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墨書 Inktalez
The distinction between day and night was blurred, surrounded by a grayish-yellow mist. I patted my head and looked around, but everything remained unclear. The outline of a sun faintly appeared in the haze, yet it brought no warmth; instead, it felt even more desolate. I could clearly feel the cold and instinctively wrapped my coat tighter around myself.
"What place is this?" A voice emerged, and I turned to see Yan Junde. "Why are we here? How did I forget?" Yan Junde was also dressed in a thick coat, but he held a long knife in his hand—a weapon meant for killing, sharp and deadly.
A beautiful girl flicked her hair and said, "This is the Shadow Maze, the domain of the Demon King. We received a commission from the king to eliminate the Demon King residing in the Shadow Maze." I remembered; her name was Mary, a member of our mercenary group.
"That's right," a mature and alluring woman spoke up. "To defeat the Demon King, we must first take down his five lieutenants. These five lieutenants also reside in the Shadow Maze. This place is vast—larger than we can imagine. It's a difficult task; we've been traveling for over thirty days now. Captain, what should we do next?" This was Yang Xiaojuan.
I tapped my forehead to calm myself and said, "Ever since we arrived at the Shadow Maze, I've felt a bit dizzy and disoriented, as if everything is both real and unreal. I suspect that this Shadow Maze won't be as simple as we think, so everyone needs to be cautious. Let's head into the Shadow Maze."
We walked forward along the winding path under the dim sunlight. In the distance, a small market appeared before us, modest in scale. There were houses in the market with oil lamps hanging at their doors, illuminating sections of the narrow paths. A tavern came into view.
After such a long journey, everyone was feeling fatigued. The appearance of this tavern provided us with a place to rest. The tavern door was open, with lanterns hanging on either side, casting a grim red glow. We lifted the curtain and stepped inside; there was a large stove that looked quite warm.
The innkeeper stood behind the counter, expressionless as he watched us enter. The Innkeeper also appeared lethargic. Upon seeing us come in, he mechanically asked, "What would you like to eat? Do you need a room?"
Both individuals had blank expressions hidden in the shadows, their faces seemingly adorned with faint smiles—like puppets—which made one feel quite uncomfortable. The innkeeper was rotund with big ears while the Innkeeper was thin as a rail; they formed a stark contrast.
I nodded and ordered a few items.
Aside from us, there were no other patrons in the tavern. Other than the candles lit on our table, the rest of the place was shrouded in darkness. Shadows barely revealed outlines around us; flickering flames occasionally emerged from one of the rooms—presumably the kitchen. By the dim light of the fire, I could make out what seemed to be bloodstains on the floor inside.
I frowned and said quietly, "Have them bring our food directly to our room."
The Innkeeper led us upstairs to our rooms. Two of us would share one room to prevent any potential dangers. Juan Juan and I shared one room while Yan Junde and Mary shared another. I turned to Yan Junde and said, "This place seems quite eerie; under the rule of the Shadow Demon King, it’s likely that those living here are not quite normal either. When they bring our meals later, don’t eat them—throw them away instead. We'll eat our own rations and drink our own water."
Yan Junde nodded.
The Shadow Maze seemed perpetually shrouded in this haze; even after some time had passed, the sun still hung in the sky. It felt as if there was no distinction between day and night here—almost as if time itself had ceased to exist. We lay on our beds silently gazing at the sky outside. I said, "We've traveled for so long; we're tired—let's sleep."
Though I said this, I couldn't truly allow myself to fall asleep; I suspected Yan Junde felt similarly next door. I remained silent while my mind was chaotic—voices seemed to echo within my brain as if thousands were speaking at once. The sensation was intense yet elusive, causing me considerable headache.
I don't know how much time passed when I suddenly heard a faint sound at the door; simultaneously, I felt a tug on my finger from a rope. This was a small device I had set up earlier: if someone opened the door, a small stone would fall and make a soft sound while pulling on a fine line tied to it that would tug at my finger—alerting me that something or someone had entered.
I gently squeezed Juan Juan's hand, and she immediately woke from her dream, becoming alert. In the haze, I faintly saw a figure appear before us. From the outline, it was indeed the Innkeeper we had encountered earlier, and he seemed to be holding a boning knife.
I held my breath, waiting for him to come closer so I could take him down in one swift move. I suspected that there were quite a few minions of the Demon King in the Shadow Maze, and this Innkeeper was likely one of them. In the Shadow Maze, figuring out who to trust and who not to trust was truly a headache.
As the figure drew nearer, I prepared to resist. But just then, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Squinting, I saw another figure appear behind the Innkeeper; this person was definitely not the Boss we had seen before. Could it be someone from the kitchen?
I decided to hold my position and see what would happen next. The Innkeeper had raised the boning knife, ready to strike at any moment. Juan Juan trembled slightly, and I touched her arm to signal that she didn’t need to be so afraid. Just as the knife was about to come down, the figure behind moved.
A blade pierced through the Innkeeper's abdomen, and in the eerie silence, I could even hear the sound of blood dripping onto the floor. Then, the steel knife fell from the Innkeeper's hand with a loud metallic clatter. Almost immediately, he collapsed to the ground.
“Stay put and be careful,” I quickly said.
Before I finished speaking, I leaped off the bed, trying to grab hold of that figure. But they were incredibly fast; before I could reach them, they had already dashed out through the door and jumped down from the second floor. As I exited, I ran into Yan Junde.
“How's it going over there?” I asked while moving.
“I killed the Innkeeper!” Yan Junde replied. “Who was that person?”
At that moment, I had already jumped down from the second floor and shouted, “You stay here and protect them both! I'm going after that person. Don't leave; be careful of a Draw the Tiger Away from Its Mountain scheme.” As I spoke, I burst out of the door and scanned my surroundings; a shadow was running in the distance.
I immediately rushed after them, but in the haze, that figure dodged left and right as if they were very familiar with this place. It didn't take long before I lost sight of them. Cursing under my breath, I realized there was nothing more I could do. Everything around me remained shrouded in fog, like a world seen by someone with poor eyesight without their glasses. Slowly, I made my way back to the inn where Yan Junde and others were waiting for me in the lobby.
“What happened?” several of them asked.
I shook my head and said, “I lost them. That person must be a resident of the Shadow Maze. They knew these streets too well for me to keep up; it wasn’t long before they slipped away from me. For now, let’s check on the bodies of the Boss and Innkeeper to see if we can find any clues.”
They nodded in agreement as we moved upstairs to bring down their bodies. According to Yan Junde, he had killed the Boss; when the Boss came in wielding his steel knife, Yan Junde had hidden behind the door and struck him down in one blow. I knew Yan Junde's skills; no one alive could hope to kill him.
“But we didn’t kill the Innkeeper; it was that shadowy figure who did,” I frowned as I spoke. “What connection could there be? Is that figure our friend or our enemy? Why did they kill the Innkeeper? Was it to save us?”
A series of questions left everyone confused about that figure's intentions for a moment; we had no choice but to set this matter aside for now. I told everyone, “Let’s check out the kitchen; I feel there’s something more going on inside.”
As we spoke, we headed toward it. Pulling back the curtain revealed a bloody scene on the kitchen floor. On one of the cutting boards lay what was clearly a human thigh. A knife was still embedded in it; it seemed that the meat we ordered earlier had come from here.
Fortunately, we did not eat.
Looking around, we could see severed limbs everywhere. Some were leaning against the walls, while others hung from them. As we glanced up along the wall, we were nearly scared out of our wits. There, hanging from the beams, were human heads. The skulls were positioned at an angle, and it felt as if the eyes of these dead gazes were watching us. A shiver ran down my spine, and I felt a chill throughout my body.
It seemed that this inn was indeed a den of darkness. We retreated from the kitchen, and I said, "Let's put the bodies in the kitchen. We need to rest here tonight to regain our strength before heading to the Demon King's palace. There shouldn't be any danger tonight, but it's best to be prepared just in case."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
I hardly slept that night. The king had tasked us with killing the Demon King, which was already a life-threatening mission; we needed to be cautious and low-key. I never expected such events to unfold right at the outskirts of the Shadow Maze. Did the inn's boss know our identities? Were they spies planted by the Demon King?
Who was that mysterious figure? Were they here to help us or to sabotage our mission? Everything felt like a tangled ball of yarn, obscuring any clues. I had a nagging feeling that this mission would be fraught with peril. Even whether we would meet the Demon King was something we could hardly predict.
"Let's get some sleep," Juan Juan's voice broke through the silence. "We will complete this mission; our mercenary group has never failed."
I nodded and cleared my mind. I extinguished the candle, and immediately, everything around us faded into obscurity. The wind outside grew stronger, raging against the windows.
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