Return the Head? No.

Looking at the pitch-black cave, Katrina hesitated. "I don't think we should go in."

"Use this." Zheng Yichen piloted the Simple Drone into the cave and saw a woman in tattered clothes and a veil. Her outfit made her look like... a zombie bride? At any rate, she had a pretty good figure.

"..."

"Come on, let's take a look." Zheng Yichen held a gun in one hand and his phone in the other.

"Could it be dangerous?"

"Usually not. Wait here at the entrance." Zheng Yichen didn't let Katrina follow him. He went into the cave alone. The veiled woman inside didn't look surprised when he entered. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, then returned to the Simple Drone.

"What is that?"

"Who are you?" Zheng Yichen asked the woman before him. Though her clothes were tattered, the arm showing beneath them was remarkably smooth. The cave was furnished with rough, crude furniture, and a fire burned inside, keeping it from feeling cold.

There were also the remains of some small animals.

Well... she certainly looked like a witch.

"You may consider me a witch, unknown traveler. You don't belong here."

The witch's tone was very calm.

"I don't want to be here either, but I happened to find this place." Zheng Yichen approached the witch. She had only started examining the drone up close after he entered.

Zheng Yichen stared at the witch before him. He wanted to lift her veil and see what she looked like, but felt it would be rude. He put away the Simple Drone and asked her another question. "I'm looking for the Headless Knight. Do you know anything?"

The Headless Knight had been active in these Woods, and the witch was here too. He couldn't help wondering if there was a connection.

"Do you intend to fight the Headless Knight?"

"Of course."

The witch's gaze passed through her veil and fell on the things Zheng Yichen carried. The Fishing Rod was an ordinary item, but the horn and red belt he carried were not.

"...If you want to find the Headless Knight, you'll need the Guidance of the Dead." The witch began preparing. First, she glanced outside. "The girl with you... You can figure that out for yourself."

She seemed to think of something, but didn't continue. Instead, she pulled Zheng Yichen over to an old table and locked her arms in shackles. After checking how far she could move, she took out some powder and lit it. A hazy smoke began to spread.

Zheng Yichen twitched his nose and immediately felt uncomfortable. The smoke seemed to induce hallucinations. The witch took out a Straw Cage, shook it, and tossed out a bat. With a single stroke, she cleanly chopped off its head.

She sprinkled the bat's blood over the powder, and the white smoke immediately turned red.

"Don't be afraid. When the dead come, I'll catch them."

"No..." Zheng Yichen watched the witch's voice gradually fade. He was a little conflicted. The witch seemed a bit too enthusiastic—eager to help, and then eager to turn into an Evil Ghost?

She suddenly sprang up, her eyeballs bulging out as a venomous snake emerged from her mouth. In that instant, Zheng Yichen pulled out the Black Gun, nearly surging forward to pin her to the ground. The chains restrained her, and even after her drastic transformation, she couldn't break free. Her hands only just managed to reach Zheng Yichen.

Then Zheng Yichen pressed her back down. Aside from that first frightful moment, she wasn't as strong as he was. The commotion drew Katrina in from outside, and she hurried over to find Zheng Yichen pinning down a woman who was struggling and roaring.

"W-who is she?" Katrina asked in astonishment. What she saw was Zheng Yichen pinning down a woman older than herself, apparently about to do something to her.

"A witch." Listening to the Woods Witch's roars, Zheng Yichen gradually pieced together the broken fragments of what she was saying. The Headless Knight was beneath the Death Tree... and to find it, they needed to follow a road facing the setting sun.

After she finished saying all that, the witch fell silent. Katrina came over with a pout. She looked at the witch, then at the powder that had burned away on the table, and understanding dawned on her. Her anger from a moment ago vanished.

What Zheng Yichen had just seen was definitely different from what she had. She knew about that powder: it helped witches commune with the dead, but during the ritual it also affected people nearby, causing hallucinations.

To summon the dead through communion, one had to put oneself in a mentally fragile state. Hallucinations were the best way to achieve that.

Zheng Yichen watched the now-calm witch. As the smoke completely dissipated, her ghastly, Evil Ghost-like face gradually returned to normal. She looked to be over forty, with naturally white hair. Though it was poorly kept, she still had a fine bearing, and her figure hadn't gone to seed.

Looking at the witch now that she had revealed her true appearance, Zheng Yichen thought she would have been even prettier if she were younger.

Before long, the Woods Witch had fully recovered. The shackles had been removed from her arms. She looked at Zheng Yichen. "You're powerful, a formidable warrior."

Even while communing with the dead, she had remained sufficiently aware of her surroundings. She remembered clearly how Zheng Yichen had subdued her just now. That kind of strength was beyond what an ordinary person could possess. The burly young man before her was practically a bull.

"I'm not exactly an ordinary person either. Since you're a witch, do you know of another way to deal with the Headless Knight? That thing is immortal. It doesn't die when shot or even when its body is pierced, and it recovers incredibly quickly." Zheng Yichen briefly described the Headless Knight.

The witch gently shook her head. "The Headless Knight is a being returned from Hell. How could it be killed a second time? The only way to deal with it is to send it back to Hell."

"How do we send it back?"

"Return the Headless Knight's head. The Headless Knight wanders the human world because it's searching for its lost head."

"Rather than send it back, I'd rather kill the thing."

The Woods Witch looked at Zheng Yichen in confusion. She had already told him where the Headless Knight was and how to deal with it. Surely he should follow that lead. Why was he insisting on doing things the hard way?

"Why?"

"Because the Headless Knight has a sword that looks really powerful. I want it."

"..."