The damp and dreary air permeated the place like maggots, and in the narrow tunnels, the temperature was almost unbearable.

I rubbed my arms together as I twisted my head to look at the narrow slit behind me, which had shrunk into a bright yellow line.

"Alas...... ...... shouldn't have come."

With a lamentation, I shook my head and continued walking.

Since Daxun decided to look for Wei Ming, I didn't have the idea of coming out again. In order to improve the efficiency of the march, only a small number of black-robed gnomes joined this improvised team, and of course, Yao and I also did not have the privilege of being held up by the stars like the moon, so we could only honestly be caught in it, enjoying the joy of running like livestock under the bow and crossbow.

Now that I've been reduced to a prisoner, I'm sure I have nothing to say. But to this day, there is still one thing that makes me quite puzzling, that is, even the monster that swallowed it was actually chosen by Xun and staggered to the end.

With each step, the swollen body of the monster made a cracking sound, mixed with the sound of chaotic footsteps, like notes that deviated from the melody in the movement.

"Tsk, why is this thing so long?"

Perhaps it was because the tip of the hole under my feet, which was less than two arms long, was still against my scalp, and the viscous and mysterious darkness that even the light of fire could not penetrate, and for a moment I felt like I was buried alive.

Hearing my complaints, Yao, who was walking in front of her, also looked back at me with a worried expression, but in the darkness, her crooked and damaged face could only have a worse effect.

Xun at the head of the team stopped from time to time to carefully examine the "bloodstains" left by the strange white hands, but they were not so much bloodstains as viscous white pus, smeared on the dark and dirty stone walls with a disgusting stench. And between the randomly piled stone crevices, there are patches of tissues similar to blood vessels plugged into them, and they are regularly agitated.

Out of inopportune curiosity, I squinted my eyes and looked closely, only to see a few tangled lines, as if these milky white veins existed in every slit as far as the eye could see. It was only then that it dawned on me that the reason why this cave hidden behind the cellar could not be supported was probably due to this huge network of rocks.

After resting for a while, Xun got up again and nodded to the two yellow-robed gnomes, and then the team returned to its previous state and buried itself in the unknown.

Walking through the cramped and oxygen-deprived cave, I only felt that the skull on my shoulders was terrible, as if if I was not careful, I would roll to the ground like a ripe melon and fall into a mess. The outline of the object in the center of the field of vision had become blurred, and the direction of gravity had begun to tilt left and right as if it were out of balance, and even though I had tried very hard to tighten my eyelids that were about to stick together, I could not resist the surging sleepiness.

Just as I instinctively stepped forward like a walking corpse, a large, powerful hand suddenly grabbed the hem of my clothes from behind.

"Huh?"

I don't know how long I walked with my eyes closed, and I shook my chaotic head, and the hazy color blocks that wrapped my vision gradually condensed in the increasingly clear firelight,

"How...... Finish? ”

With a low groan, a biting gust of wind hung by, completely dispelling the remaining sleepiness of my slumber, and the majestic blue-gray cliff standing in the distance also occupied all the vision without hindrance.

Looking at the endless precipices like satin, I seemed to understand why I was being pulled by someone. With a cold sweat crawling all over my face, I shuddered and slowly moved my gaze to my left foot, which had taken a half-step forward. Sure enough, below that, there was an endless abyss.

"Damn!"

With a loud roar, I popped back like a grasshopper, and before the nerves could be disconnected, the whole person slammed into the stone-barred dwarf,

"This TM is! Be...... Hehehe. ”

I screamed and twisted my neck in astonishment, but before I could curse, the surrounding circle of arrows reflecting dark light forced back the words that had come to the tip of my tongue.

Smack-

Suddenly, the crisp sound of palms touching each other came, and those stone-carved creatures put down the short bows in their hands in response, and looked at Xun standing on the boulder not far away.

Suddenly, Xun's expression changed, and the two wide giant hands were raised above the eyebrow line and quickly compared a series of complex movements. By the time its dazzling performance was over, all the gnomes had looked at a bright white trail beside the boulder—evidence of Wei Ming's presence.

With a firm finger like a conclusion, a black-robed dwarf with a torch in hand trotted to the edge of the cliff, picked up his arms, and threw the thing in his hand into the distance.

Between the wide, dark walls of the gorge, the flickering light of the fire flew only a short distance before falling towards the bottomless ravine. Standing upside down on the edge of the stone cliff, I stared intently at the meteor-like glow, and there was silence all around, everyone waiting for the imaginary crash of the landing.

However, the glimmer of light from the torches only glided in a fixed arc, as if shrouded in countless blue and black gauze, until even the last shadow dissolved into the jagged strange rocks, and Xun sat on the ground, staring blankly and panickedly at the cold dust.

In the sudden and solemn atmosphere, only the black-robed dwarf just now was still running around, and he was the only one left in the silent canyon, still messily lit not far away.

Maybe it's because of people's innate ability to empathize, or simply Stockholm's comprehensive shock, I am even a little infected by their loss and sadness, and I can't help but want to go to Xun's side to comfort him.

But before the plan to break the jar was implemented, a series of frenzied beatings suddenly sounded in a direction that was extremely far away from us.

Xun was stunned for a moment when he heard it, and then quickly got up, and in the blink of an eye, he had rushed out two or three meters. Because they didn't get an effective order, the remaining gnomes had to stand anxiously in place and watch Xun disappear, and for a while the sound of restless friction between clothes and fingertips was everywhere.

Yao and I looked at each other, like wanderers at a loss under an unfamiliar country voice.

"That-"

Just when I felt that silence did not ease the atmosphere at the moment, a similar striking sound was heard again from the same direction, and my speech was interrupted by the jostling and crowding gnomes, and I was forced to move towards Xun in the tide of the crowd.

From afar, the doubts in my heart were already clear—because at the feet of Xun and the black-robed dwarfs was a staircase that snaked down on the other side of the cliff.

Seeing this situation, I couldn't help but murmur in a low voice,

"Damn, these crazy people......"

As Wei Ming's captive, his safety means nothing to me. Contrary to these paranoid subordinates, I only want to live safely, not to pick up a small life and then seek death non-stop!

But what is the need to communicate with these puppets who are not even human?

Not far away, Xun seemed to notice my strangeness, and gently waved his forehead to the left and right. Before I could react, several large rough hands reached out and pressed Yao and I to the ground half-bent over.

"Hmm!"

How could these lackeys designed by Wei Ming be kind to the dying tribute? Just as I was being caught, Yao's low cry rang out. The thought of the treatment she had received after her separation from me suddenly rose from the heart of a nameless rage. I raised my jaw desperately and yelled at the low dwarf in front of me,

"Let her go! We will go ourselves! ”

But Xun didn't seem to care when he heard it, and there was a coldness in his eyes similar to Wei Ming's.

At the end of the road, anyone can become a little crazy.

Probably losing the desire to survive, I lowered my voice and said darkly,

"If Wei Ming saw my corpse by then, what do you think he would think? Believe me, you can always find a chance to jump off such a narrow road. ”

After speaking, Xun's half-squared body froze, and over the gravel and mud, its dark eyes reflected a strange luster.

After half a ring, I saw Xun slowly raise his right fist, stop at the position of his forehead, and then open it vigorously, facing the broad palm of his hand at me and Yao, who had a blue face.

Immediately afterward, the big hands retreated, leaving only the half-full bow, still aimed at my brow.

"Lead the way."

Seeing that the previous tough attitude worked, I continued to pretend without hesitation. And Xun is naturally happy to see this kind of situation that can avoid trouble, and take the lead in going on.

However, just as I was rubbing my shoulders and trying to follow, I was stopped by a blue-faced fanged gnome, and through the not-so-ugly face, I noticed that Xun seemed to have lined up the line for the descendant.

It wasn't until the swollen monster disappeared sideways at the edge of the stone that Yao and I were brutally pushed over. Looking at the abyss under my feet and the girl beside me who was extremely nervous, I sighed softly, took her shoulders, and stepped onto this narrow road with no end in sight.

Walking up the stone steps of varying heights, the only thing you can see is the remnants of torches. The dangerous road that I haven't walked on for years is covered with moss and slime, and if you step on it, you will be crushed.

"Heavenly ......"

I clung to the rock wall, and Yao, who was in my arms, had not stopped trembling since I hit the road. She walked quite carefully, hesitating for a long time with each step, if it weren't for the monster in front of us, I am afraid we would have been far behind.

"Mmmmmmmm

Suddenly, only a slight scraping sound was heard, and Yao suddenly screamed and fell down most of the time!

In a moment, I reflexively snapped my muscles, grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up from the collapsed slate! Maybe even Yao herself didn't expect this to happen, and her legs were weak and she couldn't stop panting.

"Are you alright?"

Although I was frightened, I still tried to stabilize my body and asked with concern. However, before Yao recovered, I only felt that my back had been smashed hard.

Grunting, I gritted my teeth and turned my head to find the gnome following behind me impatiently gesturing. Perhaps I was carried away by its careless behavior of disregarding human life, and I scolded and scolded at the top of my throat to vent the long-pent-up resentment.

"Don't you have long eyes?! I can't see what I just had—"

But in an instant, I shut my mouth. Not so much because of the arrow feathers facing me, but at the end of the serpent-like procession, there seemed to be a swarthy figure, hidden in the afterglow of the fire like an illusory ghost.

"Hmm!"

The gnome let out a low, inexplicable grunt, motioning for me to hurry up and pull up the group. Immersed in an incomprehensible imagination, I had no choice but to pick up Yao and walk down slowly.

After a few minutes, I still can't forget the silhouette-like shape, but when I think about it, it feels like a distorted shadow in the firelight, or a vision of nervousness.

But in any case, I knew that if I didn't give myself a convincing explanation, I would never be able to go on with peace of mind. So, with trepidation and anxiety, I pretended to look behind me casually.

However, at this glance, I was completely stunned, because there were only a few of them left in the team of at least a dozen people behind me!

At the end of the line, there was still the shapeless black mist.

"Damn! That's, there's—"

I was stunned, goosebumps crawled all over my body! It's a pity that the warning was only half shouted before it was forcibly blocked by the full bowstring.

Suddenly, I was anxious in the dilemma, but this dwarf is obviously not more reasonable than Xun, and if it goes on like this, maybe I may really take my life in vain.

Between the trade-offs, I had to take another step, but at this time, it was as slight and cautious as Yao, who was afraid of heights.

Since I couldn't check it at any time, my hearing was stretched to the limit, and every sound of the wind, every tremor, couldn't escape the senses of being pushed to the top.

But after listening for a long time, I didn't catch any unusual sounds.

Perhaps—that thing is gone?

With a little luck, I twisted my stiff head, but the last sight that caught my eye almost didn't shake me and jumped straight down!

For not only did the shadow not disappear, but it reached an extremely dangerous distance, and the only thing left between us was the dwarf with the short bow! And the rest of the people just evaporated silently.

"You stupid x thing! TM's look at the back! Behind!! ”

Ignoring the threats, I screamed like crazy. Desperately, however, the stupid dwarf thought I was playing tricks, and under my incredulous gaze, he grabbed the arrow feather from the bowstring with his backhand, and plunged it into my shoulder blade like lightning!

"Ahh Depend on! ”

This sudden attack almost drained half of my old life, and with the old wound that was still faintly painful before, I was left with only gasps.

How could I give up so easily in order to survive? However, just as I was about to speak clearly, I found that my lips and teeth were dislocated and useless.

Thinking back to what happened not long ago, I suddenly realized that it was not doing it to hurt me on purpose, but to use the poison applied to the arrow to shut me up completely!

Finally, I was discouraged, so I had to push Yao down step by step under the smug gaze of the dwarf.

Soon after, I noticed the faint sound of a tiny tooth gnawing at bones and tendons, the sound of chewing like a blade slicing through my weak nerves, so slow but unstoppable.

And when this prayer before the death penalty was over, I was at the end.

Relieved, I let go of Yao and let her fumble her way forward. At the same time, I gradually slowed down my pace until I finally stood in the same place completely. Once hope is lost, people become lighter, and this is the only thing I can do to change her fate.

"Mmmm

Determined to die, I cried out to pull it with me into the bottomless canyon! But halfway through my face, a large, rough and familiar hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder!

Then came the voice that carved into the deepest part of my bone marrow,

"Little bunny! Lao Tzu TMD has finally found you! ”