Chapter 1 The City Awakens

As the sun rose, the old and bloated medieval city seemed to be temporarily infused with new life, operating amidst the neighing of livestock and the creaking of wheels rolling over cobblestone roads. Sunlight swept across the city's towering walls and towers, then illuminated the glittering glass panes of the clock tower, gilding the spires of churches and castles with gold. Finally, it fell upon the dilapidated, low-lying slums, seeming to bake the most odorous parts of the city, warmly roasting the reeking gutters of Trout Alley and the Black Quarter.

Throughout the city, the many gates that had been closed all night began to creak open. Soldiers in blue and white smocks stood imposingly before the inner city gate known as "Horse Herder's Gate," watching the stooped and respectfully hunched residents of the outer districts pass through it to make a living in the inner city's market and jugglers' square. In the flow of people, one could occasionally see an exaggeratedly large covered wagon swaying down the street, with gypsy women in gaudy clothes sitting on the roof. The soldiers would inevitably harass these caravans, usually demanding a few coins or taking some harmless advantage of the gypsy girls. No one would comment on this, because even the beggars in Trout Alley knew that these gypsies were savage creatures from beyond civilized society – that they were allowed into the city at all was a great favor bestowed by the local bishop and lord. If they hadn't paid sufficient protection money, these gypsies would probably have been hanged outside the city as henchmen of black magic before they even entered.

Any harassment they suffered in this city was actually part of the "protection money."

Lili and Hao Ren also mingled in the crowd. They wore hoods and kept their heads down, disguised as two farmers who had just entered the city from the countryside, to conceal their overly obvious Eastern features. This disguise was indeed crude; even a dutiful soldier could see through it with a single glance. But obviously, there was no such dutiful person among the soldiers guarding the gate. They were only standing at the city gate for show, their main purpose being to display the lord's authority and extort money from those out-of-towners and small merchants who looked like they had something to spare.

The inner city was clearly more prosperous than the outer city, and the buildings were more clean and beautiful. However, in Hao Ren's opinion, this evolution was quite limited. Having been exposed to modern cities and even otherworldly landscapes, he found it difficult to be impressed by the man-made structures of this era.

Releasing his spiritual senses and relying on Lili's sensitive ears, which missed no sound, the two of them quickly gathered the information they needed in this unfamiliar city, showing no signs of awkwardness as outsiders. Before long, they found their destination: a small square on the edge of the inner city.

This square was clearly not a place for gatherings and celebrations. Several yawning soldiers guarded the perimeter, preventing ordinary people from approaching. The object they were guarding stood in the center of the square: a horrifying gallows and two dark stone pillars. The blackened marks on the pillars and the rings used to secure ropes indicated their purpose: stakes for burning.

The ashes around the stakes had been cleaned away, but a male corpse still hung from the gallows, swaying eerily in the air. Ragged linen clothes clung to his withered and emaciated limbs, indicating that he had been hanging there for some time.

"Ugh... no wonder there are plagues every now and then in this era," Lili muttered softly, sticking out her tongue. "They just hang the bodies here after they're executed, and by the time they're taken down, all sorts of germs have multiplied into eighteen generations of ancestors, right?"

"Displaying the executed is a means for rulers to maintain order, at least in this era. A prisoner is sometimes hung for more than ten days, even until the rope breaks naturally – though that usually isn't done in the city."

"Of course I know that, I graduated from Peking University four times," Lili said, pouting, as she pretended to adjust her clothes while surreptitiously looking around. "Landlord, do you really think there will be traces of witches around here?"

"Eighty percent sure."

"Didn't Madam Marie say that no witches had been captured? That talk about rescuing witches was just to fool people..."

"Hasse told me, in the Dark Ages, don't trust anything any other races tell you. To survive, they have long rotted honesty and integrity in their bellies," Hao Ren said in a low voice. "In this regard, demon hunters are much more honest and reliable."

Lili drawled, "Oooooh..."

Hao Ren glanced at the husky spirit. "Besides, Hasse also gave me a 'Dark Ages Race Credibility Ranking,' so I can check who's the least trustworthy, who can be conditionally trusted, and who's generally reliable. Want to hear it?"

The husky girl was hooked. "Landlord, landlord, where do werewolves rank?"

Although she had long accepted the fact that she was a husky, she couldn't help but pay attention to werewolves when it came to topics like this.

"Werewolves are the most trustworthy, because those straightforward guys will never play tricks on you. Usually, if they don't like you, they'll just drag you to some corner to talk about your ideals in life. Vampires and descendants of the Olympian families are relatively trustworthy, because they care about face, family honor, and racial honor. As long as you think along the lines of their worldview, you can figure out how to deal with those guys. And the least trustworthy... are those who were originally at the bottom in the age of the gods, like witches."

As Hao Ren spoke, his gaze fell on an inconspicuous brick in the corner of the square.

"Because they're weak, they're more unscrupulous. Because they suddenly lost their restraints, they act even more desperately. It's the hardest for them to survive in the Dark Ages, so anyone who can survive... is not an easy target."

On that inconspicuous brick, one could see a faint mark. To ordinary people, that mark was probably just a normal crack. However, Hao Ren recognized what it was.

A Leta Rune.

A single Leta Rune has little power, so there should be more runes here, probably hidden in other corners of this "execution ground."

However, Hao Ren wasn't very interested in these runes. It was enough to confirm their existence.

"Landlord, what did you find?" Lili asked curiously, looking at Hao Ren.

"Leta Runes. The witches have been here. They may be planning to rescue their companion during the execution, but they don't know when the captured witch will be executed, so they set up Leta Runes here in advance. It seems that the captured witch is an important member, or even the leader, of their organization or group – otherwise, the witches in this era wouldn't risk so much to rescue a companion."

Lili blinked. "They seem to have a male witch helping them – by the way, what's the relationship between male and female witches?"

"There are fewer male witches than female witches, because male witches were largely consumed as cannon fodder by their 'masters' in the age of gods, while female witches stayed away from the front lines because their direct combat power was inferior. As a result, they became the mainstream witches in the Dark Ages," Hao Ren explained. "The inheritance systems of male and female witches are different, because when the alien 'gods' were raising witches, they designed different 'teaching' plans – actually, different human experiments – for them based on the different constitutions of humans. Under normal circumstances, male and female witches don't have much contact, but there's no conflict either. After the end of the age of gods, they each formed their own circles without interfering with each other. But after all, they 'came from the same school,' so they still communicate when needed. My guess is this: the place where Vivian is sleeping will generate relatively strong energy releases. This energy attracted a group of witches, who may have been planning to take advantage of Vivian's sleeping place, but accidentally exposed their whereabouts and led to one of them being captured. That male witch may have been an outside helper they invited, or a passing wizard who accepted the witches' invitation. But one thing is certain: they knew each other before. In this era, no hidden organization would casually accept strangers..."

Lili was a little curious. "Can ordinary people in this era catch witches?"

"Ordinary people are of course weaker than witches who control magic, but they're not without the ability to resist. After all, they've been dealing with other races since ancient times. Even if humans have always been at a disadvantage, there are some ways to cope. These methods are usually controlled by the medieval church and some hidden exorcist organizations. Their predecessors were basically various human resistance organizations from the age of gods. Some of these organizations may have even received technical or material assistance from demon hunters... Even in the twenty-first century, some reclusive organizations are still operating secretly, monitoring the supernatural forces in the world. However, with the passage of time and the increase in human strength, the demise of these organizations is inevitable."

As Hao Ren spoke these things that he had heard from Hasse and learned in his daily studies, he led Lili slowly past the small square, leaving the place without attracting attention.

The soldiers guarding the square lazily watched the pedestrians passing by. Their eyes lingered on Hao Ren and Lili for about a second or two, but they quickly decided that they were two country bumpkins who had neither money nor amusement to offer, and turned their heads back.

They began to discuss the poor prisoner hanging on the gallows and the recent rumors of "black magic."

Throughout the day, Hao Ren and Lili wandered around the city. Sometimes they followed the crowds and investigated the situation in open places, and sometimes they used their inhuman skills to sneak into places where civilians were forbidden to collect intelligence. They continued like this until night fell.

Disguised, the two of them took advantage of the darkness to climb over the city walls, preparing to meet with those mysterious witches.