Secretly unhappy
touch?
It seems that Ruixia still believes that this princess whom she has never met is somewhere in this academy and still retains the ability to communicate with them normally?
Although such speculation is not unreasonable, after all, the old man Huo Lann who first mentioned her looked very normal, and coupled with the letter of introduction and the ring, it was obvious that he wanted to guide them to find this person.
If Millianna was truly unaffected by the alienation like Sorens, as long as they gained her trust, they could directly learn the truth from her. This would save them from wandering around the academy, struggling to discern valid information from the "auditory hallucinations" in various scenes and the fragmented mumblings of the "natives."
But, can it really be so smooth?
If Ximu's previous speculation was correct, then she should have been at the scene of the assassination in Guanyue Tower... Could she have been killed together with her brother?
But if that was true, then why did the ring on her hand end up in the old man's hands?
Something else must have happened in the meantime...but the current information is too little.
"Oh, by the way, when I was clearing out the 'natives' in the dormitory building, I picked up some equipment. It just so happens that Sorens's staff is broken, so why not pick out a handy one and use it first? I'll make you a better one when I take over the workshop later."
Ruixia's words woke Ximu from his reverie. Just as he turned around, he saw the man in the bamboo hat also stood up and wanted to follow him with great interest.
"Oh, come to think of it, my eating utensils have also been destroyed by someone. Let me take a look, too? If you want me to contribute, you can't let me do it with nothing, right?"
Ximu instinctively gave him a cold face, but Ruixia on the side was easy to talk to, as if she didn't take the previous offense to heart at all.
"Of course, the knights in the courtyard have dropped some swords and cloaks. If they're suitable, you can use them first... If they're really not suitable, we can think of other ways."
"Okay."
Zhui'en raised his eyebrows and tried to squeeze in between Morina and Sorens without any hesitation, which frightened Morina so much that she started hitting him with her staff.
But seeing the man's indifferent expression, she knew she didn't really use any force, and probably didn't dare to really fight with him.
Sorens, who was standing nearby, also became more attentive. Seeing this, he immediately persuaded the person to come back, and kept saying cooperatively, "Yes, yes, just for Ximu and Ruixia's sake, let's go and see that person. Please give me some advice." He had a very good grasp of Molina's character of being all talk and no action.
To be honest, Ximu was indeed unfamiliar with Zhui's character, who could pretend nothing happened after drawing a sword against someone.
In her concept, enemies are enemies and friends are friends.
The so-called turning enemies into friends is nothing more than a change of interests, from conflicting positions to common goals - but the wind from the knife that brushed her cheek has not yet dissipated, and the owner of the knife tip has already stood on her team. This feeling is really weird.
"...Why be so nice to him?"
Ximu murmured inadvertently, and was immediately caught by Ruixia beside her.
"It seems you don't like him very much."
Of course she didn't like people who came after her life and property, and took advantage of her protection to hurt her teammates.
She could understand Ruixia's intention to keep him, and she also admitted that having such a capable fighter join the team would greatly ease her pressure against the enemy, but...
Just based on the way Zhuiren attacked Ruixia just now, Ximu felt that this person should not be kept at all.
"If it's useful, just use it. Why be so polite to him?"
His life was clearly in his hands, yet he couldn't kill him. Ximu felt depressed, but didn't understand where this irritation came from.
"People who make a living out there are like this. Most of them only trust themselves and are suspicious of everyone, yet they can also exploit everyone... As long as they can survive, unless it's a matter of principle, they can handle anyone and anything flexibly."
This perception was obviously not something that a young master who was ignorant of the world could come up with. Ximu also realized this and suddenly became curious about the past experiences of the young man next to him.
They looked to be of the same age, but the world Ruixia had seen was obviously much wider than that of herself who had been walking in darkness for years.
"Bounty hunters have always been in danger. He's brave enough to take risks and is good at assessing the situation. He's a smart man and won't give up his chance to survive and fight us to the death. You can rest assured."
Knowing Ximu's sensitivity and anxiety about dangerous factors, Ruixia patted her shoulder to comfort her.
"If I, or we, aren't by your side, and he suddenly attacks like before, can you protect yourself?"
The moment these words came out, Ximu himself felt a little surprised.
Isn't this natural?
Ruixia had been on guard against Zhui'en for a long time, and there were countless traps hidden in the dark of his own base. If he wanted to, he could shoot the intruder into a sieve in minutes.
But what if?
The legendary Sage of the Moon, who was blessed by the gods and was so powerful, wasn't his life or death unknown due to conspiracy and backstabbing?
For some reason, she just wanted to hear Ruixia's personal confirmation that he had been prepared and that he would be fine.
Ruixia seemed surprised as well, and looked at her with her golden-red eyes. She didn't know what she was thinking about, and the light in her eyes became softer.
"Of course—didn't I tell you that a fully prepared mechanic is equivalent to a walking army? Don't worry, he alone can't hurt me."
With these two words of "don't worry", Ximu felt that the surging anxiety subsided a little.
Maybe it was because she had already gotten used to having him protect her along the way, so even though she knew he was fully capable of protecting himself, she still wanted him to stay as far away from danger as possible.
"By the way, I have something to tell you."
Ruixia turned her head and instinctively reached out to her.
But then he felt a little uneasy, perhaps because he felt that this action was too intimate and a little inappropriate.
When he was in a dilemma, Ximu did not hesitate too much and naturally put his hand on it. There was only simple inquiry in his eyes, and it was obvious that he did not think much about it.
Relief and loss were intertwined at the same time, but Ruixia did not show it on her face. She shook her hand back and pulled her to her side, then stepped on a switch with her foot. The workbench that had been lowered rose into the air again, and soon brought the two of them to the screens of various sizes.
"Be careful."
After confirming that Ximu was standing firmly, Ruixia let go of her hand and manipulated some of the screens to move closer to them.
However, Xi Mu subconsciously retracted her fingertips when the warmth in her palm suddenly disappeared. An inexplicable reluctance passed through her heart, making her reveal a rare expression of confusion.
"Look at this."
Fortunately, Ruixia's greeting quickly drew her attention back. She looked in the direction he pointed, and saw many large and small screens spliced together. The images displayed on them formed an almost complete map of the magic circle distribution.
"Is this... the dense forest we were in before?"
Recognizing the familiar scene, Ximu narrowed his eyes slightly and soon saw the clue.
Based on the paths and directions of energy flow in various places collected by the previous instruments, Ruixia connected these points one by one with eye-catching red lines. After converting all the maps into a flat surface, a clear image that had already taken shape was presented in front of her.
"more than."
Ruixia zoomed in on the screen and pointed to the lower left corner of the entire "map." "This is the woods we first explored, and here is the location of the prison we first encountered. It also happens to be a very obvious energy conversion point."
This coincided with their original guess. They had already had suspicions when they discovered the existence of a magic circle that absorbed human energy in the forest, and now it was finally confirmed.
"The portion of this magic circle operating in the dense forest is smooth and divided into several independently functioning areas. I suspect similar underground prisons are located at the other energy conversion points... But near the lake, the magic circle's operation becomes blurry and incoherent, and it's completely cut off at the academy's seal."
"There's another force in the academy that's hindering it."
Following Ruixia's narration, it was normal for Ximu to come to such a conclusion.
"That's certainly what it looks like from the outside."
The clearest and most precise parts of the distribution map are the places they have explored repeatedly. Although the locations of the lake, the college and the back of the college are missing, from the existing situation, the final direction of the absorbed energy is actually flowing back towards the college.
Before Ximu could speak, Ruixia switched the image on the screen. After a series of rapid flips and changes, it showed the energy distribution inside the academy.
"this……"
Although he didn't have any deep attainments in magic circles, Ximu couldn't help but marvel at the chaotic scene before him.
The energy structure inside the academy was as chaotic as the faces of the broken magicians. Ruixia used lines of different colors to mark the direction of the energy. As a result, the picture looked like several magic circles superimposed on each other and then smashed together. They were entangled with each other, and their effects were difficult to distinguish. It was very abnormal.
"We previously thought that after entering the academy, we would no longer be affected by that mysterious magic circle, but..." Ruixia separated the different colored lines and pointed to the red part. "Look, can you recognize it?"
"Is this... the magic circle in the woods?"
If ordinary people did not have the ability to remember everything they saw, it would be difficult for them to connect this broken magic circle with the previous one that worked so well.
But, to be honest, looking at its current dilapidated state, even the most unprofessional person can see that such a magic circle is impossible to function normally.
In other words, the academy was originally within the stranglehold of this energy formation, but due to the entanglement and destruction of another force, the formation became ineffective, thus indirectly protecting them?
"Is this power related to the illusion that constitutes this place?"
She has always believed in Ruixia's judgment. Since he said that this place does not match reality, there must be something wrong.
"Nine out of ten."
Ruixia nodded, unpacking the various colored energy distribution lines one by one, then circled some key locations and analyzed, "Look, where the two forces clash most obviously, the surrounding spatial distortions are far more intense than elsewhere. These are all the contradictions I've discovered that clearly contradict reality."
Recognizing that one of them was the collapsed point in the supply area where they had previously had a dispute, Ximu nodded and slowly understood what he meant.
It seems that there is more than one master dominating this huge illusion. One side uses space cracks to hunt down the lost people who have strayed into this place, while the other side disrupts the flow of magic circles in the academy, hindering and even fighting for the control behind it.
“If there is no other force involved, where will the collected energy go?”
The answer to this question is crucial, and with a large amount of data support, Ruixia was able to use the previous data to simulate a similar trajectory of movement even though the alignment of the magic circle in the academy was broken.
He raised his hand and pointed to the top of the screen, and declared cautiously and solemnly:
"Moon Viewing Tower."
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