The son-in-law of Mr. Hachishaku

Chapter 270 Outrageous photo deception

It takes 24 hours for the corpse baby to transform into a household goblin, and Li Ang is too lazy to wait.

And he doesn't need a goblin to show him the way.

"Now we have two choices, either go to the baron's daughter first, or go to his wife. Choose one, witcher."

Geralt is already used to this. There will always be unexpected choices when traveling with Leon.

"Since you don't need a house fairy, why waste time dealing with corpse babies?"

"Because there is a demon hunter beside me who can 'protect the environment and the people'. Even if I don't mention it, you will do it."

As he said that, Li Ang looked at the baron's mansion: "Besides, the baron has been helpful to Xili. If you encounter him, just help him."

Geralt teased: "You don't look like a compassionate person."

Li Ang also said in a joking tone: "Probably because he has been with the demon hunter for a long time, he has acquired some warm-heartedness."

"Looks like I've done another good deed." Geralt boasted.

Immediately afterwards, the demon hunter said seriously: "What you just meant is that the baron's wife and daughter are not in the same place now? Then I will choose the one who is closer."

Li Ang nodded: "Okay, let's go to Hunchback Mire."

Humpback Mire is just southeast of Crow's Nest, also in the center of Velen, so it's really not that far away. It's just that there are all kinds of monsters living inside, some of which even experienced demon hunters have never seen. This makes it extremely dangerous, making it difficult for ordinary people to get out again.

Although Geralt is accompanied by Leon, a prophet with unfathomable strength, the witcher's caution is still deeply ingrained in his bones.

Therefore, he did not rush into the swamp. Instead, he first visited a village called Xiawalen on the outskirts of the swamp, hoping to get relevant information.

When the two came to Lower Wallen, they found it very strange.

In today's war-torn era, the villagers of Lower Valen are able to live and work in peace and contentment, and their living standards are far superior to those in other areas of Valen, including Crow's Nest.

This aroused Geralt's interest, and after many inquiries, he finally got some clues.

Local villagers generally believe in a mysterious existence called "The Lady of the Forest".

To the people of Lower Valen, they are both gods they can rely on and evil spirits that take away their lives.

On the one hand, Mrs. Lin Zhong rewards the devout believers who offer sacrifices, eliminating the disasters and dilemmas they face, and helping them survive the disaster years; on the other hand, she requires the villagers to absolutely obey their wishes, and from time to time requires the villagers to use their hair, ears, and even Children come to sacrifice.

In addition to this, the Lady of the Woods held a banquet every year which they called the Witches' Night.

At that time, the villagers will receive an invitation they cannot refuse.

They must present the tribute they have prepared for the past year to the Lady of the Forest, and tell them about this year's harvest and their prospects for the future. At the end of the night, they will receive a blessing from the Lady of the Woods: a magic acorn.

The acorns were squeezed into oil and sprinkled on the fields to make crops rich, or they could be given to healers to make medicine to cure diseases.

Although most villagers can attend the night party, not all guests can catch a glimpse of the three ladies. Most people can only attend the dinner beside the bonfire at the foot of the mountain.

The three ladies will select three beautiful guests who satisfy them, regardless of gender, to spend the night with them.

It's just that when the three boys and girls come back, they usually never talk about what happened that night, and they forget about their past. They can only be filled with joy, as if they have been reborn.

"It sounds like these three ladies of the forest are the actual leaders of Viren, not our Baron Philip." Geralt said with emotion.

"You said before that the Baron's wife made a deal with a witch. Could it be that they were the ones you mentioned."

Li Ang looked at the demon hunter with approval: "Very good, you have learned to draw inferences from one example."

"Since it was a deal, something had to be paid. So after running away from home, Ms. Anna became the slave and envoy of Mrs. Lin Zhong, working for them."

"In addition, maybe out of guilt for Tia or because she likes children, Anna set up an orphanage in the swamp and adopted many homeless children."

"But when you think about it carefully, two people who love children joined forces to kill an unborn baby. What an ironic story."

Geralt was surprised: "Orphanage? In the swamp!"

Seeing Li Ang nod, he immediately added: "Then we have to speed up the progress. It's hard to imagine that a group of children can survive for so long under the noses of those old witches."

There's a sweet-sounding path to the Quagmire Orphanage.

Snack Trail.

But the reality is far less sweet than it sounds.

As mentioned before, the Lady of the Forest will ask the villagers to sacrifice their children, and this is usually the way to send children into the swamp.

Dim sum is actually used to describe children.

Leon and Geralt continued along the path and soon discovered several houses made of wood and thatch.

At the same time, a cheerful nursery rhyme reached their ears.

"The puppy sneaked into the kitchen and stole a huge piece of meat."

"."

"The cook is a stupid murderer and should never have eaten puppies."

"Now let's light a fire and roast him!"

When five or six children finished singing a nursery rhyme, Leon and Geralt also came to the thatched house.

"The songs here are really interesting." The witcher praised insincerely, and then went straight to the point: "We are looking for a lady named Anna. Have you seen her?"

"Grandma?" A boy asked, "Why are you looking for her?"

The girl next to him tugged at his clothes: "Grandma doesn't let us talk to strangers."

"We don't know you, go away!"

Li Ang squatted down and looked at the children: "Then you go find grandma, and we can talk to her."

The little boy scratched his head and finally asked a completely unrelated question.

"You look so beautiful, are you a girl? Grandma often said that she was very beautiful when she was young, but we have never seen her."

Another boy wearing a hat immediately retorted: "He's not! Girls are patient!"

"Last time when the army came, an old man said: Hide all the girls in the woods! Otherwise, the poor boys won't be able to bear it if their cocks are hanging around!"

"That's what he said."

After hearing this, the little blond girl looked down at her flat chest.

"Then why didn't I?"

Hat Boy didn't know how to answer: "This."

Li Ang, whose hair was full of black lines, stood up helplessly, and then met the demon hunter's teasing gaze.

As if to say, you too have today!

"Although the child's words are unbridled, it also shows from the side that saplings watered with mud and smelly water will grow crooked. They should leave here and go to a better place."

Geralt agreed with Leon's suggestion.

"We'd better send them to a more formal orphanage."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gray-haired old woman walked out of the thatched house: "They are not going anywhere!"

"Who are you? Outsiders are not allowed to enter here, only children, my children!"

"Why are you still armed? Could it be a robber!"

Geralt's expression was a little solemn: "Are you Anna?"

According to the Baron's description and the portrait on the reward announcement, Anna should be a beautiful woman about forty years old with a good face, green eyes and long black hair.

The woman in front of her looked to be at least 60 years old. Her skin was sagging, her eyes were cloudy, and the wrinkles on her face were as deep as a knife. The old woman looked at the witcher suspiciously: "My name is Anna, do you know me?"

Li Ang explained in due course: "Mrs. Lin Zhong's abortion spell actually uses a curse to drain her vitality, causing the fetus in her belly to shrink, eventually miscarrying, and also causing her to age rapidly."

"So that's it." Geralt looked thoughtful.

Anna's expression changed drastically.

Regarding the transaction with Mrs. Lin Zhong, only she herself knew the truth, not even her biological daughter.

"Who on earth are you! Who sent you here!"

Li Ang ignored her and bumped the demon hunter's shoulder: "Look at the children, I'll go to the house."

Unexpectedly, before Geralt said anything, Anna shouted hysterically:

"No, I won't allow you to go in, Mrs. Lin Zhong will punish you!"

Li Ang didn't care about this, easily bypassed the old woman, kicked in the door and walked into the thatched house.

Anna wanted to chase in but was stopped by Geralt.

"You two robbers will die a happy death!"

Several children also shared the same hatred and cursed the bad guys who broke into their homes.

Although Anna was impatient and angry, she still had sense and did not actually attack a demon hunter. At the same time, she restrained several children from being impulsive.

A few minutes later, Li Ang came out of the house with a roll of tapestry under his arm.

When Anna saw this, she started yelling and cursing loudly again, but only those few words were repeated over and over again.

Why would Mrs. Lin Zhong punish you?

"I wish they would come to me." Li Ang threw the tapestry on the ground.

The tapestry then unfolded, and three young girls with graceful figures and outstanding looks were embroidered on the surface.

Geralt looked at it with interest for a while: "Is this the Lady of the Forest? I heard from the villagers in Valen that they seem to be immortal, and they have magic potions to help them stay young forever?"

Li Ang said meaningfully: "The beautified version does not represent the final quality."

Then he turned to Anna and said, "Please bring your three masters out. I have something to talk to them about."

"Don't even think about it!" Anna blocked the children behind her and said viciously.

Li Ang pouted: "In that case, I can only use my method to invite them out."

After that, he casually threw out a blazing fireball and set the tapestry on fire.

A roaring sound suddenly filled the air, mixed with a few screams. As the flames jumped, billowing black smoke rose, and a foul smell spread everywhere.

The children covered their mouths and noses in disgust, while Anna slumped to the ground and muttered: "It's over, it's over now."

This tapestry, which looks old and stained with filth, is actually the medium used by the Lady of the Wood to cast spells.

They rarely see people with their true colors, and most of the time they possess Anna through the tapestry.

Li Ang thought that burning the tapestry would force the three old witches to show up, but he didn't expect them to be able to bear it.

"Geralt, protect the Baroness and the children, and be careful not to be taken advantage of."

After explaining, Li Ang spread his wings and flew into the sky.

Then it transformed into a jet-black demonic dragon that was tens of meters long, like a strategic bomber, spitting black light dragon breath towards every inch of the Humpback Mire.

The ladies in the forest have been around for so long that it is impossible to verify, but what is certain is that they, like many species, come from another world. The long years have made them coexist with the land below their feet, which is full of miasma and mire. Like a druid who harnesses the power of nature, the Lady of the Woods' powerful magic comes from the land itself.

So destroying the land is equivalent to weakening them.

Raging fire rain fell from the sky, hot magma spewed out, the water vapor in the swamp was gradually evaporated, white mist rose, the earth cracked, and it seemed that only the color of flames remained between the sky and the earth.

What many Waylon people saw and heard today was no less than what people in the border areas saw when they saw the golden tree burning.

The children were already frightened and crying, and Anna was even more unbearable and fainted.

Geralt, who felt like the sword in his hand was melting, was also stunned.

As for engaging in such a big battle?

At this time, a strange sinister wind blew up, as if it wanted to extinguish the blazing flames that burned the sky and the earth.

Unfortunately, the weather did not go as planned, and the wind took advantage of the fire, making it worse.

Geralt scolded Leon eight hundred times in his heart at this time, couldn't he and the children be allowed to leave first before burning.

However, there were others who couldn't help it before he did.

Another gust of wind blew by, and three strange-looking female life forms appeared in front of the only thatched house that was not affected by the dragon's breath.

"Grandpa Long, Grandpa Long, stop burning, we'll come out!"

"What a sin, what a sin! What a wonderful place, but you are going to burn it to the ground!"

"Please, sir, spare our lives!"

Li Ang, who heard howling like a killing pig, turned back into a human body and slowly landed on the ground.

"It's not easy to meet you."

And Geralt now finally understands how much "beautification" Li Ang mentioned just now.

The three ladies in the forest are Po Po Zhi, Po Po Zai and Po Po Ni.

Among them, Zhi Po is the youngest, but she is no less ugly and evil than her two sisters.

She is weaving tapestries all the time, and the materials used are hairs paid as tribute by believers. Through these hairs, the old witches can control believers like Anna and force them to obey orders.

Zou Po ranks second, but is the largest in size. She is best at making various magic (curse) potions and making human broth. Half of the children who came as tribute ended up in her bloated belly.

Numpo is not only old, she has existed since humans first landed on this continent.

In the stories whispered by the swamp dwellers for generations, if you speak too loudly, she will hear you, because she likes to use human ears as sacrifices, hang them on all the trees in the swamp, and use magic to listen. Everything that happens in the swamp will be known to her.

Li Ang felt sick to his stomach just seeing them. He originally wanted to torture them a few times, but he was no longer in the mood now.

However, the cause of death still needs to be told to them.

"Two questions."

"First, are you in private contact with the King of the Wild Hunt?"

"Second, have you caught Ciri and tried to drink her blood?"

“Just answer yes or no.”

Old witches and women, you look at me and I look at you. I don’t know how to answer.

What if I get the answer wrong? They don't want to be burned alive.

But when they saw the impatience gradually showing on Li Ang's face, the old witches and women quickly unified their voices and decided to fight to the end.

"no!"

"No such thing!"

"I do not know anything!"

Li Ang shook his head: "Wrong answer."

As soon as he finished speaking, monstrous flames from all directions rushed towards the three ladies in the forest.

　Year-end surprise overtime work, sorry for being late

　　

　

(End of this chapter)