[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-armed-witch":3,"chapter-armed-witch-armed-witch-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Armed Witch",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2353563,4604,"Chapter 23: Mother and Daughter","armed-witch-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>When the figure on the sofa stood up, everyone in the room looked up at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was a towering demoness, over two meters tall, but as soon as her face turned toward them, Alice beside Dorothy let out a startled cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So beautiful, sister—this big sister looks a bit like you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Dorothy was filled with impatience, her anger softened slightly the moment her eyes fell upon that face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humans are always more forgiving toward beauty, and this tall demoness’s appearance was undeniably beautiful—her looks rivaled those of the pure-white angelic demoness Dorothy had met in the bookstore; the two could tie for second-most beautiful person Dorothy had ever seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the pure-white angelic demoness, this tall demoness named Euphelia had evolved to an extremely high degree, so much so that inhuman traits had inevitably emerged on her body—such as the crown-like dragon horns atop her head or the cold, golden, vertical pupils that shimmered like molten gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these inhuman features did not mar her beauty; instead, they added a wild, majestic allure, complementing her expressionless, exquisitely carved face with a fierce yet aloof, beautiful yet dangerous aura, radiating an aura of solemn inviolability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though she had seen this face once before in memory, Dorothy was still stunned by its beauty upon seeing it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this emotion lasted only an instant—Dorothy had no shortage of resistance to beauty, so she merely frowned and fully resisted the demonic allure of that face, her gaze still cold and unwavering as she fixed it on the demoness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing Dorothy, the tall dragon demoness’s cold gaze softened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.....”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She opened her mouth as if to say something, then hesitated, finally uttering only a few words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s been a long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t particularly want to see you, Euphelia.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy showed no gratitude, retorting sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing such merciless words, the dragon demoness frowned, her gaze sharpening—terrible pressure surged from her, yet vanished before reaching Dorothy, leaving only a gentle breeze brushing her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether you come to see me is my decision, not yours, Dorothy. Go pack your things—today, you’re coming back with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She suppressed her temper, finally speaking in a cold, icy tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you? Why should I go with you? Please leave me alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though the sudden surge of pressure had made her body tremble, Dorothy remained utterly unfazed, sneering at the towering figure before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m your mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon demoness, whose temper clearly wasn’t good, finally snapped—she raised her voice and roared, her once-soft, melodious voice now laced with dragon roars, radiating terrifying authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t have a mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy roared back just as fiercely—rarely losing her composure, she now lost control, and her magic, usually bound by her will, erupted with her emotional outburst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her pupils shrank into vertical dragon slits; her voice deepened, echoing like a dragon’s roar—though it was the cry of a young dragon: crisp, yet lacking in majesty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This transformation within herself filled Dorothy with disgust—some things existed objectively, whether she acknowledged them or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took a deep breath, regained her calm, and the strange changes on her body vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the atmosphere between mother and daughter grew oppressive, making Alice, who had been standing beside Dorothy, shiver and scurry over to her parents—she had never seen her sister so furious before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petite mother, Anne, whose height barely differed from her daughter’s, wrapped her arms around her child; the tense standoff meant nothing to her—she merely cast a cold glance at her husband, silently urging the useless man to fix this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The refined middle-aged man, who had remained silent all along, grimaced, then gritted his teeth and stood up, intending to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could open his mouth, the domineering dragon demoness shot him a fierce glare, forcing him back into his seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t your place to speak, Adam. This mess is entirely your fault.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon demoness’s words turned the man pale—he opened his mouth to respond, but under the mountainous pressure, no sound escaped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was merely a human mage—even if he was legendary among humans, his power was negligible before a demoness, especially a peak-level one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my home. You’re the one who should shut up, Euphelia. If you chose to abandon us back then, why come back now? Leave immediately. Don’t disturb our family’s peaceful life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy stepped quickly in front of her father, struggling but ultimately enduring the crushing pressure that felt like a mountain descending upon her—though every cell in her body screamed, trembled, and begged her to flee, she ignored her body’s survival instinct and spoke firmly, word by word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the terrifying pressure vanished soon after—the illusion of the dragon demoness, which in Dorothy’s heightened perception had nearly transformed into a monstrous dragon, dissolved, and she returned to normal, as if her rage had been nothing but a hallucination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder you’re my daughter, Dorothy—you’re impressive. Your talent surpasses mine. My divination was right after all: Adam, this useless man may be weak, but his genes matched mine best.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon demoness remained expressionless, but her golden pupils held admiration as they fixed on Dorothy—then, for the first time, a faint smile appeared on her icy face, though it was a mocking sneer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I abandoned you? Dorothy, is this the story Adam, this useless man, has been telling you all these years? I searched for you for sixteen years, my foolish daughter. Perhaps you should ask your dear father why he ran away with you from me—and why he ran for sixteen years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uh...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy was stunned by these bizarre words—she turned, incredulous, to look at her father behind her, but the middle-aged man kept his head down, unable to meet her gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh my god...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, Dorothy’s mind went numb—was her backstory really this complicated? Had she hated the wrong person all these years?\u003C\u002Fp>",987,"2026-06-21T03:49:44.850Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c90523d82f950db96d0b87c53204e67c38c3762b7a72e8f4b0bae92e59d60112","armed-witch-chapter-24","armed-witch-chapter-22",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Farmed-witch-cover.jpg"]