Chapter 42: The Witch’s Mercy

On the sixth-floor battlefield, the acrid smoke still clung to the air.

Gentian’s long whip still whistled through the mist, a serpentine blur. Ziyuan’s magic book flipped with frantic speed, dark golden light relentlessly sweeping across the ravaged battlefield. Snapdragon, though appearing composed on the periphery, never once let their gaze stray from Ghost Orchid’s every subtle movement.

Jasmine stood protectively beside Pumpkin, her gaze sweeping from the staff cocooned within the light barrier to the chilling, ash-grey figure dominating the battlefield.

Behind that enigmatic presence, Jasmin lay bound and unconscious.

She bit her lower lip, a tremor running through her.

Duty commanded her to remain. Pumpkin was down, the staff required protection, and she was the only healer left.

Yet, Jasmin was right there. Trapped behind that witch, unconscious and her fate unknown.

‘Master,’ Xiao Li’s voice echoed in her mind, laced with worry. ‘What are you planning?’

Jasmine offered no reply.

She lifted her head, her eyes fixed on the center of the battle. Gentian was locked in a fierce struggle with the white phantoms, purple whip-shadows flashing through the swirling mist. Snapdragon periodically fanned themself, their pink-gold petals disrupting the phantoms’ vision. Ziyuan’s magic book continued its frantic analysis, yet a breakthrough remained elusive.

That witch… was simply too powerful.

Gentian, a Tier 2 powerhouse, was almost completely helpless before her. Ziyuan, a Tier 1, could barely manage to protect themself.

The disparity was immense.

But Jasmin was still there.

Jasmine took a deep, fortifying breath.

She turned, swiftly assessing Pumpkin’s condition. The wound still seeped blood, but for now, their life was not in immediate danger. The staff, shielded by the light barrier, should be safe for a short while.

‘Little Hamster,’ she whispered, addressing the small hamster peeking out from Pumpkin’s pouch. ‘Please protect them. I’ll… be right back.’

Jinjin observed her with wide, round eyes, appearing to want to speak, but merely nodded instead.

Jasmine rose to her feet.

She glanced toward the battlefield, then crouched low, circling around to the opposite side.

Spirit Light Agility—Radiant Leap!

Pure white light blossomed beneath her feet, and her figure transformed into a blur, streaking from the edge of the battlefield toward Ghost Orchid’s rear.

The white phantoms were entangled with Gentian, their vision obscured by the purple whip-shadows and scattered petals. This was her chance.

However, before she had even completed half a circle—

A cluster of white phantoms materialized before her without warning.

They seemed to have been waiting there all along, their eyeless faces turning in unison toward her, emitting sharp shrieks from mouths split to their ears.

‘Master!’

Xiao Li’s voice was tinged with terror.

Jasmine had no time to ponder, instinctively dodging to one side. The phantoms missed their target, yet they forced her in another direction—

She collided with a massive, shadowy mass.

The creature had been lurking in the corner all this time, as if specifically awaiting its prey to walk into its trap.

Suddenly, it let out a low, peculiar roar.

“Goo-goo! Ga-ga!”

Upon hearing that strange cry, Jasmine felt a searing pain, and the world before her instantly dissolved into a desolate, pale darkness.

When she next opened her eyes, the first sensation was the wind.

The biting evening breeze swept across her face, carrying the cool relief that followed the oppressive heat of a summer night. The city’s clamor reached her ears, yet it seemed muffled, as if separated by a veil, indistinct.

Jasmine painstakingly pushed herself up.

She lay on the cold ground. There were no walls around her, only low railings and the vast night sky above.

The rooftop.

The seventh-floor rooftop of the Provincial Library.

And not far ahead—

Was Ghost Orchid.

She was crouching on the ground, beside Jasmin. One hand gently cupped Jasmin’s chin, as if examining some precious artifact.

And Jasmin—still remained unconscious. She lay on the ground, her face so pale it seemed all color had drained from her.

“Stop!!!”

Jasmine practically screamed. She pushed off the ground, scrambling to her feet, then stumbled forward two steps, her staff gripped tightly in her hand, pure white light coalescing at its tip.

Ghost Orchid turned her head.

The dark red eye regarded her, and then—

“Oh, I’ll stop then~”

She actually, obediently, lowered her hand, even offering a hint of a docile smile.

Jasmine froze.

She had envisioned countless possibilities—Ghost Orchid attacking her, tearing her apart with those white phantoms, or binding her and tossing her beside Jasmin. She had never once considered this.

“You…” Her hand, clutching the staff, trembled slightly. “What exactly do you want?”

Ghost Orchid stood up, facing her.

Moonlight spilled from behind the clouds, illuminating her tattered, ash-grey gown, her pallid, lengthy hair, and the depths of her dark red eye.

That gaze…

It held neither malice nor killing intent.

Instead, it conveyed an indescribable, hollow weariness, as if she were looking at something very, very far away.

“Nothing,” Ghost Orchid said softly, her tone betraying no emotion. “I have no interest in killing.”

She tilted her head slightly, looking down at the unconscious Jasmin.

“I merely wish to protect those pitiful ‘Erosions,’” she stated, “and to listen to your… pitiful stories.”

Her gaze returned to Jasmine.

That look sent a shiver through Jasmine—not of fear, but a strange resonance. It was as if the witch before her was looking into her own past.

Jasmine tightened her grip on her staff, yet found herself unable to raise her hand to point it at her opponent.

“You…” She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.

Ghost Orchid did not look at her again.

She turned and walked toward the edge of the rooftop.

The white mist that had enveloped the entire library slowly dispersed with her steps, like gauze blown away by the wind, revealing the nightscape of Jiangcheng below. The surface of Cui Lake shimmered under the moonlight, and in the distance, the lights of Xinghe Han Street blazed as bright as day, bustling with people and traffic, vibrant as another world.

Her figure in the night wind appeared so fragile, like a petal that could be scattered at any moment.

Around her, clusters of dark shadows floated silently. These ‘Erosions’—varying in size and form—clustered obediently around her like well-behaved children. They neither attacked nor shrieked, simply remaining still, as if seeking shelter.

As Jasmine watched this scene, a strange thought suddenly welled up within her.

From earlier until now, the white phantoms had only blocked her path, and that shadowy mass had merely knocked her unconscious and brought her to the rooftop, without further harm. The staff downstairs were also still alive, well-protected by Pumpkin.

The witch could have killed them, could have been far more ruthless.

But she hadn’t.

Jasmine seemed to understand something.

This witch, perhaps, was not the kind who delighted in slaughter. She was protecting something—protecting the ‘Erosions,’ protecting those beings forgotten by the world. And as for them, she simply… didn’t want them to get close.

“Don’t pity them, and don’t easily drop your guard,” Ghost Orchid’s voice drifted from ahead; she didn’t look at Jasmine. “Otherwise, you’ll suffer greatly later on~”

Jasmine glanced down at herself—at some point, she had lowered her staff.

She was stunned.

Just then, a white phantom suddenly appeared before her.

It had no eyes, only that mouth split to its ears, filled with countless tiny teeth. It lunged at her—

Jasmine had no time to dodge.

The phantom plunged into her eyes.

The world instantly turned into a desolate, pale darkness.

But there was no pain, no tearing.

Only blindness.

Ghost Orchid’s final words reached her ears, light as a feather, like a sigh:

“That girl… is quite interesting. I’ll give her back to you.”

Jasmine frantically rubbed her eyes, and the white light slowly began to dissipate.

But Ghost Orchid was gone, and even the dark shadows had vanished. All that remained was the cool moonlight on the ground and the distant, still-blazing city lights.

And—

Jasmin, lying on the ground.

She was still unconscious, her face pale, her breathing faint. But the tendrils that had entwined her were gone without a trace.

Jasmine stumbled over, kneeling beside her.

“Xinxin…” she whispered, gently patting her face. “Xinxin, wake up, please wake up…”

There was no response.

Jasmine bit her lower lip, then gently lifted Jasmin, cradling her in her arms. The pure white scent of jasmine flowers emanated from her, softly enveloping the pale yellow figure in her embrace.

The moon fully emerged from behind the clouds, casting a silver glow across the ground.

The two young women remained there on the rooftop, one unconscious, the other holding her tightly.

In the distance, the lights of Xinghe Han Street continued to blaze brightly.

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