Warlock Apprentice

The bird depicted on the silk painting was none other than Hua Que.

Likewise, Angel later encountered the spirit of a little girl under a deep well in the cemetery.

The little girl had been dead for too long and had forgotten many memories from her life. But she remembered the young boy on the silk painting, her brother.

And indeed, there was a row of tiny characters on the silk painting.

However, the writing was sloppy, like a child’s scrawl. Angel managed to make out, “… for sister’s ninth birthday, … gift …”

It seemed likely that the silk painting was a gift from the young boy to the little girl.

Besides her brother, the little girl also remembered that the bird was her best companion, but she could not remember its name, only that the bird’s prefix was “Hua.”

She had also forgotten her own name, so Angel, taking after the bird’s name, named the little girl “Hua Hua.”

Angel clearly remembered that at the moment, Hua Hua had frozen, saying that something seemed familiar, that her name might indeed be Hua Hua, and that she and the bird might share the same name.

Now, having learned the bird’s true name, Hua Que, it seemed very likely that if Hua Hua’s name was the same as the bird’s, she might indeed be the Hua Que bird herself.

Having confirmed her as Hua Que, the faceless young boy on the silk painting might just be… Popota.

“You’ve met Popota’s sister? Are you sure it’s her?” Sanders asked curiously.

Angel replied, “I’m not certain, but afterward, I had a chat with Hua Hua, asking about the place where she lived as a child. She didn’t remember much, but her most vivid memory was that it was very cold, she lived in a very cold place.”

Sanders pondered for a moment, “Hua Que lived on the Kashmar Plateau, which is indeed extremely cold. It was because of the desolation and coldness that the vivid colors on Hua Que’s body were greatly adored by the people living there… And the Kashmar Plateau is indeed in the Fairy Tale World.”

Pausing, Sanders continued, “So by your account, both Hua Que and Popota are from the Kashmar Plateau?”

Angel nodded, then shook his head, “Maybe their place of birth is indeed the Kashmar Plateau, but what I mean by origins is the ‘my tribe’ he repeatedly mentioned.”

“Actually, I’ve always felt that Popota’s accent sounded very familiar to me,” Angel said after a pause. “However, he seems to be deliberately making his accent closer to that of the general populace, but some of the inflections in his speech still bear an exotic accent.”

As Angel spoke, Sanders also recalled Popota’s accent. If one didn’t listen carefully, Popota’s accent didn’t seem out of the ordinary, but on closer examination, certain aspects of his accent were indeed very special. Not just Angel, even Sanders felt a sense of familiarity… But who could it be?

Angel said, “Popota is purposely changing his accent, but Hua Hua isn’t. Back there in the cemetery, as soon as I heard Hua Hua speak, one person came to my mind.”

“Dororo!”

The name Dororo was uttered almost simultaneously by both Angel and Sanders.

Angel looked at Sanders with a mix of surprise and admiration; he was familiar with Dororo’s accent after spending a long time with him and understood the way Dororo handled certain colloquialisms. But Sanders hadn’t heard Dororo speak much and probably wasn’t familiar with Popota either. Yet he had thought of the name instantly, his memory and information processing capabilities were indeed far superior to Angel’s.

“Yes, that’s Dororo,” Angel affirmed, but then he fell into silence. There was some information about Dororo that he hadn’t fully disclosed to Sanders; for instance, that Dororo had been soaked in Axo’s essence for a thousand years, which he hadn’t told anyone. So he was contemplating what to reveal and what to keep to himself.

Sanders, thinking Angel had finished speaking, remained calm since the answer seemed quite clear already—Dororo was very likely from the same species as Popota.

So what species was Dororo after all?

Both the Tree Spirit and Maya had subtly hinted to Sanders about Dororo’s extraordinariness. Moreover, unknown to Angel, even Rhein Mute had once personally met with Dororo.

In fact, some at the core levels within the Barbarian Cave had speculated about Dororo’s origins, but nobody had voiced it out. Certain things, once exposed, could lead to endless trouble.

Angel spoke, “I actually don’t know what species Dororo is; however, Bogura’s Disciple—’Shadow’ Diabolo—once told me something. There was a species incorporated into humanity twenty thousand years ago; the place where they were first discovered was a plateau. And this species is called—”

“Baiyuanians.”

…

After Angel shared his speculation, he expected Sanders to be surprised, but Sanders was not. His expression remained calm, his eyes like the unfathomable depths of an ancient well, undisturbed, without a ripple.

Sanders nodded slightly, “Do you mean to suggest that Popota might be a Baiyuanian thought to have gone extinct ten thousand years ago?”

Angel nodded, “Their extinction ten thousand years ago is public opinion. However, there were wild rumors saying that even a thousand years ago, in the Serpent Kingdom of Axo Saint Ya, a small part of Baiyuanians still existed. So I suspect that Popota may well be a descendant of that branch of Baiyuanians.”

Although this was still Angel’s speculation, after all, an accent cannot be considered valid evidence, many things seemed to have reached a conclusion when Popota was treated as a Baiyuanian.

For example, the origins of the Baiyuanians are recorded in the books as, “Beside the Primeval Flame, a group of the world’s favored children were born, they are the Baiyuanians who pursue the Primeval Flame.”

From this record, one can see that the Baiyuanians are very close to the Primeval Flame, and it can even be said that the Baiyuanians pursue the Primeval Flame all their lives.

And speaking of the Primeval Flame, one can think of the current situation.

When the host of the night rises to power, a Primeval Flame will be born, and this Primeval Flame is likely the reason Aoluxiya came to Lassudral.

If Popota truly is a Baiyuanian and he came for the Primeval Flame, it does seem to make sense.

Moreover, Popota often mentioned: “The fire of our tribe will reignite soon.” This fire of our tribe likely refers to the Primeval Flame.

“Looking at it this way, Popota indeed seems likely,” Sanders mused for a moment after hearing Angel’s explanation and said, “The Baiyuanians, blessed by the heavens, were envied by others. Not just because of their Talent, but also because the tribe of Baiyuanians would preserve some seeds of the Primeval Flame. Many people want to obtain the Primeval Flame, but so far, no one has found this seed of the Primeval Flame on a Baiyuanian.”

“I also heard that the Baiyuanians have a prophecy that as long as the guarded Primeval Flame never extinguishes, the Baiyuanian lineage will not cease. Nowadays, the Baiyuanians are nearly extinct, so Popota’s desire to reignite the Primeval Flame to facilitate the resurgence of the Baiyuanians is also plausible,” Angel added.

Sanders’ words complemented some of the missing elements in Angel’s chain of speculation.

If Popota truly aimed to revive the Baiyuanians, some of his words now had answers.

“If we confirm that his goal is the Primeval Flame, then… why would he sabotage the Inscription hubs?” A new doubt arose in Angel’s heart.

Sanders: “I don’t know, but the impact of this matter is minor for now. Moreover, the destruction of Lassudral isn’t necessarily a bad thing for humans.”

“Minor impact? Now that Popota has sabotaged Spatial Transmission and caused the collapse of Lassudral, we still have no means of leaving, how can it be minor?”

“There will always be a way to leave,” Sanders said lightly.

Angel was stunned, seeing Sanders so certain. He thought it through, no longer worried about this matter, for it seemed that a plan for departure had already been devised.

…

These are all the speculations and guesses we can make about Popota’s origins for now.

Throughout this process, Sanders’s expression remained calm, seemingly undisturbed even upon learning about the Baiyuanians.

This puzzled Angel.

After a while of silence, Angel, unable to contain his impatience, asked, “Mentor, aren’t you surprised that Popota and Dororo are Baiyuanians?”

Sanders smiled faintly, “Actually, people like Tree Spirit, Maya, and others, have already suspected Dororo’s identity. His origins and his Talent have already explained everything.”

Dororo is from Fairy Tale World, and the last known location of the Baiyuanians is the precursor to the Fuxu Royal Court, Axo Saint Asia; plus, the most renowned Talent of the Baiyuanians is the ability of Prophecy, and Dororo fits this perfectly. With the Wizard’s abilities, it was not difficult to deduce Dororo’s origins.

“More than these, what surprises me more, is you.”

Suddenly, Sanders turned his gaze toward Angel. Because they had encountered Popota’s attack earlier, the topic had revolved around Popota, but Sanders was in fact more curious about Angel’s experiences.

“Me?”

Sanders nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Icebound Hex hovering above Angel’s shoulder, pausing for a moment on Binaqionse’s dragon scale, then turned back and said, “How is Toby doing these days?”

“Good, the Icebound Hex should be successful in one more day, and then I can place it inside the bracelet.” After Angel responded, he remembered he hadn’t explained the origin of the Icebound Hex and was about to do so when Sanders gestured dismissively.

“We can talk about these matters later… What I want to know more now is, after you fell into that tunnel earlier, how did you come to be here, and did anything happen in between?” Sanders’s expression suddenly turned serious; he had insisted on using an experimental Spell Technique to reach the Void Tower to find Angel because when he had sensed the essence blood earlier, he discovered something was amiss.

From the essence blood, he faintly sensed an unprecedentedly terrifying presence. Although it was only a moment, Sanders could not ignore it.

Moreover, upon seeing Angel, he felt that Angel was surrounded by a strange aura, an aura that was not present before Angel fell into the tunnel.

Angel: “Indeed, something did happen.”

Angel paused, then slowly took out a miniature statue from his pocket.