Luo Wei and Tilis had been strolling along the beach for quite some time when, without realizing it, they finally arrived at the location of the small wooden cabin.
“We’re home~”
Tilis walked up slowly and stood in front of the tightly shut wooden door.
Luo Wei noticed a faint circle of blue fluorescence on the door, likely a magical seal Tilis had placed before leaving.
She then reached out her hand and waved it gently in front of the door, causing the magically sealed wooden door to slowly open.
Tilis turned back to Luo Wei, smiling as she gestured for him to come in.
“Come on in!”
Luo Wei nodded and followed her inside the cabin.
He looked around curiously. The cabin wasn’t large, with the most prominent feature being an alchemy table filled with various tools he was quite familiar with. Surrounding the table were several rows of bookshelves and cabinets filled with jars and bottles, presumably containing magical materials.
Although she lived here, there were almost no furnishings related to daily life.
Looking around, the only furniture was a desk, two chairs, and a small bed in the corner—nearly the entirety of her belongings.
Tilis was completely absorbed in her magical research, so she paid little attention to the comforts of life. Even when she lived in her old mansion, her room was always cluttered, leaving Luo Wei with barely any space to stand whenever he visited.
Luo Wei sat down on the chair by the desk and looked at Tilis with some confusion, wondering why she had brought him to her home. Was there some secret she wanted to share with him?
“Let’s have something to drink first~” Tilis rummaged through the cabinet for a while, stirring up dust, and finally found a can of tea that had likely been sitting there for who knows how long.
“I remember you liked this...”
She smiled as she showed it off to Luo Wei. “I came across this during my travels in the southern part of the empire. I remembered you liked it, so I bought it on a whim. It’s good stuff!”
Luo Wei smiled and nodded.
While Tilis brewed the tea, Luo Wei’s gaze drifted to her desk. The only thing in the room that carried a sense of daily life was the arrangement on the desk.
In the most prominent spot on the desk was a photo frame containing a picture of a young, adorable Tilis with a woman in her thirties.
This woman was her teacher, Usoma, the former head of the Magical Hermitage.
Next to the photo was a stack of newspapers...
Luo Wei didn’t even need to pick them up to see his own large photo on the front page of one of them...
In the photo, he was covering his face with his hand, though not completely, revealing an expression that was both annoyed and frustrated...
There were over thirty copies of such newspapers...
And besides these...
Underneath a thick book were scattered piles of newspapers and documents, all in disarray. Luo Wei sneaked a glance and noticed headlines about the Callen University disappearance case and the Saint Callen cultist incident...
So it seemed...
Perhaps she had been keeping an eye on him ever since he returned...
All this time, Tilis, who was thousands of miles away, had been secretly watching him, while he remained completely unaware...
A shiver ran down Luo Wei’s spine, leaving him with an eerie feeling.
Just then, he heard light footsteps approaching from behind.
“Luo Wei, why were you covering your face in the photo?”
Tilis approached with two steaming cups of tea, standing beside Luo Wei. Seeing him looking at the newspapers, she tilted her head curiously.
Luo Wei chuckled awkwardly and slowly accepted the tea she handed him.
“Who knows... Maybe I was in a bad mood that day...”
He couldn’t very well say he was covering his face to avoid being spotted by her, could he?
“Oh... Is that so?” Tilis grabbed the newspaper and carefully analyzed Luo Wei’s pose in the photo.
“It feels like... you didn’t want your face to appear in the newspaper...”
“You must have been hiding from someone, right?”
“No way!” Luo Wei immediately straightened his face and spoke with conviction. “I’m an open and honest person! Who would I be hiding from?”
Tilis tilted her head, watching Luo Wei’s nervous expression, and then smiled faintly.
“Really?”
“Of course!” Luo Wei nodded quickly.
The room fell silent for a moment. Tilis gazed at Luo Wei’s face, her smile deepening.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore...”
Luo Wei tried to change the subject—or rather, steer the conversation back on track.
He looked at Tilis with confusion. “You brought me here because you said you had something to show me, right?”
“Oh, right!” Tilis laughed. “I got so caught up in chatting with you that I almost forgot.”
With that, she leaned over and rummaged through the desk drawer for a moment.
Then, she handed Luo Wei an old notebook.
“This is...”
The moment Luo Wei touched the notebook, a system prompt suddenly appeared.
**[Usoma’s Fragmentary Notes (Forbidden Tome)]**
**[Danger Level: ★★★★]**
**[Contains the early research of the mage Usoma on deities, including numerous forbidden and ominous black magic knowledge. It is a gateway to madness.]**
**[Friendly Reminder: Not recommended for in-depth study. If studied deeply, sanity will decrease by 20, and continuous sanity checks will be required...]**
Seeing Luo Wei’s serious expression, Tilis explained to him:
“This is the notebook my teacher always carried with her. Over a decade ago, she began researching deities.”
“At the time, she secretly established a covert research project behind the backs of the council. The project aimed to search for traces of deities around the world. My teacher believed this was the only way to resolve the centuries-long dilemma faced by mages.”
“You mean the deity research institute on that island now?” Luo Wei asked.
“Exactly,” Tilis nodded. “Six months ago, she and I arrived here as soon as we could and immediately began researching the sea deity of Heglais Town. But the island’s research institute is just one part of it.”
Luo Wei stared at the notebook in his hands, momentarily unsure whether he should open it.
After all, the system had already warned him about the danger of this item. Even though he was extremely curious, he had to consider whether his sanity could withstand such a level of mental strain...
Tilis, thinking he was hesitant to get involved in the secrets of the Magical Hermitage, smiled reassuringly.
“It’s fine. If it’s you, I’m willing to share everything with you.”
“I truly hope we can walk this path of witnessing the truth together.”
“Witnessing... the truth...” Luo Wei felt a slight stirring in his heart.
He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, and then slowly opened the notebook titled **Usoma’s Fragmentary Notes**.
I’ll just take a quick look...
Not too much, and I won’t study the black magic inside...
That should be fine.