The little castle in the depths of the valley was deserted in every way, as were the old women who lived in it. Yellow mulberry trees obscure most of the ruins, and a labyrinth of rope walkways and mossy paths obscure the view, and Grandma Glab's hut is hidden among the golden and red leaves.

"You're late," said the old woman, whose gray-haired, bamboo-thin hands were wiping the blood from Vanessa's body with a yellowish sackcloth, "the poor girl has been raped." ”

The young man standing by heard her words and bit his lip, but said nothing.

"She still has the scars of being abused, and lo and behold, her nails are all punctured," said Grandma Glab, raising the Princess's hand, distressedly, "and whatever she has done to you, she does not deserve such abuse." The old man dipped the sackcloth in the basin of hot water beside him, took it out and wrung it out, and began to wipe Vanessa's face, blood and mud, raindrops and tears faded away one by one under the old man's hands, revealing a delicately contoured face. Glab looked at the princess and asked the young man beside her, "How beautiful she is, Reina, do you still hate this face?" ”

Reina stared at Vanessa's face, hatred and reluctance flashed alternately in her blue eyes, and the old lady patted her head, "Look at my memory, I forgot why you didn't answer." She stood up tremblingly, pulled Reina to turn and leave the room, and said as she went, "Now let's let her sleep for a while, and then she will wake up and be embarrassed to see us." When she got to the door, she still kept nagging, "Don't worry, I'll give you back the voice, your voice is not as good as the nightingale, what do I want it to do......"

Vanessa waited until the old woman's voice was gone, then she turned over and sat up from the bed, and first found herself dressed in a women's outfit: brown cotton stockings and a light linen blouse, covered with a pale blue skirt with a circle embroidered with pink thread and a thin lightning bolt in the circle—the emblem of the prophet. In view of the battle for the throne between House Delin and House Ivan, all the prophets went into hiding, wisely not participating in the royal war, and this hiding was a century, and it was said that anyone who wanted to see them would have to pay a great price, and even then they would not necessarily fulfill the wishes of the seekers. Vanessa hurriedly checked to see if she was missing any parts, a ridiculous act that involved a wound on her back, causing her to let out a painful **. There was an immediate knock outside the door, and a blue-eyed Reina walked in.

"Where am I?" Vanessa stared straight into his cold blue eyes.

Reina's pretty blue eyes didn't answer the princess's question, but the breakfast in his hand was intimate, a meal that was drab but fragrant: black bread, yellow cheese, baked apples, and a glass of ale. Then a short old woman appeared by the wooden door, curled up and wrinkled, her white hair almost dragging to the ground, and the morning breeze blew and her hair fluttered in her mind, like a white cloud following a withered old oak tree. "Ah, you're awake," said the old man, who approached the bed, and sat down on an old stump, and Vanessa realized that all the belongings in the room had been made of ready-made wood, the table was a large root, the chair was a small root, the washstand was three intertwined hardwood vines, and even the wooden bed under her was a half-cut stump of a great old tree. The old woman said, "You are safe now, the child, this is Grandma Glab's cabin." The old man's eyes were slightly open as he spoke, and there was no more expression on his face, and Vanessa could not tell if she was lying, nor could she guess her intentions.

"There is no safe place." Vanessa heard herself say, and involuntarily reached for the bread and ale. She hadn't eaten anything in two days since she returned to the Land of Midsummer.

"Slow down, kid." Glob tied the straps on the back of Vanessa's dress, "We have time. ”

When most of the food had been washed down by the ale, Vanessa looked up at Reiner and said to Glab, "Your servant wants to shoot me." ”

"He? He is not my servant. But I think he must have done his own way to draw your attention," explained the old woman with a smile, "Reiner is a sharpshooter, and no one he really wants to shoot will survive the second second of the arrow." But I have to say sorry for this, Your Highness Princess, Reina gave his voice to see me, so he can't answer your question. ”

"You know I'm a princess?" Vanessa's eyes searched the house for the crystal ball, but did not find it, legend has it that the prophet has his own crystal ball, which has been passed down from generation to generation, and she must have seen her through it. "What do you want from me?" She asked warily, hoping that the white-headed old woman would not know that she was just a beggar princess, "My sister will give you a ransom for me." "My sister's men will stick my head on the flagpole and give it to her as soon as possible, and yours will too.

The old man struggled to raise his wrinkled eyelids and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm afraid I won't have that long to spend this money." She looked at Reina and then at Vanessa, "You and him, it's no accident that you two came to me, you have to do something for me before I answer your questions." ”

Sure enough, even if you disguise yourself as a cute green thatched hut, there will always be its dark corners. Vanessa nodded distractedly and motioned for the old man to continue.

"As you can see," said the old lady, with no expression on her shriveled walnut face, "I don't have a crystal ball. It was snatched by a magician, and the magic scrolls I had earned with prophecy were as powerless as chopsticks in front of him. "I have been following your tracks every day for the past three days, but perhaps because I am too old to make accurate predictions without a crystal ball, I have missed you several times - and this time I was accurate, but I was still a step too late." ”

As if a jellyfish stretching its body had been stung by a sudden current, Vanessa's heart tightened suddenly. No, I don't want to see any living faces, I don't want to go back to that place, I don't want to see any living faces, I don't want to go back to that place......

"You are a princess," the old man Glab held the crumbling Vanessa, his eyes finally fully opened, and the light inside was like Venus in the sky, "The age of miracles and horrors is coming, this is also the era of gods and heroes, you, the princess of midsummer, you will lead them to create zào myths and legends, and reclaim your own qiē." And all the hardships you have experienced before this are the wealth given to you by God, you must learn to lift the veil of fog and see the truth of things," the old man pressed a withered hand on Vanessa's eyebrows, "You have to use this place to perceive, do what is right, and discard what is wrong, just like what happened last night, since you can't change it, there is no need to dwell on the harm it causes, just recognize who the real murderer is, and you will always have the opportunity to correct the crimes she committed in the future." ”

"Sorenda." Vanessa squeezed the name out between her teeth.

"She's already one step ahead of you, my princess." The old man's face was calm, but the trembling of her fingers showed the anxiety in her heart, "She will take the Drinking Horse Spring at the end of the month, and then the class teacher will return to the court, she will bring back a terrible opponent, and even if the power of the five kingdoms is united, this terrible force will not be eradicated, so you have to hurry, follow the path pointed out by your mother, go to the country of Wine Valley to borrow troops, and plug the gap opened by Solanda, so that the world will not be ruined." After saying so many words in one breath, the old woman was almost exhausted, "I'm sorry, I don't have a crystal ball, I can only see so far." ”

Don't ask, "You want me to steal the crystal ball back." Vanessa knew that the prophets were not simple, they used prophecy in exchange for high returns, and they would also set traps for unwitting dignitaries, and she remembered a story told by Weimar's nurse, in which the prophet tricked a young and handsome aristocratic boy into divining their fate, but secretly urged the magic circle to move into the boy's body and occupy their body to get rid of the aging and broken body. What is the purpose of this Granny Glab who cares so much about her own future, but who intends to put me at risk? Hey, I wish I had the magic of prophecy so that I could see the truth and avoid the dangers around me.

"No, kid, it's not what you think." The old man raised his withered hand and looked kindly at the princess and the hunter, "The crystal ball is connected to my life, and I can feel that it has been tainted by evil magic - I don't have long to live." So I need you to do one last thing for me, as a reward for my prophecy. ”

"What's the matter?" Vanessa asked.

"The magician is in the enchantment, and only the blood of a king can make that place visible, and what you have to do is easier than stealing," Glab straightened up from the old stump, her face soaked in the morning light, and the multicolored light surrounded her, and for a moment made her look indescribably noble, "I want you to smash it." ”

(l~1`x*>+``+