In the middle of the night, a white deer appeared—swift in arrival, swift in departure.
Only Chu Yin was left standing alone by the riverside, one hand still holding his member, frozen in the act of relieving himself, looking utterly perplexed.
What was that all about?
That white deer just now probably wasn’t from this world’s Order of Sword and Magic. Chu Yin could converse with her without any communication barriers, unlike with his Witch’s Domain aunt, who needed magic to translate their speech.
“Why did she act like she knew me? She even called me by my name…”
Chu Yin racked his brain, searching every corner of his memory, trying to recall if he’d ever met her somewhere before.
But the answer remained “I don’t know her.” With someone that unique, how could he possibly forget?
“If I’d agreed to go with that white deer just now, what would have happened next…? Forget it, no point in imagining so much.”
People always dwell on the paths not taken, wondering how things might have changed or if life would’ve been better. But such thinking only saps one’s mood and never changes anything.
Besides, every decision Chu Yin made in this dream was perfectly clear to him—stick with those he knew!
His little aunt was right here; why overthink?
Unless that Master’s wife from the last dream showed up by his side, there was no way he’d ever leave his Witch’s Domain aunt.
If that white deer truly meant well, she might as well have taught him a few skills. Otherwise, he’d really be in a tough spot!
“But, seriously, these dreams are getting complicated. In a fantasy world with an Order of Sword and Magic, someone so ethereal would just show up out of nowhere…”
Chu Yin was completely baffled. He stowed away his “illegal firearms and ammunition,” tied his waistband, and went back to sleep.
After such a strange encounter in the dead of night, Chu Yin suddenly remembered that he hadn’t talked to [Grand Liu Ren] in quite some time.
Even if his Divination Ability had been blocked by divine retribution, simple information-gathering questions should still work.
“How do you create a sense of daily life? Any good ideas?”
After a brief silence, a familiar female voice echoed in Chu Yin’s mind, responding emotionlessly:
“A sense of daily life can be created through living. No need to deliberately manufacture it.”
“…”
Chu Yin was about to complain about the obviousness of that statement, but after thinking it over, he realized it was true.
Before, he’d been hung up on finding a standard answer, treating the sense of daily life as a kind of interior decorating style.
But in reality, the warmth his aunt loved came from family being together, kids occasionally laughing while watching videos and sharing joy, chatting here and there.
That sense of daily life couldn’t be replaced by home decor or cozy lamps.
To have a sense of daily life, first you need to have a life!
Once he understood this, Chu Yin’s worries quickly disappeared. He went on living each day as he pleased within his Witch’s Domain aunt’s territory.
If there was ever a chance he might disturb his aunt, Chu Yin would simply ask for permission directly.
A few days later, using his aunt’s spare books, Chu Yin built a little cot in the corner for afternoon naps. It seemed his Witch’s Domain aunt was quite tolerant of him.
As for the nighttime encounter with the white deer, it faded from memory before he realized it.
That afternoon, Chu Yin accidentally overslept. He awoke after sunset, the stars already out, but the Ashen Witch didn’t chase him away. Instead, she thoughtfully brought him a bottle of potion.
“Witch, is this today’s potion? I think I already drank some this morning.”
“This is a Sleeping Cocktail, a sleep-inducing potion made with high-proof alcohol. Since you slept so much today, if you can’t fall asleep tonight, you can drink this.”
Usually, Chu Yin only took potions out of necessity; he couldn’t rely on them for sleep too.
“Thank you, Witch. For us young people, sleep comes easy—when we want to sleep, we sleep… Actually, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Witch, you’re already highly accomplished in magic, so why do you still study potions? Isn’t it kind of redundant?”
This was a question that had recently puzzled Chu Yin.
Potions could certainly enhance abilities, but that was supposed to be the Potion Master’s field. Witches possessed such formidable and powerful magic, so why would they bother studying potions that weren’t even useful to themselves?
And it wasn’t just the Ashen Witch’s personal hobby. According to Sister Spider, all witches loved to research and mix potions.
Every few years, the witches would gather to show off and exchange their latest potions.
Sometimes, they’d even visit each other to borrow potion ingredients.
What drove this obsession with potions? Even after days of observation, Chu Yin still couldn’t figure it out.
The Ashen Witch paused and then said:
“Because potions are unstable. There’s always the surprise of opening a blind box—the fun comes from those unexpected results.”
That answer itself was unexpected.
Chu Yin had thought that the field of potions must have unimaginable heights, luring witches to explore that peak. Instead, it turned out that the bar was set so low it was ridiculous, and that’s what attracted their interest…
Chu Yin scratched his head and smiled. “Is it more fun than exploring the mysteries of magic?”
“Hard to say. At our level, further research into magic is pointless. Every witch already wields forbidden magic far beyond this era.”
Any magic spell required magic power to cast.
When a spell was powerful enough to threaten a small or medium-sized city-state, or endanger the kingdom and the Church, it was classified as Forbidden Magic.
But the witches had long since developed magic formulas surpassing even Forbidden Magic.
Those spells, though, existed only in theory—there wasn’t enough magic power in the world to actually cast them.
Only when the Magic Power Tide surged, and the world’s total magic rose, could those spells find a use.
So what was the point of the witches continuing to research ever-deeper magic now?
None at all. Even if their research succeeded, they couldn’t actually cast those spells—such magic remained a theory, a fantasy.
Once they lost interest in pushing the limits of magic, the bizarre lower limits of potions became the witches’ new amusement.
They’d even compete to see who could make the most ridiculous potion…
With lifespans so long and nothing that could kill them, they had to find something to occupy themselves, after all.
“If someone manages to invent a potion that lets witches experience eternal sleep, that contest should finally end.”
Chu Yin didn’t know what to make of the witches’ state of mind. He asked, “So, once the potion contest is over, what will the witches do to find fun next?”
“Unless we discover some new, interesting field to explore, after such a potion is made, witches will all scramble to try it. Then everyone will enter a long sleep, and barring special circumstances, probably won’t wake up easily.”
“……”
How was he supposed to continue the conversation after that?
Just as Chu Yin was struggling for a response, his Witch’s Domain aunt suddenly remembered something and said:
“Little unlucky egg, starting tomorrow you’ll have to help brew potions. We need to stock up on winter potions for you. In a while, Spider will take you to stay with other witches for a few months.”
“Huh? Why? Can’t I spend the winter here? If I buy a good cotton coat at the border city, I shouldn’t be afraid of the cold!”
Chu Yin really didn’t want to leave his aunt’s side—not for months!
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