Chapter 389: 6. The Undying Sorceress
Although Fischer had known Renee for a long time, he had to admit that it was the first time he experienced the perspective of Renee in her illusory state. Just now, the way Renee touched him, allowing both of them to shift into a phantasmal state to evade bullets, made him enter the crevice of the Spirit Realm. No wonder she could come and go freely in her ethereal form, being neither touchable nor able to instantly move to extremely distant places.
Renee could freely enter the crevice world?
“Goo goo~”
In the cold snowy ground, the night grew deeper, and the night wind whipped up the surrounding white snow like an invisible blade, making the environment feel exceptionally restless.
In the darkness, on the surrounding trees, purple larks, whose origins were unknown, hopped onto the branches, continually tilting their heads to look at Renee, who was running forward in the snow with Fischer. They were heading further into the mountains, and soon, a dilapidated hunter’s cabin appeared in front of Renee’s eyes.
People from the Kingdom of Sardinia had a habit of hunting; experienced hunters often coveted larger and more dangerous game, so they would build small wooden cabins in the mountains for resting and resupplying.
However, the cabin before them had obviously been abandoned for a long time. The bricks, tiles, and wooden beams above were either missing or broken, and large areas of the ceiling were exposed. Inside, a thin layer of frost had accumulated, and one could see the pure night sky of the Northern Region by looking up.
“Renee.”
“Hmm, I’m here. They’re still chasing us, but they should be some distance away. Let’s rest here for a while.”
Renee smiled as she carried the weak Fischer into the small cabin before them. She found a spot inside where there was no accumulated frost and carefully helped Fischer sit down. The cabin had wind leaking from all sides, and the door was completely collapsed, exposing the snowy landscape outside.
“Emhart is still behind us.”
Fischer leaned against the back wall, catching his breath while his eyes remained fixed on the beautiful woman he hadn’t seen in a long time. Even in the dark, her alluring profile was still bright, with her purple eyes swirling like red wine as she turned to look at Fischer. She then poked her chin with her finger and said,
“Emhart? Is that the name of the relic from the book?”
“Yeah, I met him during the time you were gone. He’s been with me all this time.”
“Ah, he’s been with you this whole time? I’m a bit jealous. In the past, when I stayed by your side for too long, you would push me away. How come you’ve been able to tolerate a book for so long? I’m so jealous. Or do you think I’m totally lacking in charm?”
Renee pretended to rub her eyes in a crying gesture, but Fischer didn’t interrupt her performance as he had done in the past; instead, he quietly stared at her as if he couldn’t get enough.
“No, you’ve always been very charming in my eyes.”
“Eh, wait! While I wasn’t around, did you find another lady? Why does it feel like your compliments have skyrocketed? Come on! Who taught you all this?”
Fischer leaned against the back wall and shook his head, saying,
“No, you’ve been missing for too long. I came to the Northern Region to find you. I had gotten a little clue from the Sorceress Research Society. You didn’t go to Cardu, right? So where have you been all this time?”
“Um… about that.”
Renee cradled her chin, looking somewhat troubled. At the sight of her deep in thought, Fischer suddenly chuckled. He shook his head and said,
“If you don’t want to say it, forget it. I’m not here to interrogate you; I’m here to find you. Knowing or not knowing doesn’t change anything for me, but…”
Renee looked at Fischer, who wanted to say something but stopped, and it was the first time she had seen him being somewhat reticent, a side of him that had always been open and talkative with her. This unfinished sentence piqued her curiosity. She poked Fischer’s slender arm with her finger and said,
“Hmm, come on, what is it?”
But he shook his head and replied,
“No, forget it; it’s nothing.”
“Eh? That’s it?”
Renee was somewhat disappointed. She pouted and sat beside Fischer, looking at the distant glow of fire rising faintly from below the snowy mountains. She probably knew that the people from the Sorceress Research Society had already chased down to the foot of the mountain. However, she didn’t panic or show any other expression; she simply glanced at Fischer, who was now weakly leaning against the wall and complained,
“You too! I told you to take good care of yourself while I was gone, yet you made yourself like this. If you’re not pained, I still am, and you say you came to find me? I see that I have nothing wrong while you have issues; you’re really such a fool!”
Fischer glanced innocently at his frail body and turned to look at Renee, saying,
“Yeah, compared to before, I must look ugly. I’m going to find a way to fix this.”
“Really a fool. At a time like this, you’re still worrying about your appearance? Fischer the gentleman used to care only about his talents. You didn’t even like being bought nice clothes; how come you’re suddenly concerned about this?”
“Do I care? A little, especially in front of you.”
Renee was slightly taken aback. She hugged her knees, her face becoming a bit flushed as she turned her head to look at Fischer, smiling,
“Oh my, that last sentence gets a ninety out of a hundred! Excellent little detail; not bad at all.”
“Hmm.”
Fischer remained noncommittal, his expression gradually turning serious as he looked at the approaching glow of fire down the mountain, saying,
“Renee, you have no combat ability, so you should head down the mountain first. Just go south to McDowell’s Forge Town, and we’ll meet up there later. There are many of them, and I’m not in good shape; I’m afraid I can’t protect you well. I will come back to get Emhart and find a way to escape.”
Renee didn’t move but instead began drawing circles in the snow before her. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to take the shape of a lying, repeating Eight.
“You can hardly keep your eyes open, your body has gotten so weak, yet you ran here so fast to see me. You think you can escape? Do you really trust me so much? You were doubting me as the Undying Sorceress back in Nali. If I am the Undying Sorceress, wouldn’t I never die? Just now, Hart called you, and you rushed over. Why did you stand in front of me to block bullets?”
“I never said I trust you.”
Hearing Fischer’s words, Renee angrily put down her hands that had been drawing circles. She turned around, wanting to punch him on the shoulder, but seeing him in such a weak state, she only threw two punches in the air as a warning, which made Fischer chuckle.
“See, no matter how high the probability of reality is, people always subjectively trust what they want to believe. Even if my reason tells me the probability that you are the Undying Sorceress approaches one, since you told me you aren’t, I wouldn’t dare to take that tiny chance. After getting to know you better, I always think, what if you really aren’t the Undying Sorceress?”
“If you aren’t such a formidable Undying Sorceress, would you be in danger for staying outside so long without news? If you were shot, would it hurt? Would you die? I still remember the first time we crossed the Shivali border, and you got shot, lying weakly on the hospital bed, and I also remember how you cried, bleeding as you cut your hand in Nali.”
The glow of fire was getting closer. Fischer wanted to take hold of the Fluid Sword to stand up, but with Renee’s fragrance swirling in his nose, his eyelids and body felt increasingly heavy, and he began to feel dizzy, losing control.
Scented by Renee’s fragrance, Fischer always tended to be drowsy, but now it seemed like it was turning into a bad outcome.
He forced himself to focus and continued speaking,
“However, later I became resigned to it. Whether you are the Undying Sorceress or whether you are Renee has nothing to do with each other. If I can find you, and I can be a hundred percent sure that you are safe, a hundred percent sure that you won’t get hit by bullets, then it doesn’t matter whether you are the Undying Sorceress.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time, but apart from me, it seems I’ve never seen you with any other family or friends. It seems like from the day we met until now, you’ve always been alone. Maybe I am being a bit self-indulgent, but I really do worry that if I don’t come looking for you, no one else will. Now that I can see you return safely, I’m satisfied.”
Renee stared blankly at Fischer, who had spoken all this and then quietly fell asleep. After several seconds, she gently reached out to cradle his head in her arms. Sitting elegantly, with her leg turned to one side, she naturally formed a knee pillow for him, enveloping him in her fragrant embrace.
Weakness and coldness melted away in this moment. Renee’s fair, soft palm gently brushed against the face of the frail gentleman, and then she suddenly spoke softly,
“Alright, you fool.”
Unfortunately, Fischer had already slipped into a deep sleep within her fragrant arms, unable to hear her sincere reply.
“Fischer! Help! Ahhh! The great Emhart is going to be sacrificed!”
The distant glow of fire was now directly in front of them, leading the way was the wobbling figure of Emhart. He immediately spotted the atmosphere between Fischer and Renee in the ruined cabin and hurried towards them,
“Fischer, you…”
But just as he entered the cabin, the golden light enveloping Emhart dimmed slightly, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground. Renee looked apologetically at Emhart and waved her hand, drawing his perfectly rectangular book-like body back into Fischer’s embrace.
Soon, a dozen members of the Sorceress Research Society, holding torches, dangerous magic, swords, and firearms, approached the ruined cabin with cold smirks on their faces.
“The Mother’s blessings are not something a mere sorceress can enjoy alone. Come back to Cardu with us immediately, and we will benefit…”
But before he could finish his words, the black-haired lady sitting on the ground, continually reaching out to stroke the weary gentleman in her arms, spoke first. Her tone was gentle and ethereal; she only gazed at Fischer without looking at them,
“I once swore not to harm any living creatures in this place; this is the last warning. Retreat immediately, or face irreversible consequences.”
“Laughable, irreversible? I…”
The leader scoffed, stepping forward. Then, before everyone’s astonished eyes, the flesh and blood on his body began to separate little by little, bones, skin, blood, and soul all floated in the air in irregular ways, yet he was still alive.
His teeth and organs fell and floated, yet they still opened in different places, the shape of his soul twisted and stretched while still retaining the intelligence of a human being.
“What the hell is going on?!”
At this moment, all those behind him found that the silks they wore began to twist and change form, shifting in a way that defied the rules of reality—first turning to metal, then into some blinding object that ignited and rotted the flesh of their companions.
Many members of the Sorceress Research Society were alarmed and attempted to flee, only to turn back and find their bodies beginning to twist and deform, entangled with the earth and air, heading toward inevitable chaos.
“Ahhh! Elder, save me!”
In front of the cabin, all the members of the Sorceress Research Society fell into extreme chaos; not just their possessions, but soon their bodies, souls, and even the nearby gravity and fate all crumbled and rotted, falling into total disorder.
Meanwhile, within the room, the elegant and graceful lady still lowered her head, gazing at the quiet, sleeping gentleman in her arms, without any hint of having made a move.
The nearly insane elder’s body became increasingly deformed and twisted; the only eye still floating in the air looking towards the cabin was filled with disbelief. His teeth and tongue were nowhere to be found, and just as he tried to open his mouth, he realized that the place where the sound came from was very far away, from his back where the already twisted mass of flesh was producing the voice,
“Who… who the hell are you?”
A deep and pleasant fragrance spread throughout the area. The lady in the room slowly raised her gaze, looking at everything in front of her that was infinitely multiplying and descending into chaos, her face devoid of any special expression.
In this incredibly deep night, at the very end of the sky, a pale, gigantic white disk slowly rose, casting a cool moonlight like water over the vast land, covering all sounds and traces of activity. Even the blizzards, considered a natural disaster, abruptly halted their movement.
That was, the brilliantly bright yet utterly cold moon.
In that pure and infinite moonlight, all sentient beings from the Sorceress Research Society felt their consciousness completely crumbling and disorganizing, continuously experiencing endless pain while only the deep fragrance and the plain voice of the lady echoed on and on.
Renee’s purple eyes lowered again. She merely looked at Fischer in her arms and whispered with a smile as if in a trance,
“I am the Undying Sorceress.”
The next moment, the night in the Northern Region fell into a profound silence.
Recommendation for a book by author Nan Feng, “After the Divorce, My Wife and I Both Reborn.”
It’s a daily single female protagonist story, depicting a couple who was originally planning to divorce but rekindle their romance after being reborn. It’s very well-written, and the story is interesting. It’s about to be recognized as a top-tier work. If you’re interested, you must check it out; it’s very sweet and enjoyable!
By the way, please vote, tip, and support; it’s extremely important to me!
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(The End)
