Witch Troupe and the Undead

"For those who lack morality, I generally prefer to reason with them. Do you choose to sit down and listen to my reasoning, or do you want me to use reason to move your hard-hearted hearts?" Clearly, the "move" it refers to is most likely the physical kind.

"A talking monster!!!!" Most monsters can't talk, so a talking monster like this is definitely not an ordinary monster!

Old Ma vividly revealed a displeased expression, "Naughty!"

"Run!"

"Don't panic!"

"Hey bastard, don't cut me off!"

"Whoosh~" A puff of hot air with sparks shot out from the horse's nostrils. "Damn it, they can't understand human language at all!" We told them to stop making noise in the middle of the night. At this distance, if they woke up the young lady, none of us would be in good shape.

"Since you all refuse to listen to my words," the horse-headed, muscular giant gripped his wooden sword, "then I also know a little about clubs!"

After a brief period of commotion, the forest returned to calm, leaving only two small wooden boats on the shore bobbing gently with the waves, and a handsome but pale face hidden among the rocks in the moonlight.

Chapter 8 The Role of Mermaids (Pharmaceutics)

As the morning light broke through the clouds and fell on the clearing in the woods, the nameless white flowers on the rooftop covered with lush green vegetation raised their heads slightly to enjoy the sun's bounty. A gentle breeze passed through the trees, carrying the unique scent of grass and wood, swirling around the wooden window, deftly opening the hinges and letting the light fall on the raised blankets on the wooden bed.

"Hmm~" A pair of fair and delicate hands stretched out from under the covers, and she stretched and yawned. Then she lifted the covers and sat up. Her light golden hair meandered on the pillow, as if radiating the glow of the sun.

"Ugh~" Livia raised her right hand and rubbed her eyes hard. Her clear, emerald eyes widened slightly as she stared blankly at the door, seemingly not fully awake from her sleep.

"Thud~" The comb on the shelf jumped onto the bedside table, and the hair ribbon flying in mid-air lifted one end to kick the lazy water glass and toothbrush leaning against the wall toward the bed. The kettle, which had been waiting, filled the water glass with water.

Livia grabbed the water glass and toothbrush that bounced in front of her, and used a wooden comb to tidy her messy hair. The triangular wooden stand in the corner, carrying the washbasin, clattered and swayed to the bedside.

With the help of these seemingly lifelike objects, Livia quickly finished her washing and preparations, and only then did her eyes regain some sparkle, as if she had just emerged from the afterglow of sleep.

After changing out of her pajamas, she was dressed in her usual pink and white long dress with gold embroidery and a black hooded cape. As she left the room, a long cane that had been hiding behind the door jumped into Livia's palm.

In the stables in the backyard of the cottage, the girl looked at the old horse lying on the haystack, fast asleep. After thinking for a moment, she kicked the stable door, making a loud bang that startled the old horse awake. It quickly got up and nuzzled Livia's blonde hair with its head.

The yoke automatically attaches to the old carriage, and the planks bend downwards so that the girl can step onto the carriage without having to lift her feet high. Then the old horse starts moving towards the beach.

Yesterday was a full moon, which means the tide will rise. The tides in Carrion Bay often bring back a lot of things, such as drifting bottles and decaying boxes. Occasionally, they also bring back the corpses of humans or other creatures. For Livia, every time there is a full moon, she goes for a walk on the beach to see if she can find anything.

For her, living alone in the forest, this was her only form of entertainment. The drifting bottles brought new stories, and the odds and ends left behind by shipwrecked people could supplement some of the needs in the cabin. At the same time, she could also gain some new stories and knowledge from these items.

However, Livia didn't like those corpses very much. Their souls had long since dissipated and vanished, leaving only rotting flesh and blood. If they weren't dealt with, they would grow many small insects and emit a foul stench that she disliked very much. Therefore, she had to find a way to dispose of these corpses every time.

Roach was the only corpse she found with a soul remaining in its body, and it took a lot of effort to collect all the parts on the beach.

If each fragment didn't contain a portion of the soul's aura according to its size, Livia wouldn't even be sure if she could have collected them all back then. No, she's not even sure now if she's collected all of Roach's "fragments".

However, even minor damage isn't a big deal. As long as the main parts aren't missing, the soul and flesh themselves have the ability to heal themselves. Unless the damage is too severe, with the passage of time and the help of potions, they will slowly heal and regenerate. Because of Roach's special case, Livia thought she could go back to the beach and see if she could find something similar.

The beach was covered with messy footprints, and the waves crashed between the rocks and gravel, slowly washing over the lined-up corpses.

"......"

"Sigh~" Livia looked at the row of soulless corpses and sighed softly. They were just useless remains of flesh and blood.

The yoke of the carriage was slightly raised, and the eye-like wooden grain at the end looked at the old horse, who was chewing on tender grass with an expression of indifference. The old horse silently turned its face away, pretending not to see the row of corpses shaped like the Chinese character "义" (righteousness).

Livia gripped her cane with both hands and plunged it into the sand. The sand surged as if alive, restless like countless tiny insects, and began to climb up the row of corpses.

Iron filings and quartz particles in the gravel gnawed at flesh and blood like countless bloodthirsty ants. The yellow sand turned into a vortex, pulling the corpse down little by little. Before falling to the bottom of the vortex, the blood, bones, flesh and internal organs were all ground and torn into countless tiny fragments, and finally disappeared in the vortex of sand and dust.

When everything disappeared, nothing remained on the beach. The sand gradually settled, and as before, the damp sand shimmered in the sunlight. The girl walked barefoot towards the sea, where a bright, radiant spirit still lingered.

The cane pointed slightly forward, and the seawater receded in panic to both sides before it even touched her small feet. The entire Carrion Coast churned and split open from the cane's center, forming two steel-like walls that sandwiched the terrified mermaid between them.

This creature with seaweed-colored hair had half a piece of seaweed in its mouth, its silver-purple eyes practically bulging out of their sockets, and its pinkish-white fishtail was frantically slapping against the seabed behind it, seemingly trying to use this force to retreat back into the safe protection of the seawater. However, the once gentle seawater now rejected it as harshly as iron.

"Oh my, there's even a little guy hiding here~" Old Horse peeked out from behind the witch. This nearly 4-meter-tall giant of muscular horse-head had a mane on its back that looked like black flames, and the places where its hoof-shaped hind legs trod were burning with eerie dark purple flames.

With a "ga~", the mermaid fainted.

“…Huh?” Livia tilted her head, then looked at the horse-headed monster behind her. “…”

"Mine." The horse-headed monster sullenly lay down again, transforming back into a mangled, old, and weak horse.

"Mermaids are marine creatures with a lifespan of up to a thousand years. They have low fertility and therefore have a unique reproductive pattern." The image of Niel Riley in her youth appeared in Livia's mind. This half-elf beauty with long turquoise hair was explaining the contents of "Wonderful Creatures: A Detailed Explanation of the Different Races of the Continent" to the young Livia.

"The sex of mermaids can change depending on the population and environment. When there are too few males in the population, some females will transform into males, and vice versa. At the same time, when mermaids are in a dangerous or completely unfamiliar environment, females will also temporarily transform into males to improve their survival and fighting ability."

Niall Riley drew a very distorted mermaid image on the small blackboard with extremely poor drawing skills.

"When they are in a relatively safe environment, they will revert to their original gender. It is also worth mentioning that this instinct of mermaids is not limited to their own species. When they are in the presence of other intelligent species, it will also be activated. Therefore, most mermaids that appear on land will become male."

"The reason is that due to years of war and harsh living conditions, most countries are in a state of having more women than men. Mermaids appearing in terrestrial environments will automatically revert to being male due to this phenomenon and the unfamiliarity of the terrestrial environment."

Neal Riley solemnly took out the fairy tale book she had bought in town and told the blonde girl, who seemed to understand but didn't quite grasp the story, a tale about a little mermaid. She mentioned that the reason the little mermaid couldn't make the prince remember who saved her from drowning was that when she grew legs and walked on land, she would most likely become male.

Without knowing the habits of mermaids, the prince wouldn't remember the mermaid princess who saved him; he would only assume she was a princess from a neighboring country.

Then Nile Riley added, “Considering the peculiar tastes of the nobles of various countries, perhaps the prince was aware of this, but since the king would not allow him to marry a man, he could only marry a princess from a neighboring country as a cover.”

This story left a deep impression on Livia at the time, and then she made a more constructive suggestion: what if the little mermaid was actually a mermaid prince? After all, mermaids have the characteristic of changing sex according to the population's sex ratio. However, this question made Neel Riley turn purple with embarrassment.

Livia shook her head, omitting the part about the fairy tale, and recalled other information about mermaids.

"Mermaid blood and flesh contain a unique life essence, which is the main ingredient used to refine the elixir of immortality. The elixir of immortality can extend the lifespan of living beings, but it cannot stop aging. Since the immortality of aging is one of the most terrible curses in the world, this elixir was later lost."

It just so happens that Niel Riley is an alchemist who knows how to concoct the elixir of immortality, which is also her main tool for swindling money.

"By mixing the Elixir of Immortality and the Elixir of Youth in a 1:5 ratio, you can obtain the true Elixir of Immortality."

The so-called true elixir of immortality refers to a elixir that, for the first few years, generally around five years, works just like a true elixir of immortality. The user will not age, and their lifespan will be increased by about 10 years due to the elixir.

Then, generally, Niel Riley only concocts enough potions for about two treatment courses, because...

Ten years later, after two courses of treatment, when the effects of the youth potion have worn off, she will immediately prepare to move and run away, because after that, the side effects of the youth potion and the longevity potion will erupt together.

The former will cause the user to age five times faster, while the latter will cause the user to experience the miserable life of aging fifty years directly without dying, and this tooth loss, lack of energy, memory decline, confusion and all kinds of diseases will last for at least 20 years. It is the torment of not dying.

In a sense, it's hard to say whether her move to this forest to live in seclusion was Livia's fault or her own. Fortunately, this half-elf mage was proficient in disguise and the shapeshifting magic of the Life Source system.

Even so, whenever Roach entered a major city, he could always see a bounty notice on the city's bulletin board, always at the very top, with a reward of up to 2 gold coins, issued by at least fifteen countries on the continent through fundraising, about the "Witch of Immortality and Youth".

"Hmm, an elixir of immortality~" Livia's eyes lit up. She had always been worried that Roach, her magical pet, would die young like her teacher. If there were an elixir of immortality, that would be wonderful. However, her teacher had never taught her how to make such an elixir, so she would need a stable source of materials to try repeatedly.

The girl raised her hand, and the waves carefully lifted the unconscious mermaid Leslie and brought him to the witch. The beach took him, and the yellow sand tightly wrapped him up, leaving only his face exposed. He was loaded onto the carriage like a round sand figurine.

"Don't touch the material," Livia said, grabbing the old horse's ear. The horse nodded repeatedly, indicating that it understood.

He was nothing like that clueless "Mr. Pet". As an otherworldly demon summoned by Livia, he knew very well that the terror and horror of this innocent and cute little girl in front of him was no less than that of the Grand Duke of Hell.

Even as a high-level Nightmare Demon, he didn't want to experience the terrifying feeling that the whole world was pouring malice on him, and that even breathing was a sin.

Since mermaids cannot survive out of water for long, Livia built a new small pond next to the stables, transplanted some aquatic herbs and plants into it, and after thinking for a while, threw a few of the small fish that Roach kept in the bucket into the pond before finally throwing the unconscious mermaid into the pond.

"Don't run."

“I will keep an eye on her.” Nightmare Demon nodded, indicating that he would take care of this “new neighbor.”

When Leslie awoke from her coma, the sun was high in the sky, and a faint scent of herbs filled the forest clearing. "Am I still alive... or am I already dead?"

"You're awake, congratulations." Leslie turned his head and saw an old horse sitting on the stable railing, its front hooves holding a beautifully decorated magic book. "Don't worry, I'm helping you think of a suitable Hell Contract."

"Gah!" The mermaid looked like she was about to kick the bucket again.

"Passing out also counts as time."

"..." The mermaid regained consciousness.

"why?"

"what?"

"Why a horse?" Shouldn't a demon from hell be a sheep?

Immediately, Old Ma fell silent, and after a long while, he said, "I hate two things the most, do you know what they are?"

"Yes, what is it?"

The first type is the guy who judges people by their appearance.

"Yes, I'm sorry." The mermaid promptly bowed her head and apologized.

“The second type is the goat-headed demon,” Old Ma said matter-of-factly. Since he was a demon himself, Leslie didn’t know whether he should criticize his behavior as immoral.

"Alright, newbie, let me tell you a few things. You're now the young lady's..."

"slave?"

"..." Old Ma fell silent again, and this silence was deafening, causing Leslie's entire fish to gradually turn pale.

"I'm sorry..." Old Ma said slowly, "it's a medicinal herb."

"Ah..." Medicinal herbs? As a mermaid, Leslie, who knew the effects of her flesh and blood, felt like she was about to faint again.

"Don't worry, this is the young lady's first time using this kind of herb, she doesn't have much experience. What I mean is, she won't let you die, at least not too quickly, otherwise there won't be enough materials," Old Ma comforted her. However, this kind of comfort was... better to just give Leslie a quick death.

"In addition, there is a pet here, who is currently out. Given the pet's status and level of understanding, I suggest that you maintain a more normal appearance most of the time. Otherwise... I think the young lady wouldn't mind using you to brew a magic potion in advance, the kind that can be refined in an instant."

"I understand, I understand." Leslie nodded repeatedly, indicating that she completely understood.

"Very good, newcomer, welcome to this warm and happy family. Everyone here will take good care of you, at least until you die." The old horse clapped with its front hooves.

"H-Everyone?" Then Leslie saw the ordinary trees wave to him, their wood grain revealing a smiling face, and then the herbs and flowers in the flower bed also greeted him with their stems and leaves.

Even the old carriage was disassembled into wheels and frame, and he greeted each part. Finally, the whole house trembled slightly, until Livia let out a soft gasp, and everything instantly calmed down again.

"Do you understand now? Don't be scared by the name of [Dangerous Realm - Living Forest]. Actually, everyone here is quite nice. As long as you have the witch's aura, you won't be bullied. Just don't be like that Mr. Pet and go to the Swamp Dead Forest. Although the guys there are from the Living Forest area, they are not from our faction. If you don't have the old witch's amulet, you really will die."

Old Ma put his arm around the mermaid's shoulder and explained the local rules, such as keeping quiet at night so as not to wake the young lady, and that you can take walks in the forest when you have nothing to do. As long as you don't go too far from the coast or into the swampy forest, you'll be fine. If you encounter danger, you can just ask anything around you for help.

Chapter Nine: Shakespeare Wasn't Deceiving Me

Windcandle Village, a village in Lywood County near the Black Forest, gets its name from the combination of the words windmill and candle. This is a characteristic of the Luster Plains language family, where different words can be combined to form new words. Even if you don't know the word at all, you can still get a rough idea from the combination of words.

Of course, this doesn't preclude the need to memorize a huge number of words.

The Luster Plains are located at the junction of two continents. The land is fertile and suitable for agricultural production, but it is also covered with a large number of black forests that represent the wilderness. These dark trees have a kind of magical power and grow very fast. In the areas covered by black forests, the source energy becomes active, thus breeding a huge number of monsters.

The so-called civilization is a war between agricultural production and the Black Forest. Humans and intelligent species use various methods to destroy the Black Forest, suppress its spread and growth, and thus open up space for survival and production. The latter retaliates with monsters and spreading poisonous thorns.

Windcandle Village is famous for its wheat and candles. Unlike other places that use beeswax as a material, Windcandle Village's candles are made from the resin of a white tree in the forest near the village. They have a light scent and a stable, bright flame. Of course, these are not its biggest advantages. Its biggest advantage is that it is cheap.

Wax has been a wax harvester for many years, just like his father, grandfather, and even his ancestors. He inherited the name that represents "wax harvester" and has been doing this less-than-respectable but lucrative profession for generations.

Entering the forest to collect wax is a dangerous task. The forest outside Windcandle Village is the outer part of the Black Forest of Eagle Feather Mountain Range, a forest that has grown on the ashes after repeated burning.

While this Ash Forest is not as dangerous as the true Black Forest, it is quite different from other forests or woodlands in Lywood County. Not only are monsters and poisonous insects inhabiting it, but the trees themselves can also be a source of danger to some extent.

Experienced wax miners have their own fixed routes and wax-collecting locations. Those old and huge white ash trees are the secret treasures of each wax miner's family. The resin flowing from these trees is not only abundant, but also has a milder smell when burned, and is pure white and transparent, earning it the beautiful name of white amber.

Each pound of this "white amber" can fetch a high price of 7 large silver coins, while an old tree can only produce 2.5 pounds of this white amber per year; any more than that could endanger the life of the old tree.

With his gathering tools on his back, Wax stepped into the woods. As the leaves blocked out the last rays of sunlight, the dim forest was filled only with the low chirping of insects and birds and the rustling of his feet, encased in sturdy leather, on the soft, withered leaves.

Thorns coiled like giant pythons around the black hardwood, which was as thick as an adult's waist. This black ironwood was a specialty of the Ash Forest. Although it was not as hard as steel as the ebony of the true Black Forest, it was still a superior hardwood. This hard, lightweight wood with a very high affinity for Source Force was an excellent material for making wands and military magic swords.

However, due to its excessive hardness and toughness, the lumberjacks' association in Fengzhu Village and even Hewan Town could not cut down much of it in a year. After deducting the cost of damaged axes and saws, they actually did not make much money. If the empire had not set up a "special tax law", there would not have been many lumberjacks who would have cut down these black ironwood trees.

Wax navigated the dark woods with practiced ease, weaving through tangled roots and thorns. Even as an experienced wax harvester, his body inevitably bore some small bloodstains, souvenirs left by thorny spikes. Every wax harvester was inevitably covered with these "gifts of the forest."

Soon, Wax arrived at the first ash tree, a small tree that was only two years old. Wax checked its leaves and roots, cut down the shrubs that would steal its nutrients, and then took out a handful of dark gray granules from the small bag on his back, mixed them with the soil, and carefully buried them at the location of the tree roots.

This is a secret fertilizer formula passed down through the wax harvesting family. It can effectively promote the growth of ash trees and kill a small insect that gnaws on their roots and stems, ensuring that these ever-flowing treasure troves can live a long and healthy life.

After doing all this, Wax continued on. The two-year-old tree was not yet old enough to be harvested for wax; it still needed to grow. Generally, wax harvesters would only harvest wax from 3- to 5-year-old ash trees unless there were special circumstances. Occasionally, they would collect resin from 5- to 10-year-old trees.

As for the "holy ash trees" that are 10 years or even 100 years old, they are usually only harvested around the time of the church's "Feast of the Gods" each year, and are used as high-grade tributes to offset taxes or sold to merchants for a good price.

The second ash tree and the third and fourth trees actually grew in the same place, in a depression. Each time, Wax had to drain the water from the depression to prevent these precious trees from rotting at the roots. Then he would drill a small hole at the waist of the tree, hang a small wax-collecting bucket on it, and guide the clear, pale white resin into it through a hollow wooden tube.

This is a very strenuous task, because the ash tree is no different from other trees in the Ash Forest. It is very hard and tough, and the magic of the life source permeates every piece of wood. Unless an expensive steel drill is used, it takes a lot of effort to drill through it with ordinary iron tools.

After dealing with the three ash trees, Wax inevitably began to catch his breath. Time waits for no one, and he was about to turn thirty. His sons were all getting on in years and were still quite capable, only able to do some resin processing work. He had to do the wax harvesting and candle making himself.

Most of the world's working class are similar to him. Long-term heavy physical labor and poor food often make them pay back the debt of their youthful squandering of physical strength around the age of thirty. By the time they reach the age of forty, the decline in physical strength and loosening of teeth make it difficult for them to chew black bread anymore.

When they start losing all their teeth around the age of fifty, it means they can no longer digest black bread and wheat porridge, and it's time to face death.

Wax peered through the gaps in the leaves and saw that it was still early. He decided to rest for a while before heading to the last location. As long as he could leave the Ash Forest before dusk, he wouldn't encounter any danger.

He found a spot covered in soft, dry moss and sat down, stroking it as he pulled a smooth, glossy wooden pipe from his bag. It had been passed down from his grandfather's generation and was said to have been a gift from a noble knight to the Wax family, providing them with high-quality sacrificial candles. It was also the only pipe in Windcandle Village made of fine silverwood and was a treasure worth 5 gold coins.

He took out the small box containing tobacco, pulled out a few strands of inferior tobacco, filled it with the tobacco, lit it, and then put the worn-out pure silver cigarette holder into his mouth. He took a deep drag, and immediately felt that much of his fatigue had disappeared.