Joe
El recalled the day he first saw Joe; a small figure huddled beneath the Tree of Thought, the guiding stone beside him round, without a pointer. El crouched down to study this newly appeared man. His body, seemingly mature enough, was curled up with all his might, trembling for some unknown reason, his eyes tightly shut, refusing to communicate with this world. El felt a certain disdain for Joe. How could such a useless man have come to the Forest of Witches? How could he become a witch who had traveled to different worlds?
At that time, El hadn't been out for a long time and was bored to death in the Witch Forest. Joe's appearance aroused El's curiosity like a new toy. El forcibly opened Joe's consciousness eye. Joe's rabbit-like eyes flashed with "confusion, familiarity, peace of mind and hope" after seeing Joe.
Elle didn't know how she could see so many emotions in those evasive eyes. Even though she hadn't gotten Joe's Witch's Belt yet, when Elle finally got it, she was stunned. Joe hadn't seen such a kind and weak man in a long time. His only act of resistance was for his little sister.
Qiao was born into an official family in the late Qing Dynasty. His father's official rank was not high, and the Qiao family was not a Manchu bannerman. Qiao's father placed great importance on his children's upbringing and education. At a young age, Qiao left his mother's residence in the back courtyard and went to study with a tutor in the front courtyard, accompanied by an old woman. The tutor was a very strict man, and Qiao was often punished with a spanking. Not being particularly bright, Qiao became terrified of school after the beatings, but was forced to go due to his father's authority. Thus, little Qiao began each new day with a mixture of trepidation and a desperate attempt to rouse himself.
Qiao has two younger sisters. The elder sister is from her aunt's family and is about the same age as her. The younger sister is Qiao's full sister and is three years younger than her. Her aunt died in childbirth when she gave birth to her elder sister, and the elder sister was raised by her mother. The servants all knew that the elder sister was her aunt's daughter and didn't care much for her. When her mother was pregnant with her younger sister, the elder sister fell into a lake on a cold day and suffered from a chronic illness ever since.
Like Qiao, the younger sister was born of the principal wife and was pampered. Even at a young age, she would chase flowers and butterflies, and tug at her father's beard—she did all sorts of things. It wasn't until she was five years old and saw Qiao going to school every day that her father scolded her for her misbehavior, saying, "You're already so immoral at such a young age, what will you be like when you grow up?" He told her mother to curb her sister's temper, "Learn from your older sister what true virtue and gentleness are!"
The mother bound the feet of both her younger sisters. The older sister sat quietly, comforting the younger one, who kept struggling, trying to tear off the bindings, crying loudly and throwing a tantrum. Qiao watched from the yard as her mother held the younger sister, tears streaming down her face. "Who told you to be born a girl? If you were a boy like your brother, you could go to school." "Your father didn't care about girls' affairs, but you insisted on going to school, which made him remember to bind your feet." The mother cried as she held her younger daughter, "I had my feet bound myself, how could I bear to let you sisters suffer like that? I thought your father had forgotten, and that when you were older, it would be too late to bind them, but who knew you would be so stubborn and upset him?" The mother's eyes were red, one arm holding her younger daughter, the other pounding her chest.
Joe had never seen her mother cry. Her mother was always gentle, with a faint, gentle smile always on her lips. Joe especially envied her little sister, who could cling to her mother, snuggle in her arms, and make many capricious requests, which her mother always responded to and fulfilled.
“My mother is always overly polite to me,” Qiao thought. Every day when Qiao got up to visit his mother, she would sit in the hall and repeat the same three questions over and over again: “Is Qiao sleeping well?” “Is Qiao dressed warmly?” “What did Qiao eat for breakfast?” Qiao didn’t need to answer these questions; the old woman would answer them for him. Qiao felt that he was there to give his mother and the old woman a reason to talk to each other.
It wasn't until this day that Qiao realized his mother was pitiful, and his sisters were pitiful too, though he didn't know why. But little Qiao tried his best to comfort his mother and sister, saving his allowance to buy candied hawthorns and bringing back beautiful calligraphy to show his mother. His sister angrily tore up Qiao's calligraphy, but Qiao just smiled. Later, his mother said, "Qiao, don't bring these things back and upset your sister." Qiao vaguely knew his mother didn't want him to show off in front of his sister, so one day he pretended to have angered his teacher and gotten his hand swollen from a beating. Qiao held up his swollen hand and cried to his mother. His sister saw this, tilted her head, and blew on Qiao's swollen hand, saying, "Sister, blow on it, and brother won't feel pain anymore. Going to school is bad, brother won't go to school."
Later, Joe's father used his connections to send him to study in France. Before going to France, his younger sister got married; her husband was also a student studying in France like him. Before he had finished his studies, Joe's father passed away, and Joe had to return home to manage the household affairs. At this time, Joe was very stressed every day, not knowing what to do. If it weren't for his mother and sister managing the household affairs and the family property, Joe didn't know if he would have quickly squandered the family fortune.
Three years passed, and Qiao stayed home under the guise of mourning. After the mourning period ended, Qiao's eldest sister died in childbirth. The clan demanded that his second sister marry into the family as a second wife to continue the marriage. However, Qiao's brother-in-law brought back a foreign woman and said he wanted to take her as his wife. The in-laws chose to compromise. The foreign woman went out to live with Qiao's brother-in-law as a concubine, while Qiao's second sister lived with her parents-in-law in the ancestral home as the legal wife.
Joe had seen the foreign woman; she was healthy, beautiful, and full of vitality. Joe knew his brother-in-law wouldn't leave her, but he couldn't bear to see his younger sister being mistreated. So he insisted on going to her house to break off the engagement and personally brought his little niece back with him.
Qiao, who rarely made a decision on his own, went through many twists and turns. When the clan elders came to question him, he couldn't bear the reprimand and fell ill. Qiao handed his niece and the house keys to his second sister: "You've always been better than me since we were little. Now that I'm sick, I trust you with the family and our mother."
While Qiao was ill, his mother hastily arranged for him to marry Huizhen, the woman he had been betrothed to since childhood. Huizhen had bound feet and was very timid, always watching Qiao's and his mother's expressions. Qiao discussed with his mother, "Huizhen is not capable of standing on her own. If she remarries after I'm gone, please give her a generous dowry. If she doesn't remarry, please don't blame her; it would be my fault for being unfilial." After adopting his niece, Qiao fell seriously ill and soon passed away.
Joe, who woke up in the Witch Forest, didn't dare to go back to see his mother, sister, niece, and Huizhen. Joe felt like a coward for leaving a mess to women and children, but he couldn't handle family matters or manage external affairs.
When Joe opened his eyes and saw El, he was momentarily disoriented, thinking he was still in France, visiting the temple with his classmates, and suddenly he saw a goddess. Yes, Joe had always considered El a goddess, and no matter how El taught him, he always listened obediently. After El unconsciously started referring to the Witch's Forest as the Witch's Forest, Joe developed a desire to always follow El. Joe thought it wouldn't be appropriate for a man to follow a woman, so during the shaping process, he chose his younger sister's body. Joe carefully concealed his feelings, saying, "I want to go out and see the world in place of my sister." His sister never had the chance to leave that house, not even the backyard, so he would go and see the world in her place, Joe told himself.
Later, Joe got used to trailing behind El by half a step, just like his mother always trailed behind his father. Joe was unaware that El saw right through his little scheme, until one day, while traveling through a different world, El saw a woman who had gone mad after a difficult childbirth. Joe held El, unsure how to comfort her, and could only repeatedly call El's name: "El, El, I'm here," "El, El, don't leave me," "El, El, I love you..."
Upon waking, Al pushed Joe down, and Joe became even more like a submissive wife, carefully taking care of her. Two women walking together in the outside world always attracts unwanted attention. Joe, while keeping a watchful eye on those who coveted Al, became increasingly careful with her words and actions, afraid that any misstep would displease Al or cause misunderstandings. After several worlds like this, Joe's nerves grew increasingly tense. Each time, Al pushed Joe down, and Joe dared not resist or disobey her in the slightest. Whether it was Al's mischievousness, a change of heart, or Joe finally opening Al's heart, Al and Joe exchanged witch's headbands, forming a bond of love. Only then did Joe slowly open up. It was then that Joe realized Al had known all along that he was originally male. Joe had never undergone body reconstruction; in Joe's heart, he felt he couldn't bear the responsibilities of Al's husband, and even felt unworthy of her.
Al gently patted Joe's back: "Joe, I think you need to be honest with yourself."
“I’m afraid,” Joe finally said. “I’m afraid I’m not good enough for you. I’m afraid you’ll look down on me. Al, all I want is for you to cherish me. All I want is for you to love me. I just want to hide under your wings.”
“Joe, I am not your mother.” Al had always known that Joe had a strong Oedipus complex, and he always repeated in his heart: “Dear Al, you are like my second mother.”
“No, no, El,” Joe shook his head repeatedly. “I only respect you, not treat you like a mother. I… wouldn’t that be inappropriate?” Joe blushed. “I… I don’t want people to say you’re a strong woman and a weak man. I don’t want people to point fingers at you. I can give you everything I have, but El, I can’t stand anyone saying even a single bad word about you. They don’t understand. You are all my pride. I used up all my luck in this life just to meet you in this forest.”
“Joe, you’re already a witch over a hundred years old. You’re a mature witch.” El sighed. Even someone as cowardly as Joe was unwilling to admit that men were inferior to women.
"El, I'm your man!" Joe tried to put on a stern face. "Can't you give me some face?"
“No, Joe, no,” Al laughed. “Men have no respect for me.” She stood up and pulled Joe toward the depths of the forest. “Come on, let’s be honest with ourselves.”
If Mi were there at this moment, she would have noticed that El picked a handful of green fruit and led Joe into a cave, inside which was a pool of cold spring water. El threw the green fruit into the spring, and Joe put his hand in as well. In the swirling mist, Joe transformed from a lady with her hair in two buns into a short-haired man in a blue robe. The man's face bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Joe's, only his complexion was paler, like that of a patient who had been ill for a long time.
“Joe, welcome to the Forest of Witches.” El opened his arms to him.
"El, my love! My wife!" Joe tried to respond to El, but El grabbed him and pushed him away. "Cough cough cough cough, El, be gentle." The newly reborn Joe was at a loss and realized that even in his male body, he was still unable to perform sexually, and he was afraid that he would always be a submissive husband.
Mi noticed that Joe had changed. Sometimes Joe would transform into a man and stroll with Al. When Mi ran up to Al, Joe would even block Al's way, asking Mi to wait a moment until he and his wife finished their chat before coming to class with Mi. Most of the time, Joe was still the shy and beautiful young girl Joe, only she no longer lagged behind Al. She often walked side by side with Al and his group, and Joe would even tug at Al's sleeve and act coquettishly, giving Mi goosebumps.
Later, Mi asked Al, "Why is Joe still a woman?" Al said, "He understands my aversion to men."
"Why is he sometimes a man?" Al said. "Because he feels that only men can protect me."
“He—” Mi didn’t know how to comment, “What kind of witchcraft is he? He’s still human.”
“Yes,” Al said, resting his head on his hand, “the environment in which a person lives and the education he receives do have a profound impact; this is the fundamental reason why people are human.”
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