...

...

"What's going on?"

Durant quickly caught Miss Avril!

"Is the hot pot poisoned?"

Lawrence froze in mid-action.

He wasn't sure if he should continue putting the meat from the skewer into his mouth.

"It can't be, Lord..."

He had eaten the most, so if it were poisoned, he should have been the first to fall.

The others all looked confused.

Durant also dismissed his own thought.

He furrowed his brow, trying desperately to recall the details from a moment ago, but he couldn't grasp any leads.

At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but they were all rejected; he couldn't figure out why Miss Avril suddenly fainted.

Not considering further, he immediately scooped Miss Avril up and carried her inside to rest.

"Quick, get Luna here!"

"Yes, sir!"

Durant responded and personally ran out to find Luna.

A moment later, Luna arrived and examined Miss Avril for some time.

In the end, she shook her head with a frown: "Everything is normal, I don't see any problem."

Luna knew that in the Northern Territory, people easily caught cold—meaning they caught a chill and got sick in the winter.

But after a thorough check, Miss Avril showed no symptoms of a cold, her breathing was steady, and her temperature wasn't high, just like a normal person sleeping.

"Then why did she faint?"

Durant furrowed his brow, "Could there be any other possibility?"

Luna noticed Durant's anxiety and tension, and with equal concern, she shook her head,

"For now... there are no clues."

Durant took a deep breath and nodded, signaling Luna to step aside.

No one knew what had actually happened.

Fortunately, Miss Avril's physical characteristics were all normal.

Durant instructed Leia to keep watch at all times, then summoned Prophet Bai Shuang.

The Prophet was the most knowledgeable person in the Wilderness Tribe, and Durant hoped he could help, but he found nothing.

In the end, the Prophet could only divine Miss Avril's current fortune.

Prophet Bai Shuang's result was good.

This made Durant breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sir, maybe Miss Avril will wake up tomorrow."

Durant reassured, "Prophet Bai Shuang's divinations have all been accurate so far."

Durant calmed down as well, patiently waiting.

But after two days, Miss Avril still showed no response and continued to sleep.

Although Prophet Bai Shuang's daily divination results were positive, Durant couldn't help it anymore.

He called Durant over and instructed, "Go to Border City and get a doctor."

Durant couldn't wait any longer.

However, just as Durant was about to respond, the guards rushed in.

"Lord, Doron is back!"

"He says Miss Vivian has fainted as well!"

...

...

Doron sat by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, recounting the events at the salt mine to Durant.

After Durant listened, he finally realized that the problem lay with the salt mine and Vivian.

Durant looked at the table where Doron had placed a black gemstone, each the size of an egg, and reached for it.

The moment his palm touched the gemstone, a cold, piercing force shot up from his fingertips, like the chill of a winter night pouring into his veins and rushing to his chest.

The scorching energy within Durant's body was instantly roused and surged towards the coldness.

Durant quickly let go, and the cold energy in his body was enveloped by the heat, returning to normal.

The system indicated that this was a Shadow Gem with abundant and active energy.

But unlike the one Durant had, this Shadow Gem did not reveal darkness when touched, only energy.

Durant was very puzzled and looked at Doron, asking,

"When you got this gem, didn't you feel anything strange about it?"

"No, sir." Doron explained, "This gem was handed directly to Miss Vivian by the overseer at the mine, and he showed no signs of any abnormalities."

"I tried it too, and didn't feel anything special when I brought it back."

"Think carefully," Durant asked again.

"It's just... a little bit cool, wet and cold, nothing else." Doron answered earnestly.

Durant frowned, was he the only one who could sense it?

"Durant, you give it a try."

Durant nodded, picked it up, and after carefully feeling it, said, "I sense a very faint cold energy, very strange, it makes me feel uncomfortable."

Durant put the gem back.

Durant nodded slightly, his mind beginning to piece together the clues.

It seemed only those with high energy affinity could sense the energy within.

Analyzing the situation in order, Durant had trained in the Breathing Technique, giving him slightly higher energy affinity than ordinary people.

And because Durant had both entries and the Breathing Technique empowering him, his was even higher than Durant's, so the energy flowed into his body without active absorption.

As for Vivian, being a witch, her body's energy affinity was the highest, allowing her to sense the most energy.

Therefore, since Miss Avril and Vivian were connected, Miss Avril was also affected.

"Absorbing this energy shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Durant muttered to himself, tapping his fingers on the table,

"The key is that Miss Avril's body shows no symptoms at all..."

Durant suddenly remembered Miss Avril's ability—her clone ability related to shadows.

And this was a Shadow Gem.

Could the energy inside have affected her witch powers?

Linda had said that a witch's powers could be enhanced by absorbing energies of the same type.

Durant rubbed his temples, feeling his head become a jumble of thoughts.

Unfortunately, Witch Linda is not here, so there is no one to consult.

"Lord Baron, should I send someone to escort Miss Vivian?"

Durant cautiously suggested.

Doron would return first with news, while the guards transported Vivian behind him.

"Go quickly."

Hearing this, Luo De nodded.

Durant immediately sent someone to make arrangements.

A day later, Vivian was delivered back to the town, where Luo De placed her together with Avril.

He felt that neither of them should be in serious trouble, perhaps just in a temporary coma due to excessive energy.

But after a day, Luo De could not sit still any longer.

He looked at the two identical sleeping faces and simply couldn't hold back.

The more he thought about it, the more Luo De felt he was right, so he finally couldn't help but place the egg-sized Shadow Gem in their hands.

The next moment, Luo De saw wisps of black lines flowing into their palms, soaking into their hands.

The scene looked somewhat eerie.

Luo De hesitated for a moment, then wanted to reach out and remove the gem.

"Hm..."

A soft sound came from Avril's mouth, instantly interrupting Luo De's action!

It's working!

Luo De's eyes lit up!

I knew it!

Hahaha, I'm simply a genius!

Luo De felt a surge of joy in his heart, happy for Avril's awakening and the sense of achievement from analyzing the problem correctly.

However, he didn't show too much on his face, calmly observing Avril's reaction.

If any anomaly was detected, Luo De would grab the black gem to prevent it from causing any more trouble.

But Avril never had a strong reaction.

She seemed to linger on the edge of consciousness without any pain on her face.

Her eyelashes occasionally fluttered gently, letting out a low murmur as if in a dream.

Luo De couldn't help but wonder to himself if he was being overly cautious.

On the contrary, beside him, Vivian's figure was becoming increasingly blurry, as if she was about to disappear.

Luo De squinted, staring at Vivian's body that was gradually turning into black mist, exactly like when Avril first summoned her.

—The scene was like ink slowly dissolving into darkness.

If Luo De wasn't standing right in front of her, staring intently at this eerie sight, he'd almost suspect Vivian already ceased to exist.

However, Luo De didn't feel too disturbed.

It wasn't surprising; after all, Vivian was summoned by Avril.

Even if Vivian disappeared, as long as Avril awoke, Vivian could be summoned again.

So Luo De wasn't worried at all.

Luo De simply pulled a chair and sat down, keeping a watchful eye on Avril.

Night fell, and the sky grew completely dark.

The black gem on the table gradually dimmed, as if its energy had been drained.

At the same time, Vivian's figure completely vanished, swallowed clean by the darkness.

And at this moment, Avril's eyelids twitched slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"What... what happened to me?"

Her voice was hoarse and a bit confused, looking at Luo De in a daze.

She tried to sit up but fell back weakly.

Luo De relaxed completely, his shoulders slumping down.

"What happened to you?"

He let out a long sigh of relief, half-jokingly saying, "You ate too much hot pot, got too excited, and passed out!"

His mood lightened, and his tone became more cheerful.

Avril blinked in confusion, subconsciously rubbing her stomach, murmuring, "But I feel so hungry..."

Luo De almost burst out laughing.

Of course you're hungry!

You haven't eaten anything for six or seven days; it's almost a miracle you're not starving!

Luo De got up and sat beside Avril, comforting her, "No worries, I'll have Martha make you some soup right away."

"Have something warm first to settle your stomach. Once you feel better, we'll cook hot pot and continue eating!"

Avril's eyes lit up, nodding excitedly, "Okay!"

However, her body was still weak, and her excitement was a bit over the top. She coughed twice, clutching her chest to catch her breath.

"Hot pot?"

At this moment, a voice suddenly came unexpectedly from the darkness nearby: "Why don't you invite me for hot pot, Lord Baron?"

Luo De was startled, suddenly twisting his head to look, but there was nothing but darkness, not a figure in sight.

Luo De instinctively got up, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword, warily searching for the source of the voice.

"Is that really necessary?"

The voice in the darkness suddenly let out an exclamation, with a hint of playful complaint,

"Baron Rod, I worked so long in the salt mines for you. I just want to taste the hot pot from sister's memory, and you're going to kill me?"

"Vivian?"

Luo De frowned, "Where are you?"

"I'm right here!"

The voice fell, and Vivian stepped out of the darkness, exposed in the light.

Only then did Luo De vaguely see her figure.

"This..."

Luo De was slightly stunned.

"Eh? Can't you see me?"

Vivian stood there, looking at him with a half-smile.

Avril also seemed confused, looking at Luo De, "You can't see Vivian?"

Luo De shook his head.

In his eyes, Vivian had already vanished.

Luo De suddenly realized something.

Vivian didn't disappear; she seemed to have gained the ability to become invisible.

And it was a very powerful invisibility ability.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.