The apple tree that appeared out of thin air was nothing but an illusion, ultimately leading to Sofia eating the poisonous apple. The poison in the apple was not ordinary. Regular poison could kill a person, but this poison apple could make one's body and soul vanish into thin air.
Judging by the toxicity, Jason could tell that it was similar to his own Samadhi True Fire, a highly potent poison that could make a person completely disappear, both physically and spiritually.
Who would treat such a beautiful and kind girl in such a cruel way, unless they were extremely wicked?
When Sofia woke up, it was already past nine in the morning. The intense toxicity left her body feeling weak, even after being detoxified by Jason. As she sat up, she felt the blanket slipping off her body. Her skin was so smooth that the blanket couldn't even stay on it.
"Ah..." She instinctively crossed her arms and covered her chest. Her perfect breasts, whether in shape, size, or color, made Denise sitting next to her envious. Although it was just a glimpse, the feeling of beauty was truly captivating.
However, she had seen herself without any coverings yesterday when the silver needles were removed. It didn't have the same breathtaking effect as now, but she was still a woman.
She adjusted the blanket slightly to cover her upper body. Sofia looked at Jason sitting by the window and said, "Thank you. You saved me again!"
"Why did this happen?" Jason asked.
So Sofia began to tell him about her experiences in the past few days.
Sofia left Los Angeles and drove all the way, and everything went smoothly without any incidents. But this town gave her a very peculiar feeling, as if something was attracting her, making her stay here.
For the past two days, she had been taking pictures of various places in the town with her phone. Houses, forests, meadows, rivers, even the church and the cowshed, and so on.
"Can I see the photos you took?" Jason asked her.
"Of course..." Sofia covered her chest with one hand and tried to reach for the clothes on the side of the bed with the other hand. "All my pictures are on my phone. I prefer using my phone to take photos, but occasionally I use a DSLR camera. I only use the DSLR when I want to go out and explore."
Denise helped her retrieve the phone, and Sofia unlocked it and handed it to Jason. "You can open it and see. The photos are all recent."
There were indeed many photos, starting from when she set off, even taking pictures during rest stops on the way. But there were more photos after arriving in the town. Jason flipped through them one by one. This girl had good photography skills, even with a phone, she could capture effects that usually only a DSLR could achieve.
Apart from the natural landscapes Sofia mentioned, such as houses, forests, and meadows, he also noticed an unusual place, the church. There was nothing noteworthy outside the church, and even inside, it seemed normal. But Jason furrowed his brows.
Seeing Jason's reaction, Sofia asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong?" Denise also leaned in to take a look, shook her head, and shrugged at Jason. "All I see is a church and the inside looks normal. Is your sensitivity too high?"
"No, you should take a closer look."
So Sofia and Denise huddled together and carefully examined the photos. But they found nothing and could only shrug their shoulders at Jason, saying, "We really don't know what's different."
Jason didn't explain further and simply said, "Let's rest for now. In the afternoon, we'll go to the church and find out. Alright, I'll go out for a walk and see what's different about this town." With that, he walked out.
What was different about this town?
Jason walked slowly around the town. In reality, the town was not big, even smaller than his former town of Harold. He used to think Harold was small and peaceful, but this town was even smaller, with an estimated population of only one or two hundred people.
The houses were quite far apart, and the most remote place was two to three miles away from the town's main street, next to a mountain. Jason didn't know the name of the mountain, and it seemed like the town itself didn't have a name either. Being a bit far from the state highway, there was only one road that led to the town, a two-lane road.
However, it was strange that no cars had stayed near the town. There weren't many cars on the state highway either, but not a single one was willing to stop here.
Based on the locations in the photos Sofia provided, Jason decided to visit all these places. This way, he might find out what happened to Sofia and what she saw or experienced.
The forest was Jason's main focus.
Usually, witches would use forests as their hiding places. It provided shade from the despised sunlight and allowed them to avoid being seen by the public, just like the witch he had previously vanquished.
The forest was quiet, with birds flapping their wings and insects making occasional sounds. Occasionally, a snake would slowly slither by. It seemed that there was nothing suspicious about the forest that caught Jason's attention. He stopped in front of a tree, reached out, and gently touched the trunk.
He had arrived at the spot where Sofia had eaten the poisoned apple last night. Next to it was a small river, its water flowing gently. The river water was clear, and he could even see the shadows of fish swimming in it.
Why did the illusion of an apple tree appear here? And why was there only one apple on the tree, and it happened to be a poisonous one? With these questions in mind, Jason looked around, trying to find some clues, but found nothing. He could only furrow his brows and ponder.
He lightly tapped the tree trunk with his fingers, and it made a "thud thud thud" sound.
There didn't seem to be anything wrong here. The place where the illusionary tree appeared didn't stand out in any particular way. So Jason moved on to other places in the town. The grass felt soft under his feet, and he even visited the cemetery. Everything seemed normal, no different from other towns, just smaller.
The cemetery was covered in moss, and some tombstones had pictures of the deceased. The tombstones were engraved with their names and epitaphs. The soil and tombstones had become traces of history.
The cemetery was two miles away from the town.
Jason walked everywhere on foot. Then he went to the church and looked around inside. He stood in the corridor, looking at the large cross on top of the church, with Jesus nailed to it.
"Sir, do you need to pray or confess?" A voice suddenly broke Jason's contemplation. He turned his head and saw a priest, wearing a black robe, white collar, and a prominent cross on his chest. He appeared to be in his fifties, with neatly groomed red hair slicked back. He wore a pair of glasses.
"Are you the priest here?" Jason turned and asked him.
"Yes, I am. You can call me Father Omar." The old man smiled and nodded at Jason. "Do you need any help?"
"No, I just came to look around, you know... how curious a tourist can be." Jason nodded to him, politely declining his offer.
Father Omar nodded without saying anything and left.