“What do you want to ask?” Aqima said with a sidelong glance.

“Wendy…” Wendy grabbed her hand with some worry. If Tilly was right, these people weren't even aiming for Neverwinter, but rather the divisions that already existed within the Sleeping Island witches. If not handled well, it would not only involve the witches’ alliance, but also reduce the newcomers’ trust in them, which would outweigh the gains.

“It’s okay,” the latter raised an eyebrow at her, then pointed to the witch who wanted to return to the Eastern Region, “Since you are concerned about your hometown, you shouldn’t have been abandoned by your family, but rather forced to leave the Eastern Region under the pressure of the church, and follow other refugees far away to Sleeping Island, am I right?”

“So what if it is?” Aqima retorted.

“This is the situation in the Eastern Region,” Juan said calmly, facing the red-haired witch's aggressiveness, “Since Queen Garcia of Azure Water looted Sea Breeze County and Golden穗 City, that land has never recovered. First, there was the rampant evil plague spread by the church, and then Tifieke messed it up. The fields were barren, and income could not cover expenses, and many people became refugees.”

The witch's face showed obvious worry, but Aqima still insisted, "Without seeing it with my own eyes, who knows if what you are saying is true."

“Since two years ago, when His Majesty Roland launched the refugee resettlement program, the population of Neverwinter has exceeded 100,000, 70% of whom come from all over Graycastle, especially refugees from the Eastern and Southern Regions.” Juan said methodically, “Your familiar relatives are likely to be among them—can you tell me where you used to live? Town or village, with any unique landscapes or products nearby?”

“Do you think you can find her family with this clue? She wasn’t born in a big city where every street has a name and every neighbor knows each other!”

Juan didn't answer, but brushed her hair back and looked at the witch with encouraging eyes, as if she was patiently waiting for a student's answer in class.

“My village…has no name,” the other party said in a low voice after hesitating for a long time, “Neither do the nearby villages. It’s very far from Golden穗 City, so far that if my family wants to sell wheat, they can only sell it to passing traveling merchants at a low price. If I had to say something, some people who have been out call it Sixteen.”

“Six…teen?” Wendy repeated unconsciously.

“Because the sixteenth village they pass when returning from Golden穗 City is home.”

Juan closed her eyes and asked slowly, “Let me think… there is a tributary of the Three Bends River behind that village, right?”

“In the Eastern Region, tributaries of the Three Bends River are everywhere.” Aqima snorted, “Without river water irrigation, how can a village take root?”

“But that one is different,” Juan waved her hand, “It’s shallow and narrow, not only can’t ships pass, but the riverbed will even be exposed during the dry season, which is why the village built on it can’t transport grain by water—but when it reaches Village Sixteen, the tributary will come to an abrupt end and turn into a huge lake. Even when the water flow is cut off, the lake water will not dry up. Therefore, the wheat fields in the village always grow more luxuriantly than other villages, right?”

The witch couldn't help but widen her eyes, "Have you been there?"

“I heard someone mention it,” Juan was silent for a while, “That person is now in Neverwinter, but he is not a resident of Village Sixteen.”

"What do you mean?"

“You should ask him yourself,” she turned to the clerk of the City Hall in charge of registration, “Watt, ID number 0024578, kiln worker, should be recovering waste slag in the North Slope Second District now, go and bring him here.”

"Yes, ma'am." The latter responded and left.

A quarter of an hour later, the clerk led a red-faced man to the residential area.

“I don’t know him…” the witch looked at him a few times and shook her head to deny it.

“There’s nothing to say now, right?” Aqima sneered, “There are so many people in the entire Eastern Region, do you think you can just—"

“Ah, could it be… are you Tielan's daughter?” the man's joyful voice interrupted her, “God bless, you are still alive, and so grown up!”

The witch was stunned, "The Tielan you mentioned... is my mother?"

“Who else could it be, your eyes are so much like hers, especially the mole next to the corner of your eye, they are exactly the same!” Watt exclaimed, “But speaking of which, you are much better looking than your mother. Wait, don’t you remember me? No wonder, you were still young when I left the village, and you were gone when I came back. You were called… Lanwa at that time, if I remember correctly? Tielan gave you a name, all beautiful flowers are called that.”

“That was just a childhood nickname—” the witch said embarrassedly, “My name is Doris now.”

“Oh, that’s a good name too. Do you know that when I was digging ditches in Village Sixteen, the most talked about thing was about you—they all thought you had been abducted by a witch. And…”

After listening to Watt rambling for a long time, Wendy finally figured out the whole story. It turned out that this red-faced man lived next door to Village Sixteen, which should be called Village Fifteen according to the naming rules. The two villages were not far apart, so there was still close contact. Because he envied the water source in the neighboring village, he first went to Golden穗 City to learn ditch digging techniques, and after completing his studies, he returned to his hometown and gathered a group of villagers, planning to widen the lake to Village Fifteen. Because of this, he had stayed in Village Sixteen for a long time.

“Then my parents, and my eldest brother, are they… still in the village now?” Doris had obviously believed Watt’s statement, and after finally waiting for the other party to finish rambling, she asked eagerly, “Or did they all come to the Western Region with me?”

Juan sighed softly.

The red-faced man's expression also darkened, “They didn’t make it to Neverwinter… the Second Prince’s army robbed everyone’s food, and the group arrived in the royal capital hungry and thirsty, but encountered a fierce plague. The nobles in the city shut us out, letting us wail and struggle by the city walls. People from several villages died almost in large numbers, and only a few people survived until His Majesty sent a rescue team.” He paused, “And your family… didn’t make it through.”

“No…” Doris covered her mouth, stood there blankly for a moment, and then cried helplessly.

“Sorry, child,” Watt was a little flustered, as if he wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know how to do it, so he finally walked over and gently put his hand on her head, “Tielan repeatedly mentioned your name before she passed away. If she knew you were still alive and doing well, she would be very relieved, so… don’t cry.”

Doris bit her lip tightly and nodded slightly, but her crying became even louder.