A fantastical journey across the heavens, beginning with the Witcher.

"It's done."

After reattaching the head of the bastard, Li De followed the directions and stepped back into the depths of the swamp.

The swamp grew increasingly dangerous under the cover of night, with hidden dangers lurking deep within the silt, and the stench emanating from the humus layer mingled with a faint scent of blood.

He hadn't gone far when the mud beneath his feet suddenly churned, and two monstrous demons burst out from under the humus layer, their bluish-gray claws reaching for his calves.

Fortunately, the Witcher reacted quickly. He lightly touched the ground with his feet, leaped up, and swung his silver sword, instantly severing the heads of the two demons. Green blood splattered into the mud, but was quickly covered up.

The monsters during the full moon period were all restless and agitated, as if they had been given stimulants.

Along the way, they killed countless monsters, and their armor was almost soaked through with monster blood.

As the full moon sank to the horizon and the first rays of dawn emerged from the other side of the sky, the mud beneath our feet gradually thinned, and a solitary earthen mound suddenly appeared in the middle of the swamp.

On the earthen slope, a huge banyan tree with narrow leaves blocks out the sky, a truly magnificent sight.

The trunk is so thick that it takes seven or eight people to encircle it. The bark is rough and cracked, covered with dark brown moss, and countless thick aerial roots hang down from the branches like dense ropes. Some are deeply embedded in the earthen slope, while others hang directly into the swamp, creating ripples on the water's surface.

The tree's canopy was lush and its dense shade covered the entire slope, making it difficult for even light to penetrate. Only scattered patches of light fell on the ground, contrasting with the surrounding darkness and making the place even more eerie.

A strong smell of blood wafted from the roots of the banyan tree. Upon closer inspection, a dark cave was hidden where the roots intertwined. The entrance was about a meter high and was concealed by hanging aerial roots and vines. It would be impossible to spot without careful observation.

Li De crawled into the cave entrance, and after passing through a rugged mountain cave, the view suddenly opened up before him.

The cave was more spacious than I had imagined. The floor was a pool of blood, the dark red blood reaching up to my ankles, and it felt sticky and slippery when I stepped on it.

In the center of the cave, a huge iron pot sits on a stove. The thick soup inside is bubbling and boiling, covered with a thick layer of oil. Between the bubbles, you can see many "ingredients": tiny fingers, half an arm, and even a strand of hair.

What attracted his attention most in the entire cave was a cage woven from banyan tree roots in the corner. It was like a birdcage hanging from the ceiling, suspended by vines from a tree root, about a meter above the ground.

A slender figure was curled up in the cage. Although her clothes were stained with blood, they could still be identified as a long blue dress.

Li De raised an eyebrow. It seemed he didn't need to go through the trouble of searching for any remains. He stepped into the blood and walked to the cage.

"Celia?"

Hearing someone call her name suddenly, the girl's curled-up body trembled slightly, and she slowly raised her head.

Her face was covered in grime, her brown hair was disheveled, and her freckles were covered by dust. Only her large eyes were filled with fear and confusion, like those of a frightened fawn.

The reactions match, the clothes match, and the appearance matches.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you." Li De tried to soften his tone. "Your parents asked me to come find you. I've already killed the monster, no one can hurt you anymore."

"But...but ladies..."

"From now on, there is no more 'madam'. Come, I'll take you home."

The Witcher said no more, drew his steel sword, and cleaved the cage door open with a single stroke.

Celia huddled in a corner of the cage, meeting the witcher's reassuring golden cat eyes for two seconds before shakily taking the outstretched hand and staggering out of the cage.

As soon as she fell into the pool of blood, the girl's legs slipped, and she almost fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Li De reacted quickly and reached out to help her, preventing her from falling into the bloody water.

However, when his fingertips accidentally touched the girl's left hand, the Witcher suddenly felt a burning heat. Looking down, he saw a peculiar mark made up of three arcs on the girl's fair palm, which was glowing with a faint red light.

He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was on high alert. This was definitely a magical mark left by the old witch. Considering that he had already cut off the monster's head, he figured there wouldn't be any serious consequences.

Thinking of this, Li De helped Celia up and turned to walk towards the exit.

Adhering to the principle of eradicating evil completely, after leaving the cave, he took out an ordinary bomb from his waist, lit the fuse, threw it into the cave, and quickly retreated to the bottom of the earthen slope with the girl.

"boom!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, soil and tree roots poured down, sealing the entrance and completely burying this wicked lair.

Using the faint light of the rising sun, Li De took out a roll of sheepskin map, quickly estimated their current location, determined the direction, and set off on their journey home with the girl.

After walking for half a day, we finally emerged from the muddy swamp and stepped onto solid ground again.

On the grass by the roadside, a glossy black horse was grazing with its head down; it was Li De's mount, Coal Ball.

He named the horse himself. When old man Vesemir saw the horse, he teased him for his poor taste, saying that such a beautiful horse had such a vulgar name. However, he was quite satisfied with the horse, and Coal Ball was also quite satisfied with it.

"Coal briquettes".

Li De whistled, and the horse immediately raised its head, ran quickly to its master's side, and affectionately lowered its head to rub against his chest.

……

Around noon, the two people and the horse arrived safely at the village.

As soon as I arrived at the village entrance, I saw a young man squatting dejectedly by the roadside; he was the village's blacksmith.

After Celia went missing, the young man was just as worried as the girl's parents. If the witcher hadn't repeatedly refused, he would have almost gone with her to hunt down the witch in the forest.

Hearing the sound of hooves, the boy suddenly looked up, and upon seeing who it was, his eyes lit up with excitement as he shouted, "Celia!"

He quickly ran to the horse and carefully helped the girl down.

Upon seeing familiar faces, Celia's nerves, which had been tense all night, finally relaxed. She hugged the little blacksmith tightly and burst into tears.

The blacksmith's eyes instantly reddened, and his face flushed crimson. He awkwardly held the girl, unsure of what to do with his hands, and kept saying, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Just then, a well-dressed couple heard the noise and were rushed out of the village by the villagers. When the girl saw her relatives, she immediately rushed into her mother's arms and cried even more bitterly.

The mother held her daughter tightly, tears streaming down her face, while the father held the mother and daughter in his strong arms as if they were fragile treasures.

Li De had no intention of disturbing the family's warm moment. He dismounted, crossed his arms, leaned against a tree stump at the village entrance, and quietly watched the scene unfold.

It took Celia quite a while to calm down.

She walked up to Li De, ignoring the dried monster blood on the witcher's body, and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Master."

Li De gently patted the girl's shoulder: "Go on, take a shower, get a good night's sleep, and everything will be over when you wake up."

Celia nodded and followed her mother home, while her father quickly walked up to the Witcher, bowed deeply, and spoke with great gratitude.

"Thank you, Master Witcher! Thank you for saving my daughter! I don't know how I would have lived without her."

Li De waved his hand, his tone indifferent: "I've been entrusted with a task, so I must be loyal to it. Your daughter is lucky; she's been kept by those old witches for a week and hasn't been eaten yet."

He then changed the subject, "But don't get too excited. She's been marked by the old witches on her left hand. I know a lot about monsters, but I'm powerless when it comes to magic. If you're lucky, the mark might never come back; if you're unlucky, who knows? You can take her to Novigrad; there's a sorcerer's tower there, and maybe you can find a way to remove the mark."

Celia's father's expression changed, and his joy at finding his daughter was somewhat diminished, but his more than thirty years of life experience and travels around the world prevented him from losing his composure immediately.

"Thank you for the reminder, Master. We will definitely take her to see a doctor. No matter what, thank you!"

He pulled a heavy money bag from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is the agreed-upon payment, 80 crowns, not a penny less."

For a day and a night of running around and fighting that risked his life, 80 crowns wasn't a high price, but there was no other way; that's just how the Witcher's life is.

Sometimes, even after going through countless hardships to complete a task, the reward isn't enough to repair the armor.

Fortunately, Li De also hunts and sells monster materials in his spare time, which is an extra source of income, so he is not too short of money.

Celia's father kept his eyes fixed on the witcher's face, determined to offer more money whenever the man showed any displeasure.

However, Li De simply took the money pouch indifferently, weighed it in his hand, and stuffed it into the leather pouch at his waist without even checking it: "Good luck to your daughter."

After saying that, he untied the reins of the coal ball, mounted the horse, and gently squeezed the horse's belly with his legs. The horse neighed and set off on its journey again with leisurely steps.

They hadn't gone far when a young voice called out from behind, "Master! Master!"

Li De pulled the reins, and Coal Ball stopped in tacit agreement. He turned around and saw the little blacksmith.

"What is it?"

The young man, panting, stood beside the horse, his hands on his knees, and offered it a patched cloth bag.

"This...this is the money I've saved up over the years to get married. Thank you for saving Celia."

The Witcher raised an eyebrow. Over the years, he had seen plenty of people trying to renege on their debts, but he had rarely seen anyone eager to pay.

So he asked with great interest, "If you give me your dowry, what will you do when it's time to get married?"

The young blacksmith blushed and said, "Mr. Sean has already agreed to marry Celia to me."

"Then congratulations. I won't accept the money. It's the rule not to pay twice for one job. Just remember to drink a toast for me at the wedding."

After saying that, he gently spurred his horse and left without looking back.