Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

005: The Walking House in the Market

Three days later, on the 13th of the month.

West of the Grey Tower, the market.

The 13th of each month is the day when the extraordinary beings of the Gray Mist Jungle trade. On this day, extraordinary beings from all over the Gray Mist Jungle gather in a specially designated open area on the west side of the Gray Tower to exchange resources.

Today is the day the market is open.

Lynch stood at the entrance of the market and waited.

The air was filled with a pungent mixture of smells: the stench of humus, the strange smell of a peculiar medicine, and the distinctive odor of some kind of biological glandular secretions.

The ground was not paved with stones, and the exposed soil was repeatedly trampled into a dark brown color. Occasionally, clusters of brightly colored, pulsating fluorescent mushrooms could be seen stubbornly sticking out.

The stalls were in disarray; some were just filthy animal hides spread on the ground, while others had tattered tarpaulins propped up by crooked wooden poles.

The merchandise is bizarre and fantastical: a humanoid figure of billowing mist is imprisoned in a crystal bottle; rows of dried fairy wings are neatly arranged on a piece of thick, unfolded leather; a jet-black crow with three eyes constantly pecks at the fence...

There were many figures, mostly wearing dark cloaks with their hoods pulled low. They spoke in hushed tones, like the hissing whispers of snakes.

There were no hawking, only scrutiny, weighing, and silent exchanges; every inch of air was permeated with the alienation of magic and the cold calculations of resource transfer.

At this moment,

A dull thud sounded, not the sound of footsteps, but more like the groan of the massive wooden structure unable to bear the weight of gravity.

A crooked, old-looking wooden house is wobbling along the edge of the forest toward the market.

Yes, a wooden house.

Thick black smoke billowed from the crooked chimney, several windows were tightly shut like sleepy eyes, and the roof was not covered with tiles, but with a thick layer of damp, dark moss.

Supporting this absurd structure are two huge and slender "legs," resembling the claws of some unknown giant bird, covered with dark brown rough keratin, with recurved joints and sharp, sickle-like claws at the ends.

finally come!

Lin Qi, who had been waiting, had his eyes light up and quickly followed.

The wooden cabin entered the market and stopped on an open space at the edge of the market. It bent its "legs" and slowly "sat" down in a contorted posture like a hen incubating eggs, no longer moving, with only black smoke still billowing from the chimney.

Then a 'click' sounded, the door to the house opened, and an old witch wearing a black cloak walked out.

She was terribly hunched over, wrapped in a heavy black cloak stained with some unknown dirt.

Beneath the hood, an aged face, like a crumpled and dried parchment, was covered with deep wrinkles and dark spots.

However, what is most striking is the very center of her forehead—

A vertical, deep crack extends from the hairline to the center of the forehead. The skin on both sides of the crack is slightly rolled inward and is darker in color than the surrounding skin, presenting an eerie state that is almost healed but not completely closed.

It sat there quietly, like a scar, or more like a sleeping vertical eye, exuding an inhuman, unsettling stillness.

The old witch, her body hunched over, used her withered, bird-claw-like hands to slam a rough-edged, dark brown wooden plaque onto the muddy ground beside the door with a thud.

The wooden sign was written crookedly in some kind of fluorescent, pale green pigment:

[Today's Special Price]

• The complete vocal glands of the hoarse lacewing - 3 magic stones/pair

Fresh swamp mushrooms (surviving for three days) - 5 magic stones/mushroom

• Ointment to relieve the itching of the "Curse of Flesh" - 1 Magic Stone/jar

Raven's Eye (peeks into misfortune once) - 10 Magic Stones/time

Just as she straightened up and brushed non-existent dust off her hands, she caught a glimpse of Lin Qi standing a few steps away out of the corner of her eye.

Her cloudy eyes unexpectedly turned to him, scrutinizing him from head to toe. She mumbled something like a bellows, "Tsk, a good omen. Business already here so early?"

Then, she raised her withered hand and beckoned to Lin Qi with her finger: "Kid, don't just stand there looking at that junk outside. Come in and take a look. Here, you can buy the 'best' and most practical things in the entire Gray Mist Jungle."

Lin Qi nodded, silently stepped over the threshold, and entered the wooden shack filled with the strange, pungent smell of chicken legs. His gaze cautiously swept across the interior—

On the crowded shelves, there were strange eyeballs soaking in an unknown liquid, jars of eerily colored powder, dried and twisted plant roots, and even several heavy books with covers that looked like they were bound in human skin... The goods were indeed dazzling, exuding a dangerous yet alluring sense of mystery.

He moved slowly along the narrow passageway, his fingers hovering over several items, but he never actually picked anything up.

Seeing this, the old witch behind the counter quickly lost her patience.

The enthusiasm she had shown earlier in soliciting customers was long gone. She tapped her fingers rapidly on the table and said impatiently, "Have you seen enough, kid? This isn't a museum for you to broaden your horizons. Just say what you want, or—get lost."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi immediately stopped observing and turned to ask directly, "I've heard that you have a magical potion here that can...significantly accelerate the meditation process. Is that true?"

Dulis, the evil-eyed witch, is a wandering wizard who came to the Gray Mist Forest several years ago.

Rumors circulated among the apprentices that she sold a peculiar potion that could greatly enhance an apprentice's meditation efficiency after consumption.

The old witch's fingers, which were tapping the table, suddenly stopped.

She seemed to freeze for a moment, and then, on her face, which was like dried tree bark, the corners of her mouth began to slowly pull upwards, creating a deep arc amidst the crisscrossing wrinkles.

Like a crack suddenly appearing in parched land, several yellow and black sharp teeth are faintly visible in the dim light.

"Heh...hehe..."

A laugh escaped from deep in her throat, dry and strange, like an owl scratching a dry branch: "Interesting."

Her normal eye narrowed, the turbid pupil shrinking to a point, sharply fixed on Lin Qi's face, and the vertical crack on her forehead seemed to twitch very slightly: "So you came for the old woman's 'Thousand-Eyed Demon Soup'."

Her voice was low, yet all the clearer, each word like a hook: "Since you know about the 'Thousand-Eyed Demon Soup'... then you brat should also know what will happen after you drink that stuff, right?"

Her gaze, almost tangible, swept across Lin Qi's features, as if weighing the weight of his soul: "What? Are you tired of living? Or... are you so eager to offer yourself as a sacrifice to 'Lord Evil Eye,' to return to His 'warm' embrace as soon as possible?"

Although the Thousand-Eyed Demon Soup is remarkably effective, it has one fatal flaw—

Pollution!