20. The Disgraced Witch
Just past midnight, Zhong Zemo appeared in the game right on time.
No sooner had they met than Jailkeeper immediately pressed, “Is it really over?”
Zhong Zemo nodded. “It’s true. I didn’t go home tonight either—I’m staying at a hotel.”
“Don’t tell me it was just a rash decision,” Orange Tea said with concern.
Zhong Zemo didn’t answer directly but instead recounted his lunch with Jiang Heyi.
“When I was eating with Potato today, it suddenly occurred to me… it’s been such a long time since she asked me what I liked to eat when we went out.”
“Even when she cooked at home, it was always tailored to her tastes. If I wanted something different, I’d be told it was wasteful.”
He smiled bitterly, a mixture of sadness and pain etched across his face.
“In the end, it was Potato who remembered what I liked—every dish was exactly what I wanted but couldn’t have with her… remembering these things isn’t hard, right?”
Reaching this point wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment impulse; months and years of friction and growing distance had long exhausted Zhong Zemo’s capacity for tolerance.
When Jiang Heyi spoke of the past, he looked back and realized that two years ago, he was indeed much more of a person than he is now.
Though some say it’s better to tear down ten temples than break up one marriage, given Zhong Zemo’s current mental state after the divorce, Jiang Heyi felt… he must have done a great service.
“Is there any chance of reconciliation?” Jailkeeper asked anxiously.
Zhong Zemo was resolute: “None.”
“Phew, that’s good, that’s good.”
Everyone’s emotional intelligence was actually quite high. Though Jailkeeper sometimes spoke without thinking, when it came to marriage, they all maintained an unspoken understanding and were careful to protect Zhong Zemo’s feelings.
After all, it was fundamentally a family matter; outsiders meddling would only feel awkward.
But now that the divorce was finalized, they could speak freely.
Jailkeeper clenched his fists. “I always thought your wife was too anthropomorphic anyway. Good that you’re divorced. The process is a bit complicated, but don’t worry—I know some good lawyers. Call me after you wake up, and I’ll help you get it arranged.”
Zhong Zemo, the only one in the team facing real-world issues, was about to become single again, and the group’s dynamics would stabilize.
Seeing that everyone had asked their questions, Jiang Heyi smiled and clapped his hands.
“All right, all right, let’s put other things aside for now. The ‘Clearwater Underground Sanctuary’ raid resumes.”
After Zhong Zemo logged off, the others swept through numerous low-level monsters, hoarding all the materials in the guild’s warehouse.
Inside the sweltering workshop, an elven priestess and a half-dragon wearing a witch’s hat were sweating profusely.
The latter was the familiar home doll of Original Fries—she had secretly splurged on a set of witch’s robes.
Forging high-quality equipment required the right blueprints, matching proficiency, and skill—this demanded luck and time, so the guild’s craftsmen could only fulfill low-level needs for now.
When Jiang Heyi went out in search of the Embarrassed Witch, Zhong Zemo laid out all the metal shields from his backpack—the kite shield and the subpar buckler.
“Enchant each one temporarily with light element magic.”
The dragon-born artisan reminded him, “Temporary enchantments fade over time—usually last about three hours.”
“No problem. Enchant them all.”
As the guild workshop grew busier, Jiang Heyi, who had gone out with Orange Tea, was finally blessed by luck. Outside the Windpod City trade route, they happened upon the Embarrassed Witch, burdened with large and small packages, preparing to set up her stall.
She seemed to have just come from a muddy forest northeast of the trade route, where rain had recently fallen. The hem of her gray-black linen robe embroidered with red silk edges was speckled with mud spots like stars scattered across a pitch-black night sky.
Her cheeks bore a smudge of earthy yellow, as if from some mishap.
“Finally found you.”
The moment Jiang Heyi spoke, the red-haired witch under the wide-brimmed hat shuddered.
Without even looking up, like a startled rabbit, she immediately set down two clanging bags of goods, cast a wind spell, and turned to flee.
Abandoning her merchandise, releasing magic, and fleeing—a swift, decisive, and seamless set of actions.
***
“No, how are you so skilled? How many times have you run away before?”
After only a few steps, the witch stopped.
Sweating coldly, she pleaded in a pitiful voice, “I’m sorry, sorry—I’ll give you a refund, I’ll reimburse everything, please don’t be angry… I’m just an apprentice potion brewer. Adventurers, please don’t be mad at me…”
“You didn’t even ask why we were looking for you before apologizing?” Original Fries couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, holding a knife to the witch’s neck.
The Embarrassed Witch muttered quietly, “It must be the potion that went wrong…”
If there were to be a first impression of the Embarrassed Witch, it would be her large, sparkling sea-blue eyes—deep and enchanting.
Next would be her pale skin.
As a human, her skin was unnaturally white, almost sickly. Wearing her dark robe made her seem like she belonged to a different layer of reality.
“Your name?”
“Mint.”
“That’s a title, isn’t it?” Jiang Heyi doubted.
“I only have a title… I have no family. The priestess who saved me found me in a wild patch of mint,” Mint explained.
Sensing that the group wasn’t going to interrogate her about the potion mishap and detecting no hostility, Mint spoke more smoothly, even with a hint of playfulness.
“Do your potions often have accidents?”
“Not really…”
Seeing Original Fries twirling his dagger and Jailkeeper’s palms sparking with flames, Mint hesitated, then straightened her neck resolutely.
“Accidents are inevitable in an apprentice potion brewer’s creations. You shouldn’t focus on the failures but on the masterpieces.”
Masterpieces… they had indeed seen one.
“What exactly do you want from us?” Mint asked cautiously, her eyes flicking slyly over each person’s reaction.
Jiang Heyi got straight to the point. “How many unstable combustion potions do you have?”
“Oh, so you’re here to shop!”
The previously cautious Mint immediately brightened. She crouched down and deftly unwrapped several large packages.
Inside were jars and bottles filled with powders and liquids, all jostling and clinking dangerously when moved.
Jiang Heyi’s mouth twitched.
Any chemistry teacher witnessing this would have a heart attack.
Sweating, he asked, “Are you really an apprentice potion brewer, or did you steal these from someone else to sell?”
If it were you, facing someone carrying such a dangerous load without a care, you’d sweat too.
“Who are you calling a thief? I’m a genuine apprentice potion brewer, absolutely real!”
Saying this, Mint put down two potion “cans” she had just picked up. She rummaged inside the lining and produced a crystal badge still warm to the touch, engraved with an eye floating above a blade of grass.
“It’s the credential only students admitted to the Imperial Royal Academy of Apothecaries can have. I’m truly an apprentice potion brewer!”
“I will definitely become a great potion master someday, renowned across the continent!”
Original Fries caught the key point: “Why would an elite apprentice from the Imperial Academy come all the way to a frontier city to sell potions?”
“…”
“…”
Mint’s face flushed, sweat beaded on her forehead. Her lips parted and moved, but no sound came out.
***
“Forget it. Even if you’re a thief, if you can supply the goods, I don’t care where you came from.”
Jiang Heyi’s attempt to smooth things over was rejected.
Mint insisted again, “I’m not a thief. Are you buying or not?”
Tsk… that witch’s hat bouncing atop her head definitely deserved to be plucked off.
“How many do you have?”
“Ten.” Mint carefully selected ten unstable combustion potions from her backpack.
She was far more cautious with these than with the rest of her goods.
“Can I ask who or what you’re fighting against?” Mint inquired. “If you give me some details, maybe I can offer advice?”
Seeing no immediate answer from Jiang Heyi and the others, Mint quickly waved her hand.
“Forget I asked. You pay, I supply, and the deal’s done!”
“It’s not a secret.”
After Jiang Heyi described the characteristics of the stitched monster, the seemingly unreliable witch immediately became confident.
“It’s definitely a necromantic creature, driven by residual consciousness.”
Trying her luck, Jiang Heyi asked, “What about its invisibility?”
“When you shattered the frog’s head and it began drawing elemental power to form a new body, the conclusion was obvious. It has an extremely strong magical body. The scaled torso you saw is a sea monster’s, and it uses that body’s traits to temporarily become an energy form.”
“So it’s not actually invisible?”
“Of course not. It’s just turned into a form of magical energy swirling around you. Those sensitive to magic can still sense its shape and movement. But…”
Mint’s gaze landed on Jailkeeper with a look of disdain.
The message was clear.
“What? You don’t think I can sense it?”
“But you really can’t.”
Lies don’t hurt; truth is the sharp blade.
Stopping their bickering, Jiang Heyi hurriedly asked, “Is there any way to force it to reveal itself?”
“Uh… not easily. The best way to expose a magic energy form is to stir up a wide area of magical energy. In turbulent currents, a solid object stands out.”
At this, Mint suddenly clapped her hands.
A smile curved her lips. “I do have a pretty good method, but it depends on the financial strength of you adventurers…”
She excitedly rubbed her pale hands together.
Original Fries and Jiang Heyi exchanged a glance, and after a nod from him…
A flash of steel, and Original Fries was once again behind Mint, blade at her throat.
Her witch’s hat was plucked off by Jiang Heyi, and her waterfall of red hair tumbled down.
“W-w-wait, don’t get excited, don’t get excited!”
“It’s free! Everything’s free! I’ll teach you all for free!”
“Waaah~~~”
Is this really a witch from the Imperial Academy…?