Black Hearted Mage

At dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun gently blanketed the earth like a golden veil. In this world tinged with orange and red, a sturdy young man approached with firm, powerful steps. A hatchet and a saw hung from his waist, and on his back was a large bundle of fire maple branches. The branches swayed slightly as he walked, as if telling the story of the labor he had just endured.

Following behind the young man was a petite girl who looked about ten years old. A bulging backpack was slung over her delicate shoulders, causing her body to lean forward slightly, but she still tried hard to keep up with the person in front of her.

The little girl's eyes were clear and bright, sparkling with curiosity and anticipation. Her long, shiny black hair fluttered gently in the breeze, shining and charming like the stars in the night sky.

At this time, Jack and Caesars were sitting leisurely in front of the stone house, chatting happily. When they saw the young man and the little girl approaching, Jack smiled with relief and began to introduce his children to Caesars.

"Kaisas, let me introduce you. This handsome and strong young man is my son Jackman, who is one year older than you. And this lovely little girl, her name is Jessica, she is exactly ten years old this year. Our Jessica especially likes those beautiful flowery dresses, and she is very happy every time she sees them."

Hearing his father's call, Jackman quickly lowered the heavy bundle of firewood from his back and carefully placed it on the neatly stacked firewood pile nearby. Little Jessica also obediently took off the linen backpack from her shoulders and looked at the unfamiliar Caesars with a hint of nervousness.

"Children, this is Caesar, your aunt's child!" Jack introduced Caesar to the two children.

At this time, Caesars smiled and said to Jessica: "Jessica, if you can tell me what treasures are in your backpack, then as a reward, I will give you some very beautiful fabrics!" After saying that, he blinked, his eyes full of encouragement and expectation.

"The mushrooms in my backpack are the ones I collected. They are the Fire Maple Mushrooms that can only grow under the Fire Maple Tree!"

The petite girl walked lightly to Caesar's side, then slowly squatted down and gently opened the backpack, opening it so that Caesar could carefully examine the items inside. Inside the backpack, there were many light red mushrooms. These mushrooms were not small, almost each one was the size of an adult's fist.

"Come on, let's go into the house together now. I brought back a lot of good things this time. Jessica, you have to quickly find a big box to store them in!"

"Can you wait a little longer? I want to take these mushrooms out and air them out first. Fresh shimeji mushrooms are not very tasty. They give off an unpleasant moldy smell. Only after being air-dried can they become a mouth-watering delicacy!"

"Of course no problem, please feel free, pretty Miss Jessica!"

Hearing Caesar's witty and humorous words, the little girl couldn't help but burst into laughter. Her laughter was as clear and sweet as a silver bell, and it kept ringing.

She walked briskly toward the stone house, then bent down and carefully dumped all the mushrooms from her backpack onto a wooden plank used for drying. Then, her delicate hands deftly and expertly manipulated the mushrooms, gently and methodically placing each one upside down on the plank, carefully positioning the stems upward to ensure they would receive the full sunlight and breeze.

"Jessica, are you saving these mushrooms for eating?" Caesars looked at the coarse clothes on the little girl and knew that his uncle's family was not rich.

"No, after these mushrooms are dried, they will be taken to Fire Maple City to be sold before winter. Jackman wants his own leather armor, and he's short of a lot of gold coins!"

"I have leather armor. I can trade it for mushrooms!"

"Mushrooms are worthless. You'd be at a loss if you exchange leather armor for mushrooms!" The little girl's eyes were full of confusion when she looked at Caesar.

"Jessica, I'll give you a set of high-end leather armor, and you can give me some delicious mushrooms to try. This way, it won't be considered a loss!"

The little girl's eyes widened, and she nodded involuntarily. Without the deal, there was no loss.

As the sun sets, its afterglow casts a golden veil across the earth, casting a faint orange halo over the entire world. As the sun slowly sinks below the horizon, the temperature outside begins to drop noticeably, and a cool evening breeze gently caresses people's faces.

Caesars followed Jack in front of him and walked into the stone cottage. The house was filled with a warm atmosphere and the aroma of food. Jessica was busy at the stove, helping to prepare dinner. Fanny was skillfully chopping vegetables and stewing, occasionally looking up and smiling at the two people who had just entered the house.

At this time, Jackman, who was sitting next to him, seemed to have learned about the leather armor. He raised his eyes from time to time and looked at Caesar, his eyes revealing curiosity and expectation.

"Uncle Jack, I brought back some leather armor this time. You and Jackman will each have a set, but you have to try them on yourself to make sure they fit!" As Caesars said this, he took out more than a dozen sets of leather armor from the space ring.

At this moment, Jack inadvertently caught a glimpse of the exquisite and complex magic patterns on the leather armor. His face changed instantly. He rushed over in a panic and quickly closed the door tightly, as if he was afraid that outsiders would discover this precious treasure.

"These... these are actually high-grade magic pattern leather armor!" Jack's eyes widened, staring at the leather armor emitting a faint glow in disbelief. He carefully stroked the surface of the leather armor, feeling the delicate and smooth texture.

Jackman, standing next to him, was also stunned. He stood there, staring at the leather armor, as if he had been cast under a spell and unable to move. He had originally just wanted to buy an ordinary set of leather armor, but he never expected to see such high-quality leather armor before him. This sudden surprise made him so excited that he almost fainted.

"Pick the leather armor first, and I'll let you choose your weapons later!"

"Kassas, where did you get these leather armors? Look, the original branded emblems on them have been polished off!"

Jack frowned, his face filled with suspicion as he asked. His eyes were fixed on the neatly arranged pile of high-grade leather armor, and a faint worry rose in his heart, fearing that these items of unknown origin would cause them unnecessary trouble.

When Caesars heard Jack's question, a smug smile appeared on his face. "Uncle Jack, don't be nervous! These leather armors are from the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group. But unfortunately, they all died in the mysterious and dangerous Endless Forest. I happened to meet someone in the forest who wanted to deal with these weapons and equipment, so I took the initiative to take on this job and help sell them. After the job is done, I can also get a 5% reward!"

"Endless Forest? That's a restricted area!"

Jack recalled his experience as a mercenary. He had once ventured close to the edge of the Endless Forest, but he had only wandered around the periphery. No one who entered the Endless Forest had ever come out alive.

Caesars waved his hand nonchalantly: "Oh, Uncle Jack, there's no need to make such a fuss. To tell you the truth, I know the people in the Endless Forest!"

Jack breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. "So that's how it is..." But then he thought of something else, and his expression grew serious again. "Oh, kid, you have to know that the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group is no pushover. Everyone in the Roland Empire knows how notorious they are! Don't be fooled by the fact that they're mercenaries on the surface; they're actually lackeys and minions of the Saint Laurent Church. They secretly gather all kinds of intelligence for the Saint Laurent Empire, attempting to undermine its peace and stability."

"Two to three thousand members of the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group died in the Endless Forest. This mercenary group is temporarily ruined. It will be impossible for them to recover for at least ten years!"

Jack was delighted by the news Caesars had revealed. The Saint Laurent Empire was a hostile nation, having fought numerous border wars with the Roland Empire. He invited Jackman to help him choose leather armor, and then he chose the weapons Caesars had brought out.

When Caesars took out a variety of colorful and high-quality fabrics from the space ring, Jessica ran over with light steps, like a happy little bird, shouting in surprise.

"Wow! There are so many beautiful fabrics, it's really dazzling. How should I choose?" Jessica's eyes widened, her face full of excitement and confusion, as if every piece of fabric was a priceless treasure and it was difficult to make a decision.

Caesars smiled at the cute little girl in front of him and said softly, "Don't worry, Jessica. You don't need to choose, because all these fabrics are specially prepared for you!"

Hearing this, Jessica opened her mouth in surprise and asked in disbelief: "Really? Give it all to us?"

Caesars nodded affirmatively, gazing at the little girl in front of him whose face was radiant with joy.

After lunch, Caesars handed Jack a small, exquisite storage ring. Surprisingly, Jack, who had several years of mercenary experience, had mastered the use of the storage ring with great skill, which saved Caesars a lot of time and effort in explaining the storage ring in detail.

Jack's stone house was too small, and the four of them felt a bit cramped and crowded. In desperation, Caesars had no choice but to build a tent outside the stone house to spend the night.

There is a faint fragrance in the fire maple forest. It is the unique scent emitted by the leaves of the fire maple trees. It is fresh and pleasant, making people feel relaxed and happy.

The next morning, as the sun rose and its golden rays fell on the earth, Jessica could not wait to come out of the house. With her eyes full of curiosity, she looked up and down at the tent standing quietly outside the stone house with great interest.

"Kaisas, are you awake?"

A little girl in coarse clothes and pigtails stood outside the tent, softly asking the people inside. Her voice was clear and melodious, like the first ray of sunlight in the morning penetrating the woods and falling on the earth.

"Jessica, I'm awake. Wait a moment, I'll be right out!"

A rustling sound came from the tent, and Kaisus hurriedly put on his clothes. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation at the thought of the little girl taking him to the nearby Cold Wind Mountain today. Yesterday, while searching for mushrooms, the little girl had stumbled upon a large, withered yellow snake. If the snake was poisonous, it would have to be killed, otherwise it would be dangerous for the little girl to visit the Fire Maple Forest again.

Soon, Caesars emerged from the tent, neatly dressed. He tucked the tent neatly into his interspatial ring, then reached into his pocket, grabbed a handful of pastry, and handed it to the girl in front of him with a smile, "Here, have something to eat first."

At that moment, Jack also walked out of the stone house with his son. Both father and son were wearing leather armor, looking heroic and ready to practice martial arts.

"Good morning, where are you going?" Jack greeted Caesars and Jessica with a smile.

"We plan to catch a snake at the foot of Cold Wind Mountain." Kaisas raised the staff in his hand and answered confidently.

"Oh? Catching snakes? Be careful, don't get bitten by the snake." Jack kindly reminded.

"Don't worry, I'll protect Jessica. I also have the antidote!" Caesars patted his chest and assured her. He then took Jessica's hand and walked towards Hanfeng Mountain...

Hanfeng County was originally called Huofeng County because the people of the Saint Roland Empire had committed a crime and burned down hundreds of thousands of acres of fire maple trees south of Huofeng City. To remember the hatred, the Roland Empire changed Huofeng County's name to Hanfeng County.

Because the Flame Maple tree grows so slowly, the world-famous Flame Maple Wine was almost lost. Although there are still many places that brew Flame Maple Wine, the brewing techniques have been seriously lost over the centuries, resulting in the deterioration of the quality of Flame Maple Wine.

The production of fire maple syrup is relatively simple, requiring only filtering the sap and then simmering it over a slow fire. However, there are still unscrupulous merchants who mix maltose into fire maple syrup and boil it together.

Kaisas took out the maple syrup he bought from Fire Maple City, and the girl said it was adulterated as soon as she tasted it.

"Jessica, how do you tell if the maple syrup is adulterated?" Caesars asked with some confusion. The maple syrup he ate was actually adulterated.

"These damned black-hearted profiteers adulterated the syrup with maltose. Worried that the fire maple syrup wouldn't have enough flavor, they boiled fire maple leaves and added the sap to the syrup. The adulterated fire maple syrup is sweet and fragrant, but it's slightly bitter. That's the bitterness from the fire maple leaves!"

The little girl told the truth, which made Caesars a little angry. He was fooled by the black-hearted profiteer.