With the concern that Father Augustus was also going to Green Lake, Shade returned home before Luvia served breakfast on the table. The purple-eyed girl knew that Shade would use the time key in a while, so she used the topic of the time key to pull Shade out of his frowning thoughts:
"Are you bringing your cat this time? Although Mia doesn't like going out, I don't know why she likes going to the Fifth Age with you. This cat is really strange."
The adorable Mia buried her head in goat milk and showed no reaction when her name was called. The cat could tell that it was not Shade who was calling her.
"We can't take Mia with us this time. The Black Mist Camp is very dangerous. There are dangers everywhere. This is not as simple as sitting by the campfire and telling stories. What's more, I suspect there are demons there. There are only two possibilities for those weird black shadows. Either they are demons, or... But no matter what, there must be demons there."
Seeing that Luvia was a little worried, Shade shook his head again:
"Don't compare the adventures in the Fifth Age with my actions in the Sixth Age. Demons are not that dangerous when it comes to time exploration. This time I'm worried about my companions. Is it really worth it to consume their own existence to obtain goods?"
“But you don’t have the right to make decisions for other people.”
Luvia reminded him, which reminded Shade of the "mole" who died in the cellar:
"Yes, I respect everyone's choice. I just don't want to see familiar people leave before my eyes."
The only item that needed to be brought back this time was the seawater to activate the relic conch's immortal thoughts. Because the exit of the cold water port was under the sea cliff cave, Xia De went to the cold water port to get the seawater before departure.
Because Luvia was curious about what Shad would encounter this time, she did not leave, but helped Shad "clamp" Xiaomia and wait for him to come back.
Shade came to the bedroom door with the broken key, waved to Luvia and the unhappy cat, and inserted the key into the keyhole:
"Speaking of which, isn't it time to give Mia a bath again?"
"Shad, what did you say?"
"Nothing, see you later. May the World Tree protect me for an infinite amount of time."
Stranger, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time".
Message from the ancient god "Father of the Infinite Tree":
Summer of the 1576th year of the Fifth Era, Western Continent, Black Mist Camp.
Event: Transaction with the Old God - "Golden Lord".
Duration: twenty minutes (2/3).
You get additional information.
The figure of the Infinite Tree Father watches over you.
The ancient god of time has given you a test.
Assist mortals to complete their respective transactions.
The Father of the Infinite Tree will give you rewards: Spell-Oath Binding, a piece of true information-Silvermoon Library.
As expected, the time was still a pitifully short twenty minutes. After Xia De confirmed that the "Silver Moon Library" in the reward had not disappeared, he raised the corners of his mouth and took another step forward in the white mist.
After his feet touched the ground of the large plain in the darkness, he leaped forward and appeared twenty meters ahead. In an instant, the fluttering red butterflies illuminated a small area red, and the red butterflies turned into a torrent and rushed into the black fog in the darkness ahead.
Before Shade could see the horror of the dark wilderness, he had already entered the fog. The moonlight on his fingertips could not illuminate the surroundings, but it could illuminate the surroundings to a limited extent by summoning a little light from the primordial fire.
The ground behind him was shaking, but the surging malice could not enter the black fog. So Shade walked uphill in the black fog along the path that was almost buried by weeds. After a few dozen steps, he saw a light not far away. Continuing forward, a bonfire appeared on the side of the path. In the small camp built around the bonfire, the witch Miss Higgins, the cousin of the witch emperor, old lady Miles, and the timid boy Andor Ade were still waiting for him there.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Although the three of them were a little depressed, at least they were still alive. As Shad approached, the first person to discover him was the young witch Miss Leah Higgins.
Seeing that it was Xia De's figure coming out of the black fog, she stood up and breathed a sigh of relief, but still asked a question:
"Before you left, did you ask me to keep something for you?"
The voice was a little muffled through the black fog, and Xia De gave the answer:
"A coin."
Then the witch threw the coin to Shad, and Mrs. Miles and the boy stood up to welcome Shad's return. Even though he did nothing, his appearance itself seemed to make everyone feel spiritually comfortable and happy, just like a bright moon appeared under the sky covered by black fog.
"Nothing happened here while I was away, right?"
Xia De also sat down by the campfire, stretched out his hands to warm the fire, and drove away the abnormal coldness here. The red-haired witch shook her head slightly:
"No, I would have liked to explore the camp a little more, but my lady advised me to wait for you to return."
The elderly man smiled and nodded at Shade without explaining anything, and Shade attributed it to the wisdom of the elderly.
"Now that you're back, have you brought back any useful news?"
The boy shrank aside and dared not speak, while Miss Higgins once again returned to her somewhat excited look.
Xia De nodded, but did not take out the sea water immediately:
"I have found the information about the conch, but before that I want to ask you a question. Where did you get those black coins?"
He looked at the three people. The boy was a little puzzled. The old woman and the witch were also puzzled about the reason for this question:
"It was given to us by His Majesty. The boy over there said last time that it was given to him by the witch who sold him the map."
"Coins, where did they come from?"
Shad asked again, and although Miss Higgins was confused, she answered with the same answer again, thinking that Shad did not hear clearly.
So Shade asked for the third time. This time, the young witch hesitated for a moment before giving a similar answer. After the fourth question, there was more doubt in her tone. When Shade asked for the sixth time, she looked dazed and did not speak. Instead, she stared at the flame in front of her in shock.
"is that so?"
These words stunned old lady Myers and the boy. The three of them looked at the flame in front of them together. The flickering fire made light and darkness alternate on their faces. Then, the three of them showed expressions of fear at the same time.
Even Mrs. Miles, the oldest person, instinctively stood up and moved away from the bonfire. However, she was frightened by the darkness in the black fog and did not dare to step out of the edge of the light.
The three stood there in horror, watching Shade continue to sit by the fire with his back to them, and there was no shadow behind him. At this moment, the tampered memories resurfaced, and they all remembered.
"so... ... "
Xia Deju, who was standing by the fire, hunched over and looked at the dancing flames, and asked inquiringly:
"What is inside this flame?"
The bonfire that was burning silently suddenly shot up into the sky, and in the flames that were leaping and teasing Shade, countless coins emerged from the bottom of the firewood, where the four people could not see them at all. Each of these coins was different, but they were undoubtedly currencies that had been and are in circulation.
Each of them was just an ordinary item, but after a huge amount of currency poured out from the bottom of the firewood pile and formed a giant human-shaped face with the floating flames, the coins had an elemental reaction. Even though he couldn't use any reconnaissance magic in the fog, when the giant face that was enough to drive a person with trypophobia crazy stopped above the extinguished campfire, Shade still recognized what it was:
"Another demon?"
"Why do you say 'again'?" (Devil's language)
The two sunken holes are eyes, the cracked gap is a strange big mouth, and inside the mouth are more coins and sparks constantly flowing and wriggling.
"Because I keep running into you guys lately."
Xia De stood up and said, slapping away the remaining flames that were about to hit his face, and turned to his companions behind him and said:
"Come here, everything must be in order here, it won't hurt you."
But even so, the three people, including the young high-level witch, only dared to stand behind Xia De and did not dare to sit down like they did just now.
"I don't have much time, so I won't play games with words. Let me guess what happened to them: they came here, attracted by the light of the bonfire to keep warm, and you appeared, and then turned their existence into those powers of existence."
Xia De looked at the coin's face that was still changing:
"is that so?"
"How boring is it to say it out loud?"
That giant face looked quite dissatisfied:
"I didn't lie to them. I told them that they would need currency if they wanted to trade in the camp. I just told them to forget about it afterwards."
The face suddenly moved closer to Xia De, and the sunken eyes narrowed. The width of the entire face from top to bottom was half of Xia De's height:
"Why don't we make a deal? I'll make them lose their memories again, and you don't have to say anything. I can give you some compensation, and it won't harm you. You're a guest invited to the camp, and I can't erase your memory."
Xia De shook his head:
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"Don't be so quick to refuse. What if I tell you that I can teach you how to turn existence into coins?"
The eyes that had been narrowed due to the coins squeezing each other opened again, and with the sound of coins colliding with each other that made people's heads swell, it smiled and looked at Shade:
"This is not only a way to make money, it's also a good means of attack. Think about it, if you use this power to fight the enemy, you can not only defeat the enemy easily, but also get a good harvest. This ability is not something I am willing to teach to others easily."
"If I learn it, it means that Luvia will have an unlimited number of coins that can be used for special divination."
Xia De told himself in his heart, and then shook his head again:
"Don't make deals with demons. Cherish your soul and stay away from demons. This is the first principle my teacher taught me. I said, I don't have much time. Tell me the rules."