“Medicine to alleviate the fluorescent disease?”
Upon hearing the quest reward, Luo Xiaosu’s eyes widened instantly.
She murmured the words, her heart filled with shock and joy.
The terror she felt toward the scene before her was immediately replaced by the hope of survival.
At this moment, to Luo Xiaosu, who was suffering from a terminal illness and could dissolve into specks of fluorescent light at any moment, none of it mattered anymore—turning into a pretty girl, the bloody corpses, the corrupted fairy tales.
What mattered was that she could live.
“You’re saying that as long as I complete the quest and get that medicine, I can cure my disease, right?”
“Affirmative, Host. The reward medicine can alleviate the symptoms of your fluorescent disease and extend your lifespan.”
“It can’t cure it completely?”
Luo Xiaosu couldn’t help but ask, puzzled by the system’s reply.
She desperately wished she could be like others, free from the torment of illness.
“Further quests must be completed to gradually unlock the treatment plan.”
“Further quests? How many total?”
But her only response was the system’s silence.
“Tch…”
Luo Xiaosu irritably tugged at her hair, then quickly lowered her hands.
“Whatever! Having hope is better than waiting to die. Even if it’s a hundred or a thousand quests, I’ll accept it!”
She tightened her grip on her magic staff, encouraging herself.
“So, system, where is the female lead now?”
“Host’s location for the female lead has been marked.”
Following the system’s direction, Luo Xiaosu saw a village emitting black smoke.
“It seems the female lead is over there.”
She didn’t know what awaited her in that village, but to survive, she had no choice.
Gently shaking her still-dizzy head, Luo Xiaosu stood up and hurried toward the village.
—
Following the system’s guidance, Luo Xiaosu arrived at the village.
The sight before her immediately made her stop.
It was a small village reduced to ruins.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere, blood staining the roads, fences, and walls.
Large stretches of houses had been burned, leaving only charred frames.
The air reeked of blood and burning.
Suppressing the nausea in her stomach, Luo Xiaosu tightly covered her nose and carefully picked her way between the bodies, searching for footholds.
“Is this… really a fairy tale world?”
Staring at the carnage, Luo Xiaosu slightly opened her mouth, gripping her magic staff tighter.
She had reason to suspect she’d been transported to some dark fairy tale.
“Hey! There’s still one that slipped through the net!”
A rough, hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
Moments later, several figures leaped out from the surrounding ruins.
The leader was a one-eyed burly man wielding a large chopping knife.
His clothes were soaked in blood, clearly showing he’d done plenty of killing.
“Boss, judging by her outfit, she doesn’t seem to be a villager. Looks more like a witch.”
Ge Si, standing beside him, squinted and lecherously appraised Luo Xiaosu for a moment, then leaned close to the one-eyed man.
Hearing the word “witch,” the one-eyed man furrowed his brow, tightened his grip on the knife, and stared hard at Luo Xiaosu.
“You mean those brothers who went out earlier haven’t come back yet—could she have killed them?”
Luo Xiaosu’s pupils contracted, her heart suddenly leaping into her throat.
She quickly turned to flee, only to find two more bandits behind her, blocking her escape.
‘It’s over. I’m surrounded. What do I do?’
No matter how much she told herself not to panic, facing these ferocious bandits, her hands trembled uncontrollably, and her palm gripping the staff was slick with cold sweat.
Seeing Luo Xiaosu’s terrified expression, the scarred man’s initial wariness vanished, replaced by loud laughter.
“Hahaha, looking that panicked, and she calls herself a witch?”
He raised his large knife and pointed it at Luo Xiaosu, speaking with utter contempt.
“With her scaredy-cat look, she’s got to be some rich young lady who just ran away from home. I can’t believe our Hyena Gang hits gold so soon after arriving here. Boys, grab her! She’ll fetch us plenty of gold and silver.”
At the one-eyed man’s command, the bandits excitedly rushed at Luo Xiaosu, reaching out with their rough hands like vengeful ghosts.
“Ah! Stay away!”
Luo Xiaosu screamed, her voice trembling violently.
She lowered her head, eyes squeezed shut, clutching the magic staff tightly, pointing it wildly at the one-eyed leader, frantically searching her memory for an attack spell.
‘Damn mouth! Chant, damn it!’
Seeing her shivering like a leaf, the last trace of wariness in the one-eyed man’s eyes vanished, replaced by unrestrained laughter.
“Hahaha, little girl, don’t bother resisting. That broken stick in your hand is no real witch’s staff. A real witch would have already chanted a spell and blown me away, not screaming for help like you. Come quietly with us!”
As he spoke, he charged right up to Luo Xiaosu, stretching a large hand toward her collar to lift her up.
The dangerous aura pressed in on her.
Luo Xiaosu’s heart pounded wildly.
In extreme terror, she shouted out the last spell she could recall from her memory.
“F… Fireball Spell!”
The moment the words left her lips, a faint light flared without warning from the purple gem at the tip of her staff.
The air seemed to compress under an invisible force, and a wave of scorching heat radiated from the purple gem.
Whoosh!
The next instant, a fist-sized blazing fireball shot out from the gem, carrying terrifying heat.
Boom!
The fireball struck the scarred man’s body with perfect accuracy, exploding into blinding flames.
Before the one-eyed man could finish his jeering, his lecherous grin froze, replaced by a look of shocked disbelief.
“Ah!”
The moment the fireball hit, he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
“You… you actually—!”
The scarred man spat out those words, struggling to get up, but the fireball’s intense heat and violent explosion had already shredded his chest.
“Cough!”
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He collapsed again.
His gaze slowly lost focus, and his head lolled to the side.
He was completely still.
The sudden turn of events immediately stunned the other bandits who had been cheering a moment ago.
They stopped in their tracks, eyes wide, frozen as they stared at their boss, who moments ago had been swaggering and shouting about capturing the girl, now lying dead on the ground.
They gasped in unison.
“It’s… it’s… it’s a witch! Run!”
Before anyone could shout a second time, the bandits who had been standing dumbfounded scattered in every direction, desperate not to be the next to join their boss.
In seconds, only Luo Xiaosu and the one-eyed corpse remained, both motionless.
Hearing the bandits’ terrified screams and the sound of chaotic footsteps fading into the distance, Luo Xiaosu dared to lift her head slightly.
She opened one eye a crack, trying to see what had happened—but the sight before her made her whole body jolt.
The scarred man lay in a pool of blood, his chest a charred mess, his clothes reduced to ashes.
Flesh and blood were indistinguishable, and she could even smell a hint of cooked meat.
“Did I… do this?”
Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling.
Her stomach churned violently.
Luo Xiaosu flopped to the ground, tightly covering her mouth, trying to suppress the nausea.
She took a deep breath, forcing down her fear.
Only then did she feel slightly better.
“Whatever. I need to find the female lead first.”
Remembering the purpose of her quest, she took one last look at the charred corpse, stood up, brushed the dust off her cloak, and ran onward, following the system’s directions.
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