The night was dark, and the shabby and dirty streets of the slums were shrouded in darkness, and the occasional dim light peeking out of a slum would not dispel the night, but only made it even more deadly.There was silence on all sides, and apart from the occasional bark or two, this lifeless place seemed to be forgotten by the world.The squirrel still navigated the cobweb-intricate and dilapidated alleys, leading Jen and Lily deeper into the slums.Hao Ren felt as if he was walking in a huge lair, and was heading towards the hinterland of the hive's most chaotic and filthy core, the unplanned old city of the Middle Ages was like a bloated diseased organ, its exterior had swelled to an astonishing size, but on the inside, its oldest and most basic parts had begun to fester, and the city's once-thriving neighborhoods had become slums, filled with garbage, sewage, rats, and homeless beggars.
These parts could not bring any life and vitality to the city, but they could not be separated from it at all, and the rulers were so intoxicated by the sound and semblance of glory that they were so blinded by the bloody stimulus of intellectual confinement and witch hunting that they were completely unaware of – or could not do anything about – the decline of the city itself.The age of mythology is over, the dominance of this world has finally returned to the hands of its natives, but these young aborigines are not at all ready to start a new era, human beings have chosen temporary paralysis under this sudden change, using ignorance and superstition to protect their minds, but sooner or later, the Renaissance and the industrial revolution.
Destiny will bring two baptisms that will burn away these bloated and festering cities and the scabies in them.But for Hao Ren, these are things that have already happened and are over, and all he cares about now is when he will reach the "contact point" in the mouth of the gray squirrel."
How long are we going to go?"
He asked in an impatient tone.The gray squirrel walking in front suddenly shrunk his neck, the potion he had taken before was decreasing, and this decline seemed to have affected his spirit, making his will weaker and cringe: "Just ahead, sir, it's just ahead......"
"There is only a dead end ahead." ”Lily's eyes glowed golden in the darkness as she glanced forward and bared her teeth."
It's that dead end," Squirrel hastened to explain, "only the darkest corners are safest, witches never communicate with people in open places......
"I hope you didn't lie to us," Hao Ren pouted, "Anyway, it seems to me that you are already a dead man." ”Squirrels really aren't deceiving.The three of them came to the end of the alley, and there were no forks or paths ahead: Hao Ren had thought that those forks and paths would never end.There is a tattered, mossy stone wall that may have been part of the bell tower or the city wall many years ago, but with the passage of time and the expansion of the city, the magnificent building to which the wall belonged has been swallowed up and decomposed by later buildings, and all that remains is the ruins of the old streets.The gray squirrel stepped forward and pulled away a few rags and dead vines hanging from the stone wall, revealing some traces of potholes.The marks looked like children's graffiti, visually carved out of hard stone into the skin of the stone walls, which had become loosely weathered, and would not have raised any suspicion even if the most cautious and meticulous church personnel came to see them.But the gray squirrel carefully pressed his hands to the graffiti-like lines, and looked at him with a look of horror, as if he were about to press his hand against a red-hot iron plate.He only touched the wall slightly, and then he trembled and quickly stepped away.Hao Ren and Lily watched this scene curiously, without interfering with any of the gray squirrel's actions, and the two of them were also particularly interested in the rumored medieval witchcraft.The graffiti on the stone wall suddenly began to squirm.The lines seemed to come to life all of a sudden, and they struggled to twist and break free from the shackles of the stone wall, crawling around on the wall, and constantly secreting a black oily substance, as if stirring paint, and soon these oily substances covered part of the wall, and those lines gradually dissolved in the "black mud", and then the "black mud" slowly rose, and the face of a middle-aged woman with anger appeared on it."
You damn rat!"
The middle-aged woman's face twisted and let out a chilling, high-pitched voice, "You bedbug who should have been gouged out by the devil!"
You brought two strangers!
”The gray squirrel was suddenly terrified, and almost sat down on the ground: "Lady Mary!
Listen to me!
They're not witchers, they're here to find ......"
However, as soon as he was halfway through his words, he stopped abruptly when a foul scorching smell suddenly came out of his body, and the gray squirrel was naked.
Large patches of red blisters quickly appeared on the exposed skin, and the red blisters continued to rise and fall, as if a raging charcoal fire was burning in his body, and in just two or three seconds, the man fell to the ground and completely lost his breath.Hao Ren didn't expect that "Lady Mary" would execute the traitor so decisively, and the method was so incredible.He quickly thought about what to say next and a few points to pay attention to when dealing with witches, and "Lady Mary" did not immediately cut off contact after executing the squirrel, her face was still on the stone wall, and she let out a sneer: "Huh......
Of course I know they're not witchers, idiots. ”Then she turned her gaze and looked at Hao Ren and Lily, who were there: "And then you two......
The traitors who get in the way have shut up, and we can talk to each other with confidence, who are you?
”Hao Ren glanced at the corpse of the gray squirrel: "Tsk, this guy is really unjustly dead." ”"This is necessary caution," Lady Mary let out a hoarse laugh, "I'm grateful to him for bringing you to me, but I don't want him to bring any new 'guests'......"
Hao Ren asked curiously, "Are you sure we're not witchers?"
”"If you're witchers, you'd have burned that damn flame in front of me along the lines of sorcery," Lady Mary looked impatient, "and we'd better get to the point, if you're just here to make small talk with me, then we'll not be with you." ”"I'm a passing wizard," Hao Ren nodded, "and this is my friend, a young werewolf. ”Lily immediately cooperated to show her fangs and ears, and if it wasn't for Hao Ren's timely covering, she would even want to whimper twice."
Wizard and werewolf ......," Lady Mary said, with an interested look on her face, "It's a kind of interesting combination, it's been years since werewolves and wizards have come together......
At least you are not enemies, it seems.So what is the matter with you coming to me, poor witch?
”"I've heard you've gathered a lot of men to rescue a captured witch?""
Aha- that's just a fool of the rats, there are no witches who have been arrested, but if we don't, the idiots in the church will pay too much attention to us, and the humans don't have much power, but it's a real problem for them to gather together with holy water.How?
That's all you want to say?
Then it seems that you are not much smarter than the rats......"
Hao Ren frowned, realizing that he really needed a better reason to find an excuse to sneak in with this group of wizards, and after thinking for a while, he had an idea, and simply got straight to the point: "Okay, the arrested witch is just me casually asking, I have more important things to look for you, where are you?"
”"You can say now," said Lady Mary, with a wary look, "that we are not very welcoming to strangers. ”"What if this stranger brings news of the witcher?""
AhhWitcher?!
Do you know what you said?!
”"No one would joke with such a topic," Hao Ren said with a serious look on his face, "How long have you been gathered here?"
One month?
Or longer?
You're too slow to hear from the outside world......"
The expression on Lady Mary's face changed rapidly, and Hao Ren noticed that another blurred image was shaking around her face made of "black mud", as if the other witches around her had also gathered over to have a heated discussion."
It's true that we've been negligent in gathering information from the outside world lately, but the wilderness is so locked down that there's hardly any news coming in," Madame Mary said as if to explain, as if to tell Hao Ren something, "You said you brought news of the witcher, but what evidence do you have?"
”Hao Ren casually pulled out the holy silver short sword from his waist: "Do you think this thing can be regarded as evidence?"
”The faint halo unique to the Holy Silver Short Sword was particularly obvious in the darkness, it shone slightly in Hao Ren's hand like a condensed moonlight, and Lady Mary's tone changed the moment she saw this thing: "This is their weapon......
How did you get it?!
”"Then we'll have to talk about it after we meet," Hao Ren shrugged and put away his dagger, "fair trade is the way to go." ”The witch on the other side seemed to be hesitating, and Hao Ren pushed it again when he saw this: "You should know that it is not common for wizards to wander around with witcher weapons, and there is a werewolf by my side, no matter what you want to do, you will need this power." ”Lady Mary said gloomily, "But power beyond control is not a good thing. ”"Then it's up to you to weigh it - you and I both know very well what kind of era it is, and in these years, only surviving is the most important thing."
There was another long silence, and just as Hao Ren was about to give up, the face on the stone wall finally spoke."
Leave the west gate after nightfall tomorrow, and follow the crow's guidance to a place where the moonlight cannot shine, and I will wait for you there."