Although Chu Yin had settled down here at the Witch’s Cottage, he was truly idle—so bored, he felt like mushrooms might start growing on him.
During his free time, he asked [Da Liu Ren] for his own Eight Characters, attempting to analyze them—a bit like reviewing the metaphysical techniques he’d self-studied back in Luoshui City.
The moment he got his Eight Characters, Chu Yin suddenly understood the reason behind his own experiences.
His fundamental Five Elements destiny was Yang Wood, born in midsummer, his vitality bursting forth and upright—a natural case of [Strong Life, Hard Fate]. But aside from that, his whole chart showed shallow connections with family and friends, with nearly six out of eight characters in his birth data clashing or harming him; any supportive influence was negligible.
If he stepped in dog poop on his way out, he could take it as Heaven’s blessing and secretly chuckle to himself that day…
“If I hit a metal year, my Yang Wood destiny is probably going to get smashed.” Chu Yin squatted on the ground, drawing and scribbling with a twig, clicking his tongue in wonder.
But then again, he thought, wasn’t he on a magical land now? Did these Eight Characters theories even still work here?
Spider Sister silently approached. Her body was huge, but when she moved, the sound was barely detectable—Chu Yin didn’t notice her at all.
It wasn’t until two plump, enormous shadows appeared on the ground beside him that he realized Spider Sister was here.
He turned around and, facing the towering, majestic curves, greeted her: “Good afternoon, Spider Sister.”
“Good afternoon. What are you writing there—your homeland’s script?”
“That’s right, I’m saving up money! The elders say one character is worth a thousand gold. If I practice these eight characters well, that’s eight thousand gold in my pocket!”
“So wealthy~” The spider, a graceful lady with dark red hair, chuckled.
He really had a child’s heart. For someone whose childhood had passed, such naive, simple logic was almost impossible to come by—oddly cute.
The Witch of Snow Ash stepped out of the cottage. One moment, she was at the door of the several-meter-tall wooden house, and the next, she was right beside Chu Yin.
She didn’t say anything, just stood there in silence.
All these days, this was the closest Chu Yin had ever been to his Witch Aunt, yet he had no idea what her silence meant.
“Spider Sister, is the Witch here to…?” he asked, puzzled.
“Testing a potion. I told you on your first day drifting here, didn’t I?”
Spider Sister’s expression turned serious and cold, a sharp change from her earlier gentle smile. Her face changed in an instant.
She took out a bottle of ominously colored magic potion, its acrid scent radiating danger—a substance no creature with healthy senses would willingly touch.
It was like chatting and laughing with a new friend for half a month, only to suddenly see their truly vicious side.
“This potion’s poison was extracted from the King Serpent of the North Forest. It can…”
Before Spider Sister could finish explaining, Chu Yin had already grabbed the bottle and downed it in one go, as boldly as if he were drinking alcohol.
It was quite the sensation—the taste was certainly intense. Chu Yin’s brows furrowed, his young face wrinkling up as he commented,
“A bit bitter…but I drank fast. Got it down before my tongue reacted, or it would’ve been much worse.”
“……”
The Witch of Snow Ash and Spider Sister both fell silent. They hadn’t expected him to be so straightforward—they thought the child would show a hurt, “betrayed” look.
Coming back to herself, the Witch of Snow Ash hurriedly handed over another bottle of equally strange-colored potion—this one an antidote.
“Do I have to try this many potions?” Chu Yin assumed it was another poisonous potion and, without a word, gulped it down too.
The silent Witch fixed her attention on the boy in front of her.
According to the pattern in her records, Chu Yin was due for a major misfortune soon—the kind where a Thunder-Tail Panther might inexplicably break through nearby.
The effects and antidotes for the potion had been thoroughly studied—there was no real threat to his life.
As long as Chu Yin took the antidote and didn’t experience a major stroke of bad luck, the Witch’s hypothesis would be confirmed.
In the future, she could rely on similar methods to trick fate itself!
“Cough… cough cough!”
Suddenly, Chu Yin choked. The antidote had barely reached his throat before he sputtered, coughing so hard he spat it all back out, while the poison he’d just swallowed didn’t come up at all.
Even Spider Sister was shocked.
How could something go wrong in such a sure situation?!
The Witch of Snow Ash reacted instantly, casting a purification spell to forcibly expel the poison with her mastery of magic. Chu Yin was thus cured.
Still, he felt awful from choking on the potion for quite a while.
Once his breathing finally returned to normal, he realized both his Witch Aunt and Spider Sister were staring at him. Confused, he looked around, not understanding their stares.
“Is there something else I should do?” Mr. Chu Yin asked.
“Wait,” Witch Aunt replied, concise and to the point.
So terse that Chu Yin couldn’t even find an opening to make small talk.
Half the day passed, and nothing unfortunate happened to Chu Yin.
Witch Aunt turned and headed back into the wooden house. Perhaps seeing Chu Yin’s steadiness—even being so obedient during potion testing—she paused at the door and said:
“You’ll continue to test potions here in the future. You can come into my house, but don’t touch anything.”
Chu Yin hadn’t expected to gain access to his Witch Aunt’s cottage just like that.
Though her attitude remained cold—as if she didn’t care a bit about his life—based on what Chu Yin knew of his real-life aunt, it was very likely she was expressing an apology for the potion mishap!
Aunt Yan Dongnuan had always been particular about personal space.
He’d heard from Aunt Wen that, back when his aunt was a student, she’d always prepare extra stationery just to lend out. The pens she used herself were never touched by anyone outside her immediate family.
Cold on the outside, warm on the inside—but the warmth was reserved for family.
So when his Witch Aunt suddenly allowed him into her house, it was undoubtedly a sign of recognition and acceptance.
Yet, Chu Yin hadn’t even had a chance to build up any intimacy with his Witch Aunt yet. It couldn’t be because they were close that she suddenly let him in.
Thinking it over, it could only be a gesture of apology—his Witch Aunt had said she wanted to test potions on him, but she had no real intention of killing him.
The thought made Chu Yin find it rather amusing.
According to Spider Sister’s introductions, the Witch’s evil name outside was like that of a fierce wolf or tiger—her sins innumerable, taboo, resisted by all creatures under Saint Light’s protection, and even vicious monsters wouldn’t dare trespass on the Witch’s Domain!
But in the end, her temperament wasn’t so terrible—she even felt apologetic to a child like him.
“Looks like, if I use my real-life approach with my Witch Aunt, it should work just fine!” Chu Yin thought secretly.
Spider Sister gave his head a gentle tap and quietly reminded,
“Master said you’ll continue to test potions, but in a few days, you can try asking her to let you leave and live in a Human City-State—just don’t mention anything about here.”
“Wouldn’t a hostage making requests anger the Witch?” Chu Yin played dumb.
“It won’t. Master, she…”
The Witch’s Cottage window suddenly opened—a signal to Spider Sister not to speak further. She stopped at once and sent Chu Yin off to play.
Chu Yin hesitated for a moment, then had Spider Sister take him inside for a look around.
The Witch of Snow Ash saw the boy wandering the cottage with such curiosity that she couldn’t help but ask,
“You almost died from the Witch’s poison just now, and you still have the mood to look around?”
Chu Yin blinked and said, “You weren’t really trying to poison me, right, Witch?”
“?”
The Witch’s calm face showed a flicker of confusion—how did this child leap to such a conclusion with that kind of thinking?
“I figured Witch wanted to help me avoid all the endless bad luck in a controlled way. There was just a small accident, but you saved me in time.”
“You’ve been through so much malice from fate, yet you still assume a Witch has good intentions?” she asked coldly, with a hint of mocking laughter.
For once, Chu Yin didn’t avoid the Witch’s gaze—his eyes serious as he looked at her:
“It’s because I’ve experienced so much malice that I know not to doubt kindness!”
“I don’t know the Witch’s reasons for having me test potions, but I’m sure it’s not out of malice.”
Just like that aunt at home—her face always cold, making it hard to approach, yet never lacking in care for him, Chu Yin.
You couldn’t ignore Aunt Dongnuan’s efforts just because she wasn’t as warm as Aunt Wen.