Chapter 312 The Desolate Path <TOC> Chapter 314 Not Human?
Translator: SumTLMan
This was an opulent and extravagant hall. The long table was carved from ten-thousand-year-old fragrant wood from the Enchanting Tomb, the floor covered with a bear fur carpet from the Abyssal Wilderness, and even the oil lamps hanging from the pillars were fueled by shark oil, refined by the White-bellied Shark People.
The hall was luxurious and resplendent, but it was marred by its eerie silence.
Suddenly, the sound of crisp footsteps echoed in the quiet hall.
The footsteps emerged from the shadows, illuminated by the first pillar’s oil lamp. Through the light of the century-old shark oil lamp, one saw a pair of fair and smooth legs and a pair of brown high-heeled short boots with red patterns.
When the firelight fully illuminated her, it revealed a beautiful woman dressed in a dazzling red gown.
“Who could it be? It’s you. What brings you here?” The speaker was not the newcomer, but a woman sitting at the long table in the hall.
Through the thin veil and dim light, one could see an enchanting female figure sitting at the fragrant wood table, stirring the liquid in her teacup with a spoon.
“Am I not allowed to come?” The newcomer lifted the thin veil, circled the long table, looked at the fireplace burning with a hundred spirals, smelled the frosty snow orchid on the low cabinet, and then stomped on the white bear fur carpet as if venting anger, “Tsk, your place is becoming more and more extravagant. I say, you never take a physical form, and now you’re just a wisp of white mist. What’s the point of all this luxury, Lady Mirror?”
The woman sitting at the table, who was now fully revealed, was indeed the personification of smoke – one of the three great ancestral spirits of the Savage Grottoes, the essence of the Mirror World, Lady Mirror.
Lady Mirror snorted, “I like it, and it’s none of your business.”
“I’m not meddling, I just think it’s a waste for you. You could’ve taken a physical form long ago, but you always choose to appear as smoke.” The newcomer lifted her red gown and sat on Lady Mirror’s right side, “That great being has been gone for many years, and with his power, it would be easy for him to return. The fact that he hasn’t returned shows that he no longer cares about you.”
Lady Mirror, formed of smoke, glared angrily, “Where have you been eavesdropping? Did the ‘Ancient Love Poems’ publish a new issue, using me as the prototype for the bitter, lovelorn woman who waits for her husband? I have no idea what you’re talking about when you mention greatness!”
“Don’t pretend. It wasn’t ‘Ancient Love Poems,’ but Luna de Misa who told me that you and the great being behind the Candy House once had a relationship…”
Lady Mirror asked doubtfully, “Luna de Misa? Who’s that, and why does the name sound so strange?”
“The newly rising witch of the Heavenly Tree, who inherited the title of ‘Bird of Paradise’ from her mentor. She’s also the new goddess of the southern witch magazine community,” after a pause, the newcomer added, “She’s also my new best friend. She has an interesting personality.”
“Heavenly Tree?” Lady Mirror scoffed, “The witch organization under Fairy Tale Town’s jurisdiction is getting more and more unruly. They dare to gossip about that great being. Do they really think he won’t return after leaving? Red Lotus, you’re better off without such a friend.”
Upon being addressed by her nickname, the newcomer took Lady Mirror’s hand: “You can call me Red Lotus, but just use my name, alright?”
“Lydia, you’re really quite disrespectful,” Lady Mirror seemed critical, but the laughter in her words never diminished, “Don’t listen to those rumors. There’s nothing going on between me and him. He seeks the truth, and I seek immortality. We’ve had our differences for thousands of years. His persistence has never waned, nor has my pursuit. We have never been together.”
“But she said it so confidently,” Lydia clearly didn’t believe it, “And you could shapeshift, yet you don’t. Are you waiting for him?”
“I don’t shapeshift because I haven’t found a form that I like, it has nothing to do with that gentleman,” Lady Mirror retorted irritably, “Lydia, you’re a capable witch, put aside your mundane thoughts and don’t be so narrow-minded all the time.”
Lydia rolled her eyes, grabbed Lady Mirror’s teapot, poured herself a full cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp, “Now that you’ve explained, I understand. I didn’t expect Lady Mirror’s insight to be so profound. I originally came here to give you a keepsake from Lord Sanders, but now it seems I won’t bother.”
Lady Mirror’s hand paused as she sipped her tea.
“Sanders?” Lady Mirror suddenly grabbed Lydia, her face full of interest, “Sanders has finally awakened? He even sent you something?”
Lydia feigned a cough, “I happened to meet Lord Sanders at Twilight, and he missed me so much that he specially sent me a little trinket to cheer me up.”
“Really?” Lady Mirror asked suspiciously, “Sanders really took a liking to you? If I shapeshift, wouldn’t I have to shape myself in your enchanting direction?”
Lydia: “Didn’t you just say that you don’t shapeshift because you haven’t found a form you like?”
Lady Mirror shamelessly replied, “The form I like is Sanders’ ideal type. There’s no conflict there.”
Lydia: “…”
Lady Mirror spread her hands, “Come on, let’s see what Sanders would give you.”
Lydia’s visit to Lady Mirror was partly to see her old friend and partly to show off her “On Cloud 6”, hoping to surpass Polisa’s collection of handsome men. So when Lady Mirror reached out, she pretended to refuse, then took the On Cloud 6 out of her space.
“This is the keepsake Lord Sanders gave me. You could even call it a token of affection,” Lydia said, “It contains his ingenious ideas. Lady Mirror, let me tell you, not only is the music beautiful, but it can also create an illusory realm that is both real and unreal…”
Lady Mirror was stunned.
Observing the familiar shape and listening to Lydia praising it with various flowery words, Lady Mirror felt that the world was being too kind to her. When Lydia arrived, she had also intended to show off her “Voyage of the Azure Sky” but hadn’t found the opportunity to take it out before Lydia presented hers first.
Moreover, Lydia used the excuse of it being a “token of love given by Sanders.”
Clashing in attire leads to embarrassment for the one who looks worse. But clashing in “show-off items” meant that whoever took it out first would be the embarrassed one.
Thankfully, Lydia had taken hers out first; otherwise, wouldn’t the embarrassment have fallen upon Lady Mirror?
Lydia continued to speak eloquently, “…Its name is ‘On Cloud 6’…”
Lady Mirror interrupted Lydia, her face wearing a half-smiling expression, “You said it’s called On Cloud 6, who gave it that name?”
Lydia hesitated for a moment. From Lady Mirror’s tone, could it be that she had heard about the Twilight Auction? However, On Cloud 6 was not particularly outstanding among the auction items, so even if she was concerned, she shouldn’t be concerned about this particular item, right?
After giving it some thought, Lydia tentatively said, “Well, I’m not really sure. It was called that when I got it.”
Lady Mirror mysteriously smiled, “Are you sure it was given to you by Sanders?”
Lydia narrowed her eyes, now convinced that Lady Mirror indeed knew about the music box. Could it be that she had been paying attention to every item at the Twilight Auction?
With that thought, Lydia covered her mouth and chuckled, “Actually, I was joking earlier. This music box, though I got it from the Twilight Auction, I didn’t make it up. It truly is from… Sir Sanders. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this illusion.”
Lady Mirror waited for Lydia to finish speaking and even played a Sky City illusion on purpose. When the Floating Island was displayed, Lydia raised her eyebrows at Lady Mirror, her eyes saying, “See, I didn’t lie to you, did I? The true meaning of this illusion must come from Sir Sanders!”
It wasn’t until Lydia had finished all of this that Lady Mirror chuckled and leisurely took out her “Voyage of the Azure Sky.”
The Voyage of the Azure Sky On Cloud 6.
They had an awkward encounter.
Seeing the identical music box, Lydia couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as well.
Mirror Lady, however, chuckled and said, “I actually received this music box half a month ago. It was specially crafted for me by the alchemist, sigh… that cunning boy claimed it was a token of gratitude, a little trinket he created just for me. I didn’t expect him to auction it off as soon as my back was turned. The next time he makes a custom music box for me, I’ll definitely nag him about it.”
Mirror Lady emphasized the word “custom” in the music box, making Lydia even more embarrassed.
“Is this music box not made by Sanders?”
“Of course not.”
“But this illusion… it clearly has Sanders’ touch!”
“That’s because it was made by Sanders’ apprentice~”
Mirror Lady had no intention of keeping it a secret and directly exposed Angel’s involvement, recounting his story to Lydia.
After listening, Lydia fell silent for a moment: “So he’s the alchemist? No wonder the illusion he created during the auction was so incredible.”
Seeing Lydia’s silence, Mirror Lady asked, “What’s wrong? Feeling embarrassed?”
Lydia rolled her eyes, “You knew all along and still watched me make a fool of myself.”
Mirror Lady spoke earnestly, “Every setback is a learning experience.”
Lydia snorted, “Fine, at least I know who the alchemist is now. I don’t need to interrogate that moonbell sprite anymore… However, it’s a bit strange for Angel to give an entry-level alchemy item directly to a magic servant…”
Mirror Lady had no interest in how Lydia managed to get the “On Cloud 6” and was currently pondering how to subtly reveal the custom item she had Angel craft with both “texture” and “desire.”
“Don’t underestimate Sanders’ apprentice this time. He’s quite good. A few days ago, he even produced two alchemical omens in a row, advancing to an intermediate alchemy apprentice in less than a year within the wizarding world. His illusory skills, as you’ve seen, are excellent. He’s even more talented than Sanders was in his youth,” Mirror Lady praised a few times: “The only downside is his gentle personality, which doesn’t quite match Sanders.”
Lydia sneered, “Mismatched? Mirror Lady, you might not know this, but Angel had a run-in with Twilight a few days ago and was nearly killed. In the end, Sanders saved him. He’s already so worried, and they’re still mismatched?”
Mirror Lady: “Really?”
“Absolutely true, I suppose Flora must have been insanely jealous at that time.”
Mirror Lady whispered, “Then… should I shapeshift into Angel’s form?”
“That could work. With Angel’s appearance, a female version should be quite beautiful,” Lydia supported enthusiastically with both hands.
In the following time, Lydia and Mirror Lady chatted about the latest gossip. Not long after, Lydia suddenly furrowed her brows, “Huh, a message from one of my magic servant families, sent through a blood ritual?”
Lydia took out a parchment contract with strange symbols written on it. These symbols could not be read with the naked eye but needed to be sensed using spiritual power to understand their meanings. In the Pan-Dimensional Plane, this was a top-tier recording method.
On one side of the contract was Lydia’s name; on the other side, it read – Moja.
“The Moja clan? Shadow servants of the Shadow Demon Castle? They do make good material for magic servants,” Mirror Lady thought to herself.
As the parchment contract floated in mid-air, Lydia said to Mirror Lady, “Lend me some fire.”
Without further ado, she took a flame from a palace lantern on a pillar and placed it under the parchment contract to roast.
With the roasting of the flame, the symbols on the parchment contract suddenly “came to life,” moving chaotically on the paper. After a while, the symbols rearranged themselves into a row of words…
“Lady Red Lotus, the Shadow Demon Castle has now fallen into the hands of evil spirits, and the Moja clan is in imminent danger. We beseech your mercy…”