Joan's face immediately showed joy.
This was the first time, besides Maisie, that someone else could understand her mermaid language.
Of course, Joan wasn't entirely sure if Maisie truly understood, as the latter's cooing was even harder to comprehend. She usually could only guess a few words.
But... what is a Watcher?
She continued, "Aya, aya," asking, "Are you guarding this big pit? And where is this place?"
"It's not just a big pit, but a bridge," the woman smiled.
I've seen bridges, and they don't look like this. Joan cautiously walked to the edge of the hole, peering down. The cave walls were covered in thick soil and vines, and she couldn't find a single way down.
"Not everyone can cross this bridge. Only those who hold the key can pass," the woman explained. "You don't have the key, so you can't see it."
Oh, that's how it is, Joan realized. But why would the bridge builder do something like this? Wouldn't it be easier to let people pass through the pit directly? And even without the key, people could just go around it.
The Watcher couldn't help but smile wryly. "Indeed... that's true. But this is what I must do – wait for the key holder to arrive, and then open the bridge for them."
Joan looked her up and down for a moment before saying,
You don't have any chains on you.
"What?"
Since you don't have any chains, why not leave the island? Joan pointed to the other side of the mist. "I saw a continent not far from there. It shouldn't take too long to swim there. Since you're not locked up, I can take you with me."
The woman paused slightly, then shook her head with a smile. "Let's not talk about that. You're injured. What attacked you?"
Although Joan didn't understand why she suddenly changed the subject, she subconsciously answered, "A monster in the sea scratched me."
"Lie down next to me. I have some medicine here, and I can bandage you up." The woman waved her over.
For some reason, even though it was the first time they had met, Joan felt that the woman wasn't a bad person.
She did as she was told. The Watcher took out a jar of ointment from somewhere, first smearing it on her own hand, then carefully applying it to Joan's wound. A cooling sensation immediately dispelled the pain and fatigue in her body, like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.
"Aya..."
"Feels good, right?" After applying the ointment, the Watcher tore a strip from the hem of her skirt and tied it around the medicated area. "By the way, where are you planning to go next?"
"Home," Joan murmured. "I want to go back to my friends."
"Then you can't go towards the shadow. Although there's a continent there, it's not where you should go."
Do you know where Neverwinter is? She asked, overjoyed.
"Well... it's probably on the opposite side of the shadow, but it's also very dangerous to travel by land. You'd better swim along the coast."
Really?
"I'm not lying to you. But you'd better rest for a while. I can feel that your body is almost exhausted."
Hearing this, Joan, who had felt fine just moments ago, suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over her, as if all the weariness she had accumulated over the past half year had erupted at this moment.
By the woman's side, she truly felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.
Well, I guess I'll rest for a bit.
She slowly closed her eyes.
The woman stroked Joan's hair as she whispered, "I'm indeed not locked up by chains, but it's not just chains that can trap people. Sometimes, the chains of words are stronger."
I... don't really understand.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, because even I don't understand myself."
The woman's voice seemed to come from a very far away place, gentle and peaceful, causing Joan's consciousness to become blurred.
Maybe I can help you ask... I'm a little slow, but there are some very smart people, like Anna xiaojie, and Roland.
"Is that so? Then thank you."
We'll meet again... right?
"Yes, if there's a chance..."
Joan fell completely into a deep sleep.
When she woke up, she realized it was already late.
Crap, how long did I sleep? She suddenly sat up, but received no reply from the Watcher xiaojie. Joan looked around in a panic, but she was all alone.
Not only that, but even the stone tablets were gone. All that remained before her was the bottomless pit, a desolate grassland, and the flat-topped mountain, as if everything she had seen before was just an illusion.
Could it all have been a dream?
No, that's not right. Joan quickly discovered that she still had the bandage on her, but the cooling sensation that had penetrated her skin had vanished without a trace.
She hesitantly unwrapped a piece of the cloth and found no trace of ointment on her scales, but the wound had healed completely.
While Joan was still at a loss, a strange roar suddenly came from the distance—
It was then that she noticed that the mist that had surrounded the island had completely dissipated at some point, and the shadow in the distance had completely revealed its true form.
It was indeed a tall mountain, but it was so tall that it was beyond description, even with the phrase "reaching the sky and standing on the earth."
Not only that, but its size was also astonishing – from a distance, the mountain range was probably wider than the Fjord Islands from south to north combined. She couldn't see a single tree on the mountain. As far as the eye could see, it was all pitch black, as if dyed with ink. In addition, the mountain was covered in a hazy red mist, and scarlet liquid erupted from it from time to time!
Then Joan saw where the roar was coming from.
At the foot of the mountain, countless monster ships surged towards the land like ants, piling up a thick layer on the beach. They spewed out gouts of venom, causing the black ground to crumble layer by layer, and chunks of rock collapsed and rolled into the sea, making the entire coastline seem to boil! Although these monsters seemed like an insignificant part of the Black Mountain, it was this insignificant part that was gradually eroding the mountain!
However, they did not meet with no resistance.
In areas where the ships could not reach, tens of thousands of Sea Ghosts collided fiercely with another type of monster. Joan took a long time to recognize that they were the Devils that everyone often talked about!
The Sea Ghost tide, which usually gave sailors headaches, was as fragile as waves crashing against rocks. They were scattered and splashed, but they didn't shake the Devils' defense line in the slightest. Even so, more and more Sea Ghosts continued to cross the monster ships, charging towards the shore desperately.
This frenzied scene made Joan cover her mouth tightly.
"Although there's a continent there, it's not where you should go."
"Your home is on the opposite side of the shadow."
The words that the woman had said suddenly echoed in her mind.
Joan looked over. There seemed to be no trace of a continent on the opposite side of Blackrock Mountain, only a vast ocean, but she hesitated for only a moment before running in that direction.
The scene of the two forces intertwined and devouring each other made her sense an extremely dangerous aura. Her wild instinct told her to leave as soon as possible, and another reason was that she vaguely felt that the Watcher xiaojie wouldn't lie to her.
With a splash, Joan jumped into the water, leaving the earth-shattering roar behind her.