The Cornflower Witch

During the holiday, Sylutia stayed at home, flipping through books about dragons and the Eastern Sixth Continent. Some of the stories and legends piqued her interest.

When she grew tired of reading, she would lie down on the straw mat for a nap. Occasionally she’d feel like getting something to eat, so she’d go to the cellar to fetch a watermelon, wash it, cut it open, then sit happily in the backyard and enjoy it.

Because she was at home, she didn’t care much for wearing shoes and often walked barefoot on the straw mat. She would lean against a pillow and read. Sometimes the Shadow-Walking Beast would run over and lie beside her, its tail wagging now and then.

Although not very clever, she had trained it enough to do simple tasks — fetch things, deliver things, and occasionally watch the house.

With her slender calves curled beneath her, Sylutia knelt on the straw mat and flipped through the book in her hands. One page had a color illustration depicting the Eastern Continent’s "Dragon Lantern Festival." During the festival, towns and cities would raise specially made "dragon lanterns" — a series of lantern segments connected to form the shape of a dragon that then rose into the sky.

It was said that some Eastern Continent factions crafted dragon lanterns with supernatural power for battle. These dragon lanterns, aided by the Dragon Eye and Mist Shadow’s special effects, could transform their internal flames into soaring giant dragons, terrifying in their might.

Also noted in the book was the famous Eastern faction, Myriad Treasures Pavilion. It was said that in ancient times, pharmacists gathered there to discuss and research medicinal arts. Later, an emperor seeking longevity sponsored vast resources, hoping to have an elixir of eternal youth crafted for him.

Under the emperor’s decree, renowned pharmacists from across the realm were summoned to Myriad Treasures Pavilion. These top pharmacists exchanged knowledge, and many secret formulas were improved and iterated during that period.

Moreover, to ensure Myriad Treasures Pavilion had enough medicinal materials, the emperor set up the Herbal Gathering Hall. Back then, about eight thousand third- to fourth-tier herbal gatherers fanned out across the mountains to collect herbs. Their gathering fleets even sailed to the Second Continent to trade for rare medicinal materials with the Elves.

With such massive resources and manpower, the top pharmacists at Myriad Treasures Pavilion spent eighty years finally developing the Elixir of Eternal Youth, which they presented to that emperor.

After ingesting this legendary spiritual medicine, the emperor lived to about three hundred and sixty years old, then ascended on a dragon. Afterwards, the Emerald Dragon issued an imperial decree: mortal rulers’ reigns must not exceed that number; if one did, they would be taken to the celestial gardens’ Azure Lapis Lazuli Dragon Palace.

Dynasties on the Eastern Continent then rose and fell. If one person could unify the continent, they would receive the Emerald Dragon’s blessing and obtain the Fate Dragon Blood. Even without taking the Elixir of Eternal Youth, they could easily live to three hundred years. Since then, Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s status declined somewhat, but it still remains a well-known faction on the Eastern Continent.

There are many methods of extending life in this world, Sylutia mused as she turned the pages and reflected.

Ordinary fairies and dragons can easily live several hundred years; upper-tier fairies and dragons living thousands of years is not uncommon. In the Seventh Epoch, the Dawn Wind Eagle bestowed blessings on humanity, allowing an angelic transformation ritual. After becoming an Angel, one’s lifespan would be greatly extended.

Besides that, there is the unblessed "Sorceress Ritual." This is the witches’ most profound secret rite, able to transform the practitioner into a Sorceress, granting a very long life. However, witches are not Hours, so this secret art has flaws. The Sorceress transformation process picks up various curses.

Thinking of that, she looked at her own fair forearm and recalled the moment she received the fairy’s blessing. She softly hummed the rhyme and a familiar, nostalgic feeling surfaced. A faint pale pink pattern then appeared on her wrist, the slender lines tracing the shape of petals.

Fairy’s Blessing: The blessing of Upper-tier Fairy Aiyalani. When you were ten, you walked into the celestial gardens and received Aiyalani’s blessing by the Spring Hour’s side. She blessed you with eternal youth so that until death your appearance would not age.

Sylutia gently stroked the petals and felt a faint luck-filled warmth. She had to admit she was truly fortunate — at a very young age she had received what many people could only dream of.

That kind of good fortune sometimes didn’t feel wholly real, like a dreamlike gift.

Maybe many stories depict villains and final bosses as people who suffered unspeakable persecution or disrespect in childhood, and then, in response to that pain, sought to take revenge on the world. But there is also the opposite: those who grew up in love and care may, out of gratitude, decide to protect the world.

Perhaps only a few do so, Sylutia tilted her head and thought.

You might feel only a few people even realize that. Often happiness is like transparent glass; you don’t notice it until it shatters.

Because to notice your happiness is to recognize you are fortunate, and then you might lose some urgent drive to act, assuming everything is deserved and normal. Only when tragedy occurs do you wake up and realize what you’ve lost.

So those who yearn to protect the world are actually rare.

A small number act because of joy. To Sylutia, that’s somewhat sad, because actions motivated solely by a desire to escape happiness create problems.

If you are that happy, or if happiness is subdued, then you will retreat and lose motivation and purpose for doing things.

She disliked the idea of forcing others to strive through gifts, because such effort ultimately follows the path set by others or circumstances, not from true inner disgust or conviction.

Living a life given to you, doing what you hate, and becoming someone you don’t truly like — the separation between body and heart brings torment and tearing.

Bit by bit it wears away life force and makes a person twisted and numb.

You only live life once; the long river of life only offers one chance to step into it, with no turning back. Such a precious life should be spent chasing the light of what you love, blooming again and again into moments worth remembering. Then, when death finally comes, you will have no regrets.

Sylutia raised her head and looked out at the bright sunlight, thoughtful.

Come to think of it, she too should do her best to protect this beautiful world, because she had received blessings and care that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

If even she did not want to do it, then who else would?

Indeed, the idea of being the great hero who saves the world was always exciting and delightful. Even without any reward, even if it was only imagining the process, it made the mind wander with countless possibilities and conjured many wonderful dreams.

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