The Candylord nodded in appreciation of Yun Ge's pragmatic attitude, then took another sip of his hot tea and said, "Good. Now, hurry up and drink that cup of hot tea! You know, this hot drink made from snow region herbs is very helpful in dispelling the cold from your body. Please taste it quickly! Otherwise, with such a low temperature, the tea will cool down soon."

  To be honest, although Yun Ge was thirsty and cold, he really didn't want to drink the hot tea offered by the Candylord. This was because the mayor's previous drugging of him and the attempt to erase his memory with witchcraft had made Yun Ge wary and resistant to food and drinks provided by strangers.

  However, considering that the drugs and witchcraft the mayor had used on him during this period had not been effective, Yun Ge had gained some confidence in resisting any tampering the Candylord might have done in the hot tea. So, after a struggle, Yun Ge drank the hot tea in one gulp.

  Of course, Yun Ge was still cautious while drinking the tea. He exaggeratedly acted as if the tea was too hot for his mouth, skillfully spilling most of the tea onto the ground. Then, with an embarrassed look, he apologized, "Oops! I'm really sorry! I drank too hastily and didn't expect the tea to be so hot, resulting in this mess."

  The Candylord saw through Yun Ge's little trick and couldn't help but laugh, "No problem, no problem! I'll have someone come and clean it up later! Hey! It's good to be cautious when you first arrive! After all, these days, people's hearts are unpredictable, and even those closest to you might betray you. How can we trust a stranger so easily?"

  Then, the Candylord gestured for Yun Ge to change seats and handed him a plate of steaming noodles, saying, "Forget it! Since we can't trust each other for the time being, let's establish some mutual trust through communication!"

  Naturally, Yun Ge didn't eat the food offered by the Candylord. Instead, upon hearing his suggestion, he immediately asked, "Who are you people? Why did you save Lily? How is she now? What are you going to do to her?"

  The Candylord explained in a calm tone, "Lily was given a kind of psychoactive drug before the sacrificial altar, which caused her to be still in a state of confusion when she was found. This is because the drug affected her brain function, leading to a decline in her attention and memory."

  "Moreover, when we took her through the Venomvine tunnel, her nervous system was still somewhat attacked by the toxic gas released by the Venomvine's fruit flowers. This is why she is still in a coma."

  The Candylord further elaborated, "Of course, since the dose of the psychoactive drug given to Lily by your mayor was not large, and we specifically cast a spell to resist the toxic gas on her before the return trip to ensure her survival through the Venomvine tunnel."

  "So, overall, Lily hasn't suffered any fatal injuries. It's estimated that she will wake up soon! After that, as long as she recovers her physical strength slowly, she can live like a normal person, just like the other women in the village!"

  Upon hearing this, Yun Ge couldn't help but furrow his brows, "At least? Does that mean Lily will have a chronic illness in the future?"

  The Candylord said helplessly, "There's no other way! You should know that the Venomvine tunnel we entered is inhabited by an extremely dangerous vine. The vine blooms a peculiar fruit flower all year round. The name 'fruit flower' comes from the fact that this flower looks like a fruit."

  "The fruit flower secretes abundant nectar and releases a colorless and odorless toxic gas. Except for those fireflies, all other creatures will become paralyzed and gradually lose their ability to breathe after inhaling this gas for a long time, eventually dying of suffocation."

  "Given this, how did Lily manage to pass through that deadly tunnel?" Yun Ge asked.

  "Lily was able to survive passing through there because the psychoactive drug given to her by your mayor happened to help her withstand my protective spell. However, even so, Lily was attacked by the toxic gas while passing through the Venomvine tunnel and fell into a coma, thus leaving her with a chronic illness," the Candylord replied.

  "But you don't need to worry too much. This so-called chronic illness will only manifest in Lily's mental state and physical strength. Her vitality and mobility will be greatly reduced, and her reactions may also appear slower. But apart from that, she can still live as usual."

  "Moreover, through my many years of clinical research, the other women in the village can still recover their mental state and physical strength as long as they rest more and take the medicine I developed regularly. It's just that this recovery process is very long. So, you must have enough patience with her," the Candylord added.

  Hearing this, Yun Ge slightly relaxed. Then, he asked again, "Why do the other women also have the same chronic illness? Could it be that they were all brought through that Venomvine tunnel by you?"

  Upon hearing this, the Candylord immediately extended a furry finger with hook-like nails and said solemnly, "First, I need to clarify that not every woman in the village has this problem. Because some of the women here, and all the men except my attendants, are survivors we found in the forest."

  "This forest is covered with snow all year round, so it's actually very fortunate for them to be discovered by us in time. After all, the majority of people who appear here for no reason have lost their lives due to prolonged exposure to the harsh snowy region."

  The Candylord continued, "The rest of the women, like Lily, were 'lucky ones' chosen as sacrifices by Candy Town and then rescued by me from the sacrificial altar."

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "What?! They were all sacrifices too?" Yun Ge didn't expect the Candylord to say this and stood up in surprise.

  "Otherwise, why do you think Lauren knows you?" the Candylord retorted nonchalantly.

  "So, your so-called rescue of them is not really for their sake?" Yun Ge ignored the Candylord's retort and pursued with a tone full of caution.

  Upon hearing this, the Candylord immediately understood what Yun Ge meant and quickly waved his hands to explain, "Hey! Don't get the wrong idea! I'm not the Forest Spirit that Candy Town worships! These women are not lives sacrificed to me! I won't do anything to them!"

  "I just took the risk to save them for the sake of living better. If Rainbow Bear finds out that all his sacrifices have been secretly intercepted by me, my days will really be tough!"

  "Rainbow Bear? Who is he?" Since the Candylord's talk contained a lot of information, Yun Ge didn't know where to start asking. So, he could only ask about what he was most curious about at the moment.

  The Candylord pointed to himself with a smile and asked, "May I ask, Brother Yun Ge, what do you think I am? Or should I ask, what animal do I resemble?"

  "You resemble——, you look very much like a black bear that hasn't fully evolved into a human form," Yun Ge replied with some apprehension.

  "That's right! Because I am a black bear. It's just that after years of cultivation, my realm has been elevated to the level where I can transform into a human. Rainbow Bear is the same as me, also a black bear spirit that has become human. But some things happened later, ”

  “leading to a significant loss of my magic power and my regression to this current unfortunate state that's neither human nor bear," the Candylord said with a touch of sadness.

  However, amidst his sadness, the Candylord didn't forget to add, "Oh, by the way! Rainbow Bear is the mayor of Candy Town."

  Upon hearing this, Yun Ge jumped up from his seat again and exclaimed, "What? You mean the mayor of Candy Town is a black bear transformed?!"

  "Hey! Can't you stop being so surprised all the time?" The Candylord dramatically clutched his chest, gasped for air, and complained with great displeasure.

  Seeing that Yun Ge was still very excited, the Candylord gestured for him to sit down first, then said, "Remember! We are not bear monsters! We are practitioners who have suddenly attained enlightenment after years of absorbing the forest's spiritual energy!"

  "Our diligent cultivation is not for doing evil, but to comprehend the secrets of the laws of nature. After achieving the Great Dao, we will first transform into human forms and then strive to ascend to immortality in the future. It's just that some things happened during our cultivation, causing our practice to deviate and slowing down our progress."

  Then, the Candylord began to tell the story of his past with Rainbow Bear.

  The Candylord and Rainbow Bear were originally two little black bears living happily in the deep forest. Every day after waking up, they would run and play in the forest without a care in the world.

  If they were hungry, they would suck nectar from wildflowers by the roadside, pick wild fruits or nuts from trees. If they were tired, they would hide in a secluded tree洞 (cave) or simply lie on a tree trunk with lush branches and sleep.

  The two little black bears thought they would spend their lives happily like this, but after a stormy night with thunder and lightning, they suddenly found themselves with a certain degree of spiritual wisdom upon waking up. From then on, they gradually learned to think and study, and thus conceived the idea of cultivation.

  So, the two little black bears no longer played around but began a long journey of cultivation by walking in the forest from time to time and sitting down to quietly absorb the forest's aura.

  Since entering the state of cultivation, the growth rate of the two black bears began to slow down, and they gradually lost the concept of time. Day after day, year after year, they focused on their practice, and time flew by until they finally transformed into two strong and mighty adult black bears.

  At this point, the two black bears could easily control their inner wildness and had also mastered the ability to communicate with simple language. So they used their newly understood communication methods to give themselves very primitive names. The Candylord named himself Celestial Way, and Rainbow Bear named himself Terranom.

  Later, as Celestial Way and Terranom made new breakthroughs in their cultivation, their bodies also began to change. They not only learned to stand and walk on their hind legs but also started to shrink in size and gradually shed their dark fur, revealing dark and shiny skin.

  Looking at the new achievements gained from breaking through their realm again, Celestial Way and Terranom were overjoyed and beyond words. However, with the emergence of their new forms, they soon realized the troubles brought by the changes in their bodies. The days of eating fruits raw and sucking nectar could no longer satisfy their appetites, and they also gradually grew tired of sleeping in tree caves every day.

  Since they couldn't think of a way to improve their living standards for the time being, they could only continue with their current lifestyle. At the same time, they also began to study magic that could enhance the deliciousness of food and tried to use stones, broken wood, and weeds they found to decorate the tree caves they lived in, making their living environment more comfortable.

  Of course, if these problems could still be overcome by Celestial Way and Terranom through their efforts, then the following changes would only make them live in fear every day.

  As their human forms became more and more complete due to cultivation, they also found a very serious problem. That is, their aversion to the forest mist grew stronger, to the point where they had to cast spells at all times to resist, in order to ensure that their spirits would not be confused by the mist. Especially when night fell, they dared not leave their tree caves anymore.

  They did this, firstly, because the mist at night had a greater impact on their spirits; secondly, because they found that the wild beasts that used to coexist peacefully with them at night now regarded them with hostility. It seemed that as long as they were not careful, the beasts would swarm and tear them into pieces.

  Fortunately, they accidentally discovered that fireflies active at night could disperse the beasts. So, to avoid the beasts that surrounded them every night, they placed several wooden stakes filled with nectar outside their tree caves, using the nectar to attract fireflies to circle around the tree caves at night and drive away the beasts, thus preventing their tree caves from being attacked by the beasts at night.

  Therefore, Celestial Way and Terranom stayed hidden in their tree caves with peace of mind, focusing all their attention on casting spells to resist the more aggressive invasion of the mist under the night.

  Although with the mutual support of Celestial Way and Terranom, the mysterious mist of the Lost Woods never disturbed their minds, they had to continuously consume their magic power to resist the mist, causing their years of hard-earned magic power to nearly dry up, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted and suffering greatly.

  Fortunately, facing the setbacks on the path of cultivation, Celestial Way and Terranom did not blindly question but realized that these hardships might be an inevitable part of the cultivation process. Therefore, they never thought of giving up but persisted and continued to deal with these difficulties.