Chapter 617 – Special Tree!

They walked out of the library awkwardly, especially Aiko, who had been found out.

“What do you think about Fox Village?” The girl suddenly asked.

“It’s shite.” Witch Aiko subconsciously answered, since that was on her mind almost all the time.

“I see.” The girl smiled softly, but Aiko was flustered that her answer came out like that.

However, once Witch Aiko noticed her smile, she couldn’t help but ask. “You don’t mind?”

“I share the same sentiment. One could say even worse than that.” The girl hummed. She was already fed up with this place, and Fox Sect was no better.

“I wonder if we should even go away from this place…” Witch Aiko shook her head.

“You definitely should, but there is no need to join the Fox Sect.” The girl softly said.

“Shouldn’t you be convincing me to join the Fox Sect?” Witch Aiko was speechless, since she believed that the Delegation was cut from the same cloth.

“If they were worth it.” The girl shrugged. “But don’t share this with others. They wouldn’t believe you and could even reprimand you.”

“Why?” Witch Aiko frowned. “Are they that infatuated?”

“Let’s just say that they have plenty of ‘incentives’.” The girl narrowed her eyes as they walked away from the library.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Witch Aiko grimaced.

“Good.” The girl nodded. “Where are we going?”

“Where are we going?” Witch Aiko blinked at her.

“I’m following you.” The girl tilted her head.

“I’m following you, too.” Witch Aiko tilted her head and awkwardly laughed.

“…” The girl gazed blankly at the Fox in front of her.

“…” Aiko blankly stared at her back.

“Unexpected.” The girl turned around. “What are you planning now?”

“I wanted to explore the library more, but it seems like I would have to go to higher floors for anything useful…” Witch Aiko sighed.

“Do you need some Manuals?” The girl turned around.

“Not really.” Witch Aiko was aiming to analyse how Techniques and Manuals were created, so she could improve her current ones.

“…” The girl stared at her for a while.

Then she turned around, looking somewhere. “We shall meet again.”

Were her last words before disappearing.

“Strange girl…” Witch Aiko couldn’t figure out if she was a Human or a Fox, since she was quite skilfully shrouded, and she didn’t want to use her abilities since she didn’t trust this girl.

-----

“What is it?” The girl appeared before an old Fox.

“The Grandmaster is moving strangely. Go check it.” The Head of the Delegation said slowly.

“Are you intimidated because the Grandmaster was once more powerful than you are?” The girl always poked where it hurt.

“Don’t test my patience.” The Head of the Delegation glared at her.

The girl shrugged before moving away.

“Youths…” The Head of the Delegation snorted.

…

“Old geezers…” The girl murmured, but she had no intention of sharing what she found out with them.

They were undeserving and too drunk on power.

They even excluded some Foxes for extermination instead of moving them onto the mainland.

‘That’s why we did not set sail yet, because they want to see who is truly useful and especially beautiful and who isn’t.’ The girl clicked her tongue. She was quite nauseated by their policy and conduct, but it was not like she could stop it for the time being.

-----

Witch Aiko watched the place where the girl disappeared before turning around and shrouding herself.

‘I wonder if she already has a human body and if so, how far she went.’ Witch Aiko was curious, but not curious enough to ask about it or try to figure it out.

‘I will have to prepare for that too…’ Witch Aiko checked the shop, and there were some interesting things inside.

[How to create Heavenly Abode][How to warp Protective Arrays]

And so much more.

Witch Aiko only looked over it, since there were now bundles inside the shop.

Things in bundles were usually cheaper than buying them one by one, but their entry cost was higher than just buying the one that you needed.

Witch Aiko gently shook her head. She would figure out everything later.

‘Should I pop the barrier or sneak around…’ Witch Aiko still didn’t have the gift or anything that would soothe Mei, so she sneaked around some more.

‘I will figure out something nice to give to Mei, before getting to her!’ Witch Aiko swore.

…

And she did succeed!

“Almost nobody knows where the special Tree is, but they would never imagine it to be so close to the Grandmaster’s Abode, just shrouded in darkness.” One guard laughed haughtily.

‘Nice~’ Witch Aiko smirked. Now that she had a general location, she would be able to find that special thing easily.

Since everyone was talking about this tree. It must’ve been something special, special enough that even others would try to figure out its location!

Witch Aiko sneaked all around the barrier, but couldn’t find anything resembling darkness.

Suddenly, one of her tails formed into a [Little #### Nightmares], pulling on her dress.

‘I should follow you?’ Witch Aiko tilted her head.

The [Little #### Nightmares] nodded its head before stretching into the general direction where Aiko was supposed to walk.

‘I have my own compass.’ Witch Aiko hummed happily as it followed her [Little #### Nightmares].

It guided her to the other side of the barrier and slightly forward into some kind of strange swamp.

Witch Aiko used her [#### Eyes] to figure out what was wrong with this place.

‘Illusion, huh?’ Witch Aiko didn’t think they would go through such a great length to conceal it, not to mention.

‘Primitive traps? What is this? The Mortal Age?’ Witch Aiko shook her head speechlessly, but looking closely, all the traps were quite the expensive Treasures.

‘I didn’t think they would use spears for fall-traps, and all of them are Treasures.’ Witch Aiko couldn’t believe it.

‘Not to mention, that wire over there is also a Treasure and that log that swung from above the trees was also a special type…’ The more Witch Aiko observed, the more speechless she became.

This place was littered with high-quality Treasures! But what was the most infuriating thing was that she couldn’t take them!

She could see the soft, barely visible, even for her, thread that went somewhere. She guessed that if that thread was cut, someone would be alerted that there was something wrong with this place.

‘I can’t take it…’ Witch Aiko cried out inside her mind, but it couldn’t be helped. This place was about a special tree, so she would make sure that they had not realised she had entered this place!

Getting past the pitfall with ease, since she saw through the illusion, she arrived at a lake which had a glowing tree in the middle.

“Whoa…” Witch Aiko was mesmerised by the sight, since this place was absolutely stunning.

The tree reminded her of a bigger version of the bonsai tree. Something between a Chinese Pine Tree and a Willow Tree.

Its droopy vines shone gently, well, not the vines themselves, but the leaves on the vines and branches. Each leaf looked quite delectable, but Witch Aiko held back.

The tree trunk was very thick, but it looked quite damaged. Making it seem like someone damaged it on purpose.

The tree trunk was white, like it was withered from the long years, but the leaves themselves looked healthy.

The crystal clear water reflected the fireflies flying around and the tree itself.

Overall, it was a mesmerising sight, which made Witch Aiko want to approach it and observe it closely.

‘I’m walking on the water?’ Witch Aiko was more and more puzzled since this lake was not an illusion, and the same could be said about the tree.

[Heavenly Tranquil Lake][Comprehension Tree (Damaged)(Poisoned)(Decaying)]

Witch Aiko gently rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t believe those names and the effects they had.

[Heavenly Tranquil Lake][Description: A beautiful lake that puts your mind at ease, allowing you to perform in your best condition, no matter the circumstance.]

[Comprehension Tree (Damaged)(Poisoned)(Decaying)][Description: One of the priceless Treasures of the Olden Age. Each leaf allows you to increase your learning capabilities slightly for a certain duration. Making tea out of the leaves will leave a semi-permanent effect with greater efficacy.][Unfortunately, someone damaged and poisoned this wondrous tree, so its leaves are likewise poisonous to the user. If it was not decaying, it could still be saved…][(If you look carefully, there is a sapling that you can take.)]

Witch Aiko was absolutely speechless. She wanted to take both of those things and share them with her team, but she couldn’t. Well, at least not yet!

‘This is the perfect place to take Mei to, to make her happy!’ Witch Aiko’s eyes shone with greed. It was obvious what she was aiming for.

‘It will need some adjustment, but this place is perfect.’ Witch Aiko chuckled happily.

She then read the last sentence and frowned.

‘What do you take me for?! Some kind of thief?!’ Witch Aiko snorted unhappily at her system.

[…]

‘… So, where is it located?’ Witch Aiko glanced at the system, waiting for its answer.

[…][Southernmost branch. Be gentle while taking it.]

Witch Aiko used her [Gardening] for this, to carefully assess the condition.

‘There it is.’ With it, Aiko was able to find the exact branch on which the sapling formed.

[Comprehension Tree (Sapling)][Description: Last offspring of its kind, due to lack of Qi and abundance of Stagnant Qi.][It will be poisoned soon, if it’s not moved!]

Witch Aiko just nabbed it without a word and happily jumped down from the tree.

Even her system was impressed by her shamelessness, but Witch Aiko would never be outdone when it came to her grubby hands!

‘Now I need to prepare this place for when Mei comes here.’ Witch Aiko nodded her head.

‘The fallen leaves are fine, since they can add to the ambience. There are some dead bugs, so they should be moved, the withered and dried leaves should be removed from the lake too…’

Witch Aiko started to move and adjust this place, so it felt more… ‘magical’ than before.

Of course, the list was quite long, and it took her a lot of time before it came to perfection.

She even pruned the tree a bit, so that it wouldn’t have as many withered parts and dried-out parts.

‘I think this can be used now…’ Witch Aiko smirked. This place was almost perfect, but there were still some things that she needed to do!