Chapter 347

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Chapter 347: the Bright Shooting Star That Mistakenly Seemed Like Dawn

Bai Wei left behind two jars. Inside the jars were golden, semi-transparent spheres about the size of half a fingernail.

The golden resin had already started to solidify as he gathered it. It looked somewhat like fish liver oil capsules.

"These are golden resin."

"Give the sword witches to swallow, and their symptoms will be relieved."

Kokonohana Nori nodded and solemnly accepted the two jars.

"You don’t ask why, is it just a relief?" said Bai Wei.

"I’ve never been so clueless," the funeral attendant said, mocking herself.

"Even with the temporary shelter provided by the golden resin, it is still temporary. One or two years is temporary, eight or ten years is temporary. It’s still a long way from a permanent solution," Bai Wei looked at the Crimson Moon. "To completely free the witches from this trouble, we still need a way."

"Is it?"

"The Golden Tree."

Kokonohana Nori had indeed heard of the Golden Tree, the miraculous tree that existed only once in the world, shrouded in mystery during the Imperial Era.

The funeral attendant couldn’t contain her inner shock and immediately asked, "Are you planning to plant a Golden Tree here?"

"Not here," Bai Wei denied, shaking his head. "The shrine is not suitable for the Golden Tree, and I have no intention of letting it serve the Shogunate. Besides, the Shogun may not even accept my goodwill and might accuse me of intruding… Although I don’t really care about what he thinks, you all should consider your own situation as well."

"Indeed…" Kokonohana Nori asked, "Where do you intend to plant it?"

"There must be more than one shrine, the gathering place of the witches," Bai Wei said. "Wherever they gather, that’s where I will go to plant the Golden Tree."

"Village!" Kokonohana Nori blurted out, "A village with witches! Please make sure to plant it there!"

In the village, nine out of ten are descendants of witches, and they suffer greatly from the Blood Moon Disease.

Among them, many are retired sword witches who were forced to retire. If their illnesses can be cured, they will be able to return to the shrine and reintegrate into society immediately.

"Sure," Bai Wei said, "Is Edo far from here?"

"It’s not very far, around four hours."

"So, let’s go now."

"Now?"

"Yes, now," the young man said, holding his hands behind his back. "If you delay even for a day, more people could possibly die. I’ll give you six hours."

"I will immediately make arrangements and get ready!" The funeral attendant bowed deeply and turned, rushing towards the inside of the shrine.

Bai Wei stood at the top of the mountain, glimpsed at the crimson moon, closed his eyes, and his soul crossed over the sea of the spiritual world, returning to his body.

He glanced at the time and realized there were still six hours left. He stood up, walked to the sofa, and turned on the television. He decided to watch some variety shows and TV dramas for a while.

To my surprise, there was even a foreign TV drama titled "The Mermaid Princess’s Revenge". The lead actress… Is she Arivia Huaiert?

Seemed somewhat familiar.

…

Shrine.

"This medicine really works, I’m not in pain anymore. These past few days, my relatives came to visit, but now all of them have left!"

"My wounds have healed, and the strange things that grew on me before have disappeared. I am all better now! I am really all better!"

"Yay, yay, I can run and jump again, it was so boring! Clear the way, I want to exercise my body."

"Can I be released from confinement now? I feel so strong that I can defeat ten followers of the evil gods! This is even worse than being in jail."

"Hello, dear sisters, please look at me, everyone, look at me! I have something important to announce… I won’t go back to my hometown to get married!"

The originally solemn atmosphere in the underground floor was filled with joyful air.

The young girls recovered from their serious illness, feeling well and no longer needing to prepare for playing the suona horn or attending funerals.

No one knew who first suggested it, but unable to sleep late at night and wanting to keep watch, they decided to bring out all the bedding and sleep on the floor. They would have a grand pillow fight tonight.

The priests glanced helplessly and retreated, leaving only a few elderly witches behind. They also picked up pillows and began to divide into teams, among which there were not lacking those who incited, guided, and instructed with great enthusiasm.

The quilt was spread on the ground, and a group of sword witches dressed in loose priestess robes, holding pillows in their hands, took aim at each other and prepared to unfasten each other’s belts at any moment. With a command, the group of young girls immediately engaged in a playful pillow fight.

Full of energy, even overly lively.

Not to mention this group of girls who had no idea how exactly they could be saved and simply treated it as ordinary medicine with special effects.

On the shrine corridor, Kurosawa Yaka chased after Kokonohana Nori and asked, "Where did you get so many golden treasure medicines?"

"This is resin, not medicine," Kokonohana corrected.

"It is the blood of a golden tree, called resin. But in reality, it is a precious medicine. Its purity level is truly exceptional, like the backbone of resin. This kind of raw material is something we have been trying to acquire without success. Where did it come from?"

"It doesn’t matter."

"This is important!" Kurosawa Yaka held Kokonohana Nori’s shoulders. "And also, both sword witches were saved just now. What method did you use? Tell me, you can’t keep this hidden!"

"I didn’t plan on hiding it either, but I just don’t know how to explain it clearly," Kokonohana Nori took off her funeral headdress. "So, I’ll slowly tell you on the way what exactly I encountered, and we’ll prepare right away!"

"Ready, ready for what?"

"Welcome back to Kamiji Village!"

…

Kamiji Village, a gathering place of very few witches on Yingzhou, has its origins dating back over four hundred years.

Witches didn’t arrive in Yingzhou only after the Imperial era, but they have been migrating for a long time. Just like how Western people could be seen as early as the Tang Dynasty, there were always some individuals who, by fortunate circumstances, would come to the East.

In the early days of the Empire, there were various immigration plans to expand the empire. As time passed, social classes became rigid, and the lower class population needed to find a way out. They thought about leaving Europa behind. As for the late period of the Empire, the social structure was completely stagnant and burned to ashes by the emperor’s fire. With the advent of steam ferries, there were countless escapees.

Not only in Yingzhou but also in the Ming Country, Goryeo, and other places, there were successors with the bloodline of witches. However, they were less likely to form cohesive village communities like in Yingzhou. This group of witches spontaneously gathered due to inheriting the same belief.

Originated from a belief in gold.

Naturally, in this village, the Holy Relic that was left behind at the beginning was also preserved.

Later, a shrine was established. Twenty years ago, the shrine experienced a split. The impact of modernization caused some people to move away in search of a better life. All of these were reasons that led to further decline in the witch village.

Nowadays, Kamiji Village has a population of approximately over nine hundred people. Regardless of gender, almost all of them are descendants of witches. The witch lineage is invisible, appearing unpredictably among different individuals. The descendants of awakened witches are certainly witches themselves, but the descendants of non-awakened witches may not necessarily become witches. This uncertainty is what sets witches apart from other races.

For over twenty years, the witch village has been plagued by the Blood Moon Disease. However, because they are close to the Holy Relic, the disease’s onset and symptoms are milder. Therefore, when a sword witch’s flesh and blood begin to deteriorate, they must return to the witch village for recuperation. Over the past twenty years, as many as one hundred and thirty sword witches have stayed here. Presently, there are still over ninety of them alive, but one-third of them are bedridden.

Reality is cruel. Before the curses spread by ancient god-level powerhouses, living beings were already so powerless.

In ancient history, including witches and all other dark races, endured the torment of the Blood Moon for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.

So, don’t be deceived by the pitiful state of these witches. In history, there were countless times more of their kind who endured much greater suffering. Being able to survive with the sporadic and unpredictable protection of the Holy Relic, which often malfunctioned like an unresponsive program, is already considered a very optimistic outcome. How many witches have turned into false vessels, becoming the hosts for the Chaotic Witch, and unleashed endless destruction, on the night of their awakening, under the moonlight… This is the norm in history.

Kokonohana Nori was seeking a way to surpass her limits, but it was inevitable that she would encounter failures. Countless times, her ancestors had tried to save themselves, only to be returned to dust in the end.

After all, it was the Chaotic Witch, who was capable of matching the Supreme Will’s power. She had once personally slain and destroyed dozens of foreign gods, ultimately meeting her unfortunate defeat at the hands of the Supreme Will. However, she also inflicted severe damage upon her opponent, causing the Supreme Will to refrain from easily meddling in the mortal realm and paying no attention to the Red Moon, perhaps even being powerless to do so.

The Golden Emperor could not find a permanent solution to these matters either. He could only use the Golden Throne as a shield, which served as a temporary measure.

And as for the other past supreme beings, including the founding emperor of the empire… they never even considered or paid attention to this Red Moon, because its effects on them were negligible. They never cared about the lives and deaths of the few races.

Witches, bloodline creatures, and other races have never produced the strongest individuals. A significant reason for this is the Blood Moon restriction. The more they face this limitation, the more they become vulnerable and suffer from persecution. Eventually, they are either enslaved or barely survive. This bloodline becomes a curse for them, as the imprint of being inherently inferior has been engraved through long periods of civilization evolution.

Just like the Golden Clan’s slaughter of the Dragon Clan, reducing the Dragonborn to slavery, it was meant to leave an imprint on their minds, trapping them for life in a cage.

However, ironically, the one who ultimately shattered all these mental cages and shackles was none other than the last emperor of the Golden Clan themselves.

He shattered the Dragonborn’s shackles, as well as the mental cages of the witches and the inferior races, smashing all inequalities, including his own.

To this day, this determination has transformed into a law, leaving its mark in the hearts of every citizen in the Allied Kingdoms.

Promoting the law of racial equality, it remains to this day as the national policy of the Alliance.

The witches’ belief in kings and queens may have been inevitable, for throughout history, there had never been such a benevolent ruler who willingly sacrificed themselves to bring peace to them, like the last straw grasped by a drowning person…

Four hundred years may seem very long, but in the grand tapestry of history, it was truly fleeting, like a streaking meteor across the sky.

This shooting star was so bright and enduring that it gave many people a peculiar illusion, as if it were the dawning of a new day.