Chu Yin was carried all the way to the riverside of the forest. He took the initiative and suggested,
“Can I bathe myself?”
Elder Sister Spider refused. The reason was simple: this was a task entrusted by the Witch, and she would not delegate it to others. She would personally handle every detailโno room for accidents.
“Although I’ll personally take care of washing you, to be honest, I’d actually like to let you bathe yourself.”
“Why? Is it too much trouble?” Suspended in the air, Chu Yin raised his head and looked at this fair-skinned, soft-looking Mother Spider.
Her lower body, insectoid and massive, was truly off-putting, but that upper half was eye-catching indeed!
It wasn’t that he couldn’t control his gazeโhe simply wanted to critique.
“Your misfortune is quite remarkable. Even in those populous city-states outside the forest, it’s hard to find anyone as unlucky as you.”
“I’m curious to see if, when you bathe yourself, the Piranha will bite your ‘bait’โespecially since your ‘bait’ is quite plump~!”
Elder Sister Spider gave a mischievous chuckle.
Fog drifted over the river surface. She reached out and gently swept it aside; the Fog dispersed, revealing the riverbed clearly, where sharp-toothed Piranha swam not far away, eyeing those on the riverbank.
Because of the great spider’s presence, the Piranha didn’t dare approach. But if Chu Yin were to bathe by himself, he really might become “bait”โฆ
He stopped struggling, abandoning all resistance.
Elder Sister Spider soon began cleaning him, her method akin to prepping ingredients for a meal.
Her smooth, cool fingers glided over Chu Yin’s body, and his filthy clothes were stripped off like old skin. Finally, she scrubbed and polished him back and forth with Magical Thread Cloth.
Mission accomplished!
Chu Yin looked at his now slightly shiny skin, thousands of words swirling in his mouth, but in the end, he only managed to say:
“Thank you, Elder Sister Spider.”
“No need. If you survive one round of Medicine Testing, next time you come here to bathe, remember to invite me to watch~”
So you just want to see me “fishing with my hook,” don’t you?
Chu Yin compared their size and strength, suppressing the urge to curse.
This Elder Sister Spider was unexpectedly chatty. Maybe he should try to get some intel from her.
“That woman in the Cloak in the cabin, how should I address her?”
“Just call her Witch. That title is taboo in the outside world, but the master doesn’t care anymore.”
“Witch? That’s her profession, right? Doesn’t she have her own name?” Chu Yin washed his clothes, hanging them to dry nearby.
“If no other esteemed witches come to visit, there’s no need to call the master by any special name. However, those few witches do address her as the Witch of Ash Snow.”
Ash Snow?
Sounds lessโฆ warm than Winter Sun.
“So, Elder Sister Spider, what should I call you?” Chu Yin asked again, figuring he’d better get to know the two people he was most likely to run into.
“Me? Just call me Elder Sister Spider. Makes me feel younger~”
“But you really are youngโyour skin is so fair and elastic, and you don’t have a single wrinkle.”
Perhaps it was rare for her to interact with a short-lived creature like Chu Yin, and with nobody to chat with in the forest, this dangerous Elder Sister Spider actually became quite talkative.
From her own account, she was once the prospective queen of the Magic Spider Clan. During a struggle between old and new, she was attacked by outsiders and, on the brink of death, was saved by the Witch of Ash Snow, after which she became her servant.
“Time flies. Before I knew it, I’ve already accompanied the master through so many years. I can only be with her for another five hundred years or so. Sigh!”
ฮต=(ยดฮฟ๏ฝ*)))
The fair-skinned and beautiful Elder Sister Spider let out an old-soul sigh. Chu Yin could only respond with silence.
A few hours later, Chu Yin’s clothes had dried in the wind; it was time to return to the Ash Snow Witch’s Cabin in the woods.
The conversation had been unexpectedly pleasant.
On the way back, Elder Sister Spider trapped Chu Yin in a spider cocoon and wore him like a pendant around her neck, to keep the Medicine Testing Little White Mouse from escaping.
Chu Yin was forced to dangle between twin peaks, swaying from side to side. The cushioning was goodโhe didn’t get hurtโbut the swaying made him dizzy.
This cart’s shock absorption is terribleโone star review!
“Are you really not afraid at all?”
Elder Sister Spider had been watching Chu Yin’s mood. She found that this child really felt no fear of death or threat. Anyone would think he was here on vacation.
“I am, I am! I’m scared of pain, scared of suffering. I’ve stubbed my toe on a cabinet beforeโit was awful!”
“Good attitude. I’ll recommend to the master that you be given fast-acting potions. Even if you die by accident, you won’t feel any pain.”
“โฆYou’re actually pretty nice.”
And so, Chu Yin moved into the Witch’s Cabin in the forest. For the first few days, he was always stuck in a spider cocoonโsometimes hanging from a tree branch, sometimes hanging from Elder Sister Spider’s neck.
A few days later, seeing that Chu Yin really was well-behaved and wouldn’t shout and cause trouble like a brat, he was finally allowed to move around freely.
However, he still wasn’t allowed into the Ash Snow Witch’s Cabin, in case he accidentally ruined her inspiration manuscripts.
Food was not guaranteed, either. Chu Yin wanted to fend for himself, but this forest was too dangerous for him.
Having lost [Cloudwater Flying Sword Technique], and his youthful strength as well, Chu Yin now found even gathering berries a deadly risk when facing Hajimi-sized Killer Bees.
With no other choice, he tried asking Elder Sister Spider for help. Luckily, she didn’t refuseโwhen she went out hunting fierce beasts, she’d bring back some meat for him. He just had to cook it himself.
At least he could eat and drink now, and Chu Yin had finally settled down here.
Half a month passed since he drifted here, but he still hadn’t seen the Witch aunt even once. She was always in the cabin, reading her Magic Book.
“The future looks bleakโฆ Is there no way to follow Witch Aunt and learn a bit of magicโฆ?”
According to [Great Liu Ren], this life in his dream was basically to repay a heavenly debt and offset the influence from his “past life.”
But every dream was an opportunity for him to improveโhe shouldn’t waste it!
He still needed to find a chance to make contact, even if it was just to get started in magic.
But Chu Yin’s fate was now accursedโeven [Great Liu Ren]’s divination was blocked. Whether he could even cultivate magic was uncertain!
“If my talent doesn’t allow me to learn magic, then at least I should get to know Witch Aunt better. Life here is just too lonely.”
Elder Sister Spider entered the Witch’s Cabin and placed a record beside the Witch of Ash Snow for her to review.
These past days, whenever Chu Yin was struck by misfortuneโbe it big or smallโElder Sister Spider would silently record it.
This was by the Witch’s instruction.
“Master, I’m curious about one thing. In the realm of magic, by what power does Fate exist? I used to think life was just randomness and coincidence, but seeing that little unlucky one outside, I realize Fate can so clearly target someone with maliceโฆ”
The Witch’s attention shifted from her Magic Book to the record. She said:
“Indeed, Fate’s malice toward him is far too obviousโฆ”
If those experiences had happened to an ordinary person, even once would be fatal. Yet he always survived, as ifโฆ
He was being kept alive on purpose, punished and tormented, forced to numb his heart at such a young age.
Now, reading the “Misfortune Record,” this suspicion grew even more convincingโeven his small misfortunes followed a certain pattern.
The Witch of Ash Snow spoke again:
“That child’s next wave of misfortune is about to hit. Go prepare potion ingredients; it’s time for Medicine Testing.”
Elder Sister Spider took a potion recipe, puzzled. This formula was already quite refinedโthere shouldn’t be any need for further Medicine Testing.
“Master, did you take the wrong recipe?”
The beautiful, cold-tempered Witch rose and glanced at the child outside who was smoking meat, then softly said:
“No mistake. I want to see if, by having him take a mildly poisonous potion and then immediately the Antidote, we can help him dodge a scheduled bout of misfortune.”
Chu Yin would have already taken a poisonous potionโso that should count as misfortune striking.
But the Witch had the Antidote in hand, ready to neutralize it on the spot. That would be like letting Chu Yin skip one round of bad luck.
Elder Sister Spider understood, suddenly enlightened:
“Master wants to study Fate itself, starting with this little unlucky one?”