Two days later, we finally arrived at Cheshui Lake.
It was a stretch of water with no end in sight, just like its name. When passing by in a boat, I could clearly see the abyss beneath my feet.
The colorful water plants are like a pair of long outstretched hands, swaying with the waves under my feet.
I lay on the edge of the boat, looking through the sparkling lake water illuminated by the sun, directly to the bottom of the lake full of pebbles, clam shells and water plants, "Oh my God...how deep is this? Dalyan?" I couldn't help but wonder. Asked back.
Dallion, who was sitting opposite me, propped his head and looked at me with a smile, "Cheshui Lake is forty-seven meters deep."
"Young man, the Cheshui Lake is hundreds of meters deep!" the old boatman rocking the oar said with a smile, "The Magic Song Alley under the Magic Song Rock in the north of the lake is even deeper. Legend has it that it is the road to the center of the earth!"
Oh, the center of the earth.
I smiled and looked back to the water below, where there were clumps of lush aquatic plants, and fish of various colors swimming around in the aquatic plants.
Suddenly, I saw a large red and yellow clam shell, which was lying peacefully among the water plants. Suddenly, it opened its huge fan blades and spit out a string of water droplets. Behind the water droplets, something was shining with dazzling brilliance. "Darian!" I knelt down in wonder, "Look at that clam shell! There's a big pearl inside!"
"Oh! I saw it!"
"Haha, miss, no matter how much you love pearls, don't mess with that big guy." The old boatman said with a smile, and the wrinkles on his face relaxed.
I couldn't help but look back, "Why?"
The old boatman shook his head mysteriously, "This is an ancient legend. Every blade clam in Cheshui Lake is guarded by a water demon. If anyone dares to go over and take advantage of the pearls, the water demon will confuse you and let you You were swallowed by the giant clam and turned into a pearl."
That legend made me rub my arms and feel a chill all over my body. When I turned my eyes, I suddenly saw a large black shadow passing under the boat.
I took a breath and jumped from one side of the boat to the other. It was a huge black fish, almost seven or eight meters long. Whenever it opened its mouth, there were groups of small fish next to it. They will be sucked in, and no one will be spared.
oh! Oh My God! Are there whales in Cheshui Lake? ! Or a shark? !
"Messiah! Be careful! Don't fall!" Dallion grabbed my shoulders, but when he moved, the whole ship shook violently.
"Don't move! Dallion! Don't move!" I yelled nervously.
"Miss, that's a fish!" The old boatman said with a smile while rocking the oar. "Look carefully, it has a mouth full of teeth! It eats meat!"
"Of course I know it eats meat..." I stared at the huge beast below us, and I breathed a sigh of relief until it slowly left. "Speaking of which, can it eat it?"
"Yeah." The boatman clapped his mouth, as if after recollection, "It's edible, but it doesn't taste very good. However, it can also be used to satisfy hunger when you're hungry. The water here never freezes, and this kind of fish, It’s found all year round, and it doesn’t swim very deep, and it’s very slow.”
"It looks like it's only five or six meters deep. Won't it attack ships?"
"Haha, little girl, it lives at a depth of more than ten meters! Your eyes are deceived by the water!"
"There is a river next to my house. When summer comes, I will go fishing. I am a good fisherman and the water cannot fool me."
The boatman laughed, his eyes narrowed as he laughed. It was obvious that he didn't believe what I said.
Turning my head, I stared at the small fish swimming beside the boat, and took off my thick bearskin gloves. Suddenly, I reached out to catch them, but even though my whole palm was immersed in the cold lake water, my My fingertips still didn't touch the fins of the lazily swimming fish.
oh! The water here really deceived me!
After being stunned for a few seconds, I took back my hands that were almost freezing and took a few deep breaths.
Dallion smiled and shook his head. He also took off his gloves and gently held my hand. There was dim holy light burning in his palm, which was extremely warm. I instinctively wanted to take my hand back, but he held my hand tightly. Hold on tight.
"Dallion!" I was a little annoyed, but he grinned at me and didn't let go until the bright holy light burned out.
"Speaking of which, do you recognize Master Gunser on the island in the middle of the lake?" He raised his head and asked the old boatman.
"Master Gunther?" The old boatman thought for a while, "Well, we call him Mr. Gunther. He is a polite young man, but he is also full of troubles."
"trouble?"
"Haha, isn't it just for girls?" He looked at us thoughtfully, "Every time I go to the island, he always sighs and pours out his bitterness on me."
"Do you go to see him often?"
"That's not true. He rarely calls the boatman to go to the island. After all, it's quite far away from the fishing ground. But every time he calls me, it's just to buy some meat and vegetables... Hey, a young man, alone. Staying on the island is indeed very lonely."
*
It took us a whole morning of jolting to reach the island in the middle of the lake. When I stepped on the ground, I felt like I was still going up and down with the waves.
Oh, I'm a little dizzy.
The island in the center of the lake is not big, with an ancient mage tower standing in the center, more than ten meters high. The tower made of white stone has dried and yellowed vines hanging on it, like the few pitiful hairs left on a bald man's head.
The temperature here is very high, and within a few steps we all took off our heavy cloaks.
Passing through the small deserted garden in front of the mage tower, Ryder knocked on the thick door, but after knocking for a long time, no one came to open the door.
"What should we do? Young Master?" Ryder looked back at us in embarrassment.
"I'll do it." Dallion carefully helped me and jumped up the steps. Then, standing in front of the heavy door, he put his hand on the door panel and suddenly exerted force, "Drink---" Suddenly, that The bronze-covered door shook and was slowly pushed open.
"Is anyone there?" Ryder called inside, coughing again due to the falling dust.
There was no response at all, but the hall behind the door was very bright. The midday sun shone through the countless stained glass on the wall, casting colorful shadows on the ground.
There is a huge fireplace in the wall on our right, and there is still black dust that has not been cleaned away. An oil painting of mixed colors hangs above it. I looked at it for a long time and didn't understand what it was about.
The rest of the hall is furnished with a complete range of furniture, including solid wooden tables, swaying lounge chairs, and soft carpets. In the corner, there was a wooden ladder spiraling up. I looked up and saw huge bookshelves at the end of the wooden ladder.
I hopped on one foot and pushed myself into the sun-baked fluffy fur cushions. Not far away, against the wall, I found an alchemy table filled with round-bottomed flasks and conduits. "It seems that this Master Gunther is an alchemist."
Dallion took a look at the alchemy table and nodded in agreement, "However, there is a lot of dust accumulated on the alchemy table."
"He went out?" I asked.
"It shouldn't be," Dallion frowned and shook his head, "Before we came here, we clearly contacted him using the communication circle. He said he would wait for us."
"Maybe he went out to catch fish?" Ryder was busy organizing things in the open compartment. After hearing this, he casually added, "Even if he is a powerful magician, he has to eat, right? wrong?"
"It seems like he's been gone for a long time." As he spoke, Dallion walked to the dining table. He took off his gloves and touched the dining table next to him. "The dust is quite thick, as if no one has been here for more than ten days. .”
That sentence gave me a bad premonition, and my eyes couldn't help but drift to the mottled bandage on my left foot. Oh, why do I feel that the wound is getting more and more painful?
"I'll go upstairs and take a look," Dallion said as he climbed up the wooden ladder in the corner, his footsteps shaking down large swaths of dust. "...I remember that magicians are used to enshrining magic vessels. , like some kind of sacred ceremony... Oh!" Suddenly, he exclaimed, and the next second, half of his body leaned out from the armrest, "Messiah, I saw the purification stone!" He said proudly Shout to me.
*
The Purification Stone is a round stone that is placed in a small hall on the top floor. The sunlight shines through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, making the stone shine like a pearl, and the purest life force continuously emanates from it. Come out and make everyone who comes near feel relaxed and happy.
Dallion helped me sit on the footstool next to the stone, and then looked around and around the purification stone with a serious face.
"Can you use this thing? Dallion?" I asked curiously.
"All purification magic tools are similar." As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, "It should be right here." Before he finished speaking, his fingers touched the table where the purification stone was placed.
A bit of holy light lit up at his fingertips, and then, like water droplets entering the sea, it penetrated into the concave and convex array patterns on the platform. Suddenly, the platform lit up, and the light swam like a snake, circle after circle. Circle, finally, got into the purification stone. At that moment, it was as if a heart was beating in the stone, and the purification stone also lit up, pouring out white energy like a waterfall!
I was shocked. In an instant, the energy had washed over me. It was really like a real waterfall, making a gurgling sound, and almost pushed me off the stool, "Oh!"
"Don't move, Messiah!" Dallion yelled at me from the side of the Purification Stone.
The white energy did not leave after rushing through me, but hovered around me. For a moment, I felt like I was wrapped in a warm egg.
I seemed to hear singing, distant and ethereal, and the sound seemed to make every drop of liquid in my body dance and tremble.
Soon, an extremely cold feeling emerged from the depths of my body, slowly floated to my skin, and then sprayed out from the crevices of every cell, which was a line of black mist.
Is that the energy of the Shadow Curse?
I couldn't help but think.
However, it seemed that it was not over yet. At the moment when the black mist was exhausted, I felt my soul shrinking hard, and then, a piece of it was grabbed hard and pulled outward.
The sharp pain of tearing my soul made my vision go dark and I almost fell to the ground! The next second, I jumped up in fear. Fortunately, the egg was just an invisible light shield. I jumped out easily. It wasn't until I left it that I fell to my knees on the wooden floor.
Bang bang bang--
At that moment, I was holding my hands on the ground, my heart was beating so hard that I almost wanted to vomit.
Oh my God!
what happened? ! What was that just now? !
"Messiah!" Dallion was also startled. He immediately turned over from the table and stood vigilantly between me and the light mask, "What's wrong?!"
"...it...it..." I gasped for air, unable to speak complete words.
Dallion slowly arched his back, but the light shield did not move at all, it just buzzed slightly in place.
After a pause, Dallion hesitantly put his hand into the light shield, and then slowly walked in.
He bathed in the light shield and felt it carefully, but until the light shield shattered, his expression did not change at all.
"Maybe... the energy was too high just now." After thinking for a moment, he said uncertainly, "Did it hurt you?"
I nodded, still a little shaken.
"Come on, get up." He came over, used his arms to help me up, and sat on the footstool again, "Let me see your wound."
*
Dallion knelt half in front of me and put my feet on his knees. Then, the mottled bandages were removed in circles, and the smell of blood filled the warm air.
The wound on my left foot was still dripping with blood. At one glance, I immediately turned my head away.
After waiting for a long time, I looked again. I don't know if it was for psychological reasons, but I found that the black edges that were originally visible to the naked eye had disappeared.
Dallion was also looking at my wound carefully, "It might be a little itchy, Messiah, you have to bear it." Unexpectedly, he said to me.
I clenched my fists, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
"Supreme Holy Light, please give me the power to let all the pain disappear with the wind." With the low voice of the incantation, the magic world shook violently, and suddenly, the scorching Holy Light fell from the sky, covering me The wound is bathed in it.
The wound immediately began to itch, and layers of new flesh and blood began to grow on the exposed white bones. I bit my lip tightly, and it took a lot of effort to resist the urge to reach out and grab it.
"Supreme Holy Light, please give me the power to let all the pain disappear with the wind." Dallion once again recited the incantation of a powerful healing spell, and once again, dazzling golden light came from the sky.
I found that the penetrating wound had quietly healed, and no more blood flowed out.
"Supreme Holy Light, please give me the power to let all the pain disappear with the wind." As the mantra passed, the wound began to shrink visibly to the naked eye.
"It works!" I exclaimed, with genuine joy.
"That's right." Dallion wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to recite magic again, "Supreme Holy Light, please give me the power to let all the pain go away with the wind."
The holy light enveloped my left foot, burning like a flame.
The pink new flesh kept squirming, filling the previously terrifying flesh and blood cavity, and then, a thin skin grew on the outer layer of the new flesh.
I couldn't help but move, and the severe pain I had felt was gone.
I carefully took my left foot away from Dallion's lap and stepped on the floor. Under his encouraging eyes, I slowly stood up and took a solid step. There was only a dull pain in the sole of my foot. .
I tapped the ground harder, and suddenly I flew up and landed on the thin wooden handrail a little unsteadily. I opened my hands to steady myself, and then kicked on the handrail again. This time , I landed firmly on the floor!
oh! At that moment, I almost jumped up with excitement, "I simply can't express my gratitude! My angel!" Turning around, I rushed toward Darien and gave him a warm hug.
What I didn't expect was that Dallion, who had always been steady, was knocked down by me, and the back of his head hit the ground hard.
"Hey! Dallion!" My heart skipped a beat and I immediately turned over from his chest that was heaving violently. It was only then that I noticed that his lips were white. I pushed away the soft strands of hair stuck to his forehead and stared into his absent-minded blue eyes, "Oh my God, what's wrong with you?!"
"No, it's okay." He smiled weakly, with cold sweat all over his head and a terrible look on his face. "...Maybe it's because he ran out of magic..." As he said that, he rolled his eyes and fainted.
"Dallion!"
