The wandering merchant was quite tactful and told Fang Zheng the whole story like a storyteller. Based on what Currie said, Fang Zheng also understood the background of this world.

To put it simply, this world was originally ruled by the Golden Law and the Elden Ring, but later the Elden Ring was broken and its fragments were seized by the descendants of demigods. In order to recast the ring and gain control of this area called the Borderland, they began to fight each other, staging a battle for hegemony among the heroes.

As for those half-human and half-ghost things Fang Zheng saw, they were also affected by the broken Elden Ring. According to the Golden Law, the souls of those blessed by the Golden Tree will return to the Golden Tree after death, and then be born from the Golden Tree. However, due to the broken Ring and the chaos of the law, those blessed people were caught in the middle - to put it bluntly, their state was very similar to the undead that Fang Zheng met in the City of the Dead at the third coordinate point, neither alive nor dead. So people gradually went crazy, except for a few who still barely kept their sanity, most people became hospitable lunatics - basically, they would rush up to you and give you a hug when they saw you.

But to be honest, Fang Zheng was not interested in any of this. Never mind the runes or magic rings. There was only one thing he wanted to know.

"Flame, I want to know, is there any legend about fire in this place or... a seal or something like that?"

“…”

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Ka Lie was silent for a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, maybe we'll discuss this again later."

Seeing that Kale didn't want to answer, Fang Zheng didn't say much. He found that the people in this world seemed to be very cautious about his questions about fire, White Mask and Kale were the same. Maybe it was because of the huge golden tree that fire was a taboo in this world?

After all, trees are most afraid of fire.

But Fang Zheng was not completely helpless. After all, he was still a prophecy mage. Even if these people didn't tell him the situation, he could still feel it. It was just that it would waste some time to investigate by himself.

After bidding farewell to the wandering merchant, Fang Zheng continued to move forward along the path. Along the way, he encountered many soldiers. Although Fang Zheng wanted to show his friendliness to them at first, it was a pity that these people were already unconscious as Kale said. When they saw Fang Zheng, they raised their weapons and chopped him. Their hospitality was comparable to that of the villagers of Yharnam and the knights of Lothric... So what else could Fang Zheng do? He had to draw his sword and chop them.

But the only good thing is that compared to Dark Souls and Yharnam, the scenery of this place is really good. It is pleasing to the eye, and there are cute little animals running around everywhere. If you are happy, you can pick one up and pet it.

Just like now, Fang Zheng was sitting next to a campfire, stroking a furry little animal in his hand. The little guy just came over from beside him, and Fang Zheng grabbed the tail and held it in his arms and started stroking it. The little guy seemed to have no idea what to do, and just looked at Fang Zheng pitifully with his big eyes - anyway, he didn't dare to move.

However, just as Fang Zheng was indulging in the furry touch, a figure quietly emerged from the darkness and came to his side. Fang Zheng raised his head and saw a woman in a cloak standing there.

"Hello, who came from the fog... My name is Melina..."

As she spoke, the woman walked to Fang Zheng and sat down, then lowered her hood, revealing her face. Her left eye was tightly closed, with a tattoo-like pattern next to it. Her right eye was staring at Fang Zheng with a bit of caution.

"I want to negotiate a deal with you."

"condition?"

Fang Zheng touched the soft belly in his hand and looked at the woman who called herself Melina.

"What conditions?"

"Do you know the Finger Witch?"

The woman continued to speak.

"They are the ones who serve the Two Fingers, help and guide the Faded Ones... But now you don't have any witches around you... I can take their place..."

However, before Melina could finish her words, she saw the Fire Keeper, wearing a black robe and a white crown that covered her eyes, quietly appear behind Fang Zheng and stare at her quietly.

Oh, she was anxious. She was anxious.

“…”

Seeing the Fire Keeper suddenly appear, Melina was obviously a little confused, not knowing what was going on. Fang Zheng laughed and stroked the fur in his hand again.

"As you can see, Miss Melina, I don't have a finger witch, but I have the fire girl, so it's not too bad, right?"

"Fire girl...???"

Melina seemed a little surprised to hear Fang Zheng's answer, but she still mustered up her courage and looked at Fang Zheng again and said.

"I hope you can help me lead me to the foot of the golden book tree. In return, I can show you the way forward. As long as you are thirsty for the Elden Ring, then this will definitely help you."

"Honestly, I don't care about that magic ring."

“…”

Facing Fang Zheng's answer, Melina didn't know what to say for a moment, while Fang Zheng stared at her.

"However, it's not impossible for me to help you, but in return, you also have to help me... I am looking for a kind of flame."

"……flame?"

Melina's expression changed slightly when she heard Fang Zheng's words.

"Yes, the fire that can devour and burn everything. Do you know where this thing is?"

“…That is not something you can control.”

Melina stood up and distanced herself from Fang Zheng. This time, she looked at Fang Zheng with a little more vigilance.

"I'm so sorry, maybe I shouldn't bother you."

After saying this, Melina's figure disappeared into the air, and Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at the Fire Keeper beside him.

"Well, it seems that we can't expect to get any clues... This world is really full of malice..."

Not only did he seal his own flame, but this flame was also a secret in this world... Well, this was really troublesome.

Forget it, I’ll just find it myself.

As for where to find it... Fang Zheng also has his own way.

The upright branch shook for a moment, and then fell to the ground with a "pop".

"Okay, this way."

Fang Zheng looked at the direction pointed by the fallen branch on the ground, muttered something under his breath, then turned over, mounted the golden warhorse, and galloped away along the road ahead.

The direction pointed by the branch was not the royal city mentioned by White Mask, but the road in the opposite direction. Although he didn't know what was there, for Fang Zheng, as long as he got there, he would know it naturally.

Along the way, Fang Zheng encountered many warm and hospitable soldiers greeting him, but he was obviously not interested in wasting time with these idiots while riding his warhorse. He just waved his sword, and the heads of the soldiers flew off one after another, and then they turned into corpses and fell on the roadside. As for whether they would revive and crawl again... that was not something Fang Zheng needed to worry about.

However, just as Fang Zheng was speeding along the road, he suddenly saw a girl sitting on the roadside not far away. So Fang Zheng hurriedly slowed down, stopped beside the girl, and looked at her curiously. It was a blonde girl, wearing a pink robe, with a ponytail, and a layer of cloth covering her eyes... Hmm, it seems that there is something wrong with her eyes?

As if she heard the sound of horse hooves, the woman turned around and looked at Fang Zheng.

“…Is anyone there?”

"Yes, young lady, what are you doing on the side of the road alone?"

"Very good."

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, the blonde woman breathed a sigh of relief and spoke.

"Please, please listen to me. My name is Irena, and I escaped from the southern city of Morn. The servants in the city rebelled, and I was born with blindness, so I couldn't fully understand what happened. But I heard terrifying roars coming from all directions, and my father let me escape... but he is still in that city, thinking that it is the duty of those in power."

At this point, the blonde sighed.

"...I am very worried about my father. The servants are very angry and they hate everyone. Those who escaped together were attacked by them and all disappeared. Will the same happen in Morn City... So I would like to ask you, can you give this letter to my father who is left in the city?"

As she spoke, the blonde took out a handkerchief.

"Even if I will be branded a coward for abandoning the city, I want my father to leave that city... I want him to survive."

"That's fine...but what are you going to do?"

Fang Zheng looked around. To be honest, the road was not peaceful. In fact, when he was crossing the bridge just now, the enemy fired a cannon at him, which scared Fang Zheng. It must be said that there seemed to be lunatics everywhere in this area. A young girl like this was here, and she didn't seem to have any fighting ability. Letting her stay here alone... Well, it didn't seem like a good idea.

"You don't have a guard?"

"They all...disappeared."

"Well……"

Hearing the blonde girl's answer, Fang Zheng scratched his head.

"Well, Miss Irena, it's not safe for you to stay here alone. I have an idea. How about I take you back to the city and you go talk to your father yourself?"

"……Why?"

It must be said that Fang Zheng's proposal was beyond the blonde girl's expectations and made her stunned.

"this……"

"Don't worry. With my strength, I can definitely protect you. I'm mainly worried that when I leave, you won't have anyone around you. If a wolf comes and eats you, it would be a waste of effort..."

This kind of thing happens too often in RPGs. Basically, the child asks the player to save the father, and then the player goes through a lot of trouble to save the father. When they come back together, the child is gone, either captured or dead... Then the player has to save the child or avenge the child. As for the next plot, the kinder ones will set the child to be rescued, and then the father joins the protagonist's team. If it is a dark and cruel story, then either the father dies while saving the child, or he dies with the boss to avenge the child.

In a word, it’s all a scam.

Of course, there is another possibility that Fang Zheng went there with great difficulty, but the father was dying and left a last will and asked Fang Zheng to convey it. Then Fang Zheng came back and found that his daughter was also dead... This possibility is not impossible.

Since there are so many such situations in the game, Fang Zheng's first reaction when he encounters such a situation in real life is basically... I won't help you pass the message, I will take you there directly, and then you can do it yourself whether to persuade or listen to the will? I will just be an emotionless bodyguard, right?

I'm not your mouthpiece. I'm not tired of running back and forth!

This kind of shit is most common in online games. A entrusts the player to find B to pass on a message, and after finding B, B says he has work to do and cannot go back to meet A for the time being. He then asks the player to help B complete the task. Then B will say he will be responsible for the rest and ask the player to go back and tell A that he will be back later. Then the player has to run back again... MMP, it's annoying just thinking about it!

“…”

After hearing Fang Zheng's suggestion, the blind girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded, stood up, and extended her hand to Fang Zheng.

"Then... thank you for your help."