So the only downside is that it’s expensive?

Saul sneered inwardly and continued transmitting his voice, “If you absorb too much, will it kill you?”

Kismet raised his eyebrows. “Why would you think that?”

“Then is it addictive?”

“While that state of mental clarity and heightened awareness is indeed quite captivating, if you’re asking whether it has any addictive drug-like effects—then no, it doesn’t.”

No side effects at all?

Saul found that hard to believe.

Especially since the words were coming from the mouth of a schemer and a notorious liar.

Kismet saw the suspicion flickering again in Saul’s eyes and said helplessly, “The termite acid from the humpback termites is already filtered through ordinary people before extraction. The kind we give to outside wizards is completely non-toxic and diluted several times over.”

He took the candle from the girl, who had been holding it up for quite a while, handed her a magic crystal, and then stuffed the candle directly into Saul’s coat pocket.

“Try it yourself—then you’ll know whether it kills or not.”

He said this one out loud.

The girl next to them was so startled that she immediately shrank back a little.

Saul and Kismet stood by the hall entrance until the next guest walked in. Then they followed the girl to a random table and sat down.

Kismet whispered something to the girl. She looked a little surprised, but still nodded and trotted off.

Once there was no one else nearby, Saul stretched out his hand toward Kismet and said bluntly, “You said a golden page was left in the Borderland. We’re in the Borderland now—can I have it?”

Kismet spread his hands. “I didn’t bring it with me. But don’t worry, I put it in a very safe place.”

Saul withdrew his hand, wondering if Kismet was just unwilling to hand over the golden page right away.

Since it wasn’t here, Saul didn’t bother pressing the matter.

He quietly observed his surroundings.

Watching how those wizards were absorbing the “Soul Reading” candles.

He narrowed his eyes but couldn’t see anything strange about the candles.

It just seemed to be a special kind of energy.

“What are you doing here?” After a while, seeing that Kismet was just sitting there without lighting a candle himself, Saul asked casually.

“Meeting someone,” Kismet leaned lazily against the chair, one foot resting on the seat, “Delivering something.”

Another five minutes passed before Saul noticed Kismet’s gaze fixating on the depths of the hall. He followed his line of sight and looked as well.

The moment he turned his head, he saw a woman in a long red dress—her belly round and swollen—step out from behind layers upon layers of sheer curtains.

There was a nonchalant smile on her face as she glanced over the people in the hall, as if she were looking down at ants on the ground.

But when her gaze fell on Kismet, a sudden gleam lit up in her eyes.

She walked through the crowd, ignoring the apprentices and wizards who bowed their heads to greet her, and made her way over.

Kismet got up unhurriedly. He had only taken two steps when the red-dressed woman, belly leading the way, arrived in front of him.

“Long time no see, Kismet. I thought the Sky City Lady had already dragged you back to be eaten.”

“Dolly.” Kismet tapped her lightly with his finger.

Then the two shared a light hug.

Standing nearby, Saul noticed that Kismet was careful not to touch her belly.

The hug looked rather awkward.

They soon pulled apart.

Kismet stretched out his hand through the air, miming a gentle caress as he sighed, “It’s almost time.”

Dolly looked down at her belly and smiled. “All thanks to you.”

Saul: “?”

Dolly invited Kismet to the back of the gauze curtain. The two didn’t even exchange pleasantries and left directly.

But just as Kismet lifted the curtain, she turned to glance at Saul and suddenly revealed a strange smile.

Saul: “!”

“This guy!”

Once Kismet was gone, Saul got up and left immediately.

Staying in this pseudo-courtyard any longer gave him a vague sense that something bad might happen.

Walking along the path, Saul returned to the area near the settlement’s exit.

There had to be more than one exit, but this was clearly the only one disclosed to outsiders.

Saul figured that even if the quicksand termites in the survivor’s forest were a hoax, he still wanted to check it out.

After all, the one who told him that line was a liar too.

Just as he was nearing the main gate, Saul suddenly saw a man carrying a boy—his whole body twitching and face pale—toward a corner by the wall, where he casually tossed him onto the ground.

Trailing behind was a bearded man, following closely.

“He didn’t make it,” the man who threw the boy said impatiently. “Give me the food back.”

The bearded man walked to the corner, looked down at the boy who had just stopped twitching, and touched his neck. Then he turned back with a sheepish grin and said, “Ate it all.”

The other man cursed, slapped him across the face. Seeing that the bearded man didn’t dodge and only grinned apologetically, he muttered curses and left.

The bystanders witnessing the scene all cautiously made their way, fearing they might provoke the man’s anger.

Once the man had gone far enough, the bearded man scooped the boy up again.

An elderly woman nearby seemed unable to bear it and advised softly, “Find a proper place to bury the child. Leave him here and he’ll be gone.”

But the bearded man shook his head. “I made a deal with the Mountain Crosser. If he doesn’t make it, I sell the body to him. Can still get a bit of food.”

The old woman’s eyes were filled with pity, but she knew she couldn’t change anything, so she simply turned and left.

Though Saul was standing at a distance, with his excellent eyesight he clearly saw everything that happened over there.

The bearded man cradled the boy and walked through a large gate under the wall, vanishing into the shadows.

Saul’s gaze followed the boy’s limp form into the darkness.

With his abilities, he could naturally tell the boy wasn’t dead—he had only entered a state of suspended breathing.

But if he wasn’t treated in time, that temporary suspension would soon turn into real death.

Thinking of the new injury on the boy’s foot, Saul stepped forward and followed.

As he passed through the passage beneath the wall, the old man with the flowerpot who was guarding the gate had been resting with his eyes closed.

Sensing Saul’s magic fluctuations, the flowerpot old man opened his eyes immediately and stared at him.

He didn’t question Saul’s behavior of entering and then leaving so soon; instead, he seemed… nervous?

Saul, however, said nothing. He pretended to be just a passerby, showing no interest in the man ahead who had already exited the passage.

Not until Saul exited the city gate and left the corridor did the flowerpot old man slowly close his eyes again.

Outside the settlement, Saul saw that the bearded man carrying the boy was already standing by the wall to his left.

There was a small donkey cart parked there.

Its rear compartment was covered by a large sheet of black leather, bulging high.

A faint stench of corpses wafted from it.

The moment Saul stepped out of the gate, his figure entered a hazy, illusory state. Even as he gradually approached the bearded man and the cart driver, neither of them noticed anything.

He watched as the bearded man handed the boy over to the cart driver—and also gave him a small bundle.

The driver said nothing, calmly tucked the bundle into his coat, then lifted the black leather at the back to reveal a pile of corpses stacked over a meter high.

The bearded man instantly turned his head away, but couldn’t help glancing back.

The corpses were lightly dusted with soil, but it was still clear that most of them were blackened and red, some with skin that looked charred. Their deaths weren’t bloody, but were still horrifying.

The bearded man flinched, but the cart driver moved efficiently—he grabbed the boy by the waistband, lifted him up, and tossed him onto the top of the corpse pile.

He shoved aside the bearded man who was about to say something more, then climbed onto the donkey cart and left swiftly.

“So this is the Mountain Crosser? Just another ordinary man without magic.” Saul stroked his chin and glanced at the bearded man who had already turned and was running back toward the gate. He chose to continue following the cart.

The Mountain Crosser had a strong build. From the way he’d just lifted and thrown the boy, he seemed to have some martial skills.

Out in the world, he might even qualify as a high-level warrior—but here, he could only work as a corpse hauler.

(End of Chapter)

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