"When did humans and monsters first have contact? It was probably around the time this story takes place."

"At that time, the kingdom already existed."

"And monsters were not like what they are now."

Grandma Bonare spoke slowly, as if she were telling a story from her own experience.

Her words were indeed true, but it was not a pleasant story. It did not have the happy ending I had expected, or the heroic tragedy of the Kliffra story.

There was a male human who was attacked by a female monster in the forest, but he fell in love with her when she bit him. The monster, with complex feelings, ran away. This was something unimaginable back then. Neither the humans nor the monsters had any precedent for this.

These lovers who crossed races can be considered the ancestors of my wife and me.

Humans believed that the man must have been enchanted by evil magic, and the monsters thought the female monster was a fool. Humans were not worth trusting; they only wanted to use the monsters' magic.

What the man did was stupid, truly foolish.

"He walked for a long time in the Southern Plains, calling for his beloved, even though he didn't even know her name. He continued walking until his hair covered his eyes, his beard pierced his skin, and his shoes rotted on his feet, all just to see his beloved again. And his beloved could only stay silently behind him, sad but unable to cry." If Grandma's story were to be paraphrased, it would probably feel something like this.

In the end, humans and monsters still fell in love against all odds, despite the misfortune that awaited them.

They had no place in the kingdom, and no monster was willing to accept them.

The poor mandarin ducks built their love nest outside the kingdom's territory, intending to live a peaceful life.

But that little house was surrounded by soldiers and a mob from the kingdom, torch after torch falling onto the roof.

In the raging fire, the gentle monster did not rush out of the house to fight the soldiers, but instead held tightly onto her beloved.

There was no cry or roar inside the house; the fire burned throughout the night.

The next day, in the ruins, people saw two charred bodies embracing each other, unable to be separated no matter what, so they had to use a hammer to smash them.

Among the ashes and corpses, there were two glittering rings.

The story ended there.

Grandma Bonare tapped the ash from her pipe and motioned for me to get her another cigarette. Then, in a calm tone, she told me that the process of rubbing the rings in the ashes was a way to commemorate the ill-fated mandarin ducks who willingly sacrificed their lives for an impossible love.

And Grandma Bonare was making rings for humans and monsters for the first time in her life.

I fell into silence, realizing that the words in the vows now had a basis...

These rings had no blessing, but they represented an understanding, a readiness to face the harsh reality and the dirty future. It was more like a curse...

The smoke in the room grew thicker, with only ten cigarettes left in the pack. Grandma Bonare still liked to dismantle the cigarettes and pack them in her pipe. We both remained silent, avoiding the subject of going to bed earlier.

The tobacco in this world is harsh; a few puffs makes my head ache. But I still squint my eyes and inhale the carbon monoxide and tar, as if wanting to wash away the heaviness of the rings. I asked about the Witch's House.

"Young man, have something to drink first."

"Sure, I'm a bit thirsty too."

The old woman produced a narrow-necked bottle, about a liter in size. The bottle was sealed with mud, giving it a rustic feel. Crushing the mud, removing the seal, a familiar aroma wafted out. Hmm, it was the woody fragrance of golden fruit, a scent that was so unique that one would never forget it after smelling it once. And of course, there was also a faint smell of alcohol.

"This is the last bottle, heh."

"Is that so? Then I'm really grateful..."

"But before you drink, I want to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

Grandma Bonare handed me an exquisitely crafted glass and asked me a question I had never even thought of.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Or perhaps, you must come from a very faraway place, right?"

The old lady poured herself a glass and placed the bottle on the table, smiling at me.

I wasn't surprised by why the old lady would ask this question, because my speech, actions, and the glasses on my nose would give me away at any time.

"You're right."

Without offering too much explanation, I simply acknowledged it.

"Hehehe, you, indeed, are a bit different."

I poured myself a glass of wine and smiled as well, not sure if Granny Bonny's words were meant as praise. The taste of the wine was very good; I wondered if I could secretly learn the craft of brewing with those golden fruits.

Afterward, I continued the conversation about the Witch House with Granny Bonny, and the whole process felt like when I used to communicate with foreign teachers during junior high school. I would constantly gather and piece together any fragments of words or phrases I could understand to form a complete history, using various logical deductions.

Granny Bonny herself wasn't sure about the origins of the Witch House. The only remnants passed down were a few statements similar to dogma, probably advising against harming humans and helping those in need. The witches here were all orphans who had been picked up; they were abandoned by their poor parents in the kingdom, as it seemed that gender bias towards males was a normal phenomenon in that world.

Picking up orphans wasn't something that happened every few years. Plus, only girls were abandoned.

From this perspective, the Witch House was simply a charitable organization, and the explanation for the scarce population and absence of males had been given.

But I still didn't understand the significance of the Witch House's existence. Was it an orphanage?

Granny Bonny didn't say much, or perhaps I could only understand so much from her words.

"By the way, you said you were traveling, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Then you'll make use of this book."

As soon as she mentioned the book, I immediately became interested. It was a very thick book, one that looked like an encyclopedia. I loved reading encyclopedias; it would be better if there were more pictures.

Indeed, it was an encyclopedia, containing a lot of information about magical creatures. However, I could only understand the pictures because I had been studying spoken language, and now I could barely recognize written numbers.

But as long as it was a book, it would always have its uses. It didn't matter if I couldn't understand the text; I could match the names of the magical creatures recorded in the book with the corresponding text on the map to have an idea of what kind of creatures were in that area. How clever of me!

While Granny Bonny was still awake, I quickly asked her many questions about magical creatures. We finished all the cigarettes and talked until dawn. Even the twig pen I carried with me had been used up, with the diary filled with dense Chinese characters. There were two types of strong people: those who were born with advantages bestowed by heaven, and those who became strong step by step through their own efforts. I could only be the latter. And even if I was the latter, the efforts I had to put in would be much greater than others'.

Or perhaps, I wanted to become strong just so I wouldn't have to repeat the tragedy of that legendary tale. Even if one day I were to face an unbeatable enemy, I would at least be able to protect my loved ones bravely like Cleverlay.

Today is the last day I stayed at the Witch House. I will continue my journey tomorrow. I could indeed choose to stay in this peaceful little village for a long time, but that would lose the meaning of traveling. Even if someone were to spend three days and three nights telling me about the situation of the monsters in the southern plains, it wouldn't be as good as experiencing it myself. As the saying goes, it's better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books.

Rubbing my temples, I left Granny Bonny's cottage. Little Lulu waved at me and ran over.

"Big brother~"

"Hey, Lulu."

"You're leaving, big brother?"

"How did you know?"

"Because the previous big brothers wouldn't stay here."

"Do you want me to stay here?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, I can't stay here, Lulu. Because there are things I haven't finished yet."

"I see..."

"But Lulu, don't you want to leave here?"

"Lulu won't leave here because Lulu is a witch!"

Looking at the sunshine on the little girl's smiling face, I realized that it wasn't that the witches here didn't want to leave; it was just that for them, this was their only home. Whether human or witch, Medusa or werewolf, everyone has their most important thing, and everyone would do anything for that most important thing.