She Is Not a Witch

Nearly two weeks had passed since their last parting. Why had this young man returned, and in such a wretched state?

With these questions in mind, Loranhil returned to the campfire site where Pullman had previously rested. The fire had long since extinguished, leaving only a small amount of black charcoal.

As Loranhil approached, she saw the young man leaning against a large tree by the stream, breathing heavily with exhaustion. His clothes were covered in tears, and his hands showed blisters and blood stains. It was clear he had endured many hardships on his journey.

Hearing the unconcealed footsteps, the young man looked up.

Slanting sunlight filtered through the forest, tiny dust particles dancing slowly in the light. A girl in a white dress emerged from the shade of the trees, her long silver hair taking on a faint golden hue in the sunlight. Her clear blue eyes were like otherworldly jewels descended to the mortal realm.

It took Pullman a while to recover from the awe-inspiring sight.

“Please, tell me how to defeat those nobles and rich merchants!”

Seeing the question in the girl’s eyes, he began to explain what had transpired.

It turned out that after discovering his sister had been killed, Pullman wanted revenge. However, the noble’s house was heavily guarded, making it impossible for him to launch a sneak attack. So he turned his attention to the merchant, Moke. He ambushed Moke while masked, injuring him, but Moke’s bodyguards quickly responded. Unable to fight them off, Pullman managed to escape.

Unsure if Moke had recognized him, he didn’t return home and instead fled into the forest. After receiving Loranhil’s help, he had planned to go to the mercenary nation in the north.

But fearing his parents would worry, he decided to return home first, intending to leave the jewel for his parents to improve their living conditions and to tell them not to worry, that he was alive and going far away to make a life for himself.

However, when he returned home, he discovered that during his absence, his parents had frantically searched for him, fearing he had also been killed. In their agitation, they confronted Moke, inadvertently revealing their connection. Moke, shocked and enraged, severely beat Pullman’s parents.

Pullman arrived home at this time, but Brown Wood Village was a remote settlement with extremely poor medical conditions and no Angel Sequence priests. His parents soon succumbed to their injuries and infections.

Grief-stricken and furious, Pullman escaped capture by Moke’s men and once again entered the forest. This time, he had no other choice left.

He wanted only one thing: revenge!

Despite his injuries, he trembled as he knelt down, hands on the ground, and in the most humble voice of his life, begged the otherworldly girl before him to tell him how to defeat those evil people.

“I’m sorry, I know these matters have nothing to do with you, and such a request is very impolite.”

“But I really can’t think of any other way. I’m just a poor village boy, without knowledge or strength.”

“I’ll do anything you ask. I want revenge. I only ask that you tell me how to defeat them. I’m willing to sacrifice everything.”

Perhaps once he had some beautiful fantasies, but now the anger and hatred in his heart overwhelmed all self-doubt, timidity, unease, and fear. Even if it cost him his life, even if he never found peace again, he wanted those people to pay the price they deserved!

“Stand up, Pullman.”

After listening to his impassioned narrative, the girl remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“Only by standing can you be worthy of receiving knowledge.”

“From now on, you must never kneel to anyone again. Not only that, but you must also tell everyone you know not to kneel to anyone.”

The girl turned sideways, plucked a small twig, and stuck it in the ground.

“The seed in a person’s heart must grow in the right direction from the very beginning. If there’s a deviation at the start, even if it grows well, it will be useless and need to be cut down.”

“All people are born equal, so you need not kneel to anyone.”

“Do you want to change this country? This isn’t something one person can achieve.”

“First, you must become strong yourself, become a standard and a flag, so that people will believe in and follow you.”

Loranhil looked at the once simple young man before her. Though his clothes were tattered and his body covered in wounds, his black eyes now burned with a desire for power and revenge.

She didn’t try to persuade him to preserve his life and survive in a distant land as she had before.

The situation had completely changed.

Perhaps earlier he could have gone far away and lived a different life, letting time gradually wash away the hatred and sorrow in his heart.

But the world had been so cruel, forcing him into a corner with no way out. If she were to ask him to give up on revenge now, he would likely live a life of painful self-blame and torment.

So, even knowing that he might sacrifice his life for his revenge and ideals in the future, Loranhil would still tell him the most effective methods.

The tragedy that befell this young man couldn’t be completely resolved by killing one or two unscrupulous nobles and merchants.

She wouldn’t directly help him kill those evil people. Victory obtained through others’ help would ultimately be false and wouldn’t birth a beautiful future.

Therefore, she would provide Pullman with much indirect assistance but wouldn’t personally intervene. Moreover, only by exacting revenge with his own hands could he gain the greatest solace and leave no regrets.

Quest: Answer young Pullman’s doubts, Completed! (100%)

Reward obtained: Supernatural artifact recipe [Twilight Fabric Crafting Manual], 5 System Draw chances.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

In the time that followed, Pullman stayed by the campfire. Loranhil first took back the [Primal Jewel] she had given him earlier and, following the method recorded in Trina’s memories, crafted it into a simple legacy jewel.

Although due to material limitations, it could only record a small amount of information, merely verbal without even images, she still imparted much crucial knowledge to the young man.

First came writing, then she excerpted a complete set of cultivation paths from the Mercury Dynasty’s military of that time. Considering that the Necromancy Sequence would be too conspicuous in the current world, she chose a set of War Sequence cultivation methods. It included the complete cultivation manual from War Sequence 1 · Black Armor Attendant to War Sequence 7 · Ravaging Overlord.

She also included other complementary military arts, strategies, and various methods of army management. All were the essence of nearly a thousand years of warfare summarized by the Mercury Dynasty.

It must be said that from the founding of the Mercury Dynasty until Trina’s passing, in the more than thousand years recorded, wars large and small had barely ceased.

The entire dynasty’s systems were prepared for cultivation and warfare. It was precisely this mad war and slaughter that saved humanity from the brink of extinction, eventually expanding to become the continent’s sole hegemon.

“If the wisteria new moon flag had not descended from heaven, then all ages would be as long night.” So wrote a scholar of that time.
[TN: The sentence implies that the “wisteria new moon flag” is a metaphor for an event, person, or divine grace that brings light, hope, or renewal to a bleak, unchanging existence. Without this intervention, life would remain in a state of unending hardship or stagnation. It emphasizes the transformative power of hope, renewal, or divine guidance.]