The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis
Chapter 83: Scream For Her

Chapter 83: Scream For Her

Shi Yaozu did not need orders. Not like the Red Demons did. He already knew where to stand to be the most effective.

And that position was just behind her right shoulder. Just out of her reach so that she had enough room to move, but close enough to catch the pieces and the men who tried to slip through the cracks.

Unfortunately for him, Zhao Xinying didn’t leave many cracks.

The battlefield pulsed around them, soaked in blood and smoke. Her fire carved open the front lines like a blade through silk, while the mist coiled in a wide net behind, sweeping up whatever scraps remained.

And Yaozu was there. Always there. His swords drawn, his breathing steady. One foot following the other.

He didn’t look at her often; he didn’t need to. Her presence was a constant now, like the sun or the pull of the earth. Every heartbeat, every breath, every twist of her fingers shaped the world around them. She moved with purpose. She killed with precision.

He’d seen madness before; he had seen the look in the other man’s eyes before he was completely removed from reality. But this wasn’t it. The look in Xinying’s eyes were nothing short of clarity.

A soldier charged from the right flank—low and fast, blade gleaming.

Yaozu stepped forward, parried once, and buried both swords in the man’s gut before he could shout. The soldier dropped without drama, his body twitching once before going still.

Yaozu didn’t flinch. Didn’t speak. He turned, exhaled slowly, and followed her again.

Deming was behind him now, catching up, sword raised in a defensive grip. Yaozu glanced back once, briefly, to confirm he was still alive.

Then returned his focus forward.

She had just raised her hand again, and everyone held their breaths. The mist obeyed like a loyal pet, rushing outward in a sharp arc that caught a cavalry unit mid-charge. Horses reared, men screamed, and the air went red.

He caught one of them—an officer who had somehow escaped the worst of it—and slashed clean across his throat before the man could raise a horn.

The blood arced high, spraying all over his face and body, but it didn’t slow Yaozu down at all. He’d long since stopped trying to make sense of her power. He didn’t need to understand it. He only needed to move with it.

He had been taught to kill without sound. To fight without presence. To disappear between one breath and the next.

But beside her?

He had never felt more seen.

Not in the way men looked at soldiers or kings admired weapons.

No, she saw him like an essential piece of her puzzle. He knew she saw him as a tool, but there was more to their relationship. She trusted him completely, even knowing that he reported to her husband. But still, she placed him at her side with intention, and it wasn’t to act as cannon fodder.

And in return, he offered everything to her; his past, his present, and his future.

Another soldier lunged toward her—too close.

Yaozu moved before he could think. A flick of his wrist, and the sword flew from his hand. Another step, and the man’s knees buckled as Yaozu swept his legs from under him and drove a dagger into his ribs.

The body fell just shy of her path.

She didn’t even glance at it.

But he saw the corner of her mouth twitch in acknowledgment.

Approval.

He took it and moved on.

The Red Demons were closing ranks behind them now, emboldened by her slaughter. Yaozu could hear Sun Longzi’s voice ringing across the field, rallying the rest. "Keep formation! Protect the flanks! Let her lead!"

A few soldiers tried to fight near them, but none lasted long. Some tried to outpace her. They didn’t try twice. Not because she killed them—but because the mist did not distinguish between friend and foe unless she willed it. And it was clear that she didn’t.

She didn’t need anyone charging ahead of her. If they valued their lives, she needed them behind her.

And Yaozu... he was exactly where she needed him to be.

Shadow passed by on the left, snarling as he lunged into a cluster of retreating archers. The wolf moved like liquid shadow—no barks, no howls, only silence and ripping flesh.

The scent of blood was thick now. Rich. Metallic.

Yaozu had stopped noticing it.

Another soldier approached from behind, swinging wildly.

Yaozu ducked, rolled under the blade, and sliced behind the man’s knee before standing and finishing the job with a clean thrust through the spine.

He was beginning to lose count.

But then again, so was she. And her body count was much higher than his.

They moved together—him on the right, Deming on the left, Shadow pacing between them—while Zhao Xinying advanced down the center of the world like a living blade. She didn’t shout. She didn’t curse. She simply moved.

The battlefield bled around her. A spear was thrown in desperation—Yaozu didn’t know from which side. He stepped in front of he, not even flinching when the spear made a dent in his shoulder plate before it bounced off and hit the dirt.

She did glance at him that time. A brief look, but anything but neutral. "Don’t get stupid," she snarled, flicking a hand to turn the next line of enemy soldiers into ash.

"I’m not," he replied. "You’re just too valuable."

"You’re both too valuable," she said, and for a moment, there was softness beneath the fire.

Not hesitation.

Softness.

He nodded once and moved forward again.

The soldiers ahead were already beginning to falter. The next wave hadn’t arrived yet. And the ones remaining were starting to pull back.

She stopped, just for a moment, and Yaozu did the same.

They stood in silence as the field quieted. Smoke twisted upward into the sky. Armor cracked. Banners burned. Somewhere to the north, the wind shifted—and with it came the faint scent of snow. Odd for this season.

She tilted her head.

"I don’t hear enough screaming," she said.

"I could start," Deming offered dryly as he flicked the blood off his blade.

She gave a breath of laughter—just a breath.

"Later," she purred, her voice dropping. "And if you are good, maybe I’ll scream for you, too." Then she walked again, and the mist surged beside her.