After Saul temporarily absorbed the pollution from the traveling merchant Jiajia Gu’s drum, he invited Jiajia Gu to board the Rhine Lake to continue researching the remaining pollutants on him and to find other ways to clear pollution.

However, Jiajia Gu said he still had goods to sell and couldn’t stay too long, so he declined.

But to sincerely show his gratitude, Jiajia Gu showed Saul his merchandise shelf and offered him the chance to purchase it at half price.

Of course, a merchant’s discounts are to be taken with a grain of salt—you still have to weigh the value yourself.

Just as Saul was in the process of building the Wizard Tower, many basic facilities and daily necessities were scarce. After looking over Jiajia Gu’s price list, he found the prices indeed much cheaper than outside, so he immediately ordered several items.

Jiajia Gu stayed to deliver goods that were in stock and promised to bring the rest within a month.

At the same time, Jiajia Gu also offered to introduce Saul to suitable “patients” to open up his sales channels and spread his reputation.

After Jiajia Gu left, Saul carried the newly acquired pollution and the purchased goods back to the Purity Wizard Tower.

It was only then that the Old Witch appeared.

She crossed her arms weakly and leaned against the gate. “Hmph, why be so polite to a mere traveling merchant? There must be plenty of valuable goods hidden on him! Just take them by force!”

“The value of a merchant is not in the goods he’s carrying now, but in the network and channels behind him.”

Saul shook the hem of his robe; after crossing water twice, the bottom of his wizard robe was covered with a layer of ice.

“Maybe I should switch to a different style of wizard robe.”

He recalled the wizard outfit of Oqili, which the Old Witch should have stripped him of by now—an adventurer-style robe that looked pretty good.

“Well, you’ve got the point. Next time you go out, remember to bring me along. I don’t want you mysteriously dying in someone else’s hands.”

The Old Witch snorted coldly and turned to leave.

“Wait a moment,” Saul suddenly spoke.

The Old Witch stopped and impatiently looked back at him. “What now?”

Saul stepped forward and cast a zero-rank minor spell. “You’ve grown three centimeters taller than yesterday. You barely grew 40 centimeters in the last three months, but in less than a day at Rhine Lake, you’ve grown three centimeters. Did you do something?”

The Old Witch said impatiently, “You don’t think everyone who comes to Rhine Lake will be as polite as that stupid tunnel worm, do you? Since I’ve decided to settle here long-term, I naturally need to restore my strength quickly.”

“Aren’t you the one who hears the sound of flowing water whenever you meditate? Not anymore?”

“Of course I still do!” The Old Witch shrugged. “Isn’t that your problem to solve? But it doesn’t stop me from regaining strength. Moreover, the perfect body continuously adapts to my power to complete the transformation.”

She glanced at the black tentacle Saul was holding. “And you’re so kind-hearted to help others purify pollution. Looks like you came into Borderland to make sacrifices, huh?”

Hearing the Old Witch’s real meaning, Saul calmly put away the blackened tentacle in his hand.

“When I absorbed the pollution inside you, I found your pollution wasn’t just the one I threw in.”

The Old Witch rolled her eyes hard; her eyes nearly popped out.

“Actually, before I designed you, you already had at least two kinds of pollution on you. For now, they don’t affect your strength, but if left unchecked, they will eventually become life-threatening serious pollution.”

The Old Witch shrugged it off, “Who living in the Borderland doesn’t have a bit of pollution? Which wizard isn’t fighting against death? You don’t really think this place is one of those barren, falsely safe places outside, do you?”

Saul shook his head, “I’m not surprised by that. It’s just that your pollution shares some characteristics with pollution I’ve found on others. So I wonder if other people have this too.”

He told the Old Witch about his identity and his plans for further research.

“Dodge makes a living by depending on others and selling lake spirits. Since I don’t want to find a faction or sell lake spirits, I have to find other methods. Also, through this, I can collect different sources of pollution and maybe trace the original root of these pollutants.”

“Do you even need to investigate that? The original pollution obviously comes from this land!” The Old Witch said dismissively.

“Then why would this land produce such powerful pollution?” Saul pressed.

The Old Witch was about to speak but froze. She seemed lost in memories but confused.

In the end, unable to explain anything, she stubbornly snorted, “Hmph, do you really think we can figure this out by researching? Leave it to those bored-to-death Fourth Rank wizards.”

She glanced at Saul, “You don’t think a First Rank wizard like you can solve a problem that no one’s solved for hundreds of years, do you?”

Saul shrugged and said nothing.

The Old Witch completely ignored Saul, leaving him behind and walking into the Wizard Tower alone.

Night had fallen deep.

After traveling for three months and working all day, Saul had no intention of resting immediately.

He slowly walked to the edge of the island, looked down at the grayish-white little mushrooms that Marsh had planted—now revived from wilting to vigorous—and silently smiled.

Under the mist-covered lake, dozens of pale faces surged beneath the water.

They stared at Saul with a mix of confusion and eagerness, as if knowing the man on the shore would be their future new master.

…

The Old Witch was somewhat right—those who come to Rhine Lake aren’t all as easy to deal with as Jiajia Gu.

In fact, within two days, someone else came again to buy grudging spirits.

But when they realized the visitor was not Dodge but a nameless young wizard, their greed never ceased.

Saul seriously doubted how they had survived in the Borderland until now, especially since the Old Witch didn’t have to intervene for him to handle these two men.

As Saul stared at the two corpses, pondering whether to throw them directly into Rhine Lake to cultivate a new generation of grudging spirits or drag them back to the Wizard Tower’s underground mortuary to collect human materials, a man flew in from the air, landing with a courteous smile on his face.

He looked to be only in his twenties, handsome and distinguished.

“Hello, Wizard Saul—or should I say Doctor Saul? I was introduced by the traveling merchant Jiajia Gu and came to ask for your help.”

Saul immediately ordered Little Algae to toss the two corpses into Rhine Lake.

He thought, “Maybe I should build a house here in the future to receive guests?”

“Just to clarify, my abilities are limited; I might not be able to help you much.”

The man wore a neat suit, looking more like a noble youth than a wizard.

But Saul noticed something odd about his clothes. The patterns on the hem seemed to constantly shift.

Saul squinted slightly and observed the young man through his meditative perspective.

What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

The young man’s skin was unnaturally pale, like covered in plaster—or maybe it actually was plaster.

His clothes seemed like a viscous liquid, writhing constantly over his body like a mud monster draped around him.

(End of Chapter)

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