Chapter 54: Have I Caused You Any Trouble?

Compared to the old meditation room in the City of Allenson, the new meditation room is not as dim. The glow of mithril, the brilliance of shining gold, and the white steam rising from the steam equipment create a dreamlike atmosphere in the room. Click—Xu Xi twisted the knob, turning on the glass lamp embedded with light crystals. The light, slightly diffused by the steam, fell softly and dimly on Xu Xi and the gray-haired girl lying unconscious not far away. Occasionally, the girl would show signs of pain and briefly wake up, but soon she would fall back into unconsciousness. Over and over, it was like an endless torment. However, the strange thing was that despite the seemingly perilous situation, the girl’s life was unharmed, with no signs of death. Xu Xi had already checked. Whether it was life-affirming magic or death-affirming magic, both showed that Cressa’s condition was intact. “But why is this happening… What is going on with those eyes and the demon bloodline inside Cressa?” While it was good news that Cressa’s life was not in danger, it was clearly not okay for her to remain in such painful unconsciousness. Xu Xi slightly turned his head, looking towards the corner of the meditation room where the young witch, who knew neither joy nor sorrow, lay pale on a temporary magic stone slab, unconscious. Her forehead was covered in fine sweat, her breathing was erratic and rapid, and her fingers trembled unconsciously. In a daze, looking at the 17-year-old witch in such a weak state, Xu Xi was reminded of the little girl in the foul, filthy alley, tattered and scarred, stepping in muddy water, her eyes hollow, pleading for salvation in despair. Now, in Xu Xi’s eyes, the grown witch and the little girl slowly overlapped. Both were so full of helplessness. “You really make me worry, Cressa…” Xu Xi sighed softly, his voice echoing in the empty meditation room. Then, accompanied by the clanking of mechanical chains, Xu Xi opened the desk and chair embedded in the wall, sat down, placed several ancient books on the table, and began flipping through them, searching for information about demons. Occasionally, he would get up to observe and record the girl’s physical condition. During her brief moments of wakefulness, he would chat with her for a bit. But most of the time, he sat alone at the table, flipping through books, holding a pen, under the glass lamp that was neither bright nor dim, taking notes and marking records about demons. “So that’s how it is… There are actually such things… Long before the gods descended, demons were already active in the world… It seems that the divine creation theory promoted by the Divine Church is not to be trusted. The gods are merely products of the world’s creation.” Muttering to himself, he quickly recorded his findings. With the help of the Wisdom of Mortals, Xu Xi’s research and thinking abilities had greatly improved. His understanding of demons was gradually deepening. … [You are worried about the unconscious witch] [You begin researching demonic materials] [Originally intending to help the witch recover from her unconsciousness, you unexpectedly discover previously unknown truths about the world from various ancient texts] [The creation myths of the magical world come in two versions] [One is the well-known version where the gods of the Heavenly Realm jointly created the world, creating all things, the sky, and the earth, thus making the gods the masters of the world] [The other, hidden in obscure books, is a little-known primordial theory that the world was born from chaos, with elements spontaneously giving rise to all things, and the so-called gods were merely latecomers, appearing even later than demons] [Surprised, you continue to delve into detailed demonic materials] [The materials are too obscure, written in an extremely rare language, slowing your research progress] [The Wisdom of Mortals continues to activate…] [You have learned Egboan, you have learned Primordial Ancient Language, you have learned Engra] [Your research on demons begins to proceed smoothly, your understanding of demons deepens, and you start to become familiar with demonic mating habits, innate abilities, racial traits…] Busy flipping through books, busy learning. When hungry, he endured; when thirsty, he used water magic to quench his thirst; when sleepy, he meditated to stay awake. Except for a few necessary meals, Xu Xi maintained this state. His spiritual energy was strong, and this level of burden was nothing to him, though inevitably, he felt somewhat haggard. “Mentor, am I… causing you trouble?” Midway, Cressa briefly woke up once. Seeing Xu Xi so exhausted, her eyes hollow, her tone bewildered. Even a girl devoid of emotions would care for someone important to her. She didn’t want Xu Xi to become so haggard and weary for her sake. “It’s okay, Cressa is very good, never causing me any trouble.” The man’s voice remained gentle. His broad palm, as always, brought a sense of security, gently stroking the witch’s head, bringing her a faint but precious warmth. It was warm, comfortable, lulling the listless witch back to sleep. Then, Xu Xi checked again, confirming that Cressa’s body was still unharmed, and returned to his research on demons. He was close to making a breakthrough. Day after day, sunrise, moonfall, and the cycle repeated. After nine consecutive days, Xu Xi finally finished reading all the demonic materials, sorted out his basic thoughts, and had some guesses about the cause of Cressa’s unconsciousness. However, his mind was too chaotic. To prevent his unclear mind from affecting his subsequent thoughts and plans, Xu Xi decided to rest for a while, letting his overworked body sleep. He didn’t return to the bedroom to sleep on the soft bed. His overworked body just wanted to rest immediately. Sleepiness surged like a tide, engulfing Xu Xi’s consciousness, causing him to fall deeply asleep in a sitting position, looking very peaceful. “Gurgle—” “Gurgle—” Without the rustling of writing or the flipping of pages, the large meditation room was left with only the sound of steam swirling and the dim, yellowish-white light. Occasionally, faint hums could be heard from outside. It was the city center’s massive steam equipment, roaring like a beast, providing energy for the entire city. An hour later, in the meditation room, the stone slab engraved with life-restoring magic slightly shook. Cressa, lying unconscious on it, woke up. The girl opened her eyes, the black and gold colors in her pupils still spiraling endlessly, like an unceasing helix, continuously rising without end. She instinctively looked towards Xu Xi’s direction. He was the only person she cared about. Every time she woke up before, Cressa could hear Xu Xi’s voice or the sound of him diligently flipping through materials, but this time it was unusually quiet. Unaware that Xu Xi had fallen asleep, the witch instinctively grew worried. Anxious. Afraid. Was Xu Xi too exhausted, causing something to happen to his body? Once this thought emerged, the witch couldn’t stay calm. So, she propped herself up on the stone slab with her arms, forcing her weak body to stand.