A nice winter vacation ended up turning into this kind of hard work. As Ke Bu followed the mountain path, he had the urge to kill. The air in the remote mountains at night was quite chilly. The sound of the gentle wind blowing carried along with it the howls of the wild animals. Ke Bu gasped and weakly tugged on to the lower hem of Zhi Li’s jacket as they climbed up the mountain.
“Let’s go back. It’s scary out here.” Zhou Xinhe feebly said.
“We‘ve already climbed up till here and to give up now would be a pity. Let’s go till the end.”
Finally, the villa loomed out of the dim light of the night, emitting a strange glow through the moonlight. This was an age-old villa. The vines covered the walls with a twisted shape and the iron gate made a creaking sound.
“I…I seemed to have stepped on something.” Gong Zhu’s voice pierced through the silence of the night.
Chu Haoyu gripped the flashlight and illuminated it toward Gong Zhu’s foot. To his surprise, it was a clear white bone?!! Zhou Xinhe gave out a piercing scream and even Ke Bu started to think that this might have been a bad idea. All of this happened after Zhang Luo, that crow’s beak [1], told that story about the murder case. To actually encounter such a thing really surpassed reality. When everyone hesitated and did not want to press forward, the sound of high heels suddenly reverberated within the empty villa. With every ‘click-clack’ sounds made by those high heels, Ke Bu’s heart raced faster: “Don’t mess with me. It’s Su Youyan. Where’s Su Youyan?”
([1] A person who has made an inauspicious remark.)
“I’m here.” Su Youyan’s voice suddenly came from behind Ke Bu.
“Then who’s inside the villa?” Ke Bu finally laid down his pride as a man and instinctively embraced Zhi Li’s arm. The sound of the high heels came from the depths of the villa, and as if breaking away the darkness, a faint light appeared. After some time, the footsteps stopped, and Ke Bu’s eyes widened incredulously right before the scene. Through the moonlight, the figure of a beautiful and charming woman stood there, and her close-fitting black dress made her curvaceous body sexier. The black muslin on her hat covered her face, revealing only her beautiful red lips. She stood there, like a demon who ascended from hell, as she waited in the villa. Even as she was standing from afar, Ke Bu could feel her imposing manner consume him. The group stood still and was unable to move. Zhou Xinhe was about to faint, and Zhang Luo quickly switched on the video camera, not intending to miss this scene. Ke Bu stealthily looked at Zhi Li, and even at a time like this, he was too calm and collected. Lo and behold, the legendary figure herself had emerged—the witch of Yinguo Town!!
Ying Xiujie reacted first. He picked up a stone on the ground and tentatively threw it. It broke a window and a howling sound echoed within the villa, then there was an imp’s garrulous voice. The stone was thrown back again, straight toward Ke Bu’s, but it was too late for Ke Bu to dodge it. Fortunately, Zhi Li caught the small stone and looked at Ke Bu: “Are you alright?”
Ke Bu nodded, and while doing so, the woman started to talk. Her pleasant voice penetrated through the air like the sounds of nature as it came over: “It’s unmistakably good. Fresh meat.” After saying that, the woman licked her lower lip. Her bright red lips formed into a shape that could confuse and poison people’s minds. If this happened during normal times, Ke Bu would only feel that someone was just fooling them, but this was different. He could feel his legs were quivering. This woman was definitely not an ordinary person.
The woman walked back into the depths of the villa and slowly, her silhouette ceased to exist. Ying Xiujie managed to compose himself and pushed Chu Haoyu: “Let’s go and have a look inside. Even if she’s a demon, she’s just a female demon. I don’t believe we can’t defeat her.”
Chu Haoyu swallowed hard. Taking into consideration his pride as a man, he nodded. Su Youyan was in deep thought the whole time. Perhaps, to discover this kind of matter was really inconceivable. Everyone went inside the corridor. The walls were lined with portraits of different people, whose eyes seemed to be staring at them, sending out a chill in the air. At the end of the corridor there was a room with a faint tangerine glow. Ying Xiujie paused for two seconds and slowly opened the door. Inside, he saw the woman sitting on a settee. The faint lamplight made his line of sight a little blurry. Ke Bu felt that it was almost a dream. The woman gracefully upturned her leg with a goblet in her hand, filled with blood-like fluid. There were some traces of lipstick marks on the mouth of the goblet, and between her index and middle fingers was a cigarette. The flaming cigarette butt was gathering soot. Chu Haoyu took a deep breath. He outstretched his hands and made an indecent sound: “Let me check if you’re a woman or a demon.” After finishing his sentence, he grabbed the woman’s breasts. The woman faintly smiled. She grabbed Chu Haoyu’s hand, and with her nimble fingers, she twisted Chu Haoyu’s arm: “Aw, that hurts! I’m sorry.” With just this action, it made Chu Haoyu howl in pain. He took a step back, then said: “Let’s run fast. We still have time before we turn into bones. She’s definitely a demon!”
“I still don’t believe it.” Ying Xiujie rolled up his sleeves. He raised his hands and yelled: “Tiger fist.” Ying Xiujie quickly rushed forward to punch the woman, but she dodged him when he was about to touch her. It was too late for Ying Xiujie to turn around. Before he was even able to do so, his nape was already elbowed by the woman, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. The woman took the goblet and drank again: “You only possess this much ability, yet you dared to come here. Now didn’t you overestimate yourself.”
To everyone’s surprise, the two senior generals were easily defeated. Not to boast, but Ke Bu used to believe that this group had always been so powerful. Now, he was deeply aware of his short-sightedness. There was always a mountain beyond a mountain and a man beyond another—there was some truth in this saying. Zhi Li would never fight with a woman, so the only one left to fight was Su Youyan, but still, it was better to make a run for it. Even if they would lose their faces, it was better than losing their lives. Who would have thought that Su Youyan would not respond?
“Youyan?”
“I can’t beat her.” Su Youyan unexpectedly showed a weakness?? Su Youyan, who was extremely keen on observation, had also observed this. She would never say this kind of sentence. She seemed to have recognized the power of this woman. She thought that even if she would take a step forward, her efforts would only be in vain, and it would result in losing her face and being humiliated like Chu Haoyu and Ying Xiujie, who were both lying in a sorry state.
“Can Zhi Li fight?” Everybody began to discuss in whispers.
“I have no confidence in myself. I’ve never met a witch in my life.”
“Should we run?”
“Run!!”
Everyone was preparing to make a run for it; however, Zhi Li tugged his collar and walked over to the opposite direction of the road to life where everyone else was headed. Ke Bu wanted to stop him but could not make a sound. He did not expect Zhi Li to be this eager to win. Although Ke Bu always felt in his heart that Zhi Li was the strongest, this time, even his heart felt uneasy. Zhi Li did not have the same sinister expression of anticipation or excitement on his face as he did when they were investigating Bi Fang’s case. Perhaps, he himself saw that the woman was not so simple. The woman looked up at Zhi Li’s dreamlike face through the dark muslin that covered her face and smiled. The two looked at each other. One was sitting and one was standing. The flame in the lamplight flickered a little. Zhi Li then did something that made everyone gasp. He took a step forward and took off the woman’s hat: “Why do you wear this kind of thing?”
Ke Bu covered his eyes. He did not want to look. He definitely did not want to see. His face would definitely be eaten. However, he was still able to see the woman’s face through the spaces between his fingers. She had a beautiful face. Her fine and delicate eyes, nose, and lips betrayed her age. Her skin was very fair and beautiful. For the first time, Ke Bu stupidly looked at a woman. Her facial features were so exquisite so that they could even match Zhi Li’s, whose face could sway the hearts of all genders. The woman did not get angry. She pressed the cigarette butt to extinguish it. She rose to her feet and walked toward Zhi Li. She went closer and closer until they almost stuck together. Ke Bu greatly objected to her sticking so close to Zhi Li, but due to the current atmosphere, Ke Bu did not dare to voice his thoughts.
“Am I beautiful?”
Zhi Li did not dodge her question. He responded: “Yes.” That was the truth.
“Really?” The female caressed Zhi Li’s face with her fingers.
“It’s really hard to make people dislike it.” Zhi Li said with an expressionless face. He flirted with the woman in front of Ke Bu’s face!! What kind of game was he playing? Even if this woman was prettier, she would not even go as far as making Zhi Li’s heart race, right?! No way! If the woman became Ke Bu’s rival in love, then how little was his odds of winning against her? The woman smiled with a contented look on her face, then she slowly picked her skirt up. She raised her knee and struck Zhi Li’s abdomen. Because of this, Zhi Li knitted his eyebrows in pain.
“Sorry, but do you honestly believe that by praising me, you could escape?” The woman kicked Zhi Li’s waist sideways, while her right hand simultaneously swept his right shoulder. She hit his left leg with her foot, and easily put Zhi Li on the ground. With the thin and sharp part of her high-heeled shoe, she repeatedly trampled on his abdomen. Everything happened so fast and this was all done in the blink of an eye. Ke Bu could not believe what was going on. He never saw Zhi Li so powerless. Since the other party was a woman, everyone could not believe that this was Zhi Li!!
Could it be that this group was destined to perish here? Ke Bu wanted to rush forward toward her but was stopped by a single look from Zhi Li. Zhi Li sat up on the ground. There was no anger nor humiliation on his face. He just calmly raised his head. The woman bent over and pinched Zhi Li’s chin: “This handsome face of yours really makes me envious. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could show some expressions? Of anger? Of shame? I’ve been so bored since it’s been ages since somebody played with me.” The woman bent over and drew near Zhi Li’s face. With her bright red lips, she whispered close to his ear: “Let me see it.”
Oh no, Zhi Li’s face was going to be eaten by this demon!! The woman stuck her lips on the left side of Zhi Li’s face. Her affectionate kiss left a lipstick mark. Ke Bu’s stomach churned, he clenched his fist, and his whole body stiffened. At the same time, everyone’s brains became unresponsive for a moment.
Usagi Notes: Can anyone guess who the witch is? Hehe