This means the surgery she is about to undergo will go very smoothly.

The closer the blood relation, the less rejection occurs from the surgery, a valuable experience she has gained through numerous practices.

This is also why she is willing to shelter the village of her birthplace.

As long as the village continues to thrive, she, as a "Mind Shifter" wizard, can continuously extend her own lifespan.

"You... monster!"

The girl in the cage suddenly spat out curses, one word at a time.

Facing the girl’s curses and deep hatred, the woman was not angry; instead, she smiled happily.

"Being able to temporarily break free from the shackles, it seems, Abby, you are almost mature."

Normally, Abby should not be able to control her body now, but perhaps due to excessive emotion, she managed to break free from the rune’s constraint.

Yet, this also implies that her body has reached the stage for surgical transformation.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry, it can start tomorrow."

She swallowed a spit.

Although most of her strength is retained in her developed brain, the period of body swapping is when she is the most vulnerable.

Like an arthropod molting.

She is eager to undertake the body-swapping process soon, to rid herself of this frail condition.

Fortunately, this process is about to begin.

Thinking of the treasure full of coincidences in front of her, she couldn’t help but laugh.

"What a wonderful coincidence, it’s almost like a gift of fate."

The woman let out a hoarse and satisfied sigh, a near-obsessive expression appearing on her wrinkled face.

Suddenly, the sound of "hehehehe" emitted by the puppet came from above.

She frowned, having understood its conveyed meaning.

Someone is near the house!

Her face turned sullen, filled with an irritation of being disturbed.

But...

At this critical moment, who would come to find her?

The village head?

Unlikely, she had already instructed the little fellow not to disturb her lately.

So, incidental passersby? Or... enemies?

She squinted her eyes slightly.

Grasping the fallen robe from the ground, she draped it back on.

Then moved toward the cellar exit, pressing a button at the door, causing the runes on the wall to glow gradually.

The entire cellar room transformed in an instant, as if it had hidden away.

...

"This is it."

Ying said softly.

Gauss’s team peered through the dwindling afternoon sunlight, gazing at the bizarre-looking stone house.

It appeared both abrupt and obscure.

Abrupt because the house sat isolated deep in the forest, making it nearly impossible for most ordinary people to survive alone.

Obscure, as the house, if not for Ying specifically bringing them here, would be incredibly difficult to discover, as though shrouded in a mist that shields perception, making passersby subconsciously overlook its existence.

"Be careful." Gauss heightened his vigilance.

He knew this house was absolutely problematic.

Suddenly, a cold energy swept through his body.

"We’ve been discovered, there’s indeed someone inside the house."

Gauss turned to remind his companions.

He initially wanted to investigate more, but didn’t expect the house owner had set up a detection barrier, even at such a distance.

"Should I scout it out?" Ying asked Gauss.

"No, let’s all go together." Gauss shook his head.

"Prepare for battle."

The group headed toward the stone house.

"Knock knock?" Gauss rapped on the door.

Having been discovered, there was no point in hiding.

They couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was a retired elderly professional’s secluded residence.

"Coming."

After a while, the door slowly opened.

In sight, Gauss saw a hunched, stooped old woman.

Her face was wrinkled, but her eyes were particularly bright, lacking the murky gaze of the elderly.

"Who are you..."

The old woman looked perplexed at Gauss and the others.

"We are passing adventurers, almost out of food. While hurrying through the forest, we happened to see a house here, so we thought to exchange some food."

"Food? I don’t have much left at home either; kind folks from the neighboring village usually bring me some, I fear..."

"It’s alright, could we just have some water to drink? I’m a bit thirsty."

Gauss’s gaze followed the old woman into the house.

The interior was very dark, but his excellent eyesight allowed him to see the arrangement inside clearly.

Various sundries filled the hall, firewood, clothes, a mess of books...

On the walls hung several portraits of young women, each looking different.

It was a bit unsettling.

"Alright... then why don’t you come in?"

Gauss and the others exchanged a subtle look.

Then followed the old woman into the house, while above, Ying, who had already concealed herself, released a doppelgänger to infiltrate the house with them.

Her true form remained outside, ready to assist Gauss and the others at any moment.

"Cough, cough!"

Gauss coughed twice.

There was a very strong smell inside the house.

Following the source of the smell, he looked toward the corner, where there were a pile of dolls.

"Ma’am, were you an adventurer before?" Gauss asked as she turned around to fetch water in the kitchen.

"Hehe, that was long... long ago." The old woman said hoarsely. "Now I’m just an old stray waiting to die, no longer like you young people who can roam around the world."

The old woman fetched several cups of water and placed them on the table.

Gauss didn’t reach out to take one but instead looked at the wall above at the hanging pictures.

A row of women portraits.

At the far edge, next to the portrait of a blonde curly-haired woman, was an empty frame. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Did you paint these, ma’am?"

Gauss’s gaze wandered over the paintings.

"Yes, hehe." A reminiscent expression appeared on the old woman’s face. "When I was young and adventuring, I was part of a very famous choir. Now that I’m older, I just wanted to paint those colleagues from my memories."

"People often recall their younger days when they age."

"Is that you?"

Gauss looked at the portrait of the golden-curled woman next to the blank frame, her features vaguely mirroring those of the old woman beside him.

"Hehe, young man, you’ve a sharp eye."

"Time is so cruel, clearly looking so beautiful when young... and now reduced to a rotting shell."

"Everyone goes through that process," Gauss said softly.

"Tap—"

Aaliyah suddenly stepped on a paper package at her feet.

Several golden tangerine candies wrapped in transparent syrup rolled out from the package.

"Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t notice the candies on the floor."

Gauss’s gaze followed Aaliyah’s voice.

The golden syrup stuck on the ground, emitting a faint tangerine aroma.

He vaguely remembered something, showing a thoughtful expression.

"It’s alright, it’s likely a gift from nearby villagers; I myself am past the age of eating candies."

"Right, weren’t you thirsty?"

Seeing that none of them had touched the water, the old woman shifted it invitingly.

"Hurry and drink?"

Gauss glanced at the clear cup of water.

In the dark brown ceramic cup, the surface of the clear water rippled slightly due to the movement.

"Okay, thank you, ma’am."

He reached out for the cup.

Took it from the table.

The old woman blinked as she watched him.

But just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

"Ma’am, I just remembered our horses are still outside the forest, I wonder if they’re alright?"

"Don’t worry, it’s very safe around here, no wild beasts. Whenever kind villagers bring food, I’d hire them to spread some beast-repelling powder around."

"Then I’m relieved." Gauss nodded, slowly lifting the hand holding the cup again.

The old woman blinked.

Suddenly, a shadow slithered like a serpent from the ground, wrapping itself around Gauss’s right leg.

"As expected..."

In the next moment.

He smashed the ceramic cup with a swift grip, his right fist punching forward, tearing through the air with muscle expanding rapidly in the motion.

Energy dragon scales instantly spread across his arm’s skin, releasing blinding light in the dimly lit house.