"What do you want?" asked Red Lychee No. 1.
"I want to know the truth about the villagers' disappearance," said Liu Zheng.
"Then I want to win the game," he changed his request.
"Want lots, very good!"
"No problem, straighten your organs and listen carefully," Liu Zheng said confidently.
All the Red Lychees' liquid sacs stopped opening and closing, and their flagella ceased swaying.
"I once got caught in the rain with my neighbor," he said.
"We would wear thin clothes, hold each other, and drink the rain water heartily," he continued.
"Worse than animals!"
"Just kidding, actually we weren't wearing any clothes," Liu Zheng paused before saying.
"Oh oh oh!" The Red Lychees' closed sacs opened slightly.
"We would also take out an ice cream and eat it together."
"Utterly disgusting!"
"Even worse than insects!"
"Humans have no shame!" The Red Lychees' tones were intense.
"Just kidding, it was licking, and on the same side."
"Oh oh oh oh!" The Red Lychees' sacs opened completely.
"The first sentence was also a joke," Liu Zheng said, drawing out his words.
The Red Lychees fell silent, only their flagella swaying restlessly.
"Not with my neighbor, but with my sister."
"Ah ah ah!!!" The Red Lychees' flagella shook violently.
After a series of rapid sac openings and closings, plant sap mixed with spores sprayed out.
Liu Zheng felt like he might have done something violating morality and even ethics.
But considering neither party could really be considered human, he felt relieved.
"I dare say, you must be the filthiest human," Red Lychee No. 1 said in a trembling voice.
"Exactly, you're really lucky."
"If it were any other human, you'd never hear such disgusting things," he admitted frankly.
"We didn't want to hear it, you forced it upon us," the Red Lychees said together.
"Yes, yes, I'm truly disgusting, truly evil. Satan would have to squint with one eye to tattoo me," Liu Zheng nodded repeatedly.
"We cannot oppose evil like yours."
"Take this and leave."
"We don't want to see you, but if you insist on coming again."
"There's nothing we can do."
The ground beneath the Red Lychees suddenly cracked open, and a tangled mass of roots burst forth.
Liu Zheng felt this scene seemed familiar—maybe the plane tree was related to them.
The roots untangled, and a cloaked corpse dropped to the ground.
Liu Zheng removed the corpse's hood, revealing an elderly woman's face before him.
Somehow, she looked familiar.
The old woman's hands tightly clutched a reagent bottle containing black flames intertwined with lightning.
He tried to take the reagent bottle, but the old woman's hands were like hydraulic clamps, unmoving no matter how hard he pulled.
Suddenly inspired, Liu Zheng held the old woman's hand.
Although the corpse had lost its warmth, he still felt a trace of heat.
Without needing force, the old woman automatically released her grip.
Liu Zheng picked up the reagent bottle.
"Congratulations Player 8 for obtaining the Blasphemy Mixture."
"After use, it will transform into the corresponding Divine Favor Card and cause massive changes to victory conditions. Please carefully decide whether to use it."
"Child, have you decided?" an ethereal voice echoed in his ear.
"Let's wait for now," Liu Zheng said, pocketing the Blasphemy Mixture.
Perhaps because it hadn't transformed into a Divine Favor Card, the Moderator didn't announce it this time.
He searched the old woman's body and found another letter.
This letter had no stains, but the content itself was brief.
"I have lost my daughter, my granddaughter."
"I have lost my family's legacy."
"I cannot lose her too."
"She is the most excellent Morgana, the family's hope, my treasure."
"Priest, tyrant, you must die."
"Forest Spirit, Nightingale, I'm sorry, I cannot purify you."
Morgana—Liu Zheng remembered this was the name of a very powerful witch.
And since his identity was the Witch, and this old woman felt familiar, could she be the "most excellent Morgana" mentioned in the letter?
The Priest—this person was mentioned for the second time.
He was grouped with the tyrant, and the letter said they must die, clearly both were evil faction.
Forest Spirit and Nightingale sounded like the old woman's acquaintances, but she said she couldn't purify them, suggesting they had also fallen to evil.
Forest Spirit—could it be the spirit of this forest?
Just as Liu Zheng was about to put away the letter, he noticed faint marks on the back.
He held the letter up to sunlight and struggled to decipher the content.
"Everyone deserves to die!!!"
Under the sunlight, the handwriting appeared slightly red.
"Everyone?" Liu Zheng thought deeply as he put away the letter. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Please bury her for me," he said to Red Lychee No. 1.
"We don't accept requests."
"But you're evil, we accept threats."
The ground cracked open again, swallowing the old woman's corpse.
As the corpse disappeared, he saw a deep wound on the back of her head.
Judging by the shape, the weapon that caused this injury must have been both sharp and heavy.
With a unique cry, the owl returned.
It called to Liu Zheng a few more times, then flew in another direction.
Liu Zheng immediately picked up the Rooster and chased after the owl.
The further he went, the more plants surrounded him.
But as the quantity increased, the green color diminished.
All the plants were bare, with only a few tattered dead leaves barely hanging on.
Their branches were shiny black, and regardless of species, they grew spikes of varying lengths.
Some spikes had corpses of small animals like rabbits and squirrels hanging from them—some dried out, others still dripping blood.
"Coo coo coo!" the owl called again.
"It says be careful, don't go near those plants," the Rooster voluntarily translated.
"What's wrong with those plants?"
"They're sick," the Rooster said.
Avoiding these plants wasn't easy—after all, this was a forest, and they were everywhere.
However, they didn't seem particularly willing to approach Liu Zheng either.
When he got close, some plants would even curl up.
Could it be because of his Witch identity?
Liu Zheng didn't think so.
He pondered, then took out the Blasphemy Mixture from his pocket.
Sure enough, the plants curled up even more, some even beginning to wither directly.
"Wow, this is basically super-effective weed killer," Liu Zheng clicked his tongue slightly and put the Blasphemy Mixture away.
As long as it ensured safety, no need to cause too much commotion.
After walking for an unknown time, the owl led them to a cave entrance.
The owl landed on Liu Zheng's shoulder, softly called in his ear, then flew away.
This time he knew without translation—they had reached their destination.
"I smell my master's scent!" the Rooster excitedly cried, then began struggling fiercely.
Liu Zheng had no choice but to release his grip.
"I advise you to calm down," he had just finished speaking when a black shadow suddenly dashed out from the cave and grabbed the Rooster.
Two long fangs bit toward the chicken's neck.