Chapter 463 [(*^▽^*)]
Everyone quickly found pens and drew the route map on their clothes or from their backpacks. Once everyone had a map, the smiles on their faces became very genuine.
"I didn't expect to find a map here. It looks like someone who passed by accidentally left it behind."
"The five people who crossed the river earlier probably didn't notice this, and it doesn't look like something they dropped. Someone else must have come here before them and quickly crossed the river before it started raining!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned grim. If this was before the rain yesterday, it meant that the first people to arrive had already crossed the river yesterday, so now they were even further ahead.
"What do we do now? If we delay any longer, we'll really end up with nothing!"
"What can we do now? I don't think I have anything to ward off evil spirits. Do you have any?"
"I did bring a jade Buddha with me, it's only the size of my palm. I suddenly had the idea to put it in my backpack before I set off, hoping it would bless me and make my journey go smoothly. Why don't I go and try it first? Anyway, I have to cross the river eventually, I can't just stay here and not cross it because I'm scared, can I?"
Everyone nodded in agreement; no matter what, they naturally agreed to have someone go ahead and explore the way.
As a result, the man carrying the jade Buddha did indeed reach the other side of the river safely. He was extremely excited when he stepped onto solid ground, turned around, waved to them, and laughed gleefully, "I'm off now!"
After saying that, he really left, looking quite happy, and soon he disappeared from sight.
Now everyone started looking for something on them to ward off evil. Those who had it quickly climbed the rope and went to the other side, afraid that if they stayed behind, the others would steal it.
Jiang Changdong and his three companions walked slowly ahead, following the tracks left by those before them and figuring out the correct route on their own.
"Is it really this way? I have a bad feeling about this."
Lü Yan said, "I also have a bad feeling. Something might happen ahead. Let's be as careful as possible. Anyway, we can't turn back."
Tian Zhong: "Look, there seems to be something going on up ahead."
They finally saw something besides the flowers, trees, and damp soil. "This is a graveyard! Look at all this..."
There were some things scattered around the graveyard, which looked like... the belongings of the first person who crossed the river. The things were scattered all over the place. Where was that person?
Qin Yan: "This person is probably in grave danger, but we haven't seen a body or any bloodstains. What happened? Could something have dragged the body away?"
Tian Zhong said, "If it had been dragged away, it would at least have left drag marks. Look around here, apart from the way we came, where are there any drag marks?"
Jiang Changdong said, "No matter what, let's get out of here first and keep moving forward."
Just then, Tian Zhong noticed something. "Wait, look here. There's a complete tombstone here, and there's something black on it."
Everyone saw this tombstone. The entire cemetery was desolate, and the tombstones were all broken and tattered. Only this tombstone, although a bit dirty, was intact and stood there squarely.
"There is indeed a black bead. What is its purpose?"
"That's easy, just put it in your backpack and check to see what kind of item it is."
As Tian Zhong spoke, he reached out to grab it. Before anyone else could react, Jiang Changdong looked at the black object and felt like he had seen it somewhere before. Just as he was about to remember, Tian Zhong's hand reached out.
The moment his finger touched the black bead, it exploded. Of course, it wasn't a bomb, so it didn't cause any physical damage, but... the smell!
Tian Zhong, who was closest to the bead, was the first to be affected. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and his expression was unfocused. He then lay down on the ground, completely dazed.
Jiang Changdong and his two companions were completely oblivious to the stench; the three of them kept moving away from the place, tears streaming down their faces, looking utterly pathetic!
Just then, none of the three noticed that several skeletal hands, covered in black and foul-smelling rotting flesh, suddenly emerged from the soil beside the unconscious man lying on the ground. They grabbed Tian Zhong's shoulders, arms, thighs, ankles, and neck, dragging him into the soil, leaving his belongings behind.
Of course, some zombie-like claws appeared around the three people who were constantly pinching their noses and breathing through their mouths, and grabbed their ankles before they could pay attention to anything else.
"Oh no!" Jiang Changdong kept wiping away the tears that kept flowing from the stench. Of course, the air around him was filled with a strong stench, and he didn't even dare to breathe through his nose.
But he couldn't worry about that now. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he could still take out props from his backpack. He hurriedly took out an unknown short knife and looked directly at the claws grabbing his ankle.
This short knife was indeed a tool that Jiang Changdong had prepared for himself. With a few slashes, the claws retracted into the ground. Having escaped, Jiang Changdong dared not linger there any longer and then continued to run forward, brandishing the short knife.
He couldn't even see the road ahead clearly while running, but that's okay, as long as he could roughly see it and was heading in the right direction, that was enough. As for the rest...
What does it matter to him whether Tian Zhong, Qin Yan, and Lü Yan are alive or dead?
However, apart from Tian Zhong, who was the first to be captured and was nowhere to be found, Lü Yan and Qin Yan were not the type to surrender easily. They each used their own methods to break free from these claws and then rushed in the direction Jiang Changdong had left. Even though their vision was blurry, they had no other choice but to do so.
The three of them fled the graveyard, leaving behind only a lingering stench and some scattered items. After a while, Jiang Changdong and the other two actually returned to the same spot!
Jiang Changdong had already guessed what this thing was and tried to deodorize himself. Although it was still a bit unbearable, he had at least eliminated most of the stench.
Qin Yan and Lü Yan followed him back to the cemetery. The intense stench seemed to be assaulting their noses and eyes, making it impossible for them to open their eyes or even breathe or speak.
Fortunately, the stench is greatly reduced once you move away from it.
The three of them looked terrible. They were each holding a tool meant to cleanse the air of the stench, which was truly unbearable, especially…
I don't know if it's because of some kind of ghost wall, but the stench here seems to be trapped in this small space. Instead of gradually dissipating, it mixes with the surrounding smell of damp earth and the smell of rotting corpses, creating a smell that is really hard to describe.
They even wore gas masks; otherwise, they wouldn't dare blink, and even speaking was extremely difficult.
Lü Yan's face twisted in pain. "This is a ghost wall... How are we supposed to get out?"
Qin Yan's eyes twitched. "Tian Zhong is gone. That stinky bead just exploded right in front of him. He was probably knocked unconscious by the stench and then snatched away by those claws."
Jiang Changdong: "We can't worry about him now, we need to get out of here quickly."
Lü Yan and Qin Yan both tacitly agreed with his words. In the current situation, they really couldn't care less about Tian Zhong. Perhaps Tian Zhong was buried under some grave, but this place was not a place to stay for long.
"So who put this stinky bead on the tombstone? It's obviously the person behind the pit. The first person to cross the river scattered everything here. He's probably in grave danger. It shouldn't be him."
"Does that mean that there were other people who arrived here earlier than him and left successfully, leaving this thing on the tombstone before they left?"
They got angrier the more they talked, but they also knew that while everyone could cooperate on this mission, they were also competitors. No one knew exactly how many treasures were buried in Xiushan Village.
If there aren't enough to go around, wouldn't it be better to have fewer people? If that's the case, then let's reduce the number of people arriving at Xiushan Village from the beginning, so that things might be easier later on.
Jiang Changdong: "It seems that someone crossed the river elsewhere, or someone crossed the river before we reached the riverbank. Which do you think it is?"
Qin Yan shook her head, "I don't know, but that's not important. I only know that these people must be very skilled. I never expected that we would suffer such a big loss here."
Lü Yan: "It's quite difficult to break through this ghost wall, but we still have some items we can use to get out. Are you planning to use them now?"
Jiang Changdong nodded. "I plan to use it. The smell here is unbearable, and it feels like the stench has stuck to us. We need to leave as soon as possible and get rid of the smell."
It's not that the stench is harmful; on the contrary, having such a stench on your body can actually repel a lot of things, and their future path might be smoother.
However, they themselves could not accept this, especially the two girls, Lü Yan and Qin Yan.
They were both afraid to breathe too hard, lest they smell the stench on themselves; it was unbearable, and their faces were contorted in a grotesque grimace.
"Then use it. Let's get out of here quickly. I really didn't expect this ghost wall to leave behind such a stench. If we stay any longer, we'll get marinated."
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