In the eastern part of the Yunman Mountains, in the deep forest near the Valley, there is a fortress that has been abandoned for many years.

It was once one of the pillars of the kingdom's defense against the invasion of the Orc Empire, but with the collapse of the Orc Empire, it lost its relevance.

Not far away, the sound of the waves of the boundless sea is still the same, but the fortress that should have been full of swords and guns is now overgrown with flowers and grass. If you don't know about it, you will think that it is only infested with wild beasts and insects.

"More than 200 years of monuments, with these, are really ancient trees sprouting new sprouts. ”

But for Gott, who has a heart, the seemingly messy flowers and plants on both sides of the steps have been taken care of.

"Master Gott?"

When Gauth, who was covered with a robe for most of his body, walked up to the walls of the urn city to the southeast of the fortress without hurrying, Jeanne, who had also set foot here, stared at her eyes and cried out in surprise

"Good morning, Jeanne. Is Xiangzhu there?"

"Ah, the Sage is taking a break from the tower, do you want me to tell her?"

Looking at Jeanne, who was still holding a basin in her hand, Goult lifted her hood, smiled and shook her head, "You go and get busy, I'll just go over." ”

"Ah...... Okay, Master Gault. ”

Jeanne wanted to say something more, but thought that Gott's sudden visit might be something important, so she pressed her emotions back. Ten years ago, it was Master Goth who freed himself from humanity and healed those near-fatal wounds and sent him here to become an acolyte of the Twilight Sage.

He is more than just a lifesaver for himself......

"Jeanne, if you want to return to the world, you can go and pack up. ”

Just as Jeanne walked up to the wall of the urn city in a low mood, intending to dry her clothes, the warm voice of Master Gault suddenly came from behind her. Her heartbeat, which had been as slow as the Twilight One, increased in speed in that instant.

"I ......" she imagined, that kind of life. But for him, she may only be a burden, "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm doing well here." ”

"Is that so? ”

With a gentle echo dissipating, Gott's figure disappeared into the winding staircase of the fortress.

Soon there was silence all around, as if the man had never appeared.........

"Xiangzhu Sage, I'm really going to enjoy it. ”

From the moment he stepped into the tower, Gott smelled a faint smell of smoke, which seemed to be cinnamon and pepper. Following the guidance of the aroma, he went up the ring staircase to the top of the tower.

"Isn't it there......" When the open door of the tower's lookout appeared in front of him, Gott realized that he couldn't see the person he wanted to see here - but he walked in anyway.

The beacon tower that was converted into a living room had the door unclosed, and the incense burner was still wafting with fragrant smoke. There was no one Gott wanted to see, but he knew where this person would be, and she would be there.

Thirty years is a long time for human beings, but for them, it's just a white horse—hanging the frame of the oil painting of two young men and an old man back on the wall, Gott stepped out of the railing of the living room and looked out to the endless sea in the distance.

Once upon a time, he had also revealed his ambition to cross the boundless Kunpeng to the girl who looked about his age in such a bright sunshine......

A salty wind blew from the east, ruffling his pale hair.

"I'm running out of time......"

Muttering, the traveling merchant, who was both a warrior and a mage, put his hood on, rolled over and jumped off the tower.

Wow –

"Who!?"

Jeanne, who was drying her clothes on the walls of the fortress, was about to leave, when the sound of breaking wind from above made her instinctively turn around and take an attacking stance. But she was taken aback when she saw that it was Gott who had jumped from the tower.

"Jeanne, don't be nervous. ”

"Master Gaote, isn't Lord Xiangzhu in the tower?"

"Yes, though, I know where she is. ”

Letting the winds that were invisibly holding him out, Gott walked along the path of the walls towards the dark interior of the fortress. Even with the passage of time, he still remembered the passages of the fortress clearly.

"Do you need me to show the way, Master Gault?"

"Thanks, Jeanne, but I'm familiar with this place. ”

"Ah, that's good......" With her hands clasped together, Jeanna lowered her head and replied, "No, no thanks......"

With the slight clatter of armor pieces, Gott stepped into the fortress.

Oil lamps were lit in the long, dimly lit corridors, but each one was far apart and not bright enough. Stroking the vicissitudes of life, Gott finally arrived at the door of the command room inside the fortress under the prying eyes of a group of night creatures.

Tuk Tuk Tuk –

Goth knocked on the ironwood door, which had also been through the vicissitudes of life, but there was no response from inside, but the sound of wings fluttering in the empty hall not far away.

Letting the bats fly by, he gently pushed open the hidden door and stepped inside.

"Excuse me. ”

The lights that were much brighter than the corridor shone from the front, and Gault couldn't help but squint his eyes. Like the top of the tower, the command room was filled with a faint smoke with a smoky scent——— and with the naked eye, the place looked like a mysterious treasure room hiding something good.

Wind.

With Gott's silent murmur, a gentle gust of wind blew past him, and the smoke that stood between him and the owner of the fortress was immediately blown away. As far as the eye can see, the command room has long been occupied by shelves full of various potions, potion bottles, and bookshelves full of parchment books.

In the shadows created by the light, he saw her whom he had not seen in a long time.

"Hmm...... Guest?"

"Long time no see, Sage-sage. ”

A woman wearing a white headdress, a dark blue dress, and a white apron was working on a laboratory table full of bottles, jars, and instruments with her back to Gott. The scales on the trays on both sides shook slightly under her gaze, and the solution was boiling in the nearby glass container.

"Are you...... Gott. It seemed that there were eyes in the back of her head, and even though Gault deliberately hid her voice, the woman still said the visitor's name before turning around.

When the ruby eyes met the visitor's eyes, the man standing in front of the gate smiled knowingly, "It's me." I'm sorry I didn't say hello to Tashana when I came to visit suddenly. ”

"There's no need to apologize," said the woman named Tasana, grabbing a handful of black tea leaves from a nearby box, looking at Gott with a smirk, and letting the tea slip into the flask little by little through the funnel, "Please sit down, Mr. Gott, the tea will soon be ready." ”

"There is labor. ”

Tea leaves dance in the boiling water of the flask, and the originally transparent boiling water gradually turns into a maple leaf-like red. Tashana skillfully picked up the flask with a clamp and let the tea flow into the delicate bone china teapot, then placed the bone china teapot on the tray with the matching teacups, and walked over with the tray - like a mature and sophisticated young maid.

"Do you need to add sugar?" Tashana tilted her head slightly as she looked at her old friend who had found a place to sit down on her own.

"No, thank you. Under the illumination of artificial light, Gault can admire the enduring face of the beautiful woman up close.

So, Tashana poured herself and Gault a cup of tea, then put down the teapot and sat down across from Gault.

"How are you doing?"

"Of course, the teacher and I were very nice. ”

Tashana didn't speak, but took a sip of tea.

Goult also took a sip of the fragrant tea, and after a short silence, asked curiously, "Why did you change your dress like this today? ”

"I've been interested in this outfit lately...... And the other thing is that I expected you to be here in the next few days, so I prepared early - doesn't that seem more formal?"

"I don't remember you having the power of a prophet of the unknown. ”

Putting down the teacup, Gott cast his gaze not far away, on a rack of clothes hanging from it—it was supposed to be Tashana's work clothes.

"Of course. But I know that if a guest visits, Jeanne will definitely say that I am leaving the tower, and there are things there that ordinary people do not touch. As Gott laughed dumbly, Tashana took another sip of tea, "What's the matter with visiting me today?"

"Of course you know what I'm visiting you for, don't you?"

"Oh, that," Putting down the teacup and standing up, Tashana walked gracefully but swiftly to a shelf full of glass containers under the gaze of Gault, and stretched out her right hand to let her fingers wander in front of the shelf, "Alchemical products that curb the ghosting of the dead should be cost-controllable, easy to use, and can be disposed of by a small number of people scattered over a large area." I still remember these requests from you. ”

Tashana took two glass bottles, one large and one small, from the shelves, both containing a fiery red powder, like ground rust. Back at the table, she placed the vial in front of Gott.

"Well, you want something. ”

Despite trusting his old friend's abilities, Gott picked up the bottle and looked at it, "Can this thing really dispose of corpses efficiently as I request?"

"Of course, do you want me to show you?" Before Gott's words could be finished, Tashana opened the cap of the vial, and poured some fiery red powder from it onto the sheepskin that had come out of nowhere.

Just as Gott was expecting some more spell Tashana might cast on the parchment, she grabbed the four corners of the parchment and slammed the fiery red powder into the air. In the next moment, Gott only saw some red flashes in front of him, and then a huge fireball appeared out of thin air like a firework in the air, and the flash shone for a few seconds before gradually shrinking and dissipating.

It wasn't until the fireball had long since disappeared that Gott recovered from the dazzle caused by the sudden light. Looking at the old friend who was looking at the prank on his face, Gao Te patted his forehead and signaled that he was taken aback, "What is the principle of this?"

"Flamme, I gave it the name. This thing burns as soon as it comes into contact with inanimate flesh, and even the skeleton can be burned through, whether it is a corpse that has just died or a ghost who has been resurrected from the dead. You don't need to fall on them, as long as there's wind. Looking at the hem of Gault's windless robe, Tashana covered her face with her cuffs and teased further, "If you can bring a ghost here, I can show you a field test, but unfortunately there are no mountains and forests near this fortress." Why don't you be a test subject?"

"Ahem - the effect is very good, what about the cost?"

"Within control. Seeing that Gott didn't let the wind look around anymore, Tashana put down the bottle and became serious, "But you have to know that alchemy products can't be produced on a large scale like a handicraft workshop. ”

Gott put the large bottle back on the table and was silent for a while, and when he spoke again, his eyes became extremely resolute, "Anyway, thank you very much for developing this good thing." If you need any materials, just tell me and I'll provide them all. ”

"Oh. Tasana's answer was very simple.

The air was quiet again, and the two looked at their old friends across the table without squeaking for a long time, but at one point, they laughed out loud at the same time as if they had been poked in the spot.

“...... Ha ha. By the way, I recently took in a wolf as my ...... Retinue. ”

"Man wolf, over there. ”

"Yes, very young and very potential. When he said the word young, Gott's voice was full of envy that could not be concealed, "Do you want her to come and visit?"

"Yes, I warmly welcome. ”

"I thought you'd say no because you're a human wolf. ”

"Man-wolves are not the same as werewolves. Besides, it's not good for your body to be bored here alone every day, and it's good for someone to bring in some fresh air. Tashana was silent for a moment, then added another cup to her bone china teacup that had bottomed out unconsciously, "This tea is delicious, do you want another cup of Gaute?"