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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 29: Clinging to a Leg
Lime turned me over to face him and asked, "What did you see?"
"A child, a child who looks like they died not long ago." I answered while looking elsewhere; it took a lot of courage to look at his bloodied face.
"And what else?" he asked.
"Also, you're bleeding from your Seven Holes. Are you okay?" After I said this, Lime climbed off me and sat beside me, saying, "What you saw is mostly an illusion, but not entirely."
An illusion? I sat up in confusion, feeling something strange inside. I looked at his still bleeding face and asked, "Did you see anything?"
Lime shook his head, his voice calm as ever: "I think we are lost."
"Lost!?" I looked at him in disbelief and immediately asked, "Did you not prepare adequately before calling me here?"
Lime honestly replied, "No, there’s really no need to prepare for coming here."
"But... which tomb are we supposed to go to? Can you find it?" I realized my tongue was almost tied. Although I had done some research on the Heizhugou path before coming here and knew it was very dangerous and easy to get lost, I never expected that Lime would bring me in without any preparation!
Just as Lime was about to speak, several gunshots suddenly rang out from the forest. Birds and insects were startled; the once quiet night became noisy as if the forest had come alive. I immediately got up from the ground and looked toward the direction of the gunfire, asking, "It seems like it's not far from us? Should we go take a look?"
Lime's eternally delicate face showed a slight change, and with a cold laugh, he said, "They really have come."
"They?" I looked at Lime in confusion. Could he know who fired the gun?
"Let's go." Without waiting for me to ask further, Lime walked toward the direction of the gunfire. Although I was curious about the origins of those people, I followed behind Lime, pondering their identities and what could have happened that made them shoot in the middle of the night.
As I was thinking, I suddenly felt something cold wrap around my thigh. The chill seemed to seep into my bones, and I froze in place. I dared not look at what it was, but my eyes involuntarily moved downward inch by inch. Just that one glance left me unable to move; clinging to my thigh was that child, the one with a purplish face who had been staring at me from the beginning—Ghost Child!
"Giggling..." Before I could recover from this shock, the sound of a child's laughter reached my ears. It felt distant yet close, hauntingly empty. Suddenly, I felt a weight on my back, and an ominous premonition washed over me. As if to confirm my fears, two bluish-purple arms slowly extended from either side of my neck. Looking at those chubby little arms made my mind explode; every hair on my body stood on end, and my spine felt even colder. I wanted to run away, but my legs felt as if they were frozen in place.
"Lime... Lemon... please save me..." Cold sweat dripped from my forehead down to my chin. Each second felt like an eternity, but Lime did not appear; instead, a scene that filled me with despair unfolded!
I widened my eyes in disbelief. At some point, many white shadows suddenly appeared around me. Some hid behind trees while others stood beside them watching me. The giggling continued in my ears, but it felt as if I couldn’t hear anything at all. I couldn't believe this was real; I must be dreaming! Or perhaps it was an illusion—hadn't something like this happened before?
Although it was dark in the forest, the mottled moonlight spilled through, and even if I didn’t want to see them, I couldn’t ignore those malicious gazes that chilled me to the bone. Were they all wronged souls? Did they want to drag me down with them? I pinched my thigh hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, but the eerie white shadows still laughed around me and even seemed to draw closer.
I finally got so scared that I collapsed on the ground. The child clinging to my thigh had vanished, and an unprecedented fear had already consumed my sanity. My legs turned weak as I helplessly watched them surround me—closer and closer—until all I could see were countless decaying black hands reaching out toward me. This was a coldness and despair I had never experienced before...
"Ha, so useless!"
Suddenly, a man's mocking voice echoed in my head; that sarcastic tone was definitely unfamiliar to me. Startled, before I could listen further, I saw a pair of long and fair arms. This hand was different from the others covered in decay; although it bore some calluses, it was white and tender—clearly human! Like seeing a lifeline, I immediately grabbed that hand. At that moment, the hand pulled hard, and as I was yanked out of the encirclement, I realized it was Lime who had saved me!
I suddenly felt immense hope surge within me; my legs began to move more freely. Gratefully, I wanted to thank him, but he continued pulling me along without saying a word. Having grown accustomed to his taciturnity and indifference, I didn’t mind; as long as we could get away from those ghostly things, that was enough for me!
After running for a while, I was panting heavily, but Lime continued to pull me forward with such force that I nearly fell to the ground. "Lime, stop! I really... can't run anymore!" I gasped, but Lime didn't even glance at me. Suddenly, I felt something was off—very off! At that moment, I noticed that the hand gripping mine was extremely cold.
The trees around us had become increasingly sparse, and I sensed the air ahead growing colder. Without the cover of the trees, the moonlight poured down onto the ground, illuminating the withered branches, decayed leaves, and blackened soil. I suddenly realized that Lime had no shadow! He truly had no shadow!
I glanced back and saw only a dark silhouette. The icy touch jolted my nerves awake. Just as I was about to shake off his hand, I noticed something ahead. Thankfully, my night vision was strong; after running a few more steps, a chilling sensation crept up my spine. With all my strength, I managed to break free from Lime's grip and ran to the left without looking back! There was danger behind and ahead; my only option now was to take a chance to the left.
I was now one hundred percent certain that this Lime was not the real Lime because just ten meters away where he had been pulling me was a black hole! I didn't know how deep it was or what lay within, but I was sure that falling in would mean certain death!
I had no idea how long I had been running when a flicker of firelight appeared ahead. Could there be someone there? My heart leaped with joy as I immediately sprinted toward it.
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