A smile of nostalgia and helplessness appeared on the stranger's face:
"I thought of a story last time when I was with Sister Devereine, and now I think of it again."
Another fairy tale
She asked gently, and Xia De almost coughed:
"Don't say that. That's not a fairy tale. If anyone shows it to children, they should be dragged out and shot for five minutes... Locking love? How interesting. The god of love in this world is called 'Red Heart Lock'. Locking love, locking love. I wonder if the believers of the god of love also have such a spell... There are many people who desire love, and there are many ways to desire love. Indeed..."
There was infinite melancholy and reminiscence on his face, but "she" did not continue to ask questions, but just let Xia De think about it.
He thought of many things, including what Hela Oxenfurt had said to him before her death, about a cold heart, loving someone, and being loved; Granny Miles's warm and sentimental love story; and then, the story in his hometown, about how love was locked up with a spell, and how he was ultimately unable to control his desires and had no ability to take on everything, leading to tragedy and destruction, and pushing all the beautiful things into the abyss with his own hands.
"I didn't trick them here with lies or spells."
He looked at his hands.
Yes, you have always been sincere.
"And I also have the responsibility and obligation to take on their responsibilities and take care of this family. I know what love is, yes, I know..."
You have always understood it, otherwise, why would desire challenge you
"Her" smile became even gentler, as if she was very happy, and Xia De finally understood.
"Desire and love, desire, she wouldn't... have seen my dilemma a long time ago, and is deliberately reminding me, so that I can prove my loyalty, right?"
He suddenly wondered, but this question was not important. He looked at Xiaomia, who tilted her head suspiciously and looked at him.
"Since they made the choice voluntarily and are willing to go all the way with me, what am I struggling with?"
He clenched his fists suddenly, and the strange thoughts he had in the past month were swept away. Outsiders are never afraid to examine and analyze themselves, and at this moment, he once again saw the confusion in his heart.
The life ring itself emerged, and some inspiration elements were enriched, but it failed to form a spiritual rune. This was just the life ring responding to Shade's stronger and more determined heart.
He always gets stronger step by step, and can always see the desire and expectation in his heart. At this moment, the stranger once again understands what kind of future he wants. So, on the life ring that has not disappeared, greed flashes with a dazzling and strange aura.
"She" still smiled gently.
After getting himself in a good mood and seeing that Mia was still too lazy to go out, Xia De went to Green Lake City alone.
Although a time key was opened in the morning, it didn't actually waste too much time, so when Shad came out of the back door of the hotel, the boy John was also about to go out with his puppy.
Seeing Xia De appear, the boy greeted Xia De politely:
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning, where are you going?"
Xia De knew that the boy had no proper source of income and usually ran around the city, begging or looking for ways to make money. But since Xia De sent him some food every day, he didn't have to worry about starving to death. Of course, the boy had never stolen anything, he was too young to master this skill.
"My friend said that he could get fish from the backwaters of the Pomfrey neighborhood on the Duin River, and asked me to go and have a look."
"Be careful not to get too close to the river."
Shade gave his warning and gave the bread to the boy. Little John held the paper bag and asked a little embarrassedly:
"Sir, is there anything you like?"
Shade smiled:
"You're going to give me a present, right?"
He knew the boy had good intentions:
"I like the Rhodes brand. Did you know this?"
"I know. Everyone likes to play cards, but I don't understand the rules."
"You'll understand it when you grow up, but you'll have to learn languages and math. Oh, and you don't have to give me Rhodes cards. I only like the cards I win."
He is trying to prevent the boy from doing anything risky in order to give him a gift:
"If you want to give me a gift... well, get ready. I'll introduce you to a place where you can learn Chinese characters in a few days."
In fact, there was a relatively common compulsory education law in this era, but it was not implemented smoothly. However, children like little John who had no parents were not without the possibility of learning to read and write. In addition to meeting kind people, some charities and churches would offer free education courses, but the vagrants usually did not know about it, or could not go there for practical reasons.
However, this is not a difficult task for Xia De. Even though Yin Luna has not arrived yet and he is not familiar with the local church, Paradise Island Pharmaceutical has such a charitable educational institution locally.
Some time ago, I was worried that John would be implicated in the ring warlock incident, so I didn't introduce him to it. Now it seems that it is actually dangerous to let him run around the city, so it is better to let him learn something first.
"Yes, sir!"
The boy smiled and nodded, then watched Shade go away. He was holding his dog, but was actually still thinking about the Rhodes card.
Shad came to Green Lake today mainly to see the doctor, wanting to ask how to take the soul from the devil. But unfortunately, the doctor went out early in the morning. However, he left a message at the front desk of the hotel, asking Shad to go to the rural village of Pukhov, which was the dock village where Shad first met "Rotten Eye Barry".
The doctor claimed that he went fishing, but he was probably going to survey the terrain.
Anyway, after a boring carriage trip, Shade got off the carriage in Pukhov Village at 9:30 this morning. After going to the dock, he asked someone and easily found out that a well-dressed stranger came to the village half an hour ago, carrying a fishing rod and a bucket.
The doctor also walked around the village and looked for suitable places for fishing. However, he did not rent a boat to go fishing directly in the lake, but went east along the lake, otherwise it would be more difficult for Shade to find it.
With someone to show the way, it was not difficult to find the doctor. But when Xia De saw the doctor, he was really shocked by his appearance.
It was in the reeds about a mile away from the village dock. The doctor was sitting on a dark brown wooden coffin with one end deep in the lake, wearing a sun hat and holding a fishing rod that had already been cast out.
"Fishing alone while sitting in a coffin? Doctor, in the one year since I met you, this is definitely the most stylish and cool you have ever been."
Shad was full of praise for the doctor sitting alone in the coffin and fishing in Green Lake, but he did not jump onto the coffin. Instead, he walked on the water to the doctor's side.
"Walk lightly, don't scare the fish."
The doctor warned at first, then explained with a smile:
"This coffin is not an ordinary item. I prepared it specially for our goal. It cost me a lot of money to transport it from Tobesk to Green Lake City, but it was worth it. I believe that in this era, not many people can make such a thing."
Xia De raised his eyebrows:
"You don't want to lie down here and fall asleep, do you?"
Although there were no ritual symbols on the surface of the coffin, the "visual demon" could see the shadow of demonic power.
"It's not me, it's the person who fell asleep in the dream. This is not just a coffin. Didn't you say that we could fight in the lake? It's actually a good boat."
The doctor said, holding the fishing rod and looking at Green Lake under the bright sunshine:
"The scenery here is really nice, but it can't compare to the Randall River Valley... Oh, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"It's like this. I want to ask you about another evil spirit from the Third Age. No, no, we can't encounter it, and it's impossible to encounter it. I just want to find out."
"I understand. Detective, just ask your questions. I won't ask any unnecessary questions."
So Shade described the demon face made of coins and mentioned that the other party might be related to the old god - the Golden Lord.
This time the information was very complete and very specific, and the doctor immediately figured out who it was:
"The Greedy Demon - Prisin. This guy is a tough one. As long as there is even one coin that makes up its body that is not sealed, it will transfer its body to that single coin. Even if I encounter it, I'm afraid I can't catch it easily."
"Where is that guy now?"
Xia De asked curiously, thinking that this time he would have another chance to encounter the same things he had seen in the Fifth Era.
"It's really hard to say. This guy has never appeared in the entire Sixth Era. When I was collecting information over the years, I only heard some legends. According to the stone tablet unearthed near an unnamed lake in the south of Carsenrick, the devil fell on the mermaid, coins rained down, and countless people were injured. I think this probably means that the alien creature mermaid defeated and sealed it."
After the doctor finished speaking, he took the initiative to express his opinion without waiting for Xia De to ask questions:
"But aren't mermaids marine creatures? Other stone tablets unearthed in that area show that even in the Fifth Era, that place was land. Also, although the mermaid race is powerful, don't think you can defeat them easily. Greed is very powerful."
When he heard the word "mermaid", Shade roughly guessed what was going on, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. Regarding sin and desire, mermaids always leave their own shadows. It seems that Shade has no chance to find the devil in this era.
"Doctor, the guy we are talking about should still be sealed. Only I can enter the seal. If I want to take a soul from him, and the demon knows that I want that soul very much, how can I make a deal when I am sure I can't beat it? I will definitely be blackmailed, so what can I offer?"