Versatile Mage

Mo Fan arrived at a speculation from the conversation between the two. When he saw that Zhao Manyan had no idea how to continue the topic, he immediately switched the topic and said, “So the burns she suffered were from the fire here?”

Chen Yi slowly recovered from her anger and spoke as calmly as she could, “It’s the Fire Calamity. Around twelve years ago, my parents came to this North Burning Valley to find a Fire Element Soul Seed, but found themselves in the middle of the Fire Calamity. They tried to run as far as they could, but the Fire Calamity was too fast for them, and they were soon devoured by the fire.”

Chen Yi’s gaze changed as she spoke. She had heard the truth from her mother, who kept on telling her about it over the past ten years. Every time her mother mentioned it, she could clearly sense the sorrow and anger in her mother’s heart, the urge to simply peel the layer of burned skin off, the despair her mother was suffering from.

“That doesn’t make sense; if your parents were caught in the Fire Calamity more than ten years ago, shouldn’t they be dead now? However, Uncle Zhao Yulin is still well and alive, and is living an enjoyable life with his second wife,” said Zhao Manyan.

“My mother’s Secondary Element is Wind. In order to let one of them survive, she had given her Wind Equipment to my father and cast the last Wind Track on him, helping him to return to the family unharmed. The resources he brought back with him helped the family to overcome a difficult situation of the family during that time, which is why his status in the family rose all of a sudden,” said Chen Yi.

The group fell silent when they heard the explanation. They had witnessed the scariness of the Fire Calamity. Humans were nothing compared to the punishment meted out by nature, and their hearts would be overwhelmed with fear knowing there was nothing they could do to stand against the disaster. Their only option was to flee.

It was rare to learn that someone was willing to sacrifice themselves just to get their companion to safety.

“My mother was consumed by the Fire Calamity, but because her Primary Element was Fire, and for some other reasons, she survived. She was saved by a creature whose figure was engulfed in flames. It fed her a unique fruit of the Burning Valley, which just barely prevented her organs from being destroyed by the fire. She lived in the Burning Valley for many years, as her body was in very bad shape. It took her a very long time to finally be able to move, and after stumbling into a group of Hunters who had come to find some treasure, she traded some rare loot to them and asked them to bring her back to Dunhuang.”

“I believe you can all guess what happened after that. My father didn’t want his peaceful life to be disturbed, so he never admitted her identity. He simply gave her a fake one, and arranged for her to live in a house. Even though he tried asking a few famous Healers to treat her on the surface, he never tried his best to help her. It is like he has completely forgotten that he could only enjoy his current life because of my mother’s sacrifice. My mother is living in suffering, and the only drive that keeps her going, is the promise I made that I would find a cure for her.”

The confidence she wore normally was absent when she recalled the past with a hint of hatred. It was obvious that her mother’s circumstances had greatly influenced her.

“So that’s why you are here in the Burning Valley… but your mother used to live here for quite some time. Why didn’t she come and look for the cure herself? I don’t believe you’re here purely to look for the cure too,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s because of the Fire Calamity. The cure to the burns is a kind of fruit that will only appear after the Fire Calamity, and the fruit only lasts for a short period of time. It will wilt in a matter of days. My mother never encountered another Fire Calamity despite staying here for a few years. She did ask my father to send someone over here after a Fire Calamity occurred, but my father never put much effort into it. For many years, he either miscalculated the time of the Fire Calamity, or missed out on the perfect time to retrieve the fruit. As a result, my mother continued to look ghastly, treated like an outsider under the family’s roof.

“I learned how to predict the Fire Calamity from my mother, and I was just figuring out a way to cross the Drifting Sand River when I learned that you were planning this trip to find the Flame Belle, hence why I expressed my interest in tagging along.”

Chen Yi revealed all her secrets. She was reluctant to share them, as it was her family’s matter, something she was unwilling to share with outsiders, even Zhao Manyan, who was from the same family.

However, if Chen Yi did not spill the beans now, her teammates, who had begun to feel suspicious of her, would not be willing to help her when the time came. Without their assistance, she would have no chance at getting the Fire Calamity Fruit, and the chance of curing her mother would be slimmer.

“That explains why you asked us to slow down a bit before entering the Burning Valley, as you were aware that the Fire Calamity was happening?” recalled Lingling.

Previously, when the party decided to continue on with the journey after entering the North Burning Valley, Chen Yi had asked everyone to rest up at the boundaries of the North Burning Valley by saying that she was worn out and injured. She must have been worried that the team would be caught right in the middle of the Fire Calamity.

Chen Yi nodded and added, “I estimated the time correctly, but I never thought the Fire Calamity would be this terrifying. It’s my mistake trying to hide the secret, I’m very sorry. I just hope that you’re willing to help me to look for the Fire Calamity Fruits. Those fruits are extremely valuable, and if we managed to find them, I only need one for my mother. I won’t be taking any of the loot we’ve found. Besides, I heard my mother mentioning the Flame Belle, who seemed to be the guardian of the Fire Calamity Fruit, which means…”

“If we can find the fruits, we should be able to find the Flame Belle too?” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered.

“Mm, I don’t want you to waste too much time on Soul Seeds, as I know the rough location of the Fire Calamity Fruits… I believe many factions will be sending their people here, and some of them knew about the Fire Calamity Fruits, too. They will come for them once they successfully cross the Drifting Sand River,” said Chen Yi.

“We should act fast then, as we won’t have any chance against experts who are one or two levels higher than us,” blurted out Mo Fan.

In terms of money, no one needed it as much as Mo Fan! As a Magician with four Elements, his rate of expending resources was too high compared to other Magicians. Now that they were given such a great opportunity, they had to at least find the Fire Calamity Fruits. It would be even better if they managed to find both the fruits and the Flame Belle!

Xinxia giggled when she saw Mo Fan panicking. “As a matter of fact, the experts whom you mentioned won’t necessarily be able to cross the Drifting Sand River. I can feel that the demon beasts there are extremely restless after the Fire Calamity. I don’t think the Psychic Element alone or a group of powerful Magicians are enough to help them cross the river…”