Edited by Jules
Although Qi Ning’s writing was extremely abstract, it had to be said that he was a pretty dependable guy.
Xiao Lan and the others had been at a loss as to how to find Conversion Forest, yet Qi Ning had already given them a lead.
Xiao Lan put away the paper that Qi Ning had left behind. “There’s no time to lose. Let’s leave as soon as possible, in case something happens.”
Wang Taidi nodded. “The closer it is to Sara, the more dangerous. We can’t leave him there on his own.”
The three prepared to walk out of the room and leave.
All of a sudden, they stopped moving at the same time and turned their heads.
Only to see a familiar head appear at the window once more.
It was the long-necked fellow who had secretly spied on Xiao Lan from outside the window. Now, he stared at the people in the room with the same sinister smile and said hoarsely, “You’ll… all… die…”
After that, he even opened his mouth to bite the glass, making clicking sounds.
He didn’t care about public hygiene or personal image at all.
Xiao Lan frowned. Why had this guy come again?
It seemed that Xiao Lan had been too gentle last time, making the other party brave enough to disco-dance above the heads of members of society.
Without waiting for Xiao Lan to move, Luo had already rushed over like a gust of wind.
He grabbed the hair of the long-necked man and yanked him into the room.
Who knew how long this guy’s neck was; even after pulling in a good chunk of neck, his body still couldn’t be seen.
But it wasn’t like Luo had planned to drag the rest of his body in.
With the slender fingers of an artist, Luo nimbly and skillfully tied the long neck into an artistic pretzel.
Of course, it was a sense of art exclusive to Luo.
Luo’s smile was as elegant as ever, as if welcoming an honoured guest as he said, “Could I trouble you to be quiet?”
But behind the smile was a murderous air that was about to manifest.
“Cough…” Long-neck made a pained sound.
He suddenly felt that these outsiders seemed different today, as if… they were especially cruel…
It seemed he had chosen the wrong time to bother them.
After that, a black bone blade was pointed coldly at the tip of his nose.
The blade emitted an discomforting aura, making him too scared to move, as if a single touch would send him to the gates of heaven.
Xiao Lan slid the blade up Long-neck’s nose to the space between his eyebrows. “If you don’t know how to be quiet, perhaps we might have to use a more forceful method. For example, just bury you underground. Like that, you’ll forever be unable to become one with Sara.”
This was the so-called ‘to hit a snake, strike it seven inches below its head‘.
Threatening these residents who blindly believed in Sara with bodily harm was useless. It would be more useful to use something related to Sara as a threat.
Sure enough, Long-neck’s eyes filled with terror when he heard ‘forever be unable to become one with Sara’.
No, these disgusting outsiders, how can they do this?!!!
They were practically able to hear his thoughts.
Wang Taidi took out a shovel from his storage space. It looked ornamental and didn’t seem like it was for practical use, but it truly was a shovel.
Wang Taidi gently weighed the shovel in his hands.
He smiled as he approached Long-neck.
At the same time, he studied Long-neck’s neck that had been twisted into a pretzel, as if considering the best place to bury him.
Xiao Lan asked with a smile, “So, can I ask you to please be quiet?”
Long-neck’s terrified eyes swept over the three smiling men.
In the pitch-black room with the only source of light being the glow of fire outside, they looked like demons.
Long-neck felt like he was standing before the gates of hell.
He couldn’t help but nod violently, his hair flying around like that of a rock-and-roll musician.
After that, he slipped out of the window in a panic. In his rush, his pretzel-like neck even caught on the windowsill, making him so nervous that he sweated heavily; he managed to extricate himself with great difficulty.
Long-neck’s head withdrew and he didn’t dare turn back.
Yingyingying, outsiders were so scary. He was just a weak and lowly long-neck.
He decided that he would cut himself after untying his neck in order to feel Sara’s warmth and care.
Leaving the inn, the three searched for the marks left by Qi Ning and proceeded forward.
It was already dark by now, but the town hadn’t quieted down yet.
A few residents whom they hadn’t encountered before appeared.
They were even more deformed than the ones during the day. Some were already no longer able to walk, and could only wriggle forward on the ground like reptiles.
Their mental states were also even more abnormal than that of the residents during the day.
These people had even fiercer eyes and were more aggressive; anyone who passed them would be attacked, regardless of whether they were outsiders like Xiao Lan or fellow citizens, or even a dry branch.
These nighttime residents were like beasts that only knew to attack, wreaking havoc in the town at night.
Even the other residents avoided these people.
Xiao Lan had just avoided a nighttime resident’s attack, when Sara’s Song appeared once more.
The residents’ impetuous attacks instantly stopped. They closed their eyes with faces full of intoxication, as if drunk on Sara’s Song.
This time, a complete scene appeared before Xiao Lan’s eyes. Although it still completely made no sense, it began moving like an old film.
A bad feeling instantly rose in Xiao Lan’s heart. This voice was beginning to sound more and more pleasant to his ears.
Although it still couldn’t be considered beautiful, following this rhythm, it was truly close to sounding like a song!
Wang Taidi also had a grave face. “Why does it feel more and more pleasant to hear?”
They exchanged looks, the exact same thought in mind.
If this went on, they would be in more and more danger.
Wang Taidi frowned. “Sara’s Song appeared not too long ago, so why did it appear again now? Could it be that there’s no fixed rule?”
Xiao Lan said, “If They want to come forward and prepare for a concert, doesn’t that mean we’re dead meat?”
Wang Taidi imagined such a scene, and he became alarmed. “Fuck me…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xiao Lan looked at the practically stationary residents around them. “Let’s leave as soon as possible ba. Otherwise, we’ll really stay behind to start cheering for Them.”
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This was the type of trees that Xiao Lan had seen before, which couldn’t burn.
But there were even more of them here, densely packed together. From afar, it looked like a sea of black.
Wang Taidi said, “This is Conversion Forest?”
Luo pointed to a mark nearby that pointed towards the depths of the forest. “Looks like it. What we’re looking for may be in there.”
As soon as they stepped into this black forest, everything around them instantly turned silent.
The various sounds they had been able to hear before had disappeared. Regardless of whether it was the faraway mountain fire, the rustle of leaves, or the rare cries of insects, there were none of these in this section of the forest. The only thing here was a deathly silence.
Xiao Lan put his foot down, and the ground made a soft, crisp sound.
He shifted his foot and saw that what he had stepped on was a dry and brittle piece of bone.
Combined with the information they had and the mural they had seen, it was self-evident where these skeletons had come from.
But Xiao Lan didn’t expect to see bodies as soon as they stepped into the forest. Then, how many more would there be if they travelled further in?
The three continued onward into Conversion Forest.
The forest was still silent, with only the sound of their footsteps and the occasional crack of twigs and bones.
After walking for a while, Qi Ning’s marks disappeared, leaving them unsure of where to go for a time.
Suddenly, a soft and tender singing rang out.
“Mom is lying inside the well, dad is hanging from the tree.
Mom and dad are gone, who will play with me…”
A child’s silvery voice paired with the strange lyrics echoed in the black forest.
There was nothing cute about this singing at all; on the contrary, it added a touch of gloom and horror.
Xiao Lan and the others became vigilant, and proceeded even more cautiously.
As they went around a copse of trees, a figure appeared before them.
It was even a familiar face —
It was the deranged, bearded man who was staying at the same inn.
This time, the man had cut long gashes into his limbs with a sharp weapon.
The wounds were deep and almost reached the bone. The muscles in the wounds were curled up and a huge amount of blood flowed out, staining the nearby ground crimson.
He had even found a hemp rope to hang himself from the tree.
At that moment, his neck was twisted and his body was still. He was clearly dead.
But there was an exaggerated smile of ecstasy on his face.
That smile was frozen on his face like a mask, as if he had seen the most exciting sight in the world.
His corpse hung grotesque and unmoving in this forest. It looked indescribably horrific.
Beside the corpse, a little girl sat alone on a tree stump.
She played with a tree branch while she hummed the nursery rhyme they had just heard, and didn’t look the least bit afraid.
“Mom and dad are gone, who, will, come, play, with, me…” As the girl sang, she raised her head.
She was also a familiar face; she was the daughter whom the bearded man had brought along, and who had also revealed to them the reason her father had come to Mona Town.
Although the scene was a little eerie, Xiao Lan still chose to crouch down and speak to her. “Little sister, why are you here?”
The girl replied, “Dad wanted to come here.”
Xiao Lan asked, “Did he bring you along?”
The girl shook her head, then nodded, confusing the others with her answer.
Then the girl said, “Dad came here, so I could only come here too.”
At that moment, Xiao Lan suddenly had a strange feeling.
This phrase seemed a little familiar…
The girl raised her head to look at Xiao Lan, a rare trace of nervousness in her expression. “Big brother, can you tell me a story? One will do. After mom left, dad hasn’t told me a story in a long time…”
Her small hands were tightly clenched, as if afraid Xiao Lan would refuse.
But the instant she lifted her head, Xiao Lan saw her neck.
There was a deep ligature mark on her slender throat. That sort of strength was almost enough to snap her neck.
A normal person wouldn’t be able to speak freely with such an injury.
All these odd signs indicated that this girl was already dead.
Perhaps she had died long ago, or on a certain day, or perhaps… she had already been dead when they first met.
When Xiao Lan thought about it carefully, the bearded man had never looked at his own daughter, nor ever said a word to her.
He was only immersed in his own world, turning a blind eye to everything else.
This could perhaps explain the bearded man’s abnormal mental state.
But how could such a young child be able to survive in this crazy town?
Could a child truly be able to survive just by relying on the inn’s disgusting food?
She had always followed her father, but he had never acknowledged her.
Was it because he couldn’t see her?
And the reason she followed her father, could it be because… he was the one who murdered her?
Xiao Lan faced the girl’s clear and limpid eyes, which held faint anticipation.
But they were in a hurry right now…
“Um, do you want a sweet?” A hand stretched out, a beautifully wrapped candy in the palm.
It was Luo. He walked over and crouched down in front of the girl, and gave her a candy.
Luo often carried some snacks on him so it would be easier for him to feed his sir, although opportunities where they came in handy were almost nonexistent.
The girl’s eyes sparkled, and she clutched the candy with both hands. “What a pretty candy. Can – can I have it?”
Luo smiled. “It’s for you.”
The girl smiled for the first time. Her smile was sweet and filled with the cuteness of her age.
Looking at this scene, Xiao Lan exchanged glances with Wang Taidi behind him. Wang Taidi gave him a nod.
Xiao Lan thus began telling the girl a story.
He didn’t have a single romantic cell in his body, and what he related was an experience from an instance. Rather than call it a children’s fairy tale, it would be more apt to call it a ghost story to make children cry at night.
But the girl listened very intently, as if Xiao Lan was the most amazing storyteller in the world.
After the story ended, the girl’s eyes were glittering. “The outside is so nice… There are big ships…”
As she spoke, she became a little dejected. “I don’t like it here… But I can’t leave…”
The girl hung her head, and the forest was silent for a time.
After a while, the girl raised her arm and pointed in one direction.
She softly said, “Dad wanted to go there. He said that you can become one with Sara there, but when he got here, he heard Sara’s singing and then couldn’t control himself.
“Bye bye…” WIth that, the girl’s figure vanished.
A beautiful candy fell through the air and onto the twigs and dry leaves.
When the girl’s small body disappeared, Qi Ning’s mark was revealed in the place where she had been sitting.
If they had chosen to ignore the girl’s words, they would have missed this mark and would probably have wasted a lot of time in this strange forest looking for Qi Ning.
Xiao Lan reached out and picked up a few dry leaves to cover the candy.
He didn’t choose to take it away, because this was a gift for her.
Just let it stay here to accompany this lonely and pitiful little girl ba.
Having found the new mark, they continued following the trail left by Qi Ning.
Gradually, there was a rotten smell in the air, the kind which only rotten meat gave off. It was a strong stench.
Moreover, the further in they travelled, the stronger the smell became; who knew how many corpses were buried in this forest.
A few bodies that had already become skeletons lay on the ground in the forest as they were gradually buried by falling leaves.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a battle.
After that, a human-shaped monster that was completely naked and with all four limbs on the ground rushed towards them.
It had gnarly, twisted skin, as if it were a monster created out of tree roots.
The human-shaped monster had already lost all reason. When it saw people blocking its path, it didn’t hesitate to raise its sharp claws and attack.
Xiao Lan was the one to bear the brunt of it.
He wasn’t polite either, and raised his rod and swung it at the monster’s head.
The monster’s skull instantly caved in under Xiao Lan’s powerful attack, and its entire body was flung to the side.
However, it seemed pretty durable. After falling to the ground, it didn’t stop moving, but shakily tried to get up to attack again.
Xiao Lan was a little surprised, and was about to switch to a blade and attack again.
At that moment, a silver streak flew over in a straight line from afar to bury itself sharply in the monster’s head.
It was a thin streak of light, but it was extremely formidable and directly punched a fist-sized cavity in the monster’s skull.
The monster twitched for a moment, then stopped moving.
In the skull cavity, a scalpel could be seen.
Xiao Lan looked in the direction that the silver light had come from.
A figure dressed in black walked over, with snow-white hair and wearing a bird mask.
Wasn’t this Qi Ning, whom they had been looking for?
Qi Ning walked over unhurriedly, his voice still carrying that usual sense of frail health. “Apologies, I let my prey bother you.”
Xiao Lan waved at him. “This scene feels like deja vu.”
In Madam Bella’s mansion, Xiao Lan had chanced upon Qi Ning hunting his prey. It was similar to the current situation. Now, however, they were already friends, and Xiao Lan was also far stronger than back then.
Qi Ning laughed. “Hehe, it’s already been almost two years. Remembering it really makes me nostalgic.”
Xiao Lan looked at his appearance; he didn’t seem injured. “You’re okay? What happened to make you leave in a hurry?”
“Nothing.” Qi Ning waved his hand, then explained what happened. “I returned to the inn fairly early on and was waiting for you guys. Not long after, Sara’s Song appeared, and I heard Cen Wei’s voice. He was leading me to Conversion Forest.
“Heh, to know how to use Cen Wei to trick me is actually rather interesting.” Qi Ning sounded like he was sneering at Sara. “You guys should have found clues about Conversion Forest, so you don’t need me to explain what it’s about, right?”
Xiao Lan nodded. “Conversion Forest, the Wall of Sacrifice, we know all of it.”
Qi Ning continued, “I felt that the voice was a clue, and originally wanted to wait for you guys first before going. But the voice grew softer, and I wasn’t sure when it would appear again, so I followed it first, and left you guys a message.”
Wang Taidi gave him a thumbs up. “You’re seriously reliable.”
It would just have been better if his handwriting had been a little more standard.
Qi Ning nodded slightly, accepting the compliment.
At that moment, Sara’s Song rang out once more.
Countless past memories roiled before Xiao Lan’s eyes, causing his mood to fluctuate.
Wang Taidi clutched his head, and felt an intense sense of vertigo.
Qi Ning, on the other hand, radiated cold killing intent.
The people present couldn’t help looking at him.
Qi Ning calmly said, “I saw in the information that Sara’s Song can also affect one’s killing intent. An already strong intent would be magnified even more, to the point that it would produce impatience.”
Wang Taidi frowned. “Impatience… So that’s why they suddenly decided to attack my ge?”
Qi Ning said, “That’s only if they had planned to kill Wang Ke to begin with. If the person originally had no desire to make a move, there’s a very low possibility of arousing killing intent. Perhaps it’s because the attack was spontaneous that it gave Wang Ke a chance to survive.”
Xiao Lan asked, “Then what about you?”
Qi Ning let out a low laugh. “Hehehe… I’m in a killing mood every minute and every second – there is no exception. Don’t worry, it’s not directed at all of you.”
Everyone understood that his killing intent was directed at those fugitives.
As long as there was a single fugitive alive in the world, Qi Ning’s killing intent would never settle.
After reuniting with Qi Ning, Xiao Lan gave him the 【Rock of Forgiveness】 which he had previously obtained.
They then continued onwards.
Qi Ning already no longer heard the call of that voice, so they had no target as they moved.
They could only head in the general direction the girl had pointed, relying on luck and faint traces left around them to determine the location of the Wall of Sacrifice.
Along the way, several mutated monsters attacked them from all sorts of hidden spots, and the group took turns dealing with them.
After a period of time, the forest up ahead changed.
Although it was still murky black, the trees here had some things of human height hanging from them. They looked like the cocoons of some creature.
Looking at the size of these cocoons, it was no trouble to fit an adult inside.
“What is this?” Wang Taidi was puzzled.
He walked forward and cautiously reached out to touch one before he looked at his hand in confusion. “Something’s moving inside.”
Xiao Lan also studied the cocoons.
Some looked very fat, and there was slight movement in some while others were very still. In addition, a few were shrivelled, and might be empty if they were opened up.
At that moment, a word couldn’t help flashing through everyone’s minds — offerings.
Wang Taidi’s fingers trembled.
Perhaps his ge, whom he had always wanted to find, was in one of these cocoons!
Soon, they would be able to meet, then leave this awful place!
Wang Taidi tried his best to remain calm. “I want… to try and open one.”
The rest understood his feelings and didn’t object. They merely took out their respective weapons and adopted an offensive stance.
After all, they didn’t know what would emerge.
The first cocoon Wang Taidi opened was the one in which he had sensed movement.
After opening it, a human-shaped thing slid out.
But it probably could no longer be considered human. The body was completely naked, and half of the face had already turned into pulp, while the fingers and toes had merged together. The person had already lost consciousness, and could only twitch instinctively.
However, it wasn’t Wang Ke.
Wang Taidi sighed in relief, then walked over to the next cocoon.
This time, the person that appeared was in a much better state. It was a woman, and there were even scraps of clothing left.
After she was freed from the cocoon, she was like a drowning person who frantically gulped for air and coughed occasionally.
“Cough cough cough… cough cough…” After finally getting enough air, she raised her head to look at the people around her. “You are also… players, right? I’m Lan Qi. Thank you.”
Wang Taidi nodded. “Yes, we’re also players. But sorry for saying this, can we trouble you to tell us about the cocoons as quickly as you can? We’re… looking for someone.”
Lan Qi sat up with difficulty. “Looking for someone… You’re quite brave…
“I don’t know much about these cocoons either… If we’re determined to be suitable offerings, we fall unconscious and are sent here. Then, we’ll slowly transform inside the cocoon. I could sense my consciousness growing weaker during the process.”
Xiao Lan asked, “What’s the condition for being selected as a suitable offering?”
Lan Qi shook her head. “I… I don’t know. I just suddenly lost consciousness while walking in the forest. Nothing special happened the entire time.”
Wang Taidi asked, “Do you know how long the transformation takes?”
Lan Qi thought about it. “I’m not sure… It seems it’s different for everyone. Some even died during the transformation process. My consciousness was very blurry, so I don’t know how much time passed.”
Wang Taidi seemed a little impatient. “Then, do you know what happens to the transformed people? Or where they go?”
Lan Qi said, “I don’t know, I was stuck in that cocoon the whole time. I’m sorry…”
The atmosphere instantly became a little tense.
It seemed that the situation wasn’t as optimistic as they had thought.
Wang Taidi then opened several more cocoons in succession.
But contained within were either people who had lost their senses, or the cocoons were already empty. There was no trace of Wang Ke.
Wang Taidi twisted his curls somewhat uneasily and continued forward.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Not far ahead, a blade lay beside an already opened cocoon.
A long, blood-coloured blade.
This blade had defended Wang Taidi several times, fending off various attacks thrown at him.
And the blade was always accompanied by a familiar back.
But now, the blade was present, but there was no sign of that back.
Wang Taidi’s breathing instantly froze.
He rushed forward in disbelief and used his bare hands to tear open the withered cocoon.
The cocoon broke apart under his strength, and within —
Was a pile of bones.
The skeleton lay in a messy pile, like unclaimed junk.
It was hard to even make out a full figure.
Wang Taidi’s eyes widened. “Impossible… Impossible… He’s obviously still alive…”
With one trembling hand, he took out the pendant which indicated Wang Taidi’s life status. In the dark forest, they could see the pendant emit a faint light. It illuminated the skeleton in front of them with an incomparably mocking air.
The rims of Wang Taidi’s eyes reddened and his lips trembled. “Did… you lie to me?”
Was this pendant from his brother not able to indicate his life status at all, and was just a lie to comfort him?
Had Wang Ke thought of this earlier on, that if something happened to him, he would fabricate a false hope for his little brother so that he wouldn’t despair?
A sense of despair and ridicule attacked Wang Taidi’s heart, practically destroying him.
He had worked this hard to become strong, practically squeezing out all his potential without any care for himself, just to save his brother.
But if his brother was long dead, what was the use of everything?
What was the use of him working this hard?!!
At that moment, Qi Ning stepped forward and approached the open cocoon to study the pile of bones.
After a while, he withdrew his hand and said calmly, “Don’t be in a rush to cry. Judging from the length of the tibia, this person was over 180cm in height. It can’t be Wang Ke.”
As a conclusion made by a doctor, it was professional, reliable, and extremely trustworthy.
Wang Taidi’s tears that had yet to fall stopped. “…”
That was right, his ge wasn’t this tall. He wouldn’t reach 180cm even if he used three insoles.
Hahahaha gege’s short height was the hero of this chapter
Shorty gege, your shortness saved you. If you’re taller, Wang Taidi might’ve thought you’re dead and move on~~ 😂
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thank you for the chapter! 😂
»The trees in the forest were all a murky black and look withered.« looked
Let’s hope they can find shorty WK soon xD
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
I was about to cry but instead i ended up laughing 😂😂😂
JAJAJAJAJA ay no JAJAJAJAJA
Estaba sufriendo y luego le hicieron bullying a Wang Ke 🤣🤣🤣
Wang Taidi Tear Be Like: SIKE BiTch 🤡
😆🤣😂
I swear…at the end of the chapters lately something comedic happens…it ‘s giving me a bad premonition…like the calm before the storm QAQ…..or maybe I’m just pessimistic 😀