Chapter 22: The Witch and the Traitor
The old lord's snoring rose and fell in waves. Tormented by the parasitic eggs and exhausted from days of relentless labor, he was utterly spent in both body and mind. Even though the parasitic eggs inside him had been removed, he wouldn't live much longer—at most a month, at least half a year—before his life force withered away and he died.
Anyone with eyes could see that Su Xiao had saved the old lord's life. The few attendants who had surrounded him earlier now looked deeply embarrassed.
"Ahem, sir, this way, please."
One of the attendants bowed to express his apology.
"Sir, you must be weary from the journey. Perhaps you should rest first..."
"No need. Take me to that water source."
"Yes, sir."
A trusted attendant of the old lord signaled to a servant nearby, indicating they should prepare a guest room and refreshments.
"Sir, this way, please."
Following the trusted attendant out of the castle, a scorched smell hit them head-on. Half the city had been reduced to charcoal, so the stench within the city was indescribable.
Half the commoners were displaced, and the streets were filled with wailing misery. Commoners tormented by the parasitic eggs cried out in agony—not everyone had the old lord's endurance.
As soon as he stepped onto the street, Su Xiao saw several withered corpses. According to his perception, the parasitic eggs inside the bodies were still present. If the witches wanted to obtain these things, it wouldn't be a simple process.
"How are these corpses being handled?"
"All burned together."
"Who's in charge?"
"Lord Avakin is responsible."
The trusted attendant spoke with his head lowered, his gaze somewhat evasive.
"Bring him to see me."
"This..." The trusted attendant looked troubled. "Sir, it's like this—there are too many corpses in the city, and Lord Avakin hasn't been seen for a long time."
"Is that so? Never mind. Take me to the water source."
"As you command."
The trusted attendant quickened his pace. His name was Kan. In this world, a single-character name served as both given name and surname.
Kan was relatively thin. Though he looked frail, as the old king's trusted man, his combat ability shouldn't be too weak.
Under Kan's guidance, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Melody headed toward the water source. Amu, being too conspicuous, was left to guard the carriage. Unless it was a fierce battle, there was no need to deploy this general.
As Su Xiao walked forward, Melody reached out, grabbed the fabric at the small of his back, gave it a light tug, then let go.
Su Xiao ignored Melody. Melody rolled her eyes in frustration. Seeing this, Bubu Wang sighed, as if to say, "Don't meddle. Just make sure you don't die."
Half an hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the water source on the eastern side of the city. It was an artificial river about five meters wide and over ten meters deep. Stone steps were built along both banks to allow commoners to fetch water easily.
Judging by its depth, this had originally been a natural river, later modified by artificial construction to achieve such a neat appearance.
Several fishing boats drifted on the river. This river wasn't just for daily water use; commoners could also fish here. Moreover, the river connected to a larger river outside the city, allowing for water transport of goods. In fact, it was this river that had once brought prosperity to Nickdodo City.
"Sir, this is the place..."
Before the trusted attendant could finish his sentence, Su Xiao had already plunged into the river with a splash. Not long after, he emerged, soaking wet, and walked ashore.
"No other issues. Take me to rest."
"The room has already been prepared for you, sir."
Kan led the way, and the group turned back toward the castle. Not long after they left, two women in black robes emerged from an abandoned civilian house.
"The witch hunter has arrived," one of them said.
"A White-rank witch hunter. That's good news. Deal with him quietly, so as not to attract the attention of other witch hunters. Having a witch hunter come here and die will buy us at least ten days. That's enough."
"Whatever you like. But it's the first time I've seen a witch hunter cooperating with a White Witch."
A few minutes later, a furtive figure reached the riverbank. He seemed a bit nervous.
"Leave the thing here, then disappear from my sight."
"Yes, yes."
The man was a commoner. He gently set down the cloth bundle in his hand and quickly left.
...
Inside the old lord's castle, third-floor bedroom.
Thump, thump, thump...
The wooden door was knocked. Su Xiao, who was sketching on a piece of paper, looked up at the door and signaled Melody to open it.
"Sir, lunch has arrived."
A maid pushed a cart into the room and stopped it in front of Su Xiao.
Su Xiao casually picked up a piece of bread. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he seemed to remember something. He bit down on the bread slice and began scribbling on the paper.
After drawing two strokes, Su Xiao looked up at the maid beside the cart. The maid bowed and retreated from the room.
"Pfft."
Su Xiao spat out the bread in his mouth and took out a test tube, rinsing his mouth with the pale green liquid inside.
After a preliminary observation, Su Xiao could confirm that not only were there witches in the city, but many people around the old lord were also problematic. For instance, the trusted attendant Kan, and Avakin, who was in charge of handling the corpses—they might all be compromised.
With internal strife and external threats, it was no wonder Nickdodo City had ended up like this. Of course, Su Xiao wasn't here to help rebuild the city. He had no interest in those traitors. All he needed to do was find the witches and kill them.
This was the fundamental difference between Su Xiao and those righteous heroes. If a righteous hero had arrived in Nickdodo City, they would first save the commoners, stir up a bunch of trouble in the process, then investigate the traitors. If they had a brain-dead female teammate, they'd need to gather evidence before dealing with the traitors, which would cause even more chaos.
Only then would they deal with the witches. By that time, the witches might already know everything about the hero, down to the color of his underwear. What should have been an overwhelming battle would turn into a hard-fought victory, followed by a happy ending.
Su Xiao's plan was simple and brutal: directly locate the witches, kill them, and leave the commoners and traitor issues for the old lord to handle. Though the old lord looked like he might kick the bucket at any moment, he was an expert in this area, having spent his entire life dealing with power and commoner affairs.
However, finding the witches wasn't easy. Su Xiao suspected there were at least three witches in the city, or they wouldn't have dared to ravage such a large city.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking, the door opened, and the old lord's trusted attendant, Kan, walked in. His gaze flicked to the piece of bread on the floor, but his expression remained unchanged as he approached Su Xiao.
"Sir, we've found Avakin, but..."
"He's dead?"
"Yes. When we found Lord Avakin, he had already been dead for over three days."
"Oh."
Su Xiao dropped the quill in his hand and turned to look at Kan.
"So, the witches found a more suitable candidate and no longer needed Avakin, the corpse handler?"
"Huh?"
Kan looked at Su Xiao in confusion, as if he didn't understand what Su Xiao was saying.
"If I were those witches, having already destroyed Nickdodo City to this extent, I would have bribed or blackmailed everyone around the local lord. Compared to those drafty, scorched civilian houses, the old lord's castle is clearly a better place to stay."
As he spoke, Su Xiao observed Kan's expression. Kan looked more and more puzzled. From his demeanor, there seemed to be no problem at all.
Was that really the case? Only those with guilty consciences would deliberately feign calm. If Kan were truly on the old lord's side, his expression wouldn't necessarily show shock, but he would at least start to suspect and worry about the old lord's safety.
"So, you're useless now."
"Huh?"
This time, Kan was genuinely confused. He didn't catch the meaning behind Su Xiao's words.
A short blade formed from Azure Steel Shadow energy appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Its structure was similar to an energy shield.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao threw the energy short blade. Kan tried to dodge to the side, but the blade had already pierced through his head. This guy had a head full of clever tricks, but his strength couldn't keep up.
With a thud, Kan was pinned to the wall.
The moment Kan died, the wooden door was pushed open. Beyond the door was pitch black, even though it was one o'clock in the afternoon.