It was a real eye-opener.
Bai Li couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder deep within his eyes.
He truly hadn’t expected the Merchant to possess such profound magic.
Even the magic lamp he had created was far beyond the level of ordinary spells.
Bai Li stood there, his mind filled with thoughts of the various magical schools he had studied.
‘Most auxiliary magic is barely functional, yet this… this is on an entirely different level.’
He looked at the magic lamp in his hand, feeling a sense of familiarity and power emanating from it.
Beside him, Ziya smiled softly, her eyes filled with a tenderness she had never shown anyone else.
Bai Li noticed her gaze and felt a warmth in his heart.
‘I’ve come to find you again.’
A voice suddenly echoed in the depths of his mind.
It wasn’t spoken aloud, but it resonated within his consciousness.
Bai Li froze.
The voice was faint, almost like a whisper, but it felt strangely malicious.
“Who is it?!”
His heart began to pound wildly.
He looked around, but everything seemed normal.
‘What is going on? Is it a hallucination?’
Bai Li’s eyes grew cold as he tried to suppress that unsettling feeling.
He couldn’t let Ziya see his distress.
“Bai Li?”
Ziya tilted her small head and looked up at him, her expression full of concern.
Bai Li quickly regained his composure and forced a smile.
“I’m fine. I just… I think I had a bit of a hallucination just now. I might have been reading too many books at the Association lately. I probably just need some rest. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you’re just too tired,” Ziya whispered, her voice full of concern.
“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Bai Li replied. “By the way…”
He suddenly remembered something.
“Ziya, have you seen my magic book? I clearly remember putting it here yesterday, but now I can’t find it.”
Ziya looked confused for a moment.
“I haven’t seen it, but don’t worry. I’ll have Ping look for it later.”
“Thank you. Our Ziya is so good,” Bai Li said with a sigh of relief.
He reached out and gently patted her head.
Ziya leaned into his touch, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
***
Meanwhile, in a cold, damp dungeon far away, a different scene was unfolding.
Heavy iron chains rattled as a figure slumped against the wall.
The air was thick with the scent of decay and ancient dust.
“Little Hero…?”
A voice, mocking and sharp, sliced through the silence.
The Hero looked up, his eyes filled with despair.
“Why… why am I still alive?”
“You’re still alive because I want you to be,” the Merchant said, his voice cold.
He stood before the Hero, his presence radiating an aura of overwhelming power.
A single tear fell from the Hero’s eye.
He had lost everything.
His strength, his companions, and his hope were all gone.
“Don’t ask why,” the Merchant continued, his tone devoid of any empathy.
“In this world, there is no ‘why’ for people like you. You are simply a piece on the board.”
The Hero remained silent, his heart heavy with a grief that words could not express.
“Actually, this dungeon, this Treasure Chamber you’re in… this is exactly where my body was laid to rest thousands of years ago,” the Merchant said, looking around the room with a twisted sense of nostalgia.
“How the tables have turned. A Hero, kneeling where I once slept.”
The Hero looked at him, his voice trembling.
“What are you… what are you planning?”
The Merchant gave a dry laugh.
“Planning? No, this isn’t my plan. It’s the plan of that Deity. This is all part of the Tianqi.”
The Hero didn’t understand, but he could feel the weight of those words.
“With a brain like yours, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it,” the Merchant sneered.
“But it doesn’t matter. You’ve served your purpose.”
With that, the Merchant’s figure began to fade.
“It’s better this way,” his voice echoed one last time before he vanished completely.
The Hero was left alone in the darkness of the Treasure Chamber, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear.
He was just a pawn in a game he didn’t understand—a game called Tianqi.
And deep in the shadows, the wheels of fate continued to turn.