Is that even possible?!
Stone's face twitched: "Uncle Lynch, I want to ask you something. Are you a magician or a martial arts master? What level are you?"
"Oh dear, it's so late already! I think you should all get some rest! Miss Huo, let me watch the Blood Pearl Fruit for you!"
Watching Lin Qi vanish in an instant, everyone couldn't help but shudder. Seriously, following this guy, could they even safely leave the Crimson Forest?!
~~o(>_<)o ~~
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Yesterday was a day when everyone was browsing Taobao, and surprisingly, the subscription rate was quite good.
Thank you so much, pan-fried buns! ~\(≧▽≦)/~
Chapter 118 Prophet OR Charlatan
Although Lin Qi ran away, Nana vaguely mentioned his strength afterward. It is said that Lin Qi was originally a student of the Imperial Capital Academy, but for some reason, he was unexpectedly expelled from the academy when he broke through to the three-star Dou Qi Master level.
Although Lin Qi was an expelled student, this might be related to his character, but not to his abilities. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, but compared to the relief of the others, Huo Xiaoxiao did not show a smile.
The reason for this was quite simple: four days later, Huo Xiaoxiao failed to consume the Blood Pearl Fruit again.
“We’ve been in the Crimson Forest for two months now, and starting tomorrow, we’ll head back. However, as is customary, I’ll find another route so we can continue our search for Blood Pearl Fruit.” As Lin Qi spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Huo Xiaoxiao. Ever since Huo Xiaoxiao threatened him with her life a few days ago, Lin Qi had been keeping a close eye on her.
Huo Xiaoxiao sat there silently, her lips pursed and head bowed. Beside her was Huo Yi, who was already trembling with fear. Nana didn't speak either, and Cage and Annie stayed obediently beside her.
Stone and Linda whispered to each other, "Linda, where are your dad and brother? We've almost seen the whole place."
Linda looked at Lynch uncertainly: "Miss Beth, I... I swear everything I'm about to say is true, please believe me!"
"What?" Stone looked at her in surprise.
Linda gritted her teeth and finally said, "It's that guy Miss called 'Show-off Milk.' I sensed my brother's presence in him."
What?!
Stone almost gasped, but thankfully she reacted quickly, covering her mouth and whispering to Linda, "Is 'Show-off Milk' your brother?" Good heavens, is this some kind of terrifying question?!
"No, no!" Linda quickly explained when she saw that Stone had misunderstood. "What I mean is, my intuition tells me that only by following that showy Milk can I have a chance to find my brother."
That's more like it.
Stone finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then she was startled again: "You mean, you want me to follow that show-off Milk? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Linda explained gently, "We're in the Crimson Forest now, and there's no way we can track him. Plus, I have this strange feeling that my dad is here, but my brother is nowhere to be found. I'm wondering whether I should keep looking for my dad, or follow that show-off Milk to find my brother?"
This is indeed a very profound question.
After hesitating for a long time, Stone finally came to his senses: "Damn it, what does it matter to me who you're looking for? I only promised to come to the Crimson Forest once, I didn't promise to help you find your father and brother, did I?"
Linda was speechless after hearing what Stone said, but she couldn't come up with a solution no matter how hard she tried. So she pleaded, "Miss Beth, please help me! My intuition tells me that I can only find my father and brother if I'm with you."
"Didn't you say your father and brother separated?" Stone's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction; she had never felt obligated to do anything for Linda.
Linda quickly explained, "Yes, they've broken up, but I'm sure I'll find them someday. Please, Miss Beth!"
Stone pondered for a moment: "You always talk about your intuition, but how can you prove to me that your intuition is correct?"
"This..." Linda was speechless for a moment.
Actually, Stone didn't want to give up on Linda either, putting everything else aside. She still thought Baozi's words were somewhat useful: "Well then, we've been in the Crimson Forest for two months now, and we'll be leaving in another month. I have a question for you: can Huo Xiaoxiao awaken her fire magic talent?"
Linda was clearly taken aback by the question from Stone, but she remained completely calm. "Miss Beth, let me think about it." With that, Linda began to stare intently at Huo Xiaoxiao. Fortunately, Huo Xiaoxiao had her head down at that moment, otherwise, given her temper, she would have certainly caused another ruckus.
Linda didn't say anything more until Lin Qi finished speaking and confirmed the return route. Stone realized then that this girl was unreliable too.
Back in the tent, just as Stone was about to go to sleep, Linda suddenly tugged at his hand and whispered in his ear, "I don't know if Huo Xiaoxiao can be successfully activated, but I know she definitely won't die here. On the contrary, she will have a great connection with Miss Beth in the future, and I also feel that she will be that showy milk's nemesis in the future."
After saying that, Linda looked at Stone expectantly. Stone frowned: "Alright, there's still a month left, let's see!"
Although Shi Tou hadn't known Huo Xiaoxiao for long, he knew she had a fiery temper. Since she said she would die in the Crimson Forest if she couldn't successfully activate her fire magic talent, there was a high chance she would actually do it. Since Linda was so certain that Huo Xiaoxiao would get out alive, and even certain that Huo Xiaoxiao would go after that show-off Milk, then she wanted to see just how skilled this so-called prophet really was.
A month passed in the blink of an eye, neither fast nor slow. During this month, Stone and his group encountered several troubles. Of course, under the protection of Lin Qi, a Dou Qi master of unknown strength, they managed to avoid any major casualties, although a few people did suffer minor injuries.
Stone was one of those unlucky people.
However, Shi Tou wasn't the most unlucky one, because the title of most unlucky had been gloriously passed on to Huo Xiaoxiao.
Just three days after Huo Xiaoxiao ate the second Blood Pearl Fruit, they found another one. This time, Huo Xiaoxiao didn't use the same trick again. She probably understood that they had to leave the Crimson Forest within a month. If they waited another twenty days for Huo Xiaoxiao's sake, they would never be able to leave on time.
So, with Huo Xiaoxiao giving up and Shi Tou ignoring it, the Blood Bead Fruit was given to Cage. Perhaps it was fate deliberately provoking Huo Xiaoxiao, but Cage, just like his sister, successfully activated his fire magic talent with just one Blood Bead Fruit.
At that moment, Huo Xiaoxiao's face was extremely pale, and everyone subconsciously avoided her. Even Cage, who had just awakened his talent, dared not show a smile, for fear that Huo Xiaoxiao might lose her mind and do something terrible.
In fact, ever since Huo Xiaoxiao's threat, Lin Qi had been living in constant fear. He knew very well that although he shared the same surname, he was merely from a collateral branch of the family. If the eldest daughter of the Huo family were to die in front of him, the family would undoubtedly try to shift the blame onto him.
Therefore, Lin Qi's life has been anything but easy for the past month. He had to guard against the attack of magical beasts while also keeping a close eye on Huo Xiaoxiao; each day felt like an eternity.
Fortunately, they only had two more days before leaving the Crimson Forest. After reminding everyone to be careful, Lin Qi focused all his attention on Huo Xiaoxiao. He seemed determined to stay by her side 24/7.
“Miss Huo, we will be leaving the Crimson Forest the day after tomorrow. Of course, I will do my best to search for Blood Pearl Fruit for you in the next two days. However, I hope that no matter what happens, you will not do anything foolish.” Lin Qi was still worried about Huo Xiaoxiao, so he gave her some special instructions before setting off that morning.
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded absentmindedly.
Nana and her two siblings were now keeping as far away as possible. Even the daring Nana didn't dare to provoke Huo Xiaoxiao again. There's a saying: "It's not the bold that's scary, it's the reckless." That's exactly Huo Xiaoxiao's situation now.
“Didn’t you say she could get out safely? There are still two days left.” Shi Tou also felt that Huo Xiaoxiao’s condition was very strange, but she didn’t dare to go forward. She just pulled Linda and whispered.
Linda's gaze was very strange. She didn't look at the stone at all, but kept looking in one direction: "Miss Beth, over there."
"Is your father over there?" Stone was truly exasperated. How come she never knew that these fortune tellers were practically charlatans? Look at Linda; if she wore sunglasses, wouldn't she look exactly like a fortune teller swindler?
"No." To everyone's surprise, Linda shook her head and said in a very ethereal tone, "Over there, there's something Huo Xiaoxiao wants."
"Huh?" Shi Tou was stunned. What Huo Xiaoxiao wanted? Blood Pearl Fruit?!
"Miss Beth, what are you still doing? Hurry up!" Lynch had already started walking forward when he suddenly realized that Stone and Linda hadn't followed, so he hurriedly called out to them.
Stone hesitated for a moment. The direction Linda pointed to wasn't unfamiliar; it was the path they had taken before. If they went that way, they could probably leave the Crimson Forest in less than two days. But, the Blood Pearl Fruit…
“Wait, let’s go that way!” Stone finally decided to trust Linda one more time, but she wasn’t entirely sure if there were Blood Pearl Fruits there: “I feel like we might get a surprise if we go that way.”
Lin Qi neither agreed nor disagreed, but instead looked at Huo Xiaoxiao.
Huo Xiaoxiao took a deep look at the stone and led the way in the direction it pointed.
No one knew what Linda's intuition was all about, but after walking in this direction for most of the day, the sharp-eyed Lin Qi spotted the Blood Pearl Fruit not far ahead. Suddenly, everyone's gaze towards the stone began to turn strange.
Stone covered her face; she knew nothing.
"Thank you." Huo Xiaoxiao walked over and picked the Blood Pearl Fruit, then walked to the stone and bowed deeply: "I owe you a favor."
As Shi Tou watched Huo Xiaoxiao hand the silk pouch containing the purple gold coins to Lin Qi, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Actually, I prefer purple gold coins to favors."
o(╯□╰)o
Chapter 119 Shui Huozhi Cannot Be Married
Huo Xiaoxiao, exasperated, tossed over a silk pouch, not even glancing at the stone, and went straight to a flat spot, where she sat down and swallowed the Blood Pearl Fruit in one gulp.
Lin Qi glanced at Huo Xiaoxiao but didn't bring out the tent. He simply told everyone to find a place to rest. Everyone else found something to do to pass the time, except for Shi Tou, who stared intently at Huo Xiaoxiao.
In the past, whenever someone consumed the Blood Pearl Fruit, it was always done discreetly. This was the first time Stone had seen someone consume it directly in front of her. Upon closer inspection, she noticed something amiss.
Baozi had said before that her mental strength was top-notch, though at the time she didn't fully understand what mental strength actually meant. But now, she had grasped it.
Huo Xiaoxiao swallowed the Blood Pearl Fruit and sat on the ground, her body stiff as if made of wood. But upon closer inspection, it seemed as if something was constantly surrounding her.
Shi Tou stared at Huo Xiaoxiao for a while, feeling that something was off about her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. After hesitating for a moment, she closed her eyes and thought carefully.
"Ah!" Stone suddenly opened his eyes and involuntarily let out a scream.
"Miss, what's wrong?" Linda, who had been by her side, asked hurriedly when she saw her suddenly exclaim.
Shi Tou looked around and received an apologetic smile from the others: "It's nothing, it just felt like a little bug was biting me."
Seeing this, the others didn't say anything more. Linda was somewhat skeptical, but she didn't say anything more either.
Stone gave Linda a reassuring look and closed her eyes again. Although she was mentally prepared this time, she still couldn't help but shudder.
She closed her eyes. She discovered that the darkness before her was no longer complete, but rather a strange image had appeared. She was in complete darkness, but not far from her was a person half-water, half-fire being fiercely roasted by flames.
That's right, he's a person who's both water and fire.
After silently calculating the distance between her and Huo Xiaoxiao in reality, Shi Tou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Yes. She finally understood. Why Huo Xiaoxiao, whose parents were both quite talented, hadn't been able to awaken her fire magic talent. The reason was actually quite simple: Huo Xiaoxiao possessed two magical elements within her.
"Hehe, Master, you finally noticed! Baozi never knew before, you were so oblivious!"
It's Baozi. For some reason, hearing Baozi's voice, Shi Tou, who had been feeling a little uneasy, suddenly felt at ease.
"Hehe, the Huo family is born with the element of fire, so it is very difficult for them to reproduce. In fact, children born into the Huo family often do not live past the age of three! But the Shui family is the complete opposite. The Shui family is born with the element of water, so the women's magical talent is significantly higher than that of the men, and some men are even born with feminine features!"
Baozi's voice continued: "Baozi remembers that Master once told them that the Huo family and the Shui family should not become related by marriage. It seems that after so many years, they have completely forgotten what Master said!"
Stone silently processed Baozi's words. In fact, from the very beginning when Baozi started instilling memories about magic in her, she already knew that magic was divided into five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as the variants of wind, thunder, ice, space, light, and darkness.
Light magic is unique to priests who worship gods, while dark magic is unique to dark messengers who dedicate themselves to Hades. Both types of people are extremely rare, and it is even unknown whether they still exist in this world.
The other four types of mutated magic are also extremely rare, sometimes appearing only once every few hundred years.
Therefore, these five basic magical elements are actually quite common. Generally speaking, a person can only possess one type of magical talent, meaning that no matter which type of magic one chooses, one must study it for life, and this cannot be changed.
Stone thought that since the Crimson Forest had Blood Bead Fruits that could stimulate fire magic talents, there should be similar items in other places.
"Hehe, the Blood Pearl Fruit from the Crimson Forest has activated fire magic talent, the Life Fruit from the Moon Goddess Forest has activated wood magic talent, the Azure Fish Eggs from the Vast Ocean have activated water magic talent, and the Inkstone from the Aisna Grassland has activated earth magic talent. Of the five basic magic elements, four can now be successfully activated artificially, and all of this is thanks to you, Master!"
Baozi seemed to see through Shi Tou's thoughts and explained them one by one.
Stone didn't care about merits or anything like that; what she cared about was what to do with a child like Huo Xiaoxiao who had two completely opposite magical talents.