The wind and rain are fierce, and the clouds are gloomy.

A caravan got stuck in the mud.

Minovic sat on the wheels of the car as the rain trickled down the brim of the bucket hat he was wearing, creating a curtain of water.

He shouted at the top of his voice, "Hell, we have to find a place to hide from the rain." Tudo, how far is it from the town you mentioned."

The middle-aged man with a vigorous beard on a horse scratched his wet messy hair: "I can't remember, it's probably not far away...... I haven't been back in twenty years. ”

Obviously, this vague answer did not satisfy Minovic.

He yelled, "Damn, you idiot with a brain full of poop, you can't even remember this." ”

Tudo shrugged his shoulders and said disapprovingly: "You decided to take this path in order to avoid business taxes, in fact, it is not only remote, but also has all kinds of ominous legends, and under normal circumstances, no one will pass through here at all." ”

A man in a shabby linen robe held a bronze cross and frowned, "Don't quarrel gentlemen, I think it is imperative that we set up camp first, for the horses will not be able to withstand such a heavy rainstorm." ”

Minovic shouted at the top of his voice: "Mr. Malov, there is not even a leaf to cover the rain here, can you tell me how to build the camp and dismantle the car planks"

"Damn the wretch, you're still sitting in the car, get down to see if the cargo gets wet!"

As a Venetian merchant, Minovich never lacked a knack for making money.

Upon learning of the Crusaders' advance into Lithuania, he immediately delivered a large amount of supplies, which, if nothing else, he would sell them to the Crusaders at a high price, and buy their spoils at a low price, and ship them back to the south for a fortune.

But alas, his news has seriously lagged behind.

After all, no one could have imagined that that a huge crusader army consisting of hundreds of knights and tens of thousands of soldiers would be beaten to pieces by an unknown witcher.

Even the Church could not have expected this without resorting to special means such as divination.

They would only be suspicious of the Thessalian School of Wizards, after all, it was common sense that only wizards could master that kind of large-scale group attack spells.

The caravan struggled through the torrential rain, and Minovich lost the strength to shout, and in the rain he and the hired men struggled to push the wagon stuck in the mud.

Tudo rode his horse and explored the road ahead.

There was a sudden hint of joy on his face, for just in the depths of the rain curtain ahead, he saw the outline of a small town.

He was about to move forward when he suddenly stopped his mount.

In the dense sound of the rain, he faintly heard a hoarse song, but it was like the rustle of the wind through the leaves.

Tudo listened carefully for a long time, and finally determined that it was indeed a song, for he could clearly distinguish a few coherent words.

"Stop crying, don't grieve. ”

“...”

"When the night comes, be silent. ”

"Those who speak will die, stitch your mouth, tie your hands and feet, and get through the night in peace. ”

The content of the song sent chills down his spine, and he rode forward, and soon saw a hunchbacked old woman with an oil lamp patrolling back and forth on the road leading to the town.

The bean-sized flame swayed in the lamp, as if it would be extinguished at any moment.

"Who's there"

Tudo asked boldly.

The old woman seemed to look up at him, but did not respond, still singing the ballad, but her footsteps no longer faltered, but walked slowly towards him.

"Hell!"

He immediately turned around and ran back, and soon returned to the caravan.

"Found it"

Minovic asked.

Tudo was a little frightened, "It's a small town ahead, but there's an old woman in the way singing a weird ballad, I'm sure there's something wrong with her." ”

Minovich straightened his wind-blown hat and said angrily: "Nonsense, who will sing on the road in the rain!"

Tudo wiped the rain from his face and said, "It's time to invite Mr. Malov to play." ”

Minovic looked at the man who was always sitting in the car and asked: "Mr. Malov, what do you think"

The man, who held the bronze cross at all times, as if holding his own life, said in a deep voice: "I want to see her first, if it is too dangerous, we might as well take a detour." ”

Tudo said loudly: "I can't get around, there is a small town behind her, and it's raining so hard, no one wants to get around that ghost." ”

"It's better to get sick in the rain than to die together. ”

Malov said in a tone that could not be denied.

Minovich was dissatisfied: "Mr. Malov, you are the exorcist I hired at a high price, you must play your role, otherwise I will cut your commission, do you know how much loss my goods will bring me if their employer goes bankrupt If your employer goes bankrupt, you don't want to get a penny!"

Malov just looked at him calmly, and waited until Minovic's questioning like a machine gun stopped, and then he said slowly: "Along the way, I solved two daytime demons and six water ghosts for you, and I am just an exorcist, not those witchers with silver swords, so please don't think about buying the service of ten big gold coins for the price of one gold coin, okay?"

Minovic's face turned pale, but he quickly calmed down the anger in his heart and forced a smile: "Okay, Mr. Malov, I promise that there will be no reduction in your commission, please do your best to help us clear a way, okay?"

"I will. ”

Malouf nodded, and he mounted his mount and ran forward with Tudo.

Doing business is not an easy task in this era, and the first thing any caravan wants to be prepared for is to deal with those bandits and bandits everywhere, as well as monsters and ghosts that may run into it at any time.

As a result, many caravans hire exorcists who are either excommunicated clergy or have simply learned some of the earthy ways to deal with monsters.

When it comes to dealing with monsters, they can't compare to the witchers at all, but as half an expert, it's enough to solve the general troubles.

Soon, Tudo and Malouf approached the place where they had come across the old woman with the lantern.

But it was empty, not even a single footprint in the mud, as if what Tudo had just seen was an illusion he had just seen.

"Impossible, I saw an old woman singing, and I still remember what she sang. ”

Tudo argued loudly.

"Shut up, there are evil spirits here. ”

With a solemn expression, Malov threw out a handful of dusty powder, which suddenly formed a glowing trail on the ground.

Malov half-crouched, searching the fluorescent trail.

But soon, the rain washed the fluorescence away.

He was about to sprinkle another handful of powder when he saw a pair of withered paws in the mud and a shabby purple skirt appearing in front of him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Malouf raised the bronze cross in his hand and stretched it forward.

A terrible scream rang out, and he straightened up, finding that the owner of the sole of his foot had disappeared.

At this time, he saw Tudo following him, his hands were holding his neck, like a drowning fish, panting and choking his throat hard.

Those big rough hands were even too hard, revealing their green tendons.