Chapter 810 - 26: Unease

Chapter 810: Chapter 26: Unease

A few days later, on the northern border of the Dark Forest, deep within an unfrequented dense woodland.

The thick, seemingly endless milky white mist envelops this area year-round, blocking out sunlight and prying eyes.

At the center of this ethereal fog, a newly constructed small wooden cabin stands quietly, its raw wood color yet to be fully eroded by wind and rain, exuding a faint scent of timber and earth.

The furnishings inside the cabin are simple, yet warm and dry enough. Lynch walks up to the rough wooden table and gently places a few bottles of carefully mixed magic potions on it.

The liquid in the bottles displays various hues: one is imbued with a lively green, shimmering as if light points are floating within; another is milky white, thick in texture, emitting soothing waves; and there’s also a faint gold one, akin to solidified sunlight.

He turns to Shirley, lying on the sickbed against the wall; her complexion is still pale, but has improved significantly compared to her dying look in the dungeon.

“These magic potions will aid your recovery,” Lynch’s voice is calm, “Take the green one every morning to accelerate healing of flesh and bones; the milky white one at midday to soothe your damaged spirit; the gold one before sleep to nourish your life force. Stick to this routine daily, and you should essentially recover in a month.”

He pauses, his gaze grazing over the cabin’s sole window, outside of which is the perpetually dense mist. “During this time, just rest assured here to recuperate. I’ve enveloped this forest with special mist; without domain level power and specific methods, it’s impossible to detect any anomaly here. As long as you don’t actively leave this forest, you’ll be safe.”

Shirley props herself sitting, leaning against the headboard. She glances at the costly magic potions on the table and then at Lynch, genuine gratitude surfaces on her pale face, and she slightly bows: “Thank you, Mr. Lynch… I don’t know how to repay your kindness.”

Lynch waves his hand, his tone still indifferent: “No need for thanks, it was just a small effort on my part.” For him, healing Shirley’s injuries was indeed not a challenge.

Perhaps due to her improvement, or feeling the security, Shirley’s mood eases evidently. She hesitates, but eventually speaks softly, with a hint of nostalgia and warmth in her eyes: “Mr. Lynch… Miss Avery… has missed you dearly over these years.”

Lynch, in the midst of turning away, slightly pauses imperceptibly. He doesn’t respond immediately, instead remaining silent for a moment, with an emotion fleeting across his always composed gray eyes, so fast it’s almost untraceable.

He doesn’t pursue the topic, choosing instead to say: “If there’s nothing else, just rest well here. I need to go out for a while.”

With that, he doesn’t linger, turning to push open the wooden door, his figure quickly merging into the dense, unyielding mist outside, leaving the cabin’s silence to Shirley in bed.

Leaving the cabin, Lynch steps deeper into the forest alone. Surrounding him are towering ancient trees and eternal silence, with only the occasional faint sound of snapping twigs underfoot and the pervasive mist accompanying his contemplation.

His steps are slow yet steady, but his thoughts surge and spread like the mist among the woods.

To be honest, regarding Avery, he always harbors an inexplicable guilt and self-reproach.

Since being compelled to leave the Ancient Ruins and establish himself in the Jade Land, he hadn’t returned even once over these years. At first, the reasons were obvious—the Shadow Tower’s hanging warrant was like an invisible shackle, barring him from setting foot on this land.

But later?

As he gradually acquired power, built a force for self-preservation or even resistance, further receiving the recognition and protection of the Blue Realm Wizard Domain, the old warrant had long become obsolete. With his powerful strength and status, returning was merely a matter of a fleeting thought, effortless.

Yet he still didn’t.

The primary reason behind this choice, Lynch knows well, originates within himself.

Perhaps he didn’t know how to face it.

He silently sighs, a complexity flickering across his gray eyes.

After all, though his departure then was forced, resulting from Reo’s persecution, the final scene was indeed extremely unpleasant. He had nearly stood against a segment of the Shadow Tower’s authority and the Wizard Family’s interests, breaking out in a way close to rupture.

And Avery… she’s not just the one he shared a subtle sentiment with. She’s a representative of the Tavendish family, an interest spokeswoman for the Wizard Family within the Shadow Tower.

Her every word and action had to weigh the family’s stance and gains; personal emotions often pale in the face of collective interests.

Lynch senses that if he had rashly returned back then, besides placing Avery in an even more difficult and dangerous situation—

Between old acquaintance and friendship on one side, and family responsibility and the current power structure on the other—what purpose would it serve? His appearance wouldn’t bring any aid, instead likely becoming a catalyst exacerbating her predicament.

So, he chose absence. With prolonged time and vast distance, he buried those ties and any possible expectations deeply.

His original plan was to wait until he acquired absolute power to genuinely transcend all rules and powers of this land, then return to sort out those intricate past entanglements with detached elegance.

At that point, all resistance and opposition would become meaningless before him, and he could handle the awkward and unresolved relationship with Avery and the Wizard Family in the most secure way.

But unexpectedly…

Knitting his brows deeply unconsciously, his pace halts. He truly hadn’t anticipated the situation’s shift to be so abrupt, swift beyond all imagination.

The Wizard Families, once intertwined and seemingly capable of reigning over the Shadow Tower’s interior and exterior, had unexpectedly collapsed like a sand castle swept by a storm in such a short time. The millennium-old order suddenly collapsed, plunging this land that birthed countless legends into a whirlpool of chaos and bloodshed.

Even more unforeseen was that the orchestrator of all this was the former Shadow Tower’s Chief Judge—Erodion! And the new order he established, that so-called “Freemasonry Church,” began with a brutal purge and hunt of the wizard powers they once honored and represented!

In fact,

When Freemasonry Church first began to emerge, demonstrating an iron-handed approach distinct from previous Wizard Organizations, Lynch, far away in the Jade Land, through certain channels, sensed an unusual wind direction at the Ancient Ruins. A looming, oppressive sense of impending storm stirred his vigilance.

Precisely because of this, when Blair represented the Starlight Council, carrying allied intentions from afar, he chose to agree after weighing things.

This wasn’t just for gains, but also to take the opportunity to extend his reach back to this land, and perhaps… offer a shred of protection to old contacts amid potential upheaval.

However, unexpectedly… he was ultimately late.

His maneuvers ultimately couldn’t outpace Erodion’s rapid strikes, nor the swirling torrent of destruction. Before he could arrange everything and formally return, Avery and her family had already…

Thinking this, Lynch’s mood grows restless, an emotion mixed with agitation and helplessness quietly spreading.

Shirley only mentioned Avery wasn’t at the castle during the attack, having gone to the border to handle a magic array malfunction, then went missing. But on this land now in the grip of the Freemasonry Church, fraught with danger, where can she go? Is she hiding somewhere awaiting opportunity? Or… has she already met misfortune?

“I wonder where she went now?”

Lynch mutters quietly, his tightly furrowed brows unable to ease, those usually tranquil gray eyes now clearly reflecting deep concern and a trace of elusive… unease.

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