[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-armed-witch":3,"chapter-armed-witch-armed-witch-chapter-40":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},2353580,4604,"Chapter 40: Can","armed-witch-chapter-40",40,"\u003Cp>For a moment, Dorothy nearly blurted out, “I choose three,” but she ultimately held her tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, though this choice seemed wonderful—gaining freedom and even scoring a powerful Bai Fumei angel wife for free—it looked too good to be true, and upon closer thought, it felt like a trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though witches are a magical race capable of giving birth to daughters with other women, even witch couples must still distinguish between the active and receptive roles; every witch household has defined positions for paternal mother and maternal mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, the one who carries and gives birth to the child is the maternal mother, while the one who provides the genes is the paternal mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In traditional witch families, this social hierarchy is still taken seriously: the paternal mother handles external affairs, is the head of the household, provides for the family, and holds decision-making power over major matters, while the maternal mother manages internal affairs—household duties, child-rearing, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This role assignment is settled before marriage and rarely changes afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in recent years, such traditional witch families have become rare; many modern witch couples prefer more elaborate arrangements, viewing human gender-based family concepts as outdated and decaying, so they believe spouses should be equal—why divide roles so rigidly? Why not take turns? This time you bear the child, next time I will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of rational principle, Dorothy fully endorsed these modern witch ideals of equality, but in reality, her past-life memories made her psychologically resistant to such arrangements; her family values leaned toward traditional witch households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet modern witches today are all strong-willed and independent, unwilling to submit to others; a traditional witch wife willing to sacrifice herself to bear children and manage the home is hard to find.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Dorothy had long made peace with the idea of spending her life alone—marriage and children had never been part of her life plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She often joked that she was her own wife, that her body was her soul’s companion—truly matched in heart and spirit, body and soul united.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, single for a while is fun; single forever is forever fun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even though Sophilia’s pure-white maiden appearance danced right on Dorothy’s xp, and even though the angel witch’s graceful figure made her secretly crave her body...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most common way witches determine household roles is by strength—after all, they’re a warlike race; whoever is stronger has the right, and thus holds higher status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless you’re a romantic genius who can convince your partner to worship you and willingly sacrifice themselves for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But is Dorothy that kind of romantic genius? Does she even deserve it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She deserves jack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given the vast power gap between her and Sophilia, if they truly married, could she possibly dominate a partner just one step below a Great Witch?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dominate? She’d be crushed, humiliated, toyed with at will—and soon enough, she’d be the one stuck at home giving birth and raising kids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, goodbye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Dorothy starves to death, dies of poverty, ends up as frontline cannon fodder, or gets dragged home to inherit that damned family business, she will never be the submissive one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is about dignity—no “actually, this is nice,” no joking—this is serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And by the way, Sophilia, why are you just standing there staring? Say something! Euphilya is your teacher, not your biological mother! Even if she were your mother, you don’t have to obey every word—where’s your modern witch independence? You should decide your own life’s major choices...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy looked expectantly at the angel witch beside her, hoping she’d at least voice an opinion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the pure-white maiden turned her head, stared intently at Dorothy for a moment, frowned as if slightly disgusted, then finally nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Teacher, though I think I probably won’t get along with Miss Dorothy, if it’s your command, I have no objections—I will comply.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, she felt numb—how could this useless angel have zero independent thought? You can’t possibly be one of those rarer-than-giant-pandas traditional witches, can you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, she finally slumped and made her choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two. I choose two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though from a human emotional standpoint, Dorothy disliked Euphilya’s cold, transactional view of kinship, once she suppressed her feelings with reason, she was surprised to find this mindset oddly suited her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Much of the discomfort in human relationships stems from inequality; as the saying goes, “He who eats another’s food is silent; he who takes another’s gift is bound.” Once a debt of obligation forms, true equality in communication becomes impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difficulty of social etiquette lies precisely here—far more comfortable is the straightforward, equal-exchange mindset; many would rather deal with clients than relatives for this very reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet people often avoid such blunt transactions with loved ones, fearing it seems cold and distant, lacking warmth—hence the concept of social obligation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But debts are easy to repay; obligations are hard to settle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the perspective of obligation, Euphilya as a mother undeniably owes Dorothy nothing—she gave her life, brought her into this world; such a debt is impossible to repay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could Dorothy possibly emulate Nezha and carve her flesh to return to her mother, break her bones to return to her father?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Euphilya never intended to harm Dorothy—she merely wanted an heir. Inheriting Long Zhi’s witch legacy is a dream for countless witches—how could that be called harm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Euphilya’s path for her is widely recognized by most witches as the surest route to success, leading straight to the pinnacle of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But people have different aspirations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, mice’s sons dig holes”—this saying often fails; in reality, mighty fathers often raise weak sons, so even a great dragon might give birth to a lazy fish. Euphilya, this powerful woman, gave birth to Dorothy, a lazy fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Parents think one thing is best; children disagree—this clash of generational values is the root of family conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy wanted to control her own life, but how could she repay her mother’s gift of life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some might argue that parents giving birth is natural, that children owe nothing since the parents chose to have them—but Dorothy found this view hard to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had once believed her mother abandoned her, so she could conveniently pretend she had no mother—but now the misunderstanding was cleared, and she could no longer ignore Euphilya’s opinion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A life without parental blessing is hard to truly be happy in; even if unspoken, a lingering regret remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy herself didn’t know how to untangle this mess. She couldn’t decide alone—this was like parental pressure to marry: no one was clearly right or wrong, everyone had a point—but now Euphilya had given her a choice, offering her a way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She claimed equal exchange was her life motto—but was it truly only that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking up at Euphilya, who feigned cold authority before her, Dorothy felt complex emotions. She thought for a moment, then chose not to expose her mother’s mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two. I choose two. Fifty years? Fine. Mom, I won’t let you down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorothy said “Mom” with genuine willingness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, Long Zhi the witch grew visibly uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, you’ve got guts. With your lazy attitude, you think you can defy me in fifty years? Impossible. Just wait—you’ll eventually crawl back home obediently. I’ll treat this as a fifty-year vacation for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing her daughter’s new term of address, Euphilya’s eyes widened; an unprecedented feeling surged within her, leaving the Peak Witch momentarily flustered—her lips twitched, barely holding back a smile, on the verge of cracking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, years of honed martial arts granted her absolute control over her body; she forced her face into its usual stern expression and carried on as always.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmph. But she had the unsettling feeling her daughter had seen right through her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impossible. This child is only sixteen—I’ve eaten more salt than she’s eaten bread. How could she possibly see through me? Illusion. All illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long Zhi the witch comforted herself with this thought.\u003C\u002Fp>",1333,"2026-06-21T03:49:44.850Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4781acccdefcba21b77361c390d535e359cd741eefa0673a76162fc82797061e","armed-witch-chapter-41","armed-witch-chapter-39",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Farmed-witch-cover.jpg"]