"There was a boy,
a strange boy who could turn into a cat.
One day, he lost his shadow.
They told him,
the shadow had gone very far,
across continents and oceans,
beyond the starry sky and the future,
very far, very far away..."
Under the desolate night, a black cat raised its tail, singing a song, strolling leisurely forward.
Above its head surrounded five orbs of varying sizes, the smallest no bigger than a bowl, just hovering not far above the black cat’s head; the largest had a diater exceeding several ters, hundreds of ters above the ground, resembling a star fallen from the sky.
These various-sized orbs floated in mid-air, circling along their orbits, casting a silver-white glow over the earth, illuminating the area around the black cat for several miles.
And in this illuminated range, the black cat picked and chose a suitable path.
The Old Witch Demon, with a mournful face, walked a few hundred ters ahead of the black cat, acting as its guide. If the Old Witch Demon had known that by giving advice to Zheng Qing he would be thrown out as bait and guide, he surely would have shut his mouth early on.
But by the ti it realized the situation, it was already too late, and there was no dicine for regret available in the world—not in the Wizard World, let alone this desolate Black Prison.
As for the remaining mbers of the adventure team.
Zheng Qing, Jiang Yu, and Zhu Si, they followed several miles behind the black cat, sticking to the fringes of the light cast by the ’Little Star’ orbs. Jiang Yu held a Herbs candle, Zheng Qing held a Charm Gun vigilantly, while Zhu Si sotis clung to Jiang Yu’s back, other tis perched on Zheng Qing’s shoulder, occasionally helping the two change the burnt-out Armor Horse Charms.
With the Herbs candle concealing their wizard aura, the Outer God aura emanating from the Charm Gun, and the black cat along with the Old Witch Demon acting as bait under the starlight, Zheng Qing had ample reason to believe they were relatively safe now.
But as they say, ’be alert in tis of peace’.
Especially in the Black Prison World, so-called safety is rely a reflection in water, a flower in the mirror, a bubble that bursts upon touch. This made Zheng Qing even more cautious, filled with concerns, and spoke much less.
Jiang Yu, perhaps out of feminine restraint, was also very quiet; Zhu Si was even used to solitude, accustod to silence.
Because of this, the rear team ford by these three was less lively than the solitary black cat and witch demon in the front.
Zheng Qing listened to the sparse song carried by the night wind, watched the black cat leaping among the weathered rocks, and couldn’t help but think of the Yellow Flowered Cat in the San You Bookstore.
Perhaps this black cat could beco good friends with that Yellow Flowered Cat.
Thinking of the Yellow Flowered Cat, Zheng Qing recalled Mr. Wu.
Then he rembered those few private lessons Mr. Wu had given him this sester, thought of the massive standing mirror connecting to the Dreamland, and rembered the recent thrilling journey through the Dreamland. The young wizard couldn’t help but glance at Zhu Si, who was clutching Jiang Yu’s arm.
Noticeably affected by the young wizard’s gaze, the Little Witch Demon looked at him in puzzlent, her face showing a sweet smile.
Zheng Qing felt a stir in his heart and turned to Jiang Yu.
"What day is it today?"
He asked out of the blue.
The Witch glanced at him, pondered for a few seconds before replying: "Saturday."
"Saturday, huh."
Zheng Qing sighed deeply: "Theoretically, we just went to the school museum yesterday night... but it feels like it was half a lifeti ago."
"Though ti is a commonly used asure for wizards, it doesn’t an wizards are bound by the linear constraints of ti." The Witch softly comforted: "When magic research reaches a certain stage, ti and matter beco a concept... just as we don’t care about the boundary between ice and fire, the observation of ti by wizards gradually becos vague."
The Warlock thoughtfully nodded, agreeing.
But that wasn’t the discussion he wanted to pursue.
"If I rember correctly," Zheng Qing coughed lightly, bypassing the recent profound philosophical discourse, addressing the Witch with sothing else he had just recalled: "There are two Mays this year, right... The first weekend of June is the second May this year."
"Leap May." Jiang Yu imdiately replied, paused, then asked: "Is there an issue?"
"The teacher once recited a prophecy to ."
Zheng Qing hesitated for a mont, ultimately deciding to tell the Witch: "The teacher said to , the first weekend of June, second May, the threads of fate intertwine, all beings return to their places, starry sky returns to the starry sky, what is far away returns to ho, antagonists face each other, blood spreads."
After speaking, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as if a burden was lifted from his heart, feeling much lighter.
All around was silent.
Except for the distant black cat’s screeching howl, only the faint rustling of the two walking could be heard.
After a while.
The Witch tilted her head, glanced at him: "That’s all?"
"That’s all."
Zheng Qing pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping across the deathly silent wilderness, he softly asked: "What do you think?"
"The teacher is a very powerful wizard, his prophecies are not baseless." Jiang Yu did not directly answer Zheng Qing’s question but imdiately grasped the most crucial part of the prophecy: "But it sounds like the prophecy is more of a reminder or a warning, rather than urging you to resist destiny. I’m a bit curious, what was the prophecy made for? This point is critical."
Zheng Qing stroked the Charm Gun in his arms, recalled for a mont, then softly replied:
"It was for the first ti I crossed through the Magic Mirror, entered the World in the Mirror, and t Zhu Si."
Upon hearing her na, the Little Witch Demon lifted her head, revealing a trace of recollection: "Well... that was a very long ti ago, I can barely rember."
There was no bla in her tone, but Zheng Qing would’ve preferred being beaten up.
He forced a difficult smile, after a while, he opened his mouth again, yet felt his voice was like the toothpaste running out, squeezing every bit to co out: "...At that ti, I hoped the teacher could help bring Zhu Si out, but the teacher said it wasn’t ti."
"Old n always hesitate when facing destiny, it’s not your fault."
Zhu Si stood on tiptoe, patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder, comforting him like a little adult: "I didn’t listen to them back then, sneaked into the mirror... and then was beaten by that little bitch of destiny, beaten bloody, dizzy, almost lost myself."
She seed to find the taphor amusing, laughing twice.
Her laughter travelled far in the night, even the black cat ahead could not help but turn its head to look at them.
Zheng Qing’s mouth twitched, feeling his nose tip turning sour.
The more magnanimous the Little Witch Demon behaved, the heavier his guilt beca—had he chosen to take the risk earlier, just a mont sooner, Zhu Si might have been able to completely leave the World in the Mirror.
Instead of being like now, leaving only a lingering obsession between a ghost and a shadow.
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