Chapter 142
Chapter 142
“The apples… what about them?” Xu Duoyi’s gaze shifted between the two before she walked up to Nemesis with a smile. “Don’t we have plenty of apples in our yard?”
“Those are no ordinary apples,” Nemesis said enigmatically. “They contain a mysterious magic.”
“Maria stole one of them.” Nemesis’s expression soured into one of disgust, and she looked up at Tu Nan. “I can smell the rich scent of apples on you. You ate the stolen apple.”
Tu Nan found herself at a loss for words.
“I didn’t know it was stolen when I ate it,” Tu Nan said, looking at Nemesis with a troubled expression.
“Who is Maria, and how did she steal the apple?” Xu Duoyi asked curiously.
“She is a princess of the kingdom who fled into the forest to escape an arranged marriage. I took her in, yet she repaid my kindness with treachery!” Nemesis’s voice grew sharp, her words ringing clearly in the ears of Tu Nan and Xu Duoyi.
“She killed the Dwarfs and stole my apple!”
“A princess of the kingdom…” Xu Duoyi murmured to herself, unable to resist glancing back at Tu Nan.
Tu Nan’s mind was a tangled mess.
Maria killed the Dwarfs?
There were supposed to be seven Dwarfs, but now there were indeed only five left.
But if Maria had killed them, why would she have gone through the trouble of taking them away from the Fairy Tale Hospital?
“I wonder if there might be some kind of misunderstanding?” Tu Nan asked softly.
Nemesis gave a cold snort. “I haven’t gone looking for her, yet she actually dares to return.”
She looked up at Tu Nan, her eyes narrowing into a threatening slit. “You came with her, didn’t you? I’ll give you one chance. Bring her to me, and I’ll spare your life.”
“Teacher…” Xu Duoyi grew anxious the moment she heard this.
Judging by Tu Nan’s reaction, it was obvious that Maria was their mission target. If Maria died, how were they supposed to complete their task?
Nemesis ignored her, keeping her eyes fixed on Tu Nan as she spoke each word deliberately. “The power to choose lies with you.”
Tu Nan hesitated for a long moment before finally making up her mind.
“I can go and deliver your message, but I’m not sure if Maria will be willing to come. The Royal Palace is heavily guarded by many sentries; I have no way of bringing her here by force.”
Nemesis let out a huff through her nose, her speech slow and measured. “That is your problem.”
“I’ll go with her,” Xu Duoyi spoke up.
Nemesis shot her a sidelong glance. “Don’t you usually avoid trouble at all costs?”
“For you, Teacher, I would walk through fire and water!” Xu Duoyi declared emphatically, hugging Nemesis’s arm and giving it a little shake. “Teacher, please just let me go.”
“Fine, go then.” Fortunately, Nemesis did not refuse. She curled her finger and tapped lightly on the table. “Bring Maria back to me.”
*
“What on earth is going on?!”
Only after they had walked a considerable distance from the Witch’s Cottage did Xu Duoyi finally lower her voice to ask Tu Nan.
Tu Nan shook her head. “I don’t know. Maria never mentioned any of this to me.”
The Witch’s Cottage was shrouded in thick fog. After walking for a while, they looked back to find that everything had vanished from sight.
Xu Duoyi carried an Oil Lamp in her hand. This was no ordinary Oil Lamp; according to her, it was something she had grown herself.
“This is a Lantern Flower,” Xu Duoyi said proudly. “It looks like a regular Oil Lamp, but it can guide the way through the mist so you don’t get lost.”
The two took the opportunity to exchange information about their current situations.
“When I woke up, I was lying outside the Witch’s little courtyard,” Xu Duoyi said slowly. “Nemesis really likes scaring people. She loves dressing up in terrifying guises to frighten others. When I first opened my eyes and saw her in one of those costumes, I nearly had an out-of-body experience from the fright.”
“But then, a second later, she reverted to her original form and asked me with a smile how the look was and if there was anything she could improve.”
What a strange person.
“The role I’m playing is the Witch’s Apprentice. I’m supposed to be following her to learn witchcraft, but right now I’m just a half-baked Apprentice. I’m mediocre at everything.” Xu Duoyi was quite interested in her identity; it was very different from her previous ones.
She continued excitedly, “In this Instance, my Skills have all been boosted because of my role. I can even grow the Witch’s apples!”
The Witch’s apples. Tu Nan’s eyes lit up.
That Skill was indeed very powerful.
“It’s just that the success rate is a bit low,” Xu Duoyi added.
“How low?” Tu Nan asked.
“Ten percent…” Xu Duoyi whispered.
Tu Nan: “…”
“It’s fine. There’s still a chance,” Tu Nan said, patting her on the shoulder.
Xu Duoyi coughed lightly, trying to save face. “The more potent a plant is, the harder it is to grow. For example, take this Lantern Flower in my hand-my success rate for planting it is one hundred percent, and it only takes one day to mature.”
“But the Witch’s apple clearly has a very powerful effect, so the success rate is low and the growing time is long.”
Tu Nan frowned. “Is there any way to increase the success rate?”
“There is.” Xu Duoyi stroked her chin. “I just need to fertilize it.”
The fertilizer Xu Duoyi spoke of certainly wasn’t ordinary fertilizer.
Sure enough, she continued, “If I feed it Nutrient Solution made from melted Instance Items, the success rate will increase.”
“But the problem is, who would be wealthy enough to do that?”
Tu Nan paused.
“If we feed it trash items, would that work?”
“It should,” Xu Duoyi thought for a moment. “It actually just needs something containing Instance energy. Whether the item is useless or not doesn’t really matter.”
A bold idea began to form in Tu Nan’s mind.
But she had more important things to do right now.
The two returned to where they had first left, where Dennis was still lying unconscious on the ground.
Tu Nan stepped forward and gave him a kick.
Dennis’s brow furrowed, showing faint signs of waking up.
She gave him another heavy kick, resulting in a dull thud.
Xu Duoyi subconsciously shivered.
“It hurts…” Dennis muttered in a daze, finally opening his eyes slowly.
Tu Nan and Xu Duoyi were looking down at him with composed expressions. Seeing him wake up, Tu Nan flashed a surprised smile and said with exaggerated concern,
“God, Dennis, you’re finally awake!”
“What happened?” Dennis propped up his upper body and glanced blankly at Tu Nan and Xu Duoyi beside her. Suddenly, he felt a dull pain in his calf.
“Damn it, why does my leg hurt so much?” He clutched his leg and began to wail softly.
“You suddenly fainted for some reason. You hit a rock before you went down.” Tu Nan pointed to a stone beside him. “It really gave me a fright.”
“To cause a lady such alarm-it is my fault.” Dennis forced a smile and stood up, leaning against a Tree trunk for support.