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墨書 Inktalez
At first, I thought my junior brother was joking, but then Old Qiao suddenly shouted out, having been bitten on the neck by something.
I immediately felt a surge of anxiety. "What bit you?" I instinctively touched my own neck, but found nothing there.
Old Qiao paused for a few seconds, probably checking, and then exclaimed, "Wow, this is strange... it seems to be... a leaf?"
"A leaf? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" I asked.
"Damn it, I can't believe I'm being attacked by a leaf!" My junior brother, hanging upside down, was still fidgeting. His face and neck were flushed from the blood rushing to them, and I felt sorry for him. I shouted, "Are you okay? Just say the word if you need help!"
"Hmph!" He turned his head away, wearing a smug expression. "I'm just seeing the world from a different angle; it's quite comfortable! Senior Brother, why don't you come up here and experience it too? It might cure your cervical spondylosis!"
I thought to myself that he was just being stubborn; I wondered how long he could keep that up. Just then, Old Qiao suddenly called out, "Damn it, I think I know what's going on..." but then trailed off.
I couldn't stand this kind of half-finished statement. Either say it all at once or don't say anything at all! For someone like me with excessive curiosity, it was maddening. In a rush of impatience, I kicked in Old Qiao's direction and said, "Are you choking on your words? What do you know? Hurry up!"
At that moment, I felt something tighten around my ankle—a vine-like thing suddenly wrapped around my right leg. A sharp pain shot through me as if countless serrated edges were gnawing at my flesh. The more I struggled to pull away, the tighter it gripped me. The pain made me break out in a cold sweat as I cursed myself for being so foolish!
Old Qiao let out an "Oh," and explained, "I just suddenly thought of two questions... but let's focus on this tree first. I once read in a book about wild plants that this type of tree is called the Bloodsucking Tree. The first recorded sighting was in a forest north of Afghanistan by members of an international wild plant research team. According to the book, once the leaves of the Bloodsucking Tree touch human skin, they immediately wrap around and start sucking blood until the person is completely drained. The researchers tried wearing rubber gloves to investigate its mysteries, but the gloves were instantly corroded. To protect themselves, they had to abandon their experiments. The bloodsucking ability of this tree remains an unsolved mystery. What struck me just now is that this tree looks like it's been here for at least a hundred years; we can't possibly be the first ones to fall victim to it. Yet looking around, there are no drained corpses or bones near the trunk. Did those who came before us manage to escape, or were their bodies removed afterward? Furthermore, according to the book's description, this tree has an extremely strong bloodsucking ability; once a person or animal is ensnared, they should be drained in just a few seconds. But here we are..."
We all understood what Old Qiao was implying. From my junior brother who was bitten first to myself and Old Qiao who had just been ensnared—our exposure to the Bloodsucking Tree had definitely exceeded “a few seconds.” Under normal circumstances, we should have been long gone by now; yet here we were, still alive and well.
It sounded like the three of us had stumbled upon a great fortune, having narrowly escaped death. However, upon closer reflection, it was quite the opposite—the Bloodsucking Tree was merely a facade designed to ensnare its prey, while the true menace lurking behind it was far more deadly and terrifying. We had unwittingly become fish in a barrel, completely unaware of what might confront us in the next moment.
The storm gradually began to subside, yet everyone’s spirits plummeted as if they had fallen into a gloomy abyss. The unknown is always the most frightening; just the thought of it could drive one mad.
At that moment, I desperately wished for something to happen, even if it was just a wolf suddenly leaping out at us—at least it would provide a target. If there were no target at all, then anything could become one. On the other hand, I also hoped that this target would never appear; perhaps everything was just our own imagination running wild. Once the wind died down and the rain ceased, we could bounce back and continue our journey—well, at least get back on the road.
Suddenly, Old Qiao spoke up, “Actually, we don’t need to scare ourselves too much. Who knows? We might really be the first ones to fall from above, the pioneers in discovering a miraculous species in China. If the International Union for Conservation of Nature finds out, they might even award us a medal! Besides, our Chinese feng shui is vastly different from Afghanistan’s. The Chinese people love peace, so even a Bloodsucking Tree here is likely to be more benign. Why don’t you take your dagger and give it a try? See if you can cut through?”
I paused in realization; I had only put up a slight resistance earlier and hadn’t used my full strength—not to mention using a knife—yet here I was, scaring myself senseless. How embarrassing! I quickly agreed and drew my staff, expertly flicking it at the vines around my ankle, severing them instantly. I couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated.
Old Qiao asked how I was doing. Wanting to save face since we were close by and tethered with a Safety Rope, I steeled myself and jumped. My body snagged on some branches twice before landing safely beside Old Qiao.
Old Qiao stared at me with his mouth agape in shock. My vanity swelled with satisfaction until I planned to swiftly deal with whatever was on his neck. Suddenly, Old Qiao pointed behind me, his eyes wide as saucers as if he had seen something profoundly terrifying.
In an instant, cold sweat broke out on my back. Before I could turn around, I caught a glimpse of a green, withered hand draped over my shoulder. Its bony fingers were distinct against the thin layer of translucent green skin that clung tightly to its skeletal frame. It was incredibly thin yet possessed immense strength; its grip felt like five daggers piercing into my flesh, causing me to nearly lose my balance and almost tumble from the tree.
My mind went blank; I had no idea what to do. The rain finally stopped around us, replaced by sharp gusts of cold wind that served as constant reminders of the bottomless abyss beneath my feet... That familiar sensation returned—a strange force seemed to draw me downward like a magnet. Everything around me spun as if tossed into a washing machine’s spin cycle, swirling in clockwise spirals. Against my will, my body yearned to leap toward the center of that vortex.
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