The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix’s Novels Also Desires Happiness - Chapter 199
124. The Lonely Witch
“Junior.”
Mu En heard a soft call.
He instinctively turned around.
Then, in this dim and cramped little room, it felt as if the world had brightened.
Anna had changed into a purple knee-length skirt, with a high waistline, a high collar, and a black belt that accentuated her slender waist, making her chest appear even more prominent and grand.
The hem of her skirt swayed like overlapping petals, her long, rounded thighs wrapped in glossy black stockings peeked out from beneath the skirt, resembling flower stamens, carrying a hint of alluring temptation.
“Do you think it looks good?”
Anna gently lifted the hem of her skirt, and in that instant, it was as if a flower had bloomed.
Her face was lightly made up, her long hair habitually swept to one side, and with a glance and a smile, she was particularly captivating.
“It looks good, it looks good.”
Mu En nodded eagerly, this was not flattery; he genuinely felt that the slightly dressed-up senior was even more enchanting than before.
He was completely mesmerized.
“I’m glad you like it, Junior.”
Anna smiled with satisfaction, not in vain for her first serious attempt at dressing up.
This was the first time she felt nervous before meeting someone.
“Hum.”
In the small shop, a third person’s untimely snort broke the silence.
Anna turned her head; the old man was still lying in the rocking chair, eyes closed as if in deep sleep.
She walked over and gently placed a vial of potion beside him.
“I made this just for you. When your joints hurt again, drop in two drops; it should help relieve the pain.”
“……”
“Don’t sleep in places like this anymore; it’s getting colder.”
“……”
“Close the shop in winter; I’ve gathered some money in the west of the city to buy you a small house. It’ll be warmer in winter and cooler in summer than staying here.”
“……”
“Please help look after the orphanage over there.”
“……”
“Sorry, this might be the last time I come back.”
In the quiet shop, it had always been Anna’s monologue.
The old man didn’t say a word from beginning to end.
Anna wasn’t angry; perhaps she had long guessed that the old man would react this way.
After leaving the potion and the key beside him, Anna lowered her gaze to conceal her emotions and left the small shop with Mu’en.
Ding-dong.
The gentle breeze stirred the wind chimes, their sound crisp.
Yet it only emphasized the solitude of this small shop.
The old man in the rocking chair finally opened his eyes, raised his twig-like, frail hand, and carefully examined the vial of potion.
“How foolish; isn’t your potion something I taught you?”
Saying this, the old man opened the potion bottle and took a gentle sniff.
In that moment, a clear emotion appeared on his aged face for the first time.
“I see… your potion-making skills… have actually surpassed this old man?”
……
……
“Who was that just now…?”
Walking alongside her senior in a secluded alley, Mu’en couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked.
“Let’s say he’s my adoptive father,” Anna said softly, brushing aside the strands of hair that the gentle breeze had tousled.
“Adoptive father?”
“I once told my junior that I grew up in an orphanage.”
Anna looked up, gazing through the thin clouds at the distant light of the sky.
“The rule in the orphanage is that after turning eleven, you must leave and learn to survive on your own.”
“Eleven?”
Mu En was taken aback. “That’s too young, isn’t it? What can an eleven-year-old do?”
“Not too young. In the lower district, eleven is already old enough to survive on your own.”
Anna spoke these harsh realities with a lightness in her words.
Mu En fell silent.
It suddenly struck him that this was not the modern world of his past life, where productivity was high enough to ensure everyone had enough to eat. In a peaceful country, there was no way an eleven-year-old would be forced to fend for themselves.
In this world, despite the powerful magic, advanced alchemy, and unspeakable great deities, the lower class remained quite backward.
Every day in the lower district, many people still went hungry.
“It can’t be helped. The orphanage has to do this to help more people, but those years in the orphanage were the easiest and happiest times of my life, so I am very grateful to the orphanage.”
Anna clasped her hands behind her back, tilting her head playfully.
“Junior, you mustn’t speak ill of the orphanage.”
“How could I? I should be thankful that the orphanage raised such a beautiful senior,” Mu En replied with a slight smile.
“You still know how to flatter me.”
Anna’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she continued, “But compared to other children, I was quite lucky. The year I left the orphanage, he adopted me.”
“That old man?”
“Yes, he’s a strange and mysterious old fellow. He never told me his name or his identity. That shop hardly had any customers except for a few regulars, but he didn’t care at all. Every time I returned, he would be lying in his rocking chair, dozing off, as if he could sleep forever.
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Even now, I still don’t know how to address him.”
“But it feels like that old man cares a lot about you,” Mu En remarked.
“Yes.”
After a pause, Anna gently nodded. “Perhaps. Although he has a peculiar temperament, I must admit that all my skills—potions, magic, how to survive in this world—he taught me all of it.
Without him, there would be no me today.”
Anna turned her head, looking back at the end of the alley.
That little shop stood in the place where withered leaves fell, lonely and eternal, as if it would always keep its door open, waiting for her return.
Just like it always had.
“That stubborn old man, moving him into a new home… he surely wouldn’t be willing, right?” she whispered softly.
Looking at Anna, Mu En’s gaze flickered once more.
“Senior.”
“Mm?”
“We will definitely be able to come back, for sure.”
“…Mm.”
……
……
As they crossed that particularly secluded street, Mu En’s vision suddenly opened up.
A wide river cut through the lush green fields, merging with two other equally broad rivers not far away, creating a magnificent scene like the sea, then winding into the horizon amidst a sea of phosphorescence.
Belrand is not by the sea, but three rivers flow through the city. Besides the most famous Gulein River, the other two, named “Yaz” and “Gloi,” each have their own unique scenery.
By the riverbank, scattered abandoned buildings hid among the deep greens and withered yellows, as Anna and Mu En walked in step, leisurely moving forward.
“This place is…”
Yet Mu En couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Although it was Senior who led this outing to “win him over,” this kind of place felt too unfamiliar to him.
“This is a place I often came to as a child.”
Anna walked past those old buildings, her fingers gently brushing against the verdant walls and statues, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
“Actually, I don’t have much experience with dates either. I don’t really know what we should do, and right now, I probably can’t just appear in public, so I could only bring my junior to a place like this.”
Anna turned back apologetically, “You won’t blame me, will you?”
“Of course not.”
Mu En smiled.
“As long as I’m with you, Senior, anywhere is fine.”
“…”
Suddenly, Anna turned around, giving Mu En a playful glare.
“Am I the one winning you over, or are you winning me over, you little scoundrel?”
“Of course, it’s you winning me over, Senior.”
Mu En blinked.
“Why don’t you tell me about your past?”
“My past? There’s nothing interesting to share.”
“To deepen our understanding, isn’t that a necessary part of a date?”
“Then why don’t you share about your past first?”
“My past?”
Mu En scratched his head, feeling awkward as he said:
“The senior will get angry if she hears it.”
After all, the old Mu En Campbell hadn’t done many good things in the past.
“…Junior.”
“Uh?”
“Can I kick you?”
“Eh? Ah… the black stockings are great, no, that hurts!”
“…You really are a pervert, Junior.”
Anna retracted her long legs wrapped in black stockings, sighing with a hint of melancholy.
Then, she extended a delicate hand toward Mu En.
“Uh?”
While Mu En rubbed his sore calf, he looked at Anna’s fair hand with confusion.
“The road ahead won’t be easy, and…”
Anna tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze slightly averted, a blush appearing on her pretty face.
“I read in a book that isn’t it common to hold hands on a date?”
“Holding hands.”
Mu En swallowed hard, feeling a bit parched.
His heart couldn’t help but start racing again.
He never expected the senior would take the initiative to suggest holding hands.
Could this be some new form of teasing?
Mu En carefully examined that jade-like hand, wondering if it concealed some hidden mechanism that would shock him the moment he touched it, leaving him with an explosive hairstyle, while the senior would laugh uncontrollably.
“What’s wrong? Junior, are you unwilling?”
“Of course I’m willing!”
Without any hesitation, Mu En grasped her hand.
Even if it was a prank, he would accept it.
After all, he probably couldn’t resist the senior’s teasing for the rest of his life, could he?
But this time, it wasn’t a prank; Mu En truly held that small hand.
The senior’s hand was even smaller and softer than Mu En had imagined, delicate and fragile, fitting perfectly in his palm.
It was just a bit cold.
“Let’s go.”
Anna, unusually shy, quickly turned back and pulled Mu En to continue walking forward.
Next, it was the mountain path.
The rugged steps wound steeply upward, and at the lush green summit, sharp corners of rooftops could be faintly seen.
The path was indeed difficult, swaying all the way.
But in reality, with the strength of these two, there shouldn’t be a mountain path that would make them feel it was hard to traverse.
What was swaying was, in fact, their hearts.
…
“I used to be quite a wild girl, I suppose. The thing I loved most was to run around in desolate, eerie places like this.”
“Eh, I can’t tell at all.”
“Everyone has times that are completely different from now, right?”
Anna lifted her head, looking at the migratory birds flying out from the forest not far away.
Perhaps that was the last batch of birds staying here; soon, they would fly south to spend the winter, and then return when spring blooms next year.
She wondered if she would still be able to see them.
“This is a deserted village I stumbled upon. It’s quite common in places around Beirlande; everyone has moved to the city, and naturally, the villages have fallen into ruin one by one.
Back then, I would wander through these vine-covered buildings, imagining they were castles, and I was a witch living in a castle, studying dark magic.”
“Not a princess?”
“Not at all.”
Anna gently shook her head.
“A princess can only wait foolishly for a prince to come and save her. If the prince doesn’t come, then it’s all over.”
Mu En was taken aback.
“But a witch is different. A witch doesn’t need anyone to save her; she will struggle with all her knowledge and dark magic. Even if she fails, at least she can curse her fate with abandon before she dies, can’t she?”
After traversing the rugged mountain path, the two arrived at the summit.
An abandoned church came into Mu En’s view.
Half of the church had already collapsed under the erosion of time and rain, but before the church, the statue of the goddess of life, Emilia, still stood, her hands gently cradling, compassionately looking down upon all things in the world.
“Let’s go up,” Anna suddenly said.
“Eh? Up? But that’s the goddess’s statue?”
Before Mu En could finish speaking, Anna leaped up, lightly touching the folds at the waist of the statue, elegantly sitting on the goddess’s outstretched hand.
Mu En’s gaze instantly sharpened, not only because the senior was sitting on the statue in such a disrespectful manner, but also because from this angle…
It seemed possible to glimpse the sacred realm through the black silk and skirt…
“Junior…”
Anna pressed down her skirt and playfully said:
“Come up quickly.”
“…I’m coming.”
Mu En wasn’t a believer of the Life Church, so naturally, he didn’t feel any psychological pressure. Following his senior’s words, he leaped onto her palm.
Well, to be honest, this position is quite comfortable.
Not only was the size just right, but because her palm tilted slightly inward, as he sat there, Mu En felt himself leaning against his senior, side by side.
Close enough to hear each other’s breathing.
At that moment, Mu En noticed that the direction the goddess was facing was actually a steep cliff, with the vast waters of the confluence of three rivers below, and further away…
Before he could take a good look, his senior gently pressed down on his head, directing him to look down.
“Don’t look up yet, look there.”
Following the direction his senior pointed, Mu En looked down.
Below the cliff, a fisherman was pulling in his net, clearly very pleased, as even from this distance, Mu En could see the large, plump fish he was dragging up from the water.
“Senior… do you like fish?”
“I used to like them very much.”
“Used to?”
“The days in the orphanage were quite tough; we could only have meat once or twice a month. But fortunately, I was good at swimming from a young age, so whenever I went out, I would secretly catch fish to eat.
The orphanage was very strict, so back then, I always took advantage of the early morning, before it got bright, to climb over the wall and come to this place to play. When I got hungry, I’d catch fish to eat, and when I got tired, I would take out the extra fish I caught and sell them at the market to buy books to read. I would often lose track of time and sneak back late with candies for others, only to inevitably be given a good scolding by the matron of the orphanage.”
Watching his senior support her cheek and vividly describe how fierce and scary the matron of the orphanage was, Mu En couldn’t help but chuckle:
“Senior, were you this mischievous back then?”
“I’m still quite mischievous now.” Anna turned her head and playfully winked, “Didn’t you notice?”
Mu En felt his heart flutter again.
“And then, at the age of eleven, I left the orphanage and was taken in by an old man. Under his strict guidance, I learned potions and magic. I learned quickly, and before long, I could study independently. A few years later, I entered the academy, and to facilitate research, I established the Ancient Potion Society, and finally…
I met you, junior.
That’s all my past life, isn’t it boring?”
Anna tilted her head, gazing into Mu En’s eyes, using the most ordinary words to depict her seemingly ordinary life.
Mu En looked back at her, feeling a bit reluctant.
“Senior.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you always been alone?”
“Hmm?”
Mu En slowly raised his hand, reaching out towards Anna.
After cautiously peering into her eyes and confirming that she felt no disgust, he gently caressed her cheek and said tenderly:
“In your story, from the orphanage to being adopted, and then to the academy, aside from a few necessary interactions, and collecting materials for healing, it seems… there have never been others. No friends, no family. Have you always been alone?”
Anna paused for a moment, then gently rubbed against Mu En’s palm, smiling nonchalantly as she replied:
“Junior, you know, I don’t know when I might turn into a monster, so getting too close to people brings misfortune.”
“…”
Mu En’s breath caught suddenly, a tremendous, tearing pain enveloping his heart.
He suddenly recalled the first time he followed his senior to visit the potion classroom. Just before leaving, she had stood alone by the window, gazing out, so lonely.
“What about me? Why does my senior keep approaching me?”
“At first, it was because I heard that you were a famous playboy, and I wanted to gather materials from you or those around you. But later…”
A hint of confusion appeared on Anna’s delicate face as she looked into the distance, softly murmuring:
“Later, I didn’t really know why. I just felt it was a bit hard to separate myself from you.”
“Well, that is—”
Mu En was about to say something when Anna extended a finger to press against his lips.
“Don’t speak yet; you can turn your head now.” Anna’s eyes sparkled with an inexplicable light as she spoke mysteriously.
“Turn my head?”
Only then did Mu En realize that his senior had seemingly been deliberately preventing him from looking out into the distance.
Is there something there?
With this question in mind, Mu En turned to look into the distance.
And then—
A massive sunset filled his vision.
The crimson glow rolled like a tide, engulfing everything. The majestic sun gently touched the vast waters, the shimmering waves resembling a goddess’s veil, flowing with the romantic ripples, then divided into ethereal silhouettes by passing sailboats and their calls.
Just a few minutes ago, it had been an ordinary sun, but now it seemed ignited by the strangest magic in the world, casting a fiery red light over the emerald hills and clear waves, like a vividly colored oil painting, breathtakingly beautiful.
“What is this…”
Mu En couldn’t help but be mesmerized. As a traveler from that steel jungle, he had never seen such beauty.
No, even in Mu En Campbell’s memories, this world had never been… so breathtakingly beautiful.
“Just as you said, Junior, my first half of life has actually been quite dull. So I don’t know what constitutes a perfect date, I don’t know what love is, and I don’t know how to touch someone’s heart.
I certainly can’t do what you do, giving precious gems and gifts.
So—”
Anna hugged her legs, resting her cheek on her knees, her gem-like eyes reflecting the sunset, the clouds, and the boy’s astonished face. It was like that little girl running wildly across the mountains, who, upon encountering this breathtaking scene for the first time, joyfully and dreamily said:
“I can only give you the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen in my life, junior.”