The collective meditation event finally began, as the organizers wouldn't possibly wait for the scorching sun to rise and have everyone meditate in such heat.
Doing so would completely lack any hint of prestige.
There wasn't much commercial development on the lakeside hillside; on the left, there were a few shops, and on the right, between the woods and the lake, rocks and lawns were preserved.
The tall trees formed a canopy, bringing a hint of coolness to the grassy area that was dotted with rocks.
The meditation event was set up here.
In a ceremonious manner, the organizers prepared for each participant a woven meditation mat of unknown grass stems and colored ropes, an oil-diffusing lotus-shaped glass artifact with fragrance, and a bracelet strung with various plant seeds or pits.
Each yoga studio member went to collect these items from their studio heads, while Qin excitedly explained the multifarious symbolic meanings of these yoga meditation accessories, making everything seem quite ostentatious.
It was all about the sense of ritual.
Lin An didn't seek any special treatment; wearing the bracelet, he held the lit scented glass jar in one hand and the delicately crafted meditation mat in the other, and went to the edge of the crowd.
To his left was the railing of the lakeside hill, and to his right was a large rock. A breeze came from the lake, causing ripples, which he found rather amusing.
He hadn't been seated long when Zhou Xiaoxiao followed, placing her meditation mat beside him, bending over to set down the scented glass jar, tucking her hair behind her ear with a laugh, asking, "You don't mind if I sit next to you, do you?"
Lin An just shook his head.
Her celestial spirit chattered away, making him want to chuckle.
This girl, who had deliberately worn yoga clothes to accentuate her figure and walked around without finding anyone she liked, had begun to loathe the gaze of men looking at her and eventually decided to come sit by Lin An.
At least Lin An's gaze was clear, free of those lecherous surreptitious glances trying to take in the scenery of the mountains and valleys.
Pity that this man wasn't rich; despite having a high-paying job, he was also a spendthrift who couldn't save money.
The yoga circle is probably one of the cleaner and more refreshing circles in the city's upper class, yet she still couldn't find a suitable man, looking quite agitated. After sitting for a while, she started to sweat and was unable to calm her mind.
"Please find a spot quickly, sit down, and remember our usual seated posture during class. Keep your back straight, but not too tense, just relax..."
Qin, holding a microphone, began to speak, while the other studio heads carried a few speakers and placed them in various corners.
A little further away, a huge screen was hoisted, projecting an image of a tree.
Soon, Chen Shuyun walked under the tree, sat on the meditation mat, and softly spoke into the headset, "Please place the diffuser about a foot in front of you..."
"I just noticed some people have the wrong leg-crossing posture, which will cause numbness if you sit like that for a while..."
"Let the top of your foot rest against the mat..."
"Take a deep breath, gently close your eyes, but not tightly, leave a sliver open to let the light of nature flow into your hearts through this crack..."
"Don't empty your mind; when you try to think of nothing, it is a thought itself, and your mind will remain highly active..."
"Go ahead and let all your thoughts surge within you, then quietly observe your breathing..."
"When all the tumultuous thoughts have settled, shift your focus from your breathing slowly to nature..."
"This time we should not focus on every tiny aspect of ourselves, but rather, keenly feel every little detail of nature, and forget our existence..."
"Completely forget yourself, merge with nature, and you'll find your place within it..."
Chen Shuyun's narrative clearly contained elements that differed from the usual yoga practice. Zhou Xiaoxiao beside Lin An looked puzzled, opening her mouth but eventually choosing to follow the instructor's commands.
She had to listen because this wasn't just verbal guidance, but a potent form of witchcraft.
Lin An could clearly see above the large tree where Chen Shuyun sat that a pair of colossal hands tore through the sky, revealing a dark gold space.
In that dark gold space, the figure of a five-meter-tall dark gold statue emerged.
Unlike the dark gold statue of the software company's female boss, Suxin, Chen Shuyun's dark gold statue looked particularly bizarre.
The bound statue knelt amidst jagged rocks, hands tied behind its back, and bound tightly with red ropes.
So tightly bound that dark gold blood could be seen trickling from the indentations, pooling into a dark gold puddle of blood.
Silently, the dark gold statue tilted its head back, face distorted, emitting a piteous howl.
It exuded an air of oppression and struggle, and was full of a violent and ferocious aura, unlike Suxin's dark gold statue, which was both serene and restless.
FInally, the strained statue extended a hand, pulling the red rope tighter into its flesh, dark gold blood flowing down its arm.
In its hand was a bell, which it gently shook.
As the clear sound spread over the lawn, the candlelight from the scented candles began to flicker.
Chen Shuyun's voice grew increasingly weak, conveying a suppressed pain, and in the projection, Lin An could see her typically rosy lips turn pale and even a bit bluish.
But he soon found he had no energy left to observe Chen Shuyun's spirit.
The witchcraft this witch displayed seemed to have a hypnotic characteristic, which made him involuntarily follow the content of her lesson, close his eyes, and leave a sliver of a gap to let in the natural light.
As the rhythm of the state came alive, he quickly sank into a dazed, swaying sensation.
At this moment, he had a premonition that he could break free if he used the Breathing Skill.
But he didn't try to do so, simply letting himself be guided into that odd state.
He felt as though he were a parched piece of land, but as he melded into the rustling of leaves, the rhythm of the mountain wind, the calls of birds, and into all things natural, a spring eye suddenly appeared in the sky.
The spring eye bubbled as if it wanted to burst forth and pour water over his dried-up land.
Lin An gazed dumbly at all this, feeling his whole being overcome with a strange restless urge, as if something were trying to break out from his heart.
Ding-ding-ding~~~
The ringing of the bell carried a unique rhythm, making him feel an extremely odd tension, followed by a relief that felt as if a long-held-in fart had finally been released, leaving him feeling exceptionally refreshed.
Whish-whish~~~
The water from the spring eye fell, carrying a bright red color, looking like blood.
Every drop of this blood-water that merged with the dried-up land gave him an intense feeling of satisfaction, as if a soul starved for twenty-some years had finally been nourished, or as if seeds in the soil suddenly received water and burst forth with the hope to sprout and take root.
Caught in this incredibly magical sensation, Lin An couldn't help but look up at the spring eye in the sky, only to be startled by the sight of a huge robe.
The robe was white, billowing as if with an invisible wind, and stained with countless red bloodspots.
Looking up along the edge of the robe, he saw a face very familiar to him within the wide hood.
It was an incredibly ugly head, with only holes remaining for eyes, blackened skin, and a mouth that was also pitch black. The blood flowed down from the ugly head's hair and dripped onto the ground from the robe.
Such a scene suddenly jolted Lin An awake.
After all, it was simply too comical.
He was all too aware that there was no one under that wide robe, just a head.
Everyone was too familiar, which didn't give rise to any sense of fear or wonder.
He even felt a sort of regret, realizing that the blood the head splashed around the room could actually benefit him.
This...
what a waste.
After observing for a while, Lin An turned his gaze to his surroundings.
Within the unique atmosphere controlled by Witch Chen Shuyun, it seemed he did not need to open his eyes to maintain his sight.
With his eyes almost closed, just a glimmer of light showing, his viewpoint seemed to incorporate the whole world, looking down upon everything with a slightly raised perspective.
Hundreds of people sat quietly on the lawn, seemingly without a stir.
Only Zhou Xiaoxiao, sitting beside him, had a massive leech floating above her head, with countless filaments of slime dripping onto her, integrating into the unknown.
And the several yoga studio owners wandering among the people seemed not to notice anything wrong with Zhou Xiaoxiao.
"This is so damn frustrating!" A girl in super-short jeans, her tattoos showing, grumbled with a cigarette in her mouth, "All of us witches, and we're still forced by those Witch Hunter Knights to hide and perform awakening ceremonies deep in the mountains."
Qin shook her head at her, "It's always better to be careful. It's best we remain hidden."
She looked around somewhat worriedly, "I wonder how many of us will awaken as wizards."
"Difficult!" the girl in short jeans flicked the earring beneath her short hair, looking somewhat agitated, "In the last few years, we only gained one sister, and she was found and murdered by those lunatics from the Antler Witch-Hunting Knight Order in her own home!"
"She was too conspicuous." Qin frowned, "After awakening her ability to cast spells, she thought she was invincible, casting witchcraft recklessly in the mall, all for getting a bag for free."
The girl in short jeans exhaled smoke and sneered, "It's not too bad leaving this crappy place; you're going abroad, Qin. The Witch Hunter Knights over there are said to be nobodies, not like here where we need to tread cautiously."
Qin glared at her, "Being a wizard is hard no matter where you are. If you think there's someplace you can relax, it must be one of our Witches' Assembly's secret bases. Anyplace else, you keep to yourself for me!"
"Why should I!" the girl in short jeans shouted, kicking a male student who had ogled her earlier. He fell to the ground and lay motionless, "I can cast spells, but I'm forced to live like a rat in the sewers!"
Qin just stared at her fixedly, "If that's what you think, you're not far from death. If you want to live comfortably, stay away from your sisters, don't drag us down with you."
The girl in short jeans fell silent. After a while, she threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with her high heels, "Got it, I'll listen to you."
Qin just sighed and gave her sister a gentle hug.
Whispering softly, "It'll get better. We'll find a way to deal with those Witch Hunter Knights and kill them all. Then we can live freely."
A hopeful expression appeared on the girl in short jeans' face.