Strange Tales from the Deep Mountains (18)

Gu Qingyan pursed her lips, not easily believing her: "When? I didn't see it?"

Li Xue cursed inwardly, "Isn't Gu Qingyan just a crybaby? How come she's suddenly become so shrewd?"

Thinking this to herself, Li Xue didn't reveal a trace of it. She still spoke softly and weakly, "You were so frightened that you fainted just now, how could you see anything?"

Gu Qingyan looked at Li Xue and nodded, "Oh, I see..."

"Hiss—" The giant python coiled on the tree suddenly made a sound. Li Xue reflexively looked at the black snake, but unexpectedly met the giant python's eyes.

A cold sweat broke out on Li Xue's back, and her hands and feet felt icy cold.

She could actually see warning and anger in the eyes of a snake.

Can this snake understand them? Does it know she's lying?

Li Xue felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively took a step back. She quickly looked away from the snake.

“Mmm.” Li Xue nodded quickly, stepped forward and took Gu Qingyan’s arm, saying, “Shall we go? With this necklace, those ghosts won’t dare to attack us.”

But Gu Qingyan didn't move. She stood there hesitantly, without answering.

Li Xue grew even more anxious, her voice unconsciously rising: "Let's go! What are you waiting for?"

“But Li Su still…” Gu Qingyan pursed her lips, mustered her courage, and quickly raised her eyes to glance in the direction of the giant python.

Where did Li Su go?

"He might not even be alive!" Li Xue's voice rose. "That snake coiled around him and took him away!"

Meeting Gu Qingyan's gaze, Li Xue paused for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Li Su may not be able to come back. Are we going to gamble our lives here?!"

"But what if he comes back?" Gu Qingyan sniffed. "If he gives you the necklace, what will he do then?"

Li Xue's expression froze.

Yes, the necklace. Gu Qingyan didn't know that she had snatched the necklace during the chaos; it wasn't given to her by Li Su at all.

It's alright, she has the necklace, and she doesn't need Gu Qingyan to be her scapegoat!

Li Xue suddenly understood everything. Her expression towards Gu Qingyan changed repeatedly, and her voice became cold: "If you want to live, come with me. Otherwise, you can just wait here to die."

Looking at the indifferent expression on Li Xue's face, Gu Qingyan felt dazed. Why was that? Shouldn't they be the only ones in this game who could rely on each other? Why was she so cold to her companion?

Gu Qingyan's eyes stung, but she forced herself not to cry. Her voice was soft: "You should go first..."

"I...I'll wait for Li Su a little longer. If he doesn't come back, I'll find a way to leave..." Gu Qingyan lowered her head and stopped looking at Li Xue.

Gu Qingyan couldn't abandon Li Su. Li Su had helped her a lot, and even though she was timid and prone to crying, Li Su never mocked her.

Li Xue looked at Gu Qingyan with disbelief on her face. It had only been two days of the game, yet someone was actually foolish enough to give up their immediate chance to escape for someone else.

"Then you wait here and see if he comes back." Li Xue gripped the necklace in her hand, her voice growing stronger: "I'm leaving."

Li Xue didn't even glance at Gu Qingyan. As soon as she turned around, she met a pair of dark green vertical pupils. Those eyes even seemed to have a faint, eerie light, giving people an ominous feeling.

Li Xue's muscles tensed instantly, and her feet involuntarily took two steps back.

The man in front of her narrowed his long eyes slightly, and his pleasant voice rang out: "Where are you going?"

"Doctor! You're finally here!!"

"It's been so long since I've seen the witch doctor!"

"What if I look even more handsome with a cold expression?!"

"Holy crap! What a male ghost! Does anyone understand what the doctor just said?!"

The moment Li Xue heard the man's voice in front of her, goosebumps rose all over her body.

Li Xue had never seen this man before, but she felt genuinely terrified.

Li Xue asked warily, "Who are you?"

Qi the witch doctor curved his lips into a slight smile, a faint smile appearing on his handsome face. He glanced at Li Xue's nervous face and slowly said, "I am the village doctor."

Li Xue remained vigilant; her body told her to get as far away from this man as possible.

Li Xue subtly moved aside, forcing herself to speak, "I'm going back, move aside."

The man's gaze slowly descended, landing on Li Xue's clenched fist. His voice was unreadable: "Where did you get that necklace?"

Li Xue instinctively put her hand behind her back to block, nervously swallowed, and slightly raised her chin, her voice a little guilty: "What necklace? Of course it's mine!"

Gu Qingyan frowned: "But...didn't you just say that the necklace was given to you by Li Su?"

"What he gave me is mine, isn't it?" Li Xue retorted, raising her voice, "Am I wrong?"

Li Xue met Qi Wuyi's dark eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

It's alright, Li Su isn't here anyway, no one knows the truth...

Cold sweat seeped from Li Xue's palms.

"Is that so?" Doctor Qi approached her step by step, the crisp sound of bells clashing together with each step, creating a particularly eerie sound in the silent environment.

Hiss—

Gu Qingyan was so startled by the sound behind her that she almost fell to the ground. She staggered a step but managed to stand up and looked behind her.

The large python coiled in the tree had its mouth wide open, its forked tongue occasionally darting out.

The snake is angry.

This thought suddenly flashed through Gu Qingyan's mind, and she didn't even know why.

“Yes!” Li Xue met Qi Wuyi’s gaze with a stiff neck.

She only heard the man in front of her chuckle lightly, but there was no smile on his excessively superior face, which made Li Xue's scalp tingle.

"I'm leaving!" Li Xue clutched the necklace tightly and quickly ran past Doctor Qi.

Gu Qingyan's heart pounded in her chest, but she couldn't take a single step. Behind her was a ferocious giant python, and in front of her was a dangerous witch doctor. Gu Qingyan felt as if she had been frozen in place, unable to move.

Doctor Qi slowly lifted his eyelids and asked, "Aren't you going with her?"

Gu Qingyan pursed her dry lips, stifled a sob, shook her head, and unconsciously took a step back: "No, I won't go..."

Gu Qingyan saw the man in front of her staring straight at her with his dark green eyes. After a long while, he exhaled in a low, snake-like voice: "You are quite clever. What a pity."

What a pity?

Gu Qingyan couldn't figure it out for the time being, and she didn't dare to think about it too much. But she soon realized what the overly beautiful witch doctor in front of her was regretting.

Before Gu Qingyan could react, the man in front of her had already taken her to the place they had just fled from.

Lin Ran, who was surrounded by female ghosts, had disappeared without a trace, and the dark soil showed no other color.

Now, Li Xue held the necklace in her hand, moving forward with trepidation. Before her were terrifying female ghosts; Li Xue could even see the bloodstains remaining on their deathly pale faces, like a splash of bright lip gloss, which somehow gave them a touch of life.

Li Xue's legs went weak, and she gripped the necklace tightly in her hands, her fingertips turning white from the force. The cold sweat seeping from her palms made it almost impossible for her to hold onto the necklace.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest.

Gu Qingyan had just let out a sob when a cold gaze fell upon her from the side.

"Shh—" Doctor Qi said expressionlessly, pressing his pale index finger to his thin, pale lips. "Don't make a sound, just watch carefully."

After saying that, he ignored Gu Qingyan's reaction and turned to look in Li Xue's direction.

Gu Qingyan dared not make a sound. She covered her mouth tightly with both hands, swallowing all her broken sobs. Her eyes, filled with tears, were blurred. She dared not look at all, but she dared not disobey the order of the man beside her. She could only blink hard to force back the tears and force herself to look.

The two rows of female ghosts beside Li Xue didn't seem to have any intention of harming her; they simply stood there, their empty eyes staring blankly at the spot on her palm.

The female ghost shifted slightly, and Li Xue, whose nerves were on edge, felt as if she had been electrocuted. She froze on the spot, her hair standing on end, and her voice was dry and hoarse: "Don't... don't come any closer!"

Li Xue held the necklace high in her hand, and sure enough, she saw the female ghost beside her subconsciously take a step back.

She was right! These female ghosts are afraid of Li Su's necklace!

With her tension temporarily relieved, Li Xue smiled slightly, but the muscles in her face remained stiff, making her expression look quite strange.

"Tsk."

Under intense tension, Gu Qingyan heard a low groan from the man beside her and reflexively looked up. The light was too dim for her to see his expression, but she could sense his obvious displeasure.

The man's narrow eyes glanced over, and Gu Qingyan immediately straightened her head, not daring to look again.

"How annoying." Doctor Qi narrowed his green eyes slightly, looking at Li Xue, who was smugly standing not far away, his gaze full of laziness.

Originally, the plan was to slowly torture this ungrateful player, but Doctor Qi suddenly changed his mind.

He'd better deal with her quickly; he wants to see his darling.

Gu Qingyan had no idea what the man beside her was thinking. She sensed that he seemed a little impatient. Before she could figure out why, she saw the female ghosts beside Li Xue slowly gathering towards the center.

"W-what are you doing!" Before Li Xue could even wipe the smile off her face, she saw the female ghosts who had just been frightened by the necklace in her hand slowly approaching her. She stiffened and backed away, still waving the necklace wildly in her hand, her voice shrill: "Take a good look... I have a necklace!!"

Suddenly, Li Xue stepped on a hard object and stumbled, falling onto the wet, sticky, collapsed mud. Her fingers pressed against the dark mud, and her palm was dulled by something hard. Li Xue subconsciously looked down and saw a bone half-inserted into the mud.

It's still warm.

Yes, it's Lin Ran's bones!

"ah--"

Li Xue wanted to scream, but the extreme fear prevented her from uttering a sound; all she could make were wheezing sounds.

The necklace that he was clutching tightly in his right hand had fallen somewhere.

Li Xue's body temperature instantly dropped, and she felt as if she had been put into a refrigerator. Despite the comfortable temperature, cold sweat poured down her body uncontrollably.

“Necklace, necklace…” Ignoring the female ghosts getting closer and closer to her, Li Xue groped her hands on the sticky, warm soil.

The necklace—once she got the necklace, the female ghosts dared not approach her again!

Out of the corner of her eye, she could already see the red hem of her dress fluttering in mid-air, and Li Xue's body, which was prostrate on the ground, began to tremble uncontrollably.

Where did the necklace go?!

The female ghost's pale hand reached out to Li Xue, and in that instant, she finally touched the necklace in the mud!