Jiarong left the lively square, walked and came to the outside of the town, saw a poplar forest in front of him, and thought of sitting there for a while.

As soon as he walked into the woods, Jiarong saw a woman sitting under a poplar tree, hanging her head, as if crying.

She stood aside, not knowing whether to speak or not. In her doubts, the woman looked up.

It was a woman in her thirties, with a beautiful face but a little haggard, a timid look, and red eyes, like a little daughter-in-law who had been wronged at home and could only hide here to catch her breath.

"Little mage, can you do something for me?" the woman's gaze circled back and forth between Jiarong and the witch staff in Jiarong's hand, and then stood up and asked timidly.

"Garry of Gree Island is at your service, ma'am. Jiarong bowed gently.

The woman returned the salute and looked around, "Can you use soundproofing to make sure our conversation is not overheard?"

Jiarong felt that this was a bit excessive, and there was no one in sight, but she still patiently complied.

"Yes, even if someone is standing next to us, they can't hear what we're talking about. ”

"Thank you. The woman breathed a sigh of relief, she saluted Jia Rong again, lowered her head and said, "I want to ask the little mage to come to my house and help me get something." ”

Go to her house to pick up something? Jiarong was stunned for a moment.

There must be something greasy in this.

"That's right, little mage. I'm not human. The woman looked up, "I was originally a snail demon. ”

Jiarong suddenly remembered that on his way to the temple, he had met the farmer who wanted to catch a water banshee and said: "A person I know, the fat man Chanton, married a snail demon as his wife, and the snail demon not only has a good face and a good figure, but also is very virtuous, and takes care of the family in an orderly manner." ”

But the woman in front of her has a haggard face and a timid look, how can there be a demon? Aren't demons, especially banshees, all lively, amorous, and charming?

"At that time, I had just taken on human form, and I was very curious about human beings, so I approached the river where human beings lived, and unexpectedly," the woman looked at Jia Rong, and then said, "I was captured by a mage, and he sold me to a man." ”

"The man was very kind to me at first, and said many nice things, and I agreed to marry him at the spur of my heart when I was young and ignorant. Of course, the main thing is that there is no way, that mage took my snail shell, and I can't leave. ”

"In the first few years, he was good to me and life was going well. However, slowly, his attitude towards me became worse and worse, saying that I was a monster, that I could not help him get rich, that I could not bring him high-ranking officials, that I could not have children, that I was not even as good as a human woman, and that I would ...... it later."

Jiarong looked at her, didn't know what to say, and thought, you are a monster, why are you so weak?

"When the mage captured me, he not only took my conch shell, but also sealed my demonic power, and I was away from the conch shell for too long to cultivate, and it was difficult for me to even maintain my appearance now. The woman whimpered for a while, then finally calmed down again, "I just want to ask the little mage to help me get back the snail shell, so that I can go back to the river to be a snail." ”

"Do you know where the shell is?"

"Yes, the mage gave the shell to Chanton, and Chanton put it in a box, but there was a seal, and I couldn't open it. Please, little mage, if you help me get the shell back, I can give you all the money I've saved over the years of needlework. ”

Jiarong was a little hesitant about this request.

She didn't know if the mage would break any rules by helping the youkai. The old mage had only told her about helping humans subdue demons and eliminate demons.

"Little mage, please, I really can't get over it, I really can't live with him," Seeing Jiarong's hesitation, the woman was anxious, and tears flowed down again, she raised her right hand and pulled up the sleeve of her left hand, Jiarong found that the exposed arm was full of scars and bruises, red, purple, blue, and black, which looked miserable.

"It's so damning! I'll help you!" Jia Rong looked at the poor woman in front of him, and suddenly forgot that she was a monster.

"Thank you!" a hint of joy appeared on the woman's mournful face, "He has been outside for the past two days and is not at home." Little mage, can you go now?"

Jiarong followed the woman who wanted to turn back into a snail quickly through the poplar forest to a small house on the edge of the town. Entering the hall, the woman pointed to a cupboard next to the fireplace.

The cabinet was unlocked, Jiarong carefully stretched out his hand, and with a slight pull, the cabinet door opened.

The woman pointed to a black box in the cupboard. Jiarong took out the black box and put it on the table.

"The snail shell is inside?" It was a box about two palms long, and Jia Rong thought it was a little strange. In such a box, of course, the snail shell contained in it can't be too big, so how did this snail demon live in it before?

The woman nodded, staring at the box without taking her eyes off for a moment, as if she was afraid that it would suddenly grow wings and fly, but she did not dare to reach out and touch it.

"I can't touch this box, it has a charm on it, please help me open it. ”

Jiarong stretched out his hand towards the black box, this time it was not as simple as opening the cabinet door, before his hand touched the box, a string of flames appeared on the surface of the box, and the scorching flames made Jiarong's hand unable to touch the box.

It seems that the mage spell that caught this snail demon is quite powerful, and after so many years, this spell still has such a strong power. And he used the power of the fire elf, the aquatic fairy is naturally afraid of fire, it is estimated that this snail banshee has suffered a lot, so the box is close in front of her, and she doesn't dare to reach out.

Jiarong stretched out his wand and pointed at the black box, and whispered a spell, "O red flame condensed by the fire spirit, you have completed the duty of guarding, from the beginning of nothingness to the end of this moment, please stop all fluctuations...... Extinguish!"

A little starlight fell on the flames, and the flames were extinguished.

Jiarong reached out and opened the lid.

A beautiful white snail shell appears in front of you. The woman pounced, held the snail shell in her arms, and stroked it, with tears in her eyes.

After a long while, the woman came back to her senses, bowed deeply to Jiarong, got up and handed over a money bag: "Thank you, little mage, these small coins will be given to you as a reward." ”

Jiarong looked at the woman's face full of tears, thin and pitiful, and couldn't bear to accept it, so he hurriedly refused.

"Take it, I'll go back at once, human coins are of no use to me. The woman probably guessed Jiarong's thoughts, she turned her head and wiped away her tears, "I also want to ask the little mage for a favor." ”