Chapter 23.1: So You Are Saying… This Thing Can Be Eaten?

This was probably the most comfortable blood moon night Yaine and her companions had experienced since entering this desert.

Despite the ferocity of the skeletal beasts outside, they clearly lacked a brain and didn't care for a mound that suddenly appeared in the desert.

Liu Ji sat with his legs crossed in the center of earthen space, still maintaining his bare-chested state. If not for his thick long hair, he would look almost like a revered Buddha figure placed on an altar.

To the side, Osar and Mervant rested against the earthen wall. Opportunities for a good sleep were rare in the desert. While it wasn't absolutely safe right now, they weren't willing to pass up this rare chance to rest.

Yaine was on watch duty. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep, but unlike the other two, she had an option for catching up on sleep—in the bamboo basket on Osar's back during the day. For Osar, carrying an extra 40 or so kilograms barely counted as extra weight.

As for Liu Ji, having been a potato for so long, he probably no longer had a concept of a biological clock. He could rest at any time and be awake at any time; sometimes he'd be in a half-asleep state while trudging along.

In any case, he wasn't sleepy right now and didn't want to leave Yaine to keep watch alone, so he simply decided not to sleep.

Noticing Liu Ji staring at her, Yaine reached into her magic space to rummage around, then pulled out her notebook.

Since they were idle, instead of sitting around doing nothing, it might be better to study properly.

At that moment, Liu Ji thought Yaine resembled a high school English teacher who took students on a spring field trip, yet not forgetting to make the whole bus recite vocabulary together during the journey.

————

————

After the first rays of dawn rose, Yaine lowered the surrounding earthen walls. By then, calm had returned to the barren desert, with only sand as far as the eye could see. It was as if the monsters that swarmed the dunes the night before had never existed.

Yaine, who had taught Liu Ji incantations all night, yawned as she took out the stuff from Osar's back basket and stuffed them into her magic space before crawling into the basket.

Understanding her intentions, Osar picked up the basket, then glanced at Liu Ji. The latter looked radiant, completely unlike someone who had gone a whole night without sleep.

He must have slept too, thought Osar to himself as he turned to Mervant.

Currently, Mervant was adjusting a dial that had a pointer on the inner circle and a degree scale on the outer circle. After the pointer stopped, the direction it pointed to, left at 74 degrees, was the direction of the faint fluctuation they had sensed before.

Once confirming the direction, the three resumed their journey.

Since the two had gotten good rest and Yaine was in the back basket sleeping, they moved at a much faster pace than before because of Mervant's anxiousness.

At first, Osar worried that Liu Ji might not keep up with their pace, but he noticed the latter seemed to be rather relaxed, following behind, though with his mind seemingly somewhere else.

As for what he was thinking about…

Last night, Yaine, worried that Liu Ji might accidentally misuse a spell in their closed environment, only taught him some incantations related to water magic, which was virtually ineffective in this arid desert.

Of course, as usual, they were all single words that couldn't be used directly. But at this time, Liu Ji felt that he ought to try it out.

For example, the incantation word for "water element" combined with the word for "condense," along with the proprietary preposition for spells, should constitute the most basic water element condensation spell.

After all, the spell to release fire element had been formatted this way.

Let's try it, Liu Ji thought to himself, pointing his right index finger into the air and reciting the incantations he had imagined.

Immediately, Liu Ji felt a certain power within him being successfully invoked, and something in the air responded to his call.

A strange fluctuation coalesced in his hand, and the next moment, he succeeded.

His finger was wet!

Liu Ji licked it.

It tasted a little salty.

Liu Ji wondered if it might have just been his sweat.

No, this wasn't important. He had seen Yaine store so much water before they left, which confirmed that this spell wasn't effective in the desert.

But… It was very strange.

Although the desert air was dry, the amount of water in the air should still be at least half, or perhaps a thought of what it is in normal areas.

Even if our campsite was humid, even if the humidity was three times… no, five times, or ten times, the difference in the same magic shouldn't be that vast, should it?

Hmm… Could it be that water element doesn't refer to the vapor in the air? Or is there actually something specifically called 'water element'?

Since this is a matter of magic, scientific reasoning can't always be applied.

So, if there really is something known as water element, then…

Can this thing…

Be eaten?

————

————

"What? You're leaving?" Myza looked across the dining table in surprise at the two ladies. "That is rather unexpected. I hope it's not because my hospitality has been lacking?"

"Of course not, your hospitality has been nothing more than generous," Calidora replied earnestly. "The original reason we approached this city was to determine the direction across the desert. We've stayed long enough, and I fear if we stay any longer, I truly won't have the courage to venture back out into the desert."

"Mm… It sounds like you must have a pressing reason to leave?" Myza sat up straighter. "Could you tell me about it? Perhaps I might be able to help."

"Thank you for your offer, but it really isn't something that others can really assist with," Calidora said. "Besides us two, many of our comrades entered this desert as well, but due to some mishaps, we got separated. We need to reach the other end of the desert and search for them."

"Oh… I'm sorry to say this, but have you considered that they might not have been as fortunate as you two?" Myza fiddled with his fingers.

"No, Mr. Myza, us surviving wasn't down to just luck." Calidora shook her head slightly. "You should know that before arriving at your city, we had already survived in this desert for two months. Our companions are equally capable as well."

"Mm… That's a good point." Myza rubbed his forehead.

A good point indeed…

But not good enough.

After all, for a certain reason, last night's blood moon might have been on a different scale compared to previous ones.

But Myza found it hard to voice out regarding this matter.

If Calidora’s companions hadn't managed to leave the desert yet, they might have perished last night.

"So, Mr. Myza, can you point us to the end of the desert? We are very grateful for your hospitality these past days, and as a token of our thanks, perhaps we could give you something from outside," Calidora said.

"No, I don't really desire anything." Myza shook his head slightly. "But I have to say, perhaps you still don't fully understand this desert…"

"Truth be told, when in your presence, no one else can truly claim to understand this desert," said Calidora frankly. "But we still need to leave; our companions are waiting for us."

"No, no, no, you don't understand what I mean." Myza sighed. "I think, since you ladies spent two months in the desert, you must have experienced a blood moon, right?"

"Ah, yes, of course." Calidora nodded. "But we had our ways to cope with it…"

"No, you are mistaken." Myza shook his head. "What I meant to say is, that isn't a real blood moon."

Calidora froze. Not a real blood moon? Is there a fake blood moon? In all the legends, hasn't the Desert of Burials' blood moon been the same for thousands of years?

Calidora looked toward Girunini.

Clearly, the usually quiet lalafell couldn't offer any valuable advice now; she just shrugged helplessly.

Seeing their baffled expressions, Myza stroked his chin and sighed. "Well then, you'll see for yourselves tonight."

"See what?" Calidora was puzzled.

"You'll understand when the time comes," Myza said with a slight smile. "By then, I believe you ladies will come to a new understanding of this desert."

————

————

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read