Witch Hunter: Goujian Sword

January 31, 2023

BOOM!

A fireball exploded on a man who dared to attack the vehicle.

"That was the last one, Miss."

A middle-aged man bowed, reporting. The snow-white-haired woman with amethyst eyes nodded slowly.

The young woman, who appeared to be in her twenties, sat inside her flying car with the door open, watching her subordinates exterminate the cursed villagers.

The scorching sun revealed the ruined village. Many human corpses lay scattered, wiped out by the woman's underlings. This bloody midday scene had become a daily spectacle for those who worked facing the darkness.

One agent brought a cursed, dying villager in front the beautiful woman.

"Miss, I think we can ask him some questions."

The young agent had a unique haircut—completely shaved temples, with the middle hair long and neatly tied back.

The villager, an adult man, knelt before the woman, blood smeared across his face. He had just been beaten by the uniquely-haired agent. Fresh blood still stained the agent's knuckles.

"Hehehe... I know what you're looking for here... Pfft!"

The man spat blood forward, hitting the tail of the white cloak of the purple-eyed woman.

Unable to tolerate the rude act, the young agent's fist clenched high, ready to strike again.

"You're barbaric—!"

"Aria, enough." A raised hand commanded restraint. She paid little mind to the blood on her silk cloak.

The young agent immediately held back, stepping back and clenching his jaw to hold his anger.

"Can you tell us what happened here?"

The woman smiled softly. No one in the world could help but feel warmth from her smile. Truly a beautiful smile.

But the man before her was no longer human—he was nearly fully cursed by the dark magic of a Witch.

His eyes bloodshot as if intoxicated. Veins on his muscles twitched and tensed as if about to snap. He kept chuckling before the purple-eyed woman.

"You're looking for 'that person,' aren't you? You seek the great one! You will never find him, hehe... He has escaped fate! He is fate itself! He is the savior! The savior! The savior! The savior! The savior! The savior!!!"

"Miss!"

BOOM! SPLAT!

Without warning, the man exploded into bloody chunks scattering on the ground. His body burst like a water balloon.

But the blood splatter stopped exactly fifty centimeters before the purple-eyed woman. She had anticipated it, having set up a transparent barrier from the start.

Meanwhile, the two agents beside her were splashed with the foul-smelling blood. Their black suits and white shirts instantly stained, causing them to gag.

"I expected he would blow himself up like that," the woman closed her eyes and smiled. The transparent shield disappeared after the blood droplets fell to the ground.

"Thankfully, you weren't affected by that suicide explosion, Miss. This is the first time in my life I've seen a cursed person able to destroy themselves. What is actually happening here?"

The middle-aged man who was also the purple-eyed woman's driver took off his jacket, threw it to the ground, and adjusted his crooked tie.

The young agent with the unique haircut did the same, grumbling curses at the cursed man who had just exploded.

"We should have just killed them instead of trying to find some information! It's pointless and annoying!"

The woman smiled and shook her head.

"No, we have some clues. Look at this."

She showed something in her hand—a freshly severed right hand from the exploded man. On the back of the hand was a black blood rune shaped like an inverted cross.

"It seems there is an Arch Witch spreading this rune to villagers around here. Or maybe this rune itself was created by some condition—perhaps from food or something else. We need to gather more information.

"But one thing is certain. He mentioned someone 'that person' who once passed through here. But it seems that person is different from the one we're looking for."

She then threw the fresh right hand far ahead.

"Does this mean an Arch Witch is operating independently and causing terror?"

Nodding slightly, the woman looked somewhat worried. Her thin eyebrows furrowed downward.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, this isn't a good sign."

The two agents listening to their superior fell silent. It was rare for a cursed human to blow themselves up after speaking some words. It was like they had planned it.

"Ara~ Are you going to stay here all day? Let's move to the next place. Hopefully, we find villagers not yet cursed."

The two agents promptly nodded.

"Yes, Miss Luxia."

***

"What we will doing at the forest edge, brother Sizhu? We must be careful not to go too deep; it's not allowed to leave the village at this time. The sun will set soon!"

That afternoon, Qing followed Sizhu alone, who was acting a bit strange. Sizhu had borrowed a villager's chicken and brought it to the village border near the forest.

The chicken was mature enough to be slaughtered and roasted. Instead turn it into food, Sizhu treated it like a pet for a leisurely walk.

The chicken's neck was tied to a fairly long leash, and Sizhu let the chicken wander into the forest while watching from several dozen steps behind.

"Yes, stay by my side, Qing. I want to observe how the village rules work."

Sizhu gestured for Qing to stay close. The sky was turning orange. Night would come soon.

"Hey, big brother Sizhu. Night is coming soon. We should head back before father and Yaoyao worry about us. I'm sure father is preparing dinner, so let's go home."

Putting a finger to his lips, Sizhu told Qing to be quiet. He listened intently ahead.

The chicken crossed the village boundary. They waited a minute. Nothing happened. Only squirrels hopping on tree branches.

"Big brother Sizhu, it seems animals aren't bound by the village rules."

"Shhh!"

Sizhu still held his finger to his lips while gripping the chicken's leash tightly with his right hand. Qing puffed his cheeks, powerless when Sizhu was serious.

Five minutes passed. Only the night wind blew, rustling leaves to the ground.

The tethered chicken was busy pecking stones beyond the village boundary.

"Enough, big brother Sizhu. Seems only humans are cursed if they leave the village boundary," Qing concluded, trying to persuade Sizhu to give up.

Is the village's curse only on humans? But I must confirm the consequences of breaking this rule. I have to find a way out of this cursed village. I can't live here forever.

Sizhu stared seriously ahead. He saw bushes trembling.

Qing grew fearful. The noise was too loud for a rabbit hiding.

One second, five seconds, ten seconds later…

"Meow!"

A wildcat leapt at the chicken on the leash. The chicken panicked, flapping its wings in alarm.

In a few seconds, the wildcat caught the chicken's neck and snapped its head off, freeing the leash.

Sizhu hadn't expected a wildcat to attack his chicken. He was annoyed but couldn't do anything since the chicken was outside the village boundary.

"Hah! Hah! Haha that cat just startled me!" Qing took a deep breath after the shock, then laughed upon realizing it was just a wildcat that often attacks village chickens.

Sizhu showed no expression, slightly frustrated because his experiment failed.

That wildcat…

Sizhu watched the wildcat greedily eating its prey.

"Big brother Sizhu, let's go home. Look, the sky is getting dark." Qing tugged Sizhu's cloak, pointing at the darkening sky.

When Sizhu looked up, something like a shadow flashed quickly and decapitated the cat that was still eating the chicken.

"Whoa!" Qing was startled and stepped back unknowingly.

Sizhu's green pupils widened watching what had just happened.

"T-That… something just passed by… The cat…"

Qing stammered in shock, pointing at the cat's headless body spurting blood everywhere.

Sizhu quickly looked left and right, spinning around to scan the surroundings.

Just now! I'm sure I saw it!

That creature! That shadow-like creature!

It's a giant wasp!

***