Splash!
The cold water splashed onto him, making the unconscious old priest shiver.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself naked and hanging from an old tree in the wilderness. The biting night wind whipped against his body, causing the old man to let out a mournful wail.
He looked around frantically, and as he cried for help in the wilderness under the moonlight, he quickly noticed something.
Sitting on a rock not far from him was a tall man, nearly two meters, dressed entirely in black, with only a pair of amber cat-like vertical pupils visible. He was casually toying with a snake-shaped curved dagger, watching the priest with a playful gaze.
Seeing this, the old priest's expression froze. His mind raced, seemingly trying to recall when he might have offended such a person during his past swindles and deceptions.
The man's arrogant posture, his burly build, and the dazzling skill with which he manipulated the snake-shaped dagger all indicated he was not someone to be trifled with, and should have left a deep impression.
However, as he thought, his attention focused on those distinctive amber cat-like vertical pupils.
The old priest couldn't help but gasp:
"Witcher, you're a Witcher!"
"You evil devils, why have you kidnapped me?"
Hearing the old priest's curses, Guilliman, who was sitting there toying with his dagger, merely chuckled like a true villain. He stood up and said in a teasing, playful tone:
"Old man, you guessed right, I am indeed a Witcher."
"Since you've already called us evil devils, shouldn't kidnapping you be a perfectly normal thing?"
"So now, before my dagger pierces your body, before it carves off your flesh, before it drains your blood, and before I sacrifice you to an evil god..."
"Try to guess again what my purpose is in finding you."
Guilliman's tone was quite playful, as if Witchers truly were the demon apostles and spokesmen for evil gods, as propagated by the Eternal Fire.
But jokes aside, the killing intent in his voice was not fake, and it sounded quite menacing.
However, it was unclear whether this old priest was truly a hard nut to crack, with sufficiently firm faith, or if he was simply accustomed to lording over others and believed Witchers were all good people who wouldn't actually harm him.
Hearing Guilliman's threat, he seemed to gain courage. While praying, he began to curse loudly:
"The Flame protects all people."
"Those who stand within the light of the Flame shall never suffer evil harm."
"The Flame cleanses defilement. Just as it burns away festering wounds, so too must souls that have committed evil deeds be purified by the Flame."
"You mutants born of filth and chaos, you and your master, and those sorcerers who wield dark powers, are all poisons of the world, monsters that should be purified by the Flame."
"O Eternal Fire, please purify this evil mutant before me."
He truly was an old charlatan of several decades; perhaps through constant exposure, he had even deluded himself and believed his own words.
The old priest, despite being naked and hanging from a tree, looking utterly wretched, still recited the prayers of the Eternal Fire with perfect cadence and rhythm, sounding quite profound, as if righteousness would surely triumph over evil.
No wonder those ignorant villagers were so easily manipulated by these priests of the Eternal Fire.
Not only were they coaxed into handing over their meager savings, but they would even go hungry themselves to offer their meager food, and were often used as cannon fodder to confront enemies they clearly couldn't defeat.
Guilliman found it amusing. He didn't interrupt the old priest's prayers and curses, listening calmly, even memorizing the prayers, planning to study them later.
It wasn't until the cold wind of the spring night made the old man shiver and tremble, his nose running, his voice broken and intermittent, no longer able to maintain his sanctimonious, devout believer facade, that Guilliman kicked the old man hard.
"Ah!~ Ah!"
The old man's wail was sharp and full of pain.
However, Guilliman had no sympathy for him. In the original game, this fellow had committed numerous evil deeds, assisting in human trafficking, seizing others' property, covering up crimes, and even his own daughter, due to the old man's persecution, became a prostitute in Vizima, living a life of destitution.
He violently shoved the dagger into the old man's mouth, the sharp tip pressing against his upper palate, forcing him to stop wailing and preventing him from moving.
His eyes filled with tears and fear, looking at the Witcher as if he had truly seen a devil.
"I'm not joking, old man."
"Now tell me, where are those kidnapped little girls, especially the elven little girl who was kidnapped yesterday?"
"If you don't tell me, or if you dare to lie to me..."
"I'll throw you into a monster den and make you watch as your flesh is devoured by those monsters."
This was indeed the truth.
Since he had already kidnapped this old man tonight, he certainly couldn't let the old priest go back, ruin the Witcher's reputation, and cause greater trouble.
Whether the answer tonight was true or not, it merely determined whether the old man would suffer more pain.
Facts proved that no matter how strong ordinary people appeared, they had simply not encountered truly ruthless characters.
Facing Guilliman's threats and killing intent, and feeling unimaginable pain and torment, the old priest finally couldn't hold on and began to cry, begging:
"I don't know where those kidnapped children are!"
"I only know they were abducted by members of a gang called the Salamander Gang, and they have people in the city guard too."
"Those children should still be in the outskirts, they haven't been sold yet."
"Please let me go, Witcher, if you let me go, I will help you find those kidnapped children."
"All the villagers are my eyes and ears, I can definitely help you."
Guilliman's expression remained neutral upon hearing this, thinking that his guess was indeed correct.
"Tell me, where are the Salamander Gang's hideouts?"
"Any hideout will do; don't tell me you don't know, or you'll face the consequences."
The old priest was clearly so frightened that he would tell all. After hearing this, he dared not resist and spoke like a torrent:
"I know one of their hideouts. It's at the crossroads leading to town, next to an abandoned house. There's also a secret passage inside that leads to their hideout."
"That's where we conduct our transactions."
"Please let me go, I can definitely help you."
Hearing the information he wanted, Guilliman nodded, then pulled out his Poison Fang dagger and plunged it into the old priest's eye socket, instantly scrambling his brain.
After killing the man, he turned and shouted towards a direction in the distant forest:
"Hey! You, hiding over there."
"Didn't you notice, you're standing upwind."
"The wind has carried your scent over here, come out."
"Otherwise, you'll become my enemy."
Guilliman's voice fell, and there was silence from the forest for more than ten seconds.
Seeing that it seemed impossible to sneak away, a man finally emerged, also wearing a Witcher's medallion and carrying two swords on his back.
This, surprisingly, was also a Witcher.