Chapter 3: The Witch Who Was Different From Imagination
After organizing his thoughts, Su Xiao decided to begin exploring this world. His goal was clear: find a witch and inquire from her about the "Land of the Dead," which was the location of the Demon Blade sealing device.
If asking didn't work, he would press harder; if that failed, he would resort to torture. First, courtesy, then force. If absolutely nothing worked, he would just kill her.
Su Xiao pushed open the worn wooden door of the stone house, and rainwater poured inside.
Boom!
A thunderclap echoed, and outside the room was pitch black. It was probably around midnight.
The Apostle's Eye floated out from Su Xiao's sleeve, observing this human settlement from above. By this name, this place was the territory of some witch.
Based on the feedback from the Apostle's Eye, Su Xiao discovered that this was actually a large city built within towering walls. The streets were paved with stone slabs, every household had its doors tightly shut, and the streets were completely empty.
In truth, whether it was a settlement or a kingdom, they were just large cities. A few neighboring large cities could be called a kingdom. As for the throne, as long as one had enough military force, one could simply crown oneself.
According to the travels of a prophetic witch across the Dark Crow Continent, there were at least several hundred kings, all recognized by other kings. As for self-proclaimed ones, there were even more.
If a family lived in the wilderness, the male head of the household could also proclaim himself king, with the surrounding fields as his territory. Of course, aside from his wife and children, no one would acknowledge him as king.
Did this seem ridiculous? Not at all. When this farmer married off his daughter, she would be considered a princess. The prestige might not be much, but some minor nobles would still appreciate such a title. Marrying a princess sounded quite impressive.
Dirty water rushed through the streets. This city had no sewage system at all, so every rainfall was essentially a bath for the city.
Su Xiao had no intention of stepping into that sewage filled with suspicious objects. He already had a target. According to the Apostle's Eye's detection, there was a tall building in the city center, which should be the witch's residence. She ruled this city.
"Bubu, go scout the situation over there. Beini, Beini?"
Su Xiao turned his head and saw that Beini was nowhere to be found. Only a note remained, which read: "Don't miss me, this cat is a child of nature!"
Su Xiao dropped the note and looked at Bubu Wang. "Did you teach her that?"
Bubu Wang gave a mischievous grin, meaning, "What do you think, Master?"
"Indeed, foolishness is sometimes contagious."
Su Xiao couldn't help but recall Beini's aloof expression in the war world, and then looked at her now...
"Teach her less of that. She needs to be sharp when she goes out treasure hunting."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Bubu Wang spread his dog paws, meaning, "I'll do my best."
Bubu Wang charged into the rain, disappearing after a few leaps. He was heading to the witch's residence to investigate.
About half an hour later, Bubu Wang sent a message. The gist was: "The situation is a bit strange. You'd better come see for yourself, Master."
If Bubu Wang said that, it generally meant there was no danger. Su Xiao pulled out the built-in hood of his Gale Wind Coat, put it on, and stepped into the rain. Amu followed closely behind. He was simple-minded: whoever Su Xiao wanted to kill, he would kill. It was that simple and loyal.
Hurrying through the cold rain, Su Xiao soon arrived at the base of a domed building in the city center. This building was somewhat like a small castle, about twenty meters high.
Su Xiao leaped up, his fingers hooking onto the protrusions on the building's outer wall, and quickly climbed to the upper level.
According to Bubu Wang's intelligence, the witch was resting on the fifth floor of the castle. Su Xiao pushed open a glass window and jumped into a dark corridor.
Su Xiao surveyed the corridor. He didn't find any traps. He walked to a metal door in the middle of the corridor and pushed it open a crack. A faint fragrance wafted out.
Smelling this scent, Su Xiao frowned. This odor had a strong aphrodisiac effect. Noticing this, Su Xiao took out a test tube, drank half of it, and tossed the remaining half to Amu. Amu threw the entire test tube into his mouth, chewing it like candy and crushing it. The glass was immediately decomposed upon entering his stomach.
Through the crack in the door, Su Xiao saw a thin gauze curtain fluttering in the night breeze. Behind it, a voluptuous woman in half-exposed clothing was touching herself...
Su Xiao was stunned for a moment. His first thought was: Is this a witch? She looks a bit...
Peeping was clearly not a good behavior, so Su Xiao simply pushed the door open. But the witch seemed absorbed in self-exploration and didn't even hear the door opening.
Thump, thump, thump.
Su Xiao knocked on the metal door. The woman lying on the bed, half-exposed, quickly shrank under the covers.
"Who is it!"
The witch on the bed shouted sharply, her eyes fixed on the doorway.
"Late-night visit, my apologies for the intrusion."
Su Xiao walked into the witch's bedroom. Rainwater dripped from his sleeves. This bedroom was at least a hundred square meters, and the furnishings inside prevented it from feeling empty.
At the witch's bedside, an iron incense burner slowly emitted green smoke. This burner was about the size of a fist. The strong aphrodisiac scent Su Xiao had smelled earlier came from this burner.
Su Xiao could be sure that the witch wasn't using this to satisfy her own desires. Her previous state clearly showed she was forcefully suppressing her inner urges. Given her status, she could easily find a young, handsome man, but she hadn't done so.
"Apologies? If you... knew what apologies meant... you wouldn't be... standing like this... before a lady's bed."
The witch's voice was full of allure, but she paused almost every few words and spoke slowly and softly.
The witch sensed Su Xiao's ill intentions, or rather, she could clearly feel his dense bloodlust.
"Do you know... the price of... offending me?"
The witch slowly sat up. Her silky outer garment slipped down slightly, revealing a large expanse of fair skin on her chest.
"Since that's the case, let's negotiate in a different way."
Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist. Azure Steel Shadow energy surged along the blade. His aura became sharp, and even the ground beneath his feet showed fine cut marks.
Su Xiao's action of drawing his blade clearly surprised the witch. She suppressed the panic in her eyes, slowly stood up, and looked down at Su Xiao from the bed.
"You... do not... have the... qualification... to fight... me."
Boom!
Bloodlust spread. Su Xiao's body lowered, and the long blade in his hand let out a crisp ring. His first strike was aimed at her waist, hoping to keep her alive.
Cold sweat instantly seeped from the witch's back. Her calm tone was just a facade, hiding her identity as a prophetic witch. Prophetic witches had various abilities, but only high-ranking ones possessed true prophecy.
"Fighting... is... a barbaric... act."
The witch seemed somewhat "displeased." She raised her arm, and a ball of purple flame appeared in her palm. Strangely, this flame had no heat at all.
Su Xiao was not yet familiar with the witch's abilities, so he decided not to hold back. If his opponent could survive, fine; if not, he would find another way.
Crack, crack...
Cracks appeared on the ground beneath Su Xiao's feet, a sign that he was about to charge forward.
"Please don't hurt me. I am a White Witch."
Just as Su Xiao was about to strike, the witch actually surrendered. Her tone was no longer halting, and it sounded much smoother. Su Xiao, who was about to charge, halted, sending a large amount of rubble flying from the ground.
Whoosh~
A piece of rubble flew toward the witch. She quickly ducked to avoid it.
Bang!
The rubble pierced through the wall, leaving a hole.
Su Xiao looked at the nearby witch with confusion. At this moment, the woman was crouching on the bed, hands over her head, occasionally stealing a glance at Su Xiao. She was extremely cowardly.
The long blade rested against the witch's neck. This was Su Xiao's method of negotiation that ignored the Charm attribute.