Chapter 160: A Hundred Stories in the Mist and the Moon (1)

"A new intruder?" "How pathetic!" "How unfortunate..."

Ghostly figures surged from the depths of the fog, one deformed figure after another crawling out of it. Some had their upper bodies crushed by shells, their exposed flesh covered in barnacles. Some had their bodies fused with decaying trees, leaving only their weeping faces. Some had their entire bodies melted by the poison, crawling like fleshy mud... Each "person"'s appearance was utterly horrific, the gathering of so many twisted lives like a nightmare made physical.

Fander had stopped screaming and started retching. Even Chu Hengkong's expression didn't look very good: "What is this?"

"Hee... ugly, isn't it?" The dog-man laughed, gnawing at his dog body and drooling blood. "Be prepared, this might be your tomorrow..."

"If it turns out like this, I would rather die." Ji Huaisu said in a low voice.

"You've already arrived in the Wilderness of Despair, and yet you still think you can die happily?" The kobold howled at Chongming, "You should teach these newcomers some common sense!"

"I told you," Chongming shrugged. "After four days here, the nightmare will become reality. This is what happens when you live with a dream that becomes reality for so long."

Finder retched even louder, for he immediately understood Chongming's explanation. Being devoured by wild beasts, assimilated by trees, eaten by parasites, or melted... these were all the nightmares of some people. When these dreams, which had long tormented people, became reality, it meant the dreamer was assimilated by the nightmare, forever transformed into this twisted, hideous monster.

This is really a crazy place. Even if you live carefully and safely, you cannot escape the torture of the evil god.

As he spoke, monsters fused with demons appeared one after another. There were over a hundred of them, and together they resembled a swarm of demons. Chongming glanced at them and said, "A few more are missing."

"Rotting like this, half-dead and half-alive, will eventually become unbearable." A pulpy monster crawled forward, its flesh trembling as if laughing. "What about you? How many times has this happened? 30?"

"35 times." Chongming said lightly.

"The counterattack has failed 34 times! You've been driven out of the battlefield again, right? No wonder you and your minions came this way!" The tree monster sneered loudly. "Seriously, how long do you plan to repeat this farce? Are you going to send these living beings to hell again? Are you going to stand by and watch them being tortured to madness again?"

Chongming said nothing, and the other researchers remained silent as well. Instead, the dog-man turned and roared, "Enough is enough. At least they still have courage, don't they? They're much stronger than us!"

This sentence seemed to have touched the monsters' pain, making them silent. The monsters retreated dejectedly into the fog. The dog-man panted a few times like a real dog and raised his head towards Chu Hengkong.

"Let's go, let's go. Those idiots are crazy... It's always like this when you stay here for too long..." The dog-man said vaguely, "I'm Volka, follow me. Are you prepared?"

"We have prepared a story." Chu Hengkong said.

On the way there, Chongming briefly explained that they were about to go to a "necessary path" for newcomers, where they could obtain food, materials, relics, and even special powers, but all of these goods had to be exchanged for "stories." No currency or barter was accepted, only stories, nothing more.

"Stories are good things." Wolfka said with more energy. "Hope will fade, light will dim, but a good story is always a good story... In the long, long terror, the only thing that can comfort oneself is stories!"

"What kind of story do you want?" Ji Huaisu was slightly interested. She had never seen this kind of deal before.

"Anything is fine, as long as it's interesting... You can tell interesting stories! That way, people will vote for you more..."

The dog-like Volka led the group into the fog, and a small number of monsters followed it. The fog was so thick that they had to hold each other's sleeves to avoid getting lost.

Chu Hengkong was the second in the group. He held Ji Huaisu's hand and used his tentacles to tug at Volka's tail. As they walked, his ears twitched. The fog couldn't muffle sound, and amid the chaotic clamor of the crowd, a few unfamiliar footsteps quietly entered. The footsteps of outsiders were increasing, and it seemed that a large man had joined the group, as the footsteps at the end of the group were particularly heavy.

"The line is getting longer." Ji Huaisu reminded.

"There will be others joining us," Volka said. "Please don't look back. Be respectful."

A hollow cave emerged from the mist, its darkness and emptiness like the maw of a monster. Without looking back, they followed Volka into the cave. Inside, straw mats were arranged in a circle, and a circular hole pierced the ceiling. The hole seemed to lead directly to the top of the sea of ​​sand. A full moon hung overhead, casting a dark glow into the cavern.

Volka led the team around the cave, and by the end of the circle, everyone was standing in front of a straw mat. To his left was Chu Hengkong, and to his right was the last person in the group, who had joined them at some point. The darkness inside the cave was even deeper than outside. Even if the Transformers sat side by side, they couldn't see the faces of those next to them.

Only Volka could be seen by everyone because its cushion was right under the moonlight hole, and the black moonlight served as a lighting source.

It cleared its throat and said in a low voice: "First of all - Chongming, get out of here."

"Why?! I've prepared an exciting adventure story!" Chongming protested very loudly, and his voice completely destroyed the supernatural atmosphere.

"Everyone has heard your story countless times. Let's change it to someone else." Volka stuck out her long tongue. "It's your turn, my friend with the eyes hiding in my pocket."

"Very well, I'd be delighted! I'm a learned and erudite Eye Demon scholar, and my vast knowledge will surely open your eyes!"

Fander waved his tentacles excitedly, eager to show off his knowledge. Chongming smacked his lips loudly and offered his seat to the Eye Demon. The cave fell silent once again. Chu Hengkong looked down and noticed a black wooden stick had appeared beside him.

"We've got new people joining us this time, so let's talk about the process," said Volka. "We're about to start 'One Hundred Tales of the Moon', a monthly event in the Undersea Valley... Whoever is illuminated by the moonlight gets to tell a story, and after finishing, they have to conclude with a fixed phrase."

"The first story ends. I am Wolfka—just like this."

"After listening to a story, if everyone thinks it's good, they move the stick forward and throw it. After everyone has expressed their opinions, Moonlight will choose the next storyteller. If someone tells a particularly good story, they may be chosen again. After 100 stories are told, those who shared good stories and those who participated in the 100 Monogatari for the first time will receive a 'gift'... This is the gift package for newcomers."

Telling a story and getting a gift? There's no other such guaranteed win anywhere. Perhaps in this strange borderland of the Heavenly Prison, physical currency isn't as valuable as stories. However, the process sounds a bit too much like a ghost story ritual. Add to that the constant emphasis on moonlight...

Chu Hengkong considered leaving, but Chongming and his group were the only ones he could communicate with. Judging from the tone of Wufka and the others, they had indeed fought against Vansalar. Ji Huaisu patted his hand gently. His partner suggested waiting and seeing what would happen, and he decided to trust Chongming once.

“There are three rules in Hyaku Monogatari.

1. Do not interrupt others when they are sharing their stories.

2. When given a gift, you must not refuse it.

3. Be respectful to everyone.

Participants, please remember to abide by the rules here. Otherwise... the consequences will be at your own risk."

The atmosphere seemed a bit eerie, but no one spoke or objected; everyone sat quietly. Since no one knew the terrain in the fog, leaving the cave at this moment would be a more unsafe option. Volka wagged his tail in satisfaction.

"Tonight, the full moon shines through the deep valley, and the voices of hundreds of people are shrouded in mysterious mist. The first story begins..."

Once upon a time, there was a country called the Kingdom of Lunnar. It was a land of mostly rocky terrain and little vegetation, renowned for its mining and processing industries. The people mined and exported ore, trading it for supplies from other islands, leading a simple and frugal life.

But one day, fog descended upon the mines. It caused disorientation, and terrifying beasts roamed the air. Mining operations came to a halt, and life became increasingly difficult. The monks who had been invited to help survey the area declared that the land was doomed, and urged everyone to flee.

The miners were all men with families. Who would be willing to leave their homes for such a long time? Who would risk everything to embark on a dangerous voyage across the sea? Their investigation revealed that the beast and the fog always appeared together. The foreman said the beast must have caused the fog, and if they could destroy it, their homeland would be safe.

The miners, full of fervor, shouldered their food supplies and vowed to fight the beasts to the bitter end. But once they entered the fog, they drifted apart, searching for their companions. Turning back, they found the beasts so close. Its yellow-orange pupils hung like lanterns in the mist, and the tall beasts stood tall, their hairy faces silently watching...

The miners were terrified, and the foreman, who was particularly cowardly, turned and ran away in terror. The beast chased him, its cavernous mouth wide open, full of sharp teeth. He managed to escape back to town, but he was so frightened that he fell ill and never recovered.

He couldn't tell if the foreman was just too timid and hallucinating, or if there really was something haunting in the fog. From that day on, he could see the beast's face nearby. When he left his house, the beast would quietly watch him from the alley. At the market, the beast would stand among the crowd, watching him. Hiding in the alleys, the beast would appear from behind high-rise windows. The beast would approach him, its maw yawning, ready to devour the people who had perished that day.

The foreman quickly fled back home, sealed the doors and windows, and dared not step out. No matter how his wife and daughter questioned him, he remained silent. These horrible things must not be told to anyone else. If others knew, they would become like him!

However, the strange changes in the Kingdom of Renner continued, and the fog grew thicker, spreading from the mountains into the town. One day, the foreman woke up and heard no sound. He opened the curtains and found the streets shrouded in fog. In the fog, dense yellow lights flashed, all of them were the vertical pupils of wild beasts. They looked at the foreman's house and slowly opened their mouths...

The foreman rushed out of the room in terror. He finally realized that the monk's warning was correct. This place was no longer habitable. But he saw no one inside or outside. In the kitchen stood a long-haired beast, and in his daughter's room lay a short beast. Their gaze was exactly the same as the beasts outside.

The foreman finally understood that there had never been any wild beasts, but that the people had entered the fog and had become like the beasts. He grabbed his wife and daughter and rushed out of the door, running for his life, with the wild beasts chasing after them.

Lost in the fog, the foreman was lost, and the wild animals behind him were getting closer and closer. As he fled, he wondered if the wild animals would think that people were chasing crazy beasts.

"—The first story ends. I am Wolfka."

The story came to an abrupt end, and everyone's thoughts were brought back to reality. The man being torn apart by the beast lowered his head and said nothing. Chu Hengkong silently moved the black wooden bar forward. The cave was dark, and he couldn't see the comments made by others.

Then, the place where everyone was sitting began to rotate, and the black moonlight swept over the strange outlines one by one. Suddenly, the venue stopped rotating, and the moonlight shone on a man with tentacles.

The second person is Chu Hengkong.

(End of this chapter)