No matter which direction the swamp monster tried to leave, he was trapped by the glowing shadows of the moonlit night fairies. He wandered in the shrinking circle in vain. Mei Li was frightened by the mud falling from his body and wished he could scoop it all up and stick it back on his body.
As he walked, Mei Li realized that he was getting shorter and shorter. He looked down and saw that his legs had completely melted away at some point, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of swamp mud.
She couldn't bear it any longer, so she jumped off the swamp monster, endured the pain in her feet, and raised her feet to kick away the moonlit fairies that trapped them.
Mrs. Peg looked at them with a cold and arrogant look, as if to say, "It's useless. No matter what you do, you can't escape."
Mei Li found that he could not dispel the shadows of the moonlit night fairies, so he turned around and nervously grabbed the swamp monster, "You are a swamp monster, you won't die so easily, right? They all say that swamp monsters are troublesome and difficult to deal with!"
She tilted her head back, with blood on her neck, and her amber eyes reflected the surrounding light, shining brightly.
The swamp monster reached out, lifted her up and sent her upward.
Half of the house collapsed. He saw his legs melting and stretched out his hand to carry her to the first floor.
However, the circle of moonlit fairies stretched upwards as he moved, encircling them again. One of the swamp monster's hands hit the circle they formed, like a candle hitting a fire.
“Tap, tap—”
The hay ring mixed with mud fell to the ground. The swamp monster looked at his bare wrist and had to avoid the fairy circle and put Mei Li down with his only remaining hand.
Mei Li reached for his hand and got a handful of soft mud.
The dilapidated house at the edge of the forest was sunk into the swamp and could collapse at any moment.
Mysterious chanting, accompanied by bright light, emanated from the depths of the house.
The light that ordinary people cannot see becomes brighter and brighter during the chanting.
In the dark forest at night, dots of light appeared, and many moonlit fairies were attracted by the magical fluctuations and appeared from the forest.
They sat on the treetops riding the wind, looking towards the house from afar, somewhat confused by the scent of their own kind coming from there.
"Is that the aura of a companion? But... it's a little strange."
"Why are there so many companions gathered there? What are they doing there?"
"So curious~"
There was a faint light flickering under the broom branches in the garden.
The forest and meadow in the distance, the garden nearby, countless lights floating upwards, forming a dream picture that ordinary people cannot see.
Aunt Maggie's husband Bruce, Hesha's parents, and almost half of the people in the market came running over. People held torches in their hands, and the atmosphere was dull and strange.
Evan was dragged by his father and walked in front to lead the way.
"Right there, the monster I saw before is right there!" Evan's shout made everyone stop.
They stood at the foot of the hillside and saw that the intact house had mostly collapsed, with mud hanging on the hard bricks and stones, and an inaccessible quagmire surrounding it.
"Why has this place become like this?" someone asked in a low voice.
Some people suddenly realized, "Could it be a swamp monster? Didn't Maggie die in the swamp at the beginning?"
"Indeed, Maggie was killed by the witch and swallowed by the swamp monster. The witch and the swamp monster are in the same group, right?"
People were talking, but no one dared to step forward. Only Uncle Bruce, who was worried about his son, could not help but walk forward with a torch, shouting his son's name, "Julian!"
Hesha's parents followed suit and shouted, "Hesha!"
“I’m… here…!” A disheveled figure covered in mud ran over from the vegetable garden behind, which had not yet completely turned into a quagmire.
When Evan and Hesha's parents saw her, they ran up to her in surprise and hugged her, "Hesha!"
When the swamp monster appeared and there was an exit in the basement, and Mrs. Peg couldn't take care of her, Hersha ran out of the basement.
With the help of Mrs. Peg's magic spell, she vaguely saw things that were beyond her imagination. She was in a trance. Now that she had finally escaped and saw her parents and so many familiar faces, she suddenly burst into tears.
Her parents wanted to take her away, but Uncle Bruce stepped forward to stop them, "Where's my Julian? Have you seen my Julian?"
Hesha thought of Julian's body hanging in the basement. She shuddered and cried, "He, he's dead. He was killed by Mrs. Peg... Oh, Mary! Mary is still down there. Mrs. Peg wants to kill her!"
Hesha held her parents back and said, "Mrs. Peg killed the man. Mary was a good person. She was killed by Mrs. Peg for saving me. We must save her!"
Everyone was in an uproar, talking in a mess:
"Mrs. Peg isn't dead? She's a ghost?!"
"How could she not be dead? Wasn't it said that Mrs. Peg died of illness around the same time last year? She is clearly a witch to me!"
"Julian is dead? Poor Julian..."
"Meli is a witch too, right? Aren't they mother and daughter?"
"Charles, take your Hesha away quickly. She has been deceived by the witch!"
…
In the chaos, no one knew who started it first, but threw the torch at the collapsed house. The house was covered with many wooden boards and curtains and other flammable items. The torch happened to catch fire on the curtains, which immediately caught fire.
Led by someone, the strong men swung their arms and threw torches into the house, wishing they could burn the two witches inside to prevent them from continuing to do evil.
When Alex arrived with a team of knights, the house was already engulfed in flames.
They were riding horses, and there was only a small path along the way, so they arrived a little later.
"Oh - these people are too impatient. This fire can't kill a witch who is only left with a soul. It will only burn the poor little girl -"
The owl flying beside Alex grumbled and urged, "Alex, hurry up and save the child. If the child is gone, Mrs. Frizzle will be angry."
"Okay, okay." Alex called on his knights to push away the noisy crowd.
"What are these knights doing here?"
Alex smiled at the question coming from the crowd, "I'm here to look for someone."
The crowd was pushed back by the knights with swords, and no one dared to make any more noise. Uncle Bruce, who had just learned of his son's death, rushed forward and stopped Alex's horse. "My lord knight, did you know that there is a witch here and brought people here to kill the witch? Please avenge my wife and son!"
Alex laughed and kicked him away, complaining casually, "You guys not only didn't help but also caused me trouble."
As he spoke, he ignored everyone else, asked the knight to separate the crowd, dismounted, walked towards the burning house, and stretched out his hand with the sapphire necklace.
Mr. Pollock the Owl flew to his arm and stood there.
The gem on the necklace shook gently, the owl uttered a series of unintelligible mutterings, and the surrounding air vibrated outwards like water waves.
Silver light rushed into the yard and poured into the basement.
Mei Li, who was in the fairy circle, was holding the swamp monster that had melted to the point where only its head was left, and was looking fiercely at Mrs. Peg outside.
Mrs. Peg, who was wearing an emerald necklace, was about to smile triumphantly when she suddenly noticed the silver light pouring in. Her expression froze instantly and she let out a terrified cry: "No!"
"No! Fres!"
"Damn you, Frizzy!"
Mrs. Peg felt the familiar magical fluctuations and hurriedly grasped the emerald necklace to block the silver light. However, her strength was almost gone, so how could she resist this force
The silver light was so powerful that it instantly covered her light golden magic light, revealing what she wanted to hide.
The round stones that the goblins loved, as well as the bodies of the goblins, were all covered with silver light.
Bathed in this silver light, the goblin shadows that surrounded Meili and the swamp monster appeared dazed and eventually disappeared.
They are goblins that were killed by the witch long ago and trapped in this basement.
The silver light, carrying the resentment and hatred left behind by the goblins when they were killed, blew through the basement like a breeze, blowing towards the distant forest, bringing messages to their companions.
The fairies in the forest looked up, smelled the fishy wind coming from the house, and heard the mutterings of their companions who had died tragically in the wind.
Their pure and beautiful eyes suddenly turned red.
"That witch—"
"That witch killed our companion—"
"So many of our companions died miserably—"
"Damn witch, the witch who betrayed us should be punished—"
The fairies that emerged from the forest gathered together and rushed towards the burning house. Points of light of various colors fell like a galaxy and drilled into the basement covered by the magic barrier.
Ordinary people could not see such a scene. They only saw a strong wind blowing in the forest for no reason, blowing over magically and suppressing the burning flames, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Immediately, some people screamed in fear and ran towards the market.
Ignoring the frightened people behind him, Alex held the owl on his arm and slowly walked towards the ruins of the house that was still emitting white smoke and heat. "Let's go take a look."
In the basement, Mrs. Peg's figure could no longer be seen. Instead, the surging goblins could be seen gathering together like a honeycomb, tearing at Mrs. Peg's soul.
"The power of a witch comes from nature and these goblins, but once it backfires, it's really terrible." Alex said a few words, lost interest in Mrs. Peg who was destined to die, and turned to look at Mei Li beside him.
She was sitting in the mud, and because of the wet mud surrounding her, she was not burned by the fire. But she didn't look well, grabbing the mud on the ground randomly, and no one knew what she was looking for.
Alex pinched his chin, "Her name is Meili, right? What is she looking for?"
Owl: "Maybe she's looking for the swamp monster. The mud around her was left by the swamp monster. Hmm, that smell, the smell of trouble-"
"Hahaha, I remember now. You told Frizzle last time that this bold girl provoked a swamp monster, and the swamp monster has been following her." Alex laughed heartily. "Was the swamp monster killed by Mrs. Peg? This is good. We don't have to take her away and bring trouble with us."
The owl flapped its wings on his arm, and its eyelids moved as if rolling its eyes. It complained, "The swamp monster is the most troublesome thing. It won't die."
"Alex, hurry up and take the little girl back before it condenses again. As long as we stay far away from here and the swamp monster can't find us, everything will be fine."
"I see. Everything went smoothly. It was within Fress's expectations. What could possibly be the problem?" Alex jumped down to the basement, avoiding the crazy goblins and walked towards Mei Li who was crawling on the ground.