Chapter 1 Darkness

Night was falling. The dilapidated and filthy slum streets were shrouded in heavy darkness. An occasional dim light from a humble dwelling could not dispel the night, but rather made the place seem even more desolate.

Silence reigned in all directions. Aside from the occasional barking of a dog or two, this lifeless place seemed forgotten by the world.

Greyrats continued to weave through the spiderweb-like maze of broken alleys, leading Hao Ren and Lily deeper into the slums.

Hao Ren felt as if he were walking into a giant nest, heading towards its most chaotic and dirty core. The unplanned ancient city of the Middle Ages was like a bloated, diseased organ. Its exterior had swelled to an astonishing size, yet within, its oldest and most fundamental parts had begun to fester and decay. The city's once prosperous districts had become slums, filled with garbage, sewage, rats, and homeless beggars. These parts could not bring any life or vitality to the city, yet they could not be severed from it. The rulers indulged in revelry and superficial glory, blinded by the ideological imprisonment and the bloody stimulation of witch hunts, so they completely failed to notice—or even if they did, they were powerless to stop—the decline of the city itself.

The age of mythology had ended, and the world's dominance had finally returned to its natives. However, these young natives were not fully prepared to usher in a new era. Humanity had chosen temporary paralysis in the face of this sudden change, protecting its mind with ignorance and superstition. But sooner or later, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution would bring two baptisms, burning away these bloated and festering cities and the gangrenous sores within them.

But for Hao Ren, these were things that had already happened and were over. What he cared about now was when they would arrive at the "contact point" that Greyrats had mentioned.

"How much longer?" he asked impatiently.

Greyrats, who was walking in front, immediately shrank his neck. The potency of the magic potion he had taken earlier was waning, and this decline seemed to affect his spirit as well, making his will weaker and more fearful: "Just ahead, sir, just ahead..."

"There's only a dead end ahead." Lily's eyes glowed golden in the darkness. She looked ahead and said, baring her teeth.

"That's the dead end," Greyrats hurriedly explained. "Only the darkest corners are the safest. Witches never contact people in open places..."

"I hope you're not lying to us," Hao Ren said with a curl of his lip. "Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, you're already a dead man."

Greyrats was not lying.

The three arrived at the end of the alley. There were no more forks or paths ahead: Hao Ren had previously thought that those forks and paths would never end.

There stood a dilapidated, moss-covered stone wall. This stone wall may have been part of a bell tower many years ago, or part of the city wall, but as time passed and the city's scale continued to expand, the magnificent building to which this wall belonged had been swallowed and broken down by later buildings, leaving only this remnant in the old streets. Greyrats stepped forward and pulled aside a few rags and dead vines hanging on the stone wall, revealing some pitted marks.

The marks looked like children's scribbles. They were apparently carved into the weathered, structurally loose stone wall with a hard stone. Even the most cautious and meticulous church personnel probably wouldn't suspect anything if they saw these things.

But Greyrats carefully pressed his hands on the graffiti-like patterns, his expression filled with fear, as if he were pressing his hands on a red-hot iron plate.

He only touched the wall briefly before shuddering and quickly retreating.

Hao Ren and Lily watched this scene curiously, not interfering with Greyrats' actions in any way. They were both particularly interested in the legendary medieval witchcraft.

The graffiti on the stone wall suddenly began to squirm.

The lines seemed to come to life. They struggled to break free from the stone wall, crawling around on the surface and constantly secreting a black, oily substance, as if stirring paint. Soon, this oily substance covered part of the wall, and the lines gradually dissolved into the "black mud." Then, the "black mud" slowly bulged, and the face of a middle-aged woman with an angry expression appeared on it.

"You damned rat!" The middle-aged woman's face twisted, emitting a chilling, shrill voice. "You bug who deserves to have his heart and liver dug out by demons! You brought two strangers!"

Greyrats was instantly terrified, almost collapsing to the ground. "Madam Marie! Please listen to me! They're not demon hunters, they're here to find..."

But his words stopped abruptly. A foul, burning smell suddenly came from his entire body. Large red blisters quickly appeared on Greyrats' exposed skin. The red blisters rose and fell, as if a raging fire was burning inside him. In just two or three seconds, the man fell to the ground and completely lost his breath.

Hao Ren never expected that "Madam Marie" would execute the traitor so decisively, and with such an incredible method.

He quickly thought in his mind about what to say next and a few points to pay attention to when dealing with witches. After executing Greyrats, "Madam Marie" did not immediately cut off contact. Her face was still on the stone wall, and she let out a sneer: "Hmph... Of course, I know they're not demon hunters, you idiot."

Then she turned her gaze to the calm Hao Ren and Lily. "Then there's you two... The annoying traitor has shut up, and we can talk safely. Who are you?"

Hao Ren glanced at Greyrats' body. "Tsk tsk, this guy died unjustly."

"This is necessary caution," Madam Marie gave a hoarse, unpleasant laugh. "I thank 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 demon hunters?"

"If you were demon hunters, you would have already followed the lines of witchcraft and burned that damned holy flame to me," Madam Marie said impatiently. "We'd better get to the point quickly. If you're just here to chat with me, then I'm sorry, I won't keep you company."

"I am a passing wizard," Hao Ren nodded. "This next to me is my friend, a young werewolf."

Lily immediately bared her fangs and ears in cooperation. If Hao Ren hadn't covered her mouth in time, she would have even wanted to howl twice.

"A wizard and a werewolf..." Madam Marie's face showed an interested expression. "That's an interesting combination. It's been many years since a werewolf and a wizard walked together... It seems you're not enemies, at least. So what do you want from me, a poor old witch?"

"I heard you've gathered a lot of people, wanting to rescue a captured witch?"

"Ah ha—that's just nonsense to fool the rats. There's no captured witch at all. But if I didn't say that, those idiots in the church would pay too much attention to us. Those humans may not have much power, but it's really troublesome when they gather with holy water. What? Is that all you wanted to say? It seems you're not much smarter than the rats..."

Hao Ren frowned, realizing that he needed a better reason to sneak into this group of wizards. After thinking for a moment, he had an idea and simply cut to the chase: "Okay, the captured witch was just a casual question. I have something more important to ask you. Where are you?"

"You can say it now," Madam Marie said warily. "We don't welcome strangers."

"What if this stranger brought news of the demon hunters?"

"Ah—"

After a scream, Madam Marie's face instantly disappeared into the stone wall, as if she had subconsciously taken a half step back in panic. Then her face reappeared, with a huge look of shock on her face: "What did you say? Demon hunters?! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"No one would joke about this," Hao Ren said with a serious look on his face. "How long have you been gathered here? A month? Or longer? You're too slow to get news from the outside..."

The expression on Madam Marie's face changed rapidly. At the same time, Hao Ren also noticed that there were other blurry images shaking around the "black mud" forming her face. It seemed that the other witches around her had also gathered after hearing the news and were having a heated discussion.

"We have indeed neglected to collect information from the outside world recently, but the wilderness is heavily blocked, and almost no news can get in," Madam Marie said, as if explaining and telling Hao Ren some information. "You say you brought news of the demon hunters, but do you have any evidence?"

Hao Ren casually pulled out the holy silver short sword from his waist. "Do you think this can be considered evidence?"

The unique faint glow of the holy silver short sword was particularly obvious in the darkness. It shone slightly in Hao Ren's hand like a solidified piece of moonlight. The moment Madam Marie saw this, her tone changed: "This is their weapon... How did you get it?!"

"Then we'll have to talk in detail after we meet," Hao Ren shrugged and put the short sword away. "Fair trade is the way to last."

The witch on the other side seemed to be still hesitating. Seeing this, Hao Ren pushed again: "You should know that it's not common to see a wizard wandering around with the weapons of demon hunters, and I also have a werewolf by my side. Whatever you want to do, you'll need this power."

Madam Marie said gloomily, "But power that is out of control is not a good thing."

"Then it's up to you to weigh the pros and cons—you and I both know what kind of era this is. These days, only being able to survive is the most important thing."

There was another long silence. Just as Hao Ren was about to give up, the face on the stone wall finally spoke.

"Leave from the west gate after nightfall tomorrow, follow the guidance of the crows to a place where moonlight cannot shine, and I will wait for you there."