The Cornflower Witch Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Shadow in the Dark Night (Thanks to MagnoliaSnow for becoming the alliance leader)

The Next Day

“Move it, folks.”

“Pack everything up, don’t leave anything behind.”

As dawn was breaking, shouts echoed from the caravan’s campsite. Several team leaders urged their members to pack up their belongings and load them onto the carriages.

Originally, the caravan led by Van der Heath was supposed to leave after two days, but considering the presence of the crimson giant wolf, the caravan feared being attacked on the road. So, they waited until the cavalry returned to Threetower Town before setting off together.

“Hurry up, hurry up! Friein won’t wait for us. If we’re late, we won’t be able to keep up.” Van der Heath also came over to supervise and urge them on.

On the other side of the village, the cavalry members had already woken up and were steadily moving some of the injured onto carriages. Friein and the old village chief were discussing by the square.

“Old Man Pound, I’m borrowing these two carriages. I’ll have someone return them in a while.” He hadn’t brought any carriages when he arrived.

“No problem, but when you return them, you’d best bring me ten bows, and some iron traps. Linden Village is very short of these right now.”

“What you’re asking for isn’t cheap,” Friein shook his head.

“Even a white ash longbow costs 4 silver coins, plus arrows, it’ll probably be 5 silver coins. Ten of them would be 50 silver. And the iron traps would be about 10 silver, so that’s 60 silver already.”

“You ask the Baron, just tell him that if something happens to Linden Village, it’ll be hard to pay next year’s taxes, oh.” The old village chief waved his wooden staff.

Baron Holin’s strength was certainly enough to dominate Linden Village, but this old village chief had high prestige in the local area. He was also an elder of Baron Holin’s family and a friend of the previous Baron Holin, so unless absolutely necessary, the current Baron Holin would not fall out over such a trivial matter.

“Alright, I understand.” Friein could only reluctantly agree to this.

Around 7 AM, the prepared cavalry and caravan set off together. A small number of villagers also rode along, some going to Riverstone Town, others to Burntstone City.

In the convoy, Hylial and Talil sat in the carriage. Today Hylial was wearing a red-brown woolen cloak with a hood that could be pulled up at any time. Inside, she wore a newly sewn cotton dress. The cotton material was a gift from the merchant Van der Heath, but judging by his pained expression at the time, it must have cost a pretty penny.

In the Regas Duchy, wool fabric was not expensive, about three times the price of linen, but cotton fabric was indeed pricey, about ten times that of linen. This was because there were many forests and plains in the duchy, and many villages raised cattle and sheep, so wool was abundant. However, cotton fabric was imported from distant countries, naturally making its price prohibitively high.

Hylial’s original plain white silk dress, being too precious and conspicuous, had already been put away and was now in a small wooden box that traveled with her.

Speaking of the small wooden box, it contained Hylial’s silk dress, short sword, hair ties, and 3 silver leaves. These were all of her current possessions.

An ordinary villager in Linden Village earned about 2-3 silver coins a month. The 3 silver coins she possessed were payment from Friein for her care of the injured.

Accompanied by the bumpy turning of carriage wheels, shouts, and the sound of horses, the group drove out of the village and headed west along the road across the fields.

On the Road.

Hylial leaned against the carriage window, watching the scenery in the distance. There were vast, undulating plains and grasslands, but the distant mountains and forests were also clearly visible. Occasionally, she could see flocks of birds flying over the mountains, with their chirping echoing through the air.

The road was bumpy, and the old-fashioned carriage didn’t have very good shock absorption. Hylial kept being shaken awake whenever she tried to sleep, and could only rest occasionally by leaning on the table in front of her.

Opposite her, Talil remained energetic throughout the journey, chatting with Hylial from time to time about local anecdotes. Occasionally, she would pull back the curtain, pointing outside to show Hylial various places and tell her what had happened there.

“Do you see that big rock? Isn’t it out of place, even though it’s flat all around?” Talil chirped again at this moment.

“That rock was specially chiseled out of the mountain by Baron Holin’s grandfather’s grandfather when he wanted to build a castle, but the carriage overturned halfway there. The accompanying scholar said it was an ominous sign, so the rock was never used and has been left by the roadside. Now it serves as a useful landmark; usually, when you see it, you know Riverstone Town isn’t far.”

Hylial looked at the rock and saw some charcoal marks underneath, guessing that travelers occasionally camped there overnight.

The caravan continued its journey, arriving at Riverstone Town around 3 PM.

The sound of the river grew from distant to near. Three-meter high simple stone walls surrounded the small town, some covered with vines and moss. Several idle guards sat in wooden sheds atop the town walls, their gaze occasionally sweeping over the road and gate below.

Captain Friein and Van der Heath were old acquaintances in Riverstone Town. After a brief greeting, the caravan entered the small town. Compared to Linden Village, the houses here were much more densely packed, many built along the streets, giving it a semblance of a town.

Upon arriving at the temporary inn, the group dismounted, preparing to rest there for the night. It was still early before dark, but beyond Riverstone Town, there would be no suitable place to rest overnight.

“Let’s go down too.” Hylial pulled up the hood of her cloak to hide her striking silver hair, then got out of the carriage with Talil.

The carriage was parked in the inn’s backyard. The caravan members were busy, some unharnessing the horses, others pulling some of the carts to the market to do some small business before dark, and some preparing to eat and rest.

The cavalrymen were all in the inn. Friein took out a bag of money and told the innkeeper to prepare food. Hylial walked in, and he waved for the two girls to come over.

“How was the journey, Lia?”

“It was alright, the scenery along the way was very fresh,” Lia nodded.

Seeing that she was in good spirits, Friein nodded slightly. This child was much better than those pampered noble ladies. He remembered the first time he accompanied Second Miss Sindu on a long journey, and she complained all the way, giving him a headache.

“Get a good night’s rest.” He didn’t say much, and after instructing Hylial, he told her to go to her inn room to rest, and someone would bring food later.

Hylial agreed, but she was not in a hurry to sleep. Instead, she and Talil went for a walk in the town.

Riverstone Town was home to about two thousand people. The main street was paved with flagstones, and there were brick houses along the roadside. Many nearby villagers came to town to buy and sell goods. The two girls walked for less than a hundred meters before reaching the town market, which was enclosed by simple fences. Inside were wooden sheds and stalls, and two local patrolmen sat lazily at the entrance.

It was approaching evening, and the market was sparsely populated. Hylial strolled with a light step, browsing the various goods.

Talil walked behind her. She was quite familiar with the place and wasn’t curious, instead thinking about where to get something delicious to eat that night.

Food in the village was very simple; only Aunt Moti made bread and pies, while others usually ate wheat porridge and vegetable stew. Meat was rare, and spices were scarce, making the flavors quite monotonous.

This trip to Burntstone City with Hylial was probably her only chance in the past six months to taste different things.

Hylial’s eyes curiously observed the various goods displayed here: vegetables brought by nearby villagers, including common ones like ‘white wind root’, ‘purple turnip’, and ‘black gravel wheat’, as well as local fruits like ‘ousang fruit’ and ‘puguo fruit’. Ousang fruit resembled apples from her previous life, but was yellowish in color and irregular in shape, with many small dots on the skin. Puguo fruit was similar to grapes, but its seeds were exceptionally large, leaving only a thin layer of flesh on the surface.

There were also stalls selling honey, beeswax, hemp rope, straw shoes, woven baskets, jams, smoked sausages, animal furs, tree gum, and so on.

“It seems your copper coins are all different,” Hylial noted that many people held copper coins of varying sizes and shapes.

“Yes, copper coins are very arbitrary in their design, and many people are unwilling to accept them,” Talil, now attentive, explained to Hylial.

“Because even nobles can mint copper coins, and some cut corners, while others have rough craftsmanship, so their shapes are irregular. We call them ‘rotten copper coins’.”

“What about silver coins?” Hylial was curious now.

“Only great nobles have the right to mint silver coins, and they also monitor each other, because taxes are mainly paid in silver or gold coins.”

“Gold coins?”

“Only the king can mint gold coins. One side will be stamped with their family’s emblem, which also represents their credibility. The highest-ranking duke in our Regas Duchy isn’t even qualified to mint gold coins. The gold coins currently in circulation all come from the distant Kingdom of Winter.”

“It is said that gold coins are very troublesome to make, requiring alchemists and craftsmen to participate together to engrave markings on the gold coins to prevent counterfeiting and fraud.”

“Sister said there are even more precious special gold coins, but I forgot what they are specifically.”

After circling the market, the two bought a few ousang fruits and a small bag of puguo fruits, then headed back to the inn.

As the figures of the two disappeared at the end of the street and entered the inn, a short young man carefully emerged from the corner of a wall on the street. He gazed intently at the inn’s location for a long time before finally leaving.

A wool cloak, a cotton hem, delicate wrists—could she be a noble?

;

Night

After Hylial and Talil finished dinner, they sat in the room, with washed fruits on a wooden tray in front of them, the same ones they bought earlier in the day.

“Phew, tonight’s bean paste stew was really delicious,” Talil lay on the bed, still rubbing her belly, not quite satisfied.

Hylial was sitting at the table, flipping through a yellowed, tattered notice. They had found it in the inn lobby when they returned; it was an outdated item.

“Reward Notice, Catch the Thieves,” “Hunt the Gale Vulture,” “Seeking High-Quality Wood,” “Searching for a Brightly Colored, Heat-Emitting Flower on the Cliff”…

Below the notices were a few lines of text describing the situation and requirements.

Seeing that Hylial didn’t respond, Talil got up from the bed, stretched, and walked over.

“These are usually copied from the guild in Burntstone City and posted in nearby towns or villages to see if there are any gains, ah ha~” She yawned, clearly getting sleepy after eating.

“If it’s completed, can I get the reward?” Hylial asked with interest. “Yes, but ordinary people can’t do what’s on the notice.” She propped her hands behind her back, her head tilted towards the ceiling.

It made sense; if it were really that simple, there would be no need for a special reward.

“As for thieves, there are always some every year. Gale vultures appear in the years before the Aurora Wind Season, even more dangerous than Tee wolves.”

“Wood, wood is probably for some noble or merchant who wants to make furniture.” As she spoke, she grew sleepy again.

“Brightly colored flower… brightly…” By now, she had climbed into bed, leaning against the pillow.

Seeing that she was about to fall asleep, Hylial found it a bit amusing and didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she helped Talil cover herself with a thin blanket.

After Talil fell asleep, the room quieted down. By candlelight, Hylial re-read the old, outdated notices several times, then stood up, closed the window latches, and prepared for bed.

Night deepened, and the chirping of insects in the grassland became more active. Occasionally, a few strange bat calls pierced through the night sky, blending into the sound of the small town’s flowing water.

…

In the latter half of the night, a stealthy figure crept carefully into the inn’s backyard. He first meticulously observed the location from the corner of the wall, then moved.

Tonight, the moonlight was dim, and the sky was dark. His clothes were exceptionally dark, enveloping his entire body, making him invisible if he stood still in the shadows.

In such a rural small town, candles were valuable, and no one would light one all night. The streets were exceptionally dark; without a torch, one probably couldn’t even see the ground underfoot.

Familiar with the environment, the figure moved through the darkness at a steady pace. He scaled the fence, using a pile of hay in the backyard to climb onto a slanted corner of the inn’s second floor. Then, he steadied his breathing, his hands slightly open, and tiptoed through the corridor as lightly as possible.

He was already intimately familiar with the inn’s layout and room distribution. He couldn’t be bothered to search and pilfer from travelers with little money; his target this time was the big fish he had spotted during the day.

She looked soft-skinned and tender, a cotton dress showing beneath her cloak, and accompanied by a retinue—she must be a noble. If he could get his hands on that cotton dress, he would be set for the next six months. If he could also get other jewelry, he wouldn’t have to work for the next few years.

Though the risk was great, the reward was definitely worth it.

Creeping silently to the target’s door, the figure first paused to observe the surroundings, then pulled out a thin iron bar and carefully inserted it into the keyhole. The faint click of the mechanism was inaudible in the night.

Finally, after a period of anxious lock-picking, accompanied by a slight thud, the lock yielded. Then, the door was pushed open inch by inch at an extremely slow pace, to minimize any possible sound.

At this point, his heart was at its most anxious. If all went well, he should see two sleeping figures.

In the dim environment, his gaze swept across the room and found two people lying on the beds. At this moment, he breathed a sigh of relief, and a surge of joy immediately rose in his heart—it seemed today was a sure thing.

Adjusting his breathing and footsteps again, he bent down and walked slowly into the room, his eyes searching for valuable items,

carefully groping around.

Unfortunately, after scanning the entire room, a wave of disappointment rose within him again. There wasn’t much luggage here, and there was only one box.

Didn’t they say nobles carried a lot of things when traveling, especially noblewomen, who always brought a lot of clothes and jewelry as they cared immensely about their appearance?

If she had no money, what kind of noble was she? Was she fake? His mood soured at this point, and the patience he had accumulated began to dissipate.

After searching for a while without finding anything valuable, his gaze finally fell on the small wooden box placed by the bedside. On top of the wooden box lay a reddish-brown cloak.

The cloak was decent, and his earlier bad mood improved slightly. He shuffled little by little towards the middle of the two beds.

The short-haired girl sleeping soundly on the right made soft breathing sounds, occasionally smacking her lips. The figure on the left, however, was very quiet, with hardly an audible breath.

As his fingers touched the woolen cloak, the sensation of its plush surface had just reached his fingertips when an impact directly from his lower back sent him flying into the opposite bedpost. The pain of the collision made him let out a groan.

The violent shaking and impact startled Talil awake. She groggily sat up and then saw the shadowy stranger in the room, screaming in shock.

“Ah—yah yah yah yah—”

First a single scream, then a series of piercing cries. Towards the end, the panic in her voice disappeared, replaced by a certain excitement.

Faced with the sharp sound, the shadowy figure panicked. He had no time to grab anything and was about to smash through the window and jump out to escape.

Unfortunately, before he could act, the cloak was thrown over, covering his face. The very thing he had wanted to take was now an irritating obstruction.

Tearing off the cloak haphazardly, he climbed onto the table without stopping, ready to flee. A chilling sensation pressed against his neck, instantly sobering him up.

Weapon, sword—he quickly assessed, then froze.

Stealing, at most, meant a whipping. If he died now, he would lose everything. As a seasoned criminal, he knew the difference all too well.

“No, no, please,” he quickly begged for mercy, backing away little by little from the window.

Only then did he finally get a clear look at the person who had just attacked him. During the day, with her hood up and from a distance, he only knew she was likely a woman.

Now, in the dim room, her snow-white silver hair was quite striking, and her eyes, still vibrant even in the darkness, held his gaze. With the girl holding a sword, he slowly retreated.

So it was just a young girl? His eyes drooped, then he suddenly pulled back, avoiding the sweeping blade.

Such speed, breathing technique?

Hylial stared intently at the shadowy figure before her, a strange glint in her eyes.

Then she pursued, thrusting her sword at the shadow. This time, she no longer held back; having feared killing the person, she had previously held back much of her strength and speed.

Strangely, Hylial’s thrust did not hit her opponent as expected; it felt as if she were stabbing into thin air. This difference in feedback made her surprised a second time.

After practicing these days, she was very confident in the accuracy of her swordplay. Perhaps she wasn’t as strong as healthy adults, but her accuracy, speed, and technique were superior to many.

Yet, her opponent inexplicably dodged her, and by now six seconds had passed since Talil’s scream. Others in the inn had heard it; some were already getting up to check and come out.

Even if Captain Friein rushed over, it would still take at least another 15 seconds, the man thought to himself, then quickly dodged to a corner on the other side of the room, pulling out the short blade from his waist.

Fifteen seconds, that’s enough to deal with this little girl.

The shadow rushed towards the silver-haired girl again, the short blade he wielded barely discernible in the dim light.

“Clang—” A crisp sound of metal clashing echoed in the darkness.

Indeed, in such an environment, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to see clearly, but this silver-haired girl was no ordinary person.

With her [Discernment Eye], even in the darkness, she could clearly see the cold glint of metal. In the next ten seconds, the two exchanged blows several times, the crisp clashing of blades particularly noticeable in the night.

The noises of footsteps and shouts echoed from downstairs and outside the corridor. These circumstances made the shadow increasingly anxious; his movements became reckless, and his eyes even burst with a fierce and ruthless look.

I didn’t want to do this, he cursed silently, full of hatred. Then he twisted his foot, accelerating the circulation of blood throughout his body, giving his muscles greater strength, and once again burst forth with astonishing speed, rushing towards the silver-haired girl.

Facing her suddenly enraged opponent, the girl’s eyes remained calm, as if she had already entered a state of intense focus. She turned her body, and the short sword in her hand traced a graceful and perfect arc in the darkness, like a crescent moon appearing, striking the furiously wielded short blade.

Sparks and shattered iron fragments erupted in the darkness. The shadow felt a numbness in his palm; the short blade was unexpectedly knocked out of his hand. At that moment, the sharp short sword struck again, piercing directly through his shoulder bone. The cold iron blade entering his body filled him with immense fear.

“No, no, please,” he knelt on the ground, his hands pressed to the floor, begging for mercy in a panicked voice.

This time, Hylial did not let him off easily. Instead, she drew her sword, placing it once more against his neck, but this time with the tip, still bearing blood.

Sticky blood drooled, tracing a path down his neck and into his chest. This strange sensation made him feel with agonizing clarity that his life hung by a thread, liable to snap at any moment.

He was truly terrified, and no longer attempted to resist.

Thanks for the support from A Salty Fish Who Wants to Work Hard.

Thank you, Brother Rainproofing, Immortal Dust Twilight, Gu Xijin, Love and Cherry Blossoms, Thousands of Snow Flowers, Mrs. Shinki Wants to Cuddle with Alice, Mikasa Mikasa 20001, Star’s Song, Shizaki Kurumi Bookworm 20210824084543073, Iya.

Thanks to the rewards from salty fish cuisine, Bai Qinglian, Cat Who Wants to Eat and Wait for Death, U Yexi U, Void of Imaginary Miracles, Cloud and Sunset Glow, Bookworm 150627093935390, Not to Part Easily, Game Xiaohhei, and other book friends.

Many thanks to MagnoliaSnow for becoming the alliance leader, Thanks(ω)

(End of this chapter)