Chapter 153: Curse

Witnessing this, the female elf was frightened out of her wits and ran forward desperately.

"Gotcha." Just as she was about to fall, Ethan quickly dashed forward and caught her, he scooped up the elf and swiftly retreated to a safe area.

After chasing them to the boundary, the spider monsters stomped their legs in frustration, then turned around and retreated back into the depths of the forest.

The elf panted heavily, barely able to stand.

"Are you alright, meow?"

"I... I’m fine... Th-thank you..." The female elf spoke weakly as she broke free from Ethan’s embrace and slumped powerlessly onto the ground, it seemed she was completely exhausted.

Ethan turned to Draugor. "Did you bring any herbs for restoring stamina?"

"No."

"Then we can only take her back first and get her something to eat." Although he didn’t know the background of this elf yet, seeing her in this state, it wasn’t the right time to ask too many questions.

Ethan carried the weak elf on his back and said to Draugor, "You’ve finished gathering herbs, right? Let’s go back, do you want to eat lunch together?"

"Sure — then I will gratefully accept your offer." Draugor and the other Minotaurs happily agreed.

Returning to the cabin, Zharok and Walter had already finished washing the dishes and were reading together.

"Draugor? And... who is this? She doesn’t seem to be an elf from Leon’s ranch." Zharok looked at the female elf on Ethan’s back in confusion.

"She’s an elf who escaped from the Purple Forest, I’m guessing, just like Mira last time, she ran into some trouble." Ethan placed the elf on a chair and poured her a glass of juice.

She stared blankly at everything before her, it wasn’t until Ethan handed the juice to her that she snapped out of her daze, she took the cup with both hands and took a small sip — then suddenly jerked her head up and downed the rest of the juice in one gulp.

"Phew... thank you."

"You’re welcome, can you tell me how you ended up running into the Purple Forest?"

"About that..."

"Let me introduce ourselves first, meow, I’m Pearl, meow, this is Ethan, and there’s Liora, Zharok, and Walter, we all live here, meow~"

"I am Draugor, Ethan’s friend."

Hearing their introductions, the female elf nodded, she politely placed her hand over her chest. "I am Iris, a guard of Marquis Ambric’s household."

"A pleasure, Miss Iris, could you tell me what brought you to the Purple Forest? Or rather, what brought you to the Great Forest?"

The red-haired elf, Iris, remained silent for a moment, her gaze swept over Ethan and the others before she pulled something out from her pocket.

A small pendant, completely ordinary, without any decoration.

Just as Ethan was feeling puzzled, Pearl suddenly exclaimed, "Isn’t that Lady Witch’s pendant?!"

"How do you have something belonging to Lady Witch?"

"Lady Witch is currently staying at Marquis Ambric’s estate."

The long-missing Witch was actually in the Elven Kingdom? Hearing this news, everyone was stunned.

Iris seemed thirsty, she took another sip of juice, then continued. "Marquis Ambric’s only daughter — Lady Alina — somehow contracted a strange disease, the Lord Marquis sought out renowned doctors and mages everywhere, but they were all helpless, later, Lady Witch was passing through the Ambric territory and recognized Lady Alina’s illness at a glance."

"What kind of illness?"

"It’s not an illness, it’s a curse."

’A curse again?’ Ethan’s heart skipped a beat, an ominous feeling welled up inside him.

Iris gritted her teeth. "That’s right — a curse, cast by someone with powerful Chaos energy."

"When Lady Alina fell ill, did any humans appear around her?"

"I’m... not sure, but the young lady often goes out alone, so perhaps..." Iris stopped, she stared intently at Ethan.

"Do you know something?"

Ethan told her about the Mermaid Queen’s situation.

After listening, Iris was quiet for a moment. "I see... Doppelgangers, I’ve heard of them."

"You have?"

"A long time ago, the Ambric family fought alongside humans against the forces of Chaos, it’s said one of the leaders of the Chaos forces back then was a Doppelganger."

It seemed this Doppelganger was quite famous, Ethan couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on, could it be that the Doppelganger appearing now was the same one from back then?

"It’s a good thing you don’t need a Blood Rabbit’s liver this time, meow," Pearl said.

"My Ambric family actually has a Blood Rabbit’s liver, but Lady Witch said another item was needed."

Ethan remembered the treatment for the Mermaid Queen, besides the Blood Rabbit’s liver, Mira had also used the juice of a human-shaped herb.

Could it be that Iris had come this time specifically to find that herb? Pearl had also thought of this — it patted Ethan’s leg with its paw.

Seeing their reaction, Iris nodded. "Lady Witch said that herb is called Doll Grass."

"Doll Grass? That thing..."

"Do you know where to find it, meow?"

"Doll Grass grows deep within the Purple Forest, it is a precious herb that can only grow by absorbing the aura of the Human-Faced Spider, however, it is exceedingly rare, only under very few circumstances is it brought out of the forest by the Human-Faced Spider’s subordinates," Draugor explained.

"I’ve lived for so long, and I’ve only seen Doll Grass once," Zharok added.

"Do you still have it?"

"How could I? I used it a long time ago, Doll Grass is a highly precious medicinal herb, not only can it cure diseases, but it can also boost mana, anyone who gets their hands on it eats it immediately."

According to Draugor, in the Minotaur tribe, if someone found Doll Grass, its ownership would be decided through a duel, this showed just how precious Doll Grass was, it was likely the same for other beastman tribes.

"Since it’s that precious, then we just have to go find it in the Purple Forest."

"It’s not that simple, Doll Grass only grows near the Human-Faced Spider’s nest."

The Human-Faced Spider, master of the Purple Forest.

Any creature that stepped into its territory faced ruthless attack.

If Doll Grass truly only grew near the Human-Faced Spider’s nest, then it would indeed be extremely difficult to obtain.

"How do you know that Doll Grass can only grow by absorbing the aura of the Human-Faced Spider?" Ethan asked curiously.

"I read it in a human book, it’s said that humans also tried cultivating Doll Grass."

"And?"

"They tried many times, but all failed, Doll Grass can only develop its medicinal properties under the influence of the Human-Faced Spider’s special aura, if forcibly cultivated, it will just grow into ordinary grass without any value."

Hearing this, a sudden urge surged in Ethan’s chest, he stared at the Purple Forest with a burning gaze.

Pearl hurried to pat his leg with its paw. "You aren’t thinking of going to cultivate Doll Grass, are you, meow?"

"If possible, I really do want to try."

"Don’t be reckless, meow, the Human-Faced Spider is very dangerous, meow~"

"That’s right," Zharok added.

"The Human-Faced Spider has lived in the Purple Forest since the dawn of the Great Forest, having lived for so long, it has probably gained sentience."