Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Xu Duoyi understood immediately.

She gave Dennis a grim smile. Before he could react, she reached out and threw a handful of white powder at him.

Dennis’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious.

Tu Nan looked at Dennis lying on the ground and gave his shin a little kick to confirm he was truly out cold.

“Don’t worry, this is powder ground from the Sleep Fruit I grew. He won’t wake up for at least two hours.”

Xu Duoyi spread her arms, her large black robe fluttering like a giant bat as she lunged toward her friend.

“Tu Nan, where did you go? I almost thought I’d never see you again…”

“Don’t say things like that,” Tu Nan said, quickly covering her mouth.

Xu Duoyi blinked and nodded.

Only then did Tu Nan release her and ask, “How did you end up in the forest?”

“I think it’s weird too.” Xu Duoyi made a miserable face. “The moment I opened my eyes, I was in the forest. I wanted to go find you, but then a terrifying woman appeared…”

“A terrifying woman?”

They were in the forest. Could the terrifying woman Xu Duoyi was talking about be the Witch?

“My identity in this Instance is the Witch’s apprentice,” Xu Duoyi whispered. “The Witch said people had entered the forest and told me to come drive you away.”

Tu Nan grew increasingly curious about the Witch Xu Duoyi was describing.

Just then, the mist surrounding them suddenly dissipated, revealing a small pebble path before them.

At the end of the path stood a wooden cabin.

“It looks like the Witch wants to see you.” Xu Duoyi tugged at her sleeve and lowered her voice.

There was no escaping. Tu Nan glanced at Dennis on the ground, silently asking Xu Duoyi what they should do with him.

“Just let him lie there. He won’t get lost,” a voice called out from the other end of the path.

Tu Nan took a deep breath and stepped onto the pebble path.

She and Xu Duoyi walked up to the wooden cabin. Long strings of ornaments made from some kind of animal bones hung outside; whenever the wind blew, they knocked against each other, making a chilling sound.

An apple tree grew in front of the house, laden with several vibrant Red Apples.

A large Black Dog lay under the tree, dozing with drool leaking from the corner of its mouth.

“Monica, wait outside,” the Witch’s voice drifted from inside the house.

Her voice was raspy and low, fitting the image of a Witch perfectly in Tu Nan’s mind.

Monica-Xu Duoyi-shrugged at her, looking like she wanted to help but couldn’t.

Tu Nan stepped up the stairs to the wooden door. As if it had eyes, the door opened automatically.

She subconsciously scanned the interior of the room.

It was dim, filled with various taxidermied animals she couldn’t name. A large cauldron sat in the room, brewing something unknown; the liquid inside emitted an unsettling, dark purple glow.

As she entered the room, the door shut behind her with a sharp snap.

Cold sweat broke out on Tu Nan’s forehead.

“Hello…” she asked hesitantly, “did you want to see me for something?”

“You may call me Nemesis,” a raspy voice sounded from behind her.

Tu Nan whipped her head around and came face-to-face with a terrifying visage.

The Witch, Nemesis, looked ancient. She had a hunched back and heavy, lowered brows that made her eyes appear exceptionally deep-set.

Most shocking of all was a scar that spanned almost her entire face, running from beneath her left eye all the way to the right corner of her mouth.

The scar was hideous and twisted, deep enough to see the bone, making Nemesis look even more frightening.
“Are you the Forest Witch?” Tu Nan asked, steadying her nerves.

“What, don’t I look the part?” Nemesis let out a sinister chuckle. “A hideous face, a gloomy dwelling, and a cauldron brewing an unknown potion-isn’t this exactly how you people imagine a Witch to be?”

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

For some reason, Tu Nan felt there was an indescribable sense of oddity about the Witch before her.

The Witch’s eyes flickered.

“Why have you filthy humans stepped into my territory?”

“I got lost,” Tu Nan said sincerely. “If you’ll allow it, I can leave immediately and promise never to set foot here again.”

“Too late.”

The Witch’s hair whipped about despite the lack of wind. She bared her teeth and sneered at her. “I’m going to throw you into my cauldron, stew you for three days and three nights, and then feed you to Mimi.”

Mimi… surely she didn’t mean that giant dog at the door?

Tu Nan’s face turned pale.

Suddenly, there was a loud thumping on the wooden door behind the Witch.

“Teacher, stop scaring her! She’s just an ordinary girl; you’re going to make her faint!” Xu Duoyi shouted from outside.

Tu Nan looked at the Witch.

The Witch, who had been wearing a dark, somber expression, now looked helpless upon hearing the voice from outside.

“How boring. It’s not like I’m some tasteless creature that actually enjoys eating human flesh.” Nemesis opened the door and let Xu Duoyi in.

Xu Duoyi walked inside and scanned Tu Nan from head to toe, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The Witch snapped her fingers, and the gloomy wooden hut before Tu Nan’s eyes transformed completely as if by magic.

It was clean, tidy, and filled with a sweet fragrance.

Tu Nan’s nose twitched as she looked at the large cauldron in the room.

There was no terrifying dark purple liquid; it was clearly a pot of sweet milk emitting a rich aroma.

As for the Witch, she straightened her back. Her grey hair gradually grew longer, and the hideous scar on her face vanished without a trace.

Nemesis now had vibrant, fiery red hair and smooth, fair skin. She looked quite young.

“This is…” Tu Nan looked at Xu Duoyi, completely bewildered.

“Just a little trick of the eye,” Nemesis laughed. “Well? Wasn’t it interesting?”

Tu Nan gave a polite yet elegant smile.

“It’s one of Teacher’s special hobbies,” Xu Duoyi explained.

“I was just imitating the kind of Witch they imagine,” Nemesis said, sitting down and crossing her legs as she looked at Tu Nan with curiosity. “Was it convincing?”

Tu Nan thought about it seriously. “If you added a Hooknose, it would be even more convincing.”

Nemesis appeared to give this some serious thought.

“I’ll do that next time.”

“Please allow me to ask a small question,” Tu Nan said, looking at her. “Why did you want to see me?”

“I noticed you the moment you approached the forest.” The smile on Nemesis’s face vanished.

She stared at Tu Nan, her tone certain. “You are radiating the scent of apples.”

The scent of apples…

The apple Maria had given her back then had come from the Witch.

“Is there a problem with that…?” Tu Nan asked cautiously.

The Witch sneered. “The apple you ate-was it given to you by Maria?”

Judging by the Witch’s expression, the origin of that apple was likely far from simple.