Chapter 42: Lady of the Night

Lu Mian was also startled by the carriage pulled by "devils" and the reaction of the undead, forgetting to struggle for a moment, and was pushed by the invisible giant palm for another ten seconds before stopping.

Although the carriage was getting further and further away, relying on his eagle-like vision, he still saw the appearance of the woman in the carriage clearly.

Her brown long hair was coiled high, her brown eyes were beautiful and bright, her light eyebrows were slightly sparse, she was wearing a fresh green dress, and she was wearing a crown woven from flowers, her temperament elegant and majestic.

Madame Pualis! Lu Mian's first reaction was to think that the lady in the carriage was the administrator's wife and the parish priest's mistress.

But looking closely again, he felt that both sides had obvious differences. Not only was the temperament very different, but even the appearance had certain distinctions:

The lady in the carriage had softer and more mature features.

If Lu Mian really had to use a metaphor, he would rather call the lady in the carriage Madame Pualis's sister, who was born of the same father and mother but was seven or eight years older.

At this time, that lady sat on the open-top carriage pulled by "devils," surrounded by countless undead and the Death Knight, heading toward the distant mountain forest, as if she were doing some kind of wonderful tour.

Aurora withdrew her gaze, ran quickly toward Lu Mian, and shouted while running:

"Take the opportunity to escape here!"

Lu Mian came back to his senses, waited for his sister to catch up, and then took big strides, stomping as he fled toward the nearest edge of the wilderness.

Not long after, the two of them simultaneously produced a feeling of passing through an illusory curtain or a thick layer of water.

The scene they saw changed accordingly:

The wilderness dissipated like bubbles, and the clear river water, the new grass on both banks, and the green trees entered their eyes at the same time.

To Lu Mian and Aurora, this scene was so familiar, familiar to the point that they made a judgment without needing to identify it:

They were still around Cordu Village!

This was the place where Ava Lizier often herded geese!

Back... Lu Mian was neither disappointed nor surprised, instead carrying a mentality of "it really happened" as he looked around.

Aurora gasped for breath and said:

"Regardless of whether Madame Pualis did it on purpose or by mistake, we cannot return to the village now.

"Continue to Dariège!"

Lu Mian immediately proposed:

"Then let's go to the nearest grassland. There is a dangerous small path there that goes down the mountain. With our abilities, it will definitely be no problem."

"Good." Aurora turned her body and ran with all her might.

She, who often borrowed small horses from Madame Pualis to ride, was not unfamiliar with those plateau grasslands around Cordu Village at all.

Seeing this, Lu Mian followed closely by his sister's side.

Regarding the encounter just now, he was both fortunate and fearful.

He never expected Madame Pualis to be so powerful, actually able to get so many undead, "devils," and the Death Knight to follow her.

Of course, that might not be Madame Pualis.

While running, Aurora's speed slowed down, her breathing became heavier, and the sound in her throat became more obvious.

"What's wrong?" Lu Mian's physical strength was still abundant.

This was one of the improvements brought by the "Hunter."

Aurora simply stopped, gasped for breath, and said:

"Too tired, the spellcasting just now consumed a lot of my energy."

Lu Mian said without hesitation:

"Then I'll carry you; I'm not tired yet."

The matter was urgent and time was pressing, so Aurora didn't act coy, nodded, walked behind Lu Mian, who was squatting down, and climbed on.

Lu Mian first took off the brooch from his chest, returned it to his sister, then straightened his body, and ran again with stomp stomp stomp.

"Is this a magical artifact?" He still had the energy to ask.

Aurora was stunned for a moment and laughed:

"It seems you know quite a bit now.

"This is indeed a magical artifact. I call it the 'Honest Brooch.' It can create sacred sunlight or help me ignite materials to help me use a secret technique against ghost-like creatures, but wearing it for too long will make people appear in a fanatical state, and as long as you wear it, you will lose some thoughts. You know, immoral methods might be more useful in battle, and this is restricted by it."

Aurora paused and asked in a deep voice:

"Where did you obtain the Beyonder characteristic?"

Lu Mian answered intermittently while running:

"That Tarot card, didn't it let me... keep clear-headed in the dream?"

"What Tarot card?" Aurora looked puzzled.

Oh, this was something from the last loop... Lu Mian reorganized his language:

"I met a mysterious lady in the old tavern, and she gave me a... Tarot card.

"Relying on that card, I became clear-headed in the dream and entered a wonderful space.

"There, I encountered some... monsters and obtained the 'Hunter' Beyonder characteristic."

"'Hunter'..." Aurora was very familiar with this common Sequence in Intis.

Amidst her self-talk, she suddenly let out a low laugh, not knowing what she had thought of.

What are you laughing at... Lu Mian felt inexplicable.

Aurora asked again:

"Who gave the formula? That mysterious lady?"

"Mm." Lu Mian nodded while running.

Aurora sighed and said:

"My stupid brother also has his own secrets now... I can't confirm whether what you said is true or false now, so let's just assume it is."

Lu Mian couldn't bear to see his sister disappointed, so he hurriedly changed the subject:

"Just now in the carriage, was that person... Madame Pualis?"

"Very similar yet very unlike." Aurora said contradictory words.

She pondered for a few seconds and said:

"Since you are already a Beyonder, then I'll speak directly to you. My companions, uh, that is, those pen pals, once mentioned some things.

"They said that in recent years, in southern Loen, southern Intis, and the Feynapot Kingdom, strange phenomena similar to the one just now have appeared multiple times. There were also ladies riding in carriages pulled by devils, uh, creatures suspected to be devils, touring in the wilderness and mountains, and there were also many undead following behind the carriage all over the mountains and plains. And some Beyonders who mastered corresponding secret techniques would take the opportunity to let their spirits leave their bodies and follow the carriage for a period of time. This seems to allow them to obtain some wonderful experiences and obtain certain mystical knowledge.

"I have a companion who obtained the notes of one of the Beyonders, inside which it was mentioned that the lady was called 'Lady of the Night,' and the owner of the notes obtained a secret medicine formula from the experience of following the carriage tour, which can use the corpses of infants to manufacture invisibility potions.

"According to investigations, the ladies in similar phenomena in different places are not the same, but the events all happen in the middle of the night."

Lu Mian said in astonishment:

"But now, it is daytime."

Could it be that the abnormality of Cordu Village brought about changes?

"That's why I can't be sure." Aurora recalled and said, "Maybe it's because sending Naroka to the 'Other Shore World' brought about differences, maybe that wilderness is the 'Other Shore World,' and the 'Lady of the Night's' tour there during the day and appear in human society at night. Hmm, combined with the fact that the lady looks very much like Pualis, I tend toward the former speculation."

Lu Mian had no understanding of mystical knowledge in this area, but intuitively felt that his sister's suspicion was correct.

He ran for another distance in silence and finally couldn't help but ask:

"Why did you... sacrifice yourself to save me? I would rather you be a bit more selfish."

"I am very selfish." Aurora laughed, "At that time, I considered abandoning you and escaping by myself, waiting until I became more powerful to avenge you, but I thought about it carefully and found that even if I gave you the 'Honest Brooch' and taught you the method, you wouldn't be able to help me attract the vast majority of the undead and give me a chance to escape. Only I, as a 'Witch,' could handle this matter.

"Choosing between two people dying together and at least you being able to live, I don't need to say the answer, right?"

Making such a choice isn't as easy as you say now... Lu Mian could accept it rationally, but couldn't emotionally.

He said gloomily:

"It would be better... to die together."

"If you die, who will avenge me, who will resurrect me? In the mystical world, everything is possible!" Aurora lectured her brother, "So, I deliberately said some sentimental lines at the end. Only in this way will you always remember and not forget to try to resurrect me."

That's true... Lu Mian gradually identified with his sister's choice.

After running for a while, the nearest plateau grassland could already be seen, and Lu Mian, who was carrying Aurora, clearly felt fatigue.

He didn't stop to rest, gathered his remaining courage, and rushed to the hillside covered with green pasture in one breath.

There were multiple livestock pens and shacks here. The former were surrounded by stones and branches, the ground was rammed earth and flattened manure, one end had a narrow exit that could only allow one sheep to pass, and the latter were similar to primitive tents:

First, use stones to build a circle of low walls, leaving doors and exhaust holes, then build a row of grilles against the low walls, bury the lower part of the grilles into the mud, and the upper end supports the wooden frame, while the wooden frame is a roof covered with grass and mud.

This was where the shepherds lived, and the environment was very arduous.

Lu Mian no longer carried Aurora, led her all the way to the other side of the hillside.

That dangerous small path was hidden below.

Looking at the road that needed a jump of seven or eight meters from the cliff to touch, Aurora said to Lu Mian:

"Although you can climb now, don't waste time. I'll take you to fly down directly."

"Good." Lu Mian wanted to try what kind of changes would occur after leaving Cordu Village.

Aurora grabbed Lu Mian's arm with one hand and sprinkled silver dust with the other.

The two of them floated up at the same time and flew slowly toward the bottom of the cliff.

While in mid-air, Lu Mian's head suddenly hurt, as if someone had hit him heavily with a hammer.

Aurora also had a similar reaction.

Lu Mian's eyes quickly turned black, only feeling that all things were becoming fragmented.

With a brush, Lu Mian sat up and saw the familiar wooden table, chairs, bookshelf, and wardrobe.

Back to the very beginning again... He turned over and got out of bed thoughtfully, came to the first floor, and unsurprisingly found Aurora wearing that light blue long dress, preparing dinner.

"Aurora, what date is it today?" Lu Mian asked tentatively.

Aurora glared at him:

"Call me sister!

"Are you stupid from sleeping? Today is the 29th."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 43 =====