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Join the ServerThe more time one spent with this Black Wizard, the more unbelievable he seemed.
If you said he was cruel, Zong Mi had indeed witnessed him casually reducing innocent adventurers who wandered into the Black Forest to ashes with a mere wave of his hand. His methods were ruthless and decisive, showing not the slightest trace of mercy.
“Their souls are too tainted. I don’t like them.”
The Black Wizard curled his fingers slightly. Ominous black energy danced across his fingertips, wrapping around his hand and making his already pale features appear even colder and more striking.
Zong Mi’s feelings were complicated.
Naturally, he wasn’t about to voice any objections. With that glaring Level 98 floating above Luo Xi’s head, he didn’t dare speak recklessly.
He neither dared to criticize nor to ask questions.
“However… you are the most special.”
As if sensing the brief stiffness in Zong Mi’s expression, the Black Wizard suddenly reached out.
His pale hand rested lightly atop the back of Zong Mi’s hand.
Lowering his eyes slightly, he unexpectedly revealed a hint of vulnerability that few would ever see.
Zong Mi didn’t know how to respond.
Sometimes he felt this Black Wizard was unfathomably deep and calculating, impossible to understand.
Yet at other times—
When Zong Mi was telling him stories as usual, Luo Xi seemed nothing more than someone who had been lonely for far too long, to the point that silence had become second nature.
To be fair, Luo Xi treated Zong Mi exceptionally well.
Not only was every aspect of Zong Mi’s life in the Black Forest provided at the highest standard, but the Black Wizard’s cabin was completely open to him. Every grimoire and magical text inside could be read freely.
Their daily life was simple.
As long as Zong Mi didn’t leave the Black Forest, there was nowhere within it that he was forbidden from entering—including the Black Wizard’s cabin and his underground laboratory.
He could pick up any advanced tome of dark witchcraft and ask questions about it.
And in return, he had access to a Level 98 teacher completely free of charge.
As a result, during his time in the Black Forest, Zong Mi’s mastery of witchcraft improved at an explosive rate.
Even the Lich who faithfully served him once remarked that after guarding the Black Forest for a thousand years, Zong Mi was the only exception the forest’s master had ever made.
In truth, Zong Mi himself had no interest whatsoever in determining whether Luo Xi was really as ruthless as the rumors claimed.
His goal was simple:
Get the item in Luo Xi’s possession.
Nothing else mattered.
And eventually, he obtained the thing he wanted most—
The Seven-String Harp of the God of Magic.
Although it was a divine artifact, the Black Wizard paid little attention to it.
After all, he possessed an entire forest filled with countless treasures.
Zong Mi had accidentally discovered the harp’s existence and casually asked about it.
The Black Wizard merely waved his hand indifferently, signaling that Zong Mi could take it if he wanted.
And just like that, Zong Mi obtained the Seven-String Harp of the God of Magic with astonishing ease.
To avoid looking suspicious, he occasionally stopped telling stories and instead performed his actual profession as a bard, playing music and singing songs for the Black Wizard.
Zong Mi had observed carefully.
Luo Xi genuinely didn’t care about the harp.
Though it was a legendary-grade item, it didn’t suit the witchcraft that the Black Wizard specialized in, so he simply wasn’t interested.
That reassured Zong Mi.
Since the purpose of his journey to the Black Forest had already been achieved, there was no reason to stay any longer.
So he wove a lie.
He said he needed to return to his distant homeland.
When Zong Mi announced that he was leaving, the Black Wizard visibly hesitated.
The fingers hidden beneath his black robes curled slightly.
Before him, a cauldron simmered with monster materials. Silver-gray mist rose from within, blurring his equally gray eyes behind a veil of vapor.
After a long pause, he asked:
“Will you come back?”
His voice was calm.
Remembering how effortlessly this man could turn others into ashes, Zong Mi felt an ominous warning in his heart.
He answered carefully:
“Of course.”
“Only by traveling can I gather more stories.”
“Otherwise, I won’t have anything new to tell you.”
His response was flawless.
His expression was sincere.
No one knew that he had absolutely no intention of ever returning.
After all, Zong Mi had already confirmed one thing:
No matter how powerful Luo Xi was, he couldn’t leave the Black Forest.
And now that Zong Mi had obtained this quest item, he naturally needed to focus on the next one.
The Black Wizard remained completely unaware of his thoughts.
With a wave of his hand, dozens of potions appeared from the void.
There were all kinds.
Among them, Zong Mi even spotted the legendary Black Curse Potion, a single drop of which was said to be enough to cause a person’s body to rot away.
Any one of these bottles would be worth a fortune in an NPC marketplace.
“Take them.”
“Stay alive.”
“I want to hear the stories you’ll have in the future.”
Luo Xi’s expression remained calm as he spoke.
Even he did not understand what emotion had suddenly overflowed from his long-silent heart.
There had once been many things he wished to keep.
Long ago, he had liked a dragon.
In the end, that dragon became nothing but a skeleton.
There had once been a flower that somehow bloomed within the desolation of the Black Forest.
He had wanted to preserve it.
Yet because of the curse that infected his own body, the flower eventually withered into ashes.
Luo Xi did not know how to hold on to things he cared about.
He feared that this person would vanish just like that flower.
And so, in the end, he did not stop him.
“Alright.”
Zong Mi accepted the gifts without refusing.
But he knew that powerful Black Wizards could track people through objects they had previously touched.
Because of that, he never intended to actually use those items.
“Mm.”
The Black Wizard lowered his head.
Gray hair slid down over his shoulder.
For some reason, he looked sad.
“Then I’ll wait for you here.”
The weather was unusually pleasant on the day Zong Mi left.
For once, sunlight appeared in the sky.
It shone from the neighboring Natural Forest and stretched across the border of the Undead Domain.
From his perch in the tree, the Black Wizard watched as the golden-haired bard walked away along a road bathed in light.
And he never looked back.
Luo Xi waited.
And waited.
But that person never returned.
Ten years passed.
Until one day, ten years later, the Black Wizard sensed the restriction he had placed on those potions being activated.
“Ten years should be enough time for a human to accumulate many stories…”
After a pause, carrying a secret expectation in his heart, he finally stepped beyond the boundaries of the Black Forest.
Even for a nearly immortal Black Wizard,
Ten years was a very long time.
So this time—
If he found him again,
He would bring him back to the Black Forest.
Even if there were no stories left to tell,
He would never let him leave again.
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