Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

Bitter Fish stopped there.

She turned her head and glanced at Xu Yue across from her.

The meaning in that look was clear: it's your turn.

Xu Yue was putting a piece of chicken into her mouth with her chopsticks when she caught Ku Yu's gaze, and her chewing speed slowed down noticeably, her face full of reluctance.

"Ugh, did you know there's a category called 'Forbidden Recipes' in alchemy?"

She looked at Mi Ye and finally swallowed her food.

Miya nodded.

Not only did she know, she also possessed a complete book, "The Complete Book of Millennium Alchemy Recipes," which contained several pages marked with red warning signs. She had flipped through them, but hadn't dared to look closely.

"The blackbird is a taboo among taboos."

Xu Yue placed the chopsticks horizontally on the rim of the bowl.

"All raw materials are on the Witch Association's Level 1 control list, and their distribution through any channel will be tracked."

"The written record of the formula is a prohibited item under the law; possession of it is illegal, and dissemination of it is a serious crime."

"None of the legitimate alchemy textbooks and recipe books you can find on the market, including publicly available library books, will contain the complete recipe for Blackbird. At most, they will only have a name and a warning line."

"Its effect is simple: it forcibly closes the drinker's magic circuits. After drinking it, the witch will regress into an ordinary human and will never be able to use any magic again in her life."

Miya stopped holding the chopsticks.

March Summer has a congenital atrophy of her magical circuits, which has been slowly shrinking since birth. Doctors say they can only try to extend her life to March of the following year.

If the magic circuit is forcibly closed, will March Summer be able to survive?

Miya's mind raced, and then she thought of someone else.

Lan Ye, a fellow patient of San Yuexia, is a three-eyed little witch who left behind the Snow Fairy Apple in her sea of ​​consciousness.

Is Lan Yide also suffering from circulatory degeneration?

Did she drink Blackbird wine?

If the blackbird can prolong life, then why did Lan Ye die?

Before her thoughts could fully unfold, Xu Yue's next words interrupted her.

"Another point is that although the Blackbird will destroy all magic, it will at the same time extend the natural lifespan of the drinker."

"For witches whose magical circuits are beyond saving and who are destined to die young, this potion is indeed a good choice."

Miya lowered her head, stirred the remaining noodle soup in the bowl with her chopsticks, and forced herself to keep a calm expression, but her mind was already a mess.

"but."

Xu Yue's voice suddenly turned somber. He crossed his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly.

"This medicine has a very serious side effect."

"It can cause mental damage to users. According to early drug use records, a significant proportion of those who took Blackbird began to experience severe hallucinations within months of the circuit closing."

"They will see something, something... indescribable."

indescribable.

Xu Yue emphasized these four characters.

"The descriptions are varied. Some say they saw mist with countless eyes, some say they heard flute music coming from deep underground, and some say that someone calls her name from the ceiling every night."

Xu Yue frowned, picked up her cup, took a sip of water, and then looked up at Mi Ye.

Do you know the origin of flesh and blood magic?

Miya snapped out of her reverie. The question made her pause for a moment, then she slowly nodded.

"I've only heard bits and pieces of information; Teacher Bie Chenye hasn't explained it to me systematically."

Xu Yue sighed and began to tell a story like a storyteller.

……

Since the dawn of humanity, we have been at odds with fear and the unknown.

In those ancient times when civilization was still in its infancy, when humans didn't even know how to use fire, certain things already existed in the world.

They are older than mountains and rivers, more silent than stars; their very existence can cause human consciousness to collapse.

That feeling of walking in an alley late at night, even though there's nothing behind you, but you always feel like someone has a hand on the back of your neck.

That feeling of staring at yourself in the mirror for too long, and then suddenly realizing that the person in the mirror isn't you.

That feeling of waking up inexplicably in the middle of the night, finding yourself with your eyes open in the dark, but unable to remember what you just dreamed about.

That's the feeling; they've always been there.

It wasn't until the goddess of magic, Isis, used her divine power to transform some humans into witches that we gained the right to confront these beings head-on.

At this point, we won't go completely insane standing in front of them, and we'll be able to clean up the mess after they've passed.

The war between witches and them has spanned the entirety of recorded history.

Some battles have been recorded. You should know about that great battle a thousand years ago; your teacher, Bie Chenye, was a participant.

But many more battles were never recorded because the witnesses were either dead, insane, or chose to forget.

In the midst of war after war, a group of witches began to try a crazy idea: since they could not be completely eliminated, they would learn from them.

Learn about their life forms, their ways of existence, and the rules by which they interact with the world.

This knowledge itself is dangerous; simply knowing it can cause irreversible changes to one's consciousness, but there are always witches willing to pay this price.

Flesh magic was born from this forbidden knowledge.

Its foundation lies in those indescribable existences themselves, which is why there are so few suitable candidates for flesh magic. Not every witch's consciousness can withstand that kind of thing; most people would go mad just from touching even a little bit of it.

……

The Blackbird was originally created by a legendary witch specializing in flesh and blood magic.

The witch discovered that this potion could forcibly close magical circuits and greatly extend lifespan, but its mechanism of action remains completely unknown.

Some theories suggest that the closed loop itself is not the goal, but rather a side effect.

The true effect of the drug is to adjust the drinker's consciousness to a frequency closer to those indescribable beings.

That's why they can see things they shouldn't see, and that's why they go crazy.

……

The original formula for the Blackbird was later sealed and destroyed, and all related materials were taken away by the Witch Association.

But recently, about six months ago, the Blackbird reappeared on the black market in Bellavita.

We don't know where the person who obtained the formula got the original information, but what is certain is that the medicine itself and the distribution channels are not something one person could handle.

This is definitely an organization. The association has been investigating for months and has only managed to find a few peripheral distributors. The identities of the core members are still unknown.

……

After finishing speaking, Xu Yue raised her eyes and met Mi Ye's gaze again.

"But we know one person, the core person in charge of this organization in Bellavita."

Mi Ye already vaguely knew the answer.

"Cutting autumn vines..."

"Is she the head of that organization?"