Of Mountains and Rivers 61

The question bolted through Chu Huan’s mind like lightning, momentarily unsettling his typically composed demeanor.

Indeed, why was this the case?

A bolder soul might concoct various reasons – perhaps the world's population faced restrictions due to natural or administrative factors, or the inhabitants revered the divine mountain with sacred beliefs. Alternatively, it could be that the collapse occurred too swiftly, leaving no time for escape.

Unfortunately, Chu Huan tended to overthink matters, a trait ingrained in both major and minor considerations. Despite adopting a false extroverted persona for work, it not only failed to curb his inclination to overanalyze but also infused shades of "conspiracy theories" and "persecution delusions."

Crouching beside the girl, Chu Huan examined her with unnerving closeness, a dreadful thought surfacing.

Was it conceivable they had long been in the Fallen Land, rendering all experiences and struggles mere illusions?

This notion prompted Chu Huan to abruptly stand up. Whether due to his sudden movement or another factor, his vision momentarily darkened. In that instant, Nanshan, Luger, Yuan Ping – they all vanished!

Never before had Chu Huan felt such panic. It was as if someone had torn open his chest, filling it with dry ice.

His perceived stable mental state resembled a line of dominoes without the crucial first and last pieces. The slightest disturbance threatened a chain reaction.

Simultaneously, a terrifying voice in Chu Huan’s mind bombarded him with questions, nearly unhinging him:

How could someone who choked in front of him come back to life?

Why did the water birth an acquaintance from three years ago?

Moreover, he always seemed destined for solitude. How could someone like Nanshan recklessly love him?

Suddenly, a powerful light flashed, and someone pulled Chu Huan aside. Instinctively shielding his eyes, his back drenched in cold sweat.

Reality snapped back. His heart pounded as if struck by thunder.

To others, it seemed Chu Huan had merely bent down to inspect the person accidentally stepped on by Yuan Ping. Unaware of his revelation, he rose like a corpse. Before anyone could inquire, darkness breached the staff's protective aura, reaching for Chu Huan.

Nanshan pulled him, a blaze of fire momentarily repelling the encroaching darkness.

"Chu Huan!"

He shook himself vigorously, his gaze refocusing. Nanshan still wore Chu Aiguo’s ring, its tight grip causing a strangely real discomfort beneath the thin layer of fabric.

Chu Huan winced, pinching his brow hard, struggling to reconnect with reality.

Certainly, Nanshan couldn't be a hallucination.

For months in the Fallen Land, an eerie stillness enveloped them, undisturbed until this sudden frenzy erupted.

Nanshan's hands were steady, ruling out his trembling as the source of the play of light and shadow. It seemed as if strange ripples lurked, awaiting any lapse in vigilance to surge.

They focused on their footing, but Nanshan, overly protective, refused to release Chu Huan’s hand. Deep concern in his voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Guan replied, “It’s nothing. These past few days have been tense, and that girl startled me. It was like a hallucination.”

Nanshan’s grip tightened, not accepting the explanation. After all, Chu Huan had encountered old soldiers before, so why would a young girl scare him?

Observing seriously, Yuan Ping remarked, “Wait, look, this restless shadow seems to mainly target Chu Huan.”

The shimmering boundary line's unnatural movement occasionally deviated, focusing on Chu Huan.

Yuan Ping asked, “What’s going on?”

The earlier hallucination claiming "everyone is non-existent" left Chu Huan in disarray. He tried to divert attention with a forced smile, "Could it be because I'm too handsome?"

Nanshan sensed something wrong, feeling Chu Huan's hand cold and trembling. Handing the Patriarch’s staff, Nanshan said, "Take this."

The firelight blazed, forcing the encroaching shadows to retreat.

Nanshan declared, "Something's off here, let's move on!"

Unanimous agreement prompted a swift withdrawal from the area.

The young woman, once in the firelight, receded with their footsteps. In a blink, she was on the verge of being swallowed by shadows.

Chu Huan heard her voice, saying: “Mu Hela! Mu Hela!”

Her high-pitched repeated calls throbbed in his head. Unable to bear it, he blurted, “Who is Mu Hela?”

The screams ceased abruptly. Before Chu Huan could catch his breath, the young girl retorted, “And who are you?”

Chu Huan's footsteps halted abruptly.

Initially bewildered, Chu Huan stared at the female corpse like a deer in headlights. Then, he uttered an entirely unfamiliar name and slammed on the brakes, struck by a bolt of madness, looking disoriented.

Driven nearly crazy, Yuan Ping shouted, “What’s wrong with you now?”

Chu Huan, perplexed, asked, “Did you not hear that?”

Wide-eyed with fear, Yuan Ping trembled, “What was I supposed to hear?”

“She was asking me who I am,” Chu Huan hesitated, casting a wary glance at Nanshan, “Leader, can we step back a bit?”

“Stop calling me that,” Nanshan replied with annoyance, holding onto Chu Huan’s shirt. After a moment, Nanshan nodded, “Be careful.”

About to step forward, Yuan Ping was stopped by Luger.

Luger suggested, “If he's the person mentioned in the Sacred Text, the one ‘who can communicate between the present world and the afterlife,’ hearing unusual things wouldn’t be surprising. Let’s give it a try.”

Yuan Ping dismissed it, “This is too far-fetched. I’ve known him since we were in diapers; he doesn't possess special abilities, let alone the ability to communicate between worlds. Who could he possibly communicate with?”

Frowning seriously, Luger scrutinized Yuan Ping and asked, “You still wear diapers?”

Left speechless, Yuan Ping muttered, “…”

As they conversed, the group retreated a few steps. The flickering light illuminated the motionless face of the young girl. Chu Huan handed the staff back to Nanshan and, keeping distance, tentatively asked, "I came from outside. How do I address you?"

“Outside? Where is outside?”

Chu Huan, while listening, conveyed what he heard to the others. The situation was peculiar; Chu Huan seemed to address a lifelike wax figure, sharing the conversation contents as if delusional.

Straightening up, Chu Huan feared appearing like a pervert.

Nanshan said, “Ask her where she is from.”

Chu Huan complied.

The young girl, with a zombie-like expression, seemed to have a telepathic connection with Chu Huan. She mentioned a mountain unknown to him, conveying the pronunciation.

Nanshan and Luger exchanged glances. Luger nodded, “I have some recollection. There have been traces of their people’s activities towards the Sunken Star Island in the last two to three hundred years. We are heading there, covering about ten to twenty percent of the journey.”

The term “ten to twenty percent” delivered a harsh reality, especially with Luger’s consistently nonchalant expression, capable of making one’s knees go weak.

At that moment, the young girl’s voice asked, “Who are you, and why are you in my heart?”

Chu Huan’s wry smile hadn’t faded when he was instantly taken aback.

Nanshan hurriedly inquired, “What did she say?”

Chu Huan replied, “… She said that we are in her heart.”

While the phrase “in the heart of a beautiful girl” would typically boost any man’s self-esteem, the four vagabonds failed to find any reason to feel elated. They exchanged glances, and Nanshan said, “You… um, ask her where she is right now, and what is she doing?”

The girl fell silent for a moment, then burst into tears, saying, "I'm hiding in a cave; I don't know where this is. There are many monsters outside, and my mom and dad, as well as Mu Hela, they hid me here, and I don't know where they've gone. I'm scared…"

Chu Huan conveyed her words verbatim. It was clear that this young girl was experiencing something from another world.

Yuan Ping asked, "Have we entered this girl's consciousness, or is she trapped here, living in her own illusion? Honestly, I… I'm a bit confused right now. Are we the ones who are real, or is her side the reality?"

When the troublemaker remained silent, an air of uncertainty pervaded. Rug couldn't take it any longer, raising his hand, gently pressing down on Yuan Ping's head.

The patriarchs almost simultaneously said, “Of course we are real.”

Yuan Ping remained silent, “…”

He didn't understand how these two were so confidently sure, but in this environment, having unwavering companions was indeed comforting.

Chu Huan said to the young girl, "Carefully describe the environment you are in."

In the midst of the discussion, the girl spoke, and Chu Huan relayed her words. Nanshan drew on the ground but paused.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The place she described is the windward pass, and the Sound Beasts have exceptionally keen senses. If what she says is true, the monsters are constantly passing by, and she wouldn’t be able to hide here.”

Having faced Sound Beasts head-on, especially during the river encounter, they knew the creatures’ acute sense of smell.

“Furthermore, Sound Beasts’ sound attacks are instinctive,” Luger continued. “If you were to hide among a group of them for even ten days, even a deaf person would perish. No one could survive.”

“Could she be lying?” Yuan Ping asked.

Chu Huan hesitated. He was the only one who could directly hear the young girl’s words, feeling the extreme panic in her voice. While describing her surroundings, she almost screamed in a frenzy, claiming a Sound Beast had stuck its head into the cave and seen her.

A lonely little girl, with loved ones gone, trapped in a dark cave with monsters ready to tear her apart.

It was a perfect horror movie scene. No chance of escape or resistance, the deadly danger always imminent.

Chu Huan had seen such scenarios in horror novels and movies. If the protagonist was clever and powerful, they handled situations with ease. From the audience's view, it could be suspenseful or thrilling but not truly frightening. Only when the protagonist was bewildered did the audience feel fear through their perspective.

The encroaching shadows of the Fallen Land ensnared her in a terrifying scenario. Why?

Collecting his thoughts, Chu Huan said to the young girl, “If the Sound Beast passed so close without harming you and without roaring, have you considered it might be incapable of harming you?”

People on the brink of terror couldn’t easily grasp reasoned arguments. Chu Huan attempted to console her, but it was futile. The young girl seemed to have gone through a transformation, pushed past the threshold of fear. Chu Huan heard her screaming endlessly.

He sighed, sat down, and waited. Five minutes passed, then ten, but the girl continued her piercing screams, neither devoured by her monsters nor losing her voice.

Frustrated, Chu Huan said, “She’s still screaming. What do we do?”

Nanshan pulled him up, “Let’s go.”

Hesitating, Chu Huan rose with Nanshan’s help. A sharp pain pierced his chest, recalling the middle-aged man from his dream by the Sacred Spring. He whispered “Kindling.”

Kindling?

“Wait, let me try again. Give me a little more time.”

Chu Huan spoke, took a step forward, grabbing the girl’s shoulder, squeezing it firmly, but to no avail. Her features seemed sealed off, unaware of his presence as she continued to scream, “It’s coming in! It’s coming in!”

Changing his tone, Chu Huan lowered his voice to sound deep and chilling, mimicking Luger’s smirk, “It’s just a mere Sound Beast.”

He mimicked Luger so convincingly that even Luger himself appeared momentarily surprised. Remarkably, it worked. The young girl’s cries involuntarily paused.

“Just a mere Sound Beast,” Chu Huan continued. “It moves so sluggish, a single arrow could easily pierce through its eye.”

The girl stammered, “You… you…”

"I've cleaved through countless skulls of these creatures," boasted Chu Huan. "Removing their cranial casings is akin to chopping wood.”

The young girl cried, "Ah! It's coming! Too fast! Help!"

Chu Huan smiled provocatively, "Surrender your body to me, do not retreat, or you'll embarrass yourself."

Maybe the local folklore lacked a tale of "possession," or perhaps the young girl had been driven to the brink of desperation by fear. In any case, she heedlessly replied, "No… No retreat… It's going to snatch me up if I don't! Take it! Take it!"

Success or failure hung in the balance.

Chu Huan's palms were sweaty, yet his words flowed undeterred. With a smirk, he quipped, "Let it bite you, and let's see if it even has the strength!"

The young girl's scream peaked, almost tearing through the air.

Suddenly, her voice hushed, leaving an eerie stillness in Chu Huan's ears.

What's happening? Did she perish in "that world"?

Was his assumption mistaken?

Chu Huan's eyes darted around, and he clenched his teeth.

Nanshan gripped his arm, and Chu Huan's expression turned solemn as he shook his head.

Eventually, Chu Huan sighed helplessly, stood up, and addressed the others, "Let's go."

As they prepared to leave, Chu Huan suddenly heard the timid voice of the young girl, "It… it's gone?"

Chu Huan's pupils constricted. He quickly turned, took a deep breath, and forced his voice to sound gentle and calm, "I'm with you; these wretches won't harm you. You can walk out of that cave now."

The young girl hesitated for a moment and asked, "You've been here all along?"

Chu Huan chuckled softly but remained silent.

Everyone held their breath as the shadow that had enveloped the girl, rendering her lifeless like a wax figurine, suddenly retreated on both sides. In the contrast of light and shadow, she now seemed to radiate a glow, like a tiny star igniting in the vast darkness.

Chu Huan, drained by the ordeal, followed her outburst. Before she could sigh in relief, the shadow that had withdrawn from the girl rushed towards him.

Before Chu Huan could regain his balance, Nanshan pushed him forward forcefully, urging, "Run!"

The two small shadows, no longer fearing the flames on the Patriarch's staff, relentlessly chased them like maggots on bones. The four people tied together had no choice but to sprint desperately.

Yuan Ping yelled as he ran, "Four Eyes, I can't believe you. Why do you keep stirring up trouble!"

Chu Huan replied in despair, "How would I know?"

Yuan Ping retorted, "You casually seduce an underage girl, and then 'surrender your body to me'? Where's your shame? Where are your boundaries?"

Chu Huan fell silent, “…” 

He could feel Nanshan's hand on his wrist tightening. Although Nanshan didn't utter a word, his mood was probably far from pleasant. 

Chu Huan's spirits instantly dampened as well.