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墨書 Inktalez
Continuing to follow Ye Mingshang's footsteps, they suddenly felt a brief disorientation, but they dismissed it as just their imagination.
"Hey? Isn't that my mark?!"
After walking a few steps, Wei Dong suddenly spotted a fallen Thorny Branch. At first, he thought they had circled back, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was not the same place; it was another mark he had made. He had created three Thorny Branch marks in total, but no matter how hard he searched before, he could only find one, and the other two were nowhere to be seen.
Although puzzled, Wei Dong assumed he had simply misremembered and did not dwell on it.
In reality, this was a natural maze created by nature, where certain intersections had the ability to confuse people and make it impossible to find the way back, much like the Ghost Wall that caused people to go in circles. This type of maze is relatively low-level, but even so, ordinary people can only wander aimlessly when they are lost. Every year, many explorers get trapped in the jungle due to such mazes. The best way to deal with this kind of maze is actually...—not to enter it in the first place.
Additionally, it's best to make the intervals between marks smaller or drag something along the ground to leave a trace. One could also carry a length of rope, tying it to something at the roadside and taking it along while walking deeper into the maze; when ready to leave, one could simply reel in the rope and return—unless some mischievous Fellow untied or broke it.
Soon enough, they spotted a road in the distance and saw a Bus parked by the side.
Inside the bus, ever since Ye Mingshang entered, an eerie silence had fallen. Everyone was anxiously waiting; the Driver nervously smoked a cigarette while the Guide clasped his hands together in prayer. The girl sat there with vacant eyes staring at the floor, looking quite distressed.
With no internet available, an Otaku boredly rested his head against the window, staring blankly outside. Suddenly, amidst the monotonous scenery, several figures appeared. The Otaku immediately sat up and shouted out loud, "Look! They’re back!"
What?!
Hearing the Otaku's shout, all the Fellows hurriedly turned to look out the window. Sure enough, one after another, three figures slowly emerged from the jungle and walked toward the Bus.
Everyone felt a wave of relief wash over them; the Driver excitedly stubbed out his cigarette while the Guide wept tears of joy with a smile like a rain-soaked pear blossom. The girl also sat up excitedly; seeing familiar faces returning safely made her cheeks twitch as tears streamed down her face.
Finally seeing familiar roads and their beloved Bus again gave both young men a sense of rebirth.
As they approached the car, the Driver grasped Ye Mingshang's hand and said earnestly, "Little brother, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, my job would be at risk."
Ye Mingshang withdrew his hand and replied calmly, "No need to thank me. I just don't want unnecessary matters to delay my schedule."
Despite the cold response, the Driver smiled brightly. He wasn't angry; instead, he felt that Ye Mingshang's ability to bring back two people and save his job made him seem very reliable and unique.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it!" The Female Guide came over and bowed deeply to Ye Mingshang.
"No need for pleasantries. You know what I want," Ye Mingshang said lightly and fell silent.
"Yes, I understand," the Female Guide nodded.
However, when they turned around, everyone around them looked at them strangely, including the Driver and the two young men.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" the Guide asked in confusion.
The Driver took a puff of smoke and revealed an understanding smile. "Xiao Li, I didn't expect you to make such a big sacrifice. That's admirable!"
The two young men also looked at the Guide with guilt, thinking, "Did this sister use her body as a bargaining chip to bring that big brother here for us?"
The girl also came over and hugged her, saying emotionally, "Sister, thank you for making such a big sacrifice. It's all because of us that you did this. I'll stick with you!"
"Huh?" The Female Guide looked completely puzzled.
A nearby older woman, with an expression of someone who had been through it all, advised, "Oh dear, the girl is shy. You shouldn't say any more." After saying that, she turned back and gave the Guide a meaningful look. "Child, don't be shy. I was once like you; you'll get used to it."
Seeing everyone's reactions and recalling her earlier conversation with Ye Mingshang, the Guide understood how everyone had misinterpreted things. Her face turned bright red as she exclaimed, "Oh no! You all misunderstood! We are not what you think!"
"Yes, yes, we misunderstood; it's not what we thought, right?" The aunt hurriedly said with a serious expression, also asking the people around her.
"That's right, we overthought it; you all have nothing to worry about," a Grandpa said with a smile.
It's over; there's no way to clear this up now.
The Female Guide looked troubled and then glanced back at Ye Mingshang, noticing he was resting with his eyes closed, seemingly having heard nothing. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then she couldn't resist stealing a few glances at him.
"He looks quite handsome. If he really wants me..." Thinking this, the Female Guide quickly shook her head, her face burning intensely.
As this page turned, the two young men received criticism from the elderly passengers in the vehicle. They were all over the place, talking about all sorts of strange things. However, no matter what, they could only endure it; after all, they had caused trouble by running around. Moreover, having escaped death felt like being reborn; now, they wouldn't be angry even if someone came over to slap or kick them.
Initially, the driver intended to scold them a bit more but realized that the vocabulary of these Elders was truly rich; he couldn't even find a chance to interject. Seeing the pitiful looks on the kids' faces, he decided not to say anything further. He extinguished his cigarette, called out to them, and started the vehicle.
Filtering out the noise of the crowd, Ye Mingshang kept his eyes closed, deep in thought about the next steps.
After bumping along for a while longer, they could see smoke rising in the distance. Since there was smoke, it meant there were people living there. In this area of several dozen miles, only the Miao people resided here; heading in this direction undoubtedly led to the Shenao village.
Not long after, a small house appeared before them. Two individuals dressed in traditional Miao clothing approached and knocked on the driver's window, chattering away. The Driver smiled as he handed over a pack of cigarettes and showed relevant documents before the two Miao youths allowed them to pass.
(To be continued.)
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