Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 18: Lost on the Travel Path
Yang Guizhi entered the Water Wall, and the gentle water patterns brushed against her cheeks, bringing her a profound sense of peace. However, this feeling was fleeting, as she quickly passed through the Water Wall.
Regaining her composure, Yang Guizhi felt a familiar spirit within her. No matter how restless she felt in the outside world, the moment she stepped into the Water Wall, her heart was filled with tranquility.
This was one of the reasons Yang Guizhi loved entering the Travel Path; here, she felt comfortable and serene. All her anxieties and unhappiness were kept at bay by the Travel Path.
As Yang Guizhi entered the Travel Path, she felt her body become light, as if gravity no longer weighed her down. She floated in mid-air; although there was a dirt road beneath her feet, her legs did not touch the ground. Many people were engaged in their own activities along the sides of the road, but those she saw were not truly present.
The figures she observed could be memories from her past. She saw moments with Yuanming and witnessed Xi Zu's birth. Why did those memories always seem so blissful? Yang Guizhi had entered the Travel Path many times and had revisited these memories repeatedly, yet she cherished them dearly. She hovered in mid-air, gazing at Yuanming holding her close on a summer night.
This place was filled with past memories that evoked nostalgia but also sadness. Tears streamed down Yang Guizhi's cheeks because those memories belonged to a time long gone. Instinctively, she reached out to wipe them away, but her fingers passed through her face.
Yang Guizhi felt like a ghost; she could not touch her own body but remained aware of herself. It was a wondrous path where she floated between existence and non-existence.
Focusing on the end of the Travel Path, Yang Guizhi quickened her pace as past memories intertwined with future possibilities.
As she floated forward, an unfamiliar sensation washed over her—something she had never experienced before. Initially, Yang Guizhi doubted her intuition, but soon found evidence to support it.
"There are others here," Yang Guizhi thought with rising anxiety.
Her intuition proved correct; Ji Zichen and the others had also taken a wrong turn and ended up here. However, they were not yet on the same memory line. Kai Zhou Shen sensed Yang Guizhi's unease and his voice echoed in the void, "Don't be afraid; focus on crossing the Travel Path. They are your friends."
"Them?" Her intuition seemed accurate, but who were they? How did they get here?
After being reassured by Kai Zhou Shen, Yang Guizhi gradually calmed down and continued to float forward. She arrived at a misty area where chaos reigned—this was a distant future that had yet to unfold or perhaps one that Kai Zhou Shen could not foresee, shrouded in obscuring fog.
Crossing this misty path, Yang Guizhi glimpsed the real world again; mountains and rivers rushed beneath her feet. A city appeared below—Qingyang City. As she approached it for the first time, fear gripped her heart as she witnessed a terrifying scene: Qingyang City was engulfed in turmoil, much of it reduced to rubble.
To Yang Guizhi's eyes, Qingyang City resembled an anthill under siege; it seemed as if someone had swept through it with a massive firebrand. The surrounding buildings were all consumed by flames. Although she wasn't physically present in Qingyang City, she could almost feel the heat of the raging inferno.
This was Yang Guizhi's first encounter with such destruction; it was utterly horrifying. Though she did not participate directly in the siege, merely witnessing it made her tremble.
She saw hordes of Hall of Malevolence Cultists storming into the inner prince's palace of Qingyang City. However, Yang Guizhi did not realize this was the prince's palace; all she could see was an enormous and opulent building that remained unscathed.
But in an instant, there was a massive explosion within that palace. A multitude of Cultists were blown apart by the blast. As Yang Guizhi witnessed dismembered bodies scattered around her, a wave of nausea washed over her, though she managed to suppress it.
After the explosion, the aftermath was chaotic, with strong winds whipping through the air and debris scattered across the city.
Yang Guizhi floated above Qingyang City, where she spotted a distant White Tower. Kai Zhou Shen was within that high tower, and as Yang Guizhi descended, her feet finally touched the ground on the grass below.
The tower's main entrance stood open. Yang Guizhi sought her way up, but beneath the main staircase, ten enormous shadows loomed. Each time she approached, she could never discern their true forms or determine whether they were male or female. Yet, she knew these shadows were the guards of Kai Zhou Shen.
Unable to see through these shadows made Yang Guizhi instinctively anxious. She shrank back slightly and attempted to pass by them with a humble demeanor.
As she walked past the shadows, Yang Guizhi held her breath each time, fearing what they might do to her. Although she understood that as long as she did not act aggressively, they would not harm her, she still could not overcome her fear. Once she passed the shadows and ascended the stairs, she finally exhaled deeply.
-
Lin Chuyu's face displayed shock as she witnessed a giant version of herself. Ji Zichen and three others walked along the Travel Path. Lin Chuyu saw memories she had forgotten; they walked on solid ground rather than floating in mid-air, making every memory appear immense. In her past memories, Lin Chuyu saw expressionless slaves and merciless Corner Guards.
They moved forward step by step, all gazing at their pasts. Lin Chuyu recalled her first encounter with Ji Zichen on the Yellow Sand Plain, then memories of Water Beasts and Sand Bandits in the village. She remembered Ji Zichen spending time with his brothers in Juggernaut Forest and all their adventures afterward, culminating in a vision of Madam Jiang.
In Madam Jiang's Gap, most of the enslaved individuals looked starved and wore tattered clothing; some struggled even to stand.
Lin Chuyu had once been very curious about her past. At that time, she had not fully remembered it; now, she still did not fully recall her memories but no longer needed to wonder. The fragments of her past were laid out before her on the Travel Path. Though she did not remember everything from her past, she was witnessing it unfold.
This was a novel sensation; regardless of anything else, Lin Chuyu had come to understand her history. The memories felt like new experiences—though lived through personally, they seemed somewhat unreal. Sometimes Lin Chuyu wanted to close her eyes to avoid seeing it all but found herself unable to resist opening them again. It seemed she understood that if she missed this opportunity, there might never be another chance to see her past again.
Lin Chuyu was astonished by the presence of her memories in this place.
Similarly situated were Ji Zichen, Flying Wolf, and Xia Lian; each saw their own pasts. Although their memories appeared in the same location, they did not intertwine. Xia Lian witnessed the moment Evil God cursed her; fear filled her eyes even though it was not her first encounter with that scene.
Xia Lian suppressed her emotions and quickly freed herself from fear. Facing Flying Wolf, she noticed his wide-eyed shock as he observed Yang Guizhi and Yuanming revealing his secret about raising Azure Blaze Lizards.
Only one's own memories could be seen; despite standing together, each person could only perceive their individual recollections.
As the four walked along the Travel Path, their expressions varied. After traversing it, they all spotted the distant White Tower again—a structure that appeared both ethereal and real from afar.
Xia Lian said, "We took a wrong turn; this is the Travel Path, not the Spirit Immortal Realm."
Since they had already strayed from their route, retracing their steps would lead them nowhere either. Ji Zichen noticed that all previous memories had vanished from either side of the path; his only focus was on the distant White Tower. He asked, "What place is that?"
Xia Lian replied, "Kai Zhou Shen is inside the White Tower. This path is like Kai Zhou Shen's eye; we might as well be inside his mind."
Ji Zichen gazed at the increasingly close White Tower and said, "Does this mean that Kai Zhou Shen knows we are here?"
Xia Lian did not respond immediately; a sensitive expression appeared on her face. "Logically, yes."
At first, Xia Lian thought they had not been noticed, but she no longer held onto that hope. "Kai Zhou Shen hasn't asked us to leave, so perhaps we can go meet him."
Ji Zichen replied, "Now that we're here, we certainly should meet him."
They arrived beneath the White Tower and passed through the door. They saw ten dark figures standing by the main staircase. Ji Zichen, Lin Chuyu, and Flying Wolf were taken aback, but when they noticed the shadows were simply standing still without any movement, their surprise faded.
Xia Lian reassured them, "Don't be afraid; these shadows are Kai Zhou Shen's guards. As long as we don't make any unnecessary moves, they won't harm us."
Xia Lian was the first to step past the shadows and ascend the staircase, followed closely by Ji Zichen and the others.
After some time, the four of them unexpectedly encountered Yang Guizhi standing outside the door at the top of the tower. Yang Guizhi exclaimed, "It's you!"
Yang Guizhi had been instructed by Kai Zhou Shen to wait for them there. She shifted her gaze from Xia Lian to Flying Wolf, recalling the secret of the Azure Blaze Lizard that Flying Wolf had hidden. At that thought, her eyes narrowed sharply at him.
If they had met in another place and Flying Wolf had not seen that memory, he would have found Yang Guizhi's stare very strange. But now, it was different.
Kai Zhou Shen's voice came from inside the door. "Valued guests, come in. I foresaw your arrival."
Comment 0 Comment Count