The night on Glowing Crystal Coral Island was gentle, the salty, damp sea breeze passing through the semi-open living room, causing the wind chimes by the window to emit a crisp melody.
However, the good times didn’t last long.
This tranquility was soon shattered by a series of clattering, clanging sounds of frantic searching.
An Lin scurried around the house like a diligent hamster, rummaging through every corner, and finally placed an armful of various bottles and jars on the table.
The containers An Lin found came in all shapes and sizes.
Some resembled exquisite crystal balls, while others were ordinary alchemical flasks.
Without exception, each contained strange liquids of various colors, shimmering with a peculiar luster under the light.
“Come, come, little sister Tunzuo! These are all the healing potions I’ve treasured for years. Their effects are immediate!”
An Lin proudly picked up a potion that emitted a faint blue glow.
Without waiting for a response, she pried Tunzuo’s jaw open with her hand and forcibly poured it down her throat.
“This one is ‘Deep Sea Heal,’ refined from moonlight jellyfish caught in the Maguire Trench. It’s specifically for treating soft tissue damage.”
Gulp, gulp.
Before Tunzuo could utter a few words, the cool liquid had already slid down her throat.
The potion carried an unbearably fishy-sweet taste.
“And this! ‘Dragon’s Blood Grass Essence’! Although it has ‘dragon’ in the name, it’s actually made from the blood of a pseudo-dragon lizard mixed with healing herbs. Top-notch for replenishing blood!”
Gulp, gulp.
Another bottle of dark red potion went down.
Tunzuo instantly felt like a fermenting dough had been stuffed into her stomach, causing an uncomfortable bloating.
“Uh, this one is… oh! ‘Improved Stone Skin Potion’! Although its main function is to enhance defense, it also has some effect on bone healing. Here, drink up!”
Gulp, gulp.
Tunzuo was force-fed like a duck, downing seven or eight different kinds of potions in one go.
Her belly visibly swelled up, round like an inflated balloon.
Now, even bending over was a bit difficult for Tunzuo.
“Burp—”
Tunzuo couldn’t help but let out a belch full of medicinal smells.
The entire witch slumped into the sofa, not wanting to move even a finger.
She felt like a little piglet that had been overfed, only able to lie on the sofa and make faint grunting noises.
Soon after, the potions in Tunzuo’s stomach began to take effect.
She felt a wave of heat spreading from her stomach to all parts of her body.
Wherever the heat passed, the originally excruciatingly painful wounds began to itch—a sensation of rapid cell division and regeneration.
Hiss—
Wisps of pure white steam rose from Tunzuo’s skin.
This was the magic contained in the potions being vented out through her skin.
Under the influence of the potions, the blue-purple bruises on Tunzuo’s body gradually faded.
A tingling, numb sensation came from where her ribs had been broken and re-set—a sign of accelerated bone healing.
Seeing Tunzuo’s injuries healing at a visible rate, An Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She wiped away the non-existent sweat droplets on her forehead with her hand.
“Whew, good, good. It seems my alchemy hasn’t deteriorated. My ‘Ten Perfect Major Supplement Potion Combo’ truly lives up to its reputation!”
An Lin proudly placed her hands on her hips, laughing heartily.
But then, her expression changed.
She waved her fist, indignantly exclaiming.
“It makes me so angry! That gold dragon witch named Olivia is absolutely outrageous! How dare she beat up my good little sister like this! If I don’t avenge this, I’m no gentleman… ah, pah, no witch! Little sister Tunzuo, don’t worry, big sister will definitely avenge you! I’ll make that arrogant gold dragon know why flowers are so red!”
Meanwhile, Tunzuo was currently in the post-potion-effect ‘sage time,’ feeling lazy all over, not even wanting to lift her eyelids.
Tunzuo glanced sideways at An Lin, her tone airy as she asked.
“Oh? How does Anlin sister plan to avenge me? Go to the Dueling Arena and fight Olivia?”
Tunzuo’s words froze An Lin’s waving fist in mid-air.
She hemmed and hawed for a long time, her eyes darting left and right.
In the end, she could only sit down on the sofa dejectedly, like a deflated balloon.
“Well… I definitely can’t beat her… After all, she’s a gold dragon witch, and she’s already a Great Witch at such a young age…”
As she spoke, An Lin’s voice grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
“I… I’ll go leave bad reviews for Olivia’s family’s businesses on the Witch Net! Yes! Bad reviews! Humiliate her with this kind of psychological attack!”
“Pfft— Cough, cough!”
An Lin’s wildly imaginative revenge method almost made Tunzuo choke on her own saliva.
She stared at An Lin in disbelief, as if looking at a mentally challenged child.
“Huh? Bad reviews? Anlin sister, your method of revenge is just too… too civilized, isn’t it?”
“Well, this… this is called ‘a witch’s revenge, within her means’!”
Seeing An Lin’s stubborn expression of “I’m weak, but I won’t admit it,” Tunzuo’s playful side emerged.
She sat up straight, her eyes curving into crescents, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
She teased in an extremely punchable tone.
“Trash-tier Anlin sister~ Can’t even avenge her own little sister, can only hide behind a screen leaving bad reviews. So useless~ Does sister only know these childish tricks? So lame~”
Facing Tunzuo’s merciless mockery, An Lin pretended to take out a handkerchief, pressing it to the corner of her eye, wiping away non-existent tears.
Playing along with Tunzuo’s words, she said sorrowfully.
“Wah wah wah, my good little sister, it’s not that sister doesn’t want to avenge you, it’s just… it’s just that she’s too rich! In the face of the power of money, sister is powerless!”
“Rich? How rich?”
Tunzuo’s curiosity was piqued by An Lin.
Although she had no concept of power and influence in witch society, her past life’s experience was enough to tell her that money could indeed solve many problems, especially when there was enough of it.
Seeing Tunzuo’s inquiry, An Lin could only sigh deeply, putting away her affected crying tone.
Her expression became somewhat serious.
She looked out the window and slowly explained.
“Olivia comes from the Golden Family, one of the most renowned witch families in the entire Dona Yala World. Their accumulated wealth and influence are unimaginable.”
“The Golden Family?”
Tunzuo tilted her head, feeling the name itself reeked of the metallic stench of a nouveau riche.
“That’s right. Moreover, the head of the Golden Family is a Legendary Witch, code-named ‘Mad Dragon,’ Fafnir Gold. She is one of the beings standing at the pinnacle of witch society.”
An Lin counted on her fingers, enumerating the terrifying strength of the Golden Family for Tunzuo like a treasure.
“The Golden Family monopolizes sixty percent of the mineral resources in the entire Dona Yala World. Do you know what that means? It means if you want to obtain metal resources, you basically can’t avoid the Golden Family! Also, the Golden Family owns the largest bank in the entire Dona Yala World—the Golden Dragon Bank! Half of the liquid capital in the entire Dona Yala World is sleeping in the Golden Family’s vaults!”
“As for Olivia…”
An Lin paused, her tone carrying clear envy and awe.
“She is the youngest daughter personally birthed by Fafnir herself. She’s the true apple of the family’s eye and the heir most likely to inherit Fafnir’s position. One could say that from the moment she was born, Olivia possessed wealth and status that most witches couldn’t achieve in several lifetimes.”
“She has money, she has power, and her background is as hard as diamond. A little-known alchemy witch like me, if I really provoked the Golden Family, I’d probably be crushed to dust with a casual wave of their hand before I could even leave a bad review.”
Listening to An Lin’s description, Tunzuo’s mind automatically conjured up Olivia’s haughty appearance and the overwhelmingly domineering dragon flame she displayed in the Dueling Arena.
“So that perverted gold dragon is a noble young lady from a prestigious family…”
Tunzuo pouted, feeling inexplicably displeased.
Now she disliked Olivia even more.
However, seeing An Lin’s pitiful expression, Tunzuo also put away her joking mood.
She silently moved closer to An Lin, reached out to hug her, and gently patted her back.
“Alright, Anlin sister, I don’t blame you. Let’s just ignore that perverted gold dragon. Anyway, I didn’t lose out. She got quite a beating from me too.”
“Wah wah wah, I knew little sister Tunzuo was the most understanding witch.”
Gurgle—
But just as Tunzuo and An Lin were enacting their sisterly bond, an ill-timed, loud gurgling sound shattered the warm atmosphere.
“Ahem, that… let’s eat. I’m hungry.”
Tunzuo somewhat awkwardly rubbed her stomach, her eyes revealing a longing for food.
“Okay, okay, okay! Sister already prepared it for you!”
Hearing Tunzuo was hungry, An Lin immediately changed her expression, the gloom on her face swept away.
She rushed into the kitchen like a whirlwind and brought out a large pot still bubbling with steam.
“Ta-da! This is the special restorative soup I simmered for a full three hours! Specially made to nourish your body!”
Under Tunzuo’s expectant gaze, An Lin lifted the lid with a flourish.
However, the moment the lid was lifted, an intensely nauseating smell of Chinese medicine assaulted their senses.
An extremely bitter aroma instantly filled the entire living room.
Smelling that pungent odor, Tunzuo’s eyebrows twitched.
She saw the pot bubbling with a blackish-brown liquid resembling ink.
Floating on the surface were various strange residues—some like tree roots, some like insect shells, and even an unidentified bone bobbing up and down in the soup.
Most terrifyingly, when the bubbles rising from the pot burst, one could faintly hear sounds similar to ghosts wailing and wolves howling, as if countless wronged souls were buried within the soup.
Tunzuo’s face instantly stiffened, her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
She pinched her nose with one hand, trying to block the terrifying smell from entering her nostrils, while her other hand trembled as it pointed at the pot of “biochemical weapon.”
“This… what kind of soup is this? Anlin sister, are you sure this is for witches to drink? You’re not trying to send me off with this pot of soup, are you?”
Facing Tunzuo’s questioning, An Lin looked utterly proud, as if this pot of soup was a great alchemical masterpiece she had just completed.
“You just don’t understand, little sister Tunzuo. This is the ‘Ten Perfect Major Supplement Medicinal Soup’ I carefully researched and simmered!”
An Lin pointed at the various ingredients and medicinal herbs in the pot, introducing them to Tunzuo one by one.
“Look, this piece is the dragon bone of a Stingbee Dragon, it strengthens tendons and bones. That piece is the blubber of a Tidecaller Whale, it replenishes magic power. And this red root is Revival Flower, it refreshes the mind. That long, strip-like thing is half the body of a Blaze Giant Centipede, it promotes blood circulation and removes stasis. And there’s Mandrake…”
“Following the principle of ‘medicine and food sharing the same origin,’ I used over ten rare medicinal herbs mixed with chicken broth for simmering. Although the taste might indeed be a bit… unique, the healing effects are absolutely top-notch! Drink up, it’s best while hot!”
Looking at An Lin’s unreliable expression and the pot of soup constantly emitting ghostly faces, Tunzuo’s stomach churned.
Her body instinctively shrank back, trying to distance herself from the source of terror.
Her foot was already stealthily reaching towards the door, ready to flee.
“Um… Anlin sister, I just remembered I have something to do…”
“Trying to run?! No way!”
An Lin was prepared for this.
Quick as lightning, she grabbed Tunzuo, who was trying to escape.
Although Tunzuo’s injuries were mostly healed, her body was still in a weakened state, so she couldn’t break free from An Lin’s clutches no matter what.
“No! Anlin sister! That soup looks so bitter! The kind of bitter that makes your soul leave your body! Spare me!”
Tunzuo struggled desperately under An Lin’s hold, like a stranded salted fish, trying to defend her taste buds with her last ounce of strength.
“Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the illness, little sister Tunzuo. This is for your own good! Come now, drink it obediently. Sister will feed you. Ah~”
An Lin wore a smile that was kindly to the point of being eerie.
She scooped up a full, large bowl of the blackish-brown soup broth and slowly approached Tunzuo with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“No! Let me go! I’m a ghost witch! Ghost witches don’t need to drink such weird stuff! Help!”
“Protest denied! Drink the soup obediently!”
Seeing that being soft didn’t work, Tunzuo could only try being tough.
She bared her teeth threateningly at An Lin.
“Don’t underestimate me, Anlin sister! I’m very powerful! If you force me, I won’t hesitate to use violence against you! I don’t want to hurt you, but if you push me too far, I will raise my fist against you!”
“Heh heh heh~”
Facing Tunzuo’s feeble threat, An Lin let out a villainous cackle, her expression turning sinister.
“You little ghost, injured so badly, how could you possibly have the strength to resist your sister? Drink the soup for sister obediently! Resistance? Resistance is futile! In the face of sister’s loving medicinal soup, all resistance is in vain! Heh heh heh!”
And so, amidst Tunzuo’s powerless resistance and despairing wails, An Lin forcefully poured that bowl of secret medicinal soup down Tunzuo’s throat.
“Mmph! Bitter! So bitter!”
Tunzuo felt her tongue had completely disappeared.
That bitter taste was like countless ants gnawing at her taste buds, burning all the way down her throat to her stomach.
Tunzuo felt as if she had swallowed an entire swamp’s worth of mud.
That disgusting flavor was simply indescribable.
Gulp, gulp.
But An Lin gave Tunzuo no chance to catch her breath.
She poured bowl after bowl of soup into Tunzuo’s mouth until Tunzuo’s face turned blackish-brown, the whole witch looking as if she had just been fished out of a coal pile.
“Wah wah wah, Anlin sister is a big bully. This is abuse of a young witch…”
Tunzuo collapsed on the sofa, looking utterly violated and devoid of hope as she stared at the ceiling.
Two clear tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, her mouth filled with that witch-despairing bitterness.
“Heh heh, as long as it’s good for your body~”
Perfectly satisfied, An Lin cleared the bowls and chopsticks from the table, completely ignoring Tunzuo’s resentful gaze.
Outside the window, the sea breeze blew across Glowing Crystal Coral Island.
A certain little witch’s stomach, under the influence of the medicinal soup, emitted gurgle gurgle sounds.