Cheng Jiao wandered between half dreaming and half waking up.

She knew that she had closed her eyes, but she saw a small patch of the night sky, and the white moon was stretching, rolling, and tearing like a dough by an unknown force. She also knew that she was lying in bed, but she felt her body running through the dark forest. Someone, or something, was chasing her in her dreams. She ran desperately, breaking through the branches, through the grass, and over the rocks. She knew very well in her heart that she could not stop, even if it was in a dream, or rather, because it was in a dream!

Escape! Run! That's because...... Because...... The moment the reason that made her panic was about to blurt out, she suddenly woke up!

Something real was in front of you—intricate carved patterns on the beams of the nanmu that meandered across the ceiling in the morning light, the few runes commonly used to pray to the goddess Apollona. The familiar sight allowed Cheng Jiao to be sure that it was in his room. But she was still heavy and confused, and the dream was still on the edge of her memory. She strongly felt that it was an important dream, so she closed her eyes and tried to relive the dream, only to find that the dream that had been clear and immersive just now began to blur. Especially when she wanted to remember the reason for her escape, the dream melted in an instant like a piece of butter stuck to the bottom of a hot pan.

The front door was pushed open, and Cheng Jiao was still lying on the bed in a chaotic manner, and she heard the crackling sound of leather shoes on the blue brick floor of the front hall, and at the door of the bedroom, the sound stopped.

"Miss Bones! I wonder if you still insist on bringing your horses on board yourself? Horse boys can do it for you, but if you want to do it yourself as you normally would, you'll have to get up quickly and get ready. I have to warn you that Lord Tsunade has arrived, and it seems that the Lord wants to leave quickly in time to reach the Kinwu Temple before the opening ceremony begins. ”

Cheng Jiao is a spirit, turn over and sit up! Oh my God, it's the first day of school! How could she have forgotten this life event for a dream that she could not recall!

"Mother-in-law, I'll take Chiji by myself! I'll get to the stables as soon as I can! ”

"Yes, Miss Bones. The hospital gown is ready. It's a good idea to go and see Lord Kualaki-den before your clothes get dirty. She and the hot spring hall were talking in the smaller meeting room. ”

Cheng Jiao put on the white and purple Jinwu courtyard uniform, and shouted at the door: "Mother-in-law, I will be careful not to stain the hospital uniform!" ”

Granny Ulanda did not reply, she had already left at a steady pace to attend to other matters.

This housekeeper's mother-in-law had taken care of the previous generation of the Hot Spring Palace's Wind Blade Chongzi Witch for thirty years, and after the Golden Leaf Witch took over, she broke the convention of replacing the new owner and still appointed her as the housekeeper of this mansion. She didn't push or give in, and kept the house up and down in an orderly manner as always. If there is a downside, she is an extremely serious person, and her style of conduct is almost harsh. For more than ten years, she has won the respect and trust of the Golden Leaf Shrine Maiden's family, but whenever she is called, she always addresses them by honorific titles and surnames. This once bothered the Golden Leaf Shrine Maiden and Ige Fei, who were used to relaxing at home, but they felt the concern beyond the performance of their duties from the mother-in-law's meticulous care, so they called her as they could.

Cheng Jiao often lived with her grandparents at Miaofa Mountain when she was a child, and she had limited time to stay in the mansion after going to school, so she was always unaccustomed to her mother-in-law officially calling her "Miss Bones". When she went out to put on her shoes, she saw her mother-in-law's handwritten congratulatory note on the neatly arranged white soft leather boots - "May Miss Chengjiao and Bones of Jinwuyuan have the blessing of the gods every step of the way!" The mother-in-law who is not smiling actually cares about and loves her very much, which Cheng Jiao knows very well. When she put away the congratulatory note, she read it again, and couldn't help but laugh to herself: My title has become longer again, won't you call me "Miss Bones of Jinwu Academy" in the future, right? That's embarrassing!

As she walked towards the meeting room on the west side of the house, the cool morning breeze of early autumn swept through Cheng Jiao's face, sweeping away the chaos of her sleep, and she felt refreshed in her hospital uniform and ready to meet any challenges she might encounter in Jinwuyuan.

At the end of the bluestone trail is a white staircase that allows five people to go up side by side, where two young men in casual clothes with unfamiliar faces stand. They were obviously the bodyguards of the Poria Witch, but they were deliberately dressed as ordinary people. As Cheng Jiao passed in front of them, she felt the cautious gaze they cast at her, these two should be the masters of the Legion of the Two Gods.

The door to the reception room was open, and the two witches inside had already heard Cheng Jiao's footsteps and were already looking at the door before she entered.

"Aunt Poria!" Cheng Jiao shouted affectionately with the name he had used since childhood.

Light Poria stood up, smiled and opened her arms to Cheng Jiao, who was hugged tightly as soon as she pounced in.

The beauty in front of Cheng Jiao is none other than the patriarch of the Yakushima Hikari family, one of the four major families of the five islands of the Shenlu Island, and the witch of the town hall of the alder hall, Hikari Poria.

When he was a child, Cheng Jiao was fascinated by the appearance of his mother, a close friend of the Blood Alliance. She often secretly speculated in her heart that the ancient beauty described in the "Book of Light History" that made the moon god jealous should be the appearance of the Poria witch - white skin and black hair, a pair of bright big eyes under the willow eyebrows that entered the sideburns, and a slight smile on the cherry lips under the small and straight nose. She is not tall and thin, but she does not give people a sense of weakness, probably because her waist-length hair is always tied in a free ponytail, and her square shoulders and slender and straight figure add to her heroic spirit. She often stands firmly with her feet slightly apart, and those who are watching her will feel invisible pressure in silence. After experiencing the pain of losing her husband and child on the night of Bloody Eyes, she has seen star frost in her temples, and her smile is not as bright as before, but it adds a bit of extraordinary temperament.

"Jiao'er has grown taller again!" Poria put her hands on Cheng Jiao's shoulders, looked at her carefully, and said to Jin Ye with a smile.

"Ah Hunt must have grown a lot taller!" Jin Ye replied easily: "Chengjiao's little Ah Hunt is nearly a year old, but he always wants to compare with Ah Hunt. The two of them haven't seen each other for two years, and they will definitely compare their size after they meet! Jiao'er, do you think so? ”

"You don't need to know better than me that I'm not as good as Akari." Cheng Jiao smiled and replied, "She is already eighteen years old, and I will give her a gift when we meet." Aunt Poria, don't tell her yet! ”

Poria turned her head to stare at the girl in front of her, unconsciously comparing her to her own daughter. Both of them are seventeen or eighteen years old girls in their prime, but unlike Ah Hunt's straightforward personality who can't hide what is on his mind, Cheng Jiao can always hide what he thinks in his heart. Through the girl's observational eyes, you can see that underneath the flattering exterior, her true self is constantly absorbing new things and new ideas, and thriving. She and Ah Hunt have complementary personalities, they are good friends who are in love, and she can always help Ah Hunt when it is critical.

"Ah Hunt is your most important friend, right?" Poria, who couldn't worry about her daughter, asked this question almost without thinking.

"Of course!" Cheng Jiao also replied immediately without hesitation, "She is not only my most important friend, but also my only friend!" She added with a bit of self-deprecation.

"Good boy!" Poria stroked Cheng Jiao's hair gratefully, "You'll make new friends in Jinwuyuan." ”

Cheng Jiao didn't have any hope for this, so he just lowered his head and smiled slightly, missing a meaningful look that the two witches quickly exchanged.

"Jiao'er, go and lead the horse." The Golden Leaf Shrine Maiden got up from her chair and urged, "Torona has been waiting at the gate for a while with your luggage. Aunt Poria is also going to get on the boat, you move quickly! ”

"Okay mom, then we'll see you at the ferry in the Square of the Gods?"

"No, I'll see you at the exclusive ferry at the back door of the Hot Springs Temple."

Exclusive ferry crossing?

Cheng Jiao was slightly stunned. It is a private ferry port for adults to use exclusively in the hot spring hall on the lake of flames. The 20-oared schooner "Hot Springs" with a black background and gold painted on a black background is anchored there, and the mother usually uses it only for major festivals or annual Advent celebrations to sail on the flaming lake. Cheng Jiao didn't ask why, she had already heard from the brief instructions that her mother had no intention of explaining, so she nodded lightly and quickly left.