I want to be a faded person for life

When the puppet said this, he was looking at the ring on Xiangzi's hand.

Witch Reina seemed to know the spirit horse whistle. Although she seemed to be asking seriously, she used an affirmative tone.

There was no point in denying it. Xiangzi touched the ring on his index finger and cautiously kept a distance from the other party.

"Yes, I can summon Torret."

The doll who called herself Witch Reina was not angry because of the other party's vigilance, but was very satisfied with this reaction.

"That's exactly the answer I was hoping for... It's always good to be cautious in this borderland. It seems you're not a completely reckless person."

The puppet seemed to be somewhat concerned about Xiangzi's offense, and mixed one or two derogatory words into his words.

"I have something to hand over to you. It was entrusted to me by Torret's former master."

Wasn't Torret's previous owner Melina? Xiangzi felt a little strange but didn't ask any questions.

She reached into her arms with her right hands, took out a silver bell and a gray pottery jar and handed them to Xiangzi.

"That item is called the Soul Summoning Bell. It can summon souls from ashes that have not returned to the Golden Tree."

"And those souls will temporarily recognize you as their master, recreating the way they fought in their lifetime... Well, anyway, use them as you wish."

The doll didn't seem to want to explain too much, as if she had finally solved a troublesome matter, and her attitude became relaxed.

"Fade, sorry to bother you."

"I don't think we'll meet again. Savor the taste of the borderland. I'm looking forward to it. How long will you faded ones obey the two fingers?"

The puppet's eyes turned to look at Xiangzi's pocket and made a slightly surprised sound.

"...You seem to be carrying a pyroxene of quite high purity. If you have that talent, you should make good use of it along with the Soul Summoning Bell."

As it said this, the doll's body drifted away in the mist like moonlight.

The huge light blue full moon in the sky disappeared, and the golden fluorescence of the golden tree was revealed again in the night sky.

Pyroxene, what pyroxene?

Xiangzi was thinking about what the other person said before he left, and his face suddenly changed.

"Isn't she talking about that——"

The girl hurriedly searched her pockets and found a translucent blue stone lying in her palm.

Chapter 17 Wood

"Callie, Callie! Are you still awake?"

"?"

The sleeping wandering merchant was awakened by a violent shaking and was a little confused for a moment.

"Hmm? What happened... Was there an enemy attack?"

Before he could fully wake up, a translucent blue crystal was brought in front of him.

"Kalie, do you recognize this thing?!"

The girl asked anxiously, a stark contrast to her usual calm demeanor.

"This color... um, um... this is pyroxene. Although it's small, it's of very high purity."

"A skilled craftsman should be able to make a pretty good staff out of it—but I'm just a businessman, I don't have the skills to do that."

Kale had regained consciousness, and even with his good temper, he couldn't help but complain.

"Please spare me, young lady... Sleep quality is extremely important for the elderly. I still want to live a few more years...at least until I can find the caravan."

Knowing that he was being rude, Xiangzi apologized first and then sat back in his seat.

"One last question—is this pyroxene... also found elsewhere?"

Kale was not too angry. The annoyance of being disturbed in sleep soon disappeared. The old man explained patiently.

"Of course... Pyroxene is solidified starlight, a necessary ingredient for using pyroxene magic. Mages in the borderlands tend to have some stored on them, and there are mines dedicated to extracting pyroxene in both Galid and Lienia."

"...But pyroxenes of this purity are rare. If you're willing... I can buy it for 5,000 runes."

"No need."

Xiangzi refused decisively. Although this amount of rune was enough for her to strengthen her body two or three more times, she had no intention of selling the pyroxene.

But if there is pyroxene in other places...

...Isn't this pyroxene left by the lamp?

Xiangzi shook his head violently to dispel this horrible thought. There was no doubt that the person who had carved the mark with his wax stone finger was Deng.

However, why do the neon lights living on Earth collect pyroxene from the boundary area?

Could it be that Deng had been to this intersection earlier? No, no, no... this is too strange no matter how you think about it.

But... this at least proves one thing. If pyroxene from the boundary area can appear on Earth, does it mean that the boundary area and the Earth - these two worlds can communicate with each other to a certain extent?

Since Pyroxene can reach the Earth from the border, then she and Deng must be able to return home in a similar way, right?

Xiangzi's mind was in a mess. He felt both uneasy and happy. For a moment, he even became a little worried.

"Then go and seek the Elden Ring. It will surely answer your questions."

Suddenly, an ethereal voice answered Xiangzi's question.

"To those who have made a promise with you... I hope you can keep it that way."

Looking in the direction of the voice, Melina, who had suddenly disappeared before, had returned to the church at some point. She was still wearing the black hood and appeared in the place where the witch Lena had sat not long ago.

"Melina...I'm glad you're okay. Where did you go?"

Xiangzi felt relieved. Although this wooden guy was always talking nonsense and couldn't talk much... she still didn't want anything to happen to him.

After all, Melina, who looks a bit like Wakaba Mu, is one of the few people in this world that Xiangzi feels close to.

"I never left your side...as a witch's replacement."

Melina said something that could be misunderstood, but she added an explanation at the end of the sentence.

"Varied…"

You were clearly not here just now, right?

Xiangzi lowered his head and muttered something in his mind.

Now it seems that the evaluation made by Melina's brother, whom she had never met, was really appropriate.

There was no need for her to get angry with a wooden man. If she got angry, she would lose.

"You seem to have gained a lot of runes recently. Do you need me to transform them into your power?"

Melina didn't seem to notice the girl's change of mood at all and continued to make her proposal in that nonchalant tone.

However, because his brain was still in a confused state, Xiangzi did not notice that Melina was actually taking the initiative to talk to him tonight compared to before.

"Oh, okay, then please help me strengthen my physique... I'm still lacking in physical strength."

Xiangzi nodded without thinking too much. If she could use Storm Blade as a permanent means of attack like Eric, her strength would take a huge leap forward.

"…Then let me touch you, just for a moment."

Melina nodded and reached out to touch her eyes.

That night, Xiangzi was restless and couldn't fall asleep.

-

"Even after all this time, I'm still not used to it."

After leaving Ci Fu, Xiangzi was speechless about his current unusually high spirits.

It's not just speechless, it can even be described as disgusting, right?

Last night, Melina chatted with Xiangzi about "Witch Lena" again. It seemed that Melina and the doll lady had known each other for a long time.

"Reina should be her pseudonym. This person... you'd better not trust her too much. This is just a suggestion. You are free to trust anyone."

When Melina said this, she actually showed some subtle emotional fluctuations.

Xiangzi, who had been feeling uneasy until almost dawn, just took a short rest near the blessed flame and immediately recovered to his best condition.

Not only can it heal wounds and resurrect the dead...it can even eliminate fatigue and hunger caused by insomnia.

Theoretically, as long as the reserve of blessings is sufficient, she can even fight without sleep without food.

If it weren't for the habit she had developed over the years, she really wouldn't need to eat now.

"Forget about becoming a human. My current appearance... is actually getting further and further away from being a true human, isn't it?"

If this body, which had been strengthened several times by Rune, could return to Earth, it would probably easily break many world-class sports records.

Xiangzi learned to talk to himself when he was alone. Facts have proved that appropriate complaining can indeed effectively relieve mental stress.

"Long time no see, you're still in high spirits, Mr. Eric."

Xiangzi greeted the zombie knight not far away. The other party was wearing a helmet with a visor covering his face and there was nothing unusual about it. The knight did not respond to the girl's words and just patrolled the camp on his own.

As agreed, Xiangzi's camp in front of the pass would not be attacked.

"We should try to get into Stonewell today!"

The girl is full of confidence in herself now.

Wearing the Iron Arrow Amulet and strengthening her physical strength again, although she still could not use the Storm Blade as a general attack method like Eric, she could use it five or six times while maintaining a safe physical strength.

Melina said that even in the Broken War era, she is now qualified enough to be knighted under the command of a demigod.

Immediately, full of confidence, Xiangzi used the horse whistle to call out Torret, turned over, rode on its back and headed towards the iron fence.

Chapter 18 The Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

A girl wearing a red hooded cloak huddled deep inside the dilapidated house.

Outside the house, the strong wind blew up the withered grass leaves and dust, and the wooden windows of the broken house banged against the wall, making a wail of being unable to bear the weight.

The wind was so strong that even opening my eyes became a luxury in such an environment.

But this is just right, to close your eyes and escape reality in the storm, close your hands and pray for non-existent salvation, or just wait for death quietly.

No matter what...it can't be any worse.

The horns of wolves were heard on the wind, and Roderica began to wait for their bite.

"Cough cough cough...Pfft!"

Although I smelled the scent of a wolf, this was clearly the voice of a human or a young woman.

Yes - it is said that there are a large number of hybrid beasts south of Nimgefu. This should be a hybrid of a wolf mixed in with the wolf pack.

"Ms. Wolf, please kill me quickly—just bite my throat straight out... I don't want to feel any more pain or suffer any more."

"Pfft—Miss Wolf, what are you talking about?"

Shoko Toyokawa spat a few more times before finally spitting out the sand in her mouth. A faint fire of blessing flickered in the shabby house, and she decided to stop and rest for a while.

Xiangzi lowered his head and looked around carefully, and then he noticed that Little Red Riding Hood was shivering and sitting in the corner of the dilapidated house.

The wolf and Little Red Riding Hood... Is this some kind of vulgar fairy tale?

Xiangzi looked extremely miserable, with most of his robe torn off, his chain mail shirt covered in dark red blood, and half of a broken arrow stuck in his shoulder.

Eric's coat of arms did help, but only slightly.

The Grek soldiers in the pass who were wearing barrel helmets with tree and beast patterns did not make things difficult for her, but the other servants and mountain goblins guarding the city in dirty cotton armor obviously did not recognize what this knight's emblem was.

They were probably exiles recruited by Greg later, so they attacked Xiangzi who was riding a horse to break through the barrier without hesitation.

Yes—that thing should be the mountain monster Eric mentioned before, right?

God knows what that shriveled giant with a hollowed-out belly, six or seven meters tall, is. The brass sword on its back is even twice as big as Xiangzi and Torret combined!

It took Xiangzi a lot of effort to cut off one of its legs and successfully fight his way out of the pass. Speaking of which, the gift from the doll lady also helped a lot in the battle.

Three translucent wolf spirits followed her around, wagging their tails like big dogs, rubbing Xiangzi's legs, and raising their front paws to lick her body.

It was also thanks to them entangled the servants that Xiangzi got the opportunity to fight the giant one-on-one - no, it should be two-on-one including Torret.

At the back of the level, there seemed to be a pack of wolves living on this windswept hill. They probably didn't attack rashly because they smelled the scent of their own kind.

The wolf spirit was really helpful!