Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"At this distance," Mei Shuang said, "with your skills, it should be no problem."
Anriyan replied, "Then why don't you give it a try?"
Mei Shuang then realized that all the effort spent chopping down the tree was for her benefit, and she felt deeply moved.
Coach Brothers leaped across first, explored for a while on the other side, and then signaled to build the bridge.
Kato passed the tree over, and once it was secured on both ends, Shijieyu lightly tapped the wood like a dragonfly touching water. When it was Mei Shuang's turn, Anriyan took the vine handed over by Coach Brothers and tied it around Mei Shuang's waist, only feeling relieved after it was secured.
Kato stayed behind to hold the wood steady.
Mei Shuang took a deep breath, trying hard to convince herself not to be afraid. However, as she stepped onto the wood, her heart raced. The sensation was akin to walking on a balance beam, making her legs tremble. Although she usually didn't have a severe fear of heights, stepping onto the wood made her feel as if her body was suspended without support. Below her, the waterfall splashed up several meters high, shining blindingly under the sun, and the sound echoed like thousands of galloping horses. After just a few steps, Mei Shuang's vision blurred as she stared down below; her legs trembled involuntarily, and even those holding onto the wood on either side could feel its irregular shaking.
The people on both sides watched anxiously as the wood trembled.
"Look forward and speed up," Shijieyu urged simply; it was best to run straight through with that momentum.
Mei Shuang managed to reach the middle of the wood but found herself unable to move any further.
Not to mention feeling dizzy, there was an inexplicable gust of air at this gap that felt like a wind; Mei Shuang's body swayed in mid-air like a kite. Startled, she instantly froze in place, spreading her arms to maintain balance.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone on the opposite side pressed against the narrow stone wall reaching out to her, signaling that she needed to hurry.
But in the next moment, it felt as if someone below had given her a push; her feet left the wood and she leaped upward into the air. This leap made her unstable.
Mei Shuang screamed as she fell like a kite with a broken string. Fortunately, she managed to grab onto the wood. However, this caused her entire body to hang in mid-air and due to the force of falling, the wood was pushed downwards.
The people on both sides realized something was wrong, and Coach Brothers quickly urged Mei Shuang to climb up and move a little closer. Fortunately, the log was quite resilient and long enough; Kato was still about a meter away, and as long as Mei Shuang could move forward another meter, they would be able to reach her.
While several people focused on pulling Mei Shuang over, Anriyan glanced up and suddenly noticed a white shadow slowly approaching behind Kato. Due to the narrow opening, it could only be seen through the gap between Kato's arms.
Kato was too focused on carefully pushing the log forward to notice the danger behind him.
When Anriyan saw what was coming, his expression changed slightly. At the same time he shouted "Be careful, duck!" he sent a hidden weapon flying toward it.
The long-standing tacit understanding between master and servant allowed Kato to instinctively duck just as he heard the warning. A few pitiful cries followed, indicating that something had been injured. He quickly moved aside to the edge of the cliff.
At that moment, everyone saw clearly that the white shadow was an unfamiliar creature, less than a meter tall. It resembled an ape but not entirely; its fur was as white as snow, and its eyes were red, giving it a strangely human-like demeanor. Now wounded by Anriyan's hidden weapon, its white fur on the shoulder and chest was stained red with blood.
It let out a couple of squeaks before turning around. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it had been scared off, and hurriedly resumed their efforts to pull Mei Shuang up.
Unexpectedly, when that creature turned back around, it bared its sharp fangs at them. In an instant, the cave was filled with these creatures. From a distance, it looked like a white mass moving toward them like a snowball. The small red eyes glimmered like lanterns, appearing one after another.
Everyone's faces changed color.
Mei Shuang noticed the anxious expressions on everyone's faces and quickly climbed forward half a meter. Anriyan extended his iron fan for Mei Shuang to hold onto while Cong Fei pulled on the rope from behind.
Suddenly, a white shadow crawled up to the log and gave it a gentle push, causing it to fall. Mei Shuang's center of gravity shifted rapidly downward as her body slid down more than a meter along with the bending log.
Everything happened too quickly for Kato to stop it in time.
After pushing down the log, the white creature turned and bared its teeth at Kato. Furious, Kato kicked it hard, sending it tumbling off the cliff. He watched as the white shadow vanished into the splashing water below. Turning back around in an instant, he saw those white creatures had already filled the cave, roaring angrily at Kato and those across from him. The cave echoed with their piercing cries, creating an empty and harsh sound that made everyone’s faces pale.
At this moment, all those on the other side could do was work together to pull Mei Shuang up. Suspended in mid-air, Mei Shuang felt terrified; coupled with the shrill sounds around her, her mind was nearly overwhelmed. Yet her survival instinct kicked in fiercely; she gripped the log tightly and climbed upward with all her strength. When she finally grasped Anriyan's iron fan again, she was pulled up.
After all, the few could not withstand the many. As soon as the White-haired Monsters saw Mei Shuang turn danger into safety, they immediately launched an attack on Kato, surrounding him from above and below. Some even leaped directly onto Kato to bite him.
Meanwhile, Cong Fei and Cong Yue had already drawn their bows and arrows, taking down several White-haired Monsters surrounding Kato, urging him to come over quickly.
The terrain was steep and narrow, making it difficult to maneuver. Kato was still bitten, with several gashes torn into his shoulder. He gathered his strength and leaped.
Little did he know that a White-haired Monster hiding above seemed to have anticipated this moment, leaping almost simultaneously with Kato. Caught off guard, Kato was fiercely clawed by the monster hanging on his back, causing him to lose strength and crash against the cliff edge of the cave.
Shijieyu drew out a soft sword and swung it at the White-haired Monster behind Kato, cutting it off. Several people worked together to pull Kato up; his back was torn and bloody, even a tough man like him trembled in pain.
In such situations, injuries were usually hastily bandaged with clothing. Fortunately, Mei Shuang's supplies came in handy.
She pulled out a leather pouch from her pack, along with clean gauze and alcohol made from high-proof liquor. Holding back the strong smell of blood, she examined Kato's wounds.
The injuries were crisscrossed and gruesome. After carefully disinfecting Kato's wounds, Mei Shuang sprinkled some powder on them before wrapping them with gauze.
"Most forest animals carry bacteria; if not disinfected, infections are certain in this season," she said.
Watching Mei Shuang perform her makeshift surgery with professional precision as she wrapped the white gauze around Kato's wounds, Anriyan's gaze deepened.
Kato was sweating profusely from the pain but managed to remain silent. To distract him, Mei Shuang began telling a story about "scraping bones to cure poison."
Kato was seriously injured, so everyone naturally took over his task of carrying things.
Feeling embarrassed, Kato looked at the White-haired Monsters across from him, who were scratching their heads in frustration, and felt a sense of satisfaction inside.
Mei Shuang wiped the sweat from her forehead and noticed those red eyes flickering. Suddenly, she recalled the terrifying red eyes from her past dreams lurking in the darkness.
She was stunned and suddenly murmured, "The reason they are attacking us is that they don't want us to come over..."
As soon as she spoke, several people were taken aback, instantly understanding Mei Shuang's meaning.
Mei Shuang sighed, "It seems those things are getting closer."
She turned around, leaned at the cave entrance to take a closer look, then stood up and said to everyone, "Have you noticed? The cliffs on both sides were originally connected; it looks like a section was cut away in the middle, which must have been man-made."
"Man-made?" Everyone found it hard to believe. The Giant Rock was at least a thousand feet high; how much strength would it take for someone to cut away a section from top to bottom?
"If I'm not mistaken, what was originally connected here wasn't just this sheer rock face but a gigantic tree. That tree had grown for many years, deeply rooted in the rock face. Over time, this place must have experienced natural changes, with the two rock faces slowly moving closer together while that ancient tree lay across them, connecting the two cliffs."
Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished.
"Are we saying we've been traversing through the belly of a giant tree?" Shijieyu exclaimed in surprise.
Heavens! How thick must that tree have been!
"Not entirely. These roots and rock faces grew together, and it's not just one tree. But it's certain that this area was originally connected by ancient trees forming a passageway that was later severed into a dead end. The purpose was to prevent people from entering. If you look closely, new branches and leaves are constantly sprouting from the grass on the cliff wall. But it seems it has been a long time since then; the sprouted buds have become towering trees on the cliff wall."
With Mei Shuang's explanation, everyone nodded in agreement, naturally thinking that the closer they got to that place, the more danger there would be.
As they moved further inside, the narrow strip of sky above gradually disappeared, and the light dimmed. Only sporadic rays filtered down from the large trees overhead. The journey had been quite calm so far. Occasionally, droplets of water condensed from the humidity in the cave fell onto them. After emerging from the cave, everyone felt damp.
Finally exiting the cave, they found themselves in an open area. The sound of waterfalls had long faded into the distance. Compared to the lower elevation forests, this jungle was even denser with ancient trees towering high above. Standing among them, shades of green surrounded them so deeply that it was impossible to discern direction or find a path.
Cong Fei took out a small object and held it in his palm for a moment before carefully orienting himself towards the sun. He then raised his hand and pointed slightly to the right, saying, "That way is west; let's go."
Mei Shuang deliberately walked alongside Cong Yue and lowered her voice, saying, "Have you marked everything properly on our way here?"
Cong Yue paused for a moment, "Yes, I have."
Mei Shuang opened her palm, "What do you see here?"
Cong Yue focused his gaze and was immediately shocked, confusion spreading across his face.
"Do you see that what has been marked is back or that what you didn't mark has been lost?" Mei Shuang asked quietly.
With just one glance, Cong Yue decisively replied, "It’s what has been marked, but how is it in your hand?"
Mei Shuang put away the mark, a hint of worry appearing between her brows. "I think we might not be able to get out of this forest."
Cong Yue furrowed his brow tightly, instantly understanding Mei Shuang's implication. He looked at the people ahead, his eyes darkening. "Who is it?!"
Comment 0 Comment Count