I Became a Witch in a World Full of Urban Legends

She could feel the strong malice laced within their words.

They know I’m not a villager. They know I’m not from here.

The soft rainfall seemed to gradually turn violent, and the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly. With each breath she exhaled, she was visibly cold.

The snake-like tendrils behind the Old Ladies began to move as the rain poured; the Old Ladies drifted closer and closer, surrounding her and observing her. Their pale and thin faces almost touched her own.

And she could smell the stench emanating from them.

It was terrifyingly cold and strangely quiet. Yibei didn’t dare to move a single inch.

Something seemed to itch at the back of her mind—something dirty, unclean—was awakening beyond the endless mountains, approaching this village with its evil aura.

Hurry up! What do I do? Do I fight? I can feel it. Something’s coming!

She was frozen, but she knew that if she did nothing, she might herald her own death.

At that moment, the old man’s words suddenly flashed in her mind.

We’re all equal in their eyes. We are servants to the gods.

“Aha,” she forced out. “H-how could I not go to the ceremony? Celebrating our god, the beacon of this turbulent world, swimming in the rivers and our endless sky, our shakable foundation of stability…”

She turned around and gestured, “As a humble village girl, if I participate in the ceremony without dressing up, it would definitely be blasphemy; I shall put on my ancestral dress and rush to the ceremony!”

She was secretly grateful that she was the type of person who couldn’t keep their mouth shut. For a moment, she herself believed in the lies that she told the Old Ladies.

The Old Ladies were silent, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, waiting for their response.

Did I fool them? I hope I did. Otherwise, I might not be able to escape from that thing.

One thing’s for sure: she could see that the mountains and the forest far away had been swallowed up in the darkness.

Something gargantuan was making its way over, devouring everything it could.

Could it be the serpent god?

Even though it was a dead god, it still harboured great power.

Immediately, a cold power rose within her heart, forcing her heart to thump out erratically and freezing her. She tried her best to breathe, but she couldn’t help but feel suffocated.

The Egg! she trembled. It’s stirring… it’s hatching!

The Egg seemed to hatch with the presence of the god approaching. It trembled, it quivered, and it longed.

Affected by the Egg, she could feel her emotions becoming violent with bloodlust, and thousands of strange whispers tickled her ear.

“Accept her… accept her… accept her…”

No!

Her heart felt as if it had been pierced by countless knives, punishing her thoughts.

“Ack!”

The pain forced her to her knees, and then…

There was nothing.

The darkness beyond the village receded like a tide, and so did the terrifying presence approaching them.

The Old Ladies retreated as they bowed: “You are an excellent candidate to become a priest. We hope to see you at the ceremony.”

The Old Ladies drifted out of the courtyard with the deformed babies.

“Take your time!” She croaked out, waving them goodbye.

Now what? Why did they say I was a good candidate to become a priest? All I wanted to do was steal knowledge for myself, but…

She collapsed to the ground and lay on it, looking at the sky blankly with open lips as she breathed in the cold air.

If I had let the Egg take over, I would’ve killed them all, but…

I could’ve lost myself.

She covered her face with her hands and cursed, “Damn it. I’m still too weak.”

She felt that she needed to become stronger and master the power in her body faster.

Sensing her downturn, the jacket slightly squirmed as if trying to comfort her.

The hem of her skirt lifted up and patted Yibei’s face.

(•̀ᴗ•́)و̑̑ You got this, O’ Great Witch!

The Witch smiled at this gesture but immediately frowned.

“You see, I appreciate the gesture, but…”

“Get back down! What if somebody sees this?”

After letting the rain baptise her, she slowly got up from the ground.

The moment she stood up, the jacket shook violently, as if it were a wet puppy, shaking off all the rainwater on its fabric.

Stroking the jacket, she looked towards the main hall of the temple and walked towards it.

At some point, the scarlet lanterns within the hall had been extinguished, but the lantern within the old man’s body still shone dimly.

“You…” a voice croaked out in the darkness. “What are you? You’re an outsider; how could you believe in our god?”

“Your god is very powerful,” she agreed. “And I am very good at clinging onto somebody’s thigh and kissing their feet.”

When the old man saw her deceiving the Old Ladies, the long-dormant hope in his heart was ignited; however, as soon as she opened her mouth, it was doused immediately.

“I’m not losing anything anyway,” she muttered. “I’m only pretending to believe to save my life. As soon as I stop believing, I’m stabbing that thing in the back!”

The old man shuddered for a moment. How could a girl have this much audacity? To lie to their god and even blaspheme it?

Despicable foreigners!

“Young lady,” the old man said. “If you sneak into the ceremony and find any normal babies, please take them away from here.”

“Uh, no way,” she replied. “That sounds dangerous. You do it yourself.”

“I tried,” he smiled. “I really did, but I failed. That’s why I lost my qualifications as a priest, and I had to beg to retain my life.”

“Then… why are you asking me about this?” She muttered in the darkness. “Aren’t you the priest of the serpent god? You should be asking me to do the opposite.”

“Indeed, but…” he paused. “The wrongdoers have been lynched and killed long ago, but the villagers still live with their sin in their blood. Maybe they deserve retribution, maybe they don’t, but a baby? If our god truly is merciful, perhaps it would let a single baby go.”

It was silent for a moment as she let his words simmer in her brain, and she spat, “Damn it, you’re right, but why should I help you? How can I do something that you failed at? I’m going to be honest with you; I’m not actually a god.”

“Oh, but you are,” the old man forced out, feeling his broken bones clashing against each other. “The village secret, it…”

The Witch suddenly felt herself becoming invigorated as soon as the old man told her that she was a god, but…

Before he could finish, his body straightened up like a plank as his abdomen bulged violently, and there seemed to be something gnawing away at his body under his skin.

The lantern’s coming out! I have to…

She hurriedly took out her knife and was about to slash, but the old man let out a final cry: “It- it doesn’t want to be set free. Go! Before it’s too late!”

The ominous red light was forcing its way out of his body, and blood began to choke out of his mouth.

“K-kill me! It’s coming!”

The light from his body was getting more and more evil, and she gritted her teeth, raised her knife with both hands and stabbed him in the abdomen.

And just like that, she killed her first true believer in less than three minutes.

Gu Qianqian followed the aroma of stew near the village, but before she entered the village, she bumped into a group of people dressed strangely.

In pure black robes, often seen in TV dramas, some donned crimson robes and held scarlet lanterns in their hands. Their necks were stretched as if they were being hung, performing some kind of sacrificial ceremony.

There were about twenty people, with four people carrying red wooden boxes made of unknown materials. The presumed leaders played musical instruments; from an outside perspective, it seemed festive.

However, with a closer look, their expressions were heavy and fearful.

Under the guidance of the system, she followed them furtively as they headed away from the village.

They walked through a small forest and stopped in front of a quaint river.

It was dark and turbulent, and the sound of its surging tides could be heard from afar.

She had been here before with the purpose of drinking, but after taking a single sip, she spat it out, finding that it had a fishy taste to it and burning her tongue.

The villagers put down the box they were carrying and began to recite something over and over again, but Gu Qianqian couldn’t hear a single thing they were saying.

Creeping closer after their recitation, they opened the wooden box, and inside, she could see strange, deformed babies covered in strange runes.

They took the babies out and threw them into the river one by one. They struggled for a moment before sinking into the darkness.

“System! What… what are they doing? Are we just going to do nothing?” She cried out in her mind. The metal bat was firm in her hand, and she was about to slaughter all of the villagers before her.

“Gu Qianqian, don’t make impulsive decisions.”

“What are you talking about? I thought you said I was the protagonist! If I can’t save even a few babies, then I am nothing!”

“Gu Qianqian, calm down! Those babies are deformed monsters! There is no point in rescuing them!”

“B-but… They didn’t even do anything wrong. They’re just so small, without their mothers or fathers.”

The system was stunned for a moment. For some reason, Gu Qianqian’s words reminded it of the words that the Witch uttered long ago.

And it didn’t know whether or not the Witch had a tinge of kindness within its ever-evil heart.

“Gu Qianqian, who taught you this?”

“Myself?” she cried out again. “This is basic empathy! System, give me my task now! Or I might… I might…”

“Gu Qianqian…?”

The system was fearful. If Gu Qianqian were to betray it right now…

“I might ignore you for a couple of days!”

God damn it, Gu Qianqian.

Suddenly, there was a series of soft thuds from the river. Turning around, they could see that the deformed babies were spat back onto land.

Large pieces of their chest and abdomen were torn off, and the babies wailed in pain before they grew silent.

When the villagers saw this, they were shocked, and all of them began to panic as they ran back to the village.

“The sacrifices are contaminated!” a villager yelled. “Our god is angry. We are going to suffer!”

“If the river festival fails, then the mountain festival will fail too!”

The villagers rushed past their hiding spot, and Gu Qianqian was still crying, burying her face in her arms.

“Hey?” the system cooed. “Gu Qianqian, I promise you, the next time we meet a normal baby, or maybe a baby with a little peculiarity to it, I will give you some side quests to complete. How about that?”

The system had its reasons. If those deformed babies were saved, they would only harm others.

“Really?”

“Yes, but you won’t be able to receive great rewards since it’s a side quest. At most, I can give you the title of [Babysitter], so it’s your choice.”

“Then, I’ll do my best to save them, and system…”

“Yes?”

“Finally, you are issuing meaningful missions.”

“Is that so?”