"You succeeded!"

Charlotte said with a smile,

"After learning about your two identities, I do have some coveting your power. But I don't want to pay the price at all. ”

"Don't you want to follow the truth of equivalent exchange?"

Mephistopheles really had the demeanor of an alchemist at this time - although according to Charlotte's inference, he was indeed a master alchemist Paracelsus,

"You're very unreasonable to say that!"

"The world is inherently unreasonable!"

Charlotte shrugged,

"Moreover, the real equivalent exchange does not exist in this world at all!"

"Well, if you have to say that—"

Mephistopheles' eyes gleamed fiercely,

"Then we won't have much to say!"

"How can there be nothing to say?"

Charlotte laughed,

"At least, how your story spread from China to the Middle East and then to Europe, I haven't analyzed the process yet!"

"I'll see what you can say!"

"There's a lot to say!"

Charlotte nodded,

"First of all, it came from the Middle East to Europe because of the Crusades - in Christian culture, there is an inherent characteristic of demonizing the gods of other cultures, and it is normal for you to change from a lamp god to a demon. ”

"As for me saying that your story was transmitted from China to the Middle East, the reason is very simple - the story of Aladdin's magic lamp originally happened in China!"

“......”

Whether it was Mephistopheles or Jodie Foster, who had been eavesdropping, they were stunned for a moment.

"Although 'One Thousand and One Nights' is a story about the Middle East, the background of some of the stories in it, according to the story, does take place in China-"

Charlotte gave an example,

"Like "Turandot" and "Aladdin's Magic Lamp", both have a Chinese story background. ”

"But, don't you think, it's like the old man often tells the story to his children?"

A hypocritical smile appeared on Mephistopheles' face,

"Once upon a time, in a faraway place, ......" - every cliché story has such a beginning. In reality, however, that story may not have happened so long ago, nor is it far away. ”

"You're not wrong about that!"

Charlotte smiled,

"However, the reason why I am so sure is because the person who taught me the spell told me that in "A Thousand Miles and a Night", the legends about Chinese ghosts and monsters basically have prototypes. ”

"Someone told you!?"

Mephistopheles's face suddenly became serious,

"You and ...... No, you go on!"

Charlotte glanced at Mephistopheles with some surprise. Obviously, the other party also sensed something from his words, and it may even be something he didn't know.

However, since the other party didn't say it, Charlotte was not ready to take the initiative to speak.

He probably guessed something.

- Also, when dealing with ghosts, it's important to take the initiative.

"Since the story of "Aladdin's Magic Lamp" really has a prototype in China, then on the other hand, it should be true to say that you came to the Middle East from China, right?"

“...... Yes. ”

Maybe it was pointless to know that it was impossible to deny it, but Mephistopheles still chose to admit it.

It's just that this time, the leisurely look on his face is completely gone.

But even so, he still doesn't seem to have any sense of crisis.

"Even if what you say is correct, can you guess what my archetype is in ancient Chinese legends?"

"I really can't guess that!"

Charlotte scratched her head,

"In ancient Chinese legends, whether it is a god or a ghost, it is more casual. They realize the wishes of ordinary people, often only in a single thought, and there are no rules - whether it is an equivalent exchange or a limit on the number of three, there is none. ”

"yes!"

Mephistopheles smirked,

"So, even if you track down to this point, you're still one step away from my true origin!"

"Not necessarily!"

Charlotte had a big smile on her face,

"Because I don't need to look for it, someone found it for me!"

"Who!?"

"You!"

Charlotte pointed at Mephistopheles,

"You're not a simple ghost, but like Dracula, a living person devoured the original legendary ghosts or gods, and then transformed!"

"So, you're smarter and more insidious than you're a ghost. ”

"As for the ghosts or gods that you devoured, I guess it's one of the pre-Qin myths in China, right?"

"You-"

Mephistopheles' face was completely gloomy, he already knew what Charlotte would say.

It was something he was very confident that he wouldn't be discovered, but now it seems-

"Although China's ancient history is very long, due to wars and different customs, most of the legends and ghosts before the Qin Dynasty were wiped out in the Qin Dynasty. ”

Charlotte posed as an expert in ancient Chinese history,

Therefore, most of the later myths and ghost legends in China originated in the Qin Dynasty and were somewhat related to a historical figure. ”

"Which historical figure?"

"Didn't you see him before?"

Charlotte winked at Mephistopheles,

"Ancestral Dragon - Qin Shi Huang!"

Speaking of which, Charlotte ignored the gloomy Mephistopheles and said to herself,

"Qin Shi Huang's unification of China and the burning of books and Confucianism caused some legends and ghosts before Qin to dissipate and come to a standstill. But he's also a fanatic of immortality, and he's gathered a large number of monks who like to play tricks, and you're the best of them, aren't you?"

"Xu Fu!?"

As Charlotte asked, Mephistopheles' face became more and more gloomy.

“...... It's a name I haven't heard in a long time!"

Mephistopheles, no, Xu Fu stared at Charlotte as if he were looking at a dead man,

"I'm curious, how did you determine my identity? You know, I'm confident that I didn't leave any clues—after all, the First Emperor didn't find me in the end!"

"He didn't find you because he was looking in the wrong direction!"

Charlotte didn't care at all about Xu Fu's eyes that seemed to be murderous,

"He always thought that you would flee east and overseas at most, but he didn't expect that you were actually taking the people of the fleet as sacrifices, and you yourself fled to the west. ”

"But you know—"

"I'll know there's a reason!"

Charlotte waved her hand, but turned her head around,

"Actually, I would guess that you are Xu Fu, and it is related to Paracelsus?"

"Paracelsus!?"

Xu Fu was stunned for a moment,

"Didn't you already know that it was one of my incarnations?"

"Yes. ”

Charlotte nodded,

"The earliest summary of people's concept of the wishing machine is the Philosopher's Stone. ”

"And legend has it that the two most miraculous wishes it can fulfill are to make gold and live forever—"

The former is the eternal pursuit of the Western world, while the latter is the obsession of countless kings in Chinese history. ”

"So, since in the Western world, Paracelsus who has the most to do with the Philosopher's Stone is you, then on the other hand, Xu Fu, who has the most to do with the elixir in the Eastern world, will it be you?"