Uncle brought them to Sophia's grave, where her photograph from when she was alive adorned the tombstone - a stern expression on her face, dressed in a black witch's robe. Yet Chu Yang felt she could see the kind and gentle manner with which Sophia had once taught her.
Chu Yang placed a bouquet of flowers at her grave, along with a wooden staff she had crafted herself from tools bought online, modeled after the one Sophia had gifted her.
After paying her respects, Chu Yang went to Sophia's house, using the key she had. Upon opening the door, everything remained unchanged, as if the old woman were still seated on the sofa, sipping tea and conversing with her.
The house had been unoccupied for some time, and felt rather cold. Chi Yan quickly lit a fire in the fireplace, and soon the entire house was warm.
That night, they stayed in the same room. After showering, Chu Yang stood on the balcony, and before long, a raven flew over. Chu Yang caught it and nuzzled her face against its feathers before releasing it. "Go on," she said. "Now that the old woman is gone, you need not come here anymore."
That night, as Chu Yang and Chi Yan slept, the entire roof of the house was once again perched upon by ravens, though the couple remained unaware.
The next day, the two brought flowers to the statue, which remained unchanged. Chu Yang caressed the statue, then left with Chi Yan.
Back at the house, Chu Yang perused the bookshelves before selecting a few tomes. They then visited the castle, packing important books into boxes to take away.
After two days, they departed, taking only the books with them.
Perhaps they would return someday.
The house never lit up again after their departure, and the ravens never came back...
Back in Jing City, Chu Yang kept the books at Chi Yan's place. After a brief rest, she began searching for tickets home. Noticing this, Chi Yan immediately said, "When are you going home? I'll drive you there and visit Uncle and Aunt while I'm at it."
Chu Yang thought it a good idea. "Alright, I'll go home tomorrow then. Let me tell Chu's Mom." She was about to call her mother.
Chi Yan grabbed her hand. "Could you go the day after? I want to spend one more day with you." With the entire winter break apart, it would be too torturous. Why were they still so young? Time passed far too slowly. He wished they could just get married and live together already, so they wouldn't have to part during school breaks anymore.
"Okay," Chu Yang agreed, thinking they were already tired from today. She could rest tomorrow, then leave early the day after.
Chi Yan was delighted. The last summer break, Chu Yang had insisted on returning home without delay. He hadn't expected her to agree this time.
Since they would be parting, that night Chi Yan was particularly mischievous with Chu Yang - touching her here, nudging her there, nuzzling her face. In the end, Chu Yang had to give him a beating before he settled down to sleep. "Chi Yan, were you really such a mischievous child? If you keep it up, I'll douse you with cold water to wake you up."
Chu Yang meant it literally, prepared to cast the prank spell from before.
Chi Yan immediately calmed down. "My apologies. But I wasn't a mischievous child; I was a good kid. Gao Miao was the mischievous one, always bullying other children. So our future children won't be mischievous either."
Chu Yang scoffed, "As if I'd have children with you."
Chi Yan grinned. "Sure, sure. Let's just get married first then."
Chu Yang laughed in exasperation. "Just go to sleep. You're dreaming."
"Heheh." He did genuinely want to marry her, but Chu Yang would never agree.
The northern wind howled outside, but it was warm as spring indoors. The next day, the couple lazily slept in until noon, ordering takeout for lunch. In the afternoon, Chu Yang felt they couldn't be so unproductive, so she studied while Chi Yan read, neither forgetting that Zhu Ying still lived and would likely come for Chu Yang eventually.
If they crossed paths again, Chu Yang vowed to effortlessly vanquish that scoundrel!
Wielding the staff amplified her spellcasting prowess, making ordinary spells seem mundane. Chu Yang picked up the book 'Forbidden Witchcraft' and began studying with a dictionary.
The first spell was one of resurrection - truly, such a spell existed?
Intrigued, Chu Yang pored over the dictionary entries. The Resurrection Spell, one of the Forbidden Witchcrafts, allowed the dead to be revived. However, not every witch possessed the immense magical power required to cast it. Using this spell could directly reduce one's lifespan; some even aged overnight or died instantly - essentially, one life traded for another.
Beyond that, other perils existed, though the book did not specify what they were, only mentioning "other dangers" vaguely, likely unknown even to the author.
The second Forbidden Craft was Time Reversal, which clearly allowed traveling back through time, but at the risk of being "killed by time" itself. A side effect was potential memory loss. Like the Resurrection Spell, it demanded vast magical reserves, so it was advised to never attempt it.
The third Forbidden Craft involved summoning the deceased's corpse - too vile for Chu Yang to read further. Instead, she studied the 'Dark Toxins' tome, hoping to find ingredients for brewing poisons upon returning home. That evening, as she packed, Chu Yang tucked the book into her luggage.
The next morning, the couple set off early, though it was snowing, concerning Chu Yang about the road conditions. "Chi Yan, drive slowly. Safety first."
"Got it."
They passed several accidents caused by slippery roads. At one traffic light intersection, Chi Yan stopped for the red. As it turned green a minute later, Chu Yang stopped him. "Don't go."
Chi Yan paused, his hand on the wheel, as cars behind them began honking impatiently.
Suddenly, from another street, a vehicle came barreling through uncontrolled, crashing into the barrier with a thunderous impact, shattering it.
Chi Yan was startled, but Chu Yang gripped his hand reassuringly.
The honking ceased, and someone exited their vehicle to help the injured. Chu Yang urged Chi Yan to assist as well.
"Okay," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.
As he emerged, one of the drivers behind them patted his shoulder. "Kid, thank you... It's fortunate you didn't go, or else..." He trailed off, the one who had been incessantly honking, now stunned into silence.
Several others echoed their gratitude.
Chi Yan waved them off. "It's fine, let's rescue the injured first."
The victim was hurt but alive. Soon, police and ambulances arrived, and Chi Yan hastily drove off with Chu Yang.
