225 YOU ARE THE CULPRI

"Wait a moment… If that's the case, where in the world is the Enchanter???

A doubt surfaced in Fan Lei's mind as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

If their deduction held through, then the Enchanter of those sandmen had to be in the oasis.

However, other than the water and a towering sakura tree beside the oasis, there was nothing in sight.

"There's no way the Enchanter was able to enchant the heaps of sand from a distance away!"

Fan Lei rubbed his glabella in frustration.

Fan Lei and the rest of the group had been contributing their insights trying to solve the puzzle and complete the whole picture of the scenario where they are.

They felt like they had already gathered up all the missing pieces required to solve the puzzle, but everything still remained an enigma to them.

Somehow, they were still unable to form a complete picture with the clues they had. The still can't see through the veil of this mystery.

And the very crux of that was the Enchanter.

Until they found the Enchanter, this matter would remain a mystery to them. They would not be able to find the Rhapsody Swamp or even the way out of this godforsaken desert land.

He had also observed the water in the oasis very closely earlier. But just like what Mu Lingxi and the others, there is nothing into it.

The water is crystal clear, he was able to see to the very bottom of the oasis with ease, but there was no portal nor anything where one can hide down there.

As such, it was very likely that the portal leading to Rhapsody Swamp was not located in that oasis.

"Earlier, the three warlocks were reduced to yellow sand after drinking the water, but nothing happened to us when we consumed it. Also, it is only possible to enchant the corpses after they have been reduced to heaps of sand. If there is nothing wrong with the water, it has to be something above the water then!"

Fan Lei frowned in bewilderment as he turned his gaze to the surface of the water once more.

Only those who drank the water from the oasis would be reduced to sand and become enchanted into being a sandman.

He felt that as long as he could understand how those warlocks were turned into yellow sand, he would be able to find out where the Enchanter was hiding!

Thus, he scooped up another mouthful of water and examined it closely, but he still found nothing worth noting.

It was just simple water with nothing inside. Just as he was about to give up, a slight breeze suddenly blew through the oasis.

The towering Sakura Tree beside the oasis swayed along with the breeze, its leaves rustling noisily.

The pink flowers blooming all over the towering Sakura Tree fell into the oasis with a light tug of the breeze, and they floated quietly on the surface of the water.

A moment later, they dissolved apart and vanished in the water.

"MEOW"

[Could that be the culprit?]

Solving the puzzle in this mystery also caught Janus's interest. As such, he too was curious as to how the warlocks were turned into a pile of yellow and after consuming the water.

That is why he went out to test it for himself. Only to find out that there is nothing wrong with the water in the oasis. In fact, it was even effective in quenching one's thirst compared to ordinary water.

"MEOW"

[Litte lass, can you try picking some flowers over that tree and observe it?]

Just like what he did before, he asked his master to do some stuff for him. After all, it is not as if his two cute little paws would allow him to pick flowers and gave it a thorough analysis.

Even the idea of observing the sand grains from the remains of the warlocks as well as the scooping of the water in the oasis was done under his instruction.

When Mu Lingxi heard Janus's request, she hurriedly walked up to the towering Sakura tree and picked a handful of pink flowers blooming from it.

Tzzzz!

To her astonishment, as soon as her skin touches the pink flowers it felt as if a bundle of flames was burning onto her palm!

She immediately let go of the flowers as she held her burned palm. Seeing Mu Lingxi's reaction after coming in contact with the pink flowers, Chan Gu and the other's rush to her aid.

When Yun Xue saw the reddish mark in Mu Lingxi's hand as a result of burning from the flower a frown emerged on his forehead.

"What are you doing???! Why are you acting before thinking?!!!"

He yanked on Mu Lingxi's hand and blows to it. After that, he also took a healing potion in his storage ring and pour it generously over Mu Lingxi's burned skin.

After doing that, he carefully wrapped Mu Lingxi's hand with a clean bandage.

Yun Xue's action was too sudden and swift. Before Mu Lingxi could even say a word, Yun Xue was already done on what he was doing.

He let go of Mu Lingxi's hand before turning away from her as if nothing happened.

Long Yue and the other's also noticed Yun Xue's agitation as well as his weird action just a while ago.

But knowing that this friend of theirs had some tendency of acting weird at some point of time, they just simply shrugged their shoulders and did not think much about it.

What they do instead is they focus their attention on the pink flowers blooming over the towering Sakura Tree.

Their friend, Su Yan, got burned by just coming in contact with its flower, so there is definitely something wrong with this tree.

Long Fuzi and the others carefully reached out at the towering Sakura Tree. As soon as they touch the flower in the tree, a searing pain assaulted them.

The pain brought by coming in contact with the fowers bore a striking similarity to the flames that they had felt when they touched the bodies of the warlocks before they turned into a pile of yellow sand.

"MEOW"

[Just as I thought!]

Janus narrowed his eyes as he nodded in realization.

It was no wonder why Lu Mu, as well as those other warlocks who come before them, had ended up bursting into flames after drinking the water whereas they remained completely fine.

It seemed like the key lay in these pink flowers.

Only when one drank water laced with the pink flowers would they be reduced to yellow sand and transform into a sandman!

When he and Mu Lingxi checked the oasis, the flower had already dissolved into the water so it was no wonder they had been unable to find anything at all.

He had finally found the cause behind the mysterious flames…

But where was the Enchanter?

While the group was busy trying to decide on their own, Janus walked up to the Sakura Tree and examined it closely.

However, there was nothing peculiar within his sight.

He raised his paws and placed it lightly on the tree trunk. A moment later, a smile crept upon his cute little fur face.

Imagine how Garfield smiles whenever he sees lasagna. That is how Janus looks like when he smiles.

Janus leaned into the tree and whispered,

"MEOW"

[You are the culprit, aren't you?]