Chapter 35: Choice

The blood moon rose on time.

Fortunately, Bai Tang had made it back to the general store before Long Night fully descended.

Stepping over the threshold, she looked around.

The entire general store was silent.

So quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

“Did the Witch teacher go out again?” Bai Tang muttered softly.

According to her original plan, she should have returned two hours before Long Night, prepared dinner, and woken the Witch teacher who was still catching up on sleep.

But she had been delayed by dealing with the Pig-Head Man.

There was no movement from the kitchen either…

Had the Witch teacher gotten hungry and gone out to find food herself?

Thinking this, Bai Tang got up and searched the shelves for edible cans.

She no longer planned to cook.

“Earthworm cans… no thanks. Spider egg cans… that’s disgusting…”

“What are you looking for?”

A soft, ethereal voice suddenly sounded right beside her ear, like a ghost that had appeared out of nowhere.

“I’m looking for… uwaah!!”

The sudden voice so close startled Bai Tang so badly that her body trembled.

The sardine can she had just found slipped from her hands.

It was about to fall to the floor when a hand suddenly reached out and caught it steadily.

The fingers were snow-white and slender, with distinct joints.

Under the light, they glowed with a lustrous sheen, like polished white jade.

Bai Tang was extremely familiar with the owner of that hand.

It was the one who had once tested her depth.

——Her Witch teacher.

“T-T-T-Teacher… why are you here?!”

Even Bai Tang herself didn’t know why she suddenly became unable to speak properly.

It was probably like a child who had secretly gone out to play, lost track of time, and came home covered in mud after dark.

“Why am I here?” The Witch teacher tossed the sardine can up and caught it again, sounding amused.

“Isn’t this my store? Why can’t I be here?”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that!”

It was just that one moment she couldn’t find her no matter how hard she looked, and the next moment she suddenly appeared. It was really scary.

Bai Tang still wanted to explain, but the Witch teacher suddenly leaned in.

The distance between them rapidly closed.

Bai Tang was pushed against the shelf full of goods behind her.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Was she… being pinned against the wall?!

They were so close that she could almost hear each other’s heartbeat.

No… the only one whose heart was pounding wildly was Bai Tang herself.

The Witch teacher’s expression remained completely unchanged.

“Why did you come back so late?”

The Witch teacher tucked away the stray hair by her temple.

Her cheek pressed close to Bai Tang’s fair neck.

Her nose gently moved, as if she was sniffing the faint fragrance of lilies.

“T-Teacher… I sweated a lot today… It… it probably smells bad…”

Her heart felt like it had gained a will of its own and was trying to jump out of her throat.

Perhaps it was because she remembered that night when she had relied on the Witch teacher’s help.

Her waist and legs began to go soft bit by bit, as if she was about to melt into a puddle.

Teacher and student…

Human girl and Witch…

Could this really… be okay?

Different species… wouldn’t this violate some dangerous taboo?

“Sweating is, in some biological groups, an action that symbolizes courtship~”

C-C-C-Courtship?!

No, this… this wasn’t right!

She, Bai Tang, was not trying to court anyone!

“Don’t move.”

The Witch teacher said this while carefully observing the girl’s heterochromatic eyes with an investigative gaze.

It had to be said that those sapphire-gray heterochromatic eyes were definitely not low in terms of appearance.

Especially the right eye, which resembled a gray topaz gem.

It was like a mirror that could not reflect color.

When looking into it, one only saw a hazy version of themselves.

It was unpredictable, like the true base color hidden beneath bright camouflage.

The Witch teacher’s gaze moved away from Bai Tang’s eyes and slowly slid down to the girl’s soft, peach-like lips that looked moist and tempting.

D-Did she… was she going to… kiss…

The Witch teacher didn’t seem to care that the student she had pinned against the shelf was already in complete turmoil.

Using a relatively gentle tone, she gave an undeniable command.

“Open your mouth.”

Bai Tang pressed her lips together, then could only obey and slowly opened her mouth.

Inside was a healthy pink.

Two rows of teeth were white and neat.

Her tongue coating was also clean, showing no signs of illness.

“Don’t move.”

“Ow~~”

Wait!

When she felt something foreign enter her mouth, Bai Tang’s eyes widened instantly.

Her whole body stiffened.

Stimulated, saliva kept flowing from the corners of her mouth.

Her tongue was being…

What on earth was the Witch teacher doing?!

“Mmm… very healthy.”

After carefully examining the inside of her mouth, the Witch teacher gave this evaluation.

When she withdrew her fingers, several thin silver threads were drawn out, making the girl’s cheeks burn as red as a branding iron.

“But on you, I smell the aura of an evil creature. Tell me about it.”

So it was just a normal physical check-up.

She should have said something in advance next time!

Her heart had been pounding like crazy the whole time.

“Teacher… your hand…”

Hearing this, Claire paused for a moment.

She slowly withdrew the hand that had quietly wrapped around the girl’s waist to keep her from moving.

She took a step back, giving Bai Tang space to breathe.

Claire sat down on a stool and casually pulled open the sardine can.

She picked up a fish by its tail with her fingers and put it into her mouth to chew.

“As punishment for coming home late, you are not allowed to eat tonight, Bai Tang.”

Hey! Teacher, did you forget to wash the hand you’re eating the fish with?!

Bai Tang took a deep breath.

Her heartbeat finally calmed down.

Her eyes were full of resentment.

“Today I…”

She briefly recounted to the Witch teacher everything that had happened during White Day.

She didn’t hide anything except for the details of the quest and the Demon Hunter Miss’s test.

She told her everything.

After all, there was still a sleeping Parasitic Demon inside her body right now.

She needed to ask the Witch teacher for help.

Contrary to Bai Tang’s expectations, when she mentioned that she had accidentally created a Death Curse level bizarre creature and nearly brought destruction to the entire Undead Street, the Witch teacher didn’t seem concerned at all.

Her attention was entirely focused on Bai Tang’s current physical condition.

“There’s no need to worry so much. Undead Street is like a body of water.” The Witch teacher held her hand horizontally in front of her chest.

“Besides the small fish floating on the surface, there are big ones in the deeper layers. It’s not as easy to destroy as you think.”

The Witch teacher raised an eyebrow.

“So, that evil aura comes from the Parasitic Demon living inside your body?”

Bai Tang nodded frantically.

Yes, yes, that’s exactly it!

“Teacher, do you have a way to get her out?”

In just a short while, the Witch teacher had finished an entire can of sardines.

She licked her fingers.

“Of course there is a way.”

As expected, the Witch teacher was always so reliable!

Bai Tang’s uncontainable joy was instantly doused by a bucket of cold water the next moment.

“But why would you want to do that?”

Bai Tang blinked her big eyes blankly.

Her brain short-circuited for a moment and she didn’t understand what the Witch teacher meant.

“There is certainly a way, but the price will definitely not be small.

Since there won’t be any danger, why not just keep it inside your body and treat it as a part of yourself?

Aren’t you able to fully control that power right now?”

Bai Tang had almost forgotten.

The Witch teacher was a native of this hell world.

She came into contact with all kinds of supernatural events every day.

Her view on being parasitized by a Parasitic Demon was naturally different from Bai Tang’s, who came from Earth.

It was completely normal.

“Of course, the decision is in your own hands.

I’ll go prepare. Call me when you’ve decided.”

The Witch teacher stood up and walked past Bai Tang.

It seemed she was going to get the tools she might need later.

This left Bai Tang alone in place, struggling to make her choice.

Keeping the Parasitic Demon inside her body would undoubtedly increase her strength quite a bit.

But if she did that… would she still be considered human?