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墨書 Inktalez
"Brother Luo, are you hurt?"
I was taken aback. Just a moment ago, Luo Dachun had pushed me from behind, and the injury on his left arm was undoubtedly to save me; otherwise, with his skills, he wouldn't have been so easily wounded.
Nie Qiuyuan, who was protecting me, showed a look of frustration on his face, clearly blaming himself.
Luo Dachun waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, just a minor scrape. But this thing is strange; it feels like being cut by a knife even with the slightest touch."
"Sikong, let me take a look. It might be poisonous," Nie Qiuyuan said, his voice tinged with urgency, after all, it was an encounter with an unknown creature.
Luo Dachun replied, "There's no poison; we can test it. It's just that this thing moves very quickly and is hard to defend against. If the Hot Spring is full of such strange creatures, then we’re in trouble."
No wonder the people of Tengyue Nation were so secretive about this place; no wonder no one who entered this volcanic region came out alive. If the Hot Spring were filled with such monsters, there would be no chance of returning alive—not even a bone would remain.
It seemed that we had to be especially cautious on the road ahead. I believed that the red Tentacle beneath the Hot Spring was not the only creature lurking here. Where there was one monster, there could easily be a hundred hiding in the shadows—just like discovering one rat at home only to realize there were thousands more hidden away.
Did we have to not only swim through scalding hot water but also defeat these monsters to reach Rehai's "Extreme Depth"? Autumn certainly wasn't friendly.
Suddenly, I felt a chill run down my spine as if some gaze was fixed upon my back, making me shiver involuntarily.
I turned around sharply but found nothing behind me—only two restless horses lightly whinnying and pawing at the ground. It was strange; the horses were right next to the Hot Spring yet did not seem to be attacked by the red Tentacle again.
However, even after turning around, I still felt that strange gaze on my back—as if no matter which way I turned, an unseen observer was watching me from behind.
"Autumn..." I felt my hair stand on end and couldn't help but reach out to him. Nie Qiuyuan seemed to fully understand my feelings and wrapped his arm around me. It appeared he too sensed the eyes watching us from all directions.
Autumn squeezed my shoulder and turned me toward one direction, pointing ahead with his hand. Following where he pointed, I looked ahead and saw something completely unimaginable emerging from the steaming water.
It was a girl about seven or eight years old, holding a Lotus Lantern in her hand, lightly stepping on the water's surface as she quietly gazed at us.
The girl wore a vibrant outfit of red with white flowers. It was festive and bright, but the style was not that of the Tang Dynasty, nor did it resemble the attire of the Former Sui; instead, it had the flair of the Wei-Jin period. Her hair was styled in two buns, and her silky black hair cascaded down. She had a pair of large, sparkling eyes.
The way she walked on the Hot Spring as if it were solid ground, and her gaze that seemed to pierce through to distant horizons, felt quite eerie.
"Is this... martial arts?" I stammered, struggling to form coherent sentences. "Can you... do that?"
Nie Qiuyuan shook his head and said, "If there were no floating weeds or reeds on the water, I wouldn't be able to do it at all."
But there was truly nothing beneath the girl's feet. Beneath the Hot Spring lay a hidden monster that could emerge at any moment to kill.
So, was she human or ghost?
I had always been afraid of ghosts; I couldn't even watch horror movies. Yet this time, looking at this ghostly girl, I felt no fear whatsoever.
Even if she were a ghost, I seemed unafraid. I carefully examined her features; aside from being enveloped in a hazy glow, her skin was like white porcelain, her brows shaped like new moons. Though she wore no smile, her beauty was undeniable—more stunning than any girl I had ever seen.
My lack of fear wasn't merely because of her beauty; it was because there was something subtly familiar in her eyes that reminded me of Nie Qiuyuan.
Could she be his relative? They seemed to belong to a remarkable lineage—and they were beautiful! Oh my gosh, no wonder my idol was so handsome; it must be good genes!
However, it seemed that his family still had members around. Perhaps when we reached our destination, we would meet more of his relatives!
Suddenly, I felt a surge of excitement.
The girl gazed at us for a moment before lifting a Lotus Lantern with both hands. She turned and stepped onto the water's surface, walking towards the northwest direction.
We exchanged glances; could she possibly be... leading us?
Without bothering to bring our horses along, we followed her footsteps and moved forward.
From the Blade Tentacle Monster in the Hot Spring, it was clear that this Volcanic Hot Spring was fraught with danger. One misstep could lead to a plunge into the abyss, resulting in a gruesome demise. Therefore, having someone lead the way was undoubtedly a stroke of good fortune.
But why was someone guiding us?
"Sister, are you leading us? Where are you taking us?"
I felt that when solving problems, most reasoning is not as quick as simply asking a question.
The girl, holding a lantern, walked briskly ahead as if she hadn't heard me at all, neither turning back nor responding.
I was puzzled; this girl seemed strange. Could she really be a ghost? But she clearly had legs.
I wanted to catch up and clarify things, so I quickened my pace. My lightness skill had improved significantly; I should be able to move quite fast if I tried. However, to my surprise, while I was fast, the girl was even faster. It was as if she had eyes on her back, accurately gauging my speed and adjusting hers accordingly.
Nie Qiuyuan and Luo Dachun's lightness skills were far superior to mine, so they followed me effortlessly. Qiu remarked, "Zhenzhen, you might want to slow down a bit."
I complied and slowed my pace, only to find that the girl's speed also decreased. Suddenly, Nie Qiuyuan darted forward like lightning toward the girl, but when I focused again, she was still walking ahead of him.
I realized that there was a consistent distance of about five zhang between us and the girl. No matter what method we used, it never changed.
It was as precise as computer control!
Thus, we concluded that this seemingly flesh-and-blood girl ahead of us was not a real person at all; she must be a mechanism, part of the mystery of Tengyue Atami.
I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. How was this even possible? This era didn't have 60-degree holographic imaging technology. Even if it did exist, it wouldn't be this intelligent or lifelike. What principle was controlling this?
Moreover, how was it triggered?
I couldn't believe that everyone entering Rehai would have someone leading them; something we did must have caused this Guide to appear. Our horses were directly pulled into the Hot Spring by the Tentacle monster! I believed that most creatures—be they human or animal—that wandered into the Rehai area likely met similar fates.
But what did we do?
We hadn't encountered any abnormalities before; everything started when we stopped to rest.
After we halted, they did nothing, while I boiled bird eggs in the hot spring.
Could boiling hot spring eggs be a necessary condition for entering this secret place? That doesn't make sense; Akira's family wouldn't have such peculiar habits.
If it wasn't that, then our horse must have been fed to the monster, or Akira's butterfly was shattered by the creature, or perhaps Luo Dachun had sliced off a part of the monster's tentacle.
None of those seemed likely. As I followed the girl forward, I replayed the scenes in my mind from before she appeared.
Boiling eggs, being ambushed. Losing the horse, the butterfly, calling for help, cutting off the monster's tentacle, getting injured...
Injured?
I glanced at Luo Dachun; his left arm was bandaged and treated. I remembered that at the time, his wound wasn't large, but he bled quite a bit, with droplets falling into the hot spring.
I was startled. Could it be because of this?
Suddenly, four words floated into my mind—"Blood of Life."
Could it be that this area has the ability to recognize human bloodlines? If someone were to drop their blood into the hot spring or something else and was deemed an ally, it would automatically trigger conditions to reveal a guide?
Indeed, ever since Luo Dachun's blood fell into the hot spring, the tentacle monster hadn't attacked us or our horses again. The four-character clue given by Ren Pingsheng shouldn't be meaningless either.
But this "Blood of Life," shouldn't it be used to judge Qiu? Why was Luo Dachun's blood deemed as an ally? Could it be... luck?
Thinking this, I slowed my pace and eventually came to a stop. They both followed suit; the girl paused for five seconds before turning around to look at us with her pitch-black eyes.
"Um," I gently tugged at Nie Qiuyuan's sleeve, "could I... borrow a bit of your blood?"
Both of them frowned, seemingly understanding my intention immediately. It appeared they weren't just wandering aimlessly; they were clearly contemplating these issues as well.
"Of course." Nie Qiuyuan rolled up the sleeve of his left arm.
I drew out the Cai You dagger, staring at his fair skin, unable to bring myself to do it. Oh my, this was someone I cared about deeply; I couldn't bear to cut him and draw blood like that.
If only he could just have a nosebleed, at least that wouldn't hurt. Alas, it's a pity men don't have their monthly cycles...
Seeing my conflicted expression, Qiu couldn't help but smile lightly. She took the Cai You from my hand and made a swift cut on her own arm, creating a thin line of blood.
The Cai You, reforged by Shen Huaqing, was incredibly sharp—capable of cutting through hair. It probably wouldn't hurt too much.
Nie Qiuyuan extended his arm, and as drops of blood fell into the nearby hot spring, suddenly another girl appeared above the surface of the water, holding a Lotus Lantern.
This girl looked exactly like the one from earlier—equally lively, beautiful, and ethereal. I turned to look back at the girl who had been leading us; she was still standing there, gazing at us with her large eyes. (To be continued)
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