"It's simple, those who came for me turned out to be very accommodating." I said, shrugging.
"Is that all you wanted to know? Then maybe you should check your seal?" she asked, clearly not wanting to listen to me.
"What kind of access to information do you have in the guardian lineage?" I decided to ask, it would be good if it was at least not zero. Essentially, I had learned everything I wanted, but I didn't want to miss the chance to question someone from the guardians.
"Absolutely none, I'm an external agent, held by the guardians only by threats, and that's all, really." She shrugged. "I used to be their external student, but then your parents stole a relic, and a lot of students were sent to China to search for it. My husband and I were already in China disguised as an ordinary couple. When the elder failed the task, we were ordered to change our place of residence and search elsewhere. Purely by chance, we chose Bo City and lived like ordinary people, not attracting much attention."
"So you were both mages. You and your husband?" I asked in surprise, as I absolutely didn't expect this, although, if you look closely, she does have magical energy, albeit small.
"Yes, but after so many years without training, it has dried up and my nebula of light has simply run dry." she said calmly. "Now I'm no different from an ordinary person."
"I see, since you were an external student, you didn't get to learn any special aspects of light magic?" I asked, as this might help Lin Yun Er.
"I don't know. I wasn't particularly interested in it, so I only became an external student. After the order to find the dragon's tooth, my husband thought he would find it and return to being a student, or at least send our daughters there, as one can achieve more there than in the ordinary magical world." she said calmly, even indifferently, it seemed easier for her to talk about the past than the present, but at the same time her voice was filled with sadness. "You must know by now that all internal students, if they achieve great success, can gain ancient knowledge about the composition of stars. And much more. Russia has preserved a lot from ancient times, before the creation of the Holy City."
"Weren't other star configurations discovered, since it's not that difficult if you know the template?" I asked calmly, recalling my research in this direction.
"What? Create new ones? Many have tried, but none have succeeded, it's beyond our comprehension." she said in surprise, not believing my words.
"I can prove otherwise. I have personally studied at least two new wind spells, one lightning, one fire, and one water." I said calmly, but that wasn't all, I suspect that elemental spells have a similar configuration, but there are also unique ones for each element. For another, such a configuration would be a blank.
"What? How did you do it!" she said almost in horror. "The best geniuses have tried for countless hours to do this, but they never saw a pattern, how did you manage it?"
"It's quite simple, you just need to receive and understand the response of the stars." I replied, revealing the main secret of creating new spells.
"Ha, so their method is wrong, but how did you come up with that?" she said with doubt and contempt in her voice.
"Is there any other way to control the stars?" I wondered, not believing that an ordinary woman, far from understanding magic, could know so much.
"Yes, the guardian lineages use it. Complete submission and suppression of stars, destruction of their very will. This way, submission and magic release are faster than trying to negotiate with each star." she said calmly and slightly disappointed. "If you use this method, it will take about three to four months from the awakening of the first element to the first magic release, and you can immediately prepare to move to the second stage. You just need to suppress the stars with your will."
"Then it's strange that the guardians have such a low level of magic." I noted, as I knew that there were only a few high-level mages, and with such a development speed, there should be dozens! Not counting geniuses.
"Everything comes down to two big problems, as far as I know." she said, sighing heavily. "The first is that because of this method, it is more difficult to overcome the barrier to the high and highest levels. However, no one notices this, saying that it is a lie and that ancestors cannot be wrong. The second is the lack of resources to break through to the higher level, and also to the high level. Most of these resources are confiscated by the state in Russia itself. The guardian lineages are not endowed with absolute power. And it is very difficult to obtain them from abroad; they are also confiscated at customs. You cannot leave and return after raising your level. Except for moving to the intermediate level."
"So, the country has a strict dictatorship?" I asked, not particularly surprised by this state of affairs. It would be even more difficult to get there now.
"Yes, but otherwise Russia would have long fallen before the Holy City, unable to maintain the power that guarantees its neutrality. Also, the four empires on its territory do not let the state relax. Because of this, we have to endure." she spread her hands.
"Then why did your husband want to return?" I asked, a little confused. "If only those in power and incredible geniuses can become high and highest level mages there?"
"He respected tradition, unlike me. So, I'm glad I can stay here. Lately, our relationship has been very strained, but the girls didn't know about it." she said, shrugging. "I'm even a little glad he perished in the catastrophe, but at the same time, I'm incredibly pained by his loss. I still loved him." she added in a very sad voice.
"I see, you have a rather difficult fate." I remarked dryly.
"Well, I'll go put the kettle on. Lin Yun Er will be here soon." she said, getting up. "And you, adjust your seal for now, it will be very bad if she sees it. You are still a rare scoundrel, thinking about almost nothing but power and authority, but don't you dare let my daughter down!" she said this strictly, but as if resigned to my candidacy and actions. And that's not bad at all, ha!
"So, will you destroy her mind and become a complete scumbag?" Asura's cheerful voice rang out in my head when Lin Yun Er's mother left the room.
"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise, taking the curse seal in my hands and getting out the necessary tools.
"It's simple, Lin Yun Er is dear to you, isn't she?" he chuckled, asking me.
"She is the dearest person to me. She is my first love in these two lives!" I replied, slightly angered.
"Really? Do you really love her, or do you just not want to let go of your earned trophy, which you can use in your intrigues?" Asura asked sarcastically.
"What nonsense, I love her, period! I haven't treated her as a trophy for a long time! She has taken an important place in my heart, and you know it!" I said, distracting myself from adjusting the seal.
"Yes? Only today, you were so caught up in the excitement of anticipating this conversation that you paid no attention to her at all." Asura noted my obvious oversight. "Also, do you think she'll be pleased that her mother will end up in a mental hospital? Do you think she'll thank you for it?"
"I understand what you're talking about." I replied gloomily, realizing I had been a bit careless. "Unfortunately, I didn't find any other solution to obtain this information. Any agreement between us, if it happened at all, would have been easily exposed by a spirit mage without much trouble. The only sure way to hide my presence is to erase her memory. And erasing memory, without spirit magic or curses, is impossible in any way except with this seal. There might be ways, but they are not available to me."
"And for that, you'll risk upsetting the person dearest to you?" His voice sounded indifferent this time, as if he were mocking me. "If such miscalculations continue, what do you think will happen?"
"Complete ruin of all my desires and aspirations." I concluded dryly. "But there's no turning back now, so I have to try to minimize the losses."
"And how do you plan to do that? Will it be that simple? You're going to damage her soul, by the way." Asura said as soon as he heard my words.
"I can minimize the effect of the cursed seal as much as possible, it needs at least an hour to erase, otherwise there might be a slip-up." I began to think frantically, recalling the entire principle of the cursed seal's operation. "Then, Lin Yun Er's mother won't even notice what happened to her, she can continue to live as if nothing happened. Only the damage to the soul cannot be completely ruled out, so she will gradually lose her sanity, orientation, and motor skills. But due to the small damage, it won't happen so quickly."
"You mean, for the time you gain, you'll be able to find a way to restore her soul?" Asura inquired, listening to me attentively.
"There's no need to even look for a way. Any mage can do it. Moreover, she herself is a mage, her soul will not be as damaged as that of an ordinary person. But it's not a fact that this will help her; by the time I find such a mage, he won't be able to cope." I said, spirit mages can restore the soul after curses, but only high-level mages.
"Yes, after a curse, only high-level spirit magic will help." Asura noted, in a slightly thoughtful voice. "But won't the guardians, upon learning of her ailment, throw her out like Zhang Rou?"
"Most likely. And we'll be lucky if that's all. Perhaps they will force her to continue monitoring me based on her daughter's conversations. But they won't kill her, let alone her daughters. Right now, they are in a very difficult position. All three want to find me and get my tooth. If one of them starts having problems, the other two will attack, wanting to tear apart the weaker ones, and then deal with each other." I concluded, based on all the available information.
"Yes, memory loss, especially if she calls them before that, informing them that you've come to visit them. Then she'll just be a hero. But due to the failure, her soul won't be restored." Asura said, bringing me back to the important problems.
"Yes. And there are a couple of options here too. Either ask Jiaxing Xia when she becomes strong enough. Or find something that restores the soul after damage from a curse." I said.
"But both options require time. Jiaxing Xia still needs to develop well. And what can restore the soul is very expensive." Asura noted, with a slight smirk.
"That's exactly why I'll buy us as much time as possible until she completely loses her mind and her soul can no longer be restored." I replied, returning to the fine-tuning of the cursed seal.
"Yes, and how much time do you think you'll have?" Asura asked indifferently.
"I think she'll slowly go crazy for a couple of years. By the Xi'an catastrophe, serious mental disorders will begin to manifest, and soul destruction may become even more difficult to restore. Or even hopeless." I replied, calculating in my mind. "By then, much may change. She may become the price thanks to which Lin Yun Er and her sister can be freed from the guardians' hook. I think she herself would want that."
"So, we don't actually have much time." Asura summarized my words.
"Yes, but there is a way to pull even a hopeless soul back from the brink. Honey from the gorge of Henlanshan. Only it will be very difficult to obtain." I objected, then after a moment's thought, I added. "By the catastrophe, I should be strong enough to get that honey. It will be useful for me too. As a kind of insurance."