The Cornflower Witch

When life is on the verge of death, can one examine this life from another perspective, perceiving those forgotten truths?

Pain came from all over his body, like countless insects crawling inside him, tearing and biting, but that powerful heartbeat stubbornly and arduously overcame this desperate situation, sending the remaining blood to various parts of his body, nourishing those endangered organs and cells.

Fire Pig felt he had never been so fragile, and every breath of air was such a luxury.

Yet he had survived, in a way he himself had never imagined.

Who saved him?

He had no relatives; his so-called subordinates were only loyal to a limited extent, seeking a backer; as for allies, they were even less trustworthy.

When a pig grows fat, it's meant to be eaten. Although he wasn't a real pig, as a beastman with similar bloodline, he was occasionally influenced by this invisible mindset, experiencing a certain bleak anxiety.

It seemed he still had some use, since someone was willing to save him.

Fire Pig struggled to open his remaining eye and slowly propped himself up with his only arm. This was probably the advantage granted by the "Bloodline" Aspect—that tenacious vitality, slowly transmitted to all parts of his body with each heartbeat, gradually restoring him.

Looking around, Fire Pig saw corpses and wounded everywhere. Four Fingers' men were moaning all around, their voices weak and wavering. Soon he also discovered the source of all this—

The young woman standing beneath the Black Griffin.

Her black skirt fluttered slowly in the airflow from the griffin's wings. Her stunning black hair and figure exuded a commanding charm. Fire Pig was dumbfounded.

So beautiful to look at.

Even a rough man like him could appreciate that pure beauty. It seemed his loss was not unjust; Four Fingers had also lost. Thinking this, much of his inner resentment and frustration dissipated.

"Fire Pig, Lady Hedra is asking you a question." Four Fingers walked over, informing him of the situation.

The mountain-sized figure nodded, no longer ignoring her as before.

"That girl is locked in the basement kitchen of the house at 53 Jasmine Street."

"The Dragon Eye treasure..." Fire Pig stopped halfway through.

"Can you tell me, what will you do with me?"

Hearing this, Sylutia guessed Fire Pig was worried about punishment from the 'Bionics School,' and that punishment would likely be death. After all, he was just an underground headman who had stolen the school's treasure. If not severely punished, where would the school's authority and reputation be?

"I will report the whole incident truthfully." Sylutia replied.

"I see..." The last bit of illusion in Fire Pig's heart dissipated once more.

It seemed death was unavoidable. He moved his lips, looked around again, and saw the gazes of Four Fingers' men—mockery, coldness, greed, hatred, and more.

Yes, who would want him to live?

Fire Pig used one arm and his broken leg to slowly crawl on the ground. Though everyone was puzzled by what he was doing, they knew he wouldn't live long, so no one stopped him.

Thus, he slowly reached the stone table in the cave and leaned his body against the large, wide stone table.

Then Fire Pig slowly stroked the cold stone table with his hand. This was something he had personally ordered built over a decade ago, intending to use it someday for the 'Feast Ritual' to have a good meal.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to use it.

Over these ten-plus years, he had dreamed many times of enjoying a feast here, but always woke up sad because the dream would break at the crucial moment—probably because he couldn't imagine what the legendary 'Feast' would look like.

But could he really never see that legendary feast?

Suddenly, a thought flashed into his mind like lightning, making him laugh and feel relieved.

"That 'Dragon Eye' treasure is sealed beneath the stone table. Let me unseal it and return it to you." He finally answered the earlier question.

Finished speaking, he climbed onto the stone table, slowly moving to the center, leaving trails of blood wherever he passed.

Hearing Fire Pig's words, everyone present was both surprised and found it expected.

With so many treasures hidden here by Fire Pig, there was no reason for that 'Dragon Eye' treasure to be elsewhere, and as a stolen treasure, it indeed needed to be sealed and hidden—very reasonable.

Sylutia didn't stop him at this point, just tilting her head slightly, watching Fire Pig's actions.

Reaching the center of the stone table, Fire Pig grasped one of his own fangs, jerked it hard to break it off, and then inserted it into the center of the stone table.

After doing this, as if exhausting much of his strength, he lay on the stone table gasping for breath. Though everyone was somewhat anxious, no one stepped forward to scold him, since Fire Pig was indeed in poor condition.

Blood slowly flowed along the engraved patterns on the stone table. Then Fire Pig propped himself up again, holding the fang inserted into the stone table with one hand, humming an nameless tune.

The tune was ancient, carrying the atmosphere of a primitive age, and then a faint red light appeared on the stone table.

The power of the 'Bloodline' Aspect emanated, echoing through the hall. Then the fang standing in the stone table emitted a trace of 'Beast Fang' Aspect power, like a key, causing the 'Bloodline' power on the stone table to form special patterns.

Soon, a light blue phantom slowly rose from beneath the stone table and materialized. freewebnσvel.cøm

It was a large piece of lapis lazuli, encasing the eye of a Cold Song Dragon.

The lapis lazuli was slightly blue and transparent, its edges cut into multiple clean facets, refracting bits of light under the flames' glow—very beautiful. But what was most eye-catching was the enormous eye pupil within the lapis lazuli. Just one eye pupil was wider than Sylutia's shoulders. It remained vertically open, instilling fear and weakness in any creature who first met its gaze.

[Cold Song Dragon Eye] (Fourth Tier·Dragon Eye): The eye left behind by a deceased Cold Song Dragon, retaining the essence of its Aspect. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, most of its Aspect power has dissipated, and its rank has dropped to Fourth Tier.

If you possess Dragon Blood or are a Lizardman, you can use the Bloodline Inheritance Ritual to obtain information on two abilities from this treasure: "Cold Wind Breath" and "Extreme Cold Dragon Song."

Once the 'Dragon Eye' treasure appeared, everyone present looked at it with greed.

As one of the upper Aspects, 'Dragon Eye' was exceptionally powerful and rare, making treasures of this Aspect far more valuable than others. Moreover, this was such a well-preserved eye pupil—many ancient rituals required dragon eyes as essential materials.

At this point, everyone thought it was over. The next step would be to find the missing girl and then report upward.

But the light on the stone table did not dissipate. The blood-red glow still lingered, flowing across the surface, causing the 'Fang' and 'Dragon Eye' on the stone table to emit a strange resonance radiance.

What was this?

Many present felt confusion rising in their hearts, but no one acted immediately. They just didn't understand why the Bloodline glow on the stone table was still shining, and a strange aura began to emanate.

A faint, peculiar fragrance appeared in the air. Then, many hazy phantoms emerged in the tune Fire Pig was humming. They danced and sang around the stone table, holding various things—bones, knives and axes, torches, meat skewers—their dance primitive and rhythmic.

Illusions of various foods began to appear on the stone table, as if all kinds of meat delicacies since the dawn of civilization were present—steamed, roasted, fried, boiled—nothing was missing.

Smelling this spreading, exotic fragrance, everyone alive was stirred with appetite, their mouths watering, and a certain feeling of anticipation and joy filled their hearts.

Fire Pig, lying on the stone table, looked at the surrounding phantoms, his eyes hazy. The tune continued from his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of relief and satisfaction.

So, this was the scene of the Feast.

Truly beautiful.

He felt his consciousness gradually blur, and the tune in his mouth also began to go off-key. But it didn't matter now; the ritual could proceed automatically, and his wish had finally been fulfilled.

He had seen the Feast, even if he himself was the feast to be enjoyed.

"What a nuisance." A crisp voice sounded in this drowsy scene, like a bucket of cool, clear water splashing down.

The Black Griffin's clawed foot stamped down, directly smashing the ritual stone table to pieces. Then it grabbed the lapis lazuli-encased Dragon Eye, tore it away, severing its connection to the ritual, forcibly interrupting this 'Feast Ritual.'

Sylutia stood on the Black Griffin's shoulder, her eyes coldly looking down. She directed the griffin to retrieve the Dragon Eye treasure. Then the Black Griffin flapped its wings, sending a chill wind sweeping through, awakening everyone present from the stupor of the 'Feast Ritual.'

The ritual was interrupted. The nearly extinguished flame of Fire Pig's life once again retained a faint ember. He slumped in the pile of rubble, looking at the chaos everywhere.

If the ritual had continued, his body would have absorbed the power of the 'Dragon Eye' and 'Beast Fang,' transforming into the delicacies of the 'Feast Ritual' for everyone present to enjoy. But this process had been stopped by Sylutia.

"I hate people who think they're clever. Why can't you all just listen to me obediently?"

If these people had all followed her instructions from the beginning, none of this would have happened.

Fire Pig wouldn't be on the brink of death, Four Fingers wouldn't be severely injured, and everyone could have ended with a relatively dignified outcome, not necessarily dying.

Even though she had recovered the 'Dragon Eye' treasure, Sylutia's mood was far from good. Under her stern direction, the surviving people present bound Fire Pig, continued feeding him some potions to keep him alive, and headed to the location Fire Pig mentioned to find Anari.

Leaving the sewers, it was now evening. The sky's edge was purple-red under the sunset, clouds beautifully illuminated by the afterglow. freewebnovёl.ƈom

They found several carriages. One carried Fire Pig, covered with a canopy, and they set off for the place he mentioned.

By the time Sylutia arrived at the house at the given address and began knocking, dusk had fallen. The street was now cold blue and nearly dark.

The knocking continued for a long time before they finally heard someone approach and open the door. It was an elderly maid, looking about sixty years old, with wrinkled skin.

"Excuse me, who are you?" She was somewhat intimidated by the crowd outside, stepping back a few steps.

"We're here to look for something. It's the address Fire Pig gave." Sylutia spoke, blinking as she began to survey the surroundings.

Unexpectedly quiet. No hidden guards or traps—just this solitary old woman here.

"Fire Pig? Who's that?" Apparently, she didn't know Fire Pig's name.

So Sylutia changed her approach, "Has anyone sent anything here recently?"

"Yes, but they were all food ingredients." She didn't understand why this group of people cared about that.

"Those ingredients are very problematic. We need to inspect them. You can ask Officer Mock, who's in charge of this street, about the specifics later." Sylutia was very familiar with the police personnel.

Hearing it was a police arrangement, the other party relaxed and quickly perked up.

"I'll take you there right away." With that, she led Sylutia and the others to the back kitchen, where there was a hidden cover. Opening it revealed a cellar below.

Going down, the girl looked around. There was plenty of stored food here—potatoes, sweet potatoes, smoked meat, dried fish, canned goods, and salted fruits.

Walking to the innermost room, there was a horizontally placed long wooden box with a lock on it.

Sensing the faint aura emanating from inside, Sylutia stepped forward, used her short sword to cut the lock, and opened the box.

Sure enough, the unconscious Anari was lying inside, her hands and legs bound, a towel stuffed in her mouth to prevent screaming.

Seeing this, the elderly maid was shocked, unable to believe that someone was hidden here.

They untied Anari and woke her. She slowly opened her eyes, her body first trembling as if preparing to resist and escape, but upon recognizing Sylutia, she quickly calmed down.

"Lady Hedra..." She had many questions, but at this moment Sylutia was more eager to learn the details from her.

It turned out that on the day she went missing, Anari had also visited the exhibition, dragged along by a beastman classmate from her class.

"She said she was afraid to go alone, so she dragged me along."

"After that, we toured normally and then went back."

"On the way, a few strange beastmen surrounded me and captured me."

Although Anari resisted, she was no match for those strong beastmen. What followed was unconsciousness and confinement.

After learning the full story, Sylutia pieced together the outline of the entire incident.

The next thing was how to report it upward.

Sitting in the carriage, Sylutia comforted Anari, and the horned girl, finally safe after regaining her freedom, slowly fell asleep.

A few minutes later, the carriage stopped at an open space on Pinecone Street. This was Four Fingers' territory, quite safe.

They set Fire Pig and the Dragon Eye treasure down. Sylutia also carried Anari as she stepped out of the carriage.

The sky was nearly dark. The evening wind brushed through her hair and skirt, the slight chill seeping into her shoulders and neck, keeping the girl's mind exceptionally clear.

"Lady Hedra." Four Fingers inquired cautiously and deferentially, not daring to guess what final decision this young lady would make.

Her fingers lightly ran through her hair as Sylutia looked at the people and everything before her. Her clear voice carried through the wind.

"The Dragon Eye treasure must be returned to the 'Bionics School.' Fire Pig's previous schemes are to be written down and reported truthfully."

"Yes." Four Fingers and the others acknowledged.

"However, I will try to spare his life." Her words startled everyone present.

"My lady, the 'Bionics School' is not..." Four Fingers wanted to remind this young woman that even with her exceptional talent, she was ultimately just an apprentice, unable to influence the decisions of those powerful figures.

"I know. But I have my reasons." Sylutia replied calmly.

Indeed, a Fourth Tier 'Dragon Eye' treasure was a legend beyond the reach of everyone present for a lifetime. But for a mage school, such an item was merely the consumable for a large-scale experiment, not particularly precious. As for the thief who stole it, he wasn't worth caring about either.

"Four Fingers." She suddenly called his name.

Four Fingers' heart tightened, but at this moment, he had to brace himself and step forward.

"Lady Hedra."

"I am angry about your scheming and audacity. You must do ten tasks for me before I can forgive you."

Hearing this, Four Fingers let out a long sigh of relief and knelt on one knee.

"I won't refuse!"

"First, seal off what happened today. Assist Fire Pig's men in maintaining peace in all the blocks." Many matters were difficult for police officers to intervene in, but these underground headmen could manage them well.

"Yes." Even if Sylutia hadn't said it, he probably would have done so anyway. After all, no one wanted to cause an incident with negative repercussions at this critical moment.

"From now on, the commission deductions from the laborers' wages, as well as all gray-area business operations, must go through my review and approval."

"This... I obey your will." Four Fingers hesitated for a few seconds but still agreed.

Sylutia wasn't surprised by Four Fingers' hesitation. She had plenty of ways to make him obey, but she hadn't expected him to agree so quickly.

"Part of these deductions will be set aside to provide the most basic survival food and limited medical care for those laborers in dire straits."

"Of course, this is only for those who truly need it. As for those who want to exploit this loophole, give them the punishment they deserve."

"Care for the newborn and ignorant children, support the elderly who have contributed, and guide those who have lost their way and don't know how to move forward."

"What I want is not an underground world without boundaries, mutual persecution, short-sighted, and chaotic."

"I hope to see certain basic good qualities in you. If you ask me why I'm doing this, my answer is..."

"When you've grown accustomed to seeing crude and ugly paintings, you too will try to pick up a pen and depict the scenes you like and want to see."

"I hope you won't disappoint me."

"However, I also know that empty orders are ineffective."

"So, let's make a pact."

"When you have completed the tasks I've set, I will promise you a grand banquet—a genuine Feast Ritual."

As she spoke, layers of flowers bloomed behind the young girl. Within that sea of flowers, abundant fruits and delicacies appeared in abundance, the fragrance they emitted seeming almost real.

That beautiful scene appeared for a moment in the golden afterglow and then slowly faded, its image deeply etched into the minds of everyone present.