KFN A1C5 - The candy house"s witch
The morning breeze made its way to the forest, a gentle breeze unlike the night. Sunlight too, shone down to invite the forest of their benign inhabitants. As the warmth seep through the green foliage, birds chirp to greet the new day.
TL: I reworded A LOT. Here"s the original text.
清晨的风徐徐吹来，细碎的光线从云缝漏下来，林子里的一切开始渐渐明朗。浅金色的阳光轻快的游走，
最后在高高的树顶上停留。浓绿茂密的枝叶不留一点空隙，
层层叠叠的叶片仿佛可以流出汁来。林子里传来婉转的鸟叫声，显得一派祥和宁静。
Lin Ling awoke, as Ah Hua"s tail continued to brush against her. I dozed off! In a hurry, she glanced at Ah Hua, just to find him barely awake as well. She sighed with relief. Strange... Could there really be no attacks from these evil spirits yesterday? Do they not exist at all? Did Merlin... lied to her?
Just like that, Lin Ling relied on the food Merlin left her and Ah Hua. In a blink of an eye, it is now the third day. In just these few days, Lin Ling feels as close to Leo as her previous Ah Hua. She no longer fears the lion. One more night to go... She consoled herself with this thought. The day soon turn to night, and Lin Ling is now on full alert. It would seem that tonight is the night those evil spirits will come. Her fears turn to reality as she heard a loud buzzing sound approaching the duo. She jumped in fear and hid behind Ah Hua. From the back of her protective lion, she saw a ma.s.s of dark cloud moving towards them.
She feels a strong urge to push her gla.s.ses up, just to find it not there! Huh? Her gla.s.ses are not there? Is this because of this game?
Ah Hua becomes more restless and growled at the dark cloud. The buzzing grows louder as they approach Ah Hua. Lin Ling was soon greeted with the full view of this cloud of evil spirit.
They are flies!
No wonder Merlin gave her a racket to slap them away, she thought. Seeing that the flies are the so-called evil spirit, she is no longer afraid. After all, who is, seeing how small these fries are? (TL: Intentional.) She clutched her racket hard and made a swatting motion towards a nearby fly.
"Haha!"
The fly actually laughed! Upon closer inspection, the flies all have... a face! Lin Ling screamed at this newly found revelation. She threw the racket aside in surprise and ran. Before she even got far, Lin Ling heard Ah Hua"s pitiful cries
as he desperately tries to defend himself. She stopped in her tracks and remembered Merlin"s words. That"s right, they were aiming for Ah Hua, not me! She glanced at Ah Hua to see his bloodied body fighting a lost battle.
I"m... I"m sorry, Ah Hua... But I"m scared! Her legs are shivering with fear as she apologised profusely to the lion in her heart.
If I don"t go... Ah Hua will... What do I do...?
If Ah Hua dies, this is just a game, right? It should be fine...
Ah Hua whimpers and looked towards Lin Ling, his eyes desperately seeking for help.
Ah Hua...
She took a deep breath several times. Readied herself, and bit her lower lips. It"s now or never! Her hand moved towards the tossed racket, just to find her path blocked by a fly instead. (?) She steeled herself, and with the fastest motion she can muster, took the racket back.
TL: 阿花……她深深呼吸了几下,一咬牙,终于还是冲了回去,想去捡地上的拍子,可是拍子的把手上却停着一只样子狰狞的精灵,她犹豫了一下,闭上眼睛,用最快的速度抢回了那把拍子。
As soon as she reclaimed the racket, the fly begin gnawing at her hands in anger.
It hurts!
She could not help but exclaim out loud. But now is not the time to cry. She could only swat the evil spirits while continuously chanting I hit, I hit, I hit hit hit! The racket is indeed an invincible racket. Like a powerful talisman, even
these flies can not stand up to its blinding power. One by one, the evil spirit falls to the ground. As they did, b.a.l.l.s of light entered Lin Ling"s body. Seeing their brethren fell one by one, the evil spirits soon panicked and retreated. As they flee the site, Lin Ling breathe a sigh of relief. Her body is tired. Now that the danger is gone, she touched her forehead to wipe off the cold sweat. Lin Ling thought, to think that I beat them all! This is an amazing feat.
"Ah Hua, it"s okay now."
Lin Ling patted Ah Hua"s head. Ah Hua affectionately licked her wounded hands and whimpered softly. Though her hands are wounded, she is still excited from the adrenaline rush. This time, I did not run. In these 16 years, she had done nothing but running from her problems. This may be the first time ever for her, and probably, the last as well.
If the same situation ever happened, she doubt she"ll ever do the same again.
Let it be the last time... The last time ever.
Sigh, I"m sleepy. (?)
The next time she opened her eyes, she saw Merlin in front of her, smiling happily. Seeing how Lin Ling is barely awake, Merlin"s smile turned to a chuckle.
"You did well. Though not as good as I expected."
"Merlin!"
She stood up in a rush and said,
"I did as you wanted. Can you bring me to Arthur now?"
"Of course. I am here to bring you to him, after all."
Merlin pointed to the lion.
"From now on, he belongs to you."
"Me?"
She blinked at Merlin.
"Wouldn"t a lion attract a lot of attention?" (?) TL: 一头狮子跟着我会不会太拉风了?
"Do not worry."
Merlin plucked a few hairs from the lion"s mane.
"He does not need to follow you. Call his name three times, and he will appear in front of you."
"Really?"
Lin Ling took the hair from Merlin and store it in her pocket. She patted the lion"s head in the process.
"Looks like I"m your master now, Ah Hua."
".... What did you call him?"
Merlin"s expression turned to a difficult one to read.
"Ah Hua. He likes this name!"
"......"
The forest seem to glow in tandem with the sunlight. Flowers are in full bloom, a sweet fragrance embraced the forest"s air. Birds and squirrels alike chirped and hopped from one branch to another. These curious inhabitants of the lush foliage peeked their heads every so often at the two foreign visitors to their home.
TL: Sigh more flowery words.
森林里流动着浅金色的阳光，不知名的野花盛开在林中，散发着淡淡的清香，小鸟欢快的在枝头鸣叫，毛茸茸的松鼠们出没在繁茂的枝叶间，好奇的看着闯入森林里的不速之客，几头受了惊的小鹿，迅速的从灌木丛后跳了出来，又极快的奔进了密林深处。融融的草没有边际，向森林深处蔓延开，整个的森林摇曳着迷离的绿色。
If Lin Ling is not in a game world, she would surely stop to admire the view. Alas, right now, she could think of nothing but eggs, eggs and eggs.
I need eggs to go home... To think that even eggs can be cute to me....
"How do I deal with the witch?" She asked Merlin.
"You"ll know once you are there."
Merlin smiled in reply.
"It is still early now, but once night reaches, the candy house will reveal itself."
"A candy house? Is that where Arthur is?"
Merlin smiled without a word.
Time flowed, and evening came. They now stood in front of a beautiful lake filled with lotus in bloom. The green lotus leaves cover the lake, and the petals soon fall as quickly as they bloomed. The petals fall slowly, and gently, creating ripples in this still lake.
TL: AAAAAH
大而厚实的莲叶散发着浓浓的绿意，互相摩擦后立刻分开，花瓣犹如白绢般润泽柔软，弥漫着一种透明清新的气息。柔润的莲花瓣飘落在浮萍上，缓慢地，一点点沉进水里，在一圈圈的涟漪中，催生出一种温柔的哀怨。
Merlin stopped in his tracks, and gazed at the lake with a melancholic expression. It was a fleeting expression that is quickly replaced with a normal one. Nevertheless, Lin Ling was quick enough to catch it. Strange, she thought.
"Is the candy house nearby?"
The walking has made her tipsy for action.
"Go straight from here and you"ll see the house."
He tilted his head and smiled his usual smile.
"The candy house is not a house in name alone, but a house made entirely of candy. They all belong to the witch Lena, which she gets from turning human into one. Even a prince cannot escape from her jinx. Lena likes her candy so if you were to gift her one, she too will exchange a candy of hers for yours."
"What? Even the prince turned to a candy? Then how can I find Arthur?"
Lin Ling"s face paled once more at this impossible task. How does she find a prince in a house made of candy and full of it?
"It is up to you to find it. But know this, the more n.o.ble the person"s bloodline is, the tastier the candy will be. Thus, the said candy will be the most important one to the witch. You should be able to identify the prince with all these clues."
"Can I... give up? I"m just a normal high school girl! I can"t do this!"
She sighed heavily. Even the name "witch" brings shudders to Lin Ling.
"You have yet to try, and you are already giving up? Are you the same as you are now in the real world?"
Merlin smiled faintly at Lin Ling.
Lin Ling felt downcasted by Merlin"s comments. She spoke not words, but thoughts...
That"s right.There hasn"t been any changes to her at all since she arrived. Like a snail, at the smallest hint of danger, she will retract back to her sh.e.l.l.
"You"ll never know unless you tried. Did you not defeated the evil spirits bravely last night alone? You saved Ah... Ah... "
Merlin tried his best to p.r.o.nounce Ah Hua"s new name, but he cannot bring himself to even mutter the ghastly name.
Lin Ling is confused. Her head"s a mess. She has no choice but to enter the candy house, save the prince and return to the castle. Only then can she find eggs to go back home.
"What kind of candy does she like?"
Lin Ling raised her head slowly, and looked at Merlin.
Merlin"s eyes show a tinge of delight at her courage, and smiled.
"I will give you one. What candy do you want?"
What candy should she ask for? She sc.r.a.pped at the surface of her memories, of a delightful candy anyone would want. Her bulb went eureka as she found a match. She often eat that candy in the past, and its really good!
"Ah, yes. I need to tell you something. Remember, do not eat any candy from there. Otherwise, you"ll join her collection as well."