Chapter 184: The Girl Burned Alive, Eliza
As the obese woman hurled curses like a ravenous wolf, no one around felt anything was amiss.
The girl being bound and dragged, though her face was bruised blue and purple from beatings, still couldn’t hide her striking beauty.
Especially her fiery red hair, burning like flames—it only made her all the more dazzling.
However, that beauty didn’t bring her fortune. Instead, it brought her death.
The girl cried out in agony, begging:
“I’m not a witch! I didn’t seduce him! I didn’t seduce him—he liked me! I only rejected him, that’s all. I did nothing wrong! Am I supposed to accept him just because he likes me? He’s ugly—I don’t like him! What’s wrong with that?!”
Hearing her say such demeaning things about him, the young man could no longer contain his fury. Enraged, he roared:
“Don’t listen to her nonsense! Burn the witch! She used her wicked powers to seduce me, to trap my heart—I can’t stop thinking about her day and night! She’s a witch! Burn her! Burn the witch!”
Following his shouting, the surrounding villagers raised their torches high and joined in the chant:
“Burn the witch! Burn the witch!”
Then, amid the girl’s desperate sobbing, the crowd began hurling their torches forward. Flames roared up in an instant.
The girl was engulfed in utter despair. She knew she had no power to change her fate—to escape being burned alive. Her eyes filled with hatred as she locked her gaze on the young man and his pig-like mother.
“Hahaha! I am a witch! I’d rather be one! Jack, I curse you! Even if I go to hell, I’ll never forgive you!”
“And the rest of you—I curse you all to die miserable deaths! Hahahaha!”
The flames grew more violent. Her curses mixed with her tortured wails and the raging fire.
Someone in the crowd murmured:
“Tilia cursed our town before she died… What should we do? Should we bring a priest to dispel the curse?”
“You got money to hire a priest?”
“Then what do we do about the curse?”
“You really believe Tilia was a witch? You’re an idiot. Can’t you tell? This was all Jack’s revenge because she rejected him!”
“What? If she wasn’t a witch, why didn’t anyone stop them? This is murder!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down! What could we have done? If anyone found out, we’d be labeled as accomplices of a witch.”
Su Ning watched the whole scene unfold with an expressionless face. She couldn’t help but feel a little rueful.
Looking at the man named Jack, she was truly speechless. He was the epitome of a self-absorbed, delusional man. Rejected once, and he lashed out in petty revenge.
Absolutely disgusting.
She noticed the freckled girl beside her—her body was trembling slightly.
But since the girl didn’t speak, Su Ning stayed silent too.
The fire continued to blaze, and the girl at its center soon fell completely still.
The freckled girl clenched her jaw and turned away. Su Ning followed her quietly.
They slipped through the crowd and entered a narrow alleyway.
At a small doorway, the freckled girl quickly opened the door and said:
“Hurry in!”
Su Ning stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, she saw bundles of dried plants and countless jars and bottles. At first glance, it looked like a flower shop, but the herbal aroma in the air told Su Ning otherwise.
The freckled girl set down the basket she had been carrying. It was filled with herbs she had picked from the mountains outside town.
Su Ning activated her Appraisal Eye—just as she thought, they were all medicinal herbs.
Then the girl suddenly said bluntly:
“You’re a witch!”
Su Ning didn’t deny it. With her special abilities, being mistaken for a witch wasn’t exactly surprising.
Because of her Scavenger’s Eye, the girl’s profile immediately appeared before her:
[Native: Eliza]
Talent:
Witchcraft – Possesses the ability to perform witchcraft.
Skills:
Potion-making
Witch Summoning
Energy Attacks
Energy Perception.
So this girl was likely a true witch.
Su Ning looked at her and said:
“What makes you think I’m a witch? I’m male.”
Since she knew this instance involved hunting witches, she had disguised herself as a man.
Eliza said:
“Then your disguise isn’t very convincing. You don’t carry a man’s aura at all.”
Su Ning: “…”
She hadn’t expected to be exposed because she wasn’t masculine enough.
Eliza added:
“That’s not the only reason. I saw it—the moment you used your powers.”
Her tone carried faint anger.
“You’d best leave this town as soon as possible. If anyone else notices, you’ll end up just like that girl—burned alive.”
Su Ning replied:
“Oh? Leave? Then why haven’t you left?”
She couldn’t quite understand.
Eliza paused before answering:
“I’m not like you. I can’t leave—at least not yet.”
Su Ning didn’t press further. Respecting others’ fates had always been her way. Besides, it had nothing to do with her.
Her only goal in this instance was to survive seven days.
It seemed easy—but it was far from it. If Su Ning didn’t have her ability to absorb poison through Scavenger’s Venom, she would’ve been killed by the Sleeping Poison right at the start of the instance.
Even if she survived that by some miracle, she’d still face a deadly attack from the priest.
A combo like that would’ve killed any ordinary player instantly.
This instance was especially dangerous for women—any mistake would result in being accused of witchcraft. And once accused, no one would listen to reason. All it took was one finger pointed your way, and you’d be burned.
Eliza turned to Su Ning and said:
“Here, you can remove your disguise. People rarely come to this place.”
Hearing that, Su Ning deactivated her disguise skill.
Her true appearance was revealed before Eliza.
The moment Eliza saw Su Ning’s black hair and black eyes, her expression twisted into horror.
She pointed at Su Ning, trembling:
“T-The Venom Witch…!”
Then, without hesitation, she prepared to launch an energy attack at Su Ning.
Su Ning hadn’t expected this at all. Just seconds ago, they were having a calm conversation—and now Eliza was attacking the moment she saw her face?
She watched green energy quickly form in Eliza’s hands, but she acted faster.
Su Ning instantly blinked beside Eliza and used her Spirit Fox Dance skill to subdue her.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Su Ning asked, holding her down.
Eliza glared at her:
“You’re the Venom Witch—I have to kill you!”
Venom Witch?
Su Ning had heard that name before.
“Calm down. I’m not the Venom Witch!”
Eliza’s expression clearly read: Don’t lie to me.
“Black hair, black eyes, devastating beauty—if you’re not her, then who is?”
Su Ning was speechless.
“Seriously? You too? Just because someone has black hair and black eyes, they’re automatically the Venom Witch? That’s so shallow.”
Eliza was briefly stunned by the argument. Then, she began to notice Su Ning did seem… different.
“The Venom Witch wasn’t this reasonable. Are you really not her?”
Su Ning shook her head.
“I don’t even know who she is.”
That shocked Eliza even more.
“You’ve never even heard of the Venom Witch?”
