"Don't be so serious." The cat gently swayed its slender tail, lightly jumping down from the cabinet, walking with elegant cat steps as it said:
"I'm just here to remind you that you're being a bit too obvious."
"..." The young woman's originally relaxed body suddenly tensed up, then she stared intently at the small cat and said:
"What are you talking about?"
"Isn't it just that acting nonsense? Even if you're harvesting the lifespans of the dying, you're playing it way too straightforwardly. At least kill one before preparing for the next one. The way you're preparing them in batches like this, the flaws are really too obvious! Even when people fleece sheep, they don't keep shearing at the same spot!
And why do you think that being a Witch necessarily means creating death? Those who curse others to death are Witches, but aren't those who divine fate also Witches? Or to put it more extremely, the key point of this acting is to be hated, feared, and rejected by people. Killing is just one method to achieve this effect... Oh, I get it now, are you enjoying the pleasure of taking lives? Or are you simply just afraid of trouble? Tsk tsk... I think having the Nighthawks come knocking on your door would be even more troublesome. Don't forget, you're just acting."
The small cat spoke these worldly-wise lines in a sharp, thin voice like a little girl's, and the young woman immediately showed an expression of disbelief:
"You really know? How could you possibly know! I've only just started preparing!"
"How is it impossible? If you can counter-divination, can't others counter your counter-divination? Nothing in the mystical world is absolute. You've changed so many hideouts, yet didn't I still manage to find you? Listen to this advice, don't be too hasty, or you'll easily be influenced by the mental imprint in the potion.
You're just acting, not trying to become the one the potion points to. Of course, if you want to become a woman from body to heart before turning back into a man, then pretend I didn't say anything."
The cat circled around the young woman, occasionally lifting its head to glance at the underside of her skirt, then making "tsk tsk" sounds.
Regarding the cat's roguish behavior, the young woman didn't get angry. She simply sat back down on the chair in front of the vanity table, and despite being in a position of height advantage, she asked in a somewhat weak voice:
"Do I really have a chance to turn back into a man?"
"Stop playing the victim with me. I've made it very clear to you before. Except for the Monster pathway – that orphan sequence – all Beyonder pathways have at least one adjacent pathway. And adjacent pathways can be switched when advancing from Sequence 5 to Sequence 4. Coincidentally, the Sequence 4 of a certain pathway adjacent to the Assassin pathway allows females to become males." The cat easily climbed onto the vanity table, maintaining the same height level as the young woman, and continued:
"I'm just your transaction partner, not your sugar daddy, and I have no intention of sampling the taste of a Demoness. So if you want more intelligence, please pay me the corresponding compensation, or simply find a way to verify it yourself."
"I helped you obtain that Fourth Epoch notebook before! That was a high-level Beyonder item that could substitute for Beyonder materials!" the young woman said with wide eyes. The cat disdainfully flicked its tail:
"Milady, speak with a touch of conscience, won't you? I told you exactly where to hide and when to strike. You just went out and picked up the spoils when the other parties were mutually wounded. Getting a method of acting as a Pleasure Demoness that doesn't violate your male thinking patterns was already quite generous, not to mention I just gave you the core of Witch acting for free!"
"Huff..." The young woman listened to the cat's words, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. After repeating this several times, she finally adjusted her mindset and stared at the cat, saying:
"Speak up, what will it take for you to tell me the name of the pathway adjacent to the current pathway, and what exactly that Sequence 4 is."
"What else do you have left to trade?" The cat disdainfully tilted its head, its gaze scanning back and forth over the young woman's body, as if thinking about what remaining value could still be extracted.
"The potion formulas of the Assassin pathway, from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7." The young woman stared at the black cat before her, speaking with a solemn tone. The cat turned its head, revealing a humanized smile, "Do you think I lack potions formula?"
"You can use them to cultivate subordinates." The young woman looked directly into the cat's eyes, "The versatility of Assassin potions is top-tier among all potions, whether in terms of functionality or... sexually."
"..." The cat listened to the young woman's words and fell into brief silence for a moment. After a while, it raised its head and said:
"Alright, consider it an investment. Write down the formulas. My credibility should be decent enough."
This time the young woman didn't delay. She picked up a pen from the table and started writing swiftly.
The cat watched the text the young woman was writing, while on the other side, Snow was simultaneously copying the formula's contents.
"This potion formula is real." Snow silently recited in his heart while communicating with his spirituality, flipping a gold coin high into the air. As it landed heads up, the cat on the other side also smiled—
"Very good, then the transaction is established. The sequence adjacent to the Assassin pathway is the Hunter pathway, and the Sequence 4 is called Iron-blooded Knight."
"Iron-blooded Knight?" The young woman nodded but still stared at the cat, saying:
"What about the bonus?"
"Huh?" The cat showed a puzzled expression, but the young woman said seriously:
"Don't you always give bonuses when trading with you?"
"Please, I give you bonuses because I'm in a good mood, not because transactions necessarily come with bonuses!" The cat helplessly spread its front paws, but the young woman squinted and said:
"So? Do you have one or not?"
"No!" The cat tilted its head to one side, but the young woman suddenly stood up, lifting the corners of her skirt with both hands: "Then wouldn't it be that if I make you feel better, you'd give me a bonus?"
"Put away your affected tricks! I'm currently a cat, so human female seduction doesn't work on me! And when seducing someone, at least expose something. Your way of lifting that doesn't even go past the knees shows no sincerity whatsoever!" The cat disdainfully glanced at this transformation expert, and after seeing her face obviously starting to flush red, it changed the subject:
"One complete set of Assassin potion materials, and I'll tell you some secrets closely related to the Demoness Sect, and I'll also throw in an Iron-blooded Knight's identity. Of course, since they're a demigod after all, whether you can hunt them is your own business."
"Closely related to me?" The young woman didn't pay attention to the so-called Iron-blooded Knight position, but focused on the "closely related" part.
Since the night she became a Witch and first encountered this cat, they had conducted many transactions. Although this cat had a despicably bad personality, its credibility was quite good. Since it said it was closely related to herself, the problem probably wouldn't be small.
"Mm, simply put, it's about why the Demoness Sect is so obsessed with feeding men Assassin potions. By the way, you're currently their most satisfactory creation!"
Hearing the deliberately emphasized word "creation," the young woman immediately felt a bad premonition in her heart. She nodded and said:
"Assassin potion materials aren't rare. The black market in Tingen should be able to get them, and even if they happen to be unavailable, I can requisition them from the Demoness Sect under the pretense of cultivating subordinates. At the latest in three days, let's arrange a meeting place..."
"You can sacrifice to my Lord..."
"No, either give me an address or come get them yourself!" The young woman firmly refused the cat's suggestion. The cat spread its paws helplessly:
"Is praying to my Lord really that unacceptable?"
"An evil god that no one has ever heard of—even a mysticism novice wouldn't pray to them lightly, right?"
PS1: The original work specifically mentioned that the Ancient Gods era was because there was no concept of sequences, so they would randomly devour Beyonder characteristics with similar abilities. For example, after having the Demoness pathway's ice powers, they would go devour Living Corpse characteristics, or because of having the Chanter pathway's notarization abilities, they would devour Arbiter pathway characteristics, Monster pathway devouring Seer pathway characteristics, etc.
(End of Chapter)