The Divine Hunter

Roy followed Xuerui back to the town. The girl's footsteps were unexpectedly fast and steady, not inferior to any skilled forest hunter. Her delicate feet were flawless.

The two made their way through the dense thistle bushes on the west side of the town, the old waterwheels that kept turning, and the babbling brook.

Come to the bottom of the cliff, the ruins of a temple where waterfalls flow in the mountains - the columns and walls are covered with ivy, and everywhere is gray dilapidated and desolate.

There is no one here.

Only small animals such as foxes and mice crawl through from time to time, and this is their paradise.

And just at the intersection of the waterfall and the ruins, there stands a black stone gate.

Xuerui gently opened the door, and there was a unique cave inside the door. First of all, there was a corridor with lush green plants and bright fire. The climate here was obviously warmer than the outside world, and the air was fresh and pleasant.

"Wow...Is this your secret base?" Roy looked around, and there were some traces of life around him - a bed made of straw and blankets, a extinguished bonfire, lockers, and a rudimentary bookshelf.

"Well, I want to occasionally stay here for a while when it's quiet," Xuerui's warm little hand grabbed the witcher's hand, "Come on, I'll show you a surprise, thank you for your success!"

She pulled him, walked through the corridor, and entered the interior of the mountain. A vibrant indoor garden, lined with green trees, lush flowers and grass, the clear mountain spring rustled against the rock wall, circled the garden, and gushed out of the cave.

A hole on the top of the cave connected to the outside world penetrated into the faint setting sun, the brazier was dim, fireflies were flying, and a faint white mist filled the air.

Like a fairyland on earth.

In this green garden, there is a staircase paved with white marble.

Xue Rui pulled the witcher straight up the stairs. Soon, Roy's eyes narrowed. On the pocket square, a wooden shelf supported an oil painting - two people, one tall and the other short, were sitting in the shadows of the sunset and water vapor. By the river under the waterwheel.

Their shoulders were almost pressed together, and they stretched out their hands in midair, waving goodbye to the released blue butterfly and monarch butterfly.

On the other side's half face, there is a smile, the girl is innocent, sweet, and the boy is handsome.

Eyes tacit understanding, incomparably right!

"Dangdangdangdang!" Xuerui stood in front of the frame with a smile,

The emerald green eyes sparkled, "This is the surprise I promised you, we caught the picture of butterflies beside the ancient waterwheel, do you like it, brother golden eye?"

"Well..." Although Roy was a little impatient with her childish wishes before, at this moment, his face couldn't help showing a touch of emotion. No one has ever treated him like that.

even coral.

He thought of the conditions of the old fishermen again, making Xuerui happy, um.

Such a beautiful and enthusiastic little cutie, who doesn't like it?

He smiled sincerely, "I love it to death, I didn't expect your drawing skills to be no worse than dancing."

"It's beautiful, I'm enjoying this surprise, thank you, Xue Rui." Roy said sincerely, looking into her eyes,

The girl immediately covered her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around in a circle like a lark, with a graceful dance that drew people's attention.

"Just like it! So now, can I make a third wish?"

"Please say," Roy glanced at the painting and the girl with admiration,

"I..." Xue Rui murmured, and waved her pink fist like a cheer, "I want you to move into Hongshan Town and become a part of this family! Everyone is willing, and Caroline will also agree. , and then we play together, every morning we get up and eat together, like a family. In the morning and in the afternoon, we can go to the beach and play at the waterfall. In the evening, you can help me think of new dance moves. You come from outside and have a lot of knowledge Surely no problem. How do you feel, Brother Gold-Eyed? That's great, isn't it?"

The smile on Roy's face solidified, he took a deep breath and shook his head,

"Xue Rui, even if I want to, I can't stay... What I said before, I want to find Sam, because I have to go out, and there are many people waiting for me."

"They are very important to me and I can't let go."

"But why? Hongshan Town is much better than other places. No one is sick or hungry. Everyone is warm and friendly, and there is never bad weather." The girl's face turned pale, and her petite body couldn't help but move took a step back,

"Xue Rui, I..."

"Is it because of me? I'm an annoying stupid girl, a stupid girl who always loves fantasies. Does my game make you feel stupid and boring?" She suddenly raised her head, her soft voice was firm, "But I promise, I'll change it all to make you happy!"

"Xue Rui!"

She suddenly put her arms around her shoulders, as if feeling cold, "I... I just don't want you to leave, without you, I'll be alone, I don't want to be alone anymore, please!"

Roy remained silent.

Until he heard the girl's thumping heart about to pop out of her chest.

He changed the subject.

"Xue Rui, I have some questions. Since I entered Hongshan Town, I have always felt very strange... You should understand what I mean, right? The setting sun in the sky, and other townspeople, why are you alone without me? "

"I do have some facts I want to tell you..." she said worriedly, "but I'm afraid you'll get to hate me like everyone else.

"How come..." Roy couldn't understand. "And don't everyone in town like you very much?"

"But it wasn't like this before, I made some changes." She lowered her head, her tone broken. "I never wanted people to be stuck here, but it's the only way to make them love me, do you believe it?"

"They're trapped here?" Roy's heart skipped a beat, thinking of the teleportation that couldn't be activated, "What do you mean by that?"

"Please listen to me explain slowly..." The girl sighed leisurely, and after a while, she recalled with a trembling voice,

"Once upon a time, everyone in the town hated me so much, whenever I walked down the street, the men looked at me strangely, full of desire, as if they were going to strip off my clothes and eat me, The women cut my skin with hostile looks, cursed my little bitch behind my back and spat at me."

Roy's face was in disbelief. Is this really the true face of those enthusiastic and helpful townspeople?

The changes before and after are too drastic, right? What happened?

"Because I don't look like them... Caroline said, I'm so pretty."

Roy interjected, "Didn't they like you because you helped them find the mines and made life better in the town?"

"It's just what I instill in everyone."

instill? Roy had a bad premonition in his heart.

"The real change happened after that old man passed away." Xuerui suddenly squatted on the ground, put her hands around her knees, put her chin on her knees, her emerald green eyes were empty, and stated in a very sad tone, " One day, when an old man passed by my house, and I was enjoying the shade at the door, he suddenly grabbed my hand and touched my thigh, I was so frightened, I pushed him away."

"He fell to the ground because his heart stopped beating by accident, but others say I did it. I killed him with a charmed witchcraft. I'm a slutty girl, a little bitch."

Roy rubbed his temples, flashing enthusiastic smiling faces in front of his eyes.

how is this possible?

In the past, the townspeople of Hongshan Town were not friendly or enthusiastic at all, but a group of ignorant mob?

That's right, this is what a remote and backward town should be like. The enthusiasm and friendliness at the moment are just fake disguises!

Xuerui suddenly shook her shoulders slightly, looked up at Roy, the crystal tears in her eyes were swirling, and said aggrievedly,

"But it's a lie, I never meant to hurt anyone, they just said it because they had bad intentions for me in the first place!"

"And then?"

"They took the body and broke into my house in the dark! Caroline and I were resting in bed when suddenly they tried to force me away."

"I screamed and cried, and Caroline stood in my way, slapped the man, and...then..."

"He pulled the knife out of his coat... The mother grabbed the blade with her hand, but she was too weak."

"He killed your mother?" Roy was expressionless and calm, but his eyes were burning with anger.

"He just stabbed her in the stomach, but then again and again, and all of a sudden there was blood everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, on the clothes." Her tears were also dripping down her chin.

"Then they seemed frightened and dispersed, throwing a fire at our house."

"I hid in the corner with Caroline in my arms, my nose was full of choking smoke, my lungs seemed to be toasted, I kept coughing, couldn't breathe, and then—"

"The necklace I found, the statue on it, Mr. Sam Gunvari, spoke to me."

"Wait, Sam is the pendant of a necklace? You've been wearing it all the time?" Roy's eyelids jumped, suppressing the anger in his heart, no wonder the other party got it.

"Yes, I picked it up in this indoor garden. It lies in the center of this circular square." Xuerui recalled, her eyes began to light up, "The first time I saw it, I fell in love with it, Carry it with you since then."

Her palm touched the front of her chest, and she could see that there was an abnormal protrusion.

"I didn't tell you sooner because I was afraid you'd leave as soon as you got it."

"What did it tell you that day?"

"It says it can make everything better, it can make all my wishes come true, if only I open up to it."

Accept? Do you mean appendage?

Roy's face was solemn, what exactly is this Sam, and what did it do to Hongshan Town?

"I promised him, then I lost consciousness and fell asleep." A strange look appeared on her face, and the unbelievable scene flashed before her, "The next day, my home was so beautiful. He Guangming, a new look, my mother no longer bleeding, she sat healthy on my bed, hugged me gently and told me, I just had a nightmare, I should go out and see."

"I did as I did, and then I found that everyone in the town was different. They no longer discriminated against me and bullied me, but loved me like a family member. Everyone liked me, and I was overjoyed at first."

"What about the silver mine?"

"That's what I thought in my head, so everyone is so convinced that this is a normal change, what do you think?"

Roy's face became very complicated, both happy and a little worried.

"So it's your idea that the sun never sets? You control everything in Hongshan Town?"

Xuerui's forehead was close to her knees, and she pursed her petal-like lips, acquiescing.

"Then what are you dissatisfied with?" Roy asked,

"It fits my expectations perfectly, but it's not the same as the normal world."

"I think the statues can affect the people in the town. Everyone is just doing what I want them to do." She paused and lowered her head. "They are like dolls and puppets, too perfect to be real."

"I told myself in my heart that there is nothing better than this. I will live happily and happily with everyone forever. I am very happy!"

Her voice changed,

"However, after I don't know how long, I realized that something was missing. Everyone was acting according to the thoughts in my heart, including Caroline, I seemed to..." She took a deep breath, her voice became weak, There was a faint cry, "I've been playing with myself."

"Until you appeared... I noticed it as soon as you entered the town." Xuerui stared at him, her eyes full of fiery and moving, "Other people came in from outside, but they soon lost themselves and became' Baby', you are not like them, you are not influenced by my thoughts, you still maintain your own will."

No, maybe I was affected a little too.

Roy said in his heart.

...

"Can you get this back to normal?"

"As long as I beg Sam, it should be fine, but then everyone will disappear, right? They haven't gotten sick or aged for years, maybe they've lived past the limit of a normal human lifespan," she said worriedly.

"It could also be lifted, and they'll go back to hating me."

"And, you will also leave, leave me, and I will be alone again."

"So, I'm sorry I can't do it, Brother Golden Eye, you stay with me!"

"Xue Rui..." Roy raised his eyes, swept across the pleasant garden, and quickly returned to the innocent and sweet face of the girl, sighing, "Ask your heart, would you rather stay in this self? In the ideal world of programming, or end it all? Look at the real world outside."

"Maybe it will be crueler than Red Mountain Town, but it may also be more interesting than it." Roy said solemnly, "If you don't want to, you might as well take Sam Gunvari's necklace and leave Red Mountain with me. town!"

...

"I-I'm scared..." The girl's voice was hurried, even her fingers and teeth were shaking, and a frightened hissing sound came from her throat, "If all this is lifted, what will happen to Hongshan Town? At that time, everyone will be gone. Now, what if you leave me and run away?"

"I will do what I say, if I can go out," Roy raised his chin slightly, looked her in the eyes, and assured her word by word, "I will definitely take you with me, I swear by the name of the witcher! "

"Maybe you're right..." Xuerui seemed to gain a bit of courage from his determined expression, and said to herself, "You've been so friendly and patient with me from the very beginning, helping me achieve the two perfectly Wish, let me experience happiness that I haven't had in a long time."

"But after I gave you Mr. Sam, it all disappeared, including you, and I was so scared... I didn't want you to die."

"No, I promise..." Roy emphasized again and extended his hand to her.

"Okay... I believe in you, golden-eyed brother." The girl's white porcelain-like wrist stretched into the placket, she held a pendant in her slender hand, and then her face was stunned, "Mr. Sam has spoken to me again..."

"What did you say?" Roy asked nervously.

"I'll give it to you, and Hongshan Town will change."

"Wait!" Roy's heart trembled, and the other party's "believe" made him change his mind, "I plan to continue to stay in Hongshan Town for a while to see if there is a safer way to leave here. "

Xuerui heard the words and was silent for a long time, then suddenly raised her face and smiled sweetly at him. The pear vortex, shell teeth, and delicate facial features made her as beautiful as a sculpture. She seemed to have made up a certain determination,

"No need... I have already made a decision just now..." She was clearly smiling, but tears rolled down her white cheeks uncontrollably, and she wiped away the tears with trembling fingers, "Brother Golden Eye is right, Instead of deceiving yourself, go out and see."

She leaned towards him, her golden ponytail jumping behind her head, and her emerald green eyes stared at him expectantly.

"You'll take me with you, you won't leave me alone, will you?"

"Um!"

She held out a pendant in both hands and shoved it heavily into the witcher's palm, with such force that she seemed to give away her life and soul.

Roy opened his palm, and suddenly saw a strange statue of a man—the man in the mage's costume in the Mare Inn. However, in a blink of an eye, the surface of the statue suddenly changed greatly, becoming a skin covered with bone spurs and horny interlaced. The monstrous figure of the ferocious armor.

Jet black and crimson light circulated on the surface of the armor.

A pair of horns curved backwards on his forehead, his face was dark, with a black rose-like evil pattern.

A playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Hahaha, you caught me, well done! The reward is for you, but you must hold on tight! Don't let her slip away from your fingertips!"

It winked at the witcher, who trembled in body and soul as if struck by lightning.

...

"Brother Jinyan, I don't feel very well..." Xuerui suddenly frowned and called out, her slender body began to soften.

Roy squeezed the pendant, stepped forward, put her in his arms, and looked at her face nervously.

"Where are you uncomfortable?"

"pain."

"Help me, what's burning me... It hurts, help me!" Her delicate facial features were quickly twisted and deformed. On the neck, palms, and calves outside the skirt, the skin began to crack, and blisters first appeared. Then it turned into an ugly scarlet scab as if it had been burned by fire.

"what!"

She started screaming.

Do not!

"Xue Rui, hold on, there will be a way!"

Roy hugged this hot, scorchingly hot petite body tightly, his expression calm and maddened, he opened the package the next second, took out the long-stored acorn, and fed it into her blistered lips.

Breathlessly observe.

Looking miserable.

Acorns didn't help, and the changes continued.

Xuerui's whole body became red and bloody, and the skin cracked and melted, revealing damaged muscles and pale bones.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

In the shrill screams, the pendant burst into endless pale flames that drowned the two of them, shaking the sky.

The witcher's head seemed to explode.

Has the end come?

Everything around is in turmoil.

Someone was holding his heart tightly, and he couldn't breathe.

He seemed to be standing between cliffs and cliffs surrounded by flowing water.

The only thing he can do is to keep the girl in his arms and shrink his body. Not even moving, not even looking down.

Below is the abyss, and the bitter wind keeps blowing.

Like thousands of knives slicing through his flesh and bones, the torment of life is worse than death.

The only thing he can do is to hug the person in his arms tightly.

I don't know how long it took, the pain gradually disappeared, and a wild laughter sounded in his ear.

"Ugh!"

...

"Who are you! What have you done to her?"

"My name is San Jien, I just follow her ideas and restore her to her original appearance."

"But have you forgotten, it's also your credit!"

"The lack of people's hearts is greed! If she is content with the status quo, then everything here will continue as long as my strength is still there!"

"But you sparked the greed in her heart and let her destroy it all with her own hands."

"As expected of drinking and winning my championship. Now, you can get the reward of the competition, she belongs to you!"

"Well--"

The endless white light in front of him gradually faded, and the seven-hole bleeding witcher opened his eyes.

Even if the activation is used up, the life and magic power are still reduced to less than ten-fifths.

here is?

in ruins.

Overgrown with weeds, charred houses, and ruins everywhere.

Under the broken door frame and in front of the desolate courtyard, dry leg bones and skulls can be seen everywhere. It has been too long, and most of the calcium has passed away, becoming slender and gray.

This place has been uninhabited for at least a hundred years and has been completely reduced to ruins.

Is that Hongshan Town, where people live and work in peace and contentment, and the folk customs are simple, really just an illusion?

He glanced in front of him, the pendant strangely and quietly turned into a long sword, a cross guard, and the blade was bright and covered with delicate runes.

It was the one seen in the imperial mares.

But why, the acorn didn't work?

"Brother Golden Eyes, I remember." Xuerui was dying in her arms. She was as unrecognizable as Hongshan Town. She became a severely burned patient, and her terrifying cheek was facing him. Only the left eye was still green, Pure, shining,

She is like a withered flower.

"It turns out that I was already dead that day."

She stretched out her left hand, put it in the witcher's warm palm, touched his face with her right hand, and said feebly,

"Brother Golden Eye, don't cry... don't leave me."

"Um."

Arms drop.

The girl closed her eyes peacefully and stopped breathing.

Her body suddenly turned into a burst of broken white light and flew into the long sword.

A vague and hazy figure emerged from the sword, and she could vaguely see her golden ponytail jumping on her shoulders, her floral skirt fluttering, and she smiled sweetly at him.

This sword became extremely agile, as if it was given life and soul in an instant.

And a name was engraved on the hilt, which Roy couldn't understand when he was at the Imperial Mare Inn.

But now he knew it was called Xue Rui.