They had just started preparing when they unexpectedly encountered their first challenge. The original plan was to separate the two corpses in the car, but Aisha and Shari were hugging each other so tightly that they couldn’t be separated.
"If it doesn’t work, we have to remove an arm. Everyone, step aside." Adila was reckless. She grabbed the dagger from Maria’s hand, intending to dismber the corpses.
"Wait a mont." It was Sopa who spoke, stopping Adila, "Mr. Adila, please let try, just for a mont."
Adila stared at her and then glanced at Datou across, which could be considered giving them face. He waved his hand, signaling them to hurry.
Everyone had already arrived at the lakeside, where accidents could occur at any mont, so they couldn’t afford any delays.
"Thank you."
The nimble Sopa jumped directly into the back of the car, crouching in front of the two corpses tightly entwined. As everyone watched in astonishnt, she leaned closer to the corpses’ faces, her lips moving slightly. Yang Xiao noticed Sopa’s lips moved a few tis.
First, she whispered into Aisha’s ear, then into Shari’s, saying a few words to each.
After doing all this, she folded her hands and bowed to the two corpses.
The scene puzzled everyone, but monts later, as Sopa placed her hand on Aisha’s arm and exerted just a little force, the skeletal hand, which had been firmly clamped like iron pliers, surprisingly loosened.
The two corpses were consequently separated.
The scene was silent, and shortly after, with Sopa’s help, the two corpses were laid on the boat, and Yang Xiao and the others quickly left, dragging the boat with them.
Aisha was on their boat, while Shari was left to Musa and the four others.
When they reached a distance far from the lakeside and lay in wait, curiosity got the better of Yang Xiao, and he softly asked Sopa, "What did you say to them?"
"I said there’s no need to persist any longer, leave it to , I’ll take them ho," Sopa explained.
Their eyes t, and despite the dim lakeside, Yang Xiao saw kindness and determination in the young girl’s eyes. At least at this mont, he believed she was speaking from the heart.
If Aisha and Shari really could hear them speaking, the words ’going ho’ would most certainly touch them the most.
"Thank you." Yang Xiao nodded to Sopa, indicating appreciation. Amidst the treachery and deception common in their missions, such sudden acts of kindness were particularly precious.
Bringing the two corpses back to the real world wasn’t realistic; the best they could do was strive with all their might to survive. If they managed to live and return to reality, in a sense, it would be equivalent to bringing a part of Aisha and Shari back ho.
Yang Xiao had also pondered a similar question before: if he faced his own death, would he drag everyone down with him, or would he fight with determination, seeking a way out for his teammates?
Long ago, shortly after entering the Nightmare World, soone set an example for him.
It was Sui, back at Ginseng Manor, where Sui sacrificed his life to carve a path for everyone.
He spoke to Sui about it afterward, and Sui’s explanation was straightforward. Even if he couldn’t escape, he hoped soone could survive and leave the Nightmare World.
They couldn’t all be obliterated, or that ant the Nightmare World had won.
And even if only one person survived, it would be their victory and a win for them all, as that last person would carry all their hopes.
"Start the action." Hidden in a bush, Datou reminded them quietly.
Near the dock, Musa and the four others placed the corpse-laden boat into the lake, rely giving it a light push. The boat seed to be pulled, swiftly heading toward the center of the lake.
anwhile, the fog floating over the lake grew denser, with sothing seemingly stirring within it.
Musa Adila stayed by the lakeside, not leaving imdiately, but waiting, as their task was not over. Their mission was to lure the Ghost Ship out, drawing those corpse ghosts to shore to buy another team ti.
"We split into two teams. Hafeez, you’ll co with , support while I run," Musa instructed. "Adila Maria, you two form a team. We’ll split up and run; we’ll take the flat road on the right, while you two go to the left hill, trying to lure the corpse ghosts further away and scatter them."
"Once safe, we’ll regroup. Everyone, be careful."
As Musa finished speaking, the fog-covered lake began to change, with the silhouette of an isolated island faintly appearing deep within the lake.
Simultaneously, the misty lake resounded with "whoosh" sounds of water, as sothing swiftly erged from the fog, approaching them.
"Stay calm!" Musa called out to Hafeez, who was ready to run, his voice firm and inspiring, "Wait...wait a bit closer! A bit closer!"
Finally, a boat filled with Drowned Ghosts burst out of the mist, rushing toward the shore, with Shari prominently seated at the front.
Shari’s body trembled continuously, her bluish-purple face with cold, resentful eyes staring fixed at her forr companions on the shore.
No longer under Musa’s orders, Adila was the first to take off running, followed closely by Maria, as they headed toward the left hill.
Hafeez supported Musa, swiftly heading toward the forest on the right, where the terrain was relatively gentle, sowhat accommodating Musa’s legs.
Once ashore, the ghosts split into two teams. One team pursued Adila Maria, while the larger team chased the closer Musa Hafeez.
This scene terrified Hafeez as he practically dragged Musa in their flight.
Fog from the lake drifted ashore, with Hafeez glancing back several tis, but with visibility low amidst the enveloping mist, he knew those ghostly entities were not far behind, as he could hear all sorts of chaotic footsteps, persistently following them.
"Faster!" Hafeez urged Musa in panic, "Sir, please hurry!"
Having understood their thods of killing, Musa wasn’t overly flustered, but through this ordeal, he greatly changed his opinion of the newcor, Hafeez.
This person was admirable, kind-hearted, despite being closely pursued by ghosts, never abandoning the old man himself.
"Forget about , run on your own, go quickly!" Musa urged him with a push, encouraging him to hurry.
"How can I do that? I can’t leave you here to die alone!" Hafeez, now also agitated, hoisted Musa and ran.
Musa was both amused and helpless at this, as the pursuers were getting closer. If the two of them stayed together, they would end up like Aisha and Shari.
"Listen to , run! If you stay, we’ll both die! Rember not to run too far, just lose these guys. Don’t get lost, rember to co back!"
Musa shook off Hafeez and slapped him hard on the back, "Run! Run fast!!"
Hearing the pursuers getting closer, Hafeez had no choice but to follow orders and dash forward. Yet, he believed Musa was making this up to trick him, which deeply moved him inside.
Mr. Musa is a good person; he must have said that to avoid dragging down.
Hafeez cried as he ran, his nerves, already tortured by one incident after another, couldn’t take much more.
Mr. Musa was gone; Yang Xiao had also drawn the death card to go to Ghost Island in the Lake, his fate uncertain, and Hafeez was slowly losing hope for survival.
After running a bit further, the sound of pursuit behind him quickly vanished. To be safe, Hafeez ran another hundred ters or so before stopping, listening carefully to his surroundings as he walked.
Only after confirming no ghosts were chasing him did he relax, leaning against a tree to catch his breath.
He planned to rest for 20 minutes before going back to find Mr. Musa.
What he didn’t know was that, once separated, Mr. Musa, who had struggled to even walk, sohow managed to run on his own, waving his arms like a gorilla released into the wild.
Just as Musa thought, the ghosts soon stopped chasing, disappearing into the mist.
Musa and Hafeez were safe, but Adila and Maria were in trouble. Maria closely followed Adila, with strange noises from the mist getting closer behind them.
The two kept climbing up the hill as planned, Adila in front, Maria a few ters behind, struggling to focus on the path, gasping for breath.
She had little strength left to speak. She had asked Adila for help, to pull her up, but Adila ahead seed not to hear.
The ghosts behind were already within ten ters by the sound of it.
Clinging to a crooked tree, Maria swallowed a bloody saliva, painfully looked up, and was stunned as she found Adila, who was supposed to be in front of her, had disappeared.
This made her instantly panic; being alone now was like a death sentence.
Regardless of the taboo, she shouted Adila’s na loudly while climbing upward, using branches, but within a few steps before she could stand firm, a shadow suddenly erged from behind a tree. Before she could react, sothing hit her hard on the head.
The blow almost knocked her out, and before she fell, she got kicked in the chest again.
The kick sent her rolling down the slope, into the mist.
She finally stopped when she collided with a jagged rock.
Her head was bleeding profusely, obscuring her vision with blood. Maria’s voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, her body unable to move, her bones seeming utterly broken.
What she saw last was ghostly figures closing in from all directions.
"Damn it..."
...
About ten minutes earlier, just when the ghost ship landed and the ghostly corpses aboard were chasing Musa, Adila, and the others, Yang Xiao and his group seized the opportunity at a hidden spot over a hundred ters from the dock and rushed into the lake with a small boat.
They placed Aisha’s body at the boat’s bow, and things unfolded as Yang Xiao expected. The bodies, slain by the Painted Woman, beca the "River Immortal Village" entry passes. A peculiar force pulled them, the boat rushing into the mist at high speed.
Yang Xiao and the others lay down as much as possible within the boat, surrounded by increasingly dense mist.
In the mist, they could no longer see their surroundings. Even the "River Immortal Village" was entirely obscured, as if they entered another world.
But Yang Xiao’s worst fear didn’t co true; no ghost boats chased or intercepted them. Otherwise, on the open and unobstructed lake, they’d have been facing certain death with no chance of survival.
"Creak——"
"Creak——"
...
Yang Xiao frowned, faintly hearing a scraping sound, as if sothing coarse rubbed against the boat.
His first thought was an issue below water, that sothing was blocking the boat.
But after feeling carefully, it didn’t seem so; the boat was moving swiftly without resistance.
It was difficult to turn inside the boat lying on his side, but he tried to lift his head to look at Datou and Sopa on the other side, who were huddled together.
But when he saw them, he was startled to find both were staring at him with terrified eyes, with Datou behind holding tightly over Sopa’s mouth.
As they looked at Yang Xiao, their gazes shifted upward. Yang Xiao’s heart sank as he followed their line of sight, turning his head up to see a ghostly blue-purple face staring down at him.
Aisha’s neck had sohow twisted 180 degrees, her head peeking out, gazing down at him.
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