Chapter 13 When the Young Witch Said "Hessiana"...

When the young witch spoke the name Hessiana, Hao Ren was preoccupied with picking up the only sweet wine on the table that looked relatively untainted to quench his thirst – he wasn't worried about poison anyway. Then he reacted to the name in the most appropriate way possible: he sprayed the male witch across the table with it.

Well, not entirely across the face, since most of the other person's face was covered by a hood, but Hao Ren still felt rather bad about it…

"Cough, sorry." He waved apologetically at the wizard opposite him, who was surprisingly magnanimous, simply wiping his face silently without a word. Only then did Hao Ren turn to look at the young witch who looked like a girl: "You said the captured witch is named Hessiana?"

Before the young witch could speak, Madam Marie had already shouted angrily, "Helen! How can you say that so carelessly?!"

"Marie, watch your attitude," the young witch seemed to have no fear of Madam Marie. Her tone sounded as if she were on equal footing with the other woman. "You don't have more say here than I do. Besides, I didn't carelessly say anything. This wizard has already investigated the clues himself, I was just telling him the truth. I'm not like you, who makes lying a habit."

"And we're short on manpower right now," another witch, pale as if she had just recovered from a serious illness, also spoke up. Her voice sounded as hoarse and cold as if it came from an ice cave. "A male wizard who is good at combat, and a werewolf lady with pure blood (here Hao Ren indicated you are saying what?) They are at least not enemies—especially when we are facing a common enemy."

Madam Marie glared at the two witches, the veins on her neck wriggling like poisonous snakes, but in the end, she calmed down. The young witch named Helen looked curiously at Hao Ren: "Wizard, do you know Hessiana?"

Hao Ren was also seriously sizing up the woman named Helen. She appeared to be a young woman with long brown hair, a lovely face, bright blue eyes, and thin lips. Although she was wearing a witch's robe, it was still clear that she had an attractive figure. Judging from her temperament alone, it was difficult to associate her with those gloomy and eccentric witches who huddled in dirty wooden houses brewing potions.

This appearance was likely a disguise, but Hao Ren couldn't help but observe her carefully and try to recall whether Hessiana had a subordinate with a similar temperament by her side: it was quite easy for vampires to disguise themselves as witches. With their superb magic skills, they could disguise themselves as witches several times better than Hao Ren.

Hearing Helen's question, Hao Ren quickly weighed the situation and put on an uncertain expression: "I do know a… friend named Hessiana, but she's probably just sharing a name with the person you're talking about. The one I know isn't some kind of blood mage."

Of course, the words "blood mage" from these witches might not be the truth either.

"Is that so? It should just be a coincidence, after all, we didn't know Hessiana knew a male wizard like you," Helen nodded. "Wizard, now that you know part of our situation, in exchange, shouldn't you tell us your information?"

Hao Ren thought to himself, as a temporary time-traveling bystander, why should I talk to you ancients who may have died centuries ago about professional ethics? So, he immediately took out the holy silver short sword from his waist and fabricated a story: "Some demon hunters may be approaching here."

Sure enough, as soon as he said this "important information," the witches present fell silent. Even the hooded wizard, who had been sitting across the table like a wooden man, contemplating life, moved imperceptibly, as if he felt uncomfortable just hearing the words "demon hunter."

No one made a sound, as if demon hunters had already arrived nearby, and any slight disturbance would alarm those hunters and bring about a fatal disaster.

"Then what is this short sword…" Madam Marie looked at the holy silver short sword that Hao Ren took out with suspicion and uncertainty, her expression as if she had seen a ghost.

"Demon hunters are not invincible," Hao Ren continued to fabricate, "I killed one when I was being chased by one of them, and this short sword can prove what I said."

"Demon hunters never abandon their weapons," the witch Helen said in a low voice, "And unless they actively give up control of their weapons, any living being that comes into contact with their enchanted weapons will be swallowed by the power of the holy flame sealed inside… So this sword cannot be stolen, the only explanation is that you really killed a demon hunter."

"I'll say it again, demon hunters are not unkillable, they are just difficult to kill," Hao Ren shrugged, "Didn't they die in droves on the battlefield during the mythical era?"

The ghostly expression on Madam Marie's face finally gradually subsided, but her tone was still full of disbelief: "But this is not the mythical era, and witches are not the 'gods' of the past… Ah, right, you have a helper."

Only then did she turn her attention to Lily, who was not far away: the husky girl had been feeling bored since she arrived here. Seeing that Hao Ren was negotiating with the witches and there was nothing for her to do, she had been sitting at the table eating and eating. Hao Ren always felt that the ingredients of the food prepared by the witches were suspicious, so he couldn't bring himself to eat it, but a hungry husky didn't care about that. If there wasn't someone watching, Lily would probably have climbed onto the table at this time…

"Huh? Calling me?" Noticing the gaze beside her, Lily looked up blankly at Madam Marie. "If you have something to say, wait until I finish eating. Geez, I've been running around all day, and those two bites of dry food weren't enough to fill the gaps between my teeth…"

Hao Ren: "...Werewolves are like this, straightforward..."

Madam Marie said with a straight face, "I know."

"Cough, let's talk about the demon hunters," Hao Ren continued, "The exact number is unknown, because I only encountered one of them, but it's certain that he must have companions nearby. I suspect these demon hunters are heading for this city, because there are no other places to stay nearby, and now it seems… a witch has just been captured in this city, so their target is more likely to be here."

The witches didn't seem to have any unexpected expressions on their faces. Apart from being shocked when they first heard the exact news about the demon hunters, they seemed to have expected this day to come. The witch with a sickly face shook her head: "I didn't expect them to come so quickly, it seems we have to speed up our actions."

"Can I ask, why did you gather in this city?" Hao Ren looked at the witches. "Just to rescue another witch? Or for some other reason?"

"We said it before, we are seeking the protection of a large organization," Helen said, "The blood mage named Hessiana comes from a place called Shadow City, which is one of the few free city-states that can provide protection for people like us. There, we can still freely study magic and communicate with other wizards without worrying about the demon hunters and church knights who may appear at any time."

Madam Marie now regarded Hao Ren as a rare helper, and perhaps wanted to lure the "wizard" in front of her to join with enough benefits, so she no longer concealed anything: "It's just that Shadow City will not be open to strangers at will—just like any shelter organization, they are also worried about spies mixing in. After all, too many weak guys have been scared out of their wits by demon hunters and are willing to become running dogs."

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows: "So you heard that an 'envoy' from Shadow City was captured, and you think this is a good opportunity to get a letter of introduction?"

The witches said in unison: "What is a letter of introduction?"

"Cough… it's just giving you a recommendation," Hao Ren coughed twice, "In short, I am very interested in the 'Shadow City' you mentioned. If possible, I hope to act with you. I think my partner would also be willing to help…"

He turned his head and glanced at Lily, who looked up from the dining table: "Huh?"

Hao Ren bit the bullet and continued: "Cough, my partner will definitely be willing to help—just nod your head regardless of what's going on."

Lily said oh, and nodded repeatedly.

This time, the consensus was reached easily.

Hao Ren didn't expect that he initially planned to disguise himself as a demon hunter, but in the end, he had to act as a wizard, so he could only sigh that plans could not keep up with changes. After chatting with the witches about magic and the current situation, he walked aside on his own, staring blankly at the cemetery in the mist like a reclusive wizard who was tired of idle talk—mainly because he really couldn't keep up with the rhythm of these magic professionals. He was worried that if he continued to talk nonsense, he might be discovered that he didn't know any black magic at all: the knowledge about magic that he had managed to squeeze out was all learned from casual conversations with Vivian. It was okay to say a few words, but it was completely useless to discuss it with others.

At this moment, the hooded male wizard, who had been silent all along, stood up and came to Hao Ren's side silently like a wandering soul.

Hao Ren turned his head and glanced at the hooded man: "I thought you were sitting there asleep."

"I just don't like to talk, especially when a group of women are noisy." The hooded man said in a low voice. This was the first time Hao Ren had heard the other person's voice since they met.

"Is there something you want from me?" Hao Ren frowned.

"You're not very interested in Shadow City," the hooded wizard said directly after a moment of silence, "You don't sincerely want to help either. You're after something else."

This time, it was Hao Ren's turn to look like he had seen a ghost.