Chapter 49 The Green House of Life He touched her hand, then darted away like lightning...

“Zack, I think I’ve made contact with her.” A little girl’s voice said in the darkness, sounding very familiar.

“Uh, you mean that mind-link thing? But Ashlin didn’t use it anymore,” a boy’s voice said.

"That's right, but it seems to be interconnected now! But it seems that it only works in extreme situations."

The boy's voice became tense: "An extreme situation? Is she going to die?"

Ashlin struggled to open her eyes, then wondered if she had actually opened them at all. All around was pitch blackness, nothingness.

"Ashlin! Are you alright? Are you alive?"

A huge red dot appeared, accompanied by a small gray dot.

Ashlin exclaimed in delight, "Aisusa and Zak!"

She rushed forward to embrace the dragon, but missed. Moreover, apart from the two of them, the surroundings remained completely dark.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

“You’re in our spiritual connection,” the red baby dragon said cheerfully. “Zack and I found an abandoned library. The book said that the spiritual connection between a dragon trainer and a dragon can be triggered in extreme situations where the other is extremely weak, forming a new space! Then I used some dragon magic to bring Zack in too.”

“It wasn’t voluntary,” the mouse muttered. “It’s too dark here, Aisousa, I can’t see anything.”

Aisusa sniffed Ashlin with concern: "So what happened to you? Why did this extreme situation occur?"

"Starving? Can't that cat catch you some fish?" Zack asked.

“It’s a long story, but I don’t have any fish here,” Ashlin said. “Don’t worry, I think I’ll wake up soon. How’s your journey?”

Aisusa flapped its wings, and a gust of wind swept across Ashlin's face.

“That was fantastic! First, we went to find my clan, and I found many cousins. Everyone was so friendly! Then Zack said he wanted to continue traveling the world, so we went to many more places and met goblins, vampires, siren, and even another kind of dragon from the east. Can you imagine? That kind of dragon doesn't breathe fire, but it can ride on clouds!”

“They look like worms,” Zach added.

“What did you say? They are absolutely beautiful. Ashlin, you must go and see them someday.” The dragon’s golden eyes gleamed. “The outside world is much bigger than you can imagine.”

“I will,” Ashlin promised, “but we still need to defeat the dark wizard and break the prince’s curse.”

"A journal? What journal?"

Aesusa's influence suddenly flickered. Ashlin felt a thread in her mind being gently tugged, teetering on the edge, and the image of Lucas the cat flashed by.

“The journal of the knight-errant Fernando,” Aisusa explained. “He lived hundreds of years ago, a true explorer. He wrote a travel journal, which he hid in an abandoned library, and we found it! The journal only has the first half, but it’s enough. We are following in his footsteps.”

Ashley's heart pounded.

Fernando, Fernando… She quickly grasped the name from her jumbled thoughts. The name on the letter.

When she wrote to Sanova asking, "The tasteless one dwells in the West, drinking tears," what did he reply with?

“Aisuza, tell me everything you know about Fernando.”

“Oh, I don’t know much about it, mainly because I don’t recognize the common human script, and neither does Zak,” Aisuza said. “We can only barely understand his travel route. If you really need it, like I said, we’re flying towards Dias, and I can bring you the logbook.”

How many more days will you be flying?

"Really? Why?" Ashlin asked curiously, but Aisusa's figure became intermittent. She had no time to waste. "Aisusa, please come to the northernmost orc forest outside Dias and meet us as soon as possible."

The dragon blinked: "I will."

Their images both began to blur.

“He was very thin and had very dark hair,” Zach said.

It sounds like there are huge crowds.

“He possesses grey magic,” Aisuza replied immediately, “and his clothes smell very fresh!”

“But there are too many people like that. Gray is also very common in wizarding magic, just like brown.”

All wizards' magic has a color, regardless of race, whether they are divine beings born with innate divine power or ordinary people who learn it later in life. The color of magic is linked to the spellcaster's soul, and Ashlin, as a child of the forest, also possesses magic as green as the forest itself.

However, gray, brown, and beige are all ordinary colors, which could be found in anyone who studies magic.

“No, Ashlin. I think this is important,” Aisusa said seriously. “His magic is lifeless, unlike any other wizard I’ve ever seen… unlike yours. I can smell the fragrance of trees and earth in your magic, but his magic is the gloom emanating from corpses.”

Ashlin frowned, her brows barely visible. "But...but Lucas said Knox should be a descendant of gods like me, most likely a descendant of the moon goddess, because he's a follower of Cynthia, a moon worshipper. Ordinary people can't learn spells like time loops. Would magic from a descendant of the moon goddess give a dragon that kind of feeling?"

As far as she knew, Heliana, the sun goddess, was the master of sunlight and order; Silvina, the forest goddess, was the guardian of forests and nature; and Santorius, the god of death, was the balancer of life and death.

Celeste, the goddess of the moon, is the creator of the moon, the night, and dreams.

It shouldn't involve a corpse.

Zack screamed, "What?!"

Her voice was gradually replaced by another familiar voice.

"Ashlin, Ash? Are you alright?"

Ashley, her eyes closed, was somewhat surprised by the obvious nervousness in Lucas's voice. She had never heard him speak like that before.

She made a conscious decision and decided to open her eyes a few seconds later.

A warm hand gently patted her face. It was the hand of Lucas, a human. She seemed to have been unconscious for quite some time; it was already midnight.

“Ash, please wake up, please.” His voice trembled. “It’s all my fault. I should have stopped you from casting magic in such a weak state! God, what was I thinking? What were you thinking? Did you get a cactus in your head?”

Ashlin forcibly suppressed the urge to frown.

That's slander, absolutely. Her mind is full of beautiful green plants!

He sighed deeply. Ashlin felt him touch her hand, then pull away in a flash, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

“It was all my fault from the beginning… If I hadn’t been so stupid, you wouldn’t have had to go through this farce with me, sacrificing everything to save everyone.” He whispered, his last words barely audible, “What would I have done without you?”

Ashlin thought that if she didn't wake up soon, this guy might bury her. She had only fainted from hunger! There was no need to make such a fuss.

So she chose to wake up.

As her vision gradually cleared, she wondered if she had truly woken up yet.

The whole house has changed.

The fireplace burned with a warm flame, emerald vines climbed the walls, and golden-orange flowers bloomed generously, as bright as the afternoon sun. All the dust had miraculously disappeared, as if a cleaning fairy had cast a spell.

The lifeless furniture was now covered in moss, and even a few tiny mushrooms had sprouted from it. The dull smell had vanished, and the room was filled with a refreshing fragrance.

Billy Mara lay peacefully in his flower-filled bed, showing no sign of coughing. Ray had returned to his original form and was also sleeping quietly with Mr. Mara.

Only Lucas was awake, kneeling almost reverently beside her bed.

What surprised her even more was that he actually...

Its entire body is covered with blue flowers, scattered like stars.

Pale blue forget-me-nots were scattered in his hair, on his cat ears, and on his cloak. The flowers were exquisite and beautiful, as if carefully pruned from a corner of the sky, making his eyes appear even more azure.

She followed the blue flower to his eyes, where something glistened at the corner of his eye.

When Ashlin opened her eyes, he jumped up suddenly, then broke into a smile.

Ashley! How are you feeling?

Ashlinn didn't answer, but squinted. "Lucas, were you crying?"

"What did you say?" Lucas quickly rubbed his eyes. "I have a pollen allergy."

Ashlyn raised an eyebrow: "You're worried about me."

“Great, but… I’m a little hungry,” Ashley admitted.

Lucas quickly handed her a piece of bread. The bread was warm and smelled of wheat. She didn't care about her image and wolfed it down.

"Yes. You released a strong green light and a refreshing breeze, which seemed to come from the forest, mixed with the scent of leaves and earth. Then the room was filled with green, Billy was cured, and Ray and Mr. Mara were so surprised they almost fainted... As for me, when I was still a cat, I was covered in forget-me-nots; now, past midnight, even as a human, I'm still covered in them, and I can't shake them off."

“I don’t understand.” Ashlin swallowed a large bite of bread, the aroma of milk and flour intoxicating her. “Why?”

Lucas shook his head, causing the small blue flower to tremble but not fall. "I don't know, but I suspect... the orc high priest's magic also comes from the forest goddess. Although she isn't a divine descendant, she possesses similar power. She may have influenced you, unleashing some of your potential. However, as for why she couldn't cure Billy, but you could, that remains unknown. Perhaps only a true divine descendant could cure his illness?"

"So what's with the flowers on you? They suit you very well, by the way."

Lucas glared at her, annoyed. "You're asking me, Miss Witch? I really have to thank your dear magic for turning me into a cat, giving me cat ears and a cat tail, and now planting flowers all over me. Shouldn't I be the one to bear fruit next?"

"I don't want to be a flower fairy, thank you so much."

He paused.

“Listen, your magic… you shouldn’t have used it recklessly in that state. You were very hungry, and you used most of your magic on chopping down pine trees and casting illusions. You were just lucky to wake up.”

“I think so,” Ashlin said. “Oh, and…” She told Lucas about her conversation with Aisusa and Zach. Lucas’s pupils dilated.

"Fernando's log... How interesting. Fernando the Ranger... Is he really a ranger? The name Fernando sounds familiar, he seems to be..."

However, he couldn't remember and shook his head.

“I don’t really want to,” Ashlind said deliberately.

Lucas looked at her helplessly, then gave a slightly sly smile.

“In that case, there’s only one way to achieve a balance,” he said, gently plucking a dandelion from the flowers that grew on the ground and tucking it into her golden hair above her ear.

His hand lightly brushed against the tip of her ear, causing a tickle.

Ashley hoped she wasn't blushing. She wanted to say something sarcastic, but the words stuck to her tongue like crumbs of biscuit.

"Ugh, how cloying." Ray's voice came from behind Lucas. "Are you flower fairies or what?"

They both retreated rapidly in opposite directions. Mara and her family woke up and used their claws to peel off several vines that were wrapped around them.

Ray smiled, rushed to Ashlin, and hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, little witch! You healed Billy!" she said, moved. "I don't know how to thank you enough."

Ashlin smiled with delight: "Thank you, sir!"

"After hearing what you did to my house, the High Priestess became very interested in you. She said you are more powerful than she thought, which is strange."

“Not at all surprising, Ashlin is the Child of the Forest,” Lucas said, sounding somewhat proud for some reason. “Her forest magic might even be stronger than the High Priest’s.”

To Ashlin's surprise, the three leopards knelt down.

“Great son of the forest, you must have been sent by Silvina.” Mr. Mara clasped his hands together. “May the soil of the forest forever nourish you.”

“Good heavens, please get up,” Ashlin said in a panic. “No need for that… I’m thousands of generations removed from Sylvina.”

She quickly pulled them up.

Billy hugged her too, his furry body enveloping her, and Ashlin felt warm and cozy.

“You are my savior, Ashlin. I have never felt so... alive.”

Ashlinn patted him on the shoulder. She was no longer the little witch who would mess things up; she had truly saved a life with her own power.

"Alright, alright! It's nothing really, just a little spell..."

Next, Mr. Mara brought out a steaming pot of stew, the rich aroma of meat mingling with the refreshing scent of rosemary. Large chunks of rabbit meat were stewed until tender, and the carrots, soaked in the broth, looked incredibly tempting.

Ashlin held the bowl and drank heartily, the soup turning into a warm current that dispelled her last weakness and chill.

“By the way, Billy,” Lucas asked casually after finishing his soup, “I’m a little curious, how did you get this disease?”

Billy shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's cold."

"What was your last memory before you fell ill and went into a coma?"

He never asked pointless questions. Clearly, Lucas had discovered something, but hadn't told her yet.

However, this is a very common question, and it's perfectly normal to answer it.

However, Billy and Ray put down their bowls at the same time. Ray glanced at Billy sharply, while Billy was stunned.

He stared blankly at his bowl.