Chapter 53: The Truth That Might Be the Truth

Zhao Hai punched the ground and said in a deep voice, "Why is this happening? Could it be that all our previous efforts have been in vain?"

Green patted Zhao Hai's shoulder and said, "No, Young Master, don't worry. We will find a way to solve this problem."

Zhao Hai's expression was still not good. He touched the soil on the ground and said, "No, you don't understand. This vast land, looking at it but unable to cultivate it. I had already planned to improve the soil here, gradually turning it into a granary for the continent. Unfortunately, it seems this plan cannot be implemented."

Zhao Hai clapped his hands and stood up, his face full of disappointment. This blow was really too great for him. Such a large piece of land, he could not possibly transform it in a short time. If those monsters appeared again before he completed the transformation, all his efforts would be in vain. Even if he completed the transformation, the appearance of those monsters would render his efforts useless.

Green and the others did not know how to comfort Zhao Hai. They also understood his current mood. Anyone in this situation would feel terrible.

Zhao Hai glanced at the Black Soil Wasteland, sighed, and turned to walk up the mountain. After taking a few steps, he stopped and muttered, "No, something is wrong."

Merlin and Green, who had just turned to follow Zhao Hai, exchanged glances. Green asked in confusion, "Young Master, what's wrong?"

Zhao Hai pointed to the mountain and said, "Grandpa Green, what do you see on the mountain?"

Green looked at the mountain, frowned, and said, "Nothing, just some weeds. Weeds? Yes, why are there weeds on the mountain? If the black soil in the Black Soil Wasteland is due to the toxins from those monsters, why hasn't the soil on the mountain been affected? This is wrong."

Merlin also realized this and looked at the weeds on the mountain in confusion. These weeds were indeed very resilient. Although they were trampled by the monsters, they had recovered after a few days, showing signs of life.

When the monsters retreated, it was different from when they came. They came like a large army, surging forward, but when they retreated, they were scattered, so the damage to the mountain's grass was not severe. Now, the weeds on the mountain had recovered a lot.

It was these recovering weeds that made Zhao Hai realize something was wrong. If the Black Soil Wasteland was really polluted by the toxins from the monsters, the mountain should not be unaffected, considering the monsters came from the mountain.

Zhao Hai suddenly turned around and looked at the black soil, muttering, "No, it must not be because of the toxins on their bodies. What could it be? What could it be?"

Green and Merlin also turned to look at the black soil. They did not know what was happening. Merlin had thought her deduction was correct, but when she saw the weeds on the mountain, she knew her deduction was wrong.

Zhao Hai kept circling on the ground, unable to figure out why the land was like this. Gradually, he walked to the moat without realizing it. He stopped and stared at the light green water in the moat.

When Merlin and Green saw Zhao Hai standing by the moat, they became nervous and approached him, fearing something might happen to him.

Suddenly, Zhao Hai clapped his hands and said, "I've got it, I've got it."

Green was taken aback and asked, "Young Master, what have you figured out?"

Zhao Hai pointed to the river and said, "The water in this river has always been flowing, but it is still light green. This means that the water in the mountain lake has also been affected by the monsters. But why would the monsters go there? There's nothing to eat there. So I think they must have gone there for a specific purpose, most likely to bathe."

"Bathe?" When Green and Merlin heard this, they looked at him strangely, thinking he had gone mad.

Merlin quickly said, "Young Master, take a rest."

Zhao Hai turned to look at Merlin and said, "What's wrong, Grandma Merlin? Don't you believe me?"

Merlin smiled bitterly and said, "Young Master, those monsters come from the Corpse Swamp, where there is no shortage of water. Why would they come here to bathe?"

Zhao Hai snapped his fingers and said, "That's exactly the point. Although there is no shortage of water in the Corpse Swamp, the water there is toxic. As you said, even the air there is toxic, so the water must be toxic too. Bathing in that water is like not bathing at all. I think they must be looking for some clean water to bathe in."

When Zhao Hai said this, Green and Merlin were taken aback. They had never thought of it this way, but it made sense.

Zhao Hai looked at their expressions and continued, "Also, have you thought about it? The black soil might really be related to those monsters. Living in the highly toxic Corpse Swamp, the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe are all toxic. Even if they are poison-type monsters, they might not be able to handle it. So they might come to the Black Soil Wasteland to expel the excess toxins from their bodies. This part of the toxins might be the most toxic, so the Black Soil Wasteland gradually became like this."

The more Zhao Hai spoke, the more he felt it made sense. Green and Merlin also felt it made sense. Zhao Hai's explanation really seemed plausible.

However, Green frowned and said, "So, those monsters are using this place to expel toxins? If that's the case, they must come out of the Corpse Swamp frequently, which would be a big problem for us."

When Zhao Hai heard this, the excited look on his face disappeared. He realized that he had just found a possible truth but had not yet found a solution.

Zhao Hai circled on the ground a few more times, and Merlin, seeing his expression, glared at Green and turned to Zhao Hai, saying, "Young Master, don't think too much about it. Let's first deal with the toxins in the water. Otherwise, we can't even use the water, and we have to use the water from the spatial pocket."

Zhao Hai came to his senses, looked at the Black Soil Wasteland, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go. We need to get through this first. Since the problem has happened, there must be a solution. We'll think about it step by step."

He turned and walked up the mountain, and Green and Merlin also looked at the Black Soil Wasteland, sighed, and followed Zhao Hai up the mountain. They were worried that there might still be monsters in the mountain lake, which would be dangerous for Zhao Hai.

When the three reached the entrance of the mine, before Zhao Hai could enter, Green quickly entered the mine. Merlin held Zhao Hai back and said, "Young Master, wait. Let Green check first."

Zhao Hai reluctantly stopped. A moment later, Green's voice came from inside, "Young Master, Merlin, come in. There are no more monsters inside."

Zhao Hai and Merlin then entered the mine. When they reached the mountain lake, Green was already there, staring at the lake. Merlin immediately cast a lighting spell, and the condition of the lake water was clearly visible to the three of them.

The green color in the lake was much deeper than in the moat, looking dark green and very uncomfortable.

Zhao Hai sighed, "What a beautiful lake, and those guys turned it into bathwater. How hateful." As he spoke, he opened his spatial pocket and directed the water from it into the lake.

However, what Zhao Hai did not expect was that as soon as the spatial water entered the lake, it seemed to cause a chemical reaction. Starting from the point where the water entered, the green color in the lake began to disappear rapidly, spreading out at a visible speed, quickly exceeding their line of sight.

Zhao Hai and the others were stunned by this. Although they knew the spatial water could detoxify the lake, it was happening too fast. After all, not much water had come out of the spatial pocket yet. How could it react so quickly?

After a while, Zhao Hai said uncertainly, "I wonder if the toxins in the water are still there. Grandma Merlin, you should check."

Merlin nodded, dipped her hand into the lake, and muttered a few spells. A blue light emitted from her hand and then disappeared into the lake like scattered stars.

After a while, the blue light points reappeared and gathered back in Merlin's hand, slowly disappearing. Merlin opened her eyes, looking shocked, and said, "It's incredible. All the toxins are gone, not a trace left."

Zhao Hai immediately said, "Let's go back to the castle and check." The three quickly walked out of the mine. As soon as they came out, they saw a plume of black smoke rising from the castle, indicating that Meg and the others had already cleaned up the castle.

When they reached the outside of the castle, they saw Meg and the others throwing garbage from the castle into the fire. Zhao Hai and the others quickly walked to the moat. Indeed, the water in the moat had turned clear, and the green color was completely gone.

However, Zhao Hai was still not reassured. He asked Merlin to create a water ball and put it in his spatial pocket to check if it was still toxic. The spatial pocket's prompt indicated that the water was completely free of toxins and even contained some anti-toxin factors, which was an unexpected bonus.

When Meg and the others had almost finished cleaning, Merlin used water magic to thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the castle. After everything was done, the castle was finally habitable again.