Signpost (1)

Like an animal drawing a territory with its urine, what's the difference between that and drawing a prison around one's own feet? Now, Mi is imprisoned in the Witch's Forest as a conscious prisoner. This transparent enclosure of the Witch's Forest is like a walled, transparent cage. Those outside observe her every move, and sensing her desire to escape, they send her a guide. She must follow the guide's instructions; otherwise, she will lose consciousness and become an unconscious prisoner, stubbornly guarding the circle she has drawn for herself.

Mi didn't know if El was telling the truth, but the scene El described terrified her. She didn't want to become a confined animal. Mi realized that things had subtly changed since she defined cardinal directions in this limited space; now she had a guide. Mi felt she had been dragged into an experiment, becoming a subject, while the observers outside kept adding different variables to the box to test her. Now there was another guiding stone, so she asked, "Is the guiding stone really that important?"

“Yes, the guiding stone is very important,” El said after thinking for a moment. “The guiding stone can be said to be the most important thing for a shaman.”

"Most important?" Mi repeated in a low voice, "Without the guiding stone, one can only be a sorcerer in this forest; with the guiding stone, one can leave this forest?"

“Uh, the guiding stone isn’t what you think it is.” El didn’t know why Mi was always thinking about leaving, so she tried to organize her thoughts: “The guiding stone is to keep you from getting lost. To leave here, you also need a witch body. To put it another way, you can’t create a witch body without a guiding stone.”

"Witch body? What's that?" Mi looked down at a large drop of ink; she had assumed it was her body. Now it seemed the person conducting the experiment outside was quite cautious, adding things little by little, ultimately creating a new person?

"The witch's body is the body that allows you to walk in the outside world."

It really was about creating a new person. Mi became interested. What would that body be like? Would it be able to fly like El? It was amazing! Mi couldn't resist wanting to obtain the witch's body. She even asked nervously, "How can I obtain the witch's body?"

“You need to find your guiding stone first,” El said, pointing to the Witch Forest. “In the Witch Forest, and only in the Witch Forest, you can find your guiding stone and find your own heart.”

"My heart—" Mi raised her hand to touch where her heart used to be, but there was no longer a pounding heartbeat. "I am a person without a heart," Mi suddenly thought of the wooden figure, and an indescribable sorrow washed over her. Mi thought that even though she no longer had a heart, she would still feel sadness. The stories of those elders, each one of them saddened her; if she were still human, perhaps she would shed a lot of tears for them.

Mi shook her head: "The guiding stone can't be here. I've searched everywhere in this forest." Mi stood up and pointed to the big rock she was sitting on, saying, "This is the only place in this forest with a rock this big."

“The guiding stone is your heart. Since you’ve come here, you must have a heart,” El told her. “You must be sure of your heart and find your direction. As long as you don’t get lost, the guiding stone will not disappear.”

"Not lost?" Mi repeated the question. Yes, she had always felt lost, and the direction of this forest was something she had randomly chosen; in reality, she had long since lost all sense of direction. Mi looked up at the tightly closed purple flowers and asked, "Are the elders all lost?"

"I think so, they don't know where they're going."

“Aren’t they running away?” Mi Xiang thought as the elder continued, “The elder can’t face himself. He’s unwilling to admit that he’s wrong, so he can only keep saying that others are wrong. But his heart knows that he is wrong. He can no longer put his knowledge into practice, so he hides here and runs away from everything.”

“The Grand Elder is a good man, you shouldn’t say that about him,” Qiao couldn’t help but say from the side.

“Good people,” Mi asked noncommittally, “you know that sometimes good people are the ones who do the most mistakes, right?”

"Why do you say that?" El stopped Joe. Everyone in the Witchwood thought the Elder was a responsible and good man, and everyone knew he was caught in a dilemma between family and country. El thought for a moment and said, "The Elder not only loves his country and family, but he also took on the role of a mother to his daughter. At least that's not wrong, is it?"

"A father taking on the role of a mother?" Mi looked at the beautiful El before her, so wise and insightful. Could she have been an animal who cultivated into a human, and never had a father during her upbringing? Mi couldn't help but ask, "Are you human? Oh, I mean, were you ever human? Have you ever seen your father?"

“Of course, I was once a human being, and I had a father.” El looked puzzled; she didn’t understand why Mi asked that question.

“Isn’t it a father’s duty to raise his daughter? How does that mean the father is taking on the mother’s role?” Mi was getting agitated. She stood up and kept circling the stone. “Just because he’s a father, does that mean he has no responsibility to raise his daughter? Is it that daughters can only be raised by their mothers, and children without mothers should die?”

“Don’t be so irritable,” Joe said gently. “Al means that the father earns money to support the family, and the mother raises the children.”

"Are you saying that a man gives a woman food, and then that woman has to give birth to his children, do housework, and raise the children?" Mi became even more agitated. She stood still and shouted at Joe, "Why? Women from Avila can also get food by working as nannies, and they don't need to have children for their masters."

“They’re raising other people’s children too.” Qiao didn’t know why Mi had suddenly become so fierce, so he muttered softly.

“Yes, they raise other people’s children. They don’t have to risk their lives to give birth themselves, nor do they have to sleep with the male employer. They still get food and a salary.” Mi suddenly realized something and looked at young Joe: “You’ve never had a child, have you?”

Joe shook her head and hid behind El. She was a little afraid of Mi now. She didn't understand why Mi was suddenly so angry. Why would such a good person as the Grand Elder be described as so despicable in her words? Joe kept her mouth shut. She suddenly realized that Mi hadn't said anything, but she had changed her mind. Why would she use the word "despicable" to describe the Grand Elder?

“You’re right,” El stepped in front of Joe and said to Mi, “At least the Grand Elder raised his daughter and fulfilled his responsibilities as a father. He was a good father.”

“A good father?” Mi looked at El in front of her, and she roughly understood what the person outside the box wanted to instill in her. But Mi had no intention of giving in. She quickly racked her brains, thinking of how to turn El against her: “Have you ever had a child?”

“Of course, I’ve had several children.” El’s expression suddenly turned cold, and she almost gritted her teeth as she answered Mi’s question.

“So you know that a woman has to—” Mi stretched out her hands and drew circles in front of her, “A woman has to carry a child for ten months, her belly will grow big, her skin will become tight, she will walk slowly, and she will urinate anytime, anywhere, completely unable to control herself, and then she has to give birth to such a big child from here.” Mi gestured a round head and a small body, and she pointed to her lower abdomen and said, “Here the bones will crack, the skin will tear, and blood will flow out along with the child. Do you know how painful childbirth is? This pain is not something that can be relieved by taking a breath or two. Sometimes it lasts a day, sometimes two days, and sometimes it can even cost you your life, just like the Great Elder’s wife.”

El clutched her chest, breathing heavily, and painfully replied to Mi, "Yes, I know, I know everything." Jo stood up from behind El, stroking her back, and hugged her, glaring angrily at Mi.

"Are you trying to say that this is how all women give birth?" Mi looked at Qiao's angry gaze; she was still just a little girl. Mi sighed and continued, "The technology at the Grand Elder's place is very advanced; they have artificial wombs. Women don't need to get pregnant and give birth themselves; the children can grow up in artificial wombs, as long as the father and mother provide the blood they need to grow."

Qiao was momentarily stunned, then she remembered and nodded: "An artificial womb is a good thing."

"You, who have never given birth, know that an artificial womb is a good thing. Doesn't the Grand Elder know that?"

Al looked up and met Joe's gaze. Joe asked, puzzled, "Why would anyone give birth to a child when there are artificial wombs?"

"Are you surprised?" Mi looked at Qiao and nodded. She continued, "It's not surprising. There's a place where wealthy families employ many servants: those who manage the kitchen, those who tend the fire, those who sweep the floor, and those who hold the master's dog. Each master is attended to by several maids and servants. But when this family eats, the mother-in-law doesn't lift a finger; she waits for her daughter-in-law to stand behind her and serve her. Oh, and the maids and servants just watch, watching the young mistress serve the old lady. If they don't even use servants in such a household, how could they possibly use a machine?"

Qiao blushed and stammered, unable to speak. She lowered her head and softly called El's name. El regained her senses and said longingly, "The artificial womb is such a wonderful thing." El sighed. She could understand why the Grand Elder couldn't leave, but she still said, "The Grand Elder is a good father to his daughter. If she listens to her father, she can live a safe life."

“Listen to her father?” Mi became increasingly agitated, almost viciously saying, “His daughter is a person, a living, breathing person, not a tool he controls in the name of his father.”

Mittorie sat down on the rock, looking at the two people in front of her, and said softly, "You've both had children, don't you know that the desires of men and women can't be resisted? Her daughter died because of childbirth, not because of love. With an artificial womb, her daughter wouldn't have died; it's not like there aren't any on Kabla. The Grand Elder's wife getting pregnant herself could be explained by his ignorance of her genetic issues; but what excuse does he have for his daughter?"

“He—” El stammered, unable to understand how this witch, who didn’t even have a guiding stone, could completely shatter the image of the Grand Elder as a responsible and good man in just a few words. El sighed deeply: “At least the Grand Elder isn’t a bad person.”

“Yes, he’s not a bad person, but he doesn’t deserve the title of ‘good person’ that you all speak of. I suppose he knows this himself, which is why he’s been hiding in the dormant flower.” Mi actually suspected that these elders were just temporary actors who came out together to put on a show for her. They wanted to instill in her the idea that “men are the gods,” but they also had to pretend that “this is the Witch Forest.”

El and Joe pondered for a long time. Seeing they remained silent, Mi turned and left. El, the guide, was reflecting on her words; perhaps she could persuade El to let her go. Mi returned to the south bank of the forest, the most beautiful spot in the entire forest. The blue sky, white clouds, green grass, and red flowers were soothing; this was where Mi had lingered the longest. Mi used ink drops to paint on the dome, creating one adorable ink figure after another. Behind each figure were slowly drifting white clouds, a shimmering river, and a free breeze surely blowing outside.