When he got out of the tomb and returned to Oylan's room, Ed didn't feel relaxed at all, but became more nervous.

The place was so quiet that it almost felt like it had been abandoned, and there was a strong sense of unreality. For a moment, Ed even wondered if he had been controlled, and that everything was just his imagination......

But he was aching all over his body, especially in his wrist - it couldn't be fake.

Hesitantly, he stood in the basement doorway, once again carefully scanning the old mage's small, tidy room. The wooden box at the foot of the bed was next to his lap, and he involuntarily opened it to take a look. There were some things in the box that surprised him—brushes, paints, rolls of canvas......

He looked at the wall at the head of the bed, where a small painting hung there. The thought that it was most likely painted by Oylan himself made Ed feel a little ridiculous for no reason. Is it possible for a necromancer to be an artist at the same time?...... Nothing seems impossible. After all, no one is born a necromancer.

He walked to the head of the bed and looked curiously at the small but vivid painting. It appears to be a corner of a garden, and under oleanders full of pink flowers, a blonde girl sits against a wall, her posture leisurely, but her face is too small to be blurred. The whole painting reveals the sadness of a certain name in the quiet, like an unforgettable fragment in memory, warm and beautiful, but far away.

Perhaps in Jay Oylan's heart, there is not only darkness.

Ed's eyes fell on the cupboard beside the bed, and he picked up another painting that lay there—a somewhat darkly colored portrait of a little blonde boy about five years old. The innocent blue eyes stared directly at the person outside the picture in ignorance...... That face was a little like Huo An.

Ed's hand shook for a moment, and the frame fell from his weaker hand and slammed to the ground.

The noise was so loud that Ed didn't dare to move for a while. He held his breath. I pricked up my ears and listened to the movement around me, but no one heard me.

He breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously bent down to pick up the frame, only to suddenly realize that something was not quite right.

From the back, the polished wooden frame looks new—at least at the edges, but the center is faintly blackened as if it were starting to rot.

Walnut is not a wood that rots so easily, especially in the cold and dry north. Ed was puzzled for a moment. With a movement in his heart, he used a short knife to pry open the frame.

A bright light flashed - under the thin plank, one side was simple. Mirrors without any decoration are revealed.

Ed stared blankly at his face in the mirror, unable to tell for a moment whether the expression on that face was surprise or horror - he had found it...... But it also shines on him!!

He had no idea what the power of the mirror was, but instinctively felt that it wasn't a good thing...... So now, even his soul will be trapped inside?!

He crouched there. The heartbeat was fast and heavy. My mind was in a mess, and it took me a moment to come to my senses, and I quickly slammed the mirror upside down on the ground, unable to decide whether to smash it or not.

If the mirror shatters, will his soul also dissipate?...... Such a death is too unjust.

After a moment's hesitation, he suddenly realized another problem - there was no mechanism on the frame that could be opened quickly, and the mirror had obviously been hidden here for some time...... Oylan didn't seem to be basking in its power, as Bazel claimed.

Did Bazel get something wrong...... Or did he lie to him?

Glued to the portrait on the back of the mirror, the blonde boy's eyes always looked a little oozing. Annoyed, Ed tore it off. The fingertips have not yet touched the smooth and new back, and I don't know what material is made of it. But a chill suddenly ran through his back.

He didn't have time to turn back—and he didn't have to.

A dagger silently pressed against his neck, and Huo An's thin voice still sounded so soft and harmless, even with sincere admiration and adoration: "You found it...... I knew you could. ”

Ed was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Oylan was right, his naivety and stupidity would have surprised even him...... It's not that he doesn't know what kind of person Huo An is, how could he be so naïve to believe that he would be easily deceived, and even unconsciously feel a little guilty about him?

But there was one thing he really couldn't understand.

"It was in your hands, wasn't it?...... If you don't want it to fall into the hands of someone else, why give it to your 'teacher'?" he couldn't help but ask.

Unless, of course, what Bazel told him was all a lie......

"But I don't know what it's for, and I can't keep it from being taken...... Tum wouldn't tell me anything. Joan sighed softly, "I thought Oylan would know and he would protect me...... But he didn't seem to have much interest in it and wouldn't give it back to me, and I didn't want to wait any longer...... Now that I've found someone else willing to help me, it's time for it to be returned to its rightful owner. ”

His tone was even a little aggrieved, but Ed couldn't help but be creepy. The seemingly weak boy behind him is like some kind of climbing plant in the forest, and can only survive by clinging to tall trees...... But he will not have the slightest gratitude for the power he used, or even the power he strangled.

"I don't think you'll find anyone who cares more about you than Oylan...... Egbert. He said.

No matter how much he hated Oylan he had to admit that the old man might not be good at expressing himself, but he genuinely loved Joan.

This blurted out sentence unexpectedly angered the boy.

"Don't call me that!" he yelled uncontrollably, his voice full of hatred, "'care'? you don't know anything...... It was never me that he saw, and it wasn't me that he cared about!"

The sharp dagger crushed against Ed's neck, and warm blood slowly flowed. Ed honestly kept his mouth shut, deciding that he was better off remaining silent.

“...... Kick the mirror over and use your feet. Hoan's voice calmed down, and the speed was so fast that Ed couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He only hesitated for a moment, and Huo An's dagger had already pressed deeper impatiently:

"Kick it in, Ed...... I don't want to hurt you. ”

Perhaps the most terrifying thing is that he can always tell a lie so sincerely—Ed touched the indelible scar on his chest, silently pushed the mirror back with his foot, and tried to kick it over with childish malice, face up.

But Hoan didn't let it shine on him.

A black cloth bag fell and covered the mirror. Joan delicately put the mirror into the cloth bag with one hand and whispered in Ed's ear, "Goodbye, Ed...... I know we'll see each other again. ”

The dagger left his neck. Before Ed could fight back, there was a dull pain in his thigh, and without hesitation, Joan stabbed him in the leg.

He involuntarily sat down on the ground and rolled to the side, the shadow of Huo An flashing in his sight, and he had quickly disappeared outside the door.

Ed stared at the doorway in a daze, and suddenly felt the urge to laugh out loud. Sio tells him that the direction lost in the crowd can only be regained in the crowd...... But when he returned to the human world from the ice field, he found almost nothing but death and deception.

No...... It's not just deception.

His eyes fell on the old boots given to him by the simple hunter couple, and the faint warmth stubbornly dispelled the cold and disappointment that seeped into the bone marrow. Ed gritted his teeth and got to his feet, limping and dragging his legs to Joan's room, barely tending to his wounds, and began to sit there in a daze.

Hoan must have found another way to lure Oylan and Bazel away, but they should still be back, otherwise Hoan wouldn't have had to flee so quickly...... But Ed couldn't escape. Even if he hadn't been stabbed in the leg, he wouldn't have been able to go far.

He simply spread his limbs and fell on the bed, his mind was chaotic, thinking about how much Bazel knew and how much he had lied to him, wondering why Oylan was "not interested" in the mirror that apparently possessed mysterious powers, and what Oylan would do to him when he came back and found out all this...... He said he had "locked up his power...... What does that mean exactly? Is there a rune carved into his body, or on the bones that were once broken, like the ones on the foreheads of those skeletons? Is there any way he can get rid of that? Should he lie in wait by the door and wait for him to come back and plunge a knife into his chest? Will Bazel break free or break his neck?......

He had countless worries, endless uneasiness, but he was so tired that suddenly his mind was empty, and before he knew it, he closed his eyes, but he could also feel someone walk into the room and stand silently by the bed.

He opened his eyes and looked at the silent Oylan and the statuesque bazel with his head hanging behind him. The old man's usually neat white hair was slightly messy, and his face was a little ugly, which made Ed a little curious. But at this moment, all his emotions were dulled and almost numb by sleepiness and exhaustion.

"Hoane is gone. He said lazily, a little resigned, "and he took the mirror." ”

“...... Egbert. Oylan corrected, "He got you out?"

"Nope. Ed held up his injured wrist, "I saved it myself...... I also helped him find the mirror, and that's all he gave me. ”

He pointed to the wound on his leg, and finally couldn't help but laugh.

"You're right. He said, "I'm hopelessly stupid." ”

If he wasn't mistaken, Oylan had a disappointed look on his face for a moment, but he didn't know why.

"Bazel. Without looking back, he cried out, "Take him." ”

The barbarian bent down and picked up Ed. Ed looked into his eyes and was surprised to realize that he was sane.

Bazel apologized, awkwardly avoiding his gaze, but didn't seem to deliberately appear particularly stiff in front of Oylan.

Ed was confused, and didn't ask blankly until he was carried out of the house, "...... Where is this going?"

He thought Bazel would take him back to the tomb.

"Escape. Oylan replied lightly.

(To be continued......)