Chapter 181: The Curtain Falls

The story on the stage continues to advance.

A Young Girl named Liuliya and the witch Paduola head toward the distant Tifeng Kingdom.

Along the way, they encounter many unexpected events, such as bandits holding a Blade blocking the road, or Monsters attracted by the movement of the carriage launching an attack.

Or perhaps encountering severe weather, causing the carriage to break down, and so on.

Yet, surprisingly, no matter what situation they encounter, the witch named Paduola can easily resolve these troubles.

She teaches the Young Girl how to identify herbs and lets her, in the capacity of an assistant, help her concoct some unknown potions on the road.

Besides this, Paduola also periodically draws a portion of the Young Girl's blood under the pretext of checking her physical state, using it for research.

It seems she has not forgotten the time when the Young Girl was covered in dragon scales.

It is just that whether the other party has researched anything from this blood, the script adopts a method of leaving suspense here and does not reveal it to the audience below the stage.

And the time in the stage play passes rapidly in such a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere.

In just under ten minutes, autumn leaves fall and wind and snow melt away.

More than a year has passed since Liuliya left the small village of her hometown.

And in this part of the plot, the director of the stage play uses a very clever technique.

Using the excuse that the witch Paduola does not like to go to places where humans gather, the two never enter any city or village on the road.

On the stage, there is only one carriage moving forward in place, and with the help of lighting and the brief arrangement of fallen leaves, snow scenes, etc., the passage of time is expressed.

This not only greatly saves time in setting up the stage but also prevents the audience's emotions from being interrupted.

And it reduces the plot that would logically exist regarding interacting with other people on the road.

It is precisely because of this that the Young Girl Liuliya gradually gets used to the days of surviving in the wild.

As well as the words that the witch Paduola constantly nags in her ears every time she picks herbs, regarding her mistaking herbs for ordinary Grass.

Besides this, every time Paduola concocts potions, she repeatedly rambles about the effects between various herbs.

This causes Liuliya's knowledge of pharmacology to continuously improve.

But regarding the names and uses of the potions, Paduola has never explained them to the Young Girl.

It is just that after a long time, based on the effects of those herbs, Liuliya can also deduce the uses of some potions herself.

Clearly, this is done intentionally by the other party.

This makes Liuliya gradually realize that the witch living in the Dark Forest might not be as terrifying as she imagined. "Is it raining heavily again..."

"The Rain in this season is truly annoying."

The witch Paduola sits inside the carriage, raises her hand to push open the carriage's inner window, and looks at the Rain outside as she speaks.

"..."

Liuliya does not speak; in fact, she seems to have been feeling unwell since the morning.

In the background, after the narrator's words convey the information, they leave it to the two leads on stage to perform.

"Are you sick?"

Paduola frowns slightly; she stands up and comes before Liuliya, reaching out to pinch the other party's cheeks and looking left and right.

This is not the first time Liuliya has been sick; in the past, as long as Paduola gave her a bottle of potion, she would not need to wait until the next day—just one afternoon was enough for the medicine to cure the illness.

But this time it seems different from the past... As if enduring some kind of pain, Liuliya's brows are tightly locked.

The high fever makes her consciousness somewhat blurred; even though Paduola pinches her cheeks and shakes them left and right, her gaze remains unfocused.

"Damn it, it's that Curse."

Paduola realizes something, her gaze turning toward the Dragon Egg placed in the corner of the carriage.

Over a year has passed; even though the Curse overflowing from the seal every day is minimal, the accumulation causes harm to Liuliya, who is an ordinary person.

Without wasting time, Paduola immediately picks up Liuliya's body, places her in the center of the carriage, and then, holding a staff, uses a special powder to construct a magic circle beside Liuliya.

Taking a bottle of crimson potion from her bosom, Paduola tilts her head back and drinks it... The lights on the stage go out, and after a brief Black Curtain, the figures of Liuliya and Paduola reappear under the lights.

The Curse is finally overcome without any danger.

When Liuliya wakes up from her deep sleep, what she sees is Paduola, who is sitting in front of the Bonfire, having removed her Transformation Spell, and is cooking dinner.

"I..."

Liuliya opens her mouth, wanting to ask something, but sees the other party hand over the food without saying a word.

The steaming hot thick soup instantly stimulates the appetite of Liuliya's body, which has just recovered from the Curse.

"I said, before you die, I will help you eliminate the Curse."

Looking at the Young Girl's puzzled expression, Paduola says in a low voice: "This is part of the deal."

"..."

After being slightly silent for a moment, Liuliya takes the food from Paduola's hand and smiles sincerely: "Thank you."

"... Rest early."

Paduola turns her head away and says no more.

The night passes without incident, and a new day soon arrives.

Only, unlike usual, from today on, Paduola no longer uses the Transformation Spell to hide her appearance, and every day she requires Liuliya to drink a bottle of her specially made potion.

According to her, this potion can stimulate the power belonging to a dragon hidden within Liuliya's body.

This can effectively improve resistance to the Curse; although it still cannot be completely eradicated, at the very least, it can allow her to persist for a longer time.

Just like this, the carriage continues to travel for more than a month.

The Damp and cold rainy season leaves, and in its place comes the scorching Hurricane Season.

It is precisely in this season that the two arrive at the Tifeng Kingdom, which is holding a festival celebration, and hear from the local villagers information about a giant dragon appearing in the Southern Mountains of the Tifeng Kingdom a year ago.

Besides this, in the Tifeng Kingdom, it seems a Saint (Legendary) level mage has arrived to attend the Royal Capital's celebration.

The two do not pay attention to the latter piece of news; after hurriedly thanking the villagers, they head to the Southern Mountains of the Tifeng Kingdom and continue to inquire about the giant dragon in the villages near the Southern Mountains, gradually narrowing the search range.

In the end, after spending nearly half a year, the two successfully found a cave carved by hand and discovered a corpse inside.

According to Paduola's repeated verification, this dead corpse was the very person who had cast the Curse upon the Dragon Egg.

And their fatal wound originated from the Slap of a dragon claw.

It was also from this point that the two lead characters' paths diverged.

Paduola believed that the person who cast the Curse was already dead, that the Dragon Egg was beyond saving, and wanted to kill the young dragon inside the Dragon Egg to eliminate the Curse and save Liuliya.

Liuliya, however, believed that there might still be a turning point and wanted to continue trying.

In the end, Paduola was persuaded by Liuliya and could only continue searching for a way to break the Curse with her.

At this time, the two recalled that the Tifeng Kingdom was hosting a festival and that a Legendary Saint had arrived at the Royal Capital, so they turned back and headed toward the Royal Capital of the Tifeng Kingdom.

On the road, the Curse on Liuliya flared up again; with no other choice, the two had to stop temporarily to deal with the matter of the Curse.

When they arrived at the Royal Capital, the festival had long since ended.

Fortunately, that Saint seemed to have something to do in the Royal Capital and was still staying inside the church at the Royal Capital.

Before the entrance of the church, Paduola refused the request to enter the church together with Liuliya.

She stated that entering the bustling Royal Capital was already a very risky act, and entering the church was absolutely impossible.

She also stated that after entering the church, she hoped Liuliya would not speak of her existence.

Regarding this, although Liuliya felt somewhat regretful, she could understand; after agreeing to Paduola's request, she entered the Royal Capital church alone.

The scene shifted; an old man wearing a luxurious silk robe appeared on the left side of the stage, while Liuliya pushed open the wooden Gate from the right side of the stage and walked toward the old man's position. Without wasting the tight time of the stage script, the Saint immediately asked her the reason for coming here upon seeing Liuliya appear.

Liuliya, after concealing the matter of the witch Paduola, spoke of how she had been saved by a dragon and that the Dragon Egg entrusted to her by the other party before death was also tainted with a Curse.

"So you came for this matter."

A look of surprise appeared on the Saint's face, and then he explained to Liuliya.

That mage who was killed by the dragon was actually his disciple.

The reason he was staying here was precisely because he was searching for the person who killed his disciple.

It was just that now, that dragon was dead, and seeking revenge might no longer have any meaning.

The young dragon that had yet to hatch inside that Dragon Egg was innocent, and he could Purify the Curse for it.

Only, as a price, he hoped Liuliya could send over the corpse of his poor disciple.

"No problem!"

This was a very reasonable request, and Liuliya agreed without hesitation.

Leaving the Royal Capital church, she found Paduola, who had been waiting until she was somewhat impatient, and told her the entire process of her exchange with the Saint inside the church.

"."

Paduola was somewhat silent, seemingly thinking about whether that Saint was trustworthy.

"We will soon be able to break the Curse and then go home!" the Young Girl said, looking quite excited.

"Hmph, that doesn't count as good news to me." Looking at the Young Girl's happy appearance, Paduola temporarily set aside her concerns and gave a light huff.

They did have the corpse of that mage on the carriage.

Mainly, Paduola was the one carrying it.

Originally, she had intended to try and see if she could use necromancy or soul-summoning methods to resurrect the corpse into an Undead and then order it to break the Curse.

But now it seemed there was no need to try.

Carrying the mage's corpse and the Dragon Egg, Liuliya returned to the church once more.

"Alas, my poor disciple."

Looking at the corpse that was reduced to nothing but bones, the Saint said with a slightly sorrowful expression.

He searched the corpse carefully, an action that made Liuliya feel inexplicably strange.

"Strange..."

The Saint muttered in a low voice, then looked at Liuliya and asked, "When you discovered him, were there no other items on him?"

"No." Although Liuliya felt somewhat strange, she still answered earnestly.

"Could it have been snatched away by a wild beast?" The Saint's expression suddenly became very ugly.

"Let me see the Dragon Egg," he said.

"."

Liuliya took a step in Retreat, and a sudden sense of crisis stirred in her heart.

At this moment, she suddenly realized that she had ignored one problem all along.

That was the question of why the dragon and the mage had fought in the first place.

Oh? The final villain is finally about to appear.

Below the stage, Yun Mu's spirits lifted.

Amidst the increasingly intense background music.

The Saint's expression became very ferocious; he looked at Liuliya and pressed toward her step by step with a sense of oppression.

Liuliya kept in Retreat while carrying the Dragon Egg, the Legendary-level pressure constantly crushing her nerves.

"I said, give it to me!" the Saint said, enunciating every word.

The next second, a sudden frost emerged, and the Saint's body was suddenly frozen by a piece of dark blue ice.

"Run!" Paduola appeared inside the church, grabbed Liuliya's palm with one hand, and prepared to escape from the church.

"Damnable thief, return my Dragon Transformation Stone to me!"

The Saint, who was sealed in ice, let out a roar, and his body actually swelled up violently!

He broke free from the ice, crimson wings grew from his back, and his entire left side was covered by tough dragon scales.

"It's the Dragon Communion Ritual, this madman!" Paduola said with an ugly expression.

The so-called "communion" refers to gathering for a feast, entertaining guests, and inviting people to enjoy food.

And the Dragon Communion Ritual refers to a ritual where one gains the power of a dragon by consuming a dragon's heart.

The Saint has been stagnant at the Legendary rank for a long time, never having been able to find the opportunity for a breakthrough.

Seeing that his lifespan was about to run out, this fellow actually set his sights on the Dragon Communion.

As long as he transforms into a dragon through the Dragon Communion Ritual, even if he fails to advance to Epic, he can still gain a much longer lifespan! With this, the plot thread of the stage play Song of Sairuliya has become clear.

In order to obtain the opportunity to break through to Epic, the Saint wanted to hold the Dragon Communion Ritual to transform his body into a dragon.

And his disciple, sharing the same thoughts as his master, used some method to steal the Saint's Dragon Transformation Stone.

But because his strength was insufficient, he was ultimately killed in retaliation during the process of hunting a dragon.

From this, the plot at the beginning of the main story of Song of Sairuliya is introduced.

However, there is still one mystery that has not been analyzed.

That is, where did that Dragon Transformation Stone go?

It couldn't really have been snatched away by a wild animal, could it?

"Hmph, this guy—if he didn't transform into a dragon, I would fear him by three parts, but since he actually transformed, there is nothing left to say."

Above the stage, Paduola looked at the Saint, who had lost his sanity due to an incomplete dragon transformation, and Taunt-ed.

Paduola took two bottles of potions and a bottle of crimson blood from her bosom, handed the bottle of blood and one bottle of potion to Liuliya, and said, "You will be the main attacker next, and I will provide support."

"Drinking this potion will maximize the power of the Dragon Transformation Stone within you; then, get close to that Saint and feed this bottle of your blood into his mouth. Do you understand?"

"Huh?" Responding to her was Liuliya's bewildered cry.

PS: Although no one complained, I will explain it anyway.

I described the stage play in detail mainly to give everyone the feeling that the protagonist is truly watching a stage play.

It is, how should I put it.

After immersing oneself in the protagonist, when viewing the content of the text-based stage play, the protagonist is also watching the content on the stage.

And precisely because I had to write the stage play, um... that is why I got writer's block this chapter and took so long to write it.

However, even though I carefully conceived it and rejected many plot points, I finally chose this segment.

It only satisfies the point that the logic is reasonably self-consistent.

Regarding whether the stage play is good... I think that in the eyes of Yun Mu, that real stage play must be quite good.

It is just a pity that my writing style limited the performance of the text-based stage play.

But I really tried my best.

Fainting.

(End of this chapter)