Translator: Cinder Translations
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With the torches providing light, the previously eerie and terrifying staircase felt much more bearable, of course, provided no one let their imagination run wild. They carefully avoided the areas where collapses had occurred, and the Fatty pressed his entire body against the wall, inching along by feeling the wall with his hands, fearful of falling. This made Jiang Cheng, who was walking in front of him and planning to follow the same path, feel very inconvenienced.
He turned around and whispered a few words into the Fatty's ear.
The next second, the Fatty's massive frame suddenly jerked away from the wall, his hair almost standing on end, staring at the wall as though it were some sort of monster.
"Stop touching it," Jiang Cheng whispered, "You might wake something up from the wall."
Based on previous observations and his sense of touch, Jiang Cheng deduced that there were some obscure patterns engraved on the wall next to the staircase, invisible to the eye, but detectable by touch.
The craftsmanship seemed similar to the first stone door.
It must have been made by the same group of craftsmen.
The image of the eerie, strange beast immediately flashed in the Fatty's mind. He swallowed involuntarily, wondering if such a creature was recorded in the Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas).
TL/N: The Classic of Mountains and Seas, also known as Shanhai jing, formerly romanized as the Shan-hai Ching, is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts.
The loli girl and the tall man walked at the back, holding their torches low so that they could clearly see the stairs below.
The Fatty had climbed halfway and was about to take a break when he glanced back.
The loli girl and the man had fallen about 10 meters behind, walking slowly, almost carelessly.
The Fatty thought to himself that they were quite bold. If it were him, he wouldn't dare to stray so far from the main group.
Jiang Cheng, leaning against the wall, also seemed to be resting, though his chest was steady, and his face wasn't flushed or sweaty.
But when the young master turned around and looked at him, Jiang Cheng suddenly changed.
He started coughing, then gasped for breath, his face flushed and looking like he was about to collapse.
The Fatty: "..."
The young master, holding a torch, his face illuminated by the firelight, revealed an unreadable smile. "Brother Hao," he said, concerned, "It seems like your body needs more exercise."
Jiang Cheng, gasping for air, waved his hand, shaking his head, causing the Fatty to almost feel embarrassed on his behalf.
Finally, Jiang Cheng cleared his throat and, with a voice weak from exhaustion, said, "Brother Chen, you don't understand. I'm not like you guys. I got dragged into this nightmare through my work," he patted his waist, pushing forward, tilting his head. "So I'm really tired."
Upon seeing Jiang Cheng's action, the Fatty furrowed his brow and suddenly felt a bad premonition.
The young master seemed to have not understood Jiang Cheng's explanation, and after a few seconds, he asked with confusion, "You didn't enter the nightmare in a dream?"
"Yeah."
"Then how..."
"My work is different from yours," Jiang Cheng said, supporting his waist and stretching in a casual manner, "I make money while lying down."
"Lying down?" The young master was stunned, then scrutinized Jiang Cheng from head to toe for a while, clearly reaching the peak of his curiosity about Jiang Cheng.
Just as Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes, slightly opening his mouth and waiting for him to ask that question so he could show off, the Fatty suddenly came over, impatiently urging, "Let's go, this place is unsafe."
"Hmm," the young master nodded, then glanced at Jiang Cheng one last time before turning around and walking off.
The Fatty, looking at the frustrated Jiang Cheng, said, "Let's go too."
Without waiting for Jiang Cheng's response, he walked ahead.
Standing before the second stone door, feeling the warmth and light seeping from the small gap, everyone finally felt a sense of relief.
The rock-climbing girl, who had been inconspicuous the whole time, was the first to enter the room.
Just as Jiang Cheng was about to take his revenge on the Fatty, planning to torment him a bit before shoving him through the door gap, a sudden cry came from inside the room.
It was the rock-climbing girl.
Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then immediately pulled the Fatty, who was already near the door, behind him.
The Fatty, thrown off balance, gained a deeper understanding of the doctor's strength.
Jiang Cheng and the young master both stepped back from the stone door, neither of them intending to go in. The two of them, supporting each other, showed incredible tacit understanding.
The scream inside only rang out once before it stopped.
Something felt off.
The young master lowered his voice and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine… I'm fine," the rock-climbing girl's voice came again, but it sounded strange, as if her voice was trembling.
She was scared.
But more than fear, it felt like she had discovered something incomprehensible.
"Come in and take a look, they're gone!" the rock-climbing girl's voice came again.
No one outside moved, and everyone held their breath, almost hoping they could stop breathing altogether.
It seemed like the rock-climbing girl's voice was moving.
After a long pause, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke, "Miss Yin, what did you see when you were with me earlier?"
The sounds of movement inside abruptly stopped.
Jiang Cheng and the young master both stepped back. The latter even glanced at the stairs behind them, as though looking for a way out.
The next second, footsteps quickly approached the door, and before anyone could react, the rock-climbing girl rushed out, showing most of her body. "Come in and see!" she urged urgently, then seemed to remember something, her face showing a distressed expression as she added, "The person I was with was this gentleman, and my last name isn't Yin. I'm human! Not…"
Once they entered the room, they were shocked to find that the motorcycle girl and the older woman had disappeared.
This room wasn't large, so how could these two living people just vanish?
"Could it have been those people?" the Fatty said. "They must have snuck up while we were talking below and took them."
"No," the young master shook his head immediately, rejecting the idea. "There are no signs of a struggle nearby. Those two couldn't have been taken without a reaction. They wouldn't be that careless."
"If we rule out any supernatural events, then they likely left on their own," the young master continued.
"Let's not jump to conclusions. Assume they left voluntarily," Jiang Cheng said calmly, surveying the room. "Think about it, why would they leave?"
"They must have encountered some danger and left on their own," the rock-climbing girl speculated.
This was the only possibility she could think of, as the location was ideal—easily defendable and with a comforting fire.
"They might have discovered something extremely important," Jiang Cheng stroked his chin and suddenly spoke, "and then decided to go down and inform us."
(End of the Chapter)
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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.