novelhk Chapter 124 Miasma and Ghosts
Chapter 124 Miasma and Ghosts
Chapter 124 Miasma and Ghosts
There was smoke today, so school is closed for the day.
"Smoke" is a unique climate phenomenon in the Ghost Forest. It appears regardless of the season and has no predictable pattern.
However, a recent paper suggests that the occurrence of "smoke" may be related to the concentration of extraordinary energy in the soil.
The Ghost Forest is a forest formed by miasma trees, which are unique plants that grow on the permafrost continent.
The bark of the miasma tree is hazelnut beige, while its leaves are a nearly pure white gray.
Combined with the fine and densely arranged veins on the leaves, the leaves of the miasma tree have a fragile feel, as if they would break at the slightest touch.
The wood of the jasmine tree is hard and not easily affected by moisture, making it an excellent material for building.
But the miasma tree has another characteristic: it occasionally releases thick smoke.
Once smoke is released, it's not just one or two trees, but the entire forest releases smoke at the same time, thus creating the unique "smoke-producing" climate of the southern community.
The smoke released by the miasma tree is extremely dense; while inside the smoke, you absolutely cannot see anything more than a foot away.
This cigarette smells pungent at first, but it is addictive.
If you smoke in excess, you will become addicted to the smell of cigarettes.
According to those who have become addicted, once they get used to the smell of the smoke, they can experience the ultimate pleasure it brings.
Once addicted, one will become depressed, lose willpower, and become listless, unable to muster any interest in anything else, only wanting to try the smell of the miasma tree again.
That's why schools take this kind of weather so seriously, even going so far as to temporarily suspend classes.
Korola recently heard a rumor that inhaling this thick smoke could enhance the effectiveness of the witchcraft she used.
However, Lola was not interested in this.
She doesn't know witchcraft, nor does she intend to become a great witch. Even if the rumors were true, they wouldn't be able to tempt Lola.
However, Lola also felt that the appearance of "smoke" was too sudden.
Nothing happened in the morning, but by noon, smoke suddenly enveloped the entire school.
After her morning classes, Lola planned to go to the library to find some books to read in order to improve her ability to read Ice Language.
Unexpectedly, smoke suddenly appeared, trapping her in the library and preventing her from leaving.
The Phantom Society's library is very unique.
It was not built of wood or stone; it was made by hollowing out a huge malaria tree and transforming it.
Even more surprisingly, the tree is still alive and lush!
This is a towering tree, over six hundred feet tall, and it is still growing.
People in the southern community call this tree the "mother tree".
They believe that the mother tree is the world's first miasma tree and the common ancestor of all miasma trees.
And this library is equally ancient.
As for why the library was to be built in a tree, the explanation Lola heard was that the mother tree could ensure that the books stored there, both the books themselves and the power they contained, would never deteriorate.
So Lola sometimes wondered if the Ice Palace was known for its ancient witchcraft, but perhaps the witchcraft passed down by the Phantom Society actually had an even longer history.
Lola stood by the window, looking outside.
The windows were large holes carved into the bark of a tree. A thin layer of sap adhered to the window openings, preventing airflow between the library and keeping out the thick smoke.
Luo stretched out his finger and gently poked the thin film.
It was poked and bulged, but did not break, indicating that its tension is very good.
Outside the window, it was still pitch black; it seemed Lola wouldn't be able to leave the library all afternoon.
"well--"
Lola sighed softly, and the thin membrane covering the tree hole stirred with her breath.
If it were Anne, she would be more than happy to spend the whole day in the library.
Unlike Anne, Korola didn't enjoy reading, and besides, she was far from being familiar with Bingyu's writing style.
She only needed to keep up with the pace of her studies; she had no further ambitions.
If she had known this would happen, she would have used the anchor point to go back and see Aaron.
Although it was a library, she didn't have anything she wanted to say to Aaron.
However, being with Aaron made Lola feel very secure and at ease, probably because Aaron was very powerful.
However, the thick smoke has now blocked her remaining options.
She knew it was destined to be a boring afternoon.
"Calm down, young man—"
Just then, Lola heard an old voice.
Lola turned around and saw an elderly man dressed in a purple witch's robe sitting in front of her.
She also knew that the old man was talking to her.
Those who arrive before noon will be trapped in the library.
For ordinary shamans and apprentices, the course often lasts until noon.
The only exception is for new students who need to learn the language of ice, as the course duration is relatively short.
Apprentices who have not yet been exposed to witchcraft generally have no interest in it and only go to the library to learn the language.
Therefore, there were very few people inside the museum at that moment.
Given the volume of that old man's voice just now, probably only Lola could hear him.
Lola didn't understand why the other person wanted to talk to her, and she watched him cautiously.
The old man then looked up from his book at Lola and asked:
Do you know anything about the miasma tree?
Lola shook her head.
"Then you should try to understand," the old man chuckled, "but no one dares to say that they understand everything about the Miasma Tree."
Lola didn't speak, but slowly walked towards the old man.
The old man continued, "The Miasma Tree is mysterious. It exists only in a remote corner of the frozen continent, yet it possesses immense power, capable of releasing dense smoke that disturbs the minds of any living being. Ha, mysterious and powerful, isn't that just like us wizards?"
But I'm not a wizard yet—Lola thought to herself, but remained silent.
The old man didn't seem to care about that and asked again:
Do you know exactly how "smoky" weather forms and dissipates?
This time, Lola shook her head.
"The miasma tree will release all the 'smoke' it produces at once at the beginning," the old man said, "and then slowly inhale the smoke into its body."
If that's the case... Lola frowned in confusion. Why did it exhale the smoke again?
The old man seemed to understand Lola's expression: "You think this is unnecessary?"
Lola nodded and sat down opposite the old man.
"I thought so at first too, but, girl, you must understand one thing: what you can't understand isn't necessarily unreasonable."
As the old man spoke, the opening and closing of his mouth revealed his missing teeth. "It was precisely after figuring this out that I tried to think about why the miasma tree would choose to do this. In the end, I came to a conjecture. The smoke released by the miasma tree and the smoke it absorbs may not be the same kind."
Hearing this, Lola tilted her head in confusion.
Fortunately, the old man didn't keep him in suspense. He immediately explained, "After the miasma tree releases smoke, that smoke immediately changes. It may have come into contact with the outside air, or it may have been affected by sunlight or light. In short, it becomes a completely new kind of smoke. And what the miasma tree needs is this new smoke, which is why it quickly absorbs this transformed smoke into its body."
Although Lola didn't fully understand, she felt it made some sense, but new questions also arose.
At this moment, Lola finally spoke for the first time:
"Then why all the trees together?"
"Air is in motion. If only one tree releases smoke, it cannot guarantee that it will inhale enough smoke. But if all the trees do this at the same time, it can ensure that the needs of the vast majority of the smoke-producing trees are met."
The old man spoke, a hint of smugness in his smile.
"And this demonstrates that this is a form of herd behavior!"
Laura lowered her brow, pondering the meaning of "group behavior".
After a moment, she asked:
"Is everything you said correct?"
Upon hearing this, the old man shrugged and leaned back in his chair.
"As I just said, this is just my conjecture. I don't study miasma trees; I'm just interested in them, so I'm giving it some thought."
"interest?"
"Well, my interest is acquiring new knowledge, or rather, satisfying my thirst for knowledge," the old man said. "Interest is the best teacher. If you have an interest, you will have enough motivation to do something. Young lady, what is your interest?"
Laura fell into deep thought when faced with this question.
After a long silence, she shook her head and replied:
"I'm not interested."
Upon hearing this, the old man frowned:
"If you have no interest in anything, you're likely to find life boring, which isn't a good thing. And you seem quite young; how old are you?"
Lola will be fifteen next month, but now—
Fourteen years old.
"Oh! You look only eleven or twelve years old."
Lola was not happy to hear this.
She was very thin, and almost everyone in her tribe was like that.
Although Lola still held onto a sliver of hope, she knew she probably didn't have many more heads left.
Just as Lola was lost in thought, the old man continued:
"But you are still young, you have a long life ahead of you, you should try to find your interests."
Laura asked, "How do we find it?"
"Then think about what you look forward to doing, or what makes you happy."
Lola thought back carefully. Since arriving in this world, apart from the time she spent with Annie, she had hardly experienced any happiness. And she did want to chat with Annie more—although it was usually Annie who did all the talking.
But can this really be considered a hobby?
Seemingly sensing Lola's dilemma, the old man said:
"Don't rush. Interest isn't something you can deliberately create; it comes from feeling."
Lola nodded.
"Of course, interests can be cultivated."
"nourish?"
"Yes, for example, you often do something, but that thing doesn't make you happy. But you can try to discover the fun in it, and maybe it will slowly become your interest."
"But what if it's a bad thing?"
"A bad thing? But what exactly constitutes a bad thing?"
The old man suddenly narrowed his eyes, smiled, and asked in return...
"Many people say that killing is a bad thing, but criminals are often hanged in the square, and no one says that's a bad thing. What you see as bad might be a good thing to some. Wizards never judge things by good or bad; only the strong have the right to define good and bad, which is why we pursue power. Girl, remember, your past moral values will only be a limitation in the wizarding world."
Hearing this, Lola frowned; she didn't quite agree with what the old man was saying.
The old man smiled. "Relax. I'm not trying to preach my ideas to you, although that's a common belief among wizards. But you can make your own choices. If you're strong enough, why should you adapt to this world? The world will come to you."
Might makes right, and Lola certainly understood that.
The people of this world are more powerful, which is why she and her fellow countrymen were captured and sold as slaves here. If her race were more powerful, they could resist and become enemies, and then it would be uncertain who would be the slave.
"Anyway, calm down, young lady," the old man said. "You might want to think about what I told you. Anyway, the smoke won't dissipate anytime soon."
Laura asked, "How did you know?"
"The process of the miasma tree releasing smoke is almost instantaneous, but the absorption is very slow. After all, according to my previous speculation, the miasma tree needs to utilize this dense smoke, and the process of 'utilizing' it takes time."
Lola nodded and said nothing more.
The old man then asked, "Young lady, are you a new student?"
"Hmm, how did you know?"
"Your Ice Language is a bit halting," the old man chuckled. "All other apprentices from the continent basically have to go through this process."
Laura nodded.
The old man then asked, "Since you haven't yet come into contact with witchcraft, what are you doing in the library?"
"I'm looking for something to read."
"Reading ability is very important and worth practicing," the old man agreed. "You never know which book holds the knowledge and strength you need."
But Aaron was able to accurately find the perfect "Knot of the Clouds" for me, Laura thought.
Lola countered, "And what about you?"
"I?"
Why did you come to the library?
"Haha, is it strange that I'm in the library?"
Indeed—compared to Lola, the old man in front of us probably has more reasons to be here.
However, the old man smiled mysteriously and said:
"But whether you discovered something or it was just a casual remark, you're right, I really shouldn't be here."
"Feed?"
“I am neither an apprentice here nor an early shaman,” the old man said. “Of course, I am permitted, and I am also a disciple who graduated from this shamanic school.”
I see. "Then why did you come back?"
The old man raised an eyebrow: "I've already said it, it's because of interest."
Laura immediately recalled: "The thirst for knowledge!"
"Hehe, that's right," the old man grinned, revealing an extremely ugly mouth. "A few days ago, I encountered a phenomenon I had never seen before. I was very curious about it, so I wanted to look up some information and try to analyze the phenomenon, or even replicate it. And if you want to pursue knowledge and truth on the frozen continent, there is no more trustworthy helper than the Phantom Society's library."
Lola nodded: "Have you found the answer?"
"There has been progress, but—unfortunately, not yet," the old man shook his head, "and I must leave. Why?"
"I want to verify the known information first," the old man said. "And I need some water from the Weeping Fjord, but this is the heart of the forest in the Southern Community, where we can't find any seawater."
Indeed, it would take several days by carriage to get from here to the port on the eastern coast of the permafrost continent. Thinking of this, Lola suddenly remembered something and immediately asked:
"Is this enough to just use the waters of the Weeping Fjord? Does it not distinguish between the east and west coasts?"
"There's no such requirement, but why are you asking?"
"I can fetch some seawater for you!"
"You?" The old man looked at Lola with a brow. "But the Weeping Canyon is not close by."
"I know."
The old man looked at Lola suspiciously, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"If you're willing to help, I'd be happy and willing to accept, but—what good would it do you?"
"I don't ask for anything in return. If you beg me for help, I'll gladly lend a hand," Laura replied.
"Plead? Help?" The old man laughed again. "So you'll help me as long as I ask?"
"I'll consider it."
The old man pondered for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Could it be that this is the interest you came up with?"
Can this be considered a hobby?
However, this issue needs to be considered carefully later; for now:
"So, you can think of it that way, and therefore, you want to ask me for help?"
The old man stared at Lola for a few moments, then smiled and asked:
"Young lady, what's your name?"
"Lola Booker."
"So, little Lola, would you be willing to help me with this?"
"No problem," Laura nodded. "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"If you go and fetch seawater for me—it should be there."
"Then I'll bring you the water tomorrow," Lola replied without hesitation.
"Tomorrow?" The old man's eyes narrowed to slits. "Hmph! Interesting. Well then, little Lola, if you really help me with this, I promise to guide you through some of my personal research."
Laura wasn't interested in this:
"Whatever you want."
"You haven't asked my name yet."
"What's your name?"
"Loloti Haldor, Haldor's son."
Laura nodded.
After that, the two did not have much further interaction.
Just as Lolotti had predicted, the thick smoke did not dissipate until evening.
After the second day of language lessons, Lola went directly to the Mushroom Land to find her anchor magic circle.
Activating her abilities, Lola traversed the Realm of Dawn and returned to Nailport once more.
She took out her water bottle and filled it with seawater from the shore.
She then planned to return directly to the school and hand the seawater over to Lolotti.
As Lola passed through the market, she saw the vendor who had complained to her before now energized and enthusiastically promoting his goods to passersby.
Lola felt a sense of relief.
She immediately realized her own feelings. Could this be what Loloti had mentioned yesterday about discovering fun and cultivating interests?
Laura didn't think much of it and continued on her way.
As she walked past a group of people, Lola overheard their conversation.
Several words caught Lola's attention, so she stopped and listened for a while.
"...It's unbelievable that he was killed, and there were even square-shaped symbols left in his house."
"Yes, the killer is truly terrifying."
Feeling a bit annoyed at being described as "horrible," Lola couldn't help but say:
"But Erwin is an idiot."
Upon hearing this, several people turned their gazes toward Lola.
They exchanged a few glances, then asked Lola:
"Little girl, what are you saying?"
"Irwin was a bastard, he deserved to die."
Those people nodded: "You're right, he certainly deserved it, and we are indeed applauding."
Another person said, "And Erwin was indeed killed in his own home, and a square symbol was indeed left in his room."
"Huh?" Lola was utterly confused. What did they mean?
Immediately, the group provided their answer:
"But, little girl, we're not talking about Erwin. There was another person killed outside Nailport."
"And the killer also left behind a square pattern after committing the murder—"