Chapter 454: Shadows of the Past
After a day of idleness, the time within the Duke of Peach’s barrier arrived at the next day, which was when Lord Bai was about to lead Gouwen and the others into Jianmu Palace.
Fisher and the others got up early. Mikhail appeared to have rested well last night. After stretching, he greeted Fisher and prepared to head to the main hall. Fisher waited at the door for a moment until Tang Zeming Asuka, who lived next to him, opened her door. Only then did he straighten up from leaning against the wall.
“Hey, good morning, Teacher Fisher!”
She had just stepped out and not noticed Fisher at first. After several seconds, she finally spotted him standing in the corridor, and startled, she immediately stood up straight and said good morning to him.
“Morning.”
Fisher scanned her white robe from top to bottom, raising an eyebrow as if sensing something. Then he suddenly walked over to Tang Zeming Asuka, gently tugging at her right wrist and lifting it up, revealing a shiny magical leaf hidden in her robe.
In Fisher’s eyes, that magical fluctuation didn’t stop with just this leaf. Fisher looked over her body again and sighed, “Did you not rest well last night? You’ve engraved so many wind spells; there must be dozens of them hidden all over you.”
Feeling Fisher’s scrutinizing gaze, Tang Zeming Asuka felt a little embarrassed but, for some reason, used her left hand to cover her chest. She pouted slightly and hurriedly explained, “No, no! I didn’t carve for long, at most just two hours. I was planning to rest properly, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sleep, so…”
Two hours?
Fisher looked at her countless wind spells and found it hard to believe. After all, he only obtained such quick engraving ability after reading the Soul Supplement Handbook and enhancing his soul. Meanwhile, Tang Zeming Asuka’s soul strength seemed to be exceptionally good from birth, and she had great magical talent. Even without magical materials to assist, she could stabilize extremely unstable magical structures.
He took one last look at Tang Zeming Asuka, who was eagerly gazing at him, then suddenly released her hand and said with a smile, “You can already learn more profound magic. I’m not afraid of making you proud when I say this, but you might be the fastest human to learn magic aside from the magical creators. I believe, even the greatest magic masters in history wouldn’t be as quick as you.”
“Really?!”
Tang Zeming Asuka’s face immediately lit up with joy, as if the weeping fool from yesterday was not her at all.
She was visibly thrilled; not only was her expression beaming, but her face also tilted up slightly, as if her nose was about to touch the sky.
That learning-impaired, bottom-tier Tang Zeming Asuka actually had such a day!
Tang Zeming Asuka felt she had never loved learning as much as she did now.
Fisher nodded with a smile. Then suddenly, his expression turned serious, and he pointed to the dozens of spells hidden in Tang Zeming Asuka’s robe, saying, “However, I have a question for you. We are about to enter Jianmu Palace to meet the Elf King, and having such obvious magical fluctuations all over you is like going in naked while strapped with bombs. There’s no way in.”
Tang Zeming Asuka’s expression went from bright to gloomy in an instant. She quickly covered her body and muttered, “Teacher Fisher, have you learned bad habits from Hela? Starting to enjoy teasing others, huh? That’s bad!”
Learned bad habits from Hela?
Fisher initially thought it was part of his nature, but hearing Tang Zeming Asuka say that, he attributed the fault to that mischievous angel.
“Then I’ll go back and take all the magic leaves out. Sorry, I didn’t think of that at the time.”
Tang Zeming Asuka was about to turn back into her room to take out the leaves she had carefully hidden in her clothes that morning. Since Fisher had taught her that magic should not be stacked together, especially when no restrictions were set, otherwise it could easily trigger an accident. That’s why she hid each leaf in different places, managing to stuff dozens of them in her robe.
Seeing her foolishness contrasting with her magical talent, Fisher couldn’t help but sigh and beckoned her with his hand, “Turn around and face me.”
“Huh?”
Tang Zeming Asuka was first confused but obediently turned away from Fisher. The next second, Fisher gently bit his index finger.
To be honest, after strengthening his physique, this simple action was a bit challenging for him.
Then, Fisher slowly touched the back of her spine with his bloodied finger.
Feeling the warm, moist touch of his finger against her skin, Tang Zeming Asuka’s pupils shrank, and her body trembled slightly, standing a bit straighter. Just as she bit her lip and kept swallowing, Fisher’s calm voice came from behind her, “The essence of magical fluctuations is a faint resonance with the world. The higher the rank, the more pronounced this resonance becomes. However, there are ways to shield it. By setting another simple magic to counteract the magical fluctuations emitted by it, we can block perception. We call this type of magic a ‘Blocking Item.'”
Ah, ah, ah, what is Teacher Fisher talking about?
It seemed like something important, but I can’t grasp it at all.
So itchy, so hot, the voice is so close.
I’m just a high school girl in the midst of adolescence; learning in such an embarrassing scenario feels like trying to study math—totally impossible!
“All done, did you understand?”
“Yes, yes!”
Tang Zeming Asuka blushed as she loudly responded, someone who didn’t know might think she was about to board a warship. However, just as Fisher nodded, preparing to head to the main hall, Tang Zeming Asuka, still blushing, shyly turned to Fisher, awkwardly sticking out her tongue and said, “But it’s still not that clear? Teacher Fisher, heh heh.”
“…”
Maybe praising her magical talent was a blunder?
Fisher suddenly thought.
But there was no time for a lesson now.
Fisher glanced at the corridor and gently patted her head and then went with her towards the grand hall.
They skipped breakfast; after all, for Fisher and his group, the food in the barrier had no flavor. They just pretended to eat a few bites in front of Lord Bai and left it at that.
However, from Fisher’s appearance to eating breakfast, and finally sitting in the sedan heading towards Jianmu Palace, Gouwen’s resentful gaze at Fisher never stopped. Fisher felt a bit embarrassed and avoided her glance, seemingly guilty for leaving her alone in the grand hall facing Lord Bai yesterday.
“Last night…”
“I kept my vows and remained loyal to my wife.”
As soon as Fisher opened his mouth, Gouwen, who had finally closed her eyes to rest for a moment, suddenly spoke up, cutting him off.
Though everyone knew Gouwen would never do anything to betray his wife, the explanation itself provoked laughter from Tang Zeming Asuka and the usually unsmiling Mikhail nearby, and even Fisher couldn’t hold back a chuckle, filling the sedan with a cheerful atmosphere.
Fortunately, Lord Bai was seated in the front sedan and wasn’t facing them at that moment.
Fisher was about to laugh when Gouwen’s resentful gaze returned like a shadow. He didn’t tease the over-protective whale folk again, instead shifting his gaze out of the sedan’s window, and saw the majestic palace named “Jianmu Palace,” sacred to the elf race.
The elves revered giant trees and loved the earth. Jianmu Palace was certainly built on the ground, but the closer it got to the World Tree, the more severe the chaotic spatial turbulence became. It was even more terrifying than the previous sighting in the Northern Region.
Before the giant tree, a grand wooden structure painted in a stunning crimson gradually appeared before them.
But unlike the usual sight of a building, to Fisher’s eyes, the space seemed like a crystal flower with hundreds of petals layered together, resembling a shattered mirror that burst forth with a myriad of sparkling reflective fragments. Each fragment revealed a complete building within, and only by fully combining all those refracted structures could one see the true palace, Jianmu Palace.
“Is that Jianmu Palace?”
Everyone was awestruck by the spectacle, but for Gouwen, who had been here once before, it was just another sight. He had other concerns.
Furrowing his brow, Gouwen pointed at the scene in the overlapping space, saying, “There are many entrances to countless spaces here, so it’s both the Elf King’s residence, a place where many elves perform rituals and divinations, and the only entrance to the World Tree. The World Tree outside is merely the external illusion of that demigod; her true form is too large to be shown fully. Only within Jianmu Palace can one find the path to her branches.”
“But look, that space above is blank. It wasn’t like this when I was here before. Back then, I could see clearly where the Elf King’s chambers were. Now, I can’t see anything.”
Following Gouwen’s finger, Fisher looked in that direction and indeed found that in their destination above the floating sedan, one of the layered spaces was completely blank, as if the shadow of fate had lost its effect at this moment—a complete void.
“Is this what the Duke of Peach meant by the fate obscured by the Trans? That’s why she can’t see which elf is assisting?”
Gouwen stared at the blank space for quite some time before shaking his head and saying, “I have a feeling it’s not like that. We should wait and see.”
“Mm.”
Entering Jianmu Palace required passing through multiple inspections. The first to check them was a massive treant, which seemed lifeless yet appeared grotesquely large, sitting like a towering tree in front of the countless overlapping spaces.
As they saw the sedan approaching, lights flickered on the treant, and Fisher and the others immediately felt danger, sensing fluctuations resembling the lethal weapons from the Universe Axis Line, capable of annihilating any existence below the mythical rank. Even those at the mythical rank would likely not fare well if they directly confronted that bizarre brilliance.
Just then, an unusual subhuman with three strange bird-like claws flew in from above. Dressed in the royal attire of the royal capital, covered in golden feathers, the subhuman boldly landed atop the treant upon spotting the sedan and proclaimed, “Welcome, Lord Bai. The king requests your presence.”
With the subhuman’s announcement, the once restless treant began to settle down.
Following that were further checks, requiring them to disembark from the sedan. All individuals, including Lord Bai, needed to verify their identities. Fortunately, Lord Bai had reported the identities of the three Trans to the Elf King the day before.
As if stepping out from the illusion, two giant fox-headed subhumans, each about three meters tall, emerged from the ethereal spatial seam and addressed Lord Bai inside the sedan, “The king is eager to see these three Trans. Lord Bai, please hold off on the medical matters for now; the king has just finished an audience with Duke Chuan and is in a rather poor mood. Please wait in the palace until the king meets the Trans before calling the doctor to enter.”
“Understood.”
Before these two grand, elegant fox-headed subhumans, the usually boisterous Lord Bai surprisingly acted with composure. He bowed honestly and then looked to Gouwen, signaling him to stay close.
Gouwen glanced at the blank space, unsure of what would happen if they entered. He then quietly looked at Fisher, who nodded after a moment of thought and stepped forward to follow the two fox-headed beings.
“Please come this way.”
The two fox-headed subhumans nodded and turned towards the near-empty space, and naturally, upon entering the realm of fate’s void, they completely vanished. Fisher paused for a moment, then turned to see Lord Bai; he noticed Gouwen’s serious expression, while Lord Bai appeared completely oblivious.
Apparently, there were no feelings regarding this void within the Duke of Peach’s barrier; to them, the two fox-headed subhumans seemed to have entered Jianmu Palace as normal.
Fisher stood before the spatial crack for a moment, then slowly stepped into the void.
Just as he had expected, inside the crack, there was nothing of Jianmu Palace—only an expanse of emptiness.
Furrowing his brow, he looked around, observing the silent void, but vaguely sensed a problem. However, before he could pinpoint it, Mikhail also entered the void one after the other.
“Is this what that elf mentioned—the obscured fate?”
“I don’t think it’s that simple. What was it like for you outside after you saw me enter?”
Mikhail turned to look behind. They couldn’t see Tang Zeming Asuka, who hadn’t entered yet, nor could they see Lord Bai and Gouwen. He replied, “From our perspective, you suddenly vanished. But Lord Bai doesn’t seem to have noticed anything peculiar at all; it’s as if you just followed those two fox-faced creatures and urged us to hurry along.”
“The Duke of Peach’s barrier is a projection of fate. The shadows within act according to their own logic, giving a semblance of reality. However, fundamentally, nothing happens here. Therefore, even if those inside truly attempted to attack us, we wouldn’t be harmed.”
Mikhail didn’t comment, but still reminded him, “It’s best to be cautious.”
“Mm.”
Just as Fisher turned to continue observing the surroundings in search of clues, the spatial crack behind him trembled slightly, and the next moment, Tang Zeming Asuka charged in with her eyes closed, crying out, “Teacher Fisher!!!”
“…What’s wrong?”
Fisher was startled by her sudden outburst, thinking something happened outside. But upon seeing both of them safe, Tang Zeming Asuka let out a sigh of relief and embarrassedly said, “Sorry, I saw both of you disappear so suddenly, and I got scared. I was hesitant to come in, and then Lord Bai kicked me in, saying the envoy had been waiting for me, but I didn’t see or hear anything at all.”
“…Is that so? But there’s nothing in here. The Duke of Peach couldn’t uncover the truth obscured by the Trans.”
Fisher looked around the blank void and suddenly felt puzzled.
Logically, even if the Trans could partially disturb the probing of fate due to the chaotic aura surrounding them, could they really create such an exaggerated situation?
This Jianmu Palace was entirely a blank space, as if an entire segment of fate had been severed, as though it had never existed.
The Trans should be regular humans after arriving here. According to the Duke of Peach’s introduction, the Trans shouldn’t have been here for long—at most just a few years. How could they possibly have reached that level of expertise for the future Creation Society?
Staring at the empty space in front of him, Fisher appeared to sense some clues and discrepancies.
But while he was deeply pondering these nuances, he remained unaware that as Tang Zeming Asuka entered the void of fate, petals of peach blossoms began to fall from the sky. Just as the petals began to appear, a sudden burst of brilliant golden light erupted from a faraway direction.
The light was pure and soon enveloped the peach-colored petals, layering this empty space with shimmering shadows.
And amidst this golden sheen, a neighboring emptiness started to gradually fade, slowly revealing a magnificent red building.
“Teacher Fisher, look! It seems like… the surroundings are changing.”
Fisher opened his eyes to find the environment gradually transforming into a realistic likeness of the outside world, including the colors beginning to show outside the spatial crack they had entered.
At that moment, the three of them stood to the side of a pavilion before the grand building, a significant distance from the entrance of the crack, thus remaining well hidden amidst lush greenery.
“What happened?”
Fisher was puzzled as he directed his gaze towards the entrance of the spatial crack, where the two fox-faced tall subhumans who had led them before were slowly walking in, seemingly guiding someone.
“Loyal Lord Bai, just a reminder: the king is not in a good mood, so you must advise the doctor you’ve brought to speak cautiously, especially since he is of foreign descent.”
Fisher frowned and saw behind the two giant fox-faced figures, Lord Bai and the whale folk Gouwen carrying a medical kit, his face full of despair.
“Is that Gouwen?”
Tang Zeming Asuka whispered, but Fisher raised a finger to her, noticing something was off.
Even Mikhail beside him realized it. He said, “That’s not Gouwen; at least not the one with us. That’s the past version of him. This must be events that occurred half a year ago when Gouwen was here, but shouldn’t this be hidden? Why suddenly… Where did the real Gouwen go?”
Fisher watched as the Gouwen following Lord Bai slowly drifted away, feeling a hint of ominous speculation in his heart.
“This place… seems to be the hidden shadow of fate regarding that Trans. But because our presence has disturbed the shadows of fate outside, the previously hidden shadow hasn’t reacted, causing a misalignment. Gouwen remains in the earlier shadow of fate, outside the spatial crack, while we are now genuinely back six months ago.”
“Which means, three Trans have appeared out of thin air inside Jianmu Palace.”
(End of chapter)
