Chapter 24: Endless Darkness
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As Liu Chuan and the rest walked on the road, they saw a winding path in front of them. It was silent and desolate.
The road ahead was dark and unpredictable.
The powerful flashlights in their hands were unable to penetrate the thick black fog and could only illuminate a few meters around them.
The darkness was unfathomable.
The expressions of Liu Chuan and the others were unsightly. They had already walked on the completely dark path for almost 10 hours.
At first, it was still alright. Although the surroundings were dark, they could still see the path ahead.
However, the further they walked, the darker and narrower the path became.
At this moment, this path was so narrow that only one person was allowed to walk on it. At this moment, Liu Chuan had already summoned Dogshit to scout ahead while he walked behind. Lin Sisi and Wu Zhixin walked in the middle. Wu Zhixin held Lin Sisi's arm and looked a little dispirited.
As for Monkey, he walked alone at the back of the group.
Liu Chuan had tried to leave this path, wishing to see what would happen if he continued into the darkness.
In the end, once they entered the darkness, Liu Chuan was instantly lost. His mind went blank. Luckily, he grabbed the other people's hands. When they saw this, they quickly pulled Liu Chuan back.
Liu Chuan, who had come back to his senses, had a lingering fear. His body was already covered in cold sweat. After stepping into the darkness, he seemed to have lost consciousness. Even his body started to lose control. Fortunately, he was pulled back in time.
…
"Brother Chuan, don't you think the flashlight is even darker than before? If we continue like this, we might not even be able to use the flashlight, right?" Monkey, who was walking at the back, felt flustered.
"I don't know either." Liu Chuan shook his head helplessly before continuing, "Everyone, hold on to the clothes of the person in front of you. Don't let go. Lin Sisi, hold on to me. Monkey, hold on to Wu Zhixin. Don't fall behind."
Wu Zhixin's heart began to beat again as she anxiously said, "Why… Why don't we turn back?"
Even Liu Chuan and the others wanted to retreat, let alone Wu Zhixin.
"That won't do. I've already asked Dogshit to give it a try. We seem to be walking on the same path, but there are actually many forks. It's just that we can't see them. If we go back now, we might really be trapped here forever." Liu Chuan's expression was ugly, but he still told the truth in the end.
Previously, Liu Chuan had already felt that there was something wrong with this path. When they were resting, he secretly summoned Dogshit, who tried to return the way they came from. However, Dogshit got lost not long after. Dogshit followed the fork in the road and entered the darkness.
Fortunately, the connection between master and servant was still there. Liu Chuan could only bring Dogshit back by undoing the summoning and resummoning Dogshit. If anyone else had gone back, they might never have been able to return.
Everyone became silent. Right now, they had no way out, so they could only bury their heads and continue forward, hoping that this way, they could reach the end.
Liu Chuan asked Monkey, who was at the back, "Monkey, how are things on your side? Is anything going on?"
Now, his visibility was getting lower and lower. The range of visibility had reduced from a few meters to dozens of centimeters. Although there were only a few people between them, Liu Chuan could no longer see Monkey when he turned his head.
There was no response!
"Monkey, Monkey! Wu Zhixin, quickly take a look at Monkey behind you!" After waiting for a few seconds, Liu Chuan turned anxious when he realized that Monkey did not respond.
"I, I don't know. Monkey, he, he disappeared. I don't know when he disappeared." Only then did Wu Zhixin realize that Monkey had disappeared. Her face was ashen, and her voice sounded like she was crying. As she spoke, she tightened his grip on Lin Sisi's clothes.
She did not want to leave anymore.
Wu Zhixin wasn't that afraid of these ferocious beasts, but the fear brought by this mysterious and unknown power was incomparable to these beasts.
Meanwhile, Liu Chuan and Lin Sisi's expressions could no longer be described as ugly. The fact that a person had disappeared without anyone noticing was a huge blow to their spirits.
"Go, continue forward. Staying here is truly hopeless." Liu Chuan clenched his teeth, determined to continue.
"Zhixin, don't be afraid. You come in the middle. You hold onto Liu Chuan, I'll go to the back." Although Lin Sisi was also a woman, she was willing to walk to the back to take care of Wu Zhixin.
As soon as Lin Sisi finished speaking, she pulled Wu Zhixin between them, not giving her a chance to reject.
"T—Thank you."
Wu Zhixin felt a little ashamed.
She had not made any moves along the way, so everyone did not know Wu Zhixin's strength. Actually, Wu Zhixin had long been an extreme quasi-martial artist, but she did not like to fight and only liked to eat.
Thus, after so long, no one knew that Wu Zhixin was actually an extreme quasi-martial artist.
Liu Chuan solemnly said, "She's held onto me."
Liu Chuan didn't say much about Lin Sisi's actions. They were actually very grateful to this chubby little sister.
If not for the food that Wu Zhixin had generously provided, they would not have been able to live so comfortably. They might even have starved to death in the ruins.
He was also secretly blaming himself. After all, he was the one who had suggested for them to come here. If they had stayed in the main palace to learn sword techniques, it might not have been worse than now.
He was too confident. He thought that with the help of the system, he could solve any problem. Only now did he realize how weak he was and how ridiculous his previous thoughts were.
He was helpless now.
Although Wu Zhixin was extremely afraid, she was more afraid of being left alone. She could only suppress her fear and follow Liu Chuan.
Although Liu Chuan blamed himself, Lin Sisi and Wu Zhixin both knew that this wasn't Liu Chuan's fault. They really couldn't stay in the palace forever.
If they continued to stay here and did not find a way out, there would come a day when they would run out of ammunition and food.
It was only a matter of time before they embarked on this path.
"Calm down, calm down. What should I do? How can we get out?" Liu Chuan asked himself over and over again in his heart, reminding himself to calm down.
But how could he find the answer?
…
"Sisi? Sisi! Liu Chuan, Sisi… She's gone too…" Wu Zhi's heart skipped a beat when she felt the grip on her clothes lighten. Then, she reached her hand out and realized that there was no one there.
When Liu Chuan heard Wu Zhixin's words, his heart trembled.
Another person had disappeared silently.
It was as if a huge and heavy fog had come over and ruthlessly pressed down on their hearts.
Liu Chuan didn't say anything else. He didn't know what to say anymore.
The two of them stood rooted to the ground. At this point, they could no longer see their own hands. The omnipresent darkness seemed to grip their throats, making it hard for them to breathe.
Liu Chuan put away the flashlight as it was useless now. The light from the flashlight would be devoured by the surrounding darkness the moment it was released.
"Roar, roar!"
Just as Liu Chuan was about to fall into despair, he heard Dogshit barking.
"Do you mean you can still see the road?" Liu Chuan sensed Dogshit's and was instantly delighted. There was still a chance!
Dogshit replied, "Roar, roar!"
After Dogshit howled, it turned around and walked forward. Although Liu Chuan could not see the road clearly, he could sense Dogshit's location. He could still barely walk like this.
"Come up, I'll carry you." Liu Chuan considered Wu Zhixin's inability to see and was afraid that she would be alone, so he would definitely carry her.
This was not the time to be pretentious. As soon as Liu Chuan bent over, Wu Zhixin's heart jumped.
Oh, she was indeed rather heavy…
After an unknown period of time, Liu Chuan had completely lost his sense of direction and was completely relying on Dogshit to lead the way.
"Roar, roar…"
Dogshit's barking sounded again.
"Even you can't see the road ahead?" Liu Chuan laughed bitterly. He was in a dead end now.
"Take 30 steps ahead and turn left again."
At this moment, a clear voice that was as pleasant as an orchid in an empty valley resounded in Liu Chuan's mind.
-- Gift
received