:
"Don't worry about my health. We'll set off right after you finish drinking."
"Although my eyes are red, do you think I'm a vampire?"
"No, no, not all vampires' eyes are scarlet. I have knowledge of vampire species, and I also have a good friend who is a vampire. He said... it's not important."
Xia De realized that this was not the time to talk nonsense, so he took out a glass and cut his wrist with the moonlight on his fingertips. Miss Chloe Yin wanted to stop him, but she had no strength at all and could only watch Xia De act.
After half a cup of blood had accumulated in the glass, Shade used the Food of Fullness to process the ice water and then poured it on his wrist. The wound disappeared almost immediately. This magic technique was very effective for simple external injuries.
"I know you wouldn't like drinking human blood. I refused at God's banquet. I dripped blood into my eyes."
As Shade spoke, he dug out a wine bottle pendant from his pocket, restored it to its original state, and used the ability to brew blood wine on his own blood. Strangely enough, he had used this spell on other human blood before, but when he used it on his own blood, he felt that the casting process was very awkward, even more awkward than using it on fruit, as if his blood was not blood.
Your blood has the temperature of the First Fire, which gives you resistance to abnormal conditions. So, feeding it to the witch will probably be very effective.
"I see."
Xia De understood, poured the warm blood wine from the bottle into the glass, and carefully brought the glass to the young witch's mouth:
"I've already bled you, you don't want my blood to go to waste, right?"
Miss Chloe Yin pursed her lips and looked up at him in his arms. In the end, she did not let Xia De feed her, but stretched out her trembling hand and carefully drank the half cup of blood wine.
Just now when Xia De placed the cup in front of her, she smelled the charming aroma of wine. Now, after drinking this cup of blood wine, she felt that she had never tasted such intoxicating wine in her life.
Whether in her own winery, in the kingdom of her friends, or even in the meetings of the Zaras Academy and the collective meetings of the parliament, the wine shared by the witches was not so charming.
"Oh~"
Not only was the taste unforgettable, but when the cup of blood wine slid from her mouth into her throat and then into her stomach, she felt a strange warmth spreading from her stomach to all parts of her body. The feeling of spiritual and even soulful fulfillment made her feel as if she had returned to her prime. But at the same time, the desire for more made her subconsciously look at Xia De again.