The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 76: Reflections in the Water

"When a bird flies over the water's surface, what does it see? Yero."

In Scholar Hyde's study, the warm fireplace burned as he asked the student who was copying scrolls beside him.

"It would see the fish and water plants in the water, is that right, teacher?" Yero looked up to ask.

"Not just those things. It would also see its own reflection." Scholar Hyde coughed, covering his mouth with a towel.

"Teacher." Yero put down his pen, walked over, and patted Scholar Hyde's back for him.

"Huff... I'm fine. Let's continue with the previous topic." Scholar Hyde raised his hand.

"Just as a bird flying over water sees its own reflection, when the seven continents float above the Twilight Sea, do you think there would be shadows?"

"This... there should be shadows." Yero nodded.

"Then what form do you think these shadows would take?" Scholar Hyde looked up, gazing at his last formal student.

"Since they're shadows, their outlines and shapes should be similar to the continents, right?" Yero pondered."Yes, and not just ordinary similarity—as if they were completely photocopied replicas of another continent." Scholar Hyde coughed as he answered.

"Do you know why I've never said I would recommend you to go to the Hidden Grove?"

"Because my talent isn't sufficient." Yero answered calmly. He had long recognized this point.

"If it were merely insufficient talent, it wouldn't change the benefits of such a choice. Those nobles would definitely send all their children to the Hidden Grove to learn powerful secret arts." Scholar Hyde shook his head.

"But you also know, most nobles don't do this. They're even unwilling to let their children enter the Hidden Grove."

"This is... why?" Yero became serious.

"Because the Hidden Grove isn't located anywhere on the continent, but in the shadow beneath our continent." Scholar Hyde said this with great effort.

"That is a space submerged by the Twilight Sea, the filthy sea where countless monsters are born, a desperate place where the Distortion Aspect continuously erodes and spreads."

"Since that's the case, why is it still arranged in that place?" Yero felt there must be some reason for it.

"Yes, that's right. It's a filthy place, but in a sense, it's also a place with many precious resources." Scholar Hyde sighed.

"During the Seventh Epoch, the alien star descended, piercing the earth. Many paradises sank into the depths of the Twilight Sea. The seven continents we inhabit now are only a small fragment of the world back then."

"Those worlds that sank into the depths of the Twilight Sea became breeding grounds for monsters and also spawned many things we never understood. Some of these things have been analyzed by certain schools and can be utilized."

"To facilitate research, and also to extract those resources, they established outposts in the Shadow World deep within the Twilight Sea, stationing many personnel there permanently."

"If the Twilight Sea is an unknown expanse of sand where no one knows what's buried beneath, then the shadows of the seven continents floating across the sky are like nets filtering through the sand. Certain things are drawn into them when the shadows cover a local area. This is the origin of the monsters in the Shadow World."

"Why is the first test for going to the Hidden Grove always finding something specific? This is to screen students with search abilities."

"Why is the second test for going to the Hidden Grove always defeating an enemy of the same tier? This is because you will always encounter various monsters in the Shadow World."

"Why is the third test for going to the Hidden Grove always obtaining something under extreme difficulty? This is because those rare resources are always so difficult to acquire."

"If your strength isn't sufficient, going there is just delivering yourself to death. Now do you understand my difficulties, cough cough." Scholar Hyde coughed again.

"I understand. I'm sorry, teacher." Yero patted Scholar Hyde's back again.

"Why tell me this suddenly today?" Actually, he hadn't even thought about going to the Hidden Grove.

"Why..." Scholar Hyde looked at the snow falling outside the window, his eyes sinking deeply into memories.

"Probably because I don't want to have a certain kind of regret and misunderstanding again."

"I've rarely told you about my youth, but now I can talk about it."

"Once, I was very much like you—the kind of student who yearned particularly for the 'Secret Word' path, or rather, pursued knowledge very diligently, but our talents were both very ordinary."

"That's right. My talent actually wasn't good either. Back then, I could only watch enviously as my clever classmates easily learned each piece of knowledge and secret art."

"But everyone says teacher was a brilliant talent in his youth, achieving success very early." Yero shook his head.

"That's the impression from later, silly child." Hyde shook his head.

"When I was eighteen or nineteen, I was completely unknown, and no one paid me any attention."

"I only had one friend. His name was Jerry. We two always encouraged each other, exchanged learning, and even lived together long-term, sharing a rented house."

"Because we couldn't enter the Hidden Grove, nor gain the favor of those large organizations, we two could only find certain unorthodox methods, or rather, very foolish methods."

"There are several channels for the Candlefort School to recruit formal members. The one from the Hidden Grove is just one of them."

"If I assisted 'Candlekeep' in collecting and compiling certain materials, I could also become their peripheral member. Then step by step, I could complete various contributions until, at some point, they recognized and accepted me."

"My and Jerry's plan was to take this path. Isn't it very similar to your current thoughts?" A nostalgic smile appeared at the corner of Scholar Hyde's mouth.

"Back then, I ate only a little bread every day, drank well water, ran around everywhere, investigated local conditions, flipped through and asked locals about past events, then recorded and organized them one by one."

"This kind of work was particularly tedious and boring. Those famous scholars couldn't be bothered to waste precious energy on it. Only us low-tier peripheral members did it."

"Jerry and I ran to many places—into the mountains, by the rivers, and even crawled into the city's underground water channels, searching for certain recorded things."

"Those days were very busy and also particularly fulfilling, especially watching the contribution points slowly accumulate, like seeing our own beautiful future."

"It took about seven years. We accumulated enough contribution points, then found that Candlekeep scholar, asking if they could formally accept us."

"He didn't answer directly at the time, just sneered slightly, took out a book, and handed it to us."

'I know you harbor great hopes, but please consider the organization's reputation. This is a valuable book explaining how to advance. When you someday become 'Third Tier·Secret Word,' then come talk to me again.'

"Our hopes were dashed. That book, while good, wasn't suitable for people like us with insufficient talent."

"Jerry and I walked down the street dejectedly, then went to a bar and drank a lot."

"By then we were nearly thirty, but still stuck at 'First Tier.' Because running around everywhere wasted a lot of our energy, and we hadn't saved up resources to practice advancement."

"We were nothing. We mocked ourselves, saying this, then the two of us wandered the streets, sleeping in alleys."

"From then on, we no longer passionately traveled and investigated, but focused on improving our Aspect tier."

"Perhaps it was the many years of traveling and visiting that gave me a particularly deep understanding of the 'Secret Word' Aspect. When I truly focused on this, I achieved results previously unimaginable."

"Soon, I advanced to 'Second Tier·Secret Word.' I had just turned thirty then."

"This achievement couldn't be called genius, but it counted as a minor talent locally. So I gained a bit of a meager reputation and secured a job with the previous generation's Viscount Xuefeng."

Perhaps because I had made progress, giving me considerable confidence and hope, I had thoughts about the 'Third Tier·Secret Word' I once dreamed of. I decided to imitate my past experiences, traveling everywhere to investigate ideas, and began writing my own travelogue.

"At this time, Jerry found me. He was surprised by my advancement and asked me for the method. I was very generous and open, telling him everything, and wished him the same early advancement."

"After receiving my full disclosure, Jerry was very grateful. He also decided to continue traveling like me."

"Thus, we occasionally exchanged letters and sometimes reunited in some place."

"After a few years, Jerry finally stepped into 'Second Tier·Secret Word.' We were extremely happy and specially went to celebrate."

"Originally, I thought our friendship would deepen because of this, since we stood at the same stage again." Scholar Hyde sighed with emotion.

"I started writing a new book. He was also very interested, coming over from time to time to check my progress, wanting to learn."

"Of course, this was my best friend. What reason did I have to refuse him?"

"So I was especially generous, telling him my sources of inspiration, the entire book's framework, ideas, and the sources of all the materials."

"But later, what happened later, you should be able to guess."

"I didn't advance to 'Third Tier·Secret Word.' Something unexpected must have happened in between. As I said before, I trusted him too much, ultimately brewing tragedy."

"He took my results and rushed to publish them first, quickly gaining Candlekeep's recognition."

"At that time, his advancement was imminent. Candlekeep also saw him as a prospective member, treating him with particular warmth and care."

"I was filled with resentment but had no choice. After all, I had no way to prove I was the first to create that thing."

"The entire process was only known to the two of us, and I had already completely told him the book's origins and everything."

"I was sad for a long time, preparing to leave this land. But I didn't expect the first thing he did after advancing was to have people arrest me, falsely accusing me of plagiarizing his work."

"Such a charge was enough to keep me imprisoned for decades. I couldn't understand why he did this."

"Because he had already taken everything from me, and I had no ability to get it back."

"Much later, he told me the reason. Because I was his only stain, the person who knew his past experiences. And if he wanted to live a stable, peaceful life, I couldn't remain alive."

"It was all too late. In prison, people he arranged tortured me half to death. I could no longer see the sun."

"Originally, I had given up, preparing to end myself in despair. At that time, the previous generation's Viscount Xuefeng had someone extract me from the prison, finally giving me a chance to voice my grievances."

"Although he knew the entire book's creation process, and the inspiration and materials were memorized fluently, those places were ultimately where I had traveled. The testimonies of the locals and my records in taverns and inns finally helped clear my name."

"I was vindicated. He lost everything, becoming less than an ordinary person."

"That day, when he was being exiled and departing, I rode in the same carriage with him again, asking about his experiences and thoughts over the years."

"He told me that, actually, he didn't want it to be like this at the very beginning, because I helped him a lot."

"But, he envied the achievement I was about to attain too much. He craved to obtain the same success too intensely. And I was too trusting of him, letting that ambition and desire grow unchecked, finally flourishing unrestrained."

'I originally thought, if I learned your methods, I could achieve the same results as you, so I was filled with hope.'

'In fact, this was a joke of fate. I could never be like you.'

'Other people's success can never be replicated. I was merely approaching in vain, then being left behind again. I shouldn't have harbored such hopes and thoughts. This early hope ultimately turned into the most bitter and painful thing, keeping me awake all night.'

'Hyde, you misunderstood me. You thought we really had the same talent? No, you are far more sincere and steadfast than me. And I misunderstood myself, because I actually believed that by learning methods, I could replicate someone else's achievements.'

'People are different from each other. They hold no reference meaning.'

"After Jerry was exiled, he died the second year in the Hot Rain Swamps. It's said the mosquitoes there are particularly fierce." Scholar Hyde slowly put down his cup.

"Now, you already know my past. Do you still plan to imitate me, traveling to various places for investigation?"

"I will go, teacher." Yero's voice remained unchanged, even more resolute.

"Why, child." Scholar Hyde's eyes became kind and gentle.

"It's not imitating the method teacher once used, but I understand my own determination now."

"I don't know how you achieved success back then, but I see another kind of serene hope in you."

"That is to steadfastly pursue what you love, watching it accumulate bit by bit. That alone is enough to soothe the unease and regret in your heart."

"A result without process is ultimately fleeting. You've also taught me similar principles, right?"

"I don't want to wait until I'm your age, sitting in a room reminiscing about things I didn't pursue wholeheartedly in my youth."

"If I'm destined not to succeed, then let me give my all. Only then can I abandon it with peace of mind."

"Give my all..." Scholar Hyde shook his head slightly.

Where is the end of giving one's all? All the way to the end of life?

But at this moment, he wouldn't say more. Just as if he now returned to the past to advise his twenty-something self, he couldn't change the mindset and thoughts of that time.

In the end, it's better for a person to live with fewer regrets.