Mei Li stayed at Gloria's place, eating, drinking and attending classes for free. For several days, he didn't see Mrs. Frizzle coming to arrest anyone, so he felt much more relaxed.
But the witches' gathering lasts for seven days and will eventually end.
When the time came, the witches who attended the gathering left one after another.
The host, Gloria, stood at the door to see them off, and Meili stood beside her to help. She held a bunch of purple irises and gave one to each person who left.
This is the iris flower that Gloria has blessed with magic.
The witches who received the purple iris flowers had different personalities. The gentler ones greeted Gloria and also greeted Meili, saying to her, "Meili, goodbye. I hope to see you again next time."
The more aloof ones just nodded at them and left. Some were even more withdrawn and left early without even taking the flowers.
"After the witches' gathering is over, Frizzle will definitely come looking for you, so you have to be careful. Study magic well in the future, and you can write to me if you have any questions." This was said by the serious witch who looked like one of her math teachers.
Mei Li accepted the small colorful stone she gave him, feeling a little flattered, and gave out two iris flowers with a trembling hand.
Gloria felt a little distressed, but she didn't say anything. She explained to her, "Lila is a mountain witch who lives in the faraway Riols Mountains. She is often alone. Although she has a serious personality, she is a good witch."
Mei Li nodded carefully. This serious witch Leila always reminded her of the fear she had when she was dominated by mathematics. But here, this "math teacher" also made her feel at home.
When all the witches left and the goblins dispersed, the giant world that Gloria had built with magic disappeared, and her house became an ordinary wooden house.
Her wooden house is very warm everywhere, with furniture covered with various knitted fabrics, some lovely handmade items and flowers decorating the house... It feels like home.
Asene fulfilled her promise and did not leave for the time being. She stayed at Gloria's place without any care. She drank some golden fruit wine she got at the market, got drunk, and lay on the sofa like a big boss.
Mei Li squatted by the water near the cottage. This was Gloria's "garden" where she planted irises. She especially liked purple irises, and even the witch's seal was made of irises.
"Yes, that's it." Gloria looked at the irises growing under Mei Li's hands and nodded and smiled with satisfaction.
Her "garden" has expanded a lot in the past few days, which makes her very happy.
Mei Li was always pulled here by her old lady, under the pretext of practicing magic, but actually she was just growing flowers.
"You continue to practice magic. I'll go bake some cookies for you, and we'll go have afternoon tea later." Gloria touched her hair and left with a grandmother-like look.
The intensity of feeding these days is also consistent with the grandmother's personality. Maybe the old lady just likes to watch young children eat.
When Mei Li saw her grandmother leaving, she lifted her skirt and ran to the other side, where the water was shallow, with only a few purple calamus growing here and there. The swamp monster was quietly resting there.
He still had his head buried in the mud, his back bent.
Mei Li skipped her study class and ran over to see her boyfriend. Seeing that he seemed to be sleeping, she raised her hand and touched his waist. After a long time without seeing any response from him, she rolled her eyes, took off her shoes and climbed directly on top of him.
She lay on the swamp monster's back, rolled up her sleeves, and reached her arms into the mud to grope for his head.
"Cute? Cute? Wake up." She whispered, and the swamp monster slowly poked its head out.
Mei Li almost fell into the water because of his action. He reached out and grabbed a calamus on the side. With an idea, the calamus instantly grew taller and larger, reaching three meters in height, with strong stems and leaves.
Holding on to the leaf to steady himself, Mei Li saw ripples suddenly appear on the calm water surface; it was raining.
Gloria, who was baking cookies in the house, heard the sound of rain. Seeing that Mei Li had not come back yet, she took an umbrella and prepared to go out to meet her.
She walked to the edge of the water and saw Meili and the swamp monster. Several huge iris flowers, with their leaves together, formed a small shed that could shelter from the rain. The swamp monster curled up in the shed and let Meili sit on his arms.
Mei Li was doing something with a few wild grasses in her hands, and the swamp monster lowered his head and watched her make the little thing very seriously.
The rain was not heavy, and it gently fell on the green leaves and the water surface, creating a peaceful scene.
Gloria's face, which was marked by the years, gently stretched out a smile, and she returned to the house holding her umbrella without going over to disturb them.
But she couldn't help sighing when she thought of the huge irises. The child was really loved by the swamp, and even the flowers growing by the water loved her especially.
In Senhai Territory, another guest came to the manor that was repaired by magic.
Alex knew that she must be a witch just by looking at her appearing and disappearing suddenly.
Several witches have come here in the past two days.
"Fris, I heard some news about you from Gloria." Although the witch who came this time was also a sea witch like Asene, she had a good relationship with Fris.
"I heard that you found a way to maintain youth and vitality. Why didn't you tell me anything before? Aren't we friends?"
Furis looked cold and said, "A friend would mock me at a time like this?"
The witch sat by the window and laughed, "I'm not mocking you, I'm here to ask you, do you really know how to take over the little girl's body and keep the magic ability?"
Furis knew exactly what she was thinking and broke her delusion directly, "You need a close blood relationship, do you think anyone can do it?"
"Alas, it seems I can't compete with you for it." The witch said regretfully: "It's a pity that my relatives are all dead, otherwise I would also be interested in trying your method."
After sending away another witch who came to inquire about information in a roundabout way, Freyce slammed the table hard with her lace-gloved hand.
Merry! That bold Merry! And the damned Arsenie!
She actually exposed these things directly. This should have been a very simple matter, but it became so complicated, which gave her a headache.
Thinking that Mary was hiding at Gloria's place, Fresse did not dare to act rashly.
Gloria is an old witch who possesses strong magical powers. Fresse has always been very friendly to her, but now this friendship has been ruined by Mary. She left Mary there, obviously to protect her.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Frizzle didn't want to become Gloria's enemy.
What should we do
Her fingers tapped the table unconsciously.
The owl Polly standing on the shelf was unable to stop Mei Li from escaping, and did not dare to attract the attention of the angry Mrs. Frizzle, so he shrank aside like a statue.
Alex walked in in this depressing atmosphere and leaned on the table in front of Fris, "Fris, maybe you don't have to worry so much."
When Furis glanced at him, Alex seemed to be encouraged and continued, "We don't have to go to their house to ask for help. We just need to find a way to sneak over and lure Mary out. Then we can perform a simple ceremony to replace your soul with her body. When it's over, even if the witch Gloria is angry, she shouldn't kill you. Didn't you say she's soft-hearted?"
Fris's expression changed, as if she was thinking about something.
Alex was still talking: "They may be wary during this period, but they will relax over time. We can wait for a while and find an opportunity. We will definitely succeed!"
Furis's expression finally relaxed, and she rubbed his face with her fingers. "You're right, I was thinking too complicated."
Alex held her hand with a proud look on his face, "Don't worry, Fres, I will protect you well and won't let anything happen to you."
When her soul left her body, she was at her most vulnerable and needed someone to protect her. She chose Alex, the young man who was obsessed with her and wanted to marry her.
The owl in the corner opened one eye and quickly closed it again.
A month passed, and Frizzy, who was expected to come, did not show up.
The witch Asani, who loved adventure and excitement, couldn't wait any longer. She sat on the chair and shook her legs. "That shouldn't be the case. Why didn't Furis come to find you? Did she know that Gloria and I wanted to protect you and got scared, so she gave up?"
Seeing that she really couldn't stay, Gloria said, "If you want to go out and play, go ahead. I'll watch over Meili."
Asene was waiting for this sentence, and immediately stood up and patted Meili on the shoulder: "Then you stay here, I'll go see what's going on with Furis!"
After saying that, he swept out like a gust of wind.
As soon as she left, Gloria took out the chair she was sitting on and fixed it. "Oh, she's shaking my chair apart."
After Asene left, she never came back. She only sent a letter by messenger, saying that Friss was staying at the Senhai Manor honestly and would not cause trouble again for a while.
Mei Li had been here for a long time and couldn't help but feel a little worried. She was eating and drinking for free and there seemed to be no end in sight. What if Furis really gave up? Would she have to live here for several years
Gloria saw what she was thinking, touched her hair and said, "You help me grow flowers, thanks to you, my irises are growing more and more, and they are blooming so beautifully. I hope you can stay here forever."
Mei Li felt a little embarrassed, "Then I will continue to bother you here."
Gloria smiled her grandmotherly smile again and brought her another bowl of cookies. "Try my new cookies. Come on, eat more."
Mei Li quietly weighed her belly and felt that she seemed to have gained weight.
Holding the biscuit that Gloria forced into her mouth, Mei Li ran to the edge of the swamp and fed one to the swamp monster, asking him to help her share some of the burden.
Ever since she fed him a raspberry and a raspberry tree grew on his body, Mei Li never dared to feed him anything again. But this biscuit was different. He couldn't have a biscuit tree grow on his body.
She curiously pried open the swamp monster's mouth and stuffed the biscuit in. She didn't see him chewing it, but when she looked again a moment later, the biscuit was gone.
Out of curiosity, I fed it a few more pieces.
Mei Li: “…” It feels like throwing coins into a piggy bank.
After a while, Mei Li saw two little swamp goblins crawling out of the mud, holding small biscuits that were bigger than their bodies and looking at her in distress.
"Please, don't feed him this anymore. It's smashing our house."
Mei Li was shocked: "You live in his stomach?!"
Swamp Goblins: "Of course not."
Mei Li looked at the swamp monster's mouth, then at his stomach. So where exactly is his stomach connected to