While Angor was heading to Iron Granny's place, Dorcas had already met with the people from the Traveling Merchants' Association in the Garden of Labyrinth.
Apart from the Black Merchant, Gray Merchant, and the Bloodline Wizard "Evil Woman", the Traveling Merchants brought five other wizards with them. However, these five new Magi were all wearing the same Cracked Ice Mask and the same black and white robes. It was hard to tell who they were based on their appearance.
However, even though Dorcas was unable to confirm the identities of these people, he could easily guess that these Adepts were definitely from the Bilos Family.
After all, the Traveling Merchants were the Bilos Clan's supporters.
Now that the Garden of Labyrinth had changed, and the shocking news brought by the Gray Merchant confirmed that there were still people living in the secret area of Nether City, it was only natural that the Bilos Clan would pay attention to such shocking news.
Dorcas remembered that the Bilos Clan had seven wizards on the surface. Now, five of them were here, including a level-2 wizard. Judging from the aura, the man must have broken through not long ago. Dorcas assumed that he was the leader of the Bilos Clan.
Even the strongest wizard on the surface was here. This meant that the Bilos Clan had sent out all their talents for the Garden of Labyrinth.
There were so many wizards here, and many of them were stronger than Dorcas. Dorcas planned to be a "social butterfly", but he couldn't do that now.
Luckily, Wai was still here. If Wai was here, the Black Earl would be here.
Dorcas didn't even need to take the initiative to ask. The Dark Earl flew out slowly and stood in front of the Traveling Merchant Group.
Seeing the nose floating in the air, the wizards from the traveling merchant organization immediately stopped in their tracks.
They were not ignorant. As a big clan that controlled the Wizard Bazaar, they knew the powerful wizards in the south very well. They knew that the nose in front of them was the clone of the leader of the Noa Clan.
The nose's aura wasn't particularly strong, but it could easily communicate with the real body. In other words, the leader of the Noa Clan could arrive at any time.
With this in mind, the Traveling Merchants didn't dare to act rashly.
They all lowered their heads and waited for the Black Earl to speak.
The Black Earl only spoke one sentence, which set the stage for today's negotiation.
"If you don't want to die, you'd better forget what happened today."
The Dark Earl did not intend to expel the Traveling Merchant Organization, nor did he show any intention of seizing the Garden of Labyrinth Ruins. This was because he knew very well that the Traveling Merchant Organization's existence was meaningful. Even the Wise Sovereign was secretly helping them, which was proof of this.
Therefore, there was no benefit in expelling the Traveling Merchants Organization.
As for whether the Dark Earl had ever thought of seizing the underground waterway by force? Of course, he had. However, just as the Wise Sovereign feared the Black Earl, the Black Earl feared the Wise Sovereign as well.
Only the Wise Ruler, who was hindered by the ruined Nether City, could allow the Black Earl to obtain greater benefits. If the Wise Ruler and the other experts sleeping in Nether City completely gave up on Nether City, then the Black Earl would be the one who had to worry.
In addition, the Dark Earl had already met his ancestor and reluctantly taken in Adanis. This exploration was more than enough to cover their losses.
As for other benefits, he could slowly discuss them with the Wise Sovereigns in the future.
It was better to have a friendly expert than an expert who was hostile to each other. Besides, the Wise Sovereign had indirectly helped the Noah Clan by rescuing the Hollow Men. This alone was enough for the Black Earl to recognize.
In the end, the Black Earl would not take over the underground waterway by force, but he would not do so. As for the Traveling Merchants Organization, they had a reason and value to exist, but the prerequisite was that … they had to adapt to the situation.
What happened today, especially the things Gray Merchant went through and the people he met, must be kept in his heart. No one could tell anyone about it.
And this was not something Dorcas could agree to.
This was why the Black Earl had to show up. Similarly, the Black Earl did not follow Angor when he left Nether City because he knew this would happen.
The Black Earl's negotiation plan was set. Whether the Traveling Merchants Organization was willing or not, the Black Earl would not change it.
However, the Black Earl did not intend to completely block the Traveling Merchants' way.
No matter what, the Traveling Merchant Organization had been protecting Nether City for so many years. Since the Wise Sovereign had agreed to help them, the Black Earl would not allow the Traveling Merchants to lose all their benefits.
However, what kind of benefits the Traveling Merchants could obtain would depend on whether their self-positioning was wrong, and whether they could see the bottom line of the Black Earl.
And that required negotiation.
Naturally, there was no need for Dorcas to participate in the negotiations. The Black Earl brought Wai to the Traveling Merchants Organization's monitoring center and went to talk with the Bilos Family. Gray Merchant and White Merchant also followed.
Gray Merchant, Shrew, and their men stayed in Garden of Labyrinth.
The reason was simple. Gray Merchant's most precious memory was still in Angor's hands.
They did not know where Angor was, but since he did not show up with the Black Earl, they assumed he was still somewhere around Garden of Labyrinth.
Since Gray Merchant was staying, Dorcas would stay as well.
Under the watchful eyes of Gray Merchant and his men, Dorcas approached them. Before Dorcas could get close, Shrew, who was floating in the air, stepped in front of Gray Merchant and blocked his way.
"Stop." The woman, who was wrapped in white bandages, narrowed her eyes at Dorcas.
Dorcas acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He picked at his ears and continued to walk forward as if he didn't care.
"Do you want war, Dorcas?" Shrew's hair fluttered in the air. Her mouth slowly cracked open until it reached her ears. Sharp white teeth could be seen inside her blood-red mouth.
At the same time, the white bandages on Shrew's body began to expand and spread out, creating a large bandage web in front of Dorcas.
If Dorcas took another step forward, he would be entangled by the web.
The bandages themselves weren't very strong, but Dorcas knew that these bandages were covered in curses. Once touched, one would definitely suffer from the strange attacks of various curses.
Shrew would have attacked Dorcas already if she was still her old self. But now, she was only trying to scare him.
She was not afraid of Dorcas. She was afraid of the Black Earl and Gray Merchant's memory.
She was afraid that her actions would affect Gray Merchant's recovery process, so she was holding herself back.
Dorcas stopped in front of the web and sighed pretentiously. "War? Haha, I'm not afraid of starting a war with you now. Why don't you guess why? "
Dorcas' expression of "I have someone to rely on" was obvious to everyone without needing to guess.
Of course, they would think of the Black Earl.
Shrew sneered, "Don't think you can show off just because you have someone to rely on. Do you think Lord Black Earl will care about a dead man? "
Dorcas shrugged and said with a smile, "You guessed wrong."
Shrew was surprised. Before she could react, a figure walked past her and stopped in front of the web.
This person was none other than Gray Shang.
Gray Merchant looked at Shrew and spoke gently, "No need to be so hostile. I believe Red Sword means no harm. Put them away. You'll feel bad if these bandages get wrinkled. "
Gray Merchant changed his mask so that Shrew could see his eyes clearly. They were as gentle as his tone.
If it was the gray merchant of the past, if he really wanted the evil woman to remove the bandages and spiderwebs, he would definitely use a commanding tone. The gray merchant of the past was cold and cruel. The evil woman had only seen such a calm and gentle side during the days when the gray merchant had lost his memories.
The evil woman looked at Hui Shang with a complicated expression. She nodded slightly and put away the bandage that gave off an ominous and cursed aura.
The evil woman returned to the crowd, while the gray merchant walked step by step towards Dorcas.
"Red Sword, you have something to tell me, right?" Gray Merchant asked with a smile.
Dorcas answered lazily, "I just want to enjoy the sunshine here."
Hui Shang did not mind at all as he gestured behind him, "Please."
Dorcas showed no fear and walked toward Shrew, Fen Mo, Golem, and the others.
However, when he was about ten meters away from them, Dorcas turned around and walked to a big tree nearby. He leaned against the tree and enjoyed the sunlight shining through the mottled shadow.
Shrew and the others had no idea what Dorcas was doing. They could only frown and be on guard against him.
The air quieted down, and no one broke the silence.
This silence lasted for five minutes before it was broken by the melodious sound of a flute.
The flute player was a young man with light green curly hair and a face full of freckles. He was also a member of Gray Merchant, and his code name was Shepherd.
Dorcas couldn't help but say, "You play well."
Shepherd: "Thank you for your praise, Lord Red Sword."
Dorcas looked at Shepherd and said, "You play the flute well, but I don't like the flute player."
The flute player? The Shepherd raised his hand in confusion and pointed at himself. Is he talking about me?
Dorcas snorted, "Because you're a heretic."
The Shepherd was dumbfounded. What? Heretic? What did he do?
Shepherd didn't reply, but Fen Mo said angrily, "Even if you're an official Magus, you can't just slander people."
Dorcas raised his eyebrows, "Did I slander you? Think carefully, what are the names of the four black-faced sheep? "
The black-faced sheep Dorcas was talking about were the four black-faced sheep the Shepherd had summoned during his battle with Kale. Aside from the four black-faced sheep, Shepherd had also summoned a shepherd dog.
Dorcas said coldly, "The four black-faced sheep are called Black One, Black Two, Black Three, and Baby. Let me ask you, why are you calling them Baby instead of Black Four? "
Everyone was stunned by Dorcas's question, but slowly, they began to understand Dorcas's reasoning.
He had obsessive-compulsive disorder!
Everyone thought Dorcas was being unreasonable at first, but when they thought about it, they also felt awkward when they learned the names of the four black-faced sheep.
Moreover, the most awkward part wasn't just their names. Their order also drove them crazy. Black One was the youngest, Black Two was the third, Black Three was the second, and Baby was the eldest.
This didn't make sense at all.
Now that they thought about it, everyone began to understand Dorcas's obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The Shepherd also understood why Dorcas had said he didn't like him. He laughed bitterly and wanted to explain himself.
However, Dorcas beat him to it, "Don't speak. Every time you speak, I'll think of your black-faced sheep. Just thinking about the names of your black-faced sheep makes me feel uncomfortable. "
Dorcas's childish behavior left the Shepherd speechless. He sighed and helplessly put down his hand.
After Dorcas had insulted the Shepherd, he felt much better and turned to look at Hui Shang.
Hui Shang didn't look away from Dorcas, as if he was certain Dorcas was here to find him. However, Dorcas didn't say anything, and Hui Shang didn't ask. He only watched him silently.
Dorcas said, "You seem to be very certain that I have business with you. Why don't you guess what it is? If you guess correctly, you'll get a prize ~ "
Hui Shang smiled warmly, "My memories are in your hands?"
Although Hui Shang was asking, his tone was very firm.
"My lord's memories are in your hands?" The woman looked at Dorcas in surprise.
The others also looked at Dorcas. After all, they were here for Hui Shang's memories.
Dorcas curled his lips in disdain. "Boring."
With that, Dorcas took out the crystal from Angor's hand. The crystal clearly showed the outline of a human figure, which was the memory of Hui Shang, who was taken away by Adanis.
"Here, your memories are here." Dorcas didn't make things difficult for Hui Shang, and tossed it over to him.
Hui Shang's eyes lit up and quickly caught the crystal.
The others quickly approached Hui Shang.
Hui Shang sensed it carefully and nodded to everyone. "It's my memory."
Everyone sighed in relief. This was Hui Shang's most important memory after all!
"Crush it, and your memories will come back," Dorcas said in a plain tone.
Hui Shang subconsciously wanted to crush the crystal, but when he thought about how he might not treat Dorcas so "kindly" if he crushed the crystal and regained his memories, he put down the crystal and thanked Dorcas solemnly.
"I'm not the one you should be thanking."
Gray Merchant: "You mean … Elmi?"
Dorcas humphed. "It's not me. You all know who it is."
Gray Merchant and the others looked at each other in silence. In truth, they had also vaguely guessed the identity of this Adept Elmi.
Hui Shang nodded. "I understand."
Dorcas: "Since you understand, then it's fine. I've done what I had to do. By the way, he asked me to bring you a message. "
"For me?" Hui Shang looked at Dorcas in confusion.
Dorcas nodded. "Your path … is it the path of heartlessness or the path of loss?"
Everyone's expression changed at Dorcas' question.
Dorcas' question directly touched upon Hui Shang's core — the path of truth he was going to take!
Since it was the core of his path, he couldn't just tell anyone. For Dorcas to ask this question was already a very rude act.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him with unfriendly expressions, Dorcas continued, "You don't have to answer my question. I'm just repeating what that person said."
"He asked me to tell you that while it seems heartless, it's actually because you've lost something along the way. Which path is it that brings you closer to truth? "
"If 'loss' is the core, then is it good or bad for you to regain your memories?"
Dorcas shrugged. "That's all. It's up to you whether you want to hear it or not. I've already passed it on."
After saying this, Dorcas turned to look at the Shepherd. "He also wanted me to pass on a message to you."
The Shepherd pointed at himself in confusion. "Me?"
Dorcas nodded. "A Shepherd's journey won't stop just because he's herding sheep."
"I don't know why he said this to you. You can pretend you didn't hear it. Alright, that's all. I'm leaving. "
After he finished speaking, Dorcas's figure flashed and immediately disappeared.
Only Hui Shang, who was deep in thought, and the Shepherd, who was in a daze, were left.
(End of Chapter)
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