Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Startled by the Crested Serpent, a few people took a brief rest under a towering ancient tree, while Mei Shuang leaned against the tree to put on her shoes.
A faint sound of fallen leaves being stirred by the wind reached their ears, causing everyone to become alert and watch their surroundings. Everything seemed normal until they suddenly noticed something moving beneath the layer of dry leaves on the ground. The fallen leaves began to rise slightly, forming numerous small mounds as if something was about to break through the earth.
The group quickly gathered together, backs pressed against one another, carefully observing in all directions.
Then they saw that beneath the fallen leaves, it was as if countless groundhogs were hidden; the rising mounds rapidly converged towards them like a dense spider web encircling them.
Before they could fully comprehend the situation, Coach Brothers shouted urgently, "Not good! Man-Eating Tree!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the tree that Mei Shuang had just leaned against seemed to come alive, suddenly dropping countless green vines that swayed like living creatures, demonstrating their presence towards the group.
Upon hearing "Man-Eating Tree," Mei Shuang finally snapped back to reality and inwardly lamented her misfortune. It must have been when she leaned against the tree to put on her shoes that the Man-Eating Tree sensed her presence.
The descending vines and the withered tendrils that burst forth from the ground intertwined instantly into a dense net, clawing and lunging towards them.
The group surrounded Mei Shuang in the center and began swinging their tools to hack at the vines. The severed vines oozed sticky sap that emitted an unpleasant odor, staining their clothes like grease and proving difficult to remove.
Despite their efforts to fight back and cut through countless vines, any noise attracted even more vines reaching out towards them. The scene was chaotic with vines flying everywhere; aside from Mei Shuang in the middle, everyone else was entangled—some around their legs, others around their arms or waists.
The strength of the vines was immense; once ensnared, they tightened like iron chains. The defensive circle that had formed quickly collapsed. Kato, a large man, found his ankles and left arm bound by vines and was dragged several meters away. Shijieyu and Coach Brothers were flipped upside down in mid-air while Anriyan wielded an iron fan like a whirlwind blade on the ground, mercilessly slicing through one vine after another to protect Mei Shuang.
Mei Shuang didn’t remain idle either; with no weapons at hand, she dodged left and right until she spotted an opportunity to kick two vines together, causing them to intertwine instantly.
Her eyes lit up as she called out to Anriyan behind her, "Look!"
Anriyan turned around and saw this scene. After cutting one vine, he forcefully threw it at several approaching vines. Sure enough, those vines recoiled upon contact.
Seeing it was effective, Anriyan quickly called out to those hanging upside down from the tree, "Quick! Cut the vines so they can turn on each other!"
Several people understood and vigorously waved their swords in the air. Indeed, after a while, the vines became entangled together.
Mei Shuang saw that the vines that had first formed a bundle were now automatically dispersing. It seemed that this Man-Eating Tree also recognized that those entangled were of the same kind, so she anxiously called out to everyone, "We need to retreat quickly; they will disperse soon."
After landing, several people hurriedly ran forward.
Unexpectedly, Shijieyu stumbled and fell to the ground, her body quickly sliding backward until she was dragged to the roots of a large tree, where there was a dark tree hole.
Shijieyu quickly inserted her soft sword into the ground and shouted for help.
When several people turned around, they found that Shijieyu's calves were entangled by the vines on the ground. The Coach Brothers rushed over, swinging their swords at the vines. However, this twisted vine was as tough as leather; when they struck it, it felt like hitting leather but could not be severed.
Not daring to delay, they struck several times but only felt vibrations from the vine with no effect, while Shijieyu was being pulled inch by inch into the hole.
At that moment, they could only drag Shijieyu forward to prevent her from being pulled into the tree hole while two others continued to swing their swords.
Seeing that the previously entangled vines were starting to stir again, Mei Shuang became anxious. "Is the blade dull?"
Even Kato and the Coach Brothers were puzzled; what kind of thing couldn't be cut?
Suddenly inspired, Mei Shuang said while pulling Shijieyu's hand, "Fire! Quickly try using fire!"
Cong Yue quickly lit the Firestarter and brought it close to one of the vines. As soon as it approached, the vine recoiled and retreated into the hole.
Everyone hurriedly helped Shijieyu up and noticed that her calves were already bruised and her pants torn, indicating how strong the vine's grip had been.
They couldn't spare a moment to comfort the frightened Shijieyu and hurriedly ran forward together.
They only stopped to catch their breath once they could no longer see the Man-Eating Tree with its devilish vines in sight.
This time, everyone had learned their lesson; they dared not lean against any trees and instead sat down to rest in an open space.
They exchanged glances, looking utterly disheveled.
After the fierce battle with the Man-Eating Tree, each person was covered in the tree's sap. Once exposed to the air, the sap turned into a disgusting yellow-green color, congealing on their clothes and emitting a pungent odor. The areas of their clothing that had been touched by it were burned and corroded, leaving the fabric soft and weak.
It looked filthy and smelled terrible.
Mei Shuang glanced at herself and forced a smile. "This is strong acid. If we get caught, we'll be slowly corroded in this liquid and eventually become its nourishment."
"We need to find a water source and wash this stuff off quickly," Anriyan said, looking at the grime on his body with a frown. He had never felt so dirty before.
After experiencing such heart-pounding events, everyone realized that while they had heard tales of danger, the real peril was just beginning.
The sky had darkened; looking up, the towering ancient trees intertwined with each other, and the last glimmer of light finally vanished into the darkness.
The surroundings were silent.
The Coach Brothers had managed to start a fire, but unfortunately, the humidity here was too high. The firewood they gathered was not completely dry, and after finally getting it lit, thick smoke billowed out, causing Mei Shuang to cough repeatedly.
Fortunately, Kato had somehow brought back a dead tree, which solved their firewood problem.
The group huddled around the fire, eating their dry rations in silence.
After the fright and running of the past few hours, Mei Shuang felt utterly exhausted. She looked at the others; although they didn't appear overly fatigued on the surface, it was clear that each of them wore a serious expression.
They hadn't even reached the so-called treasure site yet, and they had already gone through such life-and-death trials. She couldn't imagine what kind of dangers awaited them when they actually arrived there!
Mei Shuang felt increasingly uneasy as she stared blankly at the glowing fire.
What would the emperor of the Great Qin Empire think after reading his letter? It seemed they were certain she knew about that place; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent her. However, they never considered how a woman could traverse such perilous terrain to arrive in such a dangerous location.
So even if she had been there before, it might not have been alone. Who might she have come with? Everything she knew was said to come from Chancellor Mei, who was already mad. Did that mean she had become the only one in the know? But if Chancellor Mei was already insane, who had informed her in the first place? Did the emperor of the Great Qin Empire truly not know any of this? If she was indeed the only one privy to this information, then it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the emperor to send her on this mission. The concern was that if this journey was so rushed, competing against others for time, everything would become complicated...
Mei Shuang remained lost in thought, occasionally glancing around her.
Aside from the flickering flames, there was nothing but darkness surrounding them.
She took a deep breath; clearly, they had strayed from their original path. Even the Coach Brothers seemed at a loss regarding the strange occurrences they encountered.
The Coach Brothers evidently recognized that this route was no longer the original one and surprisingly had no objections. This could only imply that everyone tacitly accepted their deviation from the intended path.
What did this signify?
Earlier, she had shown the mark given to her by Anriyan to Cong Yue, who appeared to have grown suspicious as well.
So while everyone around the campfire maintained calm expressions and exchanged a few words, deep down, they were all doubting one another.
At least Anriyan was suspicious of Shijieyu, while Cong Yue would doubt both Shijieyu and Anriyan—and herself—though she harbored more suspicion towards Anriyan.
After all, people from Yamataikoku were inherently strange and might not have good intentions.
Her tangled thoughts felt like an unending knot, entwined together like the vast darkness behind her, with no way out. After nibbling on some dry rations, Mei Shuang gazed into the dim firelight and began to feel drowsy...
After finishing their rations and water, several of them started looking for a place to rest.
Just as Anriyan was about to rise, he felt a weight on his shoulder and saw Mei Shuang's head, which had been nodding off, now resting against him.
The firelight illuminated Mei Shuang's face; her small features were slightly furrowed between her brows, and her long eyelashes cast fan-like shadows beneath her eyes.
He remained still, gently placing Mei Shuang's head into his arms, intending to make her more comfortable. This movement, however, caused Mei Shuang to wake up.
She rubbed her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"
When she finally realized that it was Anriyan in front of her, she was startled awake. It seemed that what she had just eaten, the Jujube Cake, was merely a dream.
Anriyan smirked and said, "Miss Lin, you were sleeping soundly. We're in the old forest of Qishan."
Mei Shuang got up and patted her backside, walking around the campfire. When she saw the Coach Brothers approaching, she asked, "There shouldn't be any trouble tonight, right?"
Cong Yue replied, "I just took a look around and there doesn't seem to be any danger for now. Let's find a tree to rest in."
With that, the two climbed up a tree to find a secure spot and brought Mei Shuang up with them. After a while, Mei Shuang asked, "What about Kato and Shijieyu?"
At first, no one thought much of it, but after waiting for a while without their return, everyone began to feel uneasy. Anriyan remained unconcerned and said, "Since they are together, there shouldn't be any major issues. Besides, it's so dark; they probably haven't gone far and might return soon. Even if there is danger, they would send a signal..."
Comment 0 Comment Count