The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 70: Witch Bloodline

"Stop, don't say any more." Talier suddenly covered her ears with her hands.

"What comes next must be very sad, right? I can guess without you telling me. I never saw my grandmother when I was little, and I've even forgotten what my father looked like. I don't need to know about their lives later on."

"You, child..." The old man shook his head but didn't insist. His gaze just sank into the candle flame on the table. In his eyes, where the firelight flickered, scenes from many years ago seemed to be reflected once more.

That night, Sylutia and Talier returned to their familiar room to stay, and the night passed peacefully.

The next day.

After finishing breakfast, Sylutia wanted to go for a walk on the mountain near the village. That was the place she had come from.

"The mountain isn't safe, especially when food is scarce." The old man reminded her, preparing to have a few sturdy young men from the village accompany the girl up the mountain.

"No need, I have the ability to protect myself." Sylutia picked up the short sword beside her. She drew the sword and swung it through the air, tracing a cold, beautiful arc of light.

"Oh? To have already cultivated to this extent?" The old man, in his prime, had been a Second Tier adventurer, well-traveled and knowledgeable. He quickly saw that Sylutia's strength was not ordinary.

"In that case, I can be somewhat reassured. However, let Talier go with you. She knows the way." The old man instructed."I'll go too." Hearing her grandfather call her, Talier raised her hand.

And so, the two formed a team and walked towards the mountain forest outside the village.

How she had walked out of this mountainous area several months ago, Sylutia didn't remember clearly. She just followed a vague sense of direction, weaving through the mountains.

"Tia, are you looking for the place where you woke up back then?" Talier asked.

"That's right. Actually, I can't figure out why I woke up in that place." The girl answered.

The two walked on the rugged mountain terrain, using wooden sticks to push aside the thick, obstructing bushes. The winter forest was quite quiet, with not too much animal activity. Even the insects among the fallen leaves were much fewer.

Estimating the distance and time she had walked back then, Sylutia vaguely searched for that patch of forest. Unfortunately, the two wandered in the mountains for a long time but did not find the place in her memory.

In the afternoon, the two who had found nothing returned to Lindenwood Village.

"We'll go again tomorrow. If we still can't find it, then forget it." Sylutia felt that some things could not be forced.

...

On the third day, Sylutia and Talier set out again. Today, light snow was falling once more, and the sky was gray and overcast.

The mountain forest was somewhat chilly. The rabbits and wolves often encountered in the past were not seen these two days, perhaps hibernating somewhere.

They set out again, advancing along a different direction from yesterday.

This time, Sylutia faintly had a different feeling. Some rocks and large trees they passed began to give her a slight sense of familiarity.

"This should be the direction." She spoke to Talier with some anticipation.

"It's good if you can find it." Talier nodded, though she seemed to have something on her mind today.

"What's wrong, Talier?" Sylutia inquired.

"Yesterday, when Tia wasn't around, I secretly asked Grandpa about what happened back then." Talier recalled with a touch of melancholy.

"After my father married my mother back then, they lived in Scorchstone City for a while first, then moved back to the village. He didn't inherit Grandpa's talent. Usually, he just herded sheep and did simple tasks."

"One day, Father didn't come back even by night. Mother was very worried and went to tell Grandma. Grandma was also in the village at that time."

"So Grandma went up the mountain to look for Father."

"She searched for about three days, and then Grandma came back. She only found Father's leftover wine bottle and basket. She said Father wouldn't be coming back, and I was probably only about 3 years old then."

"This... was he taken by a wolf or some wild beast?" Sylutia comforted her.

"Maybe. But Grandpa said that Grandma seemed to have something on her mind from then on and became more withdrawn."

"Later, Grandma went into the mountains several more times, until one time she got injured and stumbled back."

"Ah, did she go alone every time?" Sylutia was curious and puzzled.

"Yes. Grandma wouldn't let Grandpa follow. Actually, Grandpa wasn't old back then; he definitely had the strength."

"Although she was injured, after that time, Grandma seemed to give up hope too and didn't continue going up the mountain to search."

"Unfortunately, from then on, Grandma's health also got worse and worse. So before I was even 5 years old, Grandma passed away." Talier looked sadly at the gray, snowy sky.

"Based on Grandpa's description, Grandma should have encountered some formidable enemy. Her body was eroded by a high-tier 'Aspect' power. That kind of injury couldn't be cured by ordinary herbs at all."

"Tia, do you know, if an Aspect tier exceeds three, it will crush and erode ordinary people."

"I've heard Scholar Hyde talk about it." The girl recalled the classroom where Scholar Hyde used a knight's combat power as a metaphor.

"It's a very terrifying thing. If a third-tier Winter Beast runs through the forest, the insects and birds along the way will be eroded to death by the 'Slumbering Winter' aura. Even the trees will freeze."

"Without even mentioning fighting, even if such a Winter Beast just breathes near you, you will gradually fall. That's the terrifying crushing power of a high-tier 'Aspect' over a low-tier one." Talier bit her lip as she answered.

"Can it really reach that extent?" Sylutia found it hard to imagine.

"Yes, it's very terrifying." Talier shook her head.

"That's why you basically never see third-tier adventurers or professionals. They generally don't live in places with many people, unless their control is already very strong, allowing their Aspect power to remain stable and calm, not affecting the people around them."

"The requirements in the city are probably lower because the 'Castle' power itself suppresses the spread and erosion of other Aspects."

One could imagine how crazy and chaotic this world was before the 'Swan King' Moransa established royal authority.

"However, since something like that happened in the past, why is the village chief still so at ease letting you go up the mountain?" Sylutia was a bit confused.

"That's our family's special talent, hehe." Talier patted her chest.

"Not just me, but also my sister Winnie. Our sense of direction in the mountains is particularly good; we've never gotten lost. It's said Grandma was like that back then, which is why Grandpa felt at ease letting her go into the mountains to search."

"It's just that Father didn't seem to inherit this talent. He occasionally got lost in the mountains, which is why Grandpa and the others worried."

"And it's passed down by gender?" The girl tilted her head.

"Probably. Grandpa said Grandma's ancestors might have been witches." Talier's words made Sylutia especially curious.

"Witches?"

"That's right. Witches are, like formal scholars, a powerful profession of at least the third tier. They mostly cultivate the three moon-related Aspects."

"Remember the fortune-teller Grandpa mentioned the day before yesterday? That was Grandma's aunt. She was a practitioner of the 'Luminous Moon' Aspect."

"Witches rarely appear in the eyes of the world, and they are seldom recorded in history. It's said this is due to an agreement with the scholars of 'Candlekeep'—they are not allowed to record traces of witches in their books. So, stories can only be passed down by word of mouth."

"Then where do witches live? Since they live, they must need some basic supplies, right?" Sylutia thought about it.

"Of course they live in the forests. It's said the origin of the witch path had a pact with the fairies of the forest, having the forest protect the witches. Because of this, witches don't get lost in the forest and can also construct a kind of lost illusion, preventing outsiders from intruding." Talier's spirits were especially high as she talked about this.

"These are all things my sister told me. She was also very interested in witches back then. Unfortunately, she said her own talent was limited and she couldn't pursue the witch path."

Lost illusion, forest, Luminous Moon, moon-related Aspects... Sylutia pieced together these fragments of information like a puzzle, slowly sketching an outline in her mind.