The Cornflower Witch Chapter 267

Riding side-by-side, Sylphidya and Karen journeyed together, discussing past events and the current situation.

“I’ve been away from Burnt Stone City for a long time, only occasionally returning in recent years,” Karen said, speaking of her recent affairs.

“However, looking at you, Tiya, it seems you’re short on help lately. Do you need my assistance?”

Accompanying the two was a caravan of about a hundred people, including members of the ‘Oak Barrel Chamber of Commerce’ from Burnt Stone City, and a small number of Anti people.

It was understandable for the ‘Oak Barrel Chamber of Commerce’ members to follow Sylphidya, but that some Anti people also tagged along surprised others.

In fact, the Anti military was not a monolith; there were various factions, and most of this group in Burnt Stone City were marginalized individuals, many of whom were ordinary people from the Anti Kingdom with no strong desire for bloodshed, only wishing for a peaceful life.

If they stayed in Strean Valley City, they might be led by Katchis to fight somewhere and die one day, whereas serving as garrison soldiers in Burnt Stone City was much safer. Moreover, they had more acquaintances and friends there, making it more comfortable.

Hearing Karen’s suggestion, Sylphidya thought for a moment, then looked up and replied,

“Then, Karen, please help teach some people how to hunt with bows and arrows.” If those refugees wanted to live a long reclusive life, the more survival skills they had, the better.

“No problem,” Karen responded with a smile.

While the two rode and conversed, on the other side of the caravan, Haynes and his nephew were also talking at the back of a cargo wagon.

“…So it was you, kid, who begged that lord for help,” Haynes said, stroking his nephew’s head.

“Stop rubbing it, Old Uncle,” he said, covering his head and dodging, then replied excitedly and gratefully.

“I didn’t have much hope at the time, but then I thought, if I didn’t try, you might have died in the dungeon, Old Uncle.”

“If you weren’t around, who would bring me gifts and tell me stories?”

“Haha, you sly dog.” He rubbed his head again, then looked up at the clear blue sky.

“The air outside is so good, and the sky is so beautiful.” He said, slowly closing his eyes, enjoying the breeze by his ears, feeling refreshed.

“In the dungeon, those dark days were truly despairing. If you’ve been through it once, you’ll never want to experience it again, and you’ll even have nightmares for many years afterwards.” He said with a sigh.

“Death is instantaneous, but being confined in a hopeless environment, watching yourself slowly rot, deform, become unrecognizable, gnawed by lice… that feeling, tsk tsk.” He didn’t want to recall it.

“It’s so good to be able to sit here and continue talking with you.”

“Old Uncle.” The young man beside him patted his back.

“It’s nothing, it’s all in the past,” Haynes opened his eyes.

“I still have to thank you properly, kid, haha.”

“My current identity makes it difficult to go into Burnt Stone City, so I’ll probably have to stay outside for a while. That lord arranged a place for me to go.”

“Don’t worry, as long as we’re alive, we’ll have plenty of chances to meet again.”

Hoofprints trod through dew-kissed grass, advancing step by step along the undulating mountain path. Three days later, the caravan finally returned to Burnt Stone City.

“I won’t be entering the city. Please extend my regards to Lady Polia,” Sylphidya said, bidding farewell to the caravan leader.

“I will tell my mother,” the mustachioed merchant replied, doffing his cap.

“This has also delayed you. It was supposed to be a one or two-week affair, but it’s stretched to almost two months.”

“Here are three boxes of ‘White Camellia’ tea leaves that I grew myself. I hope you and Lady Polia enjoy them,” Sylphidya said, presenting them to the merchant.

“This is…” Upon receiving it, the merchant perceived it to be a rare item of ‘Tier 2’ quality and was exceptionally surprised.

“It’s fine, just take it,” Sylphidya said with a blink of her blue eyes.

“I have plenty more. Don’t forget my profession.”

“Then I thank you, Lady Tiya,” the merchant carefully put it away.

“In the coming days, the Regus territory may not be peaceful. Try your best not to get involved and swept into the war,” the young girl warned.

“My family and I understand,” the merchant nodded.

“If you encounter a crisis that is truly difficult to resist, take this letter and go to the mountains on the east side of Regas. There is a Woodland outpost stationed there where you can take refuge,” Sylphidya handed over an envelope.

“Thank you, Lady Tiya,” the merchant said gratefully.

Having experienced the change of ownership in Burnt Stone City before, even someone as noble as Viscount Xiefeng was so disheveled and almost unable to escape. For a small merchant guild like his family’s, there was even less resistance.

The letter Sylphidya gave might be useless usually, but in a moment of extreme crisis, it could be the last savior to preserve his family’s lives.

“If you ever need anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to command and contact me,” he thought for a moment, then took out a small seal and handed it to Sylphidya.

“Our merchant guild is not large, but we have branches in several cities in the southern territory of Regas and should be able to provide some minor assistance.”

“Okay,” Sylphidya took the seal, then waved goodbye to the caravan members.

…

The distant caravan slowly drove towards Burnt Stone City, leaving Sylphidya with only five scattered individuals. Besides her and Karen, there were Haynes and two other prisoners who had also escaped the dungeon.

“Let’s go to where those people are living in seclusion,” Sylphidya reined in her horse, and the others followed suit.

“I still don’t know your name. Can you tell me?” Sylphidya asked the ragged prisoner.

Upon hearing Sylphidya’s question, he quickly shook the reins, urging his horse to follow. However, his horsemanship was poor, and the horse never ran fast throughout the journey.

Seeing this, Sylphidya gently flicked her wrist, and a faint floral fragrance emanated, calming the horse that was originally anxious and aimless, making it trot towards Sylphidya.

Now he finally caught up with Sylphidya’s speed, and then answered her question.

“My name is Maurice, and I’m from… Maze Wind Town.” He stumbled over the name, as if he hadn’t spoken it in a long time.

“When I was about 22, I accidentally got a booklet detailing various mysterious knowledge, and then I was drawn in by what was inside.”

“After that, I started experimenting with the secret arts and rituals, but I had no experience and no one to guide me, so I just fumbled around blindly.”

“At that time, everyone in town thought I was crazy, and my family even kicked me out.” His words became smoother as he said this.

“Later, I wandered around, looking for work in various cities, also trying to acquire new mystical knowledge, and then buying and collecting the things needed for rituals, experimenting on my own.”

“Until one day, I was discovered by the patrol, who said I was a cultist and tried to arrest me.”

“Fearing execution, I desperately fled, even using the knowledge and secret arts I learned to disrupt their senses, which allowed me to escape.”

“After that, I was even more motivated, constantly seeking out people to communicate and learn with.” “Although most of the people I could interact with were very minor figures, everyone’s knowledge system was incomplete, so each time we exchanged information, it was like drawing a lottery, exceptionally anticipated.”

“Slowly, I finally accumulated the materials and resources needed for the ritual, and then gained exceptionally powerful strength.” He said, taking off his shirt to reveal his unusually strong left arm. This arm was明らかに different from the rest of his body, as if it had been grafted on, more robust and reddish than his original limb.

“This… must be the ‘Savage Brute Strength’ of the Minotaur branch of beastfolk?” Sylphidya looked at his arm in astonishment.

Humans and beastfolk have different bloodlines, making it difficult for them to have offspring. This kind of talent, which can multiply strength several times, is impossible for humans to possess.

“Is it a Minotaur talent? I wonder why I later started preferring a vegetarian diet.” He ruffled his hair.

“It seems the ritual you performed earlier was quite extraordinary.”

Sylphidya recalled that rituals involving grafting bloodline power were mostly forbidden because of too many uncontrollable and unstable factors. Nowadays, no major organization would use such secret arts as their core, with only a small number of people still researching and experimenting.

For the prisoner before her to successfully complete such a ritual, despite his extremely poor knowledge of arcane history, was truly a stroke of luck.

“Later, I learned an incomplete meditation method called ‘Memory Labyrinth’. This meditation method relies on constantly uncovering forgotten secrets and details in one’s memory to enhance self-understanding and mental control,” Maurice continued.

No wonder he could remember such minute details. Sylphidya nodded, but then quickly thought that she, too, had forgotten memories and desperately needed this ability.

“Can you teach me this meditation method? I can teach you some knowledge in return,” Sylphidya offered.

“Of course, no problem. I can impart everything I’ve learned to you, my lady.” As he said this, he even felt a sense of pride, as if all his experiences and knowledge over the years had finally found value.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Sylphidya thought of another question, “How long have you been in the dungeon?”

“Almost ten years now,” his voice instantly dropped.

“Ten years,” the young girl marvelled, feeling a hint of pity for the prisoner and understanding why he craved freedom so deeply.

Additionally, Sylphidya realized something else: to live for ten years in such an environment means the person’s willpower is exceptionally resilient. Although one might not die directly in a dungeon, prolonged exposure to a monotonous, unchanging dark environment can lead to extreme depression.

“There must have been many things you wanted to do, supporting you through those ten years,” Sylphidya’s words, like a tender arrow, pierced through his ingratiating smile, making him momentarily lose his composure and become stunned.

“I, I…” He lowered his head.

“I really want to see this world, there are so many amazing secret arts, rituals, histories, and incredible people and events, yet I’m always like a worm, only able to touch a tiny bit.”

He came from a humble background, without guidance, able only to constantly search for fragmentary mystical knowledge, rummaging through gutters. Even with a stroke of luck, he would be arrested as a cultist for his strange behavior.

Sylphidya, riding ahead, felt a pang in her heart, remembering her past, full of regrets for not having fully experienced life.

“It’s fine, you’ll get to experience it in the future,” Sylphidya said.

“Oh, by the way, I have an old notebook I can lend you.” She had already firmly memorized the basics taught by Scholar Hyde and no longer needed to review them.

The group rode through the forest, heading towards the secluded spot Sylphidya had previously arranged.

When they were still a few hundred meters from the location, Sylphidya’s expression changed. She increased her speed, rushing towards the hidden spot deep within the forest.

Galloping and skillfully dodging and leaping over obstacles along the way, Sylphidya quickly arrived at the settlement, but it was in a mess, with a lot of bloodstains on the ground.

Her gaze searched around, and she discovered several corpses lying in a corner not far away. One of them was still breathing.

Sylphidya quickly dismounted and went to the member, helping him up. The person had a sharp short blade wound on their shoulder, still bleeding.

She took out some hemostatic herbs to apply and then poured a ‘Blood-healing Potion’ into their mouth.

Not long after, the unconscious member slowly woke up. Seeing Sylphidya, he struggled to explain the situation.

“Someone, people in dark red robes, discovered our outpost. They demanded our surrender and wanted to make this place their base.”

“Some of us, those with fighting ability, refused and drove them away, but two days later, a group of them came back.”

“I couldn’t defeat them, and my companions were taken away.” After saying this, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and his consciousness blurred again.

Seeing this, Sylphidya could only set him down for now, feeding him another ‘Orchid Scented Healing Potion’, and leaving some food and water before standing up to search the outpost once more.

Unfortunately, there were no other survivors here. It seemed the enemies had also conducted a search, and if it weren’t for the injured man’s serious condition, which caused them to disregard him, there might not have been anyone to report the situation to Sylphidya.

Minutes later, Karen and Haynes, along with the others, arrived. Seeing the mess, they knew something had gone wrong.

“Tiya,” Karen said, approaching Sylphidya.

“Everyone who lived here has been taken,” Sylphidya said, her emotions a little calmer now, explaining the situation.

“Uncle Haynes, and you two, stay here for now. Karen and I will track them. They shouldn’t have gone far.”

Considering her speed and the physical condition of the others, only Karen could barely keep up.

“We understand,” Haynes nodded, then motioned to Reiz and Maurice beside him.

“We’ll clean up here a bit, take care of the injured, and wait for Lady Tiya to return.” The two acknowledged.

Seeing that they understood, Sylphidya no longer lingered, mounting her horse with Karen and charging out of the forest once more, fully extending her senses.

The young girl’s originally blue eyes gradually turned emerald green, until both eyes became a shimmering emerald. At this point, the plants in her vision also displayed a magnificent and ever-changing complex spectrum. From these myriad colors, Sylphidya ‘read’ the various subtle messages of nature.

A distinct trail of horse and rider appeared in her mind.

This is the way, the young girl thought silently. She looked at Karen beside her, and with just a glance, the other woman understood her meaning, then spurred her horse to follow at full speed.

Hooves thundered, leaping over waist-high thorns, galloping along the path outlined in the young girl’s mind, moving like lightning.

Through the rustling wind, Sylphidya sped through forests and grasslands, her mind racing as she moved.

Was this an accident? Of all things, it was the unsettling cultists who discovered the place.

She had no desire to participate in the power struggles within Regas; she only wished to care for those who had once helped her.

For the past few months, she had been avoiding intense conflict with these two factions, because she didn’t belong here and was destined to leave eventually.

Unfortunately, reality cannot be solved by simply avoiding it.

As Scholar Hyde once taught her, “Many things that happen in this world are interconnected with us.” Everything follows the connection of the Silken Chord.

The place she chose was suitable for seclusion, and those cultists also needed such a place. With the Hundred-Eyed Cult not yet destroyed, they would surely search diligently for such locations while hiding.

All the seeds were quietly sown when the decision to establish the settlement was made.