20demayo Page 202
Page 202
"I remember."
boom!
The sound of breaking was like the sound of wind caused by the flapping of butterfly wings; it was very light, but it resounded loudly in Jiang Kehan's heart.
When she opened her eyes again, she had an exchange card in her hand, which detailed the resources that could be exchanged at the Witch's Agency, and even allowed her to exchange them in batches.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingci was exchanging pleasantries not far away. When he saw Jiang Kehan and the others wake up, he blinked his left eye and gave a mysterious smile.
Jiang Kehan couldn't help but glance at the others, and saw that everyone looked somewhat dazed, clearly confused by this unusual experience.
Only Li Hui seemed nonchalant, her hands in her pockets, behaving unusually normally.
Jiang Kehan recalled Li Huichao's words when he apologized to her, and murmured to herself: Have you already become a unique witch? No wonder you can hear all the bad things I say.
Wu Yuhan's performance was similar to Li Hui's, but since she was already under the influence of the witch, the reward was ineffective for her.
Seeing that everyone had recovered, Gu Qingci's smile grew even wider. He opened his arms and spoke as if he were the only victor on the stage.
"Finally, let's congratulate the Witch Academy, the Mysterious Truth Group, and the Whirlpool Society for winning this Witch Selection Competition!"
"Now, let's give them a round of applause!"
The match ended just like that.
As Jiang Kehan floated in the sky, preparing to go home, she was still somewhat dazed.
So much happened that afternoon, and every single one of it was something she would remember.
However, during the flight, she encountered Hera and Jolie Quentin, who were traveling together.
They also saw Jiang Kehan, and after making eye contact, they greeted her.
"Performing well."
Jiang Kehan couldn't help but scratch her head and tentatively said.
"Aren't you upset that I stole the championship?"
Both of them found it somewhat amusing, and Jolie Quentin said helplessly, "Of course not, you didn't cheat."
"But perhaps we'd admire you even more if you managed to cheat successfully." She smiled, appearing quite nonchalant.
"That's the witch Kehan for you. She's fair and cruel. You have to rely on yourself for everything, but you can't blame her. You have to be convinced."
"We look forward to your future performance."
Hera patted Jiang Kehan on the shoulder, showing a rare hint of shyness, but also great composure, not dwelling on the failure, even though it had a significant impact.
"Haha, please give my regards to Li Hui, but you're not bad either."
Ah, Jiang Kehan was caught off guard. She suddenly understood why Gu Qingci was so popular.
Chapter 287 Dragon Slayer Tax
"Yes, but where are you planning to go?" Jiang Kehan asked curiously.
Logically speaking, after experiencing the final special baptism from the witch selection competition, the two of them should have been like Jiang Kehan, planning to go home and sort out their thoughts.
After all, being able to talk to your future self offers many details worth exploring.
But Hera and Jolie Quentin didn't look like they were getting ready to go home.
“We need to go to the Witch Organization to pay the Dragon Slayer Tax.” Jolie Quentin shrugged. “Although we applied for a deferral beforehand, we finally have the money to pay it all at once after winning the competition.”
"So we decided to pay the taxes first."
Ah... Jiang Kehan glanced at the two women, genuinely surprised that they were so short of money.
But what is the Dragon Slayer Tax?
Jiang Kehan smiled reservedly. Although she didn't usually care much about her image, she had just won the championship from the other party, so she had to act reserved.
"Hmm, could you tell me what the Dragon Slayer Tax is? I'm a little curious."
Jolie Quentin smiled wryly, as if recalling something unpleasant.
"It's normal not to know. Witches who aren't short of money usually don't need to hunt dragons to obtain various materials, as it's time-consuming and laborious."
"And the hunting grounds are enough for them to vent their frustrations."
"But if someone is short of money like us and can only rely on dragon hunting to supplement their income, then the dragon slaying tax is basically unavoidable."
Jiang Kehan blinked. She was a little confused as to why she didn't have to pay the so-called dragon-slaying tax when she had also hunted dragons at the hunting grounds.
Clearly, there are inside stories she's unaware of, meaning—free knowledge!
Hera, feeling guilty, placed her hand on Jolie Quentin's shoulder, coughed, and continued her sentence.
"That's because research is just too expensive."
"Unlike hunting dragons in the hunting grounds, the dragon slaying tax covers rare dragon species that live in the imaginary world itself."
"These dragon species possess a purer bloodline. In addition to their great strength, every part of their bodies is the best material. They are the survivors of the great degeneration of the dragon race."
Hera looked at the alchemical pendant hanging from Jiang Kehan's waist and remembered that the other party was an alchemical witch, so she decided to unfold it and explain in detail.
"Kehan is no stranger to antique materials, right? These rare dragon species produce materials of this kind."
Jiang Kehan nodded. As an alchemist witch, understanding antique materials was a required course.
The so-called antique materials refer to materials that are completely unsuitable for the current environment, which clearly contain enough energy to evolve, but have not been chosen for iterative optimization.
For example, before being massacred by witches, dragons generally had a large scale on their foreheads, which contained enormous energy used to attract mates.
However, for witches, the texture of these head scales is much brittle than normal scales, allowing them to kill dragons with a single blow.
Therefore, during the massacre, many dragon species chose to evolve away this part, and only a few dragon species that survived were able to do so because of their living environment or their docile nature.
These head scales are a type of antique-style material, typically used to make charm potions or witch perfumes, and are quite valuable.
Jiang Kehan understood somewhat, and said while supporting her chin with her fingers.
"In other words, some dragon species, thanks to the completely non-competitive ecosystem of the Imaginary Land, maintain their most primitive state and need to be protected through limited hunting?"
"This must be what they call the Dragon Slayer Tax."
Jiang Kehan had a basic understanding of the witch's tactics. In the witch's eyes, there was no such thing as having to protect a certain species. They only valued the inherent worth of the species, not its rarity.
The number of species that went extinct at the hands of witches is not small, and most of them were intentional.
"That's right. Every March there is a special dragon hunting event. At that time, not only is it free to hunt such dragons, but there are also other rewards depending on the quality of the hunt."
Jolie Quentin said with a laugh, then fell into thought.
"I remember this tradition originated from the Great Harvest Festival in Fran, which was originally an activity of hunting all kinds of alien races, but now it is imagined that the alien races in the village are all witch trainees."
Jiang Kehan's lips twitched. She had to admit that the witch in the past was quite fierce and incomparably brave.
She also knew about the Great Harvest Festival, which originated in the early days of the Society, before the Great Witch appeared and before the Imaginary Land was as safe as it is now.
Although the peak-level witches of the Middle Witches could rival the Primal Concept Gods, the Imaginary Land, a place rich in talent and beauty, is never short of such powerful beings.
Ancient dragons, the best of the fantasy species, and even extinct magical beasts can all pose a threat to the Middle Witch.
The Great Harvest Festival is a festival for the brave; only by hunting down the leaders of these races can the witch expand her territory.
Jiang Kehan recalled that clumsy yet vibrant era and suddenly felt a longing for it.
If she could go back in time, it might be a great experience—not because the materials from these races are expensive enough to make her rich!
"Then I won't bother you any longer. Good luck." Jiang Kehan nodded to the two of them, smiled, and then took her leave.
"I look forward to our next match." Hera's golden eyes shone with intimidation, and a slight upturn at the corners of her lips revealed her barely suppressed fighting spirit.
"Yes." Jiang Kehan looked up at Hera without fear. Her smile was soft but firm.
As the victor, she is never afraid of challenges, especially since her transformation period is coming soon. When that time comes, Hera, who is also a witch, may not necessarily be able to win!
After parting ways with them, Jiang Kehan felt a little sleepy.
Although Wu Liu, the Spirit Master, has recovered her condition with the Life Emblem, the mental pressure will gradually accumulate in order to ensure the authenticity of her memories. After fighting so many battles, she is also a little tired.
So Jiang Kehan adjusted her body and sped up her flight home, looking at the surrounding scenery to relieve her stress.
She wondered what Li Hui had gone to do... She thought with some curiosity.
Li Hui didn't go home with her; instead, she left with Wu Yuhan, clearly having some important business to attend to.
Jiang Kehan pouted. She had actually guessed that they were probably there to deal with Li Hui's trip to Gensokyo.
So she simply didn't go along, to avoid making a fool of herself.
With that thought in mind, Jiang Kehan lost all interest in admiring the scenery. She sped up again and quickly arrived at the small apartment she and Li Hui had rented.
When she pushed open the door, the cool air inside brushed against her, stirring up a myriad of thoughts within her.
Jiang Kehan looked at the place where she had lived for almost a year and felt a little regretful.
She and Li Hui were both graduating, and their graduation certificates were sent over by the college a few days before the competition, which meant that the house would most likely not be rented out again.
"Should I plan to use some money to buy a house?" Jiang Kehan muttered to herself. She went to the study, intending to read for a while and then take a nap, but there was a clean white letter on the desk.
The signature above is Li Hui, which was meant for Jiang Kehan.
Chapter 288 A Letter
Jiang Kehan suddenly had a bad feeling. She recalled the apology in Li Hui's eyes when he left with Wu Yuhan, and hesitantly pulled out a chair and sat down.
She stared at the pristine white letter, not opening it for a long time, but simply stroking it in her hands.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for a long time, but it was finally time to open it up.
Jiang Kehan took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself, and slowly opened the letter.
To my dearest Kehan:
You might deliberately dawdle for a long time before opening this letter. I must say, I'm really lucky to have met someone as lovely as you.
But as I wrote this letter, I knew I deserved a good scolding from you, though it would probably end with you hugging me with concern and us warming each other. Thinking about it that way, I guess I'm being a little too happy, haha.
However, I've decided to bring forward this sorrowful farewell a little earlier, transforming it into the most radiant blessing, and place it upon your head.
Because you deserve it, I'm willing to do it.
You must have seen it, right? My somewhat aloof demeanor, as if I didn't belong to this world.
That's right. If you hadn't seen it, I probably would have secretly destroyed this letter, haha.