Brain bloom

As the soft, fluffy thunderclouds parted, revealing a wide-open view, a small wooden cabin was clearly visible, nestled on a still-vibrant patch of land. Backed by a mountain ridge, several acres of farmland were gently covered in winter snow.

If this were anywhere else, Mori wouldn't be surprised, but now it's a bit odd.

"Dandelion, what is this?"

Dandelion, who was also observing, was somewhat uncertain: "This architectural style... instead of bricks and tiles, it uses large triangular wooden houses, which should belong to a human village called Traveler's Village near the Land of Flowers."

Mori knew that this Traveler's Village was a neighboring village. Because it received the harvest magic of the Four Seasons every few years, the villagers were very close to the Four Seasons. But that was all; there were no deep and mysterious undercurrents, no complicated secrets.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Dandelion asked. "It's getting dark, and there's a good campsite down there."

"If you'd like, we can stop here and take a look at the humans living in the house."

Driven by a bit of curiosity, the two stopped the Thundercloud Worm, then quietly descended the cloud ladder and walked into the vicinity of those few acres of exceptionally fertile fields in the desolate natural environment.

The marks of the boot soles were imprinted on the thin layer of white snow, and the sound of footsteps was also carried away by the snow, as a quiet night was about to arrive.

They didn't conceal their presence, but they also didn't let their guard down.

Just then—someone opened the door of the cabin and slowly walked out carrying a torch. The torch illuminated her appearance; she was indeed an ordinary human being, around sixty years old, a kind-looking old woman, somewhat thin but still relatively healthy.

The old woman was surprised by the visit, but then broke the silence with a firm tone.

"If you are adventurers, or thieves looking to try your luck at the ruins of the Kingdom of Flowers, then I don't have anything good to offer you. But if you have nowhere to rest and are hungry, then I would be happy to treat you to a night, with beer included."

As the two approached, they tacitly removed their hats, and the old woman's expression grew increasingly surprised. She had been prepared for danger, but she hadn't expected that the one approaching was actually a member of the Four Seasons. No being in the world dared to imitate a member of the Four Seasons by adorning their hair with flowers and plants.

Oh no, what if the Four Seasons scare her into having a heart attack? Mori suddenly thought of this. Normally, anyone who sees the Four Seasons and reacts to it is without exception fear.

But Senshi's understanding was soon overturned.

"Four Seasons..." the old woman wiped away her tears, "Thank you for bringing us abundance. It's so good to see you again."

"Oh dear, they really are from Lvxin Village."

"You are... Princess Dandelion?" The old woman's tone was even more surprised.

She might not be able to recognize the beautiful face of the dandelion, but as an older woman who grew up in the fields, she would surely know what the soft plant swaying above a young girl's head is and what it means.

"Yes, it's me. And you are, ma'am?"

“The villagers of Luxin Village… Although the war did not damage our village, and we were granted permission to move elsewhere…” The old woman’s face showed a hint of nostalgia, “but I prefer my hometown. Although it is temporarily ailing, I know what the Four Seasons People will do.”

"Yes, we are here to revitalize the soil."

Upon hearing Dandelion's words, the old woman paused for a full ten seconds. This time seemed to be spent buying smiles; she danced with joy, appearing forty years younger, and immediately invited the two into the hut.

When the wooden door is closed, those few centimeters of wooden plank act like a sliver of light, strictly separating the chill of deep winter from the warmth of the campfire into two distinct worlds. The simple furnishings, yet the self-sufficient house, exude a rustic charm rarely experienced in the forest.

The old woman wanted to pour tea, but couldn't find enough cups. She wanted to find a suitable chair for the princess, but all she could find were cracked wooden stools. In the old woman's mind, Princess Four Seasons seemed to hold a very special place, and she kept apologizing, feeling guilty.

But Dandelion didn't mind at all. She sat on the wooden stump with a genuine smile, without the slightest air of a princess or sense of superiority.

"You came back alone, old lady, because you love your hometown? That's amazing..."

"Thanks to the Land of Flowers for the bountiful harvests we've received since childhood. We can eat our fill at every meal, and even have leftovers... If it weren't for that, how could I still have any strength at my age? Hey, I built this house myself, back when my back was still fine..."

"That's amazing!" Mori exclaimed sincerely.

"Then... can the abundance of our hometown be restored?" the old woman asked eagerly.

Dandelion nodded, offering no room for doubt, and readily admitted, "Yes, this land is not so weak; it will be awakened soon."

“Then… I have to write to the other villagers who are still alive, to come back to my hometown… but maybe no one will be willing.”

“That’s more like it—okay, let’s not talk about that anymore, we’d like to stay here for the night.”

“Of course, no problem. Princess and… is this the Harvest Priest? I heard that only you and Lady Tu Mi are alive, but… this doesn’t look like a Tu Mi flower.” The old woman tried to keep her gaze from being too impolite. “Anyway, have you two had dinner? I have wine here, as well as some venison that I hunted a few days ago. The land has not abandoned me; my granaries are overflowing with grain.”

Before they could answer, the old woman went to prepare.

She rolled up the sleeves of her cotton coat, tied up her sparse, gray hair, and took out large chunks of meat from the ice-covered cabinet. Although the seasonings and side dishes were not plentiful, the charcoal fire made the broth steam, filling the whole room with a simple yet rich aroma of meat.

“She’s just an ordinary person who misses her hometown,” Dandelion suddenly said to Senshi.

"Yes."

“The Four Seasons did nothing but make their land fertile…not coercion, intimidation, brainwashing or anything like that…” she said with some concern. “I’m afraid you’ll misunderstand and think, ‘It’s unbelievable that humans respect the Four Seasons so much, there must be something supernatural about it.’”

"I know the difference between being hungry and having a full stomach."

"That's good."

Sen Shi didn't misunderstand, and Dandelion breathed a long sigh of relief. As she exhaled, a touch of emotion welled up from the bottom of her heart: "Luckily we came. Because besides us, there are others who are also looking forward to the revival of this land."

"Feeling motivated?"

"More than motivation, it's a spur of responsibility..."

"Princess Dandelion, I'm so sorry... but... could you please... make some tableware?" the old woman asked hesitantly. She had only realized halfway through cooking dinner that she didn't have any tableware to serve guests. "If you two want to drink, you'll probably have to bring your own wine glasses."

Dandelion couldn't help but smile: "Hahaha, okay."

The lively meal, reminiscing about the Land of Flowers, lasted a long time. Besides the local customs and traditions of the Traveler's Village, Mori heard many other stories about the Land of Flowers: the nationwide celebration banquet at the birth of the Dandelion Princess, the genius Four Seasons who blooms two flowers a year, the Four Seasons who unfortunately grows a giant winter melon, and the legendary awe-inspiring Winged Cloud…

Every simple word resonated deeply with Sen Shi, making her realize that this nation, built upon flowers, would awaken once more. The bells of awakening would ring in her and Dandelion's hands.

With a little alcohol in their system, the two snuggled together, covered with a blanket provided by the old woman, and spent a comfortable and warm night.

The following morning, Dandelion quietly cleaned away the remaining pollution around the old woman's wooden house, while Mori used the excuse of paying for her lodging to cure several of the old woman's chronic ailments. Doing these good deeds, which were unusual for someone who lived in the four seasons, made Mori feel exceptionally relaxed.

Even if a wave of evil were to come rushing towards her destination, she didn't find it so scary anymore.

After saying goodbye to the wooden house and the old woman, the two set off lightly.

The closer they got, the more dangerous it became. Although the pollution itself did no harm to them, the evil creatures it spawned were still a threat. Along the way, monsters averaging level 70 all fell victim to Sen Shi's new equipment. Dandelion watched Sen Shi diligently improving her strength with satisfaction, praising her hard work with a smile, without offering to interfere in the slightest.

It wasn't until they accidentally attracted several evil creatures of level 90 or higher that the two of them had no choice but to fight together. Fortunately, Sen Shi used her divine power in time, imbuing her attacks with holy attributes to counter them, while Dandelion also used her newly learned powerful magic, and they finally reached their destination without any major incident.

That dark, boundless, filthy sea

Volume 1, Chapter 394: Spiral

It's like a unique black gem in the whole world.

If we were to use the human body as a metaphor, it would be a black pupil, but unfortunately, it has lost its sight, unable to see or display the beauty of the world, just a simple blackness, frozen there, boundless.

It devoured everything in nature that should have existed, letting its eerie black filth flow across the earth and extend to who-knows-where. Mori could feel an indescribable sense of closeness emanating from this utterly evil thing…

"Haha, I'm going home!" Dandelion seemed to be dancing with joy.

"...We touched it, are you sure it's okay?"

“Of course.” After saying that, as if to demonstrate to Mori, Dandelion used a simple natural magic to create a branch with leaves and casually tossed it into the dark, murky sea.

It didn't even have a chance to get close; just approaching, catching a trace of its aura, it decayed and turned to dust. Only then did Sen Shi notice that there wasn't even a breeze nearby. Could these evil forces be blocking the wind?

She shivered, then saw Dandelion happily take off her boots, remove her socks, roll up her trousers, and reveal her bare feet. Mori secretly stared at her for a while, recalling the feel of her feet, before looking away before being discovered.

Like a child seeing the sea for the first time, the dandelion joyfully ran towards the extremely terrifying, murky ocean. These things were also very welcoming, warmly greeting Princess Dandelion's arrival. Although the depth was above her ankles, it couldn't harm her at all.

"It's a little cool, but it feels very comfortable." After saying that, she tied her shoes in a knot and hung them behind her, stuffing socks inside.

"...Then I will be responsible for protecting the princess in this area."

"What are you saying? You have to come too. If we don't work together, we won't make it to the day of our wish." Dandelion waved and urged Mori to do as she said with expectant eyes. "Don't worry, it's okay if you step in. You can even swim if you want. Just remember to put your equipment and clothes in your bag."

Left with no other choice, Mori had to comply. She took off her boots and socks, and like testing the temperature of a swimming pool, she lightly poked her toe into the murky sea. The moment she touched it, she recoiled in surprise. After a thorough check, she found her big toe was perfectly fine. Only then did she dare follow Dandelion into the murky water.

It felt like soaking in a hot spring; it was quite nice and gave me a sense of relaxation, like coming home.

en route--

"Princess Dandelion, how can we recover such a vast area of ​​pollution?" Sen Shi couldn't see the end of the polluted sea and felt a deep sense of despair.

"In the way of the four seasons."

"...In other words, to overwhelm and conquer it with force and absolute evil?"

"No, no, no, you misunderstand the Four Seasons. In essence, we are just plant life forms favored by nature. This pollution is also due to this. There is only one thing we need to do, and that is to harvest it."

"...Harvest?" Mori chewed on the strange word repeatedly. It was meant when plants or some effort bore fruit. Such a vast expanse of evil, could it really be harvested?

The dandelion walking ahead glanced back, then continued explaining, "We need to bury a special plant here that feeds exclusively on evil. Once it has devoured enough evil, it will grow fruit, and that's what we're going to harvest."

"That sounds pretty environmentally friendly."

“Of course, it won’t leave any aftereffects.” As she spoke, Dandelion stopped, rolled up her sleeves, scooped up a handful of murky seawater, and examined it closely. “In my estimation, this scale of evil can produce two… no, three fruits, which can be considered a bumper harvest.”

Having never heard of this fruit before, Mori, feeling utterly ignorant, silently waited for the dandelion to explain.

“One fruit symbolizes the abundance devoured by evil, so it’s used to revive the earth. The other is the embodiment of evil, so it should be used to grant wishes… As for the last one, it’s probably just for eating.” She put the seawater back in its place and continued forward.

"Is the so-called fulfillment of wishes as magical as I imagine?"

"That's right, this plant is called Hell's Day. It responds to the evil side of people's hearts, using its power to change reality and make people's wishes come true. Whether you want to kill the king of a country or have as many beauties and wealth as you want to live a life of luxury and debauchery, it can satisfy you."

"Are you kidding me?" Sen Shi had never heard of anything with such power.

"You'll find out then... Well, this fruit is a gift for you, Mori, to thank you for all your efforts on the journey to restore the Kingdom of Flowers... Although it's just a small gift compared to your achievements, you also have me, and that's a sweet reward too."

Mori forced a smile, not really finding this a sweet reward... but the fruit was undeniably alluring. His wish had come true... excellent, excellent, everything was saved.

At this moment, Dandelion put some seeds into Senshi's palm: "I'll mark a few locations for you. I'll have to trouble Senshi to help me sow these seeds. It will be more efficient if we split up."

"Yes, no problem."

"But be careful, the Turbid Sea is not calm. Don't pay attention to any idle gossip, it's probably dangerous for the Four Seasons... though not too dangerous," Dandelion said casually.

Mori, however, was remarkably confident: "Don't worry."

Some locations marked by the magic of the dandelions glowed in places unaffected by evil. Mori looked around, thinking that no one was likely to appear, and simply took off his pants and coat so he could walk faster.

It was a wise decision; some areas were terrifyingly deep, and she had to swim across. But along the way, Mori stopped once. It was because of the gossip Dandelion had said, and only when facing it did Mori realize how irresponsible Dandelion's words were.

Something existed in the murky sea—a gaping, dark, blood-red maw. What appeared to be an ordinary body of water suddenly became strange as the forest drew nearer, and strange voices could be heard.

“I need food—I need sweet food. I would give up any treasure if I could have a taste of it.”

Its voice was hoarse and high-pitched, and it fiercely opened its huge mouth, revealing several rows of strange, spiraling teeth. The visual impact was extremely terrifying, because its size was like a small hill. Sen Shi felt a sense of helplessness, as if he had been spotted by a blue whale while diving.

Fortunately, it didn't bite and seemed unable to move. Sen Shi wasn't foolish enough to walk into its mouth, so he simply chose another path.

The deeper one goes, the more eerie the Sea of ​​Sludge becomes. Not only is the sky shrouded in evil, but even magic is difficult to use nearby, and one's mental energy is easily interfered with by evil... Losing magic is like losing one's hands.

The key issue is that it's too deathly quiet.