The so-called "magic potion" doesn't necessarily have to be a pill to be effective. She never told those nobles that her magic could be attached to any object—swallowing small pills was convenient for controlling the dosage, but it also made them ignore this crucial point.

At that private banquet, Dailan cast her ability on all the food and drinks. Only in such an absurd setting would the nobles' defenses against her be lowered to the minimum.

As it turned out, when the feeling of *kuàigan* accumulated to a high enough level, it could kill just like pain. By the time the participants realized the *kuàigan* was coming on too strong, it was already too late. One by one, they clutched their chests, convulsing and falling. Even those who ate relatively little were weak in the limbs, with a dazed look on their faces, as if enjoying the ultimate pleasure in the world.

The *nunu* inside were immediately frightened and fled in droves, and the guards couldn't stop them in time. Dailan and Momo also took advantage of the chaos to run out of the manor.

What followed was a life of hiding and wandering (*liuwang*).

It wasn't until they heard the news of the Graycastle Great Migration that the two decided to try their luck at Shallow Water Bay.

"So that's what happened..." Wendy reached out and put her arms around them. "You must have suffered a lot along the way, right? I promise, these things will never happen again."

"You... don't despise us?" Dailan bit her lip.

"Why would I despise you? Because of your unpleasant past experiences?" Wendy said softly, "If that's the case, I myself was almost treated the same way by the Church. There's no reason to blame the victims in such matters, rather than the perpetrators."

"But our abilities... only bring misfortune to people." Dailan clenched her fists tightly.

"That's not for you to decide."

"But once you've experienced that kind of pleasure, you'll never forget it, and the demands will only get higher and higher. In the end, you won't care about anything but pursuing pleasure... If I stay here, I'm afraid..."

"Afraid that His Majesty can't control you, or that he'll see you as potential demons?" Wendy comforted. "Don't worry, our Majesty... how should I put it, although he doesn't quite seem like a king, he's definitely an extraordinary good person."

Dailan was stunned. "An extraordinary... good person?" This was the first time she had heard such words used to describe royalty.

"It means you can never guess what he's thinking, and you can't judge his actions by convention. Therefore, any prior worries and fears are meaningless. Trust is the most important thing." Wendy's voice suddenly became exceptionally gentle. "That's how the sisters of the Cooperative Union were rescued."

After a moment of silence, she looked at Momo. "By the way, you just said 'your' abilities, could it be that Momo also—"

This time, the two hesitated for even longer. Finally, Momo took the initiative to speak. "My former master dug out my mutated eyes after I awakened, because he didn't want me to use my ability anymore."

Wendy had noticed this anomaly earlier. On Momo's face, a dirty rag was wrapped diagonally around half of her forehead. She had originally thought it was to cover up scars or tattoos, but she didn't expect it to be even more serious.

After saying that, the other party slowly took off the rag on her head, revealing the empty eye socket underneath.

"But they didn't know that doing so would only make me lose half of my vision. Only the God's Punishment Stone can truly block it."

Wendy couldn't help but sigh. Witches whose magic is completely integrated with their bodies are called Transcenders. Momo's situation, however, was obviously unrelated to Transcendence. In all likelihood, her ability happened to affect "vision," causing her eyes to suffer an undeserved disaster.

"The nobles didn't take Momo's ability to heart at first, but later, some changes occurred that made the master take action against her," Dailan said in a low voice. "They called Momo the Child of Hell and subjected her to all kinds of punishments. She almost didn't survive."

Wendy lovingly stroked the scarred eye socket. "What exactly did you see? Can you tell me?"

Momo lowered her head. "...A number."

"What?"

"A countdown number, indicating the final deadline."

It took Wendy a while to react. She couldn't help but gasp.

"Could the changes Dailan mentioned refer to—"

Momo nodded. "It came true. A noble who originally only had one left, died the following year."

Wendy couldn't help but remain silent.

She understood why those nobles would resort to such cruel methods—a deadline like that is difficult for anyone to accept, especially when the number is only a few years away. Even she herself wouldn't want to get the answer through this ability.

"But... is it really possible to do such a thing?" Wendy pondered for a moment. "After all, accidents can happen at any time."

The two were immediately stunned.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"No..." Dailan waved her hands repeatedly. "I just think... your attitude is different from everyone else. You would actually ask about the details of the ability first."

"Oh? What did you expect me to do?"

Dailan replied a little embarrassedly, "Push Momo away, question her about whether she used her ability, and then kick us out of the castle, as far away from here as possible."

Wendy chuckled. "Abilities are neither good nor bad in themselves, it depends on the person who uses them. Besides, the more I understand, the easier it will be to use them in the future."

"Do you think... my ability will also be useful?" Momo said in disbelief.

"Maybe, but His Majesty once told me that every witch's ability will always have its use. Just because it doesn't now doesn't mean it won't in the future."

She stood there blankly for a while before slowly replying, "This ability can't predict accidents. I've seen some livestock with several years left on their heads before they were slaughtered. But..."

"But what?" Wendy asked urgently.

"Some of the numbers are different colors... I don't know what that means, but I feel like they should be different."

"If you're willing to join the Witch Union, you should be able to find out the reason soon enough—after all, the first thing every new member has to do is learn how to control their ability and test all its aspects. Only by understanding it deeply enough can it be further advanced."

"Ad...vanced?" Dailan asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out later. Awakening magic is just the beginning. There's still a lot to learn." Wendy opened her hands to the two of them. "So, have you made a decision?"

Dailan and Momo looked at each other.

"If you can accept us as we are..."

"We are willing to join the Witch Union."

They cautiously reached out their hands, as if with unease and hesitation, mixed with yearning and hope, and slowly placed them in Wendy's palms.