Chapter 66: Abundance and Plenty of Rain

Manggu fears water.

And it only fears water, which is why it was sealed by the Spirit of Abundance and the Spirit of Rainfall.

When Bai Xiaozhi heard Wu Xiaomi’s words, she already understood the girl’s intention.

“No!” she refused firmly, her tone like a nail hammered into wood. “In your current state, you can’t even use your Lingyuan. Come on, let’s go back, back to the Milk-White Space. Manggu can’t threaten us there.”

“Xiaozhi, Teacher Nanalia and Senior Qiao Wanwan… they’re still trapped in the mist.”

“…They’ll find a way.”

“We have to save them. There aren’t many Low Water Sequence users, and the Siren Dance is a unique Sequence. There’s no other Witch here. They need me.”

“But you’re dying!”

“…”

Bai Xiaozhi shouted out the truth, and finally broke down in tears.

“It’s not just a cold— you’re dying, your Lingyuan is completely depleted… The Doctor said you don’t have much time left…”

“I know.”

She reached out, gently stroking Bai Xiaozhi’s hair.

Wu Xiaomi pressed her lips together and smiled softly. “I heard it, silly. I was pretending to sleep at the time.”

“Then you…”

“If I really have to leave, then— I want it to be grand.

I want to make a big scene, so more people will remember me. Even if I die, I want to die surrounded by blooming flowers and applause.

Because, for the old me… those things were so far out of reach.”

“…”

Wu Xiaomi was never some fiendish villain.

“He” wasn’t some Hannibal from the mouths of those thugs, eating people and spitting out their bones.

Only “he” knew, he was very ordinary— always had been.

With the joys and sorrows of an ordinary person, ordinary weaknesses and hopes.

Just a plain, unremarkable orphan, without any legendary talent, without any golden finger. Even the fierceness was all an act.

Pretending—it’s a required course to survive in society, only he pretended a bit too well.

“Xiaozhi, did you know? When I saw myself in that video, saw those compliments, I really… was so happy!”

“Because that was the first time in my life I’d ever been praised. That feeling— it’s truly addictive.”

“Call it vanity, call it ignorance, but I like that feeling.”

“So, I want to be a savior. I want to hear applause at the end of my life. I want more people to see me, to see a perfect me, no matter what I was before.”

“Xiaozhi.”

“Help me.”

“This last dance… is for you.”

……

Bai Xiaozhi closed her eyes, hiding her tears beneath her lashes.

Her heavy fingers rested on the piano keys.

She didn’t know any Water Sequence arts, so rather than joining a meaningless battle, she’d stay and help Wu Xiaomi fulfill her final wish.

“Dance of the River Spirits”

That was the piece Bai Xiaozhi chose.

Its rhythm matched perfectly with the fused Siren Dance.

The piano began to play.

……

When the black mist’s density exceeded its threshold, a massive, solid Black Panther began to take shape.

With a single step, it could cross half the Manggu mountain range.

When it raised its paw, it was like a small mountain falling, threatening to cover the entire academy.

“Crack—”

At the Black Mist Spring, a flash of light burst forth.

It was the Sanctified Source Crystal.

The crystal in Qiao Wanwan’s hand could no longer withstand the burden. It shattered, losing its luster.

“Hold on to me!” Nanalia raised her staff high, the tip embedded with the Sanctified Source Crystal of the Spirit of Abundance.

This was their last hope.

That flickering light barely managed to keep the darkness at bay, struggling like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, still trying to prevent the seal from breaking.

The two women clung to each other, hiding in this last bit of light.

“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault for insisting I come!” Qiao Wanwan hugged Nanalia tightly, crying. “Great, now we’re going to die together!”

“Being a Witch in this wretched place, you should’ve been prepared for this!”

“I don’t want to be a Witch anymore! Working all day and not even getting fed. If we knew Sequences one, two, three, four, or five, would we be in this mess?”

“Even six, seven, eight, nine, or ten would be fine!” Nanalia began to cry too. “I’m quitting too! Whoever wants to be a Witch can do it, I’m resigning tomorrow!”

“Will we even have a tomorrow?”

“If we do, let’s go traveling! Just like the Spirit of Abundance and the Spirit of Rainfall… Why did those two get to go on a honeymoon, irresponsibly abandoning the seal and running off!”

“Right! We’ll run too!”

“Run, run, run!”

“Crack—”

Perhaps it was blaming its believers’ disloyalty.

Even the crystal of the Spirit of Abundance shattered.

The protective light vanished in an instant, leaving no trace.

The two women were completely exposed to the endless malice.

Yet…

The malice did not attack.

“Do you hear something?”

“Sounds like a piano… Who has the nerve to play piano at a time like this?”

“Don’t you recognize this piece?”

“Huh? Are you saying… Ah! It’s the one Xiaozhi practiced!”

“Whoosh—”

A water bird broke through the darkness! It tore apart the black mist, driving away evil with pure, divine power, descending upon the spring—

The water bird opened a path!

Through that path, Nanalia and Qiao Wanwan could finally catch a glimpse of the outside world.

At the end of the path was a stage.

Beneath the still-burning spotlight, a girl’s skirt fluttered.

Her chin was held high, her neck proud like a swan’s. Clear water flowed with her folding fan, swirling around her, reflecting the light, transforming into ribbons of flowing brilliance.

Clouds, dark as ink, gathered from who knows where, forcefully quelling the Black Panther’s might, standing against the black mist panther in the sky.

Blazing thunder crashed down!

At the very moment the girl raised her wrist, lightning illuminated her deathly pale face. With a flick of her fan, dozens of Black Panthers were reduced to ash!

For a moment, the two could only stare, entranced by the dance, forgetting to run.

“Xiaomi was right.”

Nanalia smiled bitterly and murmured.

“Rain Prayer Technique plus Siren Dance—it’s truly beautiful.”

But the cost of this dance…

Is life.

The two Witches held hands and, with the help of the Siren’s water, ran from the Black Mist Spring at the fastest speed.

There were still teachers and students screaming in the flames, but gentle water brushed over their wounds, its coolness washing away their pain.

This was a torrential rain.

The dark clouds that once brought only unease now felt like the heaviest shield of safety.

Raindrops fell in a deluge, yet the ground remained as dry as new.

Not a single drop touched the earth.

The rain coalesced midair, gathering into countless flocks of birds, each one soaring toward every monster in the Manggu Mountains.

“What kind of talent is this…” Qiao Wanwan stared at the girl’s dance, muttering in awe. “What I taught her was just the Rain Prayer Technique, but this… this is nearly the Grand Rain Prayer Art…”

The Grand Rain Prayer Art is Sequence 77— even higher than the Siren Dance.

“She’s my disciple, of course… but this isn’t my achievement, it’s my good fortune.”

Nanalia gazed up at the girl.

Proud, yet her heart ached as if cut by a knife.

Back when she found her in the forest, she never imagined—

That the girl who couldn’t even stand, so weak she could barely speak,

Would one day drive off the Beast-face Tribe, retrieve the Sanctified Source Crystal,

Fuse Blooming Flowers, resolve the village’s crisis,

Even end the centuries-old nightmare of the Manggu Mountains, and bring back the Predecessor Priestess from Mirror Night—her own Father and Mother.

Who was teaching whom, who was caring for whom…

……

The piano music continued.

Within the clear flow of water, at some unknown moment, a few streaks of crimson had begun to seep through.