Much of the mud on the woman's face had not disappeared with the dirty water, leaving her barely less filthy than before. But finally, after a little help from Han Shuo, her complexion was at least distinguishable.
She appeared to be in her fifties or sixties, her hair ash grey, long and tangled. The carving knife known as time had left a confluence of wrinkles on her face like ravines, and her skin was thin, inelastic, and lacking in radiance. Her eyes bore the only distinguishing colour, a rare green tinged with unresolved resentment.
Her green eyes fixed on Han Shuo, inspecting him as he lifted her up. At only what seemed like twenty years old, Han Shuo could not have possessed such peak strength, be it in the cultivation of magic or martial arts. Yet, there he was, having just defeated her with ease, with no room for resistance.
Pa! A punch flew across the old woman's face. Han Shuo shouted, "I'm talking to you!"
As far as Han Shuo was concerned, there was no respect for anyone, not even an old woman, who would sneakily attack another. Besides, with those green eyes, she did not look very virtuous anyway.
She awoke abruptly at the slap, her heart filled with anger, and exploded at Han Shuo, "Little demon, you can kill me, but you will not humiliate me!"
"Shut up and answer my question or you will suffer!" threatened Han Shuo impatiently as he glared at the old woman. He turned to Karey who was walking towards him and said, "This old hag left a trail for a reason. Cecilia and the others must be on their way. Go and catch up with them."
"Alright. I am forever grateful for your lordship's rescue. Let your humble subordinate engrave that on his heart!" Karey bowed to Han Shuo and finally left.
"How did you know about the markings?" the old woman asked, though she was unable to move.
"Did you really think your foolish tricks would escape my discerning eyes?" Han Shuo asked sarcastically, "Now speak! Why did you bring us here? What are you planning?"
The green eyes glowed like strange lights. She silently checked her body and tried to move under her own power.
"Stop wasting your energy, you old fart! You cannot escape!" Han Shuo scolded, staring at her coldly. He was certain that she could not escape.
"Hm," he scoffed. He stepped behind the woman and began to stroke her back with his powerful hands.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Please, spare me!" The old woman was scared to death. She could no longer maintain a steady mental state and began to scream involuntarily. To his surprise, she sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"I beg you, please spare me. I'm old. I could be your grandmother. You wouldn't do this to your own grandmother! I'm just an ugly..."
"Shut the fuck up. What is wrong with you? I don't have such unconventional fetishes!" Han Shuo shouted. Filled with rage, he drew back his mighty hands, raised his brow and asked her in a deep voice, "You have the Body of Divine Favour?
"Yes... yes. So what?" She had been relieved to hear that Han Shuo wasn't trying to hurt her. But after his last question, she was shocked and muttered, "How did you know that?"
Han Shuo was about to answer her, but instead shrugged his shoulders. He raised his head and stared into the distance, then smiled grimly. "I searched high and low for them, but unexpectedly these men showed up at my doorstep!"
Han Shuo was interrupted. He sensed a twenty-man envoy heading their way. They were men from the Church of Light, experts of mixed professions. And their leader happened to be Han Shuo's own mortal enemy, the Sacred knight Blount. They approached the area following the tracks.
Just as his consciousness detected the arrival of these men, several mystical demons swooped down to eavesdrop on their conversation.
A short time later, Han Shuo's gaze fell on the old woman. With a faint smile, he chuckled, "So you are the great heretic Blount is after! Elizabeth, did you plan to kill Karey and blame the Church of Light? You lured us here to confront them? Very clever. Very clever indeed. You dark, cunning old thing, surely not a good thing."
"How did you know? Who on earth are you? How do you know everything?" Elizabeth looked petrified at Han Shuo. Her body shaking, she continued, "You obviously already know the answer, so why ask? What do you want from me?"
"Be quiet now," he chuckled perversely. "They are discussing their reasons for hunting you. Let me listen." Han Shuo pursed his lips and gestured for Elizabeth to remain silent.
"What, what do you want?" Elizabeth's heart was filled with doubt. This inscrutable young man in front of her had surprised her quite enough. She had no idea where Han Shuo came from or what he was up to. A feeling of unknown danger remained with her, an uncomfortable feeling to say the least.
Minutes later, Han Shuo turned back to Elizabeth. He had a sinister smile on his face. Nodding his head, he said, "Not bad, Elizabeth, not bad at all. Your unique body of divine favour can absorb the Divine Energy of the Church of Light. No wonder the Church hasn't spared any pain in trying to kill you!"
"You know, you know everything. Alright, what do you really want?" Han Shuo had by now listed every single one of her secrets. Elizabeth was sure that it would be almost impossible to escape from Han Shuo's palm, so she relaxed. She looked at Han Shuo calmly, with a face that seemed to say 'do whatever you want to me, I don't care'.
"Such an interesting body of divine favour. Very interesting. Hmm, we are both heretics hunted by the Church of Light. Maybe we don't need to be so unfriendly towards each other!" Han Shuo said with a slight smile.
"You, you hold a grudge against the Church of Light as well?" Elizabeth was in a troubled state. After a constant oscillation between hope and despair, her cool, calm demeanour had long since disappeared.
"Exactly, just like you! A great heretic on the run from the Church of Light." Han Shuo beamed at Elizabeth and continued, "But that was a long time ago. Now we are not so much alike. I am the hunter and the Church of Light is the prey! Hahaha, we are both heretics, but with great differences!"
Immediately after these words were spoken, 'whooshing' sounds began, and several human shadows landed. They were priests of the Church of Light. Two mages who had cast levitation spells were now suspended in mid-air. One of them, dripping with arrogance, said to Elizabeth below, "You shall not escape today!"
The hissing sound crescendoed as more people approached. In the blink of an eye, a group of Templar Knights led by Sacred Knight Blount arrived through the Priests of Light and quickly surrounded the area where Elizabeth was.
All eyes were on Elizabeth. Han Shuo, who was facing Elizabeth, happened to have his back to Sacred Knight Blount. Moreover, Blount was so focused on the limping Elizabeth that he failed to notice that the towering figure in front of him was the same one that had severely injured him three years earlier.
Unable to move at all, Elizabeth watched helplessly as experts from the Church of Light surrounded her. She grew anxious as what felt like flames licked at her eyebrows. As for Han Shuo's declaration of himself as the hunter and the Church of Light as the prey, Elizabeth obviously did not buy it and pleaded, "Release me! I'll take you to escape through the swamps, otherwise we'll die here!"
"Elizabeth, you have murdered countless devout followers over the years. The Church of Light has been after you for four odd years, but has never been able to completely surround you. But this time, this time we will see how you manage to escape!" chuckled Sacred Knight Blount as he looked at Elizabeth. After recovering from his injuries, he still seemed very calm and collected.
Shit, I'm going to die here, Elizabeth thought as she watched Han Shuo remain unmoved while the Church of Light's guards closed in around her, cutting off any chance of escape. Her heart was finally filled with a feeling of despair.
"Huh? Elizabeth, you're acting very strange today! Don't you usually flee like the wind? Why aren't you running away today? Could it be that you want to fight us to the death? Hahaha. With Lord Blount here, you must be courting death!" the first magus said calmly to Elizabeth.
"Enough of this nonsense, kill her!" shouted Sacred Knight Blount as he walked leisurely towards Elizabeth.
Suddenly, a concentrated aura of death could be felt from outside the encirclement. Blount's expression changed and he immediately dropped his foot to look around. He discovered that countless undead creatures had surreptitiously surrounded them.
It was only at that moment that Sacred Knight Blount turned his attention to the person whose back he had been facing all along. The imposing sight of Han Shuo's back became strangely familiar. This strange familiarity gave Blount an intense feeling of unease. Blount abruptly gestured for the members of the Church of Light to stop and said to Han Shuo in a deep voice, "That friend over there, we seem to have met somewhere before!"
"Of course. Of course we've met, Lord Blount!"
Han Shuo said with an evil grin and finally turned around, his piercing eyes fixed on Blount.
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