After washing up, Baizhi wrung the towel dry and hung it on the snow-covered balcony.
In just one day, the towel would freeze completely. When she used it the next day, she only needed to repeatedly knead and pat it to remove the ice shards. Of course, she could also use her ability in the warm room to quickly evaporate the moisture, but this would reduce the number of daily practice sessions.
Baizhi knew that her magic power was at the bottom level among the witches, so she had to use every bit precisely.
After finishing the cleaning, there was a knock on the door. Almost every day at this time, Wendy would take her to the castle hall for breakfast.
"Coming!"
Baizhi happily opened the door. As expected, Wendy was standing outside—she affectionately picked her up and sniffed her cheek, "Hmm, good, all cleaned up."
"Hehe." Baizhi grinned and took Wendy's hand, walking towards the hall.
It had been almost half a month since she came to Border Town, and she had basically gotten used to the life in the castle.
She didn't have to leave the shack early to find food, nor did she have to worry about the firewood she picked up being stolen. All the time spent on filling her stomach and keeping warm was now free, replaced by magic practice and learning knowledge. She had only fantasized about such a life when chatting with her companions. Only the young masters and xiaojie of the noble families could live without worrying about survival.
Baizhi never thought that she would have such a day.
Wendy's palm was soft and warm, a feeling she had never experienced in the slums. It was like someone was always thinking about and caring for her... She hoped to stay in this warm place forever.
If it was a dream, she would rather never wake up.
Walking into the hall, Baizhi saw that the witches were not sitting at the long table eating as usual, but were gathered around a wall, chattering non-stop.
She blinked curiously, but was too shy to ask Wendy what they were doing.
The latter seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled, "The sisters are testing their combat power."
"Combat power?" Baizhi was slightly stunned, "What's that?"
"A strange saying that came out of His Highness's mouth, you don't need to pay attention to it," Wendy bent down, picked up the little girl, and placed her on her shoulder. "Did you see that silvery-white metal piece? It is said to be a relic of the Witch Kingdom from more than four hundred years ago, and also a weapon used by Transcenders to fight. Only those with strong magic power can stimulate its power. So His Highness put it in the hall so that everyone can test their magic level, or... satisfy the sisters' curiosity—being able to light up four magic stones on it at once is equivalent to one Divine Will Combat Power."
"..." Baizhi felt extremely confused. Witch Kingdom? Transcenders? Magic stones? A series of unheard-of words made her unable to make heads or tails of it for a while, but this did not affect the shock brought by the scene in front of her—the witches took turns placing their hands on the metal piece, causing the gems embedded in it to emit brilliant light, like colorful stars, which looked incredible.
"I can light up two!" Lightning, who was about the same age as her, shouted. On her shoulder was a plump pigeon, which Baizhi remembered was also a witch, named Maisie.
"Two and a half, coo!" the pigeon cried triumphantly.
"Hey, you're actually higher than me? That's impossible!"
"Do you want to try?" Wendy smiled, "It's probably not possible now. You haven't learned how to inject magic power into the magic stones, let alone activate the runes. But His Highness has stipulated that this is a course that witches must study, so you will soon have a luminous stone for practice."
A gemstone like that, crystal clear and able to emit light? Baizhi was immediately excited and nodded to Wendy repeatedly, "I will practice hard!"
"Good girl," Wendy smiled and rubbed her cheek, "Let's eat first. You need strength to practice when you're full."
...
After drinking the oatmeal, Baizhi returned to the Witch Building and began her daily practice.
Wendy told her that all things in this world
are made up of small balls that cannot be seen, and that material changes are also the separation and joining of these balls, and that her ability is to accelerate this process, rather than simply melting ice and snow or cooling hot water.
Although she couldn't quite understand the meaning of these words, she still meticulously followed Wendy's instructions, feeling the magic power contained in her body and releasing it evenly—her early life in the slums made her understand that she could live such a good life because His Highness needed the power of witches. This was her only value, and she had to do her best to avoid being abandoned.
Suddenly, Baizhi felt a burst of pain in her abdomen. The magic power trembled in her body, as if it was about to burst out, and she couldn't help but groan.
"What's wrong?" Wendy, who was beside her, asked.
"N-nothing," she shook her head, "The magic power seemed to be out of control just now."
"Out of control..." The other party pondered for a moment, "Do you remember when you became a witch?"
"Probably in winter," Baizhi said in a low voice, "I don't remember the specific date."
"It's late autumn now, and it's only a few days before winter," Wendy's smile disappeared. "As the Awakening Day approaches, the magic power in your body will become active, which is also a sign of backlash. Rest for a while, and I'll call Nightingale. She can see the changes in your magic power." She walked to the door and turned back to add, "Don't worry, for the witches of Border Town, this is not a life-or-death crisis."
...
Wendy's guess was confirmed.
Baizhi ushered in her second Awakening Day three days later.
She lay on the big bed, looking at the circle of witches who came to visit, listening to their comforting words, and suddenly felt an urge to cry.
The pain of being burned by magic during her first awakening in her memory seemed to have become less unbearable.
"Since you haven't practiced for a long time, I can't guarantee that you can completely eliminate the pain of the backlash," Wendy sat on the bedside, stroking her hair, "But compared to the torment of adulthood, this pain is nothing. You can definitely endure it. Remember, never have the idea of giving up, and don't let yourself lose consciousness."
Baizhi nodded.
She didn't dare to speak, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would burst into tears.
She didn't want everyone to see her embarrassing appearance.
When living in the slums, crying was the weakest behavior, and only those who gave up struggling would do such a thing.
Baizhi closed her eyes and waited for that moment to arrive.
...
When she opened her eyes, the sky outside the window was already pale.
The backlash process was much weaker than she had imagined, so that the various rescue methods prepared by everyone could not be used. When she woke up, she felt that the magic power in her body had increased a lot, and subtle changes seemed to have taken place all over her body. Her eyes could see farther, and her hands and feet were stronger.
After washing her face, Wendy's knock on the door rang on time.
"I'm coming," Baizhi happily opened the door and took her hand, but this time the other party did not take her to the castle hall, but went to the third floor, the Lord's office.
The gray-haired big man smiled and handed a piece of parchment to her.
"From today onwards, you are an official member of the Witch Union."