The night was dark, and the shabby and dirty streets of the slums were shrouded in thick darkness. Occasionally, a dim light shone from a shack, but it could not dispel the darkness. Instead, it made the place even more deathly silent.
Except for the occasional barking of a dog, this lifeless place seemed to have been forgotten by the world.
Gray Rat was still walking through the cobweb-like alleys, taking Hao Ren and Lily deeper into the slums.
Hao Ren felt like he was walking in a huge nest, and he was moving toward the most chaotic and dirty core of the nest. The ancient medieval city was like a bloated, diseased organ. Its exterior had expanded to an amazing size, but inside, its oldest and most basic parts had begun to fester and rot. The once prosperous streets of the city had become slums, occupied by garbage, sewage, rats, and homeless beggars. These parts could not bring any vitality to the city, but they could not be separated from the city. The rulers were intoxicated by the superficial glory and the bloody excitement of the witch-hunting movement. They did not notice the decline of the city at all. Even if they noticed it, they could not do anything about it.
The Mythological Era was over, and the dominance of the world finally returned to the hands of its natives. However, these young natives were not ready to start a new era. Humans chose to temporarily numb themselves to this sudden change, using ignorance and superstition to protect their minds. But sooner or later, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution would bring two baptisms, burning these bloated, festering cities and the gangrene in them.
But for Hao Ren, these things had already happened and were over. He only cared about when they would reach the "contact point" that Gray Rat mentioned.
"How much longer do we have to walk?" he asked impatiently.
Gray Rat, who was walking in front, shrunk his neck. The potion he had taken earlier was fading, and this decline seemed to have affected his spirit, making his will weaker. "It's just in front, sir. It's just in front …" Gray Rat, who was walking in front of him, suddenly shrank his neck.
"There's only a dead end in front." Lily's eyes glowed golden in the darkness. She glanced forward and said, gritting her teeth.
"It's that dead end," Gray Rat quickly explained. "Only the darkest corner is the safest. The witches never contact people in open places."
"I hope you're not lying to us," Hao Ren said, twitching his mouth. "Anyway, in my opinion, you're already a dead man."
Gray Rat did not lie.
The three of them came to the end of the alley, and there were no more forks or paths ahead. Hao Ren thought that the forks and paths would never end.
A broken, moss-covered stone wall stood there. Many years ago, this stone wall might have been a part of the clock tower, or the city wall. But as time passed and the city continued to expand, the magnificent building that the wall belonged to had been swallowed up by later buildings and decomposed, leaving only the ruins of the old street. Gray Rat stepped forward and pulled away a few rags and withered vines hanging on the stone wall, revealing some potholes.
The marks looked like a child's graffiti. Judging from the looks of it, they were carved with hard stones on the weathered stone wall. Even the most meticulous member of the Church would not suspect anything when they saw these things.
But Gray Rat carefully pressed his hands on the graffiti-like lines. Looking at his horrified expression, it was as if he was pressing his hands on a red-hot iron plate.
He only touched the wall slightly, and he quickly stepped back, trembling.
Hao Ren and Lily watched the scene curiously, but they did not interfere with Gray Rat's actions. They were particularly interested in the legendary medieval witchcraft.
The graffiti on the stone wall suddenly began to wriggle.
The lines seemed to come to life. They struggled to break free from the restraints of the stone wall, crawled all over the wall, and kept secreting a black, oily substance. Like stirring paint, the oily substance soon covered part of the wall, and the lines gradually dissolved into the 'black mud'. Then the 'black mud' slowly bulged, and the face of an angry middle-aged woman appeared on it.
"You damned rat!" The middle-aged woman's face twisted, and she let out a chilling, shrill voice. "You stinking bug, the devil should dig out your heart and liver! You brought two strangers with you! "
Gray Rat was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground. "Madam Marie! Please listen to me! They are not demon hunters. They are looking for — "
However, before he could finish his sentence, he stopped abruptly. An unpleasant burning smell suddenly emanated from his body. Large patches of red blisters quickly appeared on Gray Rat's exposed skin. The red blisters kept rising and falling as if there was a burning charcoal fire in his body. In just two or three seconds, the man fell to the ground and lost all signs of life.
Hao Ren did not expect Madam Marie to execute the traitor so decisively, and in such an incredible way.
He quickly thought about what he should say next and a few things he should pay attention to when dealing with witches. Madam Marie did not immediately cut off the connection after executing Gray Rat. Her face was still on the stone wall, and she sneered. "Hmph … Of course, I know they are not demon hunters, idiot."
She then turned to look at Hao Ren and Lily. "Then, the two of you … The traitor has shut up. We can talk now. Who are you?"
Hao Ren glanced at Gray Rat's body and said, "Tsk, tsk. This guy died unjustly."
"This is a necessary precaution," Madam Marie said with a hoarse and unpleasant laugh. "I thank him for bringing you to me, but I don't want him to bring any new 'guests'."
"Are you sure we are not demon hunters?" Hao Ren asked curiously.
"If you are demon hunters, you should have followed the line of witchcraft and brought the damn Sacred Flame to me," Madam Marie said impatiently. "We'd better get down to business. If you are just here to chat, I'm afraid I can't keep you company."
"I am a wizard passing by." Hao Ren nodded. "This is my friend, a young werewolf."
Lily immediately bared her fangs and ears. If Hao Ren had not covered her mouth in time, she would have howled.
"A wizard and a werewolf …" Madam Marie looked interested. "This is an interesting combination. It has been many years since a werewolf and a wizard have been together. It seems that you are not enemies, at least. So, why are you looking for a poor witch like me? "
"I heard that you have gathered a lot of people to rescue a captured witch?"
"Aha! That's just nonsense to fool the Rats. There is no captured witch at all. But if I don't say that, the idiots in the church will pay too much attention to us. Those humans may not be powerful, but they can be really troublesome when they gather with the holy water. What? That's all you want to say? It seems that you are no smarter than the Rats. "
Hao Ren frowned and realized that he needed a better excuse to sneak into the group of wizards. After thinking for a moment, he came up with an idea. He went straight to the point and said, "Well, the arrested witch was just a casual question. I have something more important to talk to you about. Where are you?"
"You can tell me now," Madam Marie said with a vigilant look. "We don't welcome strangers."
"What if this stranger brings news about the demon hunters?"
"Ah —"
After a scream, Madam Marie's face instantly disappeared into the stone wall. She seemed to have subconsciously taken a step back out of panic. Then, her face reappeared with great shock. "What did you say? Demon hunters?! Do you know what you said?! "
"No one would joke about such a topic," Hao Ren said with a serious look on his face. "How long have you been here? A month? Or even longer? You are too slow to respond to news from the outside world. "
The expression on Madam Marie's face changed rapidly. At the same time, Hao Ren also noticed that there were other blurry images moving around her face formed by the 'black mud'. It seemed that the other witches around her had also gathered and were having a heated discussion.
"We have indeed neglected to collect information from the outside world recently. But the wilderness is so heavily blocked that there is almost no news coming in," Madam Marie said as if she was explaining to Hao Ren. "You said that you brought news about the demon hunters. Do you have any evidence?"
Hao Ren pulled out the sacred silver dagger from his waist. "Do you think this thing counts as evidence?"
The faint halo of the sacred silver dagger was particularly obvious in the darkness. It looked like a piece of condensed moonlight in Hao Ren's hand. Madam Marie's tone changed the moment she saw the dagger. "This is their weapon. How did you get it?"
"We will have to talk about it when we meet," Hao Ren shrugged and put away the dagger. "A fair deal is the way to go."
The witch seemed to be hesitating. Hao Ren pushed her again. "You should know that it is rare for a wizard to wander around with a demon hunter's weapon. Besides, I have a werewolf with me. No matter what you want to do, you will need this power."
Madam Marie said gloomily, "But uncontrollable power is not a good thing."
"That depends on you. You and I know very well what kind of era we are in. Survival is the most important thing these days."
There was another long silence. Just when Hao Ren was about to give up, the face on the stone wall finally spoke.
"Leave from the west gate tomorrow night. Follow the crow's guidance and go to a place where the moonlight cannot shine. I will wait for you there."
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