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墨書 Inktalez
After a moment of contemplation, Third said, "How about I go up alone?"
Second immediately countered, "Third, when will you put away your personal heroism? If we're going, we go together."
Third remained silent, and Second continued, "There's no need to discuss it. This time, listen to me; we'll go up through the forest."
Seven also held back their words. By now, night had completely enveloped the land, and the soft moonlight fell gently, allowing them to use the light to ascend.
The branches along the path were too numerous, forcing their pace to slow down. The ground was uneven in many places.
"This won't work; something bad will happen," Seven said. "We should turn on the flashlight. They won't be able to spot us here anyway."
Everyone agreed, and once the flashlight was on, Third suggested, "Let's cover it with a layer of cloth so the light doesn't shine too far; it just needs to illuminate our path."
"Once we get past this thicket, we should be able to see the altar," Wang Er Gou said. Second added, "Everyone, let's pick up the pace." With that, they quickened their steps.
Suddenly, Third noticed a faint red glow ahead and signaled for everyone to stop. "There's a firelight up ahead."
Wang Er Gou's breathing quickened slightly. "What do we do now?"
Third replied, " Second and I will sneak up and take a look." Second nodded in agreement, and the two of them cautiously moved forward as the firelight grew stronger.
As they passed through the thicket, they found themselves in a clearing about a meter wide. They stopped and did not advance further while Second looked up at the source of the firelight.
They stood beneath a steep cliff where the firelight flickered intermittently. "I'll notify Seven and Er Gou to come over," Second said, and Third nodded.
Second took a few quick steps back to gather everyone. When all four were together, they stared in astonishment at the cliff before them. It was clear that there were definitely people above.
Third took a deep breath and said, "It seems this route is truly impassable."
Second suggested, "Then let's go straight up the main path." They exchanged glances as the firelight continued to flicker. The group turned back and began their ascent via the main road.
A few people made their way up the mountain without encountering any obstacles. As they approached their destination, they became even more cautious. The firelight grew brighter, and they could hear scattered voices.
Wang Er Gou tightened his heart and asked, "What should we do now?" The other three remained silent. After a moment, Third said, "Let's not act rashly."
With that, Third carefully moved a few steps forward and crouched behind a pile of grass, but he saw no one. A heap of firewood was emitting light.
Yet, they could hear voices talking, though the wind made it difficult to catch the specifics.
Third closed his eyes and focused intently on listening. The voices were intermittent and seemed to be accompanied by sobbing sounds. After a while, he still couldn't make sense of it; it didn't sound like Chinese—this language was unfamiliar to him.
Remaining still behind the grass pile, he heard Second whispering from behind, "Third, is there something going on up ahead?"
Third cautiously retreated and told the others, "There's a campfire ahead, but strangely, there’s no one around. I can't tell where the voices are coming from."
The four of them carefully approached, concealing themselves as they looked toward the fire. There was indeed no one present, yet the voices grew louder in their ears.
Seven remarked, "This isn't Chinese." Wang Er Gou nodded in agreement. Second leaned in to listen closely but still couldn't understand.
The atmosphere began to feel a bit eerie.
Second suggested, "Let’s hold off on any action and see if they come back here."
They all held their breath in anticipation. After a minute, the conversation continued without pause. Another minute passed, and two voices were still engaged in dialogue.
Second muttered under his breath, "Damn it, we've run into two chatterboxes."
The voices continued to drift in and out as night deepened slowly, bringing with it a chill. The campfire remained within their sight, growing ever brighter.
Several people noticed something strange: why was no one adding wood to the fire? It had been burning for so long without dying down, and in fact, it seemed to be growing stronger. Something felt off, Second muttered quietly.
Seven chimed in, "Could it be that we’ve run into ghosts again?" They had been lying there for nearly four quarters of an hour.
An inexplicable sense of unease washed over the four of them; something bad might happen, but none of them dared to voice their thoughts.
They remained lying on the ground, quietly observing the situation ahead.
The sound seemed to grow louder. "Is someone crying? It sounds like a woman's voice," Second said.
It really did seem that way, Seven replied. Should we go take a look? Seven suggested.
At that moment, Third spoke up, "Don't move." It was clear that something was wrong. Seven settled down again. The sound grew louder, becoming sharp and piercing, making them all feel increasingly uncomfortable.
When Third turned to look at the others, he noticed blood oozing from Wang Er Gou's ears. Third quickly warned everyone to cover their ears.
Even with their hands over their ears, the sound continued. They began to feel a tightness in their chests, followed by a tingling sensation on their scalps.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Second said, gagging slightly.
"We can't stay here any longer; we need to retreat," Third declared. As soon as he finished speaking, they all focused on escaping the pressure and began to back away. Once they were far enough away, they broke into a run, gasping for breath. Damn it, it seemed they really had encountered ghosts.
Unfortunately for Wang Er Gou, he wasn't so lucky; Third suspected he might have temporary tinnitus. But it should heal after a while.
They kept running until they reached halfway up the mountain before finally stopping.
"What the hell was that all about?" Second exclaimed, but no one could provide an answer. The earlier scene had been too bizarre; now that they reflected on it, all four felt a lingering dread.
After their breathing became steady, the group calmed down. "Are we going up again?" Seven couldn't help but ask.
"It seems we didn't see the altar earlier," Third replied.
It was just an open space with a bonfire casting light outward, accompanied by eerie sounds.
Wang Er Gou could hardly hear what the others were saying; his ears were ringing.
"Let's go!" Second said. Whether it was a person or a ghost, they would find out soon enough. The group steeled their nerves and stuffed cloth into their ears.
They began to climb again. Going down was easy, but going up was difficult. They pressed on, the night wind blowing against them, the moonlight faintly illuminating their path.
They returned to the original spot, and surprisingly, the strange sounds had vanished; the firelight seemed to be dimming as well.
"This is bizarre; it's too damn bizarre," Second remarked.
"Could it be that group isn't here?" Third speculated internally. It was impossible to determine the altar's location at this moment.
The wind above swayed the flames, which grew weaker and weaker.
The four of them felt a sense of relief in their hearts.
After exchanging gestures, they moved directly upward.
The bonfire seemed to be on the verge of extinguishing, and there was nothing above. Second and Seven drew their guns and searched for a concealed spot in the woods, while Third kept his gaze fixed on the fire.
It flickered increasingly weakly, visibly dwindling before their eyes. Something felt off; was it something wrong with this fire?
The flames had completely extinguished; could it be the problem with this pile of firewood?
Looking at the ashes of the fire that had just burned out, a gust of wind scattered the remnants. The moonlight seemed to emit a faint glow, illuminating the scene.
It was an illusion, he shook his head, but no, it was real—the dust was glowing, shining like fireflies, swirling in the wind before eventually fading away.
In that fleeting moment of daze, he felt something familiar, as if he had experienced it before. He gathered his scattered thoughts.
At that moment, Seven had finished searching and exclaimed, "There's nothing here."
Wang Er Gou stood frozen in place, unresponsive. The earlier scene had left him momentarily lost in thought, as if time had burst into brilliance for an instant before plunging into darkness forever.
Seeing Wang Er Gou's dazed expression, Second patted him on the shoulder. Wang Er Gou glanced at Second, momentarily speechless, a pang of pain rising in his heart.
Noticing something was off with Wang Er Gou's expression, Second asked, " Er Gou, what's wrong?"
Wang Er Gou shook his head and replied, "It's nothing," forcing a smile that resembled one from the streets. Second turned to Third and said, "I just checked; there's nothing here."
Third murmured, "Maybe coming up here was a mistake." Second didn't catch that clearly and asked loudly, "What?"
The moon hung high in the sky, perfectly round.
Third snapped back to reality from Second's shout and looked at him with some confusion. Second had no choice but to repeat what he had just said.
A heaviness settled in Third's heart; what had happened before did not align with what was occurring now.
Third spoke up, "Are you sure the altar is really here?"
Wang Er Gou spoke hesitantly, "Back when we went up the mountain, the fog was particularly thick. We relied on a flashlight with exceptional penetration to communicate."
Suddenly, Seven asked, "Ergou Master, didn't you go up the mountain alone afterward to investigate?" The question caught Wang Er Gou off guard, leaving him stammering again.
Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, Second grew impatient and scolded, " Er Gou, have you been lying to me all this time?"
Wang Er Gou quickly shook his head and sighed, "Actually, every time I went up the mountain before, I couldn't find the place. Whenever I reached the foot of the mountain, I just didn't have the courage to go up." After saying this, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Second's mood calmed a bit, but he still said indignantly, "That's really not loyal," and fell silent afterward.
The other two also remained quiet.
At this point, Wang Er Gou finally managed to speak clearly. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have lied to you." Noticing that no one responded, he respectfully bowed three times and then turned away in disappointment.
After walking a few steps, Second shouted, "Damn it, Er Gou, where are you going?"
Wang Er Gou replied, "I'm going to investigate on my own."
Second's anger flared as he cursed, "You brought me up here just to run off? We agreed to investigate together!"
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