Chapter 3001: Chapter 3002: Returning the Memory
When Angel went to see the Ironclad Granny, on the other side, at the ruins of the Garden Labyrinth, Dox had already met with the representatives of the Merchant Organization.
Not only did the Merchant Organization bring the Black, White, and Gray Merchants, and the Bloodline Wizard known as âEvil Woman,â but there were also five other wizards. However, these five new wizards wore identical masks with ice-cracked patterns and black-and-white robes, making it difficult to discern their identities based solely on appearance.
Though Dox couldnât confirm their identities, he was sure they were undoubtedly from the Birlos Family.
After all, the supporter behind the Merchant Organization is the Birlos Family.
The Garden Labyrinth is undergoing changes, especially with the shocking news brought out by the Gray Merchant and his group, confirming that people survived in hidden areas of Naraku City years ago; such explosive news naturally caught the attention of the Birlos Family.
Dox recalled that the Birlos Family had seven wizards known publicly, and now five had shown up, including a Second Level Wizardâtheir aura indicated a recent breakthrough and likely the patriarch of the Birlos Family.
With their strongest member present, it was clear the Birlos Family was all out for the Garden Labyrinth this time.
So many wizards came, and many were stronger than Dox; his plan to be a "social butterfly" was thwarted.
Fortunately, Vay was still here. With Vay here, the Black Earl was here.
Without Dox needing to request, the Black Earl leisurely flew out and stood in front of the Merchant Organizationâs group.
Upon seeing the floating nose, the wizards from the Merchant Organization instantly changed expressions and immediately halted.
They were not ignorant; as a family managing a Wizard Market, they were well-informed about the strong figures in the Southern Domain, and naturally understood that the nose represented the avatar of the patriarch of the Noah Family.
Even though the noseâs aura wasnât particularly strong, the other party could easily connect with the main body, meaning the Noah Family patriarch could arrive at any moment.
With this in mind, despite having a large group of wizards, the Merchant Organizationâs representatives dared not act rashly.
The group bowed their heads obediently, waiting for the Black Earl to speak.
The Black Earl uttered only one sentence, setting the foundation for todayâs negotiation.
â"If you donât want to die, itâs best to forget what happened today."
The Black Earl didnât intend to expel the Merchant Organization nor show any inclination to seize the Garden Labyrinth ruins. He understood well that the presence of the Merchant Organization was meaningful; even the Wise Sovereign secretly aided them, hinting at its importance.
Therefore, expelling the Merchant Organization was unbeneficial.
As for whether the Black Earl considered seizing the Underground Aqueducts? Of course, he did. But just as the Wise Sovereign was wary of the Black Earl, the Black Earl feared the Wise Sovereign as well.
The Wise Sovereign, who is bound by the dilapidated Naraku City, allows the Black Earl to gain greater benefits; if the Wise Sovereign and the other powerful figures sleeping in Naraku City abandon the city altogether, the Black Earl would have reasons to worry.
Additionally, the Black Earl has already met his ancestor and managed to reclaim Adanis, so this exploration was already worthwhile.
As for other interests, it can be discussed slowly with the Wise Sovereign in the future.
A friendly strong figure is always better than one opposing each other. Moreover, the Wise Sovereign even indirectly assisted the Noah Clan by rescuing those Empty-hearted People, which just for that alone, the Black Earl had to acknowledge the favor.
In the view of the Black Earl, he would involve himself in the Underground Aqueducts but wouldnât forcefully take it. And the Merchant Organization has a reason and value for existence, provided... they understand the times.
The events of today, especially the experiences and encounters of the Gray Merchant and his group, must be buried in the depths of their hearts, never to be spoken of.
Obviously, this isnât something Dox can negotiate.
Thatâs the reason the Black Earl had to come forward, and similarly, when Angel left earlier, the Black Earl didnât follow knowing he would encounter the current situation.
With the Black Earlâs negotiation foundation set, regardless of whether the Merchant Organization is willing or not, he wouldnât change it.
However, the Black Earl wasnât completely blocking the Merchant Organizationâs path.
After all these years, the actions of the Merchant Organization, in essence, have been protecting Naraku City in reverse. The Wise Sovereign recognized this and even provided convenience, so naturally, the Black Earl wouldnât ensure the Merchant Organization gains no benefits.
But what kind of benefits the Merchant Organization can strive for depends on their self-assessment and whether they can discern the Black Earlâs bottom line.
And that requires negotiation.
Negotiation certainly doesnât involve Dox. The Black Earl, taking Vay with him, went alone to the Merchant Organizationâs surveillance office to talk with the people of the Birlos Family, with Black and White Merchants also attending.
As for the Gray Merchant, Evil Woman, and their underlings, they remained in the Garden Labyrinth.
The reason was simple... the Gray Merchantâs most precious memory was still in Angelâs hands.
They didnât know where Angel was, but since he hadnât appeared with the Black Earl and others, he was likely still near the Garden Labyrinth, so they could only stay and wait.
The Gray Merchant remained, and naturally, Dox wouldnât leave.
Under the watchful eyes of the Gray Merchantâs group, Dox approached. Before he got close, the Evil Woman floating in the air stepped in front of the Gray Merchant.
"Stop." The Evil Woman wrapped in white bandages squinted at Dox.
Dox pretended not to hear, picked at his ears, and acted completely indifferent as he continued forward.
"Dox, do you want war?" The Evil Womanâs hair slowly drifted upwards, and the corners of her mouth gradually split until reaching her ears, revealing a ghastly crimson mouth with sharp white teeth.
At the same time, the white bandages on the Evil Woman began to infinitely proliferate and disperse, weaving a bandage web out of thin air before Dox.
If Dox took another step forward, he would surely be ensnared by the web.
The bandage web itself wasnât particularly potent, but Dox knew that curses were attached to them, and contact would lead to bizarre cursed attacks.
If it were the Evil Woman of the past, she would probably have already attacked Dox, but now she only threatened him, indicating she too was wary.
She didnât fear Dox, but rather the Black Earl and Angelâs possession of the Gray Merchantâs memory.
She was worried her actions might disrupt the process of the Gray Merchant retrieving his memory, so she restrained herself.
Dox stopped before the bandage web, theatrically sighed, "War? Haha, Iâm not afraid to start a war with you now. Do you want to guess why?"
Doxâs expression screamed, "I have a backer now," and it was obvious to everyone.
And naturally, this backer would be associated with the Black Earl.
The Evil Woman spoke coldly, "Donât think you can gloat just because you have a backer. Do you think the Black Earl would care about a dead man?"
Dox shrugged and smiled craftily, "You guessed wrong."
The Evil Woman was stunned, and before she could react, a figure walked past her and stopped in front of the bandage web.
That person was the Gray Merchant.
The Gray Merchant looked at the Evil Woman and said gently, "Thereâs no need to be so confrontational. I donât believe the Red Sword Wizard bears any malice. Put them away; if those bandages wrinkle, youâll feel heartache."
The Gray Merchant changed to a mask that revealed his eyes, and the Evil Woman could see his gaze clearly, matching his gentle tone.
If it were the Gray Merchant of the past, asking the Evil Woman to remove the bandage web would be in a commanding tone; the Gray Merchant of then was indifferent and ruthless, and this calm and gentle side was something the Evil Woman only saw during the days when the Gray Merchant lost his memory.
The Evil Woman looked at the Gray Merchant with a complex expression, nodded lightly, and put away the bandages exuding ominous and cursed auras.
The Evil Woman returned to the crowd while the Gray Merchant slowly walked up to Dox.
"The Red Sword Wizard must have something to discuss with me, right?" The Gray Merchant asked with a smile.
Dox lazily replied, "I just wanted to come over and bask in the sun here."
The Gray Merchant shrugged indifferently and gestured âpleaseâ to those behind him.
Dox appeared fearless, walking step by step towards where the Shrew, Fenmo, Magic Elephant, and others were.
However, when he was still ten meters away from the group, Dox turned and walked under a nearby large tree, leaning against it and enjoying the sunlight filtering through the dappled shadows of the leaves.
The Shrew and the others had no idea what Dox was doing, so they could only frown and remain alert.
The air fell silent, and no one broke the silence.
This quiet lasted for a full five minutes before being interrupted by a melodic shepherdâs flute.
The one playing the shepherdâs flute was a boy with light green curly hair and a face full of freckles. He was also a member of the Gray Merchants, codenamed: Shepherd.
After the fluteâs melody ended, Dox couldnât help but say, "Not bad."
Shepherd: "Thank you for the compliment, Red Sword Lord."
Dox glanced at Shepherd and said blandly, "The flute playing is nice, but itâs a pity I donât like the person playing it."
The person playing the flute? Shepherd raised his hand in confusion, pointing at himself, was he talking about me?
Dox snorted, "Because youâre a heretic."
Shepherd was bewildered, what? Heretic? Did he do something?
Shepherd didnât reply, but Fenmo angrily said from the side, "Even if youâre an Official Wizard, you canât malign people casually."
Dox raised an eyebrow, "Did I malign? Think carefully, what are the names of his four black-faced sheep?"
The black-faced sheep Dox mentioned were the four black-faced sheep that Shepherd summoned during a battle with Kaier. Besides those four black-faced sheep, Shepherd had also summoned a shepherd dog.
Dox coldly said, "Those four black-faced sheep are called Black One, Black Two, Black Three, and Baby. I just ask, why call it Baby, why not Black Four?"
The crowd, listening to Doxâs questioning, was initially confused but gradually seemed to understand Dox.
This is really obsessive-compulsive disorder about order!
At first, everyone thought Dox was making a fuss over nothing, but upon reflection, they also felt uncomfortable when they first learned the names of Shepherdâs four black-faced sheep.
Moreover, it wasnât just the names that were uncomfortable; their order also drove them crazy back then, because Black One was the youngest, Black Two was third, Black Three was second, and Baby was the oldest.
This completely defied normal logic.
Thinking this way, everyone seemed to understand Doxâs obsessive-compulsive disorder.
At this time, Shepherd also understood why Dox said he "didnât like him." He smiled wryly, wanting to explain.
But Dox spoke first: "Donât speak. Just thinking about your black-faced sheep gives me a full-body cringe."
Doxâs childish behavior left Shepherd speechless, sighing and helplessly putting his hand down.
After giving Shepherd a piece of his mind, Dox felt somewhat relieved and turned to Gray Merchant.
Gray Merchant hadnât taken his eyes off Dox the entire time, seeming very sure that Dox was there for him. However, since Dox didnât speak, he didnât ask and just quietly watched.
Dox: "You seem confident I came for something? How about you guess what it is? Thereâs a prize if you guess right~"
Gray Merchant smiled warmly: "My memory is in your possession?"
Although Gray Merchant was asking, his tone was very assertive.
"Is the lordâs memory in your hands?" The Shrew looked over with a surprised, suspicious eye.
Others also turned to look at Dox, after all, they stayed here for the Gray Merchantâs memory.
Being watched by everyone, Dox pouted: "How dull."
After speaking, Dox casually took out a crystal that Angel had given him. The crystalâs surface clearly reflected a human-shaped silhouette, which was the Gray Merchantâs memory taken by Adanis.
"Here, your memory is in this," Dox didnât make it hard for the Gray Merchant, directly tossing it over.
Gray Merchantâs eyes lit up, quickly catching the crystal.
Others also hurried to the Gray Merchantâs side.
After carefully sensing it, Gray Merchant nodded gently to the others: "It is my memory."
Upon hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief; after all, it was the most important memory for the Gray Merchant!
"All you need to do is crush it, and your memory will return," Dox said blandly.
Instinctively, Gray Merchant wanted to crush the crystal, but thought that once he restored his memory, he might not treat Dox as "kindly." So, he put down the crystal for now and solemnly thanked Dox.
"The one you should truly thank is not me."
Gray Merchant: "Are you saying... Earl Mi?"
Dox snorted: "Itâs not me anyway; you all know who it is."
Gray Merchant and the others exchanged silent glances; in fact, they had a vague guess about the identity of the wizard who called himself "Earl Mi."
Gray Merchant nodded: "I understand."
Dox: "As long as you understand, Iâve done my part. Oh, by the way, that person asked me to give you a message."
"For me?" Gray Merchant looked at Dox in confusion.
Dox nodded and slowly said, "Is the path you walk one of heartlessness or loss?"
Upon hearing Doxâs question, everyoneâs expressions changed.
Because this question directly touched upon the core of Gray Merchant, which was his path to True Knowledge!
Since it was the core, it couldnât be casually revealed. Dox asking this question was already very rude.
Seeing everyone looking at him unfavorably, Dox continued, "You donât have to answer my question; Iâm just reiterating his words."
"He asked me to tell you, that seemingly heartless is just because of losses along the way. Which one brings you closer to True Knowledge?"
"If âlossâ is the core, then regaining this memory, is it good or bad for you?"
As Dox said this, he shrugged: "Thatâs all there is to it, take it or leave it, Iâve passed on the message."
After speaking, Dox turned to Shepherd again: "He also asked me to deliver a message to you."
Shepherd, puzzled, pointed at himself: "Me?"
Dox nodded: "The journey of the Shepherd will not end simply because of shepherding."
"I donât know why he wanted to tell you this; you can pretend you never heard it. Alright, thatâs all, Iâm leaving now."
Having said that, Dox flashed and disappeared from sight.
Only the Gray Merchant, lost in thought, and Shepherd, looking dazed, were left behind.