Chapter 2142: Chapter 2143: Photostone

Little Sam was very anxious.

He didn’t even know why he blurted out the matter of killing the farmer.

Perhaps it was because keeping this matter buried in his heart made him very depressed, urgently needing an outlet to relieve the pressure; or perhaps, because the other party saved him, allowing him to see a glimmer of light in the desperate darkness, he couldn’t help but feel close?

Little Sam didn’t know which one it was. Perhaps it was both.

When he was confessing, little Sam didn’t think much, but after the story was completely told, he became anxious again. He feared that his stain of murder would become a thorn in the other party’s eyes.

If this thorn really angered the other party, with his legendary extraordinary abilities, it might not just be a curse to lengthen his nose, but he might make him disappear from this world entirely.

Thus, in a state of unease and anxiety, little Sam spent the longest ten minutes of his life.

During these ten minutes, little Sam kept his head down, not daring to look directly at Mr. Pat, afraid of seeing any displeasure in his eyes.

He silently waited, waiting for the other party to speak, waiting for Mr. Pat’s evaluation of his actions.

However, he kept waiting but didn’t hear anything.

Ten minutes later, in his torment, little Sam secretly raised his head to glance at Mr. Pat, who was sitting opposite him, to judge his mood by whether he was happy or angry.

But at this look, little Sam was stunned.

Mr. Pat’s expression was very calm, just his eyes were flickering, seemingly thinking of something.

However, little Sam could confirm, Mr. Pat wasn’t thinking about his matter because he was staring at a peculiar image projected from a stone.

All his attention was on the void image, naturally not on his matter.

Little Sam couldn’t help but recall Mr. Pat’s previous words, his focus had never lingered on the murder, but instead, he realized that because a farmer died, the forest under the nightfall became so lively.

Could it be, Mr. Pat really didn’t care that he had killed someone?

Little Sam didn’t know where his courage came from, but after hesitating for a moment, he directly voiced his inner question: "Mr. Pat, I killed a farmer, do you think I’m a bad person?"

Engrossed in the image within the Photostone, Angel lifted his gaze towards little Sam and shook his head, saying, "Good or bad isn’t determined by one thing, much less by something inherently malicious."

"Then am I not a bad person?" little Sam murmured to himself.

"At least in my eyes, you’re not a bad kid," Angel curved his lips, squinting his eyes: "Compared to the bad kids I have met, you are far from that level."

Little Sam: "What did the bad kid you met do?"

In Angel’s mind, the shadow of Gu Yina flashed by; she could kill a friend who showed kindness to her for a piece of bread; she could indifferently command her companions to ruin an innocent family.

Gu Yina, by his standards, was a bad kid.

However, Angel shook his head and didn’t tell Gu Yina’s story. Because although Gu Yina was a bad kid, her badness was forged by the cruel war environment; she was just trying her best to survive. From this point of view, she wasn’t wrong either.

Angel didn’t mind good or bad, nor did he evaluate right or wrong by worldly standards. This was because, as a Wizard, he had transcended worldly constraints, enabling him to make more rational judgments. But little Sam still lived, and in the future would live in a mundane society. Because of this, Angel wouldn’t impart this viewpoint to him, nor would he use Gu Yina’s example as a demonstration.

In little Sam’s short life, he had been a noble and lived as a slave; the ups and downs allowed him to witness too much of life’s warmth and coldness, enhancing his ability to read people’s expressions. Precisely because of this, he could analyze from details that the farmer intended to sacrifice him.

When he saw Mr. Pat was unwilling to speak, little Sam decisively shut his mouth too.

Knowing the example of that "bad kid" wasn’t important to him. The most important thing for him was knowing that Mr. Pat didn’t care that he killed the farmer.

This acceptance made little Sam feel quite comforted. Because if the matter of killing the farmer got out in the town, even if he had his reasons, others would still see him as evil and wrong, and that understanding of the environment was why Sam chose to flee.

Now meeting someone who understood him, little Sam’s previously hopeless heart warmed a bit.

Little Sam didn’t ask further, and Angel also enjoyed the peace, continuing to watch the images in the Photostone.

These are precious Photostones he bought from the Tainted Wing Station. These Photostones contained images of significant events recorded by various Witcher Organizations or magazines, usually included as gifts with collector’s edition magazines. And collector’s edition magazines were mainly exclusive to True Knowledge Wizards, Angel had seen these magazines before but hadn’t come into contact with the magazine’s Photostones.

The rare opportunity to find these Photostones at the Tainted Wing Station, along with the seller’s claim that they were recordings of historical major events, naturally intrigued Angel, prompting him to spend a large amount of Magic Crystals to buy a box of them.

However, after viewing about five or six, Angel found that the major events in these Photostones were not exactly what he imagined.

He thought the major events would impact the larger situation, leaving a significant mark in the course of history.

However, the major events on the Photostones—

A man in a gray Wizard Robe hid in the muddy swamp, quietly pointing towards a distant forest, whispering: "According to the information we received, there’s an Astrology Tower hidden in an Other-dimensional Space by the Star-entangled Wizard up ahead. Now, the one hailed as the representative of the New Star Apprentice, nicknamed ’Silent Spirit,’ Mu Ying, has led a few Prophecy Apprentices from the Crown Star Church into it. Let’s anticipate what they will bring out... or perhaps they will remain there forever."

After a while, a commotion arose in the depth of the forest; a tall puppet with a star map inscribed on its mask chased a group of apprentices missing arms and legs, running past the edge of the swamp.

Once everyone left, the man in the swamp slowly floated up: "The most famous Star Force Puppet of the Star-entangled Wizard seems to have stayed in the Astrology Tower. I suppose he foresaw that someone would come to steal from his Astrology Tower. Looks like this time Mu Ying will return disappointed."

As the words fell, the image in the void also ended.

After watching, Angel was not pleased at all. Was this the magazine’s reporter? Was this a significant event? Did this really need to be recorded?

Wasn’t it just a rather unsuccessful ruins adventure? And judging from the timing, it was an adventure record from a few hundred years ago.

The most perplexing thing for Angel was—Mu Ying, who had left a deep impression on him in the Abyss, from the Extinguished Torch Academy’s drama enthusiast, had the nickname ’Silent Spirit’?! He thought ’Boisterous Parrot’ was more suitable for Mu Ying.

Though these Photostones were not what he imagined them to be, Angel still watched them with furrowed brows, yet they were not without merit.

Understanding the past of the currently thriving powerful Wizards is a form of enjoyment.

Moreover, there were some Photostones from which one could learn. For example, Angel previously saw a recording of the "Holy Light Walker" refining a High Order potion in the wild.

Although the technique wasn’t clear, some details were beneficial to Angel.

Now, Angel took out another Photostone, it was said to contain a secretly recorded alchemy process.

When the Photostone was activated, an image appeared in front of Angel.

Upon seeing the content of the image, Angel’s pupils shrank, and he closed it without hesitation.

"Mr. Pat, was the ship in the last image a Gondola?" Sitting opposite Angel, little Sam had been secretly watching the scenes from the Photostones. He couldn’t understand the previous content, but in the last scene, although the main focus was a blond, blue-eyed young man, he noticed a dreamlike Flying Boat parked beside him, exactly the same as the Gondola they were on.

Angel’s mouth twitched slightly, and he thought to himself: He closed it so quickly, yet this little fellow still managed to catch a glimpse of the Gondola’s shadow.

Indeed, the protagonist of the earlier image was Angel, captured during the time he crafted the Ocean’s Rhythm.

Angel knew that this image had spread widely across the Flourish Continent due to Jiebo. He just didn’t expect... he’d see this Photostone at such a moment.

Luckily, because of the Seed, he still maintained the appearance of red hair and golden eyes, otherwise, just now little Sam would have asked about the Gondola, and not about him.

Angel didn’t want to explain further, so he calmly and succinctly replied, "Yes."

"I thought such a beautiful Flying Boat was one of a kind in the world, I didn’t expect there to be a second one," little Sam’s eyes flashed with vibrant light, "Is this the world where you reside, sir?"

Angel: "The world I reside in and the world you are in are one and the same."

Little Sam: "But I’ve never seen a boat that can fly, nor did I know that the legends in books are real. Even in the image I just saw, those towering Star Force Puppets and the half-human, half-fish creatures, I’ve never heard of them."

Little Sam lowered his head in some dejection, "It seems my world is different from yours, sir."

Angel: "The world is the same, it’s just the perspective that’s different."

Different perspectives? Little Sam seemed to understand only partly.

"Then, is there a way for me to reach your perspective, sir?" Little Sam asked, full of hope in his eyes.

Angel paused for a moment, "I suppose it’s not easy."

Angel’s directness made little Sam’s eyes flash with disappointment, and he lowered his head in silent contemplation.

Angel could sense little Sam’s yearning for the Extraordinary World, but he didn’t intend to elaborate. Though he hadn’t tested it, with his current level, he could see that little Sam had decent Spiritual potential, but his Mental Power Value definitely didn’t meet the standards.

Since he wasn’t a Talented One, there was no need to give him too much hope.

Because the sudden sight of his Alchemy process in the Photostone, Angel decided not to view it anymore. Instead, he looked up at the starry sky, savoring a moment of peace.

Time passed slowly.

Little Sam had a Mortal Body, even more frail than Duru back then, so Angel piloted the Gondola very slowly. It wasn’t until the next morning that they entered the heartland of the Central Empire.

They were not far from Saint Sem City now.

...

Meanwhile, on the Pamiji Plateau, Rhein arrived outside the ruins where Angel was temporarily staying.

He gently knocked on the large tree at the entrance.

After a moment, a Tree Spirit avatar emerged from the ruins.

"Angel has already left?" Rhein asked.

The Tree Spirit yawned and leaned against the tree, "That’s right, after he returned from the Foul Wing station, he met with Dororo, then took Toby overseas. However, I noticed he’s quite unfamiliar with opening the Plane Corridor, likely to take a detour."

"But, even if he takes a detour, it doesn’t matter. After all, he prepared plenty of casting materials, so there shouldn’t be a problem opening the Plane Corridor a few more times."

Rhein: "Didn’t he let Dororo go with him?"

The Tree Spirit shook his head, "Dororo wanted to, but having just made a name for himself at the Star Observation Day, many people have set their sights on him. Before he advances to Wizard or has self-defense capabilities, Angel decided to leave him behind."

Rhein nodded, "That’s also good. Keep an eye on Dororo, his strategic significance is very high. I recently met Maya, and she told me that in matters of hidden secrets, Dororo’s prophecy might be even stronger than hers."

As an apprentice, Dororo’s prophetic ability in some aspects had already surpassed that of Maya, the veteran Prophet Wizard, which spoke volumes to the Tree Spirit.

After discussing Dororo, Rhein inquired about Regina’s research progress.

At the mention of Regina, the Tree Spirit sighed deeply.

When Angel handed over to Regina, the Tree Spirit thought Regina was quite agreeable, but after personal interaction, he realized Regina was essentially a replica of Lianna.

Not that Regina’s personality was similar to Lianna’s, but Regina’s persistence was a profound reflection of Lianna’s essence.

Knowing that Angel had handed over the mushrooms to the Tree Spirit, Regina frequently came to hassle him, hoping to get them ahead of time.

This persistence reminded the Tree Spirit of the time Lianna had persistently asked him to open a space within the Eternal Tree.

Moreover, Regina wasn’t coming personally, but sending a mushroom avatar. This made the Tree Spirit feel troubled and slightly underappreciated.

The Tree Spirit: "Apart from constantly pestering for mushrooms, everything else is okay. It’s said that the cultivation progress of Mu Ying is also satisfactory."

Rhein patted the Tree Spirit, offering silent comfort.

Rhein then inquired if there were any other anomalies within the ruins—mostly concerned about the Nightmare Light and the sudden return of Culori from the ruins.

After confirming everything was normal, Rhein bid farewell to the Tree Spirit and flew towards the Star Pond Ruins.

The Tree Spirit returned to the ruins, intending to continue reading the books left by Culori.

However, as the Tree Spirit returned to the study, he noticed that a faint light seemed to flicker across the Knight’s suit of armor by the desk.

Curious, the Tree Spirit walked to the knight’s armor and sensed the Magical Energy Array engraved on it.

There was no sign of activation.

"Was it an illusion?" The Tree Spirit hesitated for a moment and decided to check, not believing he could be mistaken.

The Tree Spirit activated the short-distance Teleportation Array on the armor, and the next second, he arrived at the deep corridor. At the corridor’s end was Culori’s bedroom, filled with the Nightmare Light.

The Tree Spirit paced the corridor but found no anomalies.

As for the bedroom... without Angel, he couldn’t enter.

"Could it really have been an illusion?" The Tree Spirit shook his head, left the corridor, and returned to the study.

Soon after the Tree Spirit departed, a soft voice echoed in the empty corridor, "He’s gone..."

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