Chen Jing disliked walking alone in the fog, and no one else would either.
It's not just the danger; the fog here is also unpleasant. This thick fog blocks vision, allowing people to see only a very narrow area. It's also heavy—not physically heavy, but a psychologically heavy pressure.
It is said that adventurers from outside the area are prone to claustrophobia and depression. Chen Jing doesn't know if this is true, but even the locals dare not stay alone in the fog for too long, as they can feel the unease and discomfort at any time.
People from outside say that the fog here smells of death and decay, like that of a grave, but Chen Jing couldn't smell it. Who can smell the air?
Chen Jing was already very familiar with the terrain around him. He carefully moved forward along the planned route. There was no "runway" like before, so he needed to be even more careful. Not making a sound was the minimum standard. Every "monster lure" was good at hiding themselves.
As Chen Jing walked through the streets, he felt that he was no different from the wandering ghosts that occasionally lingered on the streets, except that he was still conscious and awake, which was good enough.
He had heard that the world beyond the fog was just like the one described in another memory—a world with a sun, a moon, stars, a sky, an ocean, a splendid culture, and a wonderful life. But Chen Jing had never seen it; most of his fond memories resided in another memory within his mind.
Who is the real one? Should the world be a wasteland shrouded in gray mist, or a sunlit city and open fields?
Chen Jing couldn't give a definite answer. Although his shared rationality from both lives told him that the fog-shrouded ruins were an isolated case, he had lived in this exception for a long time and had never seen the normal world.
The "black hand" would occasionally arrange routes for people to leave, and outside businessmen would sometimes be willing to take some people away, but they were not doing so for free. If Chen Jing wanted to leave alone, it wouldn't be difficult; he just needed to save up some money. However, he had younger siblings, and Chen Jing couldn't convince himself to abandon them. He also had his "father," the guy who adopted these children but used them as tools to make money. He demanded that Chen Jing hand over all his gains, making it impossible for Chen Jing to save any money at all.
As Chen Jing walked, although he listened attentively and remained focused, his mind kept wandering to trivial matters unrelated to the current situation.
What exactly happened during the war in ruins? What turned the Song Dynasty into the "Former Song"? What are the origins of the glass monster, the fog, and the wandering spirits?
Who am I, Chen Jing or a transmigrator from another world?
What is a cultivator? And what about those with extraordinary abilities who are clearly weaker than cultivators?
The only question Chen Jing had an answer to was "What should I do?"
My short-term goal is to save money by working in the hunting party, and through connections with the Black Hand, to take my younger siblings away from this terrible place to "New Song City," and then consider moving to another city or settling down.
The intermediate goal is to become a practitioner and gain power and knowledge.
The long-term goal is to answer my own questions: Who am I? What is the truth behind the war in the ruins? And revenge—to avenge all those who lived in or had lived in the ruins.
As Chen Jing walked cautiously, his mood grew increasingly depressed. He thought of many difficulties that he had no way to solve.
Chen Jing often felt that terrifying monsters and wandering spirits were lurking behind the fog, following him not far behind, in a place he could not see, silently.
On one occasion, Chen Jing overheard the voices of other scavenging groups and some people talking, but he chose to avoid them. This was absolutely necessary, because you couldn't be sure whether those were people or wandering spirits. Even if they were alive, they weren't sure if you were a wandering spirit. Unless absolutely necessary, the scavengers wouldn't strike up conversations in the ruins, fearing they'd be attacked before they even opened their mouths.
Not to mention, some monsters deliberately emit human voices to prey on wandering spirits and living people.
This world also has a "sky color". It is said that the gray-white fog only covers a certain height, so whether it is the sun or the moon above the fog can be seen through the fog. Judging from the brightness of the fog now, it is still a while before night.
As Chen Jing walked closer to his destination, the fog thinned out. When it thinned to a certain extent, widening Chen Jing's field of vision by two or three times, he saw the high wall.
Behind the high walls lies a settlement. It's a relatively safe place.
“The main hunting party didn’t need to take the roundabout route like I did when I retreated; they had enough combat capability to take shortcuts… They should have been back long ago.” Chen Jing thought, “This hunt can be considered a complete failure… Why are the slave spirits coming out?”
Although the hunt for the Glass Monster failed, Chen Jing was not too discouraged. He was already very lucky to have rescued the hunting party from the slave spirits and to have most of them alive. Even if the hunt had not been successful, the hunting party would have compensated him.
The hunting party had organized two or three hunts in that area, but there had never been any problems, and the slave spirits had never left his arena...
Chen Jing sensed an uneasy atmosphere in the air; he had a feeling that something was about to happen.
The future doesn't seem to be going according to Chen Jing's own plans, but he is powerless to change it. He is just a monster lure in the hunting group, without any special abilities or cultivation. He has no power, not even the right to know certain things.
Chen Jing walked to the vicinity of the high wall entrance. There used to be a moat here, but the river had long since dried up. A retractable wooden bridge connected the two ends. To Chen Jing's surprise, the defenses here were much tighter, with many heavily armed guards in armor carrying swords and shields.
Chen Jing noticed the direction they were guarding; they weren't actually guarding the outside world, but rather it seemed like they were aiming at the city itself. Even the soldiers facing outwards would occasionally glance back into the city.
Chen Jing spotted a familiar face among the soldiers below the city gate. He walked over and asked, "Uncle Zhang, what happened?"
The man he called Uncle Zhang was a city gate guard captain. Chen Jing and his ilk often dealt with him. He was in charge of collecting taxes, but he required very little bribery and was very generous. Outside of work, he would often invite teenagers like Chen Jing to taverns for food, drinks, and boasting.
Chen Jing knew what Uncle Zhang was thinking. He wanted one or more extraordinary talents to emerge from among those teenagers, and then he would mentor them. This was a dream that many people here had, and it was not uncommon.
Uncle Zhang looked at Chen Jing, his expression very solemn, but there was a hint of joy in his expression: "Something has happened in the city. During this period, people are allowed to enter but not leave through the gates. Your hunting party has returned. They said you led away the wandering souls of slaves, and they all thought you were dead."
Chen Jing was stunned for a moment. Something happened in the city? What happened? Was it related to the sudden departure of the slave spirits from the arena?
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