The ground beneath my feet was very soft, covered with a layer of pine needles and moss that had accumulated over the years. It would sink half an inch if I stepped on it.
Occasionally, I step on a dead branch buried under a rotten leaf and make a "clicking" sound.
The trunks of the spruce trees on both sides were covered with gray-green lichen. There were large and small knobs at the roots of the trees, and the roots of many thicker trees protruded from the soil.
"Why does this place look like no one has been here for a long time?" Sirius asked in a low voice.
"Looking at the thickness of this lichen, I'm afraid it must be many years old."
"Didn't Morgana say Elf Race is here? Why does it look like there is no trace of life?"
The two walked for another ten minutes, and the fog in front suddenly became thinner.
This change came very suddenly. One second it was all gray, and the next second suddenly a large area could be seen.
It is an open area, about dozens of paces in diameter, surrounded by spruce trees forming an almost perfect circle.
The ground inside the circle was covered with thick moss, and the color was incredibly bright green, forming a clear contrast with the gray rotten leaves outside.
The moss is covered with tiny white flowers, clustered in clusters. The centers of the flowers glow with a very faint blue light, which looks particularly bright after the fog dissipates.
There is a tree standing in the middle.
"Is this Tree of Life?" Sirius looked up at it for a long time.
This tree is completely different from the spruce outside.
The trunk of the tree is so thick that it would take more than a dozen people to hug it, and they probably wouldn't be able to hug it.
The bark is silver-gray and very smooth, with ring-like lines at regular intervals that spiral up the trunk.
The branches hang down on both sides, stretching out in all directions two or three feet above the ground. The leaves are translucent light gold, and the outline of the leaf veins is almost invisible under the light, like thin pieces of amber.
But... there was no fruit on the tree.
The tree roots are intricately entangled, and arc-shaped ridges are raised on the moss. At the top of one of the ridges, a dark golden particle the size of a fingernail is embedded.
Lin Ze squatted down and picked the particle with the tip of his little finger nail. It was hard, like a grain of gravel.
"No fruit..."
"Where is Mordred?"
The two of them scanned the open field at the same time, but saw no one.
Sirius walked around the tree trunk with a strange expression. "There is a hole on the back of the tree trunk. It's quite big. We can get in."
Lin Ze followed him around.
There is indeed a crack on the back of the tree, about five feet high from the root of the tree. The edge of the crack is smooth, as if it was there originally.
The inner wall of the cave entrance is made of silver-grey wood, the same material as tree bark, but it is densely engraved with words, and the handwriting is very similar to the Eastern Tribe words in the sentry tower.
"Let's go in and have a look."
"Still drilling holes?" Sirius swallowed with some difficulty. Apparently the previous drilling experiences left a bad psychological shadow on him.
If it weren't for following Lin Ze in drilling holes, neither of them would have reached this era.
Lin Ze shrugged noncommittally and got in first, while Sirius sighed and followed closely behind.
Lin Ze The two of them thought that there would be a dark tree hole inside, but they never imagined that Ichika and the two appeared at the door of the tree hole again.
This is...
There is a spell similar to "Muggle-Repelling Charm" at the entrance of the tree hole... It's just that this time the two of them were expelled as wizards...
Lin Ze pulled out the wand, put the tip of the wand against the edge of the crack, and the magic slowly seeped into the tree trunk.
An extremely weak resistance came from the fingertips, as if the hand was inserted into a stream of slowly flowing water, and densely packed words lit up on the edges of the cracks.
After a few breaths, the resistance retreated, and the densely packed text on the edge of the crack quickly dimmed.
Lin Ze got in sideways, and this time his feet were firm and he stepped on the wooden floor.
It's obviously been remodeled inside.
The inside of the tree hole is about six steps wide in diameter, a circular space, and the four walls are covered with silver-gray glossy wooden structures.
There was a layer of hay spread in the center of the floor, and next to it was a broken string with half a bone fragment tied to the end.
Lin Ze squatted down and picked up the half of the bone fragment.
The bone fragment is ivory-colored and has a smooth surface. Turn the bone fragment over and there is a symbol engraved on the back, which is a dotted line in the middle of a circle.
It was exactly the same symbol he had seen in the library of Black's old house.
This is...
Lin Ze's pupils shrank and he handed the bone fragment to Sirius. Sirius took it and opened his mouth in surprise, then shook his head and smiled.
"Perhaps this person has some connection with Black family, or maybe he is Black family's ancestor."
After all, Black family has a long history, and many things have been forgotten over time.
"Hey, hello there."
A voice came from deep inside the tree hole.
They both turned around at the same time, pointing their wands.
On the innermost wall of the tree hole, there is a piece of wood that is darker than the surroundings. The piece of wood seems to have been pushed away from the inside, revealing an opening that can only be passed sideways.
Mordred came out of it.
He is younger than Lin Ze imagined.
He looks like he is in his twenties, with dark brown hair cut very short, revealing an old scar on his forehead, extending from the corner of his left eyebrow to his hairline.
The facial features are straight, the cheekbones are slightly protruding, and the mandible line is very stylish.
Wearing a dark green robe that had been washed to gray, the sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, exposing his strong wrist bones.
He stood there, his hands hanging empty by his sides.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Mordred said.
Sirius took half a step forward, and Lin Ze stretched out his hand to stop him.
"You knew we were coming?"
"I don't know."
Mordred picked up a clay pot from next to the opening on the inner wall, with a wooden lid resting on the mouth of the pot.
"But I know she will definitely let people come to me."
He sat down on the haystack, put the clay pot on his knees, opened the lid, and found a pot of water inside.
He raised his head and took a sip, his movements were very calm and showed no signs of alertness.
"Morgana said, you took something from her." Lin Ze didn't beat around the bush.
"Yes." Mordred put the clay pot at his feet and raised his face to look at Lin Ze.
"But you may not know why she can't get out Crow Valley."
"She said you put a curse on her."
Mordred smiled, with a tiredness that was not suitable for his age.
"The so-called curse is actually just her own inner demons."
"Inner demon?"
Mordred did not answer, but focused his gaze on the "space" phalanges held in Lin Ze's hand.
"The bone in your hand was given to you by her?"
"I didn't find it myself."
Mordred's expression changed.
"Then you probably know that there were originally five identical finger bones in this world, and they were originally one body."
Lin Ze said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"The right hand of the god is transformed into five finger bones, which represent life, wisdom, space, time, and death respectively. But few people know that there is still a soul in these five finger bones, or... a god... Whoever collects all five finger bones... will become the container of the god."