They said they were fine with it verbally, but tails have minds of their own.
Nina walked at the rear, glancing once at Enya at the front before lowering her eyes to the hand that had just gripped the tip of the tail.
She felt it was surprisingly soft, not hard and stiff as she had imagined.
She just didn’t know about the other parts…
Nina’s gaze shifted to the base of Enya’s tail, where it was plump—almost as thick as her thigh—which made her quite curious about how it might feel to the touch.
Enya noticed the stare and couldn’t help but frown.
Accompanied by Sophia and Nina, Enya passed through several alleys and arrived at a crossroads where a well stood in the center.
They were now on the outskirts of the town.
The night had deepened, yet some people were still moving about on the streets.
There were no night patrols here.
These people all carried buckets or jugs. Unlike the souls drained empty by the Blood God Cult, though these townsfolk were gaunt and withered, their eyes were not hollow.
They were numb but still held a faint glimmer of life.
After fetching water, they returned to their homes one by one.
“Is that well the source of the curse?”
Sophia followed Enya’s gaze to the well that kept drawing water. She recalled that this place was called Water Well Town.
But Enya shook her head, denying that it was the origin.
“No, it’s not here. This is at most just a branch point.”
The curse was colorless, tasteless, and formless—not like an ordinary disease. It resembled a plague, but far more difficult to deal with.
Enya turned to look at Sophia behind her.
“Do you know any purification magic?”
“Ah…”
Sophia paused, then shook her head. Although she was a student of the Elven Saintess, she was still a Magic User, not a cleric.
Purification and revival magics, which are divine in nature, require one to be a Saintess of the Church of the God of Nature to receive a deity’s response and perform such miracles.
Sophia was an Elemental Magician because she was a Gold Elf.
In the Elven Kingdom, there were nominally two supreme authorities: one was the Saintess of the Church of the God of Nature, held by the Forest Elf faction.
The other was the Queen of the Elves, a title held by the Gold Elf Royal Family.
However, since there were so few Gold Elves, the Queen of the Elves was now merely a symbolic figure.
In reality, the highest authority in the Elven Kingdom lay with the Saintess.
Every family has its own difficult scriptures to read.
After understanding the situation, Enya pondered for a moment and then spoke again to Sophia.
“Let’s keep moving.”
With that, Enya turned and left the crossroads.
Surprisingly, many people were still returning after dark. They fetched water and then rested at home.
From their breaths, it was clear they were exhausted from long labor.
Their faces, coated with dust and grime, made it easy to guess their occupation.
Enya led Sophia and Nina past several more wells.
Water Well Town—it was a fitting name.
Enya sensed the underground water here was abundant, which explained the many wells.
Elves’ noses could detect the essence of souls because once a person was born, their soul continuously accumulated various imprints.
When evil-doers committed their deeds, and those who suffered harbored grudges, these feelings would be engraved on their souls.
It was a small mechanism of the soul.
The Dragon Tribe’s eyes also had unique traits.
Enya’s golden-red Dragon Eyes, hidden behind her silver mask, were not only extremely sharp but carried special effects.
They could directly see fluctuations of magic energy.
They could also peer into a person’s soul and perceive the true essence of all things.
Of course, this required no special barriers blocking the sight.
Enya could not see through Sophia’s veil, but she recognized its original owner—the Elf woman who once wanted to imprison her for life.
She was also aware that Sophia was in contact with Eliv.
But Eliv would not have come all the way here to find her.
With the seal in the Northern Mountains loosening, Enya had to remain stationed in the Elven Kingdom, where the underground seal’s focal point was located.
Enya looked toward the underground river about eight or nine meters below, watching the white threads of the curse flowing like silk.
She squinted.
From the branch point, they walked all the way to the edge of a stream.
Enya then looked upstream.
Nina poked Enya’s waist with a finger.
“Hey, Mother Dragon…”
“No problem.”
Enya shook her head.
Sophia was somewhat bewildered. Wait, why did you make decisions without me?
At this moment, Nina came over beside Sophia.
“Sophia sister, don’t worry. I’m here to protect you.”
“Uh…”
Sophia, usually slow in sensing, now felt the probing gaze. Someone was following them.
Heh, does this mean they found the right trail?
Sophia thought that attacking now would risk alerting the enemy, so she held back, though she was a little displeased with Enya and Nina’s behavior.
They had clearly said to listen to her!
Though uncomfortable inside, Sophia wasn’t the kind of spoiled noble who needed coaxing.
She pretended she had long noticed but said nothing.
“Let’s follow this stream upstream.”
Enya called out and began moving toward the source.
Sophia and Nina followed closely.
A minute later, at the spot where they had just stood, a figure in a black robe appeared.
The robed man stared upstream for a moment, hesitated, then didn’t pursue but hurriedly turned back.
About ten minutes after Enya’s group moved on, they suddenly stopped.
This time, the halt was because someone rushed over and surrounded them.
Though night had fallen, the surrounding forest had been cleared, so it wasn’t too dark.
Especially since the horseback soldiers carried torches.
The torchlight couldn’t brighten the ground but made the water in the stream ripple with an orange-red glow.
The soldiers were all well-fed and robust, clearly far more formidable than the previous group Enya had encountered.
Among them, a man carrying a long sword dismounted.
He had a full beard and a brutish, fierce face.
He stepped forward and said to Enya and the others,
“I know it was you who killed our men and freed those scum.”
“But if you’re willing to leave quietly and not dig any deeper, our lord is willing to offer you a sum of money to your satisfaction. How about it?”
The man looked at the three before him.
He could tell they were all Magic Users of the fifth tier, likely quite powerful, so they didn’t want a fight.
However, Sophia, the nominal leader, refused.
“We don’t need money.”