Chapter 263

Chapter 263: The Witch’s Past

The system prompt was as dark as ink, carrying an ominous taste that made Lolan Hill’s heart sink. She squeezed out the clotted blood from her leg, healing the wound before descending slowly once more, hovering high above the canyon. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the strange fish in the river; only the tranquil sound of flowing water remained.

The feeling of dread from before had dissipated, and the system remained silent.

The young lady extended her right hand, and a fiery stream of light cascaded like a waterfall into the river below, illuminating every part of the water. Lolan Hill’s gaze was intense as she searched for a long time, but still could not find any trace of the strange fish.

Strange?

She extinguished the light that covered nearly ten miles around, then a myriad of winds began to flow through the grand canyon, continuously brushing against every corner, every rock crevice, and every shadow beneath the grass.

It wasn’t visible on the river surface, nor in the canyon. Strange, where did that fish go?

Could it be hiding underwater? But even at its deepest point, the river was only ten meters deep. Given the size of that fish, it should have been easily spotted on the surface.

In the end, Lolan Hill failed to find any trace of the strange fish. Reluctantly, she returned to the campsite where they had set up their tents.

After dealing with the campfire and packing up her belongings, she moved the tent to the top of the cliff far away from the riverside. Although the wind here was strong, it was at least safe. Even if that fish appeared again, it would have to jump several kilometers high to reach this place.

She spent a slightly tense night resting. The next day, the young lady set off again, not stopping this time. She flew directly from high above toward Emanas, where she believed she would find the information she needed.

—

The wide Blue Stream River still surged with waves, and the sturdy grand bridge spanned north and south, connecting Emanas and the plain to the south with a body that stretched for thousands of meters.

By the time Lolan Hill arrived at the Bridge of No Falling, the sky was nearing dusk. The river reflected the sunset, shimmering with purple-red twilight. The lanterns on the bridge lit up one by one, creating a neat line of light that seemed to measure the river like markings on a ruler.

All students returning must register at the city gate at the entrance to the bridge before entering the school grounds. They were not allowed to fly in randomly; otherwise, they would be intercepted by the upperclassmen from the Order Department on patrol. If they forcefully entered, they might even be attacked. Most members of the Order Department were ranked 6 or higher in the Sequence, making them elite among the students, and few could withstand them.

Lolan Hill obediently landed at the city gate, filling out her name and information according to the form before boarding a magic-powered vehicle back to the central school building.

Opening the dark dormitory door, she found it empty inside. Only then did she realize she had come too early, wasting a day or two of her holiday.

However, the current important matter was not this. After putting down her suitcase, she leaped out of the window and spread her emerald wings, flying straight towards the north. The towering tower, visible through the mountain peaks, reached high into the clouds.

Shaking off the small snowflakes on her dress, the young lady extended her palm and pressed it against the stone slab. Then, the gemstone on the stone door glowed.

The sides were slit open.

She walked into the quiet stargazing room, and the candle stands between the rows of bookshelves were lit one by one, spreading deeper and deeper.

A petite figure with black hair was still sitting on the high wooden chair, illuminated by the candlelight beside her, quietly writing something.

Lolan Hill approached slowly and finally stopped in front of this seemingly young girl, who had lived for countless years, the book witch.

“So late to come, there must be something urgent, little Lolan,” said Night Mistress as she looked up, her dark red eyes gazing at the silver-haired junior before her. She spoke calmly and steadily, showing the composure of a senior.

“Yes, yesterday I encountered a very large and strange fish. It should be a Chaos Phantom.”

Lolan Hill began to carefully recount her experiences and doubts. As the witch in charge of books, this senior should have some knowledge about it.

After listening to the silver-haired girl’s description, Night Mistress remained motionless, her long black hair and pale skin resembling a porcelain doll.

After a long while, she finally spoke, “I understand.”

That’s all? No further explanation? The doubts in Lolan Hill’s heart churned like heavy clouds, and finally, she could not help but continue to ask.

“Can Senior Night Mistress share your thoughts?”

The porcelain doll-like witch fell silent for a moment before speaking again, “If you encounter it again, you’d better run away quickly and don’t have any unnecessary thoughts. The sages will handle this matter.”

She asked a few more questions, but Night Mistress refused to say more, so Lolan Hill had no choice but to bid farewell and leave.

Just as she was about to leave, a light yellow page drifted down in front of her, and behind her came Night Mistress’ voice, “Regarding the matter of the Chaos Tragedy, many wild histories are confused and conflicting. If you really want to understand, you can check these books; they record things more accurately.”

“Thank you.” Lolan Hill caught the paper page, turned around to express gratitude, and then left the quiet stargazing room.

After Lolan Hill had been gone for a long time, another voice appeared in the quiet room.

“Night Mistress has become mute again; acting this way will make little Lolan feel very cold.”

A sweet voice rang out, and then a young girl dressed in a pink and white princess dress stepped out from the mirror, holding onto the back of the wooden chair with both hands.

“Chris, you don’t need to remind me,” Night Mistress pouted slightly.

“Ha, who would have known that the headmistress of Tower Academy is a loli afraid of long sentences, hehe,” Chris pinched Night Mistress’ puffed cheek from behind and leaned her head against her shoulder.

Seeing that Night Mistress was about to raise a book to hit someone, Chris flashed away and reappeared from another mirror, standing under the moonlight at the window.

“Haha.”

“Alright, alright, let’s stop joking around.” Chris brought out a chair from the mirror again and sat by the window, then spoke.

“The information brought by little Lolan should be true. Given her affinity with the wind, her perceptiveness should be extremely strong, and she wouldn’t be easily deceived. This is quite strange.”

“Perhaps it’s because her Sequence rank isn’t high enough yet,” Night Mistress began.

“Hmm, I’ve personally experienced the chaos disaster. That kind of distorted and strange disharmony can be sensed from far away. Witches are extremely sensitive to such things. Even at a lower Sequence, one can easily perceive them.”

“Huh, you’re still young, Night Mistress, and haven’t seen such scenes. If you’d call me ‘Sister Chris,’ I wouldn’t mind imprinting that feeling into a book for you to see,” Chris said, pulling out a light pink fan and lightly covering her lips, smiling slightly at the porcelain doll before her.

“Nah, it’s not exactly a pleasant experience,” Night Mistress shook her head and continued.

“In that case, there must be something unusual going on. Either the Chaos Phantom is special, or perhaps someone deliberately clouded the child’s perception.” Chris voiced what Night Mistress had been thinking.

“But who could do such a thing? Is it some witch senior playing a prank, or a Sequence 9 holding a sacred artifact?”

“There are only 2-3 sacred artifacts capable of producing such effects, all in the hands of renowned sages. Their whereabouts are currently unknown,” Night Mistress slowly shook her head.

“As for other witches…” Chris fanned herself, causing a flurry of light points.

“She is a descendant of Cyntrana, receiving natural favor and protection from Tides’ faction. We don’t have anyone active outside our domain recently. Selene and the others went to search for relics from the Age of Twilight, and they aren’t in the Ivar World.”

“I can’t think of who would be so bored… Sigh,” Chris crossed her legs and propped up her head, examining the fan in her hand.

“Well, never mind. After all, little Lolan has Tides backing her up, so no other witch would dare bully her too much.”

“Last year’s Clancia was the same. If not for Tides’ covert assistance, those rebels wouldn’t have been able to capture Soland so easily.”

“Though it’s about taking care of juniors, Tides is too enthusiastic. I suspect she’s doing it on purpose,” Chris tapped her palm with the fan, somewhat displeased.

“She must still hold a grudge over what happened in the Oz Country.”

“Alright, Chris, stop talking about it. What happened in the Oz Country is indeed our fault for being too rash back then; otherwise, Dorothy wouldn’t have died,” Night Mistress slowly closed the book, her voice small but filled with weariness.

“After all, Tides is one of the two great witches and a leader of the Oz Country. It’s understandable for her to hold a grudge against us.”

Thank you, Ye Ling OwO, Yu Cai Su, low like dust QAQ, sky Sky, No Other, Ghost Hand Ling Qi, Tangmen Infantry, Bayougen Yan, Ling Jue 123, autumn_sky, oO Golden Melody Oo, Cang Yi Mo, This Coffin I Will Carry, Henry Poincare, Lazy Bottom, An Nie Er, Cherry Yulisa Sauce, Shi Mie Ri Shih, When a Fish Lives in a Cave, Sword Asks Heart God, Remembering the Past Days Like Shuttle, Fat Emperor, Yesterday, Naming Makes My Head Spin, 25 readers’ tips.

Thank you all for your birthday wishes. I am very, very happy. Thank you so much.

(End of Chapter)