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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 58: Purgatory Soul
The ship docked at the pier, and the three of them disembarked. Ji Zichen felt a wave of seasickness as soon as he stepped off the boat, which puzzled him greatly; he had never experienced seasickness before. Lin Chuyu noticed Ji Zichen's pale complexion and his occasional dry heaving. She suggested renting a carriage. Ji Zichen, feeling dizzy, rested in the carriage while Lin Chuyu and Shen Bifan drove outside. Lin Chuyu joked, "Brother Ji is so weak, yet he travels alone. Who would have thought he would get seasick?"
Shen Bifan, slightly anxious, occasionally lifted the curtain to check on the sleeping Ji Zichen. "Brother Zichen is just too exhausted," she said. "He was wounded in the back, and although I helped heal his injury, he didn't get enough rest at that uncle's place before we had to set off."
Lin Chuyu's smile faded as she sighed, "Yes, he hasn't had a proper break this whole journey."
Both Lin Chuyu and Shen Bifan were girls of similar age, and they communicated easily. Shen Bifan asked, "How old are you?"
Lin Chuyu replied with a smile, "Seventeen."
Shen Bifan appeared aloof as she said, "Then I'm a year older than you."
Lin Chuyu smiled lightly, "Then I'll call you Sister Bifan."
Shen Bifan's eyes remained calm as she responded, "It's up to you."
Shen Bifan then asked, "How did you meet Brother Zichen?"
Lin Chuyu recounted her first encounter with Ji Zichen and their journey together. Shen Bifan listened with great interest. Her gaze dimmed as she said, "So that's how it is. I never realized the world was so vast. Your experiences along the way are truly rich and colorful, but I don't have even one memorable event to reflect on. All these years, I've only remembered guarding the gate; that's all my memory holds."
Seeing her slight sadness mixed with fear—fear stemming from unknown people or things—Lin Chuyu understood that Shen Bifan had lived in the Gap for so long that she was unfamiliar with human emotions and worldly affairs. Everything outside felt like a monster to her.
Though Shen Bifan did not explicitly state her feelings, her delicate face already reflected an unrestrained sense of unease.
Lin Chuyu sensed Shen Bifan's emotions and quickly said, "Oh, don't dwell on the past. Just open your eyes wide and experience the world now."
The carriage came to a stop at a fork in the road. Lin Chuyu looked at the two paths, unsure which one to take. "Should we go left or right? I'll go ask Brother Ji."
Shen Bifan grabbed Lin Chuyu's arm and said, "Let Brother Zichen rest a bit longer. I heard from Madam Jiang that in this Desolate Central Plain, there's a place called Yiye Mountain. It's very high, so high that even birds can't fly over it. The mountain looks like an upright green leaf reaching into the clouds. Let's find someone to ask."
Lin Chuyu nodded. "That works too."
From the left path, an old Woodcutter approached. He was wrinkled and appeared quite haggard, looking elderly and alone. From a distance or up close, he seemed to be at least sixty or seventy years old—indeed very old.
The Woodcutter, carrying firewood, came closer to the carriage. Lin Chuyu asked, "Elder, do you know how to get to Yiye Mountain?"
The Woodcutter replied in a frail voice, "I've never heard of Yiye Mountain. You should ask in the city; if you go right, you'll see Qingyang City after half a day's walk."
Lin Chuyu looked at the darkening sky and said, "Half a day? Then we'll have to travel in the dark. Elder, what about the left path? Is there a village or town where we can stay for the night?"
Upon hearing this, the Woodcutter's expression changed, and he hurriedly advised, "Miss, you absolutely must not go left. There is a city there, but it's not safe for people to stay. You should hurry to Qingyang City; it will be dark soon, and you cannot linger here."
With that, the Woodcutter hurried away.
Lin Chuyu called out, "Elder... Elder... wait..."
But the Woodcutter did not look back as he disappeared from her sight.
"Where should we go, Sister Bifan? Left or right?" Lin Chuyu asked Shen Bifan.
"Let's go left. It will take us half a day to reach Qingyang City, and we won't make it before dawn. Besides, we can't all squeeze into the carriage," Shen Bifan replied.
Lin Chuyu thought about it and agreed. It wouldn't be appropriate for a man and two women to sleep in the same carriage. She steered the carriage towards the left fork in the road.
After traveling for half an hour, it was completely dark. Lin Chuyu slowed the horse down and said, "Where is this city? We haven't seen it yet. I hope we don't have to travel for another half a day. I didn't ask clearly earlier."
The road was shrouded in darkness on both sides. For Shen Bifan, darkness was nothing new; she had grown accustomed to it during her time in the Gap. "We can't turn back now. Let's keep going forward; we should be getting close," she suggested.
Lin Chuyu felt uncertain but knew that turning back would only waste time.
After traveling for about half a stick of incense, Lin Chuyu suddenly perked up as she spotted flickering lights in the distance. "Look over there! There's light! That might be a village," she exclaimed, pointing excitedly.
As they drew closer to the lights, Lin Chuyu heard the sounds of people and carts moving. "Oh, it's not a village after all; it seems to be a caravan. But there are so many people!" she said in surprise.
Driving the carriage nearer to the caravan, Lin Chuyu estimated that there were about three hundred people. Some were holding lanterns, while others had lanterns hanging from the sides of their carts.
"There's so many..." Lin Chuyu muttered in awe.
As she drove into the midst of the caravan, she glanced at the people on either side and noticed they were all dressed in simple clothing. "I was mistaken; this isn't a caravan—it's just some villagers on their way," she murmured.
Though Shen Bifan had limited understanding of such matters, she found it quite strange as well. "Why are so many villagers traveling at this hour?" she wondered aloud.
Lin Chuyu widened her eyes as she gazed at the villagers slowly stumbling along beside her. To her left, a village woman carrying a lantern approached. Although the lantern's light was bright, the more Lin Chuyu stared at the woman, the less she could discern her features. The woman held the lantern with drooping hands, and its light flickered, casting an indistinct shadow of her figure. Lin Chuyu found it all quite strange.
She thought to herself, "Why can't I see her clearly even though she's right next to me?"
As Lin Chuyu continued to observe the woman, it seemed that the village woman sensed someone was watching her. With a voice that sounded like a ferret's hiss, she said ominously, "Sister, are you also trying to escape to Gyro City in the dead of night?"
"Escape?" Lin Chuyu was taken aback and quickly replied, "No, we are not. But what has happened here that you need to escape?"
The woman raised the lantern to her face, and as Lin Chuyu caught sight of her features, she gasped in horror. The woman was emaciated, her skin wrinkled like that of a two-hundred-year-old person. Her eyes were completely white, and she had a mouthful of broken teeth.
The woman grinned and said, "Sister, don't worry. Once we reach Gyro City, we'll be safe."
Lin Chuyu's heart raced at the sight of this woman's face. "Is... is this person human or ghost...?"
At that moment, the villagers who had been walking slowly came to a halt. Their faces mirrored that of the woman, their bodies stiff as if they were zombies. Ahead of them, a rider clad in armor shouted loudly, "My beloved citizens! The wicked Barbarians are about to attack! But do not worry; you are close to Gyro City! The gates of Gyro City will be opened for you! We will defend Gyro City alongside the Gyro City Lord! You must fight too—grab your hoes and pickaxes and resist the enemy!"
Ji Zichen was awakened by the shout of the armored figure. He pushed aside the curtain and stepped out. Upon seeing the situation before him, his expression tightened. "You really dare to go anywhere."
Lin Chuyu said anxiously, "Brother Ji... you're awake..."
Ji Zichen leaned down from the carriage and said, "Now we've really gotten ourselves into trouble; these are Purgatory Souls."
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