January 30, 2023
"Assistant Beth, five years ago. Thirteen Hunters were dispatched from the Beijing branch. I want to know where they went."
A man with sharp, narrow Chinese eyes behind square glasses and neatly trimmed wavy brown hair carefully read the document in his right hand.
"Correct. According to the report, they died on the mission site. There have been no further reports about them after the information was lost."
Next to the office desk piled high with paperwork and reports being reviewed, stood a woman with shoulder-length blackish-purple hair tied back. She held a hologram data tablet in front of her chest. She also wore glasses, but round ones.
Her figure was ideal for an office worker. She had a four-star badge on her right shoulder.
"Where were they sent?"
The adult voice was firm and cold enough to be heard clearly. The man with golden-brown eyes read the profiles of the thirteen Hunter agents sent to a village near the forbidden forest in Western Sichuan.
*There were twelve two-star Hunters and one three-star Hunter as the team leader. All thirteen had sufficient achievements to hunt mid-level Witches. How could they disappear?
"According to the data, their mission took place in Western Sichuan, near the forbidden forest. There are several villages there. According to reports, a magical creature attacked one of those villages, taking the life of an adult woman with two children."
The woman with black pupils explained in detail.
Her appearance was like the other agents: a black suit, white shirt, black skirt, and matching stockings. Her skin was fair, creating a slight contrast with her attire.
The man with square glasses clasped both hands on the desk and rested his chin on them.
Daylight filtered through the large window, illuminating the wall. The curtains did not block the view of Beijing's futuristic megacity. They were in the 40th-floor office of the Hunter central branch in Beijing.
On the roof, combat helicopters were parked on the large helipad. Below the towering building, a runway for winged aircraft stretched out. Rows of fighter jets made it look like a military base.
"The forbidden forest... Western Sichuan... Isn't that the place the Division Chief is visiting?"
The woman with round glasses nodded.
"Yes, Miss Luxia is on her way there. She said she sensed a great magical energy coming from that place. Most likely the Arch Witch or perhaps..."
"The Grand Witch," the man with square glasses finished her sentence.
Just hearing that nickname made the woman shiver. She tightened her grip on the tablet.
Breathing slowly, she continued, "Yes, that magical energy appeared three days ago, then vanished within a few hours."
Looking back at the report on his desk, the man with square glasses pondered.
"How many people are escorting the Division Chief?"
"Miss Luxia brought about three four-star Hunters. The other Branch Chiefs are busy handling cases that have simultaneously popped up recently in their cities."
"Prepare the helicopter. We will assist the Division Chief."
"Understood."
***
"This is my horse, cloak, and hunting coat. You can use them, Master Sizhu. During the hunt, don't trust the words of magical creatures that resemble humans. They are liars and killers."
Twenty-one hoofbeats echoed in the dark forest.
Sizhu rode his horse at midnight alongside twenty village men from Qing's village. Their village chief led the group at the front.
The group was silent. No one spoke, joked, or commented on the path they passed. Only breaths and the sounds of horses' footsteps, sometimes galloping, sometimes walking.
The waxing moon above served as their guide. The chief ordered the group not to carry torches or fire to avoid being detected by them.
Sizhu recalled the warning given by Qing's father that afternoon. On his back was only a wooden staff. He carried nothing else but what Qing's father had given him.
Unlike the other hunters, who were fully equipped with bows, arrows, spears, and some even carried machetes. Not to mention the ropes for tying their prey.
Since noon, the twenty-one people had marched straight into the forest, heading in the opposite direction of the forbidden forest and village, yet staying near the river. They seemed to follow the river as a path marker.
About twenty steps to Sizhu's left, through thick trees, the Yangtze River was visible.
"Hmm hmm mm mmm~"
A man's voice sounded. The village chief raised his hand, signaling to prepare to draw their bowstrings.
All the horses stopped to better hear the humming voice from afar.
Sizhu looked to his left, the source of the voice from the river. The other men did the same, squinting to confirm the humming.
A person? Someone is there. Are they planning to kill that person?
Sizhu watched cautiously as the villagers readied their bows. If it was a human voice, he would try to save the person and stop the villagers from hunting humans.
I am certain it's a human voice. Witches or magical creatures don't have voices like this.
Tension thickened in the air. Sizhu waited and observed what would happen next.
"Hmm~ hmm hm mm hmm~"
The horses slowly advanced toward the source of the sound.
The village chief at the front still held his right hand up while his left was ready to raise his bow and arrow.
Thirty steps away, the group stood right by the riverbank.
Lantern light flickered from a sampan boat. Someone quietly rowed it, humming a rhythm near the river's edge.
"Kill."
A single barely audible word. Nineteen men drew their arrows and aimed at the person rowing the boat.
"Wait—"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Nineteen arrows struck the unknown person. Some missed, embedding in the wooden boat.
"He is human!"
Jumping off his horse, Sizhu ran to check the person shot by arrows.
"Hey, kid!—"
The village chief stopped one of his men who was about to follow Sizhu toward the arrowed person.
The villagers' faces showed worry as they watched Sizhu leap onto the boat.
Just as Sizhu landed on the sampan, the person pierced by many arrows stood up again. Blood flowed from each arrow wound.
He smiled widely at Sizhu.
Then in the next second, the undead lunged at the still-shocked Sizhu.
Swoosh!
Thud!
An arrow pierced the undead's head, knocking it sideways into the river.
Unlike the other bows and arrows, the chief's arrow was twice as large. His bow was a longbow made of bamboo wood.
A person?! I'm sure I didn't hear a heartbeat anymore?! How can that human still move?
A hand appeared, grabbing the wood on the boat's hull, making it shake. Sizhu raised his staff, ready for anything.
"Hey! Young man! The head! Cut off the head!" The chief with a short thin beard shouted at Sizhu, signaling him by slicing his thumb across his neck.
Seeing the undead trying to climb onto the boat, Sizhu spun his staff and struck its head like hitting a ball.
BAM!
The impact echoed. Its neck snapped, splattering fresh red blood on Sizhu's hunting cloak. The head flew several steps into the river, sinking into the calm blue darkness.
Sizhu's eyes widened again.
This scent is human blood. This creature is indeed human, not a Witch or magical creature! But why? Why are the villagers hunting them?
"Hurry! Take the body before all the blood drains into the river!"
The chief shouted at Sizhu, who was still frozen, to lift their prey.
Sizhu remained silent. Then someone climbed onto the boat and lifted the headless undead from the river.
"You must get used to this, kid. Without this, our village would have vanished by them. No matter how far you go from the forest and village, you will only find creatures like them."
The bald villager patted the body of the headless man on the shoulder. Sizhu stayed silent. His eyes clearly saw a human corpse. This was not a Witch or magical creature.
"Next time, don't let their heads come off. We need their blood as offerings to them."
The man patted Sizhu's shoulder as he carried the headless body. The neck was wrapped tightly with rough cloth to prevent losing too much blood from dripping.
***