Almuses's Dinner

Strange magical fluctuations began to spread near the Deep Water Well.

A powerful force seemed to be trying to break free.

However, both Xu Nan and Emma appeared calm and composed, and they were somewhat surprised by each other's composed attitude.

"Your Excellency Black Witch, it's common sense that no one can escape from Stephenson."

Emma wiped the goggles on her head. She hadn't taken them off since she started piloting the airship. It's worth mentioning that she hadn't used them during the piloting process, Xu Nan to suspect that the goggles were more of a decoration.

Emma whispered, "While I sympathize with your situation, I still hope you'll just sit here in jail and eat your fill."

The Black Witch's laughter pierced through the mouth of the Deep Water Well, and the strange patch of grass withered instantly.

Xu Nan and Emma both felt their lives slipping away, even though it was only for a brief moment, perhaps less than a second, but the feeling was incredibly painful.

Impressive!

"Thank you for your help. Only by obtaining the tokens from Luo Mang and Ansu Li can I finally break free from this cage!"

The Black Witch chuckled softly, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. After all, this has nothing to do with you, even though it was that despicable couple, Luo Mang and Ansu Li, who sealed me in the cluster!"

"By the way, aren't you all very concerned about their future? I'm actually quite happy too. There's still some time before my spell takes effect, so why don't we see what the future holds together?"

In the Black Witch's voice, both of them saw the outline of a pale blue flower.

The flower grew in the void, surrounded by shimmering, symbolic signs.

"This is Flower of Illusion, and it is most suitable to describe so-called love that is like a mirage."

The Black Witch's voice was icy, giving off a frosty feeling. "The Flower of Illusion are fleeting, just like their future, fragile as bubbles, untouchable."

As they spoke, bubbles indeed began to float up from the Flower of Illusion. Those bubbles had no color, only black and white outlines.

The Black Witch said smugly, "I know their love is fragile."

The next second, a slender hand appeared from the Flower of Illusion. That hand had long, thin nails; it must have been the Black Witch's hand.

She used her fingernails to poke the bubbles hard.

However, a divine scene unfolded: although the bubbles seemed fragile, they could not be popped no matter how the Black Witch touched them!

"How is that possible?" The Black Witch was somewhat embarrassed and angry. "They clearly had suspicions hundreds of years ago. Even if they reconcile now, their love can't possibly be as strong as ever!"

"Something must be wrong!"

She started frantically poking at the bubbles with her fingers.

Unfortunately, the foam was very oily, and it all ran off the Black Witch's fingernails.

In the end, only that Flower of Illusion remains, still blooming.

Xu Nan and Emma were shocked. They didn't know much about divination, but they could tell that the Black Witch had failed.

She seemed to want to sabotage Ansu Li and Luo Mang's love through some bizarre and unpredictable means, but clearly, she couldn't.

"Of course she can't do it!"

Xu Nan sneered.

Then he saw a similar gleam in Emma's eyes.

"Your Excellency would be better off not wasting your energy..." Emma advised earnestly.

However, the defeated Black Witch went berserk.

She roared fiercely at the well opening, "I've changed my mind!"

I'm going to eat you all!

"You're the brothers of that despicable couple..."

Xu Nan interrupted her immediately, "You weren't going to hurt us just now!"

Emma nodded. "Yes, yes, every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. You should go and settle accounts with our teacher!"

The Black Witch trembled with anger. "Can't I go back on my word? Can't I beat them, but I can beat you?"

"Childish!"

"My spell is about to take effect, and you're still not running away? Do you really think I won't dare to strike?"

Her voice clearly indicated some confusion.

Emma stretched lazily out of boredom, stood up, and put on her goggles.

Xu Nan asked, "Are you going back?"

Emma nodded. "I suggest you close your eyes."

"What?" Xu Nan asked.

"Usually, when prisoners in Deep Water Well fail to escape, the nearby magic circle will produce some exaggerated sound and light effects..."

Before she could finish speaking, accompanied by the Black Witch's pitiful scream, a blinding white light pierced through the entire dark forest, startling many creatures into flight.

Xu Nan looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, tears streaming down her face.

Are these holy light effects?! This is practically a blinding spell!

The Black Witch at the bottom fared even worse. She seemed to have suffered very serious injuries, falling directly to the bottom of the well and disappearing without a sound.

After a while, Xu Nan's eyes recovered completely, and then there was some sound below.

"You... you plotted against me..." Her voice sounded very aggrieved.

Emma replied coldly, "Aren't you plotting against me too?"

"Trying to trick me into giving you the tokens of my teacher and Luo Mang, and then escape the seal... Unfortunately, I am not a truly innocent female apprentice. The handkerchief you obtained does not belong to my teacher."

"I guessed your identity during our first meeting; of course, I did not intend to harm you, I just wanted to learn more about the story of Ms. Ansu Li and Luo Mang from you."

Xu Nan thought to himself that this girl was indeed cunning. He felt it was strange that when he first met Emma, she had a cunning and sly image, but she suddenly became obedient and quiet afterward.

It turns out that the Black Witch in the Deep Water Well had been plotting all along, trying to get something for nothing!

"You know who I am?" The Black Witch's voice showed a change in emotion.

"Of course, besides the great Prophet Babeila, who else could know so clearly about Ansu Li and Luo Mang's past?" Emma took off her goggles, looking regretful. "It's a pity we couldn't get the seeds of the Flower of Illusion. What a wasted trip."

The Black Witch said unwillingly, "Since you know I am Babeila, then you must know that the Scroll of Destiny is in my hands..."

"No need." Emma gave Xu Nan a look, indicating that the two of them could leave.

"Things like the Scroll of Destiny are not something someone like me can control. I just wanted to test some things."

The Black Witch roared angrily, "Even if the handkerchief you gave me wasn't Ansu Li's, with Luo Mang's hair, I can still do many things!"

Xu Nan, who was walking away, coughed:

"Sorry, that hair didn't belong to my teacher either..."

Emma tilted her head, looking at Xu Nan with some surprise, as if to say, "You shouldn't have such a high IQ!"

The Black Witch was on the verge of a breakdown. "Whose two things are they? Why can't my dark magic destroy their love bubble?!"

Emma also looked puzzled. "Yeah, if it's two random people, there shouldn't be any love bubbles, right?"

"To deceive Ms. Babeila's divination skills, I gave her ginger's handkerchief..."

Xu Nan touched her head guiltily. "... At my age, it's normal to have one or two gray hairs now and then!"

Emma's expression instantly turned incredulous, then she rushed up to Xu Nan: "Why do you two have the Flower of Illusion and the Bubble of Love?"

"Aren't you just ordinary friends?"

Xu Nan thought to himself, "Oh no, this is going to be hard to explain. How does he know about Senior Jiang and my future?"

Besides, who knows if the Black Witch's magic is even reliable!

Although the title of Prophet Babeila sounds impressive, since she was sealed away by Luo Mang and Ansu Li, she probably doesn't have much power left now.

He was about to explain to Emma when, upon hearing anything related to Jiang Yuanchi, she seemed to lose her mind; after seeing that Xu Nan might potentially form Flower of Illusion with Jiang Yuanchi in the future, she simply went into a dark state!

In the dark, dense forest, Xu Nan retreated step by step, while Emma pressed closer and closer!

"Killing you would prevent this future from happening, which seems like a pretty good deal." Emma's eyes were like those of a wild wolf.

Xu Nan angrily retorted, "Are you trying to murder the Ambassador of Lost Paradise?! Even if I were to do it again, I'd still be your superior!"

"Then what should we do? Chemical castration or physical castration, you choose one." Emma produced a needle as thick as a finger and a pair of scissors that could cut Xu Nan in half.

Xu Nan was speechless and could only back down.

"In a place like this, you can scream your lungs out and no one will listen to you!" The blackened Emma nonchalantly lunged at Xu Nan: "Give me back my ginger!"

If this happened on Earth, people would probably think Xu Nan stole her vegetable garden!

Just as Xu Nan was about to resist, a delicate hand suddenly appeared in the void, grabbed Xu Nan, and pulled her into a crack.

Emma's eyes reddened, and she tried to squeeze into the crack, but she only ended up bumping her head all over!

In Lost Paradise, in a high-end restaurant, Xu Nan stared at the figure before her, still shaken.

That was a woman whose face was hidden behind a hazy mist.

"Shall we begin dinner?"

The woman asked Xu Nan for his opinion with a rather reserved air.

Xu Nan was completely bewildered until, three seconds later, the Lost Paradise system notification appeared—

[Monthly Activity Rewards Distribution]

Congratulations! You have been granted the opportunity to dine alone with Ms. Almuses!

The signature reads "Thirteenth Alchemy Heart".

Xu Nan racked his brains for a long time before he remembered that this was the reward for the monthly event where he learned to act cool like the Lion King. It had been delayed for so long that he thought the boss had withheld it.

I never expected that I would only receive the rewards now that I've already entered the Six-Nine Plan.

So this mysterious woman in front of us is probably Almuses, one of the three great legends alongside The Lion King and Luo Mang!

Xu Nan became slightly nervous.

"Let's order first." Almuses didn't seem as neurotic as the rumors suggested; she quietly began reading out the menu.

Xu Nan initially thought it was fine, as it consisted of dishes he liked. However, as time went by, he couldn't help but ask softly:

"Isn't that too much?"

Almuses had already ordered more than thirty expensive dishes.

Although he still has the Gluttonous Nature, he might not be able to stomach it.

Almuses rested her chin on her delicate hand, tilted her head adorably, and asked:

"Really? But I think that for such a rare opportunity, ordering more food and drinks would make it more enjoyable. What do you think?"

Xu Nan was flattered by Almuses's choice of words and naturally wouldn't refuse again.

Wasting things like this has nothing to do with me.

Almuses ordered over two hundred dishes, nineteen alcoholic beverages, and twenty-nine non-alcoholic beverages.

Xu Nan thought to himself, "This is really generous of me. He's so lavish when he treats people to meals."

Everyone said that Almuses was difficult to get along with, but now that I think about it, it was probably just a rumor. Although I couldn't see the woman's face clearly, her youthful energy was so vibrant that it had nothing to do with being neurotic!

"It's all set." Almuses smiled sweetly. "Don't be shy, we can chat. Actually, I'm quite interested in you too!"

Xu Nan was overjoyed. After pondering for a long time, he asked, "Lord Almuses, I do have a question."

"Every Ron Sorcerer has their own traits, and it's very difficult to play those traits well. Do you have any experience in this regard?"

He couldn't very well ask directly, "How do you manage to stay neurotic without going crazy?"

Almuses smiled and said, "It's actually quite simple. Take myself as an example. My trait is neuroticism, but that doesn't mean I'm mentally ill."

"For example, if I suddenly feel like playing a cute young girl, then you're experiencing how I feel right now. This is also part of me playing out my own characteristics."

Almuses seemed quite generous, speaking at length, from which Xu Nan benefited greatly.

Just then, the food arrived, and the two began to eat and chat in a very pleasant atmosphere.

Although Xu Nan didn't learn any substantial skills from Almuses during dinner, he still received a lot of guidance.

It is said that the vision and thinking of this bigwig are truly extraordinary.

After the meal, Almuses told Xu Nan to leave first, which made Xu Nan secretly breathe a sigh of relief. He thought to himself that he had indeed judged the man by his own standards. How could the big boss let him pay for the meal?

As soon as he left Lost Paradise, a huge, terrifying debt was sent out from the Lost Paradise system.

The meal cost over a million Constant Gold Coin!

Xu Nan was completely dumbfounded.

Isn't this dinner a payment for the Thirteenth Alchemy Heart?

He was unconvinced and forwarded the offer directly to his neighbor, the Thirteenth Alchemy Heart. The other party replied that the Thirteenth Alchemy Heart only offered the opportunity to have dinner with Lady Almuses.

You still have to pay for the processing yourself!

Xu Nan was frustrated, but she couldn't very well hold Almuses accountable for this.

"Never mind, maybe it wasn't intentional on Almuses's part. Maybe this is the standard of dining for big shots like him."

Xu Nan comforted herself with this thought.

He's still financially secure enough not to go bankrupt from a single meal, but he still felt a pang of heartache after paying the bill.

He was a little unwilling to give up, so he went over to check the restaurant's finances and background. Who knew that instead of finding the error, he found out the owner of the restaurant!

It was none other than Almuses.

Xu Nan was stunned.

This is... a rumor... a rumor about restaurant scammers and bar scammers?

...!