Ye Fan stared at the group of elderly people, all with white hair and frail appearances, unable to speak for a long time. They were unmistakably his familiar classmates, but seeing them like this was truly frightening.
Pang Bo was also stunned, feeling a mix of fear and dread. He couldn't help but think to himself that if he had turned out like them, he might even have felt ready to die.
The two hurriedly approached to check on the group, relieved to find that they were still breathing and that no one was in immediate danger.
"Huh?"
Pang Bo noticed someone lying in the grass—Liu Yiyi. She showed no signs of aging and looked just as delicate and fragile as she had in the past, her eyes closed, appearing pitiful.
This discovery made Ye Fan and Pang Bo overjoyed. They had been good friends with Liu Yiyi since school, and they now felt a deep sympathy for her, not wanting anything bad to happen to her.
Under an ancient tree, Ye Fan found Zhang Ziling, who now appeared to be in his forties. Although he seemed to have lost some years, he didn't look as frail as Zhou Yi and the others.
"Zhang Ziling has turned into a middle-aged man."
"Better than turning into Old Ziling, I guess."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo muttered quietly to each other.
Soon, Liu Yiyi woke up. Upon seeing Ye Fan and Pang Bo, she was shocked and stared with wide eyes. Zhang Ziling also woke up shortly after, and upon realizing his condition, he couldn't help but let out a loud scream. It was hard for anyone to accept going from a youthful, handsome man to a middle-aged man.
"Ziling, don't be so upset. Just look at them, and you'll feel better about yourself."
Zhang Ziling looked over at Zhou Yi, Li Xiaoman, and the others. He froze, realizing that things could be worse. There was no such thing as "the worst"; there was only "worse than the worst."
Among the group, Ye Fan and Pang Bo had returned to their youthful forms, Liu Yiyi showed no change, and Zhang Ziling had lost twenty years of his life. The others had all turned into old men and women, their bodies frail and deteriorated.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo exchanged glances. They immediately thought of the translucent red fruit they had eaten. At the time, they had only felt a rush of energy and rejuvenation. Now, it seemed the fruit was far from ordinary—it could almost be described as magical!
For some unknown reason, everyone had aged except for those who had eaten the fruit, who seemed to have resisted the ravages of time.
"Just what kind of power is this that has taken their youth and vitality?" Pang Bo wondered, perplexed.
"I think it has something to do with the Ancient Forbidden Land," Ye Fan speculated.
The Ancient Forbidden Land was a place so named for its association with the ancient past. It was a place where even animals and insects would avoid. It was desolate and full of death, a place of great danger and evil.
Yet, they had walked out of it unscathed, which seemed to contradict all logic. The name "Ancient Forbidden Land" seemed to be misleading.
"Yes, it must be the Ancient Forbidden Land!" Pang Bo agreed after a moment of thought.
Both of them thought that some terrifying force from the Forbidden Land had drained the group's youth and vitality. But why had it only manifested after they left? That was something they couldn't understand.
"Perhaps it's a curse. Maybe as soon as you enter the Forbidden Land, whether you leave or not, the curse activates after a certain period, and there's no escaping it."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both grateful. If they hadn't eaten a few of those strange fruits, they would probably have been as old as the others by now.
Some time passed, and the group slowly regained consciousness. Soon, the mountaintop was filled with mournful cries that sent chills down everyone's spine, followed by sobs that echoed through the air.
Growing old before your time, seeing youth fade into wrinkles and white hair—this was the cruelest fate. In their mid-twenties, they had been full of life, but in the blink of an eye, they were aging rapidly, their faces covered in wrinkles and their hair graying. It was unbearable.
"Why has this happened to me?" Zhou Yi trembled as he reached out and touched his wrinkled skin, pulling out a handful of white hair. His voice, frail and old, shouted, "Why?!"
Nearby, Wang Ziwen shuddered, checking his own condition. His eyes were clouded, with huge bags under them, his once youthful features now completely gone. He trembled, "I can't believe this..."
"Ahhh..." Lin Jia nearly broke down, her scream startling the birds into flight.
A woman's beauty is her most important asset, and for someone as beautiful and sensual as her, to suddenly find her once smooth skin dull and rough, aged beyond recognition—this was more torturous than death.
On the other side, Li Xiaoman was equally devastated, feeling as though her very soul was being torn apart. Once, she was like a delicate, pure lotus flower, but now her hair had turned white, her skin sagging and wrinkled, her eyes clouded, and her face full of deep creases.
Seeing Ye Fan approach, Li Xiaoman screamed, "Don't come near me!" She covered her face with her hands, crying uncontrollably, before burying her head in her knees.
Ye Fan didn't approach to avoid provoking her further. Instead, he tried to comfort the group, "Don't despair. In this world, even gods exist. What can't happen? There must be a way to fix this."
The mountaintop was filled with gloom and despair. Seeing Ye Fan and Pang Bo—two boys who appeared to be eleven or twelve—was like a stab to the heart for the others. While most had grown old, these two had returned to their youth, which made many feel both envious and resentful.
"Oh my God, this is insane!" Kaede cursed in both Chinese and English, expressing his grief.
"Calm down, man," Pang Bo said as he walked up and patted Kaede on the shoulder. "Growing old with the one you love is the most romantic thing in the world."
Kaede immediately burst into tears, sobbing like a child, "My girlfriend... she's not here. This isn't romantic at all."
Pang Bo was momentarily taken aback. He glanced at Li Xiaoman but said nothing, choosing to move on to comfort others.
"Ye Fan, why haven't you two aged?" Zhou Yi was the first to calm down. He stared at Ye Fan and Pang Bo, his cloudy eyes sharp as he demanded an answer.
The others also paused their mourning and turned to look at them.
Pang Bo, feeling uncomfortable under Zhou Yi's gaze, jokingly replied, "Oh, Grandpa Zhou, you don't think we're behind this, do you? If we had that kind of power, we'd just seal the fate and be gods, not ordinary people like this."
Lin Jia stopped crying and looked at Ye Fan, almost pleading, "Ye Fan, tell us the truth. How can we restore our youth? What did you do?"
Ye Fan could only offer them comfort, giving them hope. The strange red fruit had already been eaten, and there was no other solution.
"Let's leave this place... go to that Immortal Palace!" Zhou Yi shakily stood up, pointing toward the distant mountain. There, temples and palaces stretched across the landscape, resembling a celestial palace descending to earth. Despite his old body, his mind was still sharp, and he recognized that this was the only hope left. If there were immortal beings there, they might have the power to reverse this.
The group, supporting each other, began descending the mountain. Many were frail, and their movements were slow, so Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Liu Yiyi, and Zhang Ziling had to help them along.
"Grandpa Zhou, Grandpa Wang, I'll help you both," Pang Bo said, walking between them and supporting both Zhou Yi and Wang Ziwen. Wang Ziwen smiled bitterly, while Zhou Yi remained expressionless.
For some reason, Li Xiaoman chose to let Ye Fan help her, but along the way, she said nothing, only crying uncontrollably, nearly passing out from grief.
"What's going on? Why is there still another mountain in the way?"
Ye Fan and the others began to sense that something was wrong. Despite having crossed one mountain, when they looked ahead, the Immortal Palace still seemed as distant as before, separated by another mountain.
"Why hasn't the distance changed?" They had crossed a mountain, yet the palace was still as far as ever. They began to realize that it was impossible to approach.
"It's time to choose," Ye Fan thought aloud. "Maybe we shouldn't keep going. That place is a maze we may never reach."
Suddenly, a strong smell of blood filled the air, and the trees rustled. A huge black beast, over five meters tall, rose up before them. It rushed toward the group, its claws gleaming coldly.
The beast had the body of an ape, but its head was strange, resembling a bird's beak, making it look like an evil spirit rather than a simple beast.
Most of the group froze in fear, and two people collapsed on the spot. If they were caught by this terrifying creature, they would surely be torn apart.
"Ye Fan, watch out!" Pang Bo shouted as he rushed forward, swinging the large bronze plaque he had taken from the Great Thunder Sound Temple.
Ye Fan pushed the two people beside him aside and, with the golden Vajra Pestle in hand, rushed to meet the beast. At this moment, everyone had to fight for survival.