The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 28

Hearing this, the elderly woman didn't even dare to look back, fleeing upward with all her strength. At the same time, six majestic white deer pulled a golden four-wheeled carriage, rushing from the sky.

Elara watched as the elderly woman got closer and closer to the golden four-wheeled carriage, her body going weak and collapsing to the ground. Everything was finally over. But at that moment, an elderly woman wearing a black and gold cloak and a silver-core black mandala crown suddenly appeared, shouting loudly.

"If you want to leave, let me send you on your way."

The comer was none other than Kelly Dessey, the current ruler of the West Sea Forest. She channeled all her Witch Power, slapping the elderly woman in the white robe on the back. Immediately, bright red blood spurted out of the elderly woman in the white robe's mouth and nose. Of course, this slap didn't come for free—the elderly woman in the white robe also took the opportunity to board the golden four-wheeled carriage, fleeing quickly.

"Grandmother!" Elara's mouth pouted, and she cried, the emotions she had suppressed for a long time surging out.

Thea, who was being held by Alexander, also burst into tears at this moment. Staring at the elderly woman standing in the air, she choked out. "Mother… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Although she had excellent talent, she was slightly inferior to her sister. Before she came of age at eighteen, she hadn't taken her cultivation seriously—she was unstable and loved to play. But everything changed on her eighteenth birthday. She would never forget the scene where her mother had led her into the Dessey Ancient Tomb and personally handed her grandmother's Silver Frost Moon Ice Scepter to her.

Since then, she had changed, becoming very hardworking—as if trying to make up for all the time she had wasted. But… but she still let her down.

After confirming that the old hag Boyle had left, Kelly flashed to Merlyn's side, squatting down to check her carefully before sighing in relief. With a gentle flick of her finger, glowing moonlight washed away all the dirt on Merlyn's body.

Standing up, Kelly looked at her youngest daughter not far away, showing a kind smile. "Why cry? Being alive is the most important thing." She twisted her right hand, and a Moon Glow Ring appeared in her palm. "I forged this myself." She never thought it would end up on her own daughter's finger.

Thea's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground. "Mother… I'm sorry." Her swollen eyes looked at the Silver Frost Moon Ice Scepter lying alone in the bloodstain. From now on, she would never be able to hold it again.

"You've done well enough." Kelly flicked her hand gently, and the Moon Glow Ring flew toward Thea, automatically slipping onto her left middle finger.

Everything had happened so suddenly. Who would have thought that the Twin Witches, who had slept for ten thousand years, would wake up near Anastas City—especially since Anastas City was right next to the West Sea Forest. No wonder her two foolish daughters had fought so desperately.

And that old thing, Talina Larissa—she had thought she was long dead, but unexpectedly, she was still alive and well. It seemed the Light Witches had finally found a way to extend their lives from the Andros. This time, the West Sea Forest had lost.

But fortunately, Thea was alive, and Merlyn was only asleep.

Glancing at the rising red sun in the east, Kelly sighed deeply. "Alexander, I'm entrusting Thea to you. As her mother, I hope you'll treat her well."

The surprise was unexpected. Alexander Stirling was stunned, scratching the back of his ear awkwardly like a shy young man. Had he heard correctly? He quickly knelt on one knee. "L-Lady Kelly, please rest assured. I will protect Thea with my life."

"Good." Looking at the two kneeling together, Kelly felt a little comforted. "Hurry and leave— the sun is about to come up."

Thea was safe with the Moon Glow Ring, but Alexander wasn't. Although his bloodline meant sunlight wouldn't kill him, it wouldn't be pleasant either. Besides, the wound on his neck kept reopening. With his pride, he would never pick up those things on the ground.

Thea clenched the black mandala Moon Glow Ring on her left middle finger, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mother… please take care of yourself. I… I will look after myself."

Kelly nodded with a smile. "Don't worry. The Larissa Clan suffered heavy casualties in this battle." Although Boyle had escaped, she wouldn't live long after taking her palm strike… Well, not under normal circumstances. "Fisher's soul was also severely injured. They won't have the strength to trouble the West Sea Forest for fifty years."

The Larissa Clan was the most powerful faction among the Light Witches. With them severely damaged, the Light Witches would have to lie low for a while. Moreover, the news that Rocky Anastas, the Lord of Anastas City, had colluded with the Larissa Clan in an attempt to control the Moon Glow would soon spread.

At that time, as long as the Dark Witch Charlotte Tribe and the Annel Clan weren't foolish, they would definitely seize the opportunity to counterattack the Light Witches. Kelly lowered her deep brown eyes. Since coexistence was impossible, they would fight to the death.

Alexander stood up, half-holding Thea. "Lady Kelly, we'll take our leave now."

"Hurry and go." Kelly smiled softly. "I still have things to attend to." Fisher had slept for ten thousand years—why had he suddenly woken up? When she had severely injured Boyle just now, she had discovered something interesting.

"Goodbye." Alexander pulled Thea back slowly, finally teleporting away as the first ray of sunlight fell.

Thea's cries echoed in her ears. Elara sobbed. "Aunt, you must be well." Images of human anatomy flashed through her mind—only by staying alive could there be hope.

Kelly stared in the direction Thea and Alexander had left, her eyes finally turning red. She stood there motionless for a long time.

After resting for a while, Elara crossed her numb legs and sat in meditation with her eyes closed. Although her Witch Power was exhausted, there was still a trace of moonlight during the day—just very faint.

Before this, she had only driven her Witch Power to circulate through her meridians and open the three Dantians out of curiosity. But now it was different.

Her aunt had lost the ability to communicate with nature. If her method of actively connecting with nature through qi sense succeeded, it would become the only hope for her aunt to reconnect with nature.

After recovering a little, she stood up, glanced at her still-standing grandmother, and walked toward the group of turned Andros who were still struggling to live. After that night, the light in Elara's silver-gray eyes no longer flickered—it became firm, and there was an indescribable calmness deep in her eyes.

Stopping beside a turned Andros who was smoking all over with his pupils popped out, Elara looked at him calmly, listening to his painful moans. After pausing for a moment, she bent down to pull off the Moon Glow Ring on his finger.

"No… don't…" The turned Andros tried to clench his right hand, but his withered fingers trembled and failed to close. Elara ignored his pleas, slowly pulling off the Moon Glow Ring.

Without the Moon Glow Ring, under the sunlight, the turned Andros instantly turned to ashes.

After dealing with him, Elara put away the Moon Glow Ring and moved on to the next one. Before she knew it, Kelly had turned around, watching the little figure quietly, her heart aching. She shouldn't have grown up this way—this wasn't what Merlyn wanted, nor what she had hoped for.

After collecting all the Moon Glow Rings, the valley looked much cleaner. Elara stared at the blood-stained Blood Rose glazed card in front of her feet, pursed her lips, bent down to pick it up, and wiped it with her sleeve before looking for the other lost one.

"Take your mother." Seeing her pick up the other Blood Rose glazed card, Kelly clenched her left hand, and the Silver Frost Moon Ice Scepter appeared in her palm. With a thought, the Demon-Hiding Snake Scepter still stuck in the rock turned into a streak of black and flew into the hidden pocket of her skirt. "Let's go to the mountain top and take a look."

Elara stood still, her eyes shining with tears. "Grandmother, will mother wake up?"

"Yes." Kelly replied without hesitation. "She will definitely wake up." She walked forward, taking Elara's small, dirty hand. "The Holy Crow Spirit Dagger belongs to the West Sea Witch Ancestor. One day, when you surpass the West Sea Witch Ancestor, you will be able to pull the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger out of your mother's heart meridian intact."

Hearing this, Elara looked up at her grandmother. “Really?”

Kelly twisted two fingers of her left hand slightly, and the Silver Frost Moon Ice Scepter in her hand disappeared. She stroked Elara's golden hair, looking into her anxious eyes and nodding with a smile. “Yes. As long as you pull the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger out of her heart meridian intact, Merlyn Dessey will still be Merlyn Dessey."

Staring at her grandmother for a long time, Elara finally nodded solemnly. "I understand."

Kelly hugged her tightly, her heart aching. “Good. Now, let's go to the mountain top."

"Okay." This time, Elara agreed readily. But before going up the mountain, there was something else to do. "We should collect Sophia and her mother's scepters." Talina and Sophia held high positions among the Light Witches—not just anyone could be a Light High Priestess.

"Why collect them?" Kelly raised her eyebrows, glancing at the two scepters still emitting soft white light. "We can't use them anyway."

Elara lowered her eyes. "We can't use them, but these two scepters belong to Talina Larissa and Sophia Larissa."

Right—how could she have forgotten that?

Kelly laughed at herself. She really was getting senile. She flipped her right hand, and two wispy dark lights appeared in her palm. With a gentle flick, the two wispy dark lights flew out, heading for the Light Scepter and the Blazing Fire Scepter respectively. "We'll wrap them in Nether Moonlight first." When we return to the West Sea Forest, we'll seal them in the Nether Box."

"Okay." After collecting the scepters, Elara's eyes scanned the surroundings again. "Where are Talina's mounts? And Sophia and the seven Light Witches couldn't have run here on foot—where are their mounts?" She had counted while collecting the Moon Glow Rings just now.

Kelly knew the answer to this. "They're waiting outside the valley. Why—do you like deer?"

There were deer in the West Sea Forest too, but although the Dessey Witches were used to being arrogant, they didn't like to be ostentatious. So they basically never used deer to pull carriages.

"Yes." Seeing there was nothing left to collect, Elara took her grandmother's hand and walked to her mother's side. "Let's take Talina and Sophia's mounts back to the West Sea Forest for breeding." She thought carefully. "That should be good."

Breeding? Kelly couldn't help but laugh. "That's a great idea." Not only had they seized the Light Scepter and the Blazing Fire Scepter, but they were also going to use the Light Witch High Priestess' mounts for breeding. If this got out, the Larissa Clan would lose all face.

Using her Witch Power to carry Merlyn and the two scepters to the mountain top, Kelly placed Merlyn on a flat rock, threw the two scepters toward the group of deer, and then flashed to the bound little girl—this was the unexpected variable.

Elara ran over. "Roxane Mullin—why is she here?"

"I don't know why she's here." Kelly raised her right hand above the unconscious Roxane Mullin, and the blood amber tightly clutched in Roxane Mullin's right hand flew into her palm. "But I know Fisher wouldn't have woken up suddenly without this blood amber."

Hearing this, Elara's eyes sharpened, and her hands hanging by her sides slowly clenched. The longest and thickest silver needle emerged between her right middle and ring fingers. She suddenly took a step forward, wanting to end Roxane's life, but Kelly stopped her. "Wait—she's still useful."

Merlyn had sent her a message saying there was a Rozin girl who could sense the West Sea Witch Ancestor's Life Spirit Ring—and this must be her. Kelly held up the blood amber to the red sun. Sure enough, the blood inside the amber was flowing at an imperceptible speed.

This wasn't blood amber at all—it was Yangshan Bright Stone from outside Moai City. It just happened to have absorbed the blood of the Twin Witch Ancestor Fisher.

And Fisher's soul was near Anastas City. Roxane, this little Rozin girl, had a fragile soul. Carrying this blood amber close to her body, she would naturally have nightmares.

Kelly curved her lips, putting down the blood-stained Yangshan Bright Stone. It wasn't so much that the girl could sense the Life Spirit Ring—it was more like Fisher's blood had given her a soul hint.

Because of this blood-stained Yangshan Bright Stone, her two daughters had one seal themselves and the other be turned. How could she accept that?

Kelly gently pushed Elara aside, threw her right hand upward, and began to form ancient hand seals, chanting softly. Since it started because of her, even if she was a young Rozin girl, she couldn't stay out of it.

Fisher—you didn't take this thing away yourself. Don't blame me.

Elara didn't know what her grandmother was going to do, but since grandmother said Roxane was still useful, she had to put away the silver needle no matter how unwilling she was.

Nether Moonlight slowly infiltrated the blood amber. After a while, the blood inside the amber began to sink, quickly seeping out of the amber and gathering into a large drop of thick blood.

The moment the drop of thick blood fell, the amber, which had lost its blood color, immediately shattered. Kelly continued to form hand seals, chanting unhurriedly. The drop of blood squirmed as if it were alive.

Elara watched as her grandmother pressed the drop of blood into Roxane Mullin's abdomen. Even then, grandmother didn't stop forming hand seals—the chanting continued.

After another full five minutes, Kelly finally stopped, letting out a long breath and smiling. "We'll go back to the shop in Anastas City before leaving the city."

"Okay." Elara looked at her grandmother. Seeing that she didn't want to say more, she didn't ask further, stepping forward to take her hand and walk toward her mother. As for Roxane Mullin—that wasn't their responsibility.

Returning to Anastas City, the city was cleaner after being washed by last night's rain. There were still many pedestrians on the main street, and most of the shops on both sides were open—everything was as usual. It seemed the news of Rocky Anastas' death hadn't spread yet.

Two old horses seemed to have been waiting for their return. Kelly placed Merlyn on the long table inside the carriage, then took Elara's hand and turned to enter the shop. Glancing at the furnishings in the shop, she sighed softly. "Let's go check the secret room."

"Secret room?" Elara knew there was a secret room at home, but she didn't expect there to be one here too. Kelly led her out the back door of the shop, closed it, and then walked straight through the door.

"This…" Elara stared at what was in front of her, extremely surprised. It was clearly the same door—she had gone out, closed it, then walked through it again to enter the room. Why had the room changed?

Rows of shelves were neatly filled with Night Boxes of different sizes. Elara knew exactly what was inside these Night Boxes. "Grandmother, so… so if the Twin Witches hadn't suddenly appeared, mother and aunt would never have been hurt, right?"

"If it had been truly dangerous," Kelly's eyes shone with tears. "Do you think your mother and aunt would have brought you along?"

The Dessey Clan's fourteen shops were all located in major cities, close to the main mansion. On the surface, they closed because the business wasn't going well, but in reality, this was just an excuse to store a large number of dark weapons in the cities. The secret rooms of the fourteen shops were all filled with dark weapons.

Clenching the small hand in her palm, Kelly didn't want little Elara to be exposed to these things so early. But Merlyn was asleep, and her time was running out. She had to tell her these things in advance.

"With these dark weapons, even if Rocky Anastas and the Larissa Clan had joined forces to launch a sneak attack, your mother and aunt could have made them come and not return." Unfortunately, they had lost to an unexpected variable.

No wonder… no wonder all the Dessey Clan's shops were empty, and her mother and aunt had acted as if it were perfectly normal. So these were the reasons. Elara bit her lip tightly, sobbing.

After taking little Elara around the secret room, Kelly led her toward the front door. "But there's one thing I need to explain to you—closing the shops wasn't intentional." She sighed. "It seems people from our family really aren't suited to doing business."

Elara didn't quite understand. “Why?”

"Because many of the customers who came in wanted to buy things that were too overbearing. But we thought such overbearing weapons weren't necessary, so we recommended some weapons with similar effects. It's just that…"

Seeing her grandmother shake her head helplessly, Elara understood. The weapons recommended by the Dessey Witches were intended to hurt people, but what others wanted were lethal weapons—or lethal hidden weapons.

Reaching the front door of the shop, this time Kelly didn't lead Elara through the door—she pushed it open directly. Sunlight streamed into the room. Elara instinctively turned back, but the room was no longer the secret room.

"We should return to the West Sea Forest."

“Hmm.”

Her soft "hmm" startled the black crow upstairs, making it blink its eyes immediately. Not hearing any footsteps going upstairs, the black crow quickly pecked open the cage door with its beak, flew out, picked up the cage in its mouth, and flew out through the open window.

The moment it flew out, all the glazed windows of the shop closed automatically.

Elara glanced at Cinderaven carrying the cage in its mouth, then helped her grandmother get into the carriage. Cinderaven wanted to follow but was stopped. "There's no room for you in the carriage."

Her mother needed peace and quiet. Elara took the cage and hung it outside the carriage. "Stay here and help me keep an eye on those stags." She got into the carriage and closed the door without hesitation.

Cinderaven was a little confused, blinking its black bean eyes and looking at the stags with disdain. Other than the two things they were carrying, it didn't see anything special about these stags.

But the carriage door was already closed. It had to obey—otherwise, it wouldn't be able to fly into the West Sea Forest. Reluctantly returning to the cage, it stared at the fat stags intently, just as Elara had instructed.

The two old horses, familiar with the way, pulled the carriage out of the west gate of Anastas City. Thea and Alexander, who was wearing the Moon Glow Ring, watched them leave until the carriage was no longer visible, then turned back to Alexander's manor in Anastas City.

Returning to the manor, Thea collapsed to the ground dumbly, kissing the Moon Glow Ring on her left middle finger. Her eyes turned red again.

Alexander's heart ached as he looked at Thea. He bit his lower lip hard, then picked her up and carried her upstairs, placing her on the soft bed. He squatted beside the bed. "You're too tired—sleep for a while." He didn't dare ask if she was hungry. Unable to resist, he leaned closer and kissed her nose. "I'll go fry you a piece of beef."

He had watched little Elara fry beef before—it didn't seem too difficult. He should be able to do it. But the beef he fried for Thea would probably have to be as raw as possible, otherwise she wouldn't be able to eat it.

Not getting a response, Alexander patted her gently and stood up, preparing to go downstairs. But just as he turned around, she spoke. "You killed Rocky Anastas—how do you plan to explain it to Duke Alexandra?"

Her hoarse voice made Alexander frown, but he was glad she was speaking. Alexander sat on the edge of the bed, smiling. "Explain what?" Everything last night exceeded his expectations. He licked his dry lips. He had never imagined the outcome would be like this.

"You're not going to explain?" Ana Stirling watched you kill Rocky Anastas with her own eyes. She won't let this go."

Alexander nodded. "No, she won't." He lay down beside Thea, holding her in his arms. "Moreover, I violated father's order. When I return to the royal capital, I'll definitely be tied to the Blazing Sun Pillar and burned by the scorching sun for a few days." This annoyed him greatly.

"The Blazing Sun Pillar?" A trace of guilt rarely appeared in Thea's heart.

"But don't worry." Alexander looked at her with a smile. "I don't plan to go back now." He didn't need to think—Ana must have already taken Rocky Anastas' body back to the royal capital. Once there, she would probably go straight to her father to complain without even going home. "At least I won't go back until my mother and father finish their fight."

Are you kidding? Going back now when his father was in a rage would be asking for trouble.

Seeing his expression, Thea couldn't help but curl her lips slightly. "I didn't expect you to be afraid of your father too."

"To be clear, I'm afraid of the scorching sun. Besides, I came out to find Duke Austin—I haven't found him yet. Why go back?" Alexander said nonchalantly. "Besides, isn't there someone above everyone else?"

Wouldn't it be happier to wander around with the woman he loved? Only a fool would choose to go back now.

Seeing him smile, Thea couldn't help but argue. "Andros Dukes don't have that problem." They almost controlled the entire Mal Continent.

Alexander disagreed. "Who says they don't? Your ancestor is one of those 'mountains'." This mountain was also stationed at a crucial point in the Andrea Kingdom. "And the missing Duke Austin—he's also a mountain above my father. My mother is also one…"

As Alexander piled mountain after mountain on top of his noble father, the curve of Thea's lips couldn't help but become more and more obvious…

It wasn't until dark that the three of Elara returned home to the West Sea Forest.

Seeing her father and two elder brothers waiting outside the ancient castle, Elara's nose felt as if it were on fire. Mond didn't dare hope for anything else—he only prayed that Merlyn was still alive.

"Father, I'm sorry."

Mond's heart ached sharply. When his mother had hurried to the ancient tomb last night, he had had a bad feeling. Something really had happened.

Ignoring etiquette, he rushed onto the carriage, seeing the woman he had been waiting for. Staring at the black mandala blooming between her eyebrows, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was still alive… as long as she was alive. He picked her up and hugged her tightly, his eyes turning red. He might never see her smile again in this life, but he wanted her to live.

Listening to her two grandsons' suppressed cries, Kelly sighed deeply. "Your mother is fine—she's just tired and wants to sleep." She took Elara's hand. She had more important things to do now. Turning back to instruct Mond, "Take good care of Merlyn. Elara and I will stay in the ancient tomb for a while. Also, lock those deer in the shed and give them something to eat."

"Yes." Holding his sleeping wife and looking at his young daughter, Mond had no choice but to hold back his reluctance. The West Sea Forest couldn't be without a ruler. Merlyn was asleep, and Thea hadn't returned—she was probably in trouble too. Now only Elara was left. "Please rest assured, I will take good care of the family."

Kelly took Elara's hand and walked deep into the West Sea Forest. Wherever they went, flowers, grass, and trees automatically moved out of the way.

Kelly's calm eyes looked into the distance. She had walked this road nearly a thousand times in her life, and her mood was different every time.

At ten years old, this was Elara's first time going to the ancient tomb. She had thought she would step onto this road on her eighteenth birthday. Her mood was inexplicably calm. Looking at the flowers and grass on both sides of the path, thinking of the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger stuck in her mother's heart meridian and the tears on her aunt's face, her eyes became firm.

The old and the young walked slowly, step by step, to the deepest part of the West Sea Forest. Here, the ground was covered with black mandalas emitting faint moonlight, and countless winged sprites frolicked around the black mandala flowers.

Elara was extremely shocked. She seemed to have dreamed of this place before. She raised her hand to catch a blue-winged sprite flying over to look around—though in her dream, there had only been one sprite.

"We're here." Kelly led Elara past the sea of flowers to a low tombstone. Elara bowed her head, and her heart shook violently. The tombstone was simply engraved with "Selah Dessey". This was where the ancestor of the Dessey Clan was buried—the most powerful Witch in the history of the Mal Continent: Selah Dessey.

Letting go of Elara's hand, Kelly solemnly took out the Demon-Hiding Snake Scepter and placed it on the tombstone. The Demon-Hiding Snake Scepter disappeared immediately as if it couldn't wait. An ink-wing sprite wearing a snake crown rushed out of the tombstone, kissed Elara's forehead, and then couldn't wait to fly to the flower sea to play with the other sprites.

Elara raised her right hand stiffly, touching the place where the sprite had kissed her. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes staring at the 172 tombstones standing here. It took a long time for her to find her voice. "Grandmother, are these cute sprites… are they dark weapons?"

"Yes." Kelly hugged Elara. "There are 3,882 sprites in the Dessey Ancient Tomb." She pointed to the black mandala flower sea. "These black mandalas aren't real flowers—they're illusions formed by the moonlight condensed by the dark weapons buried here over ten thousand years. Once outsiders invade the West Sea Forest, relying on this moonlight, the dark weapons in the ancient tomb can automatically activate to defend against enemies."