School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 207 --The Past
"Osk is right," said Plum Blossom, lying in Woody’s arms.
"As for me, only Osk can call me by my real name. You’d better call me Plum Blossom, and don’t get it wrong, otherwise..."
Blight saw Plum Blossom wink at him, her finger pointing eastward.
Following the direction of Plum Blossom’s finger, he saw the bodies of a hundred or so assassins scattered across a nearby hillside.
"This woman is terrifying," Blight swallowed hard.
But after all, she had saved his life; he thought, sooner or later, he would have to repay her.
Woody sighed inwardly.
He had known Plum Blossom’s nature since they were children.
Apart from Woody and their father, Plum Blossom cared for no one else.
Although she was essentially kind-hearted, she had a venomous tongue and would retaliate fiercely if someone hurt her or someone she cared about.
It wasn’t her fault, after all, she had been deeply hurt before.
Two minutes later, they stopped in front of a hillock.
The hillock was entirely covered in deep green vines.
Approaching the hillock, Plum Blossom in his arms lightly touched the vines with her right hand, and they quickly parted, revealing an entrance.
Woody, holding Plum Blossom, walked in.
Blight followed behind, and as soon as he stepped through the entrance, the vines returned to their original state.
Before them was a vast hall, filled with countless fireflies dancing in the air.
The hall’s pillars were wooden, covered with many luminescent mosses.
In the center of the hall was a pool, illuminated perfectly by light filtering down from above.
Astonishingly, the flowers and plants here were in their most beautiful state, blooming simultaneously in the height of summer.
Blight followed Woody forward and noticed a plaque on the northern wall of the hall, inscribed with "Divine Farmer Sanctuary."
Directly below the plaque was a wicker chair, in front of which stood a writing desk, flanked on either side by two rows of wooden chairs, totaling four.
Blight chose one of the wooden chairs to sit down and closed his eyes to rest.
Woody carried Plum Blossom to her own room in the inner sanctum to treat her injuries.
Half an hour later, Blight felt as if his cultivation had significantly improved, and he was secretly pleased with himself.
Just then, Woody returned alone from the inner sanctum and sat next to Blight, saying, "Big brother, there are some things I need to tell you. Don’t be shocked; everything I say is the truth."
"Go ahead, Woody. I’ll believe what you say," Blight touched his chin with his left hand, still getting used to the hand he had regained.
"I’ll get straight to the point." Woody began slowly, "First of all, my real name is Osk, and I am the son of the previous elder of this Divine Farmer Sanctuary. Melin was an orphan my father rescued. She’s about half a year older than me and is my adoptive sister."
Woody paused for a moment, and Blight nodded for him to continue.
"Twenty years ago, the former seven centurions of Mingate and the later first centurion, Hass, coveted the lightwine that appears once every five hundred years in the mountains and came to seize it, forcing the emergence of the lightwine ahead of its time. "
"My Divine Farmer Sanctuary has been protecting the spirit tree for generations to prevent the lightwine from falling into the wrong hands, which naturally led to a conflict with them."
"As a result of the conflict, my head was burned by the lightwine, leaving me without memory and mentally impaired, becoming the Woody you know."
"If it weren’t for you taking me in and helping me, I might not have survived until today," Woody looked at Blight with gratitude.
He continued, "Perhaps Hass had a moment of conscience that day, as he was blinded by the lightwine while trying to protect Melin. My father managed to repel the seven centurions but succumbed to his severe injuries not long after."
"Since then, Melin dedicated herself to mastering the art of killing, and five years later, she used frost spikes to kill the seven centurions, earning her the title of Crimson Plum Blossom among the people."
"However, since then, others have impersonated her to commit murders. Upon investigation, it was discovered that these acts were carried out by the demon army’s assassination group, led by the jade-faced asura I killed earlier. The Divine Farmer Sanctuary is an ancient organization, an ally of the royal family. Their goal was to draw out Melin and eradicate the Divine Farmer Sanctuary, unaware that only the two of us remain."
Blight asked, "What exactly is lightwine?"
"The wine of time, possessing incredible power."
"Within the entire empire, only this ancient spiritual vein can produce it once every five hundred years, containing the light force of the spirit tree over five centuries and the dark force from the underground rivers."
"Those who come into contact with it will be destroyed by its immense power if their will is not strong or they do not possess exceptionally high cultivation. Conversely, it can greatly enhance one’s cultivation or even reverse aging."
"Your injuries were healed by this lightwine."
Blight asked, "Was the Snow King killed by Plum Blossom?"
"Yes, the empire utilized the Herb Badge." Woody pulled out a glowing stone from his bosom and handed it to Blight.
"This contains some memories of me and Sister Plum Blossom. You’re not an outsider, and if you wish to understand the events of twenty years ago, you can look into this. Then you’ll see that Sister Plum Blossom is far from being a cold-blooded killer."
Woody went back to the inner sanctum to take care of Plum Blossom.
Blight, holding the stone in his hands, muttered to himself, "Woody, it seems like you’re putting a lot of effort into proving to me that Plum Blossom is a good woman. But really, as long as you believe she is, that’s enough."
Clasping the memostone with both hands, Blight began to delve into the events of twenty years ago.
...
"I am Keso, and I advise you all to leave," Keso, wielding a wooden crutch, pointed at the eight people before him.
"With your current state of mind and cultivation, you will not pass the test of the lightwine. You might even endanger your lives."
"Moreover," Keso paused to think, then continued, "there are still thirty..."
"Twenty years," the leader of the group interrupted Keso.
The man continued, "Do you think we, the Mingate seven centurions, came here without doing our homework? However, we were completely unaware of someone guarding the lightwine."
"Boss, forget about it. Whoever dares to block us, we’ll kill," the weakest of the seven centurions shouted.
"Brother Keso, I am Hass," one of the eight people bowed to Keso and said, "I’ve heard that lightwine has the finest taste in the world.
I am here to taste the lightwine.
The lightwine is born of nature; it belongs to no one.
I doubt there’s a need for you to protect it."
"The taste of lightwine is determined by the heart of the person tasting it. With your current strength, I’m afraid it would burn your throat."
"I am confident in my abilities; otherwise, I wouldn’t have found this spiritual vein’s eye."
"Are you their guide?"
"More accurately, a collaborator," Hass smiled.
"I’m not particularly interested in enhancing my strength. I just want to taste the essence of the heavenly goblin flower; I’m willing to die for it."
"Enough talk," the person referred to as the boss looked at Keso.
"It’s eight against three now. I advise you not to obstruct us."
Keso was taken aback, not expecting the boss to have such acute perception.
He gripped his wooden crutch tighter and said, "Children, come behind me."
Osk and Melin emerged from their hiding spot behind the mound and took shelter behind Keso, who brandished his wooden crutch in a protective stance.
"Hey, look at that girl, isn’t she the one from a few days ago?" the most shameless among the seven centurions, Gus, shouted, "How did she end up on the mountain? Come play with us uncles again."
Melin’s eyes brimmed with tears, while Osk held a wooden bowl in one hand and tightly grasped Melin’s hand with the other.
Hass, witnessing this scene, seemed to understand something and his face darkened.
"Shut up! Now is not the time for nonsense!" The leader pulled out a stone from his chest and threw it towards the spirit tree.
"I’ll draw out the lightwine first!"
"Stardust stone!" Keso couldn’t help but exclaim.
The stardust stone turned into fragments before hitting the spirit tree, scattering in the air, absorbed by the spirit tree, which emitted a dazzling light.
"Fools," Hass cursed while shielding his eyes.
"The exit for the lightwine isn’t the spirit tree."
As the light faded, the seven centurions still faced off against Keso, with Hass positioning himself to the side of both parties, not yet intending to intervene.
The two children, Osk and Melin, hand in hand, ran to the side of the mound.
Osk held up the wooden bowl, into which the enchanting lightwine slowly flowed.
However, because the lightwine was drawn out by external force and the stardust stone was thrown to the wrong place, Osk only managed to catch a small half bowl.
The two children, hand in hand, protecting the lightwine, attempted to return to Keso’s side.
The boss’s face suddenly changed color.
"Pour out the lightwine!" Keso shouted, but it was too late.
The boss conjured a giant hand that clutched Osk’s chest, and the two children, hand in hand, were quickly pulled toward the seven centurions.
Keso plunged his wooden crutch into the ground with all his might, and two hands made of arcanergy burst forth from the earth, firmly grasping Osk’s ankles.
"Don’t just stand there! Help me," the boss roared at the six behind him.
The six centurions finally snapped into action, channeling their power into the boss.
His strength gradually increased, pulling Osk forward so much that the wooden bowl he held trembled, threatening to spill the lightwine at any moment.
"Damn it! You’re going to hurt the children," Hass shouted as he quickly moved toward Osk and Melin.
First, he separated their hands, then used arcanergy to lift Melin and toss her behind Keso.
