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墨書 Inktalez
I nodded and casually picked up a flashlight. The three of us stood up and headed towards the bushes. Jiao Ba and I each took a flashlight, leaving the last one for Shunzi and the others. If they took all of them, they would be in trouble too.
The sky gradually darkened, and the moon began to peek through the clouds. The entire island was eerily quiet; there were no bird calls or any other sounds, just the footsteps of the three of us and the traces left by the sea breeze.
As we walked towards the bushes, I was completely stunned by the sight before me when we passed the place where we had rested earlier.
It looked like a primeval forest, but it was different from that; it was closer to a tropical jungle, as if it were a fusion of the two, exuding an air of mystery, death, and an unprecedented sense of oppression.
Before me stood towering Millennium Ancient Trees, their branches intricately intertwined, stretching out like umbrellas, completely shading the area above.
The bark of these trees was dark green, with thick and oddly shaped branches that coiled around like venomous snakes. When the sea breeze blew through, the leaves rustled, resembling the angry hiss of a serpent.
In the jungle, there was a very narrow path; to be precise, it wasn't really a path at all—just enough space for us to walk through. The tangled branches made me dizzy just looking at them.
This cursed place was the most unpredictable area I had ever encountered in my life since I had hardly ever been in such a primitive zone.
"What on earth is this place?" I stood at the entrance of the jungle, too afraid to take a step forward. This eerie place looked terrifying; who knew what poisonous creatures or strange snakes might be lurking inside? If we got bitten, we might all meet our doom.
Jiao Ba also looked dumbfounded as he said, "This place is really bizarre. Mai Lao, should we go in or not?"
Mai Lao took the flashlight and shone it around cautiously. "Yes, it is a bit unusual. We should be careful. Let's find some branches that can catch fire and then get out quickly."
There was no choice; we steeled ourselves and ventured inside. The path was uneven and treacherous, with vines covering nearly every corner around us.
Once we entered, it became difficult for moonlight to penetrate; only in certain spots could we see any light at all—everywhere else was pitch black.
We had to rely on the flashlight's beam to search for what we needed. It was much colder inside than outside; while outside felt chilly due to the sea breeze, this place had an inherent coldness in the air—yes, it was definitely chilling.
As we walked, Jiao Ba remarked, "Why can't we see any animals here? Not even a single snake."
I glanced at him and said, "Nothing is better; if we encounter a venomous snake, it might not be so easy to get out."
After we had walked for a while, I shrank my neck and said, "Mai Lao, let's not go any further in. It's getting darker inside. Let's just look around here for something to start a fire."
Mai Lao stopped and looked around. "Yeah, that's fine. But I feel like this path leads to the mountain peak. Do you want to check it out?"
The mountain peak? I shone the flashlight ahead, but it was still dense jungle, and I couldn't see what lay ahead. However, when Mai Lao mentioned the peak, I couldn't help but think of the shadowy figure I had seen earlier. Just the thought of it made me uneasy, and I immediately felt a chill.
"Go to the mountain peak? You're not joking with me, are you?" I shot a glance at Mai Lao.
Mai Lao smiled at me and said, "Just kidding. Let's focus on finding some firewood."
"Mai Lao, why do I feel like this place is so sinister?" This was a heartfelt statement; everything here felt out of place, especially those strange large trees and the mysterious, eerie jungle.
"Ha ha, don't scare yourself. It's fine," Mai Lao said as he walked closer to me.
I shone the flashlight around and replied, "I hope you're right."
We began searching for some dry branches to use as firewood and dug up some dried leaves from the ground to help start a fire. Although there were plenty of trees around, finding something that could actually catch fire took us quite a bit of effort.
After about an hour or so, we finally gathered some dry wood and leaves. I also used my diving knife to cut three sharp-tipped branches. Holding them in my hand, they seemed just the right size.
"Brother Yi, what are you doing?" Jiao Ba asked me in confusion.
"I'm making a clothes drying rack; my clothes are too wet, and I can't stand it," I replied casually.
"Is your wound acting up again?" Jiao Ba seemed to sense something was off.
I smiled and said, "No worries, I'm fine. Come on, let's go check over there."
As the two of us had just taken a few steps, Jiao Ba suddenly stopped in his tracks and crouched down, shining his flashlight at a particular spot for quite some time.
"Come on, Lao Ba, what are you daydreaming about?" I turned to look at him, puzzled by his behavior.
Jiao Ba seemed to be talking to himself, "Strange, where did these footprints come from?"
What? Footprints? I hurriedly crouched down to take a look. This was a muddy area, and sure enough, it was covered with footprints. The prints led through the mud, heading up as if they were leading to the place Mai Lao mentioned that could take us to the top of the mountain, just beside our previous location.
These footprints must have been made recently. I frowned and said, "Could it be that Mai Lao left them just now?" To alleviate my fear, I tried to think positively; after all, we had spread out to look for firewood earlier, so it was possible.
But Jiao Ba suddenly shook his head and said, "Definitely not. Brother Yi, look at these footprints; it's obvious they belong to someone barefoot."
As soon as Jiao Ba finished speaking, I realized he was right. These were indeed a series of barefoot prints. Mai Lao couldn't possibly have walked on this ground without shoes. So that meant someone had been watching us all along? My mind buzzed as I recalled the figure on the mountaintop.
Just as I felt fear creeping in, I suddenly caught a whiff of an awful smell. It wasn't just foul; it was akin to the stench of rotting food, unbearable and nauseating.
"What is that smell? It's so terrible!" I asked Jiao Ba.
Jiao Ba quickly covered his nose with his hand and said, "I don't know either; where is this smell coming from?"
We hurriedly scanned the area with our flashlight, but aside from the surrounding bushes and thickets, we found nothing—not even a seabird.
However, when I turned back around while still crouching, my gaze naturally fell on the muddy ground with the footprints. My flashlight beam followed suit. But when I saw what lay before me, I froze instantly.
The mud had only shown footprints before, but now there were a pair of emaciated feet appearing right in front of me. I stood there dazed for a second or two, blood rushing to my head as if it might burst.
I quickly looked up; my flashlight beam followed. Oh my god! Standing in front of me was a person—a gaunt figure with disheveled hair. He wore what seemed like ancient clothing.
He was short and hunched over like an old man, sending chills down my spine. And that putrid smell? I realized it was emanating from him.
But the most terrifying part was that he was looking down at me. His face was covered with a black cloth, yet his strange eyes were etched deeply in my memory. They were cat-like, with a conical shape, almost identical to those of the Cat-Eyed Man in Black I had seen before, except for one difference: his pupils were a striking orange-yellow.
In that moment, I was so frightened that I forgot to scream. I just stared at him blankly for what felt like three or four seconds before I finally reacted. I sat down abruptly on the ground and shouted, "Oh my God, who are you?"
Jiao Ba was observing the surroundings at that time. Upon hearing my shout, he quickly turned around and rushed over to support me, saying, "Brother Yi, Brother Yi, what's wrong?"
I knew that my face must have been deathly pale. I glanced at him and said with a trembling voice, "There... there was someone. Just now, I saw... I saw a Shriveled Old Man."
"An old man? Where?" Jiao Ba asked, suddenly alert as he looked around anxiously.
I pointed behind him with my hand. Jiao Ba immediately turned and shone his flashlight in that direction, but on the muddy ground, aside from the previous footprints, there was nothing else. The Shriveled Old Man had vanished without a trace.
"There's nothing here, Brother Yi. Did you... did you maybe see it wrong?" From Jiao Ba's tone, I could tell he was scared too. He should have known me; in situations like this, I almost never made such silly jokes.
"I definitely did not see it wrong. I'm absolutely certain there was an old man right there." Suddenly, I recalled the figure on the mountaintop who had been staring at us—wasn't that also emanating from the slope? Could it be him?
Jiao Ba's expression grew serious as he said, "Brother Yi, regardless of whether it's true or not, we should hurry and leave this cursed place."
I slowly took a step back and said, "Yes, let's go Lao Ba. We need to get out of here—right now."
But just as I was about to turn and run, I collided with someone unexpectedly. It startled me so much that I nearly lost my mind. In a panic, I pulled out my Diving Knife and shouted as I lunged toward this person...
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