Chapter 24
The soles of Lin Yibai's boots rolled over the wet gravel, making a tiny "crunching" sound, which was particularly harsh in the dead silence of the white fog.
The faint sound of footsteps behind her was like a thorn in her side, and it never stopped after she took a step forward. After enduring it for half an incense stick, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and turned around abruptly.
"Why do you keep following me?"
The place was surrounded by white mist and the view was empty. Only a few rugged rocks stood silently, without even a ghost.
However, Lin Yibai frowned, his eyes turned, and the corner of his eye fell on a place not far behind her right: behind a dead black tree, half a piece of coarse cloth was quietly retracted.
She walked in that direction, her steps very lightly. The closer she got to the broken tree, the more clearly she could hear the faint breathing coming from behind it - short and tense, like some small animal afraid of being discovered.
Lin Yibai walked around to the other side of the tree and saw the young man huddled behind the trunk, only his eyes showing as he secretly observed her. His amber eyes were clear and almost translucent, but now they were slightly widened because he had been caught, revealing the panic of a frightened fawn.
He clenched the corners of his clothes tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white, and half of his body was hidden behind the dead tree, revealing only a small part of his pale profile and slender jaw. He was clearly hiding from people, but he couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to her, like an abandoned little animal that refused to go far away.
"Hey, I'm asking you." Seeing this, Lin Yibai didn't show any mercy, but instead spoke in a rough voice.
When the young man heard Lin Yibai's question, he shuddered slightly and then shrank behind the tree, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. His long eyelashes cast light shadows on his pale face, trembling gently like two small fans, and he didn't show any intention of speaking.
Lin Yibai was choked speechless by his reaction, as if she were the villain. She surveyed the boy's frail frame and mud-stained vestments, then thought of the overturned coffin and Luluo's reference to the "young sacrificial child who was brought back." She knew this was most likely the sacrificial child born on a yin day and yin year that Lin Wuya hadn't been able to recover in the original novel.
But looking at his timid and silent appearance, I'm afraid he is a fool.
Thinking of the boy's future fate... she scratched her hair irritably, turned around and left: "Don't follow me."
She herself was having trouble predicting the outcome of her trip into the mountains, so how could she have the energy to look after him?
She could only harden her heart and move forward.
But after taking only two steps, a slight rustling sound came from behind him, and then the almost inaudible footsteps followed. However, this time they were farther away, and if you didn't listen carefully, they would be almost obscured by the white mist.
Lin Yibai paused when he heard the voice, holding his forehead and sighing helplessly.
......The heart of Yunshan is extremely dangerous. This young man is alone. If he is left here, he will probably become food for monsters in no time.
I don’t know when I will die this time, so taking him with me will at least give me someone to keep me company before I die.
She turned around, trying to make her tone gentler, and raised her chin towards another tree: "Come out, I won't be mean to you. What's your name?"
The young man behind the tree hesitated for a moment before slowly emerging from behind the trunk. He lowered his head, clasping his hands before him. After a long pause, he slowly uttered a single word: "... Mi."
"Mi?" Lin Yibai raised an eyebrow and stared at him suspiciously, "Just this one word?"
The young man nodded vigorously, as if to prove that he was right. He raised his head and glanced at her quickly, then quickly lowered his head, and his ears turned slightly red.
Seeing his timid look, Lin Yibai lost all her temper and could only wave her hand: "Alright, since you're younger than me, I'll call you Xiao Mi. You can come with me, but I need to make things clear first—" She paused deliberately, wanting to make her words more serious. "My cultivation is insignificant, not much higher than yours. If I encounter danger, I can only run faster than you, and I definitely can't protect you. If you understand and want to follow, then follow me."
As soon as she finished speaking, the young man who had been lowering his head suddenly raised his head, his eyes lit up, and he took a quick step forward, but stopped two steps away from her, as if he was afraid that he would be driven away if he got too close. He only followed her closely half a step behind her, like a young seedling that had just sprouted, not daring to stay away, nor to get too close.
Lin Yibai glanced down at his wrist exposed outside his sleeve. It was so thin that he could see the blue veins. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart: I don't know if this idiot understood.
...And why does she feel like she's having a "painless motherhood"?
As death approaches, her days in the book are becoming more and more outrageous.
The two men walked through the white mist, one in front and one behind. Lin Yibai walked cautiously, kicking the ground with each step, fearing he'd fallen into a trap. Behind him, Xiao Mi gradually relaxed, picking up a stick two fingers thick and drawing on the ground as she walked. Occasionally, she squatted down and poked the moss with the tip, making a soft "hmm" sound.
Lin Yibai caught a glimpse of what he drew out of the corner of his eye - a crooked circle that looked like the sun and a wheel, and there were a few slanted lines, which he didn't know whether they were mountain roads or rivers.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the seemingly endless white fog in front of her, her mind gradually sinking.
She knew where the fog came from.
——The “Triple Mist” in the heart of Yunshan Mountain, the three deadly disasters mentioned in the original novel.
According to legend, these three places of death are in the form of mist and fog, hidden in the deepest part of Yunshan Mountain. Each layer corresponds to a different illusion and murderous intent.
In the original novel, the disciples of the Bo Deng Sect, led by Su Ling, and the Wang Jiang Tower monks led by Li Jue, after entering from the Mo Gate, wandered around and searched for treasures in the relatively safe area outside Yunshan; but "Lin Yibai" and Yan Bujian, as sacrifices, were thrown directly into the hinterland from the Bai Gate - that is, the core area where Sanchong Lan is located, the place where Yunshan is rumored to be surrounded by big monsters.
After that, the original body died in the first level of storm - the food-eating storm.
But now, Yan had vanished without a trace, and instead, Xiao Mi appeared beside him. Clearly, the plot had taken a turn. Lin Yibai bit her lip, wondering: Which layer of mist was she in? The mist looked ordinary, with no illusions or roars of demonic beasts. She couldn't tell for a moment.
"ah--"
But at this moment, Xiao Mi's scream suddenly came from behind!
Lin Yibai turned his head suddenly, and after seeing the scene behind him clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted - he saw that the end of the branch that Xiao Mi was holding in her hand was actually poking straight into the darkness that suddenly appeared on the ground in front of her!
The darkness was like solidified ink, devoid of any luster. The moment the branch was inserted, it vanished, as if instantly devoured. Xiao Mi, standing nearby, clutched the upper half of the branch tightly, his face pale as he tried to pull it free. But the darkness, like a quagmire with a suction force, held onto the branch and refused to let go, pulling his body forward.
"Idiot, drop the branch!" Lin Yibai was so angry when he saw this that he cursed inwardly and rushed over to pull him away.
——But it’s too late.
The next moment, the darkness, like a giant beast awakening, instantly spread beneath their feet! Black mist clung to Xiao Mi's wrist along the branches, spreading upward at a visible speed, enveloping half of his body in the blink of an eye. Xiao Mi uttered a short whimper, his body falling uncontrollably into the darkness. Lin Yibai reached out to grab him, but her fingertips only touched the cold corner of his clothes. The next second, the darkness suddenly expanded, and she was also pulled in by a huge suction force!
The feeling of weightlessness instantly hit Lin Yibai, and she felt dizzy, with the sound of wind whistling in her ears. She subconsciously closed her eyes and screamed, "Xiao Mi, you idiot! What the hell did you poke into? Ahh ...
Darkness completely engulfed the two of them like a tide. The girl's devastated screams echoed briefly in the empty valley, then vanished in an instant. The white mist gathered again, returning to its original state, as if no one had ever been there.
*
At the same time, in another strange space.
Yan Bujian stood still in the boundless void, his aura as cold as ice. His gaze was fixed on the floating object in front of him, his brows knitted into a deep frown, and the sword-shaped birthmark beneath his eye was tense, emitting a faint reddish glow.
In front of him was an ancient bronze mirror.
The mirror frame was neither made of wood nor jade, but had a bluish-black color that had been deposited over the years, with dense, dark lines wrapped around it. Upon closer inspection, those lines were actually wriggling extremely slowly, like a dormant living thing.
Looking into the mirror, it was even more bizarre—what was reflected wasn't his current appearance, but a chaotic gray mist. The gray mist seemed to have a life of its own, constantly flowing and swirling, sometimes condensing into the shape of mountains, sometimes dispersing into a sky full of stars, as if it contained a completely independent, indescribable world.
Where on earth did this thing come from, and why did it suddenly appear in this darkness?
Yan Bujian's fingers curled up slightly, and a wisp of sword energy gathered at his fingertips - this place was already weird, and this suddenly appearing mirror might be the trigger point of some kind of trap, so he didn't dare to be careless.
But before he could make any further moves, a disembodied voice suddenly rang out in the void. It had no source, but it reached his ears clearly, carrying an ancient and majestic meaning:
"The third level of Yunshan Mountain Test - Kongxianglan, begins."
Before he finished speaking, the gray mist in the mirror suddenly spun violently, forming a deep vortex. Immediately, an irresistible suction force came from the mirror surface. In a flash, a giant gray hand stretched out from it and instantly grasped his body tightly!
"Buzz!"
The blood-red little sword in the corner of his eye finally broke through the limit at this moment. After automatically making a clanging sound, countless blood-colored sword energy burst out from his body in an instant and slashed towards the giant hand!
But the next moment, the sharp sword energy disappeared without a trace when it touched the gray fog, just like ice and snow melting into hot water.
The suction force grew stronger, and Yan Bujian's body began to be uncontrollably dragged closer to the mirror. He could clearly see countless blurry figures swaying in the depths of the vortex in the mirror, like fallen leaves swallowed by the vortex, struggling desperately at this moment.
Who are those people?
Yan Bujian's heart sank suddenly. He wanted to see more details, but his body was pulled closer and closer to the mirror... This already scarred body finally had no strength to resist. The next moment, only a shallow ripple was seen on the mirror -
He was completely drawn into the mirror.
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