Cornflower Witch

Chapter 267 An Accident That Wasn't an Accident

Riding on horseback, Hilti and Karen rode side by side, reminiscing about the past and discussing the recent situation.

“I’ve been away from Jiaoshi City for a long time, and I’ve only gone back occasionally these past few years,” Karen said, referring to recent events.

"However, judging from Tia's expression, she seems to be short-handed lately. Do you need my help?"

Accompanying the two was a caravan of about a hundred people, including members of the Oak Barrel Merchants from Jiaoshi City, as well as a small number of Antian people.

It's understandable that members of the 'Oak Barrel Merchants' followed Hilti, but the fact that some Antian people also came along surprised everyone else.

In fact, the Antiy army was not monolithic; it had different factions. The one in Jiaoshi City consisted mostly of marginal figures. Many of them were ordinary people in the Antiy Kingdom who did not have such a strong desire to kill and just wanted to live peacefully.

If they continued to stay in Valley City, they might be taken to fight by Kachis one day and die somewhere. Staying in Scorched Stone City as garrison soldiers would be much safer. Besides, they had more acquaintances and friends in Scorched Stone City and felt more at ease.

Upon hearing Karen's suggestion, Hilti thought for a moment, then looked up and answered.

"Then please ask Karen to teach some of them archery and hunting." If those refugees want to live a secluded life for a long time, the more skills they have to make a living, the better.

“No problem,” Karen replied with a smile.

While the two men were talking on horseback, on the other side of the procession, Hines and his nephew were also talking at the back of a cargo wagon.

"...So it was you who begged that lord to help." Hines patted the other's head.

"Stop rubbing, Uncle." The other person covered their head and moved away, then replied excitedly and gratefully.

“I didn’t have high hopes at the time, but I thought that if I didn’t try, my uncle would probably die in the dungeon.”

"If you're no longer here, who will bring me gifts and tell me stories?"

"Haha, you little rascal." He continued to rub his head, then looked up at the azure sky.

"The air outside is so fresh, and the sky is so beautiful," he said, slowly closing his eyes to feel the gentle breeze beside his ears, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

"Those dark days in the dungeon are truly despairing. If you've experienced it once, you'll never want to go through it again, and you'll even have nightmares about it for many years to come," he said with emotion.

“Death is just a matter of a moment, but being trapped in a desperate environment, watching yourself rot, deform, become unrecognizable, and be eaten by lice, that feeling, tsk tsk.” He didn’t want to continue recalling and savoring it.

"It's so nice to be able to sit here and continue talking with you."

"Uncle." The young man beside him patted the other man on the back.

"It's alright, it's all over." Hines opened his eyes.

"I'll have to thank you properly from now on, haha."

"Given my current status, it's not appropriate for me to go to Jiaoshi City. I'll probably have to stay outside for a while. That lord has arranged a place for me."

"Don't worry, as long as we're alive, we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet again in the future."

Horses hooves trod across the dew-kissed grass as the caravan made its way along the undulating mountain road. Three days later, the caravan finally returned to Jiaoshi City.

"I won't be going into the city. Please give my regards to Lady Pollya." Siltia said goodbye to the departing caravan leaders.

“I will tell my mother,” the mustachioed merchant said, removing his hat in return.

"I'm sorry to have delayed you this time. What should have been a matter of one or two weeks has dragged on for almost two months."

“Here are some tea leaves that I grew myself. I hope you and Lady Pollyia will like them.” Hiltiya took out three boxes of 'White Mountain Tea' and presented them to the other party.

"This..." Upon receiving it, the other party was extremely surprised to realize that it was a rare item of 'second-tier' quality.

"It's alright, take it." Hilti blinked her blue eyes.

"I still have a lot to do; don't forget my profession."

"Then thank you, Lady Tiya." The other party carefully put it away.

"The situation in Regas may not be peaceful in the future, so try not to get involved in or become embroiled in the war," the girl warned.

“My family and I understand.” The other person nodded.

“If you encounter an insurmountable crisis, take this letter and go to the mountains east of Regas. There is a forest outpost there where you can take refuge.” Hiltiya handed over another envelope.

"Thank you, Lady Tiya." The other party was extremely grateful.

Having witnessed the previous change of ownership of Jiaoshi City, even a noble person like Viscount Xue Feng was in such a sorry state that he almost couldn't escape. As for a small merchant guild like his family, they had even less ability to resist.

The letter from Hiltiya may be useless under normal circumstances, but in a truly critical moment, it might be the last savior to save the family's lives.

"If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask or contact me." He thought for a moment, then took out a small seal and handed it to Hilti.

“Our family’s chamber of commerce isn’t large, but we have branches in several cities in the southern part of Legas, so we should be able to help out in some small ways.”

“Okay.” Hiltiya accepted the seal and waved goodbye to the caravan members.

……

The caravan slowly made its way towards Scorched Stone City in the distance, while only five people remained with Hilti: herself, Karen, Hines, and another prisoner who had also escaped from the dungeon.

“Let’s go, to the place where those people live in seclusion.” Hilti turned her horse around, and the others followed.

“I don’t know your name yet, can you tell me?” Hiltia asked the ragged prisoner.

Upon hearing Hiltia's question, he quickly shook the reins to urge his horse to catch up, but his riding skills were poor, and the horse never ran very fast.

Seeing this, Hiltiya waved her wrist lightly, and a faint floral fragrance spread, calming the previously restless and disoriented horse, which then trotted towards Hiltiya.

He finally caught up with Hilti's speed and then answered her question.

“My name is Morris, and I’m from… Windwind Town.” He spoke the name somewhat awkwardly, as if he hadn’t uttered the word in a long time.

"When I was about 22 years old, I accidentally obtained a booklet that contained all sorts of mysterious knowledge, and I was attracted by what was inside."

"After that, I started trying out the secret methods and rituals, but I had absolutely no experience and no one to guide me, so I could only try things out on my own."

"At the time, everyone in the town thought I was crazy, and my family kicked me out." His voice became much smoother as he said this.

"Later, I wandered around, looking for work in various cities, trying to acquire new esoteric knowledge, and then buying and collecting the things needed for the rituals to experiment with myself."

“Until one day, I was discovered by the patrol team. They said I was a cult member and were going to arrest me.”

"Because I was afraid of being executed, I ran away desperately, and used the knowledge and secret techniques I had learned to confuse their senses, which is how I escaped."

"After that, I became even more motivated and kept looking for people to communicate and learn from." "Although most of the people I dealt with were very low-ranking, everyone's knowledge system was incomplete, so every time we exchanged information, it was like winning the lottery, and I looked forward to it very much."

“Slowly, I finally gathered enough materials for the ritual and gained extraordinary strength.” As he spoke, he took off his clothes, revealing his incredibly strong left hand. This arm was clearly different from the rest of his body, as if it had been pieced together. Compared to the original limb, it was much stronger and reddish in color.

"This... should be the 'Savage Might' of the 'Mouthmen' race, a branch of the orcs?" Hiltiya looked at the other person's arm in surprise.

Humans and orcs have different bloodlines, making it difficult for them to have offspring. This talent, which can amplify strength several times over, is something that humans cannot possess.

"Is it a minotaur's talent? No wonder I later developed a liking for vegetarian food." The other person rubbed their hair.

"It seems the ritual you performed earlier was quite remarkable."

Hiltiya recalled that such rituals of grafting bloodline power were basically taboo because there were too many uncontrollable factors and they were very unstable. Now, almost no large organizations regarded this secret technique as their core, and only a very small number of people were still researching and trying it.

The fact that this prisoner could successfully complete the ritual despite having extremely poor knowledge of secret history is quite remarkable; one has to admit he was very lucky.

“Later, I learned a fragmented meditation method called ‘Memory Maze,’ which relies on constantly uncovering forgotten secrets and details in one’s memory to enhance self-understanding and mental control,” Morris continued.

No wonder he could recall such detailed things. Hilti nodded, but then quickly realized that she herself had also forgotten her memories and was very lacking in this ability.

“Can you tell me about this meditation method? I can teach you some knowledge as compensation,” Hiltiya said.

"Of course, no problem. I can pass on everything I've learned to you." He even seemed proud as he said this, as if all his experiences and knowledge over the years had finally come to fruition.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Hilti thought of another question, "How long have you been in the dungeon?"

“It’s been almost ten years.” His voice suddenly dropped.

"Ten years." The girl was surprised, and felt a little sorry for the prisoner, and also understood why he longed for freedom so much.

In addition, Hilti also realized that the person who could live in such an environment for ten years must have an exceptionally strong will. Although one might not die directly in the dungeon, being in such a monotonous and unchanging dark environment for a long time would cause extreme depression.

“There must be many things you want to do that have sustained you through these ten years.” Hilti’s words, like a gentle but sharp arrow, pierced through the other’s ingratiating smile, leaving him momentarily stunned and speechless.

"I, I..." He lowered his head.

"I really want to see this world. There are so many magical secrets, rituals, and histories, and incredibly wonderful people and events, but I'm always like an insect, only able to touch a little bit of it."

He came from humble origins and had no guides or mentors. He could only search for fragments of mysterious knowledge, rummaging through gutter after gutter. Even if he was lucky enough to obtain some, he was arrested as a cultist because of his strange behavior.

As Hilti walked ahead, she was touched, thinking of her past, which also had many regrets, as she had not been able to fully experience things.

"It's alright, you'll come into contact with it in the future," Hilti said.

"Oh, right, I have an old notebook that I can lend you." She already has a firm grasp of the basics taught by Maester Hyde, so she doesn't need to look at it anymore.

The group rode through the mountains and forests, heading towards the secluded place where Hiltiya had previously settled.

When they were still several hundred meters away from that location, Hilti's expression changed, and she began to increase her speed, rushing towards the hidden location deep in the forest.

Riding swiftly and using her superb horsemanship to dodge and cross obstacles along the way, Hilti quickly arrived at the settlement, only to find it in a state of chaos, with bloodstains still visible on the ground.

She scanned her surroundings and found several corpses lying in a corner not far away, one of whom was still breathing.

Hilti quickly dismounted and went to the member's side, helping him up. The other person had a sharp short blade wound on his shoulder, and was still bleeding.

She took out some hemostatic herbs and applied them to the affected area, then poured a dose of 'blood-healing medicine' into the other person's mouth.

Soon, the unconscious member slowly woke up, saw Siltia, and struggled to explain the situation.

“Some people, dressed in dark red robes, have discovered our camp. They want us to submit and make this place their stronghold.”

"I and some of the combat-capable members disagreed and drove them away, but I didn't expect that only two days later, a group of them would come."

"I couldn't beat them, and my companions were taken away by them too." After saying this, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and his consciousness became blurred again.

Seeing this, Hilti had no choice but to put him down, feed him another dose of 'Orchid Healing Potion', and then put down some food and water before standing up and continuing to search the stronghold.

Unfortunately, there were no other living people here. It seems that the other party must have searched the area. If the person hadn't been so badly injured that they ignored him, there probably wouldn't have been anyone to inform Hilti about the situation.

A few minutes later, Karen and Hines arrived. Seeing the mess, they knew something must have happened.

“Tia.” Karen came to Shiru Tia’s side.

“Everyone who originally lived here has been arrested,” Hilti explained, her emotions having calmed down slightly.

“Uncle Hines, you two stay here for now. Karen and I will go and track them down. They shouldn’t be far.”

Considering her speed and the physical condition of the others, only Karen could barely keep up.

“We understand.” Hines nodded, then gestured to Rez and Morris beside him.

"Let's tidy up here quickly, take care of the injured and sick, and wait for Lady Tiya to return." The two agreed upon hearing this.

Seeing that they understood, Hiltiah stopped waiting and rode out of the forest with Karen, fully unleashing her senses.

The girl's originally blue eyes gradually turned emerald green until both eyes transformed into a shimmering emerald. At this moment, the plants in her field of vision displayed a magnificent and ever-changing complex spectrum. From these millions of different colors, Hiltiya 'read' the various subtle messages of nature.

A striking outline of a human and a horse appeared in her mind.

"This is the way," the girl thought to herself. She looked at Karen beside her, and with just one glance, Karen understood her meaning and spurred her horse to catch up.

The horse galloped forward, leaping over waist-high thorns, and raced along the path that appeared in the girl's mind, its movements as swift as lightning.

As the wind howled, Hiltiya sped through groves and meadows, her mind racing with thoughts.

Was it an accident? It just so happened that unsettling cult members discovered that place.

She had no interest in getting involved in the power struggles within Regas; she only wanted to take care of those who had helped her in the past.

For the past few months, she has been avoiding any major conflict with these two forces because she doesn't belong here and is someone who will have to leave sooner or later.

Unfortunately, reality is not something that can be solved simply by avoiding it.

Just as Mathematician Hyde once taught her, "Many things that happen in this world are related to us," everything follows the connection of silk and chord.

The place she chose was suitable for seclusion and hiding, and those cultists needed just such a place. While the Hundred-Eyed Cult was still around, they would inevitably try to find such a location when they were hiding everywhere.

The seeds of everything were sown quietly when the decision to come to this place was made.

(End of this chapter)