Sitting in front, Rosen couldn't see Annie's expression. He continued, "So, Lily alone can't possibly outrun Viken. What are you going to do?"
Before he finished speaking, he noticed the black horse Lily had stopped. Annie then dismounted, taking the bundle off the horse's back as well, leaving only Rosen on horseback.
"You just said Viken is faster than us; we can't escape just by running."
"Yeah, right. And then?"
Rosen looked at Annie, who then took a clean strip of white cloth from her pack, slightly lifted her leather armor, and began bandaging the wound on her abdomen.
By the moonlight, Rosen saw that Annie's leather armor was stained dark red with blood, and even her leather pants were covered in blood—a horrifying sight.
"You've lost a lot of blood," Rosen exclaimed.
Annie smiled nonchalantly. "It happens all the time. I'm worthless; even Death won't take me. This little injury won't kill me."
She tightened the bandages, straightened her leather armor, and looked up at Zhang Yuan. "I'm a hunter. Since I've taken your payment, I must rescue you from the monster. You'll ride alone, north to Berkeley, the free city on the Imperial border. Go to the Kingfisher Inn south of the city and find a bard named 'Golden Oriole.' She'll take you to Hold'em."
"And you?" Rosen stared at Annie.
"I'll hold off Viken for you, as long as I can. You'd better pray I can last a while. Oh, and this money box is too heavy; it'll slow me down. Hold onto it. If I survive, return it. If I die, you can keep it."
Annie hung the money box on Lily's horse, then turned and headed back the way she came.
Rosen's heart skipped a beat. He scrambled off his horse, half-rolling, half-crawling, yelling at Annie, "Hey! Are you going to your death?! Don't you know that?"
Annie stopped, turned to Rosen, and said solemnly, "Exterminate monsters, protect the weak—that's the motto we hunters uphold!"
Rosen roared, "You're talking nonsense! That's just empty words! The hunter's motto is: fight if you can win, run for your life if you can't! Didn't your mentor teach you that?"
In the game, he was a master hunter, intimately familiar with the world of *The Hunter*. In this chaotic, dark alternate world, there were never any noble hunters, because such people were all dead the moment they left the academy!
"Kid, shut up! Hurry up and go!" Annie waved her hand, determined to retrace her steps. She held both swords in her hands, occasionally tapping them together to create a clanging sound—clearly, she was trying to attract Viken's attention.
How could Rosen possibly leave?
While he wasn't currently capable of breaking the Blood Seal magic—he couldn't even sense it—he was quite confident he could temporarily escape Viken's pursuit and buy himself time to perform alchemy. The reason was simple: in the game *The Hunt*, he had thoroughly studied Viken from head to toe!
"Hey~ Annie!"
"Why aren't you leaving yet!" Annie roared angrily, turning to glare at Rosen. "Why do you always talk so much nonsense! Just go!"
Rosen, however, remained motionless. He leaned against Lily, the black horse, and shrugged slightly, a slight smile on his face. "I wanted to say that I actually have a way to counter the Blood Seal magic. Albert's book explains it in detail."
He genuinely knew, but not from a fabricated book; it was knowledge gained through a combination of the game and otherworldly alchemy.
Annie froze, the two swords she was wielding slowly lowering. Several seconds passed. She strode back, somewhat annoyed and embarrassed: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Faced with Annie's questioning, Rosen could only smile wryly, "You didn't even give me a chance."
"Ahhh!" Annie tugged at her hair in frustration, "Fine. Tell me quickly, what should I do?!"
"I need water, silver powder, hops, and beggar-ticks. You should have all four, right?" Rosen asked.
Annie nodded, "Of course. Hops can cure parasitic diseases. Beggar-ticks can cure malaria. Silver can counteract many monster spells, especially effective against vampires; they're all essential for outdoor adventures."
As she spoke, she took out the items Rosen needed from her pack one by one.
Rossen pointed to the silver powder, beggar-ticks, and hops, and said to Annie, "Add water, mix these together, and mash them into a paste. Be quick."
"Okay." Annie did as instructed. She clearly had some alchemical skills, carrying a small mortar and pestle with her. With considerable strength, she quickly mashed the herbs into a dark, gooey paste.
Rosen stepped forward, dipped a finger into the black paste, and put it in his mouth. He focused his mind, activated his alchemical talent, and began to savor it.
'Hops are astringent, beggar-ticks are bitter, silver powder is extremely sharp, and with the buffering effect of water, evenly mixed together, this is what's called a 'low-grade exorcism potion.' In the game, alchemists usually describe the taste of this potion as 'holy,' ah~ it feels like a clear, moonlit night, ethereal and serene, this must be the feeling of holiness, right?'
Seeing Rosen remain silent, Annie asked worriedly, "How is it? Is it working?"
Rosen nodded: "More or less. Divide this into two portions. Apply one portion to the wound on my neck, covering all the bleeding areas around the wound. I'll eat the rest."
Annie immediately complied. She unwrapped the bandage from Rosen's neck. The green crystal ointment was very effective; in a short while, the bleeding on Rosen's neck had completely stopped, leaving only two black scabs.
"Tear off the scab to expose the fresh wound," Rosen said, tilting his head and gritting his teeth.
"Okay." Annie complied, her movements swift and precise. With a 'rip,' she ripped off the scab, causing Rosen to involuntarily shudder in pain.
Annie immediately applied the ointment. A soft 'sizzle' was heard, and a wisp of blue smoke rose from Rosen's neck.
"Hiss~ It hurts so much~~"