Chapter 861: The Brilliant Solution

After Franca had vented her anger and lay back down, Lu Mi finally asked:

"What did you just say you had?"

Franca glanced at the bedroom window, its curtain drawn, her meaning clear:

First confirm whether the "Black Witch" is watching here!

Lu Mi spoke in a calm tone:

"We're inside the 'Vessel of Fiction.'"

"..." Franca blinked once. "When did that happen?"

"When I closed the door, I was afraid of disturbing the people in the surrounding rooms," Lu Mi replied sincerely.

"..." Franca felt another surge of angry embarrassment. "You still had to confirm! What if the 'Black Witch' can pierce through the 'Vessel of Fiction' via the Mirror World without you noticing?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Lu Mi corrected himself immediately, picked up his "Traveler's Satchel" from the nightstand, took out the "Black Tear" forehead ornament, sensed for a few seconds, then put it back.

Franca's expression softened, and she nodded in satisfaction:

"The matter is this: 'Mr. Star' gave me another task, and said besides the 'Soul-Catcher's' potion recipe and its materials, he'd give me an extra special reward."

"What task?" Lu Mi asked in coordination.

Franca said, slightly puzzled:

"Go to the 'Spring of the Samaritan Woman' and collect some spring water."

Lu Mi's first thought was to consider the purpose of this task, but then he remembered Franca had said "Mr. Star" was likely a high-ranking member of the Night Church's Night Watchers, and the "Man of the Mingdao " could grant others the supernatural power of the "Darkness" Path.

"It's understandable that 'Mr. Star' or the Night Church behind him needs the spring water from the 'Spring of the Samaritan Woman,' but this task is far too simple for us right now—yet he's still offering you a special reward. Doesn't that seem odd?" Lu Mi mused.

Franca thought for a moment and said:

"I feel the same. It's as if he designed this task just to give me that special reward. It makes no sense—we've only met once."

Compared to other "Witches" of the Witch Cult, one of Franca's greatest strengths was that she never assumed every man she met would be infatuated with her or eager to please her.

Lu Mi thought for several seconds and said:

"Perhaps that special reward will bring a great deal of trouble—and it also represents something 'Mr. Star' truly wants you to do."

Franca nodded with sudden understanding:

"The free things are the most expensive. Rewards that seem 'free' often carry hidden prices."

Once she grasped this, her worry lessened.

She believed any problems the special reward might cause—even if they brought considerable trouble—were likely within their ability to resolve; otherwise, the Major Arcana wouldn't have made this choice.

She turned to ask Lu Mi:

"How's your collection of auxiliary materials going?"

This should have been a daily concern, but these past few days she'd felt uneasy whenever she saw Lu Mi.

Lu Mi recalled and said:

"I found one of the major battlefields from the war years ago and got a bag of bloodstained soil."

"I thought you'd go to the camp where Anthony and his comrades were attacked," Franca teased, probing Lu Mi's state.

Lu Mi chuckled in reply:

"Am I that monstrous?"

"Besides, that's not a major battlefield—it might even have been contaminated by demonic sacrifices."

Franca hummed:

"What else?"

"I confirmed there's active magma at the base of the volcano on Shengtikedao, but there's no need to collect it now—it'll solidify too quickly in the 'Traveler's Satchel.' I'll just 'Teleport' there when needed." Lu Mi had spent these past few days using his "Teleport" ability to travel the world. "As for the powdered vegetation contaminated by the Stone of Catastrophe, I plan to make it myself."

As for acorn fruits, that was too simple.

"Make it yourself?" Franca was surprised. "Is that even possible?"

"Theoretically, yes. Don't certain substances from corresponding Supernals replace these auxiliary materials? I have the 'Sword of Courage'—I can place the 'Sword of Courage' and its companions atop a pile of vegetation, carefully replacing consumed items. In a few days, I should be able to produce contaminated vegetation. Of course, this contamination will be more complex and severe than simple Stone of Catastrophe pollution—I plan to consult 'The Magician' first to ask whether I should reduce the quantity."

"That's true," Franca's eyes brightened, then dimmed slightly. "But the 'Witch of Despair's' auxiliary material—'Mother Plague Serpent' bile—and the 'Silver Hunter' fragments can't be manufactured with the 'Black Tear.'"

"No need to rush," Lu Mi considered. "Jianna hasn't fully digested the 'Pleasure' potion yet. She won't even become a 'Witch of Pain' for several days, maybe one or two weeks. I've already collected the blood of seven dead victims from different plagues."

Although there was no widespread plague currently, scattered outbreaks occurred across both continents—some quickly contained, others confined to isolated, closed areas and never spreading.

Using the "Magic Mirror Divination" of two "Witches," Lu Mi identified eight or nine such locations, then "Teleported" there with Lu Jianuo.

If authorities had already noticed the plague and were actively controlling it, he'd take the blood of plague victims and leave immediately. If the plague was still spreading secretly, he'd have Lu Jianuo attempt to treat it after achieving his goal; if that failed, he'd find a way to notify official forces.

After these days of exhausting travel, Lu Mi had largely achieved his goal.

Franca exhaled and said:

"Remember to use the 'Black Tear' to deliver 'Mr. Star's' potion recipe and all materials to Amandina."

"Ugh... when will my 'Pain' potion be fully digested?"

Although her current digestion progress was extremely fast, she still felt it wasn't enough. Beside her, this man was only one step away from "Taming," after which he could perform the ritual and become a Semigod of Sequence 4.

Lu Mi turned his head toward Franca and chuckled:

"I just said—you still lack much in delivering pain to others, and the other person should ideally be of high Sequence; otherwise, you'd have to compensate with numbers."

This time, Franca didn't think of her own pain. She pondered seriously:

"Deliver pain to others... high Sequence... deliver pain to others... high Sequence..."

As she murmured, Franca suddenly turned her head, her gaze fixed intently on Lu Mi.

Lu Mi's smile gradually deepened. He raised an eyebrow:

"What bold idea do you have?"

Franca grinned.

"You have a false Angelic Rank. If I can make you suffer, wouldn't my digestion speed skyrocket?"

"But it has to be real pain," Lu Mi didn't outright reject Franca's suggestion.

"Like... cutting it off?" Franca glanced at the blanket, her smile growing brighter.

Lu Mi fell silent for two seconds, then said:

"Go ahead and try."

"Wait, you're serious?" Franca was startled. The "cut it off" suggestion was just a joke.

"If it truly helps you digest the 'Pain' potion faster," Lu Mi shrugged. "It'll grow back anyway."

"No, no, too painful. It'll leave you with serious psychological trauma," Franca rubbed her disheveled hair.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up:

"I've got a better idea."

"A brilliant idea!"

Lu Mi instantly felt uneasy, sensing Franca's new idea might be even harder to endure than "cut it off."

Franca's smile reappeared:

"I thought of Julie, and how she digested—she'd seize the moment when the target was on the verge of ultimate pleasure, then slash away instantly, plunging them from ecstasy into utter agony."

"I can be gentler—I won't cut it off, but I won't let you reach final satisfaction either. I'll make you crave, ache, and reach the limit without ever being satisfied. That's also intense pain..."

Lu Mi raised an eyebrow, speechless.

Franca's smile turned increasingly sinister, savoring the mischief:

"To do this, I'll first bind you with the Witch's silk threads. I'll prepare more props. For better stimulation, your job is to use the 'Ascetic's' ability and not burn the silk threads..."

"Though it won't match Julie's level, your false Angelic Rank should still let me digest rapidly."

Here, Franca clicked her tongue:

"I never imagined I'd ever do something like this—especially as the one inflicting torment."

Before, Lu Mi had known it would be painful, but lacked concrete understanding. After experiencing the tastes of two "Witches," he could now imagine how unbearable the torment would be.

"This is a hell of pain," Lu Mi couldn't help sighing.

"This is what a Witch is—bringing pleasure and pain alike," Franca smiled sweetly.

Lu Mi swung out of bed and picked up his clothes.

"Huh?" Franca looked puzzled.

Lu Mi replied in a low voice:

"We're going to the 'Spring of the Samaritan Woman' now."

Franca froze, then burst into laughter, rolling on the bed.

She had passed the "Pleasure" stage; her control over her desires had returned to normal. Even though she'd slept with Lu Mi, tasted the long-missed sensation, and gained satisfaction beyond anything before, she still felt strange—after all, he was the person she knew best, and he knew her original gender. But now, she suddenly found this amusing, interesting, and her lingering discomfort faded further.

"Try it, try it," she lay on the bed, eyes gleaming, continuing her prank.

Lu Mi sighed again:

"We'll talk about it after we get the spring water from the 'Spring of the Samaritan Woman.'"

…………

Beside the mist-shrouded "Spring of the Samaritan Woman."

Since Lu Mi had not approached and triggered no anomaly, Franca waited patiently, then used the golden vial given by "Mr. Star" to collect half a bottle of water from the "Spring of the Samaritan Woman."

They hadn't brought Jianna along, fearing her encounter with the shadow of Clarismena might cause uncontrollable changes. Lu Mi planned to bring Jianna in only after he became a "Ironblood Knight" and gained sufficient self-defense capability.

—The higher-rank Major Arcana seemed to dislike entering underground spaces or crypts, but Lu Mi carried seals, marks, and traces—he felt that even after becoming a Semigod, he could still enter the region where the "Spring of the Samaritan Woman" lay.

Soon, Franca put away the golden vial, and the two walked side by side toward the edge of the gray mist.

As they neared the mist's edge on the slope, Lu Mi and Franca almost simultaneously saw a blurred human figure slowly approaching through the fog.

Franca first darted aside, then stared intently for two seconds.

Her expression suddenly turned excited, and she whispered to Lu Mi:

"Harrison!"

That Harrison from the Resurrection Island!

We didn't manage to meet last time, and now we've run into him by chance!

(End of Chapter)