Chapter 1044: Chapter 1044: The Crow Returns
It’s the eighth night since Medivh disappeared, and there’s still no sign of that crow. The Imperial soldiers, who once scoured the globe, had given up searching for the crow days ago and turned their attention to solving various problems left in the bird’s wake. In the past few days, they’ve excavated swords from Europe, calmed Primitive Tribes startled by the “Crow God” in Africa, repaired mountains in the Andes Mountains, treated penguins affected by Shadow pollution in the Antarctic Circle, and even provided counseling for several local aunties: on the second day of Medivh’s disappearance, he flew over the Henan Region, and some aunties coming home from playing mahjong witnessed a giant Crow God gliding in the sky. They felt it might be related to Doomsday…
Therefore, I feel that the Imperial soldiers have had a very fulfilling vacation: acting as free social workers for Earth, and to some degree, these Imperial soldiers subtly altered human society: some areas in London can now purchase a system disc for five euros…
Regarding Medivh, I’ve discovered an interesting phenomenon: it’s speculated that the bird ceased its activities on Earth six days ago. Since then, the Energy hotspots it left on Earth have been slowly cooling and calming. Originally, its influence should have dissipated with time, yet the reality is quite the opposite. Some objects that came into contact with it continue to change over time, such as some ancient swords brought back from Europe and two totems found in Africa from a Primitive Tribe: the latter were believed to have been used by Medivh as a perch, once wood, now harder than Diamond. These objects, which continue to mutate over time, remind one of the “Source Energy Ore” in Shadow Space. They were all initially ordinary objects, but after getting entangled with an “Information Disturbance Source,” they mutated into something bizarre. The difference is that Medivh’s influence seems small, affecting things only after very close contact and within no more than a kilometer range, whereas my influence has no boundary, theoretically affecting anything within Empire borders, but apart from this distinction, both cases seem essentially the same.
Medivh is truly on the path to becoming a God…
It’s easy to surmise that Dingdang’s leaf plays a critical role in this process. The truly “Divine Status” that Little One possesses indirectly influenced Medivh’s Evolution; perhaps it’s a seed or a catalyst, triggering energy within the crow that might have undergone a qualitative change centuries later, causing it to evolve prematurely. Neither the Xyrin Apostle nor the Star Domain Divine Race have ever heard of such a phenomenon; we can’t be sure whether this trigger is good or bad for Medivh. Bingdisi has already reported the situation to the Star Domain, and the Divine Race has research institutions similar to those, akin to research centers. Experts from the Star Domain and the Xyrin Research Center will join forces to conduct a cross-domain study of this phenomenon. Their first research topic is: The potential edible and medicinal value of Life Goddess’s leaf.
Apparently, the initiator of this first research topic is Bingdisi…
After so many days without finding any trace of Medivh, Anwina grew apprehensive again, feeling uneasy despite Lin Xue’s assurances. Every night, she floated around her home anxiously. I must say, Anwina has finally become a competent Female Ghost this time. She’s truly mastered the art of giving people a startle in the dead of night instead of merely emerging from the TV to act cute every day: merely singing the Sin’dorei Elegy in the living room isn’t enough; she even learned to emerge forlornly from walls, swaying in the air as she called out names with a mournful tone. Just now, I got up at midnight to fetch a glass of water, and damn near got spooked: a girl’s lower body was dangling from the ceiling, drifting slowly forward while a mournful call echoed from the third floor, “Where are you…” It seemed as if it were searching for its lower half. At that sight, several horror films quickly flashed through my mind before I realized it was Anwina’s maid costume skirt.
I noticed the Ghost Maid’s underwear is white…
When Anwina absentmindedly floats around, she often forgets about walls and obstacles. To a ghost’s Perception, most Barriers in the physical world appear akin to grids drawn on paper. While she might not unintentionally step outside in awareness, she often drifts over the line, and I often see her floating too low, resulting in her legs being buried under the floor. That girl is quite curious why everything around her seems to have grown taller. Tonight, the situation was even more severe: half her body was on the third floor, and the other half on the second floor. Fortunately, I have nerves of steel…
“Anwina, come down.” I beckoned her from the ceiling, and she remained oblivious, continuing to float forward. I then remembered her head was still on the third floor. So, I jumped up, grabbed the ghost maid’s foot, and yanked downwards. The corridor soon echoed with the startled cry of the Little Ghost: “Whoa—ugh…”
As I predicted, halfway through Anwina’s scream, her mouth was covered, and she only relaxed when she realized it was me, patting her chest with a sense of relief: “Oh, it’s the master, you scared me.”
See, that’s called lack of self-awareness. As a ghost who had just enacted a classic horror scenario, she even got frightened herself!
Hearing my complaint, Anwina immediately felt quite embarrassed, scratched her head with a silly laugh, and apologized to me: “Sorry, master, I was cleaning on the third floor, then floated and fell down.”
“Is it because of the crow?” I led Anwina to the living room, casually flipped on the light, then poured each of us a glass of water.
“Yes.” The ghost maid replied quietly, sipping her water in small sips. I was very curious: how does a ghost manage to eat and drink?
It’s probably a phenomenon that only Taville, with her material transformation model, can explain, similar to why Mercury Lamp can consume food.
“Lin Xue is something else; she seems to know something but won’t tell, insisting on surprising us.” I muttered, shaking my head. Although Lin Xue doesn’t know where Medivh is currently or what transformations are occurring (things she can’t judge because Medivh is in a state she can’t comprehend, even if she sees something, she can’t describe it), she should know roughly when the bird will return. However, she only gave us a rough time frame, explaining it as: it will be a surprise.
“The mistress surely means well; the more the future is revealed, the likelier problems arise.” Anwina weakly defended Lin Xue and added, “I read from a book, the more a Prophet speaks, the less accurate the Prediction.”
I thought to myself that Lin Xue just couldn’t fit into the regular Prophet model; she’s a rare material. But just as I was about to speak, I suddenly heard something and immediately frowned: “Wait, Anwina, did you not hear some noise from the kitchen?”
Anwina immediately became nervous, cautiously casting a glance behind: that’s the door leading to the kitchen. “No, I just took a round in the kitchen, the doors and windows are all closed.”
“Oh,” I thought I might be mistaken, but just as I was about to say something else to Anwina, a sound, loud enough to be called a crash in this quiet night, rang from the kitchen again, a porcelain piece falling to the ground. This time, it couldn’t have been an error in my hearing, “Let’s check the kitchen!”
I led Anwina hurriedly to the kitchen, flipped on the light, and yet found nothing: my kitchen is huge, with minimal clutter, making it easy to take in everything at a glance. The view was spotlessly clean, with no hint of a human figure or large crow, but I soon noticed some white fragments scattered on the floor not far ahead alongside several fruits. It appeared to be a fruit plate originally placed at the cabinet corner that had fallen. Anwina cautiously hid behind me, peeked inside, and fearfully clutched my coat, whispering, “Master, could it be a thief?”
I looked at Anwina, utterly aghast, and poked her cheek with my finger: “As a ghost, aren’t you ashamed?”
Anwina retorted confidently: “To hide behind one’s master at the right moment and appear to seek protection, enhancing the master’s sense of pride, is a skill a competent maid must grasp.”
Me: “…” Does this profession involve psychology?
But at that moment, I unintentionally sensed a faint energy fluctuation lingering in the air. Instantly, my spirit sharpened, guiding me to the largest cabinet door on the bottom half of the cupboard. Something hid in there. I signaled Anwina to stay silent and cautiously approached the cupboard door. Now more certain, I heard faint rustling on the other side, like a small animal eating.
“Got you!” I suddenly opened the cupboard, and two voices exclaimed in surprise from inside.
Anwina and I stood stunned as we saw two little girls, identical in appearance, curled inside the cupboard. Both wore coarse brown dresses with an unfamiliar style. One clutched half an apple, her face smeared with fruit bits, clearly producing the rustling sound earlier while eating. The other, curious, looked at us, casually fiddling with small parts inside the cupboard.
In great confusion, I pulled both girls out and lined them up in front of me to observe them closely. They appeared to be around 14 or 15 years old but were thin, seemingly underdeveloped, making them look younger. This reminded me of Shui Zhu from the Ruins World, similarly malnourished and small. Unlike Shui Zhu’s harsh upbringing, these girls had it slightly better. Besides being thin, they were fair-skinned, with large eyes and delicate noses and mouths, appearing quite charming. They wore identical brown coarse dresses, seemingly handcrafted with crude methods, lacking decorative lines, serving only to cover—poor children’s clothing. I couldn’t detect any particular style in these dresses, but the fabric resembled coarse linen I’d never seen.
Seeing these two strikingly similar girls, my first thought was they could be twins. Yet, oddly, despite their matched physique, dress, and facial features, they had distinct differences. The apple-holding girl had deep brown eyes and matching long hair, dull from malnutrition, making her appear uniformly brown and somewhat scruffy. Her gaze was fearful, terrified of being caught stealing. The other girl, however, seemed… not human. Her eyes were murky red, extraordinarily bright, apparently emitting various glows as her gaze shifted. I suspected they might glow in the dark. She had purple-black hair, strangely silky, akin to shining bird feathers in sunlight. Her hair’s ends reflected a mystical blue-purple hue under the light, carrying a metallic coldness.
The second girl showed no trace of fear, quite the opposite, her face radiated happiness, and her gaze toward us was exceptionally eager, as if ready to leap forward.
“Um, you two are…” I began, but the fearless girl suddenly cheered and leapt toward Anwina: “Mom! Mom! I’m back!”
Thunderstruck, I turned to glance at Anwina. The Little Ghost turned completely pale, her glow flickered briefly before transforming into a wispy smoke, dissipating into the air… What, did she just ascend out of fright?!
“Anwina! Anwina, what’s wrong with you! Hurry back!” I shouted immediately. The little girl who had leaped at Anwina now lay on the ground, joining the chaos: “Mom, mom, what’s wrong! Hurry back!”
Several Radiant Glows appeared mid-air, reforming into Anwina’s form. The Little Ghost’s eyes spun like dizzy icons: “Master, I’m a bit bewildered… Could you find some priests to perform rituals for me?”
I heard this and thought, indeed, she’s confused.
The apple-snacking girl seemed petrified, yet still clung tightly to her food. The girl who almost scared Anwina into ascension grew anxious after witnessing our bewilderment, furiously gesturing and bouncing around, trying to communicate. When I asked about her background, she became frantic, spreading her arms in a flying motion, babbling chaotically: “Flew! Flew far! Ate strange things, dug up odd stuff from the soil, tummy got warm! Mom taught me to fly, cool up in the sky, so I flew away… Went many places, got lost… Ah, then grew up, couldn’t hide my body, people would see, mom said not to be seen, so hid in the mountains! Then… a light appeared, followed it into a huge valley, inside was all white, couldn’t see clearly, but tummy felt better, stayed several days, then a little human came, she didn’t fear me… She taught me to eat, spoke a lot, I found her nice human, played with her… Then bad people wanted to catch the little human… Or me, we ran, I flew her across many cities, lots of big houses, then another light, came back. Also, transformed into little human form, wouldn’t scare people. Oh, hungry little human wanted to eat, took fruit, mom showed me, it’s an apple!”
I pondered for three minutes, casually grabbing paper and pen: “Wait a bit, I’ll write a formula, gee this logic’s a mess…”
The girl skipped over, clutching Anwina’s hand, seemingly wanting to speak more. This time, her mouth slipped, accidentally spewing sparks. Anwina was pondering with starry eyes, witnessing this felt undeniably familiar, she pointed in shock: “Are you… Medivh?!”
“Medivh! Medivh!” The girl with purple-black hair joyfully bounced, “Right, mom always called me that, turns out this is my name!” Then she approached the cautious apple-nibbling girl solemnly: “I’m Medivh, it’s a name. Don’t fear, mom’s very very nice… And Master too.”
I quickly grasped Anwina’s hand and retreated to the side, lowering my voice cautiously: “Medivh? You say that child is Medivh? You’re sure?”
Anwina nodded emphatically: “Just felt familiar before, her stories seemed like her experiences after leaving home, and she coughs up Flame Arrows—Medivh’s habit she never corrects. 80% likely it’s her.”
I also had this suspicion, her speech was all over the place, subject-verb-object chaos, yet hints were evident. I scrutinized her further, gaze settling on her hair: purple-black, bearing a metallic cold sheen, indicative of Medivh’s unique plumage hue. Plus, the blue-black reflective shine on her hair ends… is it Crow God power?
“Seems right,” I nodded, “she called you mom. But why this transformation? Where’s the other girl from?”
Anwina felt a bit awkward: “She just said, remember?”
I glanced at the paper and pen in my hand, head in a muddle: “I haven’t outlined the relationships yet!”
Anwina paused, her expression rigidly nodding: “Uh, true…” (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)