Chapter 36
"All done," Sarah said, putting down the enchanted water and still standing in front of Emil.
Olsen carefully examined the spell mark on Emil's forehead. If even a single detail of the spell mark was incorrect, it would fail. After confirming that the spell mark was flawless, she said, "Ivy, release the spell."
This was Ivy's first time participating in such an important ceremony. Nervously, she walked over to Sarah, grabbed a corner of the silver net on Emil, muttered an incantation, and pulled. The silver net fell away.
Immediately, a powerful force struck Ivy at the waist, causing her to stagger backward. Looking up, she saw it was Qilu, its pale green wings brushing against her waist, pushing her out of the magic circle.
"Sarah?" Olsen was shocked and hurried forward, only to be blocked by Qilu. Sarah was helping Emil up.
Once the earth symbol was drawn on his forehead, Emil should have been immobilized. How could he stand up?
Olsen caught a glimpse of Sarah removing the silver bracelet from her left wrist, her palm bleeding. She instantly understood—Sarah had pierced her palm and used her blood to contaminate the enchanted water, rendering the earth symbol ineffective!
"You..." Emil was stunned, watching Sarah take off her robe, revealing the silver bracelet and wooden pieces inside, and throwing them out of the magic circle, resolutely standing in front of him.
"Sister!" Ivy exclaimed, trying to rush into the magic circle to stop her.
Olsen held her back. There was no need to panic; Emil had only broken free of his restraints and still couldn't escape. The situation was still in their favor. She steadied herself and asked, "Sarah, what did you tell me in the study earlier? You said all of this was your decision. Why are you going back on your word now?"
"…I lied to you. I couldn't hurt Ivy, so I temporarily followed her back, waiting for her to release the spell voluntarily. You said you would let us leave, but I couldn't agree to that either. You're the maidservant, making such a decision would betray everyone's trust in you, and you would be blamed." Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes, but her tone was firm. "I want to leave with him. This is my own decision, and I will bear all the consequences. No one will blame you."
"Don't be impulsive, calm down! You can't possibly escape!" Cold sweat beaded on Olsen's forehead. She knew better than anyone that impulsiveness was almost non-existent in this child. Only meticulous planning followed by execution, and once she made a decision, there was no turning back.
But she couldn't possibly break through this impenetrable barrier! Unless… unless she sacrificed herself to force Qilu to break the magic circle…
Sarah dipped her fingers in the blood from her palm and, chanting an incantation, drew a series of spell marks in the air, then pushed them forward. The red spell marks merged into Qilu, spreading out. Qilu's pale blue form turned blood-red, its wings flapping, shattering the wooden floor. The silver magic circle that had trapped Emil instantly turned into a pile of wooden debris.
"Sister, no!" Ivy cried out, even though her own powers were weak, she could sense the immense power Sarah was unleashing, putting her life at risk. "Auntie, stop her!"
Olsen picked up the silver bracelet and wooden pieces, ready to step forward, but a blue light shot out from the wooden pieces, blocking her path. It was Yuan Zhen. She tried to command it, but the handsome, expressionless face not only refused to obey but was filled with a sense of obstruction, preventing her from approaching the two.
Why wouldn't Yuan Zhen let her stop Sarah? Olsen suddenly remembered that Yuan Zhen's true form was the soul of a sorcerer who had been infatuated with Baker in life…
Outside, there were exclamations. The exterior of the small house showed no abnormalities, but those outside had noticed the successive destruction of the three layers of magic circles. The door was locked, and they didn't know what was happening inside.
One more magic circle… Sarah gritted her teeth. Each flap of Qilu's wings drained her magic power. Although the damage from forcibly breaking the magic circles was directly borne by Qilu, it still affected her.
She endured the excruciating pain as if her bones were about to break, channeling all her magic power through Qilu in one go, finally breaking the last barrier.
Qilu flapped its wings, breaking through the roof. Sarah pulled Emil onto the back of the heron. As long as they flew out through the hole in the roof, they could escape.
"You can't leave!" Ivy rushed forward, hugging Qilu's wing, tears streaming down her face. "My mom is still at home making snacks for you! If you leave, who will Auntie have as her maidservant? You're the only one who encourages Xiuhe to become a sorcerer. If you leave, he will become despondent! You promised to take me to the south! You never break your promises!"
Her cries were heart-wrenching. "Your family is all here! We have so many people, why can't we compare to just him?"
These words cut into Sarah's heart like a knife. With tear-filled eyes, she looked at her cousin and then at the pale-faced Olsen.
"…Indeed, you have many people to support each other." She hardened her heart and gently pushed her cousin away. "But he only has me… I'm sorry."
Qilu spread its wings and took off, carrying the two of them through the hole in the roof. There were exclamations outside the small house.
Sarah looked down at the home where she had lived for twenty years, the tree planted on the day she was born, the pavilion where she often sat and chatted with Ivy, the pond where Johnson often sat and sketched by the pavilion; a vast, flat slope where she practiced her magic, with Olsen always ensuring her practice was perfect, and May always smiling as she watched them from the sidelines…
Emil wrapped his arms around her trembling shoulders, holding her silently.
She gripped his hand tightly, tears streaming down, falling one by one onto this land.
The bright red Qilu, like a bird reborn from the flames, flew towards the northern sky.
…
They escaped.
One was the heir to the Dulin family's maidservant, the other an invaluable experimental subject. Both the Dulin family and the Nine Jade Guild sent people to search for them. The government also mobilized the police, strictly inspecting all checkpoints, ports, and airports, and dispatched troops to search the mountains.
According to eyewitnesses, the red Qilu flew north, and everyone searched northward. Several times they spotted the two and the heron, but they always managed to escape.
…
At dawn, in a southbound bus, Sarah opened her eyes.
She hadn't slept, but her soul had traveled hundreds of miles overnight, leaving her more disoriented than if she had just woken up.
She collected herself and looked out the window. The bus had exited the highway and was approaching the terminal. The window was covered in fog.