Chapter 696

Chapter 696: Peach-Blossom Bow

In the desolate land, there were few plants in the wilderness, only exposed soil and rocks. Fortunately, some sparse and tenacious weeds still survived in the crevices of the rocks, their withered yet resilient roots tightly gripping the loose soil beneath, preventing it from turning into a landscape of sandstorms.

A dark green cloth shoe stepped onto the soft earth, followed by a small foot clad in white socks lifting up, propelling the slender figure forward with a swift leap.

Lolan Hill was dressed in a black coat, moving gracefully like a nimble black bird across the land towards her distant destination.

The village she was heading to was located in a secluded valley about fifty miles away from the canyon. Although all these locations were remote, this village stood alone, surrounded by fewer other villages, making it feel even more isolated.

In the sky above, two birds spread their wings, following the young lady and looking down at the vast wilderness below.

Suddenly, a sharp birdcall sounded as a warning overhead, causing the young lady to momentarily halt her steps.

To outsiders, the sky seemed empty, but for the young lady and the blue crow, it was not so.

Threads of spirits, like smoke, drifted up from the gaps in the ground, twisting to form a blurry shape. It seemed to have no intelligence, merely instinctively chasing after other living beings.

Is this what they call a ghost?

Observing this peculiar life before her, Lolan Hill felt a hint of curiosity and reached behind her, drawing out a long peach wood sword from its wooden case.

This sword had been given to her by Grandmother Ge Luo before she left. Though it wasn’t anything extraordinary, it sufficed for dealing with such enemies in her hands.

The tip of the wooden sword pointed diagonally towards the ground, and a faint light extended from the young lady’s wrist, enveloping the blade. Then, a pale blue arc of light sliced through the air, instantly cutting apart the newly formed weak ghost, dispersing it like ashes.

Although the young lady had never studied the Necromancer Sequence, it didn’t mean she was unfamiliar with it. On the contrary, her knowledge of the Necromancer Sequence far exceeded that of other sequences.

This was thanks to her first teacher, the great witch Trinasha of the Mercury Dynasty. As someone who personally witnessed the rise of the dynasty and the Necromancer Sequence during the nearly thousand-year war of the Second Era, her expertise in the Necromancer Sequence was unparalleled.

However, perhaps due to experiencing too many dark pasts, Trinasha did not encourage future generations to continue down this path.

After dealing with the new ghost, Lolan Hill did not leave immediately but slowly walked to where the ghost had formed. The soft soil emitted a faint cold aura, which was the magic power seeping from the Necromancer Sequence.

She used the wooden sword to dig aside some soil, revealing some pale purple magic power rising like smoke, though to others, it seemed unremarkable.

These magic powers seemed to seep gradually from the ground, without any specific direction. Lifting her hand from the ground, Lolan Hill pondered and analyzed the situation.

It seemed Grandmother Ge Luo was right. If the source could be easily found, the problems in this region would have been resolved long ago by the dynasty, and it wouldn’t have been abandoned for so long.

Shaking off the dust from her hands, Lolan Hill continued northward. In the evening twilight, the distant mountains were shrouded in a hazy purple dusk.

—

As night fell, Lolan Hill leaped from a high cliff. The night wind whipped her black cloak and long hair, creating a whistling sound.

Her dark eyes watched below, and she saw a village of around a hundred households nestled in a secluded corner between two mountains.

It was already nine to ten o’clock at night. The air in the valley was as cool as water, soaking and invigorating her, causing her body hairs to stand up. Lolan Hill thought about whether she needed an extra blanket tonight, or if she would have to huddle with the two birds for warmth.

The village was very quiet at night, with almost no visible firelight, only a few insect chirps and dog barks punctuating the darkness.

Unlike the outside world, firewood was a precious commodity here, and the Chui clan did not light fires unless absolutely necessary.

The young lady did not conceal her presence and walked directly down the middle of the road toward the village.

In fact, the nights in the mountains were not as bright as depicted in movies and TV shows. Those scenes were the result of enhanced lighting or artificial sources. In reality, the images would be pitch-black, something that people accustomed to city life might find hard to imagine.

There were great terrors in the deep mountains at night. Even with eyes wide open, one might feel like they were covered by a thick leather blindfold, unable to see anything. Perhaps ahead was a cliff or abyss, or perhaps a snake or insect coiled beside one’s feet—fear always stemmed from the unknown.

This was how people perceived the mountains long ago, until later when they invented

When not far from the village, Lolan Hill spread her fingers, and an orange-warm flame ball formed in the palm of her hand, which then scattered into several fireballs that floated around her body, illuminating the surroundings.

It was already quite late, and without lighting a fire, she would be mistaken for someone strange and hostile. Thinking this, the young lady hesitated for a moment but still took out the wooden mask from her chest and covered her beautiful face with it.

After the flames were lit, barking and exclamations came from the village, followed by sparse footsteps.

Soon after, torches were lit at the watchtower at the village entrance, and shouts and greetings echoed.

“Who are you?” The words had a somewhat archaic style, with a tone different from that outside.

Lolan Hill’s lips under the mask opened, as if wanting to speak, but then closed again. Her voice wasn’t loud, and shouting fully always felt a bit embarrassing.

Thus, the dancing fireballs expanded, rising into the sky, exploding like fireworks and directly illuminating hundreds of meters around. Below, the black-clothed figure wearing a mask was completely revealed to the villagers.

“It’s the Ghost Slayer Envoy!”

“Yes, that mask and such powerful strength must be the Ghost Slayer Envoy.”

Seeing the familiar mask, the villagers excitedly shouted, as if they had seen a savior. The entire village gradually became lively, with all sorts of lights being lit, no longer as cold and silent as before.

The fence gate at the village outskirts opened, and several stronger villagers walked out. Seeing Lolan Hill, they first bowed respectfully, then welcomed her into the village.

“I received instructions from the Priestess to come here and eliminate the malevolent beast.” The torches crackled as they illuminated the demon mask under the hood.

Although the exterior looked fierce, what surprised several villagers was that the voice under the mask was clear and ethereal, making people less fearful.

“Yes, yes, yes, indeed we sought help from the shrine because recently we encountered a malevolent beast.”

After waking up, the villagers gathered on the road in the middle of the village, watching the black-clothed girl walk in. Some children curiously asked their parents what a ghost slayer envoy was.

“That is a powerful protector under the shrine,” the mother patiently explained, then pulled the child behind her to prevent him from disturbing this great person.

Lolan Hill’s obsidian-like eyes looked through the two holes in the mask at the surrounding villagers, then continued asking.

“How many tiers is that beast, and what does it look like?”

“Your Excellency, we don’t know exactly how many tiers that beast is, but it looks like a giant eagle, yet it has a snake-like tail and sharp claws. Many villagers were torn open by those claws, and then carried away to the nest to be eaten.” As they spoke, these villagers still felt a lingering fear.

“I understand. Where is its nest? Does anyone know?”

“No one knows, but it usually appears in the afternoon and carries prey back north.”

“Is it further north?”

“Yes,” the villager replied.

Then the few people entered the house, and the villagers quickly cleaned up a clean room for the girl and prepared a sumptuous dinner for this great person.

Looking at the chicken and potato chunks emitting fragrance in the pot, the girl felt a surge of emotion.

Unlike the outside world, meat was incredibly rare here. Before entering the village, she sensed that there were no more than ten chickens in total, and today they made a meal for her. If she stayed longer, these villagers might kill all the chickens.

She scooped out a few pieces with a spoon and placed them on a plate, then called the villagers outside to distribute them to the children in the village and instructed that there was no need for such a sumptuous meal next time.

That villager was both grateful and somewhat anxious, fearing that this great person thought the food wasn’t tasty, though he didn’t say so directly. Facing such a great person, no amount of respect was too much, as this person could decide the fate of the entire village, including his own.

Night fell.

After finishing dinner, Lolan Hill temporarily rested in the village. An oil lamp on the table beside the bed flickered with orange-yellow light.

Leaning against the head of the bed, Lolan Hill took out an old book from her bag and started flipping through it. This was a book passed down from the Chi Kingdom several hundred years ago, recording the history of the great changes back then. Two birds perched on either side of the quilt, surrounding the girl. They couldn’t read the text, so they moved slightly and closed their eyes to rest.

The pages were yellowed, with some corners damaged, but well-preserved, very flat. As the girl flipped through them, a faint scent of herbs wafted out, a method used to prevent insect damage back then.

Although indoors, it was somewhat colder compared to the residence at the shrine earlier. Perhaps it was due to the dense influence of the Nine Netherworlds’ power.

After reading for a while, the girl turned her gaze to the round

Huhu’s Dai Ju, inspired by a sudden thought, picked up this slightly larger-than-a-hen Dai Ju and placed it in her arms, like a pillow, then rested her chin on Dai Ju’s warm feathers, continuing to flip through the book in front of her.

Chee-chee—

Dai Ju protested, crying out that this big bird, Loran Hill, was bullying her more and more.

The cold blue raven beside her opened its eyes, glanced at this fat bird, then moved its feet to the quilt at the girl’s feet, squatting down to sleep again, ignoring its good friend’s protest.

“Alright, alright, stop crying. I’ll make you something delicious tomorrow,” the girl comforted Dai Ju, promising perhaps some promise, to let this little guy settle down.

Chee-chee—

After calling out a few more times, this Dai Ju also got used to folding its wings, bearing the weight that shouldn’t be carried at this age, then squatted down again. There was no choice; since Loran Hill’s big bird made things so comfortable, she wouldn’t run away. She was still waiting for this big bird to make something delicious for her in the future.

—

After one night, dawn. The girl washed up simply and started moving.

She wouldn’t wait for that monster to attack again; that might delay her for a long time.

In the astonished gazes of the crowd, this black-robed ghost-faced woman soared like an eagle, her dark figure rising straight up.

In this world after the changes in the laws of heaven and earth, flying ability wasn’t as rampant as before, seemingly strictly limited. Therefore, the fact that this Ghost Slayer Envoy could fly amazed and envied many people.

The village below gradually became small, the high-altitude airflow sweeping over her body, lifting the hood, and making her long hair flutter in the air.

The flow of wind was so clear on her skin and in her mind, so intimate, never tiring however many times it happened.

Loran Hill slowly closed her eyes, immersing herself in the world of perception.

As the cornerstone of the throne of the divine king, the original four, the pillar of wind, Loran Hill was the absolute master of atmosphere and wind. Even though her current strength was weak and she couldn’t fully utilize her powers, perceiving information in the atmosphere was still an easy task for her.

She didn’t like overly complex schemes, preferring simple and straightforward plans.

Pale blue magic particles danced with the wind, floating on white clouds, in the clear sky, under the vast expanse of the heavens, continuously spreading far into the distance.

Under the command of the original, the wind flowed in all directions, constantly swirling, bringing information from ten miles, a hundred miles, even a thousand miles away.

After a long while, this stunning girl opened her eyes, the pale blue light still lingering, her jade-like eyes gazing northward toward a mountain peak, her ethereal and gentle voice echoing.

“It’s right there.”

Then, she pulled down the black hood behind her, her figure plunging down from the heights like a sword, directly towards the misty high mountain.

Chee-chee—

Two birds fell behind, calling out urgently as if saying, “That big bird ahead should fly slower.”

After the duration of a stick of incense, Loran Hill hovered above a certain mountain peak. The two birds, protected by the girl, barely caught up, then circled around her slowly. Because of the girl guiding the airflow, they could hover for a long time without flapping their wings.

The monster’s lair was in a crevice on this snowy mountain. According to the girl’s perception, it should currently be resting.

Since there was no one here, it would be more convenient to fight using the Nature Sequence. After all, she was only at Necromancer Sequence 3, which couldn’t compare to Nature Sequence 4, the girl thought to herself.

Having made up her mind, Loran Hill drew the wooden sword behind her. This time, she didn’t have the idea of fighting with the sword directly but learned the combat method taught and used by her former friend, Florasia.

Holding the wooden sword in front of her brow, with the influx of Nature Sequence magic power, green buds began to grow on the wooden sword, extending up and down, gradually bending to form a tender green wooden bow, with peach blossoms blooming on it, delicate and beautiful.

Fingers brushed past, and a few peach blossoms fell, scattering with the wind, turning into petals dancing in the air, then gathering back into a pale white arrow, placed on the bow.

There was a faint pink flame quietly burning on the arrow, like the burning peach blossoms.

Then, circles of attraction formed on the bow, with the arrow’s tail positioned at the center of the circle. When the arrow was drawn back, the bow trembled slightly, and these circles separated like springs, with the largest circle fixed at both ends of the bow.

Gleaming light flashed on the arrow, intricate patterns flowing on it.

When the power was fully charged, Loran Hill released her fingers, and this burning pink flame arrow flashed like a meteor in the air, directly piercing into the cliff, penetrating the mountain body.

Florasia had called this move the [Rose Bow], but unfortunately, the girl used peach wood instead of roses, so let’s call it the [Peach Blossom Bow].

Taken from “Peach trees in full bloom, flowers so bright.”

(The chapter ends)