Although the stone pillar had lit up, there was no light membrane present. Aisike walked around the pillar a few times, but nothing abnormal happened, causing a great sense of loss. He let out a long sigh, removed the crystal stones he had attached, and the pillar dimmed again.
Ange watched from a distance. When he saw Aisike in vain, he lowered his head and glanced at his wrist. Was the leather accessory which transformed from the light membrane the key to activate the teleportation passage?
He noticed the stone pillar dimmed again once Aisike removed the crystals. Ange realized the key to his return home might just be those crystals.
Once detached, the crystal stones had shrunk a size smaller than when they had been attached. Aisike exhaled onto it with a pained heart before putting them back into his bag.
On the way back, as Aisike passed by Ange, he shrugged his shoulders and said bitterly, "It was a failure. We couldn't open it. Maybe we need to learn your survival methods earlier than expected."
My survival methods? Planting vegetables? Ange tilted his head curiously, and followed Aisike again.
Noticing Ange was still following him, Aisike couldn't help but chuckle, "So you're still with me? Planning to follow me back to the Underground City? Well, the wilderness is too dangerous. I might not see you again when I come next time, so feel free to follow me."
Ange tilted his head again, sensing Aisike might have misunderstood something. The Underground City? Were there blue crystals there?
When they were about to reach the cave, they saw a zombie yelling outside Ange's cave.
Upon waking up, the Little Zombie discovered Ange wasn't there. It therefore refused to leave the cave, hollering at the entrance instead, as though believing its caws could bring Ange back.
Indeed, Little Zombie's consistent howling eventually brought Ange back. The zombie leaped excitedly and ran towards him, refusing to leave afterwards.
Hence, Aisike continued his way and Ange followed him as usual, but this time with a little tail, the Little Zombie, mimicking his every move precisely.
A man, a bone horse, a skeleton, a zombie, a bizarre group it was. They ascended the slope, reaching the peak beyond which laid a limitless wilderness. Flat and desolate, with an end out of sight.
They walked in one direction, from morning until evening, till about the time the Resting Wind began to blow, a sudden 'ditch' appeared on the supposedly flat ground.
Like a crevasse cut into the ground, it sank deep. Seeing the 'ditch', Aisike beamed, saying excitedly, "I thought we would have to spend another night out here. Hurry up, we've reached the Underground City."
Just as Ange's party entered the 'ditch', the wind on the wasteland became stronger, but was blocked at the edge. Thanks to the edge's windscreens, the ditch was much windier than the outside, serving the same function as a cave.
Ange looked up, feeling the sharp wind howling atop his head. The chilling sensation was even stronger than inside the cave. Here, guiding the cold air would be more efficient than inside the cave, right?
Aisike looked back at Ange and said, "Hurry up, or this evil wind may blow you away."
After his reminder, Aisike segued into his habitual monologue, muttering, "This used to be a big river. The water flowed to this place, encountered the lava formation, then seeped into the ground, eroding out a huge underground space. This is where our Underground City was built. If it hadn't been for this underground area, we might have been killed by the evil wind."
Aisike murmured incoherently, not asking for any response. As he said, spending days alone in the wilderness, you developed a habit of talking to anything, even yourself.
He used to talk to his bone horse, but now speaking to a skeleton wasn't anything strange. Plus, he had a feeling that Ange seemed to understand him, at least better than his dim-witted bone horse.
Ange listened quietly, observing his surroundings. Probably because the Resting Wind was kept outside, the ditch's environment was significantly better than the exterior. There were even shrubs in the corner, and moss grew on the shaded side of the stones. From time to time, he could spot insects skimming about.
In the shrubbery ahead, a stone attracted Ange's attention. He noticed a black smoke wound around the stone, invisible to the naked eye. Seeing Ange glance in its direction, the smoke moved and slowly formed a human face.
"That's a ghost, known as Black Face, it is Old Witch Feilin's pet. Black Face, this is a young friend I've brought back, don't scare him," Aisike introduced and then spoke a word to the ghost.
The face formed by the smoke, with two hollows where the eyes should be, lingered on Ange and Little Zombie for a moment before receding into a cloud of smoke once more and winding around the stone again.
Further down, on the side of the ditch's bottom, there was a large slit. It spanned over ten meters in width and stood about four to five meters tall, serving as the entrance to the Underground city.
At the entrance stood a figure, holding an exquisite Magic Wand, peeking around curiously in the direction of the ditch.
This was a very 'human-like' figure, dry and thin. The skin visible outside his clothes lacked any luster, all wrinkly. His muscles seemed drained of all moisture, devoid of any elasticity. His eye sockets were deep, cheekbones high, making him look like a dry corpse.
This was indeed a dry corpse. Upon seeing the 'human,' Aisike called out from afar, "Hey, Feilin, what are you doing here? Are you here to welcome me? That's quite grand."
The owner of the ghost just now was indeed, Old Witch Feilin.
Feilin chuckled, revealing a very cordial smile, "Black Face saw you coming back. So, how did it go? Did you find anything?"
Even though the Old Witch was being subtle, Aisike knew what he was asking. He just did not want to put too much pressure on Aisike.
Aisike forced a smile, shaking his head, "No, they're also starving and unwilling to sell."
Feilin gave a disappointed nod, "That's not surprising. More and more places can't grow crops anymore. Everyone's running out of food. If they sell to us, people will starve on their end. You don't need to feel bad. It's not your fault."
Aisike gave a wry smile and said, "In any case, I didn't manage to buy any food. So, I went to the Sea of the Deceased. The teleport channel is still closed, but the Demon Crystal has shrunk a bit."
Upon hearing this, Feilin didn't seem concerned. In fact, he seemed more disappointed, "Still can't open it? That is also expected. It's been a thousand years, and no one knows the status of the Resting Camp. I hope Your Majesty is in peace. If the Demon Crystal shrinks, let it shrink. We can't eat it even if there's no food to buy. You're tired, go and rest."
The comforting words from Feilin made Aisike's eyes mist up. After walking past Feilin, he managed a smile, "At the Sea of the Deceased, I met a quiet skeleton who followed me back on its own. Haha, I suspect it understands my words. It seems to have some wisdom."
Aisike's words made Feilin shift his gaze to Ange. He gave Ange a casual glance from head to toe until his eyes landed on Ange's wrist, and his body gave a violent shake, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Aisike had already entered the Underground city, unaware of Feilin's unusual behavior. Feilin stumbled to Ange's side, dropping his exquisite Magic Wand carelessly. He reached out with a trembling hand to hold Ange's wrist but withdrew halfway when he realized something was off, his demeanor flustered.
If Aisike had not gone in, he would've been startled to see the usually calm Old Witch in such a state.
Feilin was agitated for a while before he looked at Ange with hopeful eyes and asked, "Are you...Are you the new Lord Observer?"