Buzhachi shook his head and said, “Mentor Ruer, please trust His Holiness—he has a way to save all of you!”
The Pope had already said that even those who were contaminated should be brought back. How could Buzhachi not guess that the Pope had found a way to heal the contaminated?
No matter what the reason, Buzhachi had every reason to bring them all back.
“No need… you won’t be able to take them with you…” The old man remained unmoved by Buzhachi’s words.
“Mentor Ruer! If you gather them all together and leave as one, how could you not take them!” Buzhachi’s tone grew slightly agitated. He truly couldn’t understand why the old man was so stubborn.
The old man shook his head, his clouded eyes full of helplessness. Perhaps it was possible to force those who were already half-mad to come along, but…
“With so many people… we’ll attract wolves…”
Wolves, again!
This was the third time Buzhachi had heard of wolves.
Did “wolves” refer to those eerie anomalies?
Buzhachi pondered.
“Awooo—” But before Buzhachi could think it through, a wolf’s howl echoed from above.
The old man’s expression changed, and his clouded eyes began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Please… I beg you… Na’er is in danger…”
Like a dried-up riverbed, the old man’s voice suddenly grew hoarse, as if he had used up every ounce of his strength to speak.
Danger?
Buzhachi’s mind worked quickly, and he instantly realized why the girl was in danger.
He hesitated for a moment as he looked at the old man, then finally moved deeper into the passageway.
“Screee—” Like a severely corroded iron door being wrenched open, a shrill noise came from behind.
Instinctively, Buzhachi turned his head to see the old man trembling as he struggled to stand. His withered hand gripped his once-magnificent staff tightly, and beneath the ragged hem of his robe—where it had been hidden before—two ghastly white bones were exposed…
Then, a pair of eerie green eyes appeared outside the passage.
Goosebumps instantly prickled up and down Buzhachi’s arms. An overwhelming sense of crisis washed over him. Without hesitation, Buzhachi dashed deeper into the passage.
He had no intention of going back to help.
Not only would it be a futile struggle, but if things went badly, he might die himself!
What’s more… that girl still needed him to save her!
Resolute, Buzhachi sped up his pace again. As he pressed on, the faint glimmer of light vanished. The old man hadn’t installed any of those stones deeper inside.
A series of “crack, crack” sounds echoed from the depths.
At first, Buzhachi assumed it was just the sound of snapping twigs, but as he went deeper, the sound grew sharper and louder… Clearly, it wasn’t branches breaking…
It sounded more like… the mad gnawing of bones…
Faintly, there were sobs mixed in with the noise. Buzhachi’s heart clenched. Not daring to pause for even a second, he rushed toward the sound as fast as he could.
Soon, Buzhachi heard the girl’s choked sobs.
“Uncle Jess…”
Looking ahead, he saw a man who had already lost half his body, face twisted and eyes empty, gnawing on the unbroken leg bone of a middle-aged man…
The middle-aged man was using both arms to shield a girl, kicking desperately with his remaining leg at the half-bodied figure gnawing at him.
“Na’er, run! Go to your Grandpa Ruer! They’re all insane!!!” The man’s eyes were bloodshot. Suddenly, he shoved the girl away with all his might, then spun and threw himself at the half-bodied figure, pinning him down with his frail hands.
After being pushed away, the girl clutched her skirt, unable to get up. Her ankle was already a bloody, mangled mess…
Watching the man pin down the half-bodied figure, the girl trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Uncle Jess, I want to go with you!”
The man heard her, turned his head, and glared at her, shouting angrily, “This isn’t the time! Get out of here!”
The girl was startled by his outburst. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but the next second, fear drove her to shrink back…
The half-bodied figure suddenly lunged, biting down savagely on the man’s neck. Black blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across the girl’s face…
The man’s expression froze, then his body collapsed to the ground like a heap of mud.
The half-bodied figure now stared at the girl with a twisted expression, crawling toward her with both hands…
“No… Uncle Jess…” The girl’s face twisted in terror, tears streaming down her cheeks…
Everything had been fine before… Uncle and Auntie were happily eating their food…
So why…
As she watched the claws swinging down at her, the girl squeezed her eyes shut in agony…
But the expected pain never came. Instead, more cold liquid splattered onto her face.
Perplexed, the girl opened her eyes and saw the headless corpse lying before her, her pupils contracting in shock.
Looking up, she saw a faint golden halo shimmering on the dagger in Buzhachi’s hand, while in his other hand, he held a twisted, severed head…
Within the black mist, Muxuan pushed aside a pile of dead branches, his expression grim.
Originally, he’d thought that even if Buzhachi ran into trouble, he could still escape. He’d only sent him to scout ahead; what could go wrong?
But looking at the newly replaced stone bricks beneath the statue, Muxuan sensed the guiding power in the stone he’d given Buzhachi had vanished…
That stone could not only guide Buzhachi back, but also let Muxuan sense Buzhachi’s general position—it was a two-way beacon. But now, Buzhachi was completely out of contact.
Muxuan had no choice but to search for him personally.
For some unknown reason, during his search, a faint power, like a tiny firefly, suddenly flickered into Muxuan’s perception, then quickly disappeared.
But even that fleeting glimpse let Muxuan pinpoint the general location.
Unfortunately, there were only a few trees and a ground littered with dead branches—nothing else…
“Hmm?”
A subtle sense of anomaly suddenly caught Muxuan’s attention.
Without hesitating, he raised his scepter, channeling his entire power of Light through it.
The surging power of Light instantly wove itself into a golden net, driving away the surrounding black mist and ensnaring all the nearby trees at once.
In the next moment, a sizzling sound echoed out, the bark of those dead trees making a noise like oil crackling over a fire as the golden net penetrated deeper.
Scarlet blood then began to trickle from the trunks.
The overwhelming stench of blood made Muxuan frown.
In response, Muxuan commanded the Light with more force, as if trying to twist the dead trees dry like ropes.
Soon, as the blood drained away from the dead trees, the world around Muxuan began to shift. Before him, a wall abruptly appeared, with rules written upon it…
Rule One: Remember, when the wolves howl, only the treetops are safe.
Rule Two: There can never be anyone in the trees. If you see someone in the trees calling to you for help, hide in a house at once.
Rule Three: The villagers are hospitable. You can enter their homes at any time. But if they ask you for help, you must refuse.
Rule Four: …
Buzhachi looked at the people “writhing” on the ground and involuntarily swallowed hard.
Even after all he’d been through, the sight still made his heart tremble.
Without His Holiness, would their fate have been even worse?
Buzhachi had no intention of taking action against these people. As long as they posed no threat to him, there was no need to interfere. He always remembered Muxuan’s advice.
He glanced at the girl beside him, who’d fallen asleep hugging her knees, exhausted from crying, and sat down as well.
Leaving now wasn’t wise; Buzhachi was well aware of how dangerous the “wolf” was. Until the old man returned, he had no intention of going out.
Mentor Ruer should… be able to handle it, right?
But remembering the old man’s condition, Buzhachi was far from confident.
“Awooo—”
As if to confirm his fears, the wolf’s howl rang out once again.
Buzhachi jolted upright, scooped up the still-groggy girl, and—ignoring the “writhing” people on the floor—ran deeper into the passage.
He certainly had no confidence in facing that thing…
But there was nowhere deeper to go; ahead lay only a dead end.
Turning back, he saw a wolf, its matted fur filthy and its eye sockets bleeding, slowly approaching.
And in the wolf’s skull, a staff was jammed…
The moment the wolf locked eyes with him, Buzhachi felt a chill run through his entire body… Mentor Ruer hadn’t stopped it…
As soon as the wolf appeared, the “writhing” people on the floor seemed to regain their sanity. Realizing what was approaching and what they had been doing, fear and despair twisted their faces…
“The wolf is here!”
No one knew who shouted it first, but panic spread rapidly through the crowd.
The girl, too, was startled awake by the shout.
Feeling the girl trembling in his arms, Buzhachi gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and gripped the summoned dagger tightly.
His own strength was limited… so Buzhachi fixed his eyes on the passage behind the wolf.
If he could just escape in the chaos…
“God says… cleanse this place of its sins!”
A clear, resonant voice rang out, and Buzhachi’s face instantly lit up with joy.
That was the Pope’s voice!
In the next instant, the earth above Buzhachi’s head defied gravity and soared upward. In moments, the passage was fully exposed to the surface…
Everyone looked up in shock, and even the wolf paused, letting out a low growl.
Countless golden points of light rained down from above, slowly forming a staircase.
“Tap—tap—”
Clad in magnificent robes and holding a scepter, a golden figure slowly descended…