Chapter 208

Chapter 208

On the fourth day, the group's journey to the Temple of the Lost Lands remained smooth, as always.

It was due to the golden artifacts they had retrieved from the Sea of Gold the previous day that, not long after they entered the temple, numerous golden snakes began to emerge from the golden pool to attack them.

Thankfully, the group had experience dealing with this. Zhan Meng was bitten yesterday because he was caught off guard. Today, everyone was on high alert, preventing any injuries. They even discerned the pattern of the golden serpent’s transformation—if participants didn’t touch the gold in the pool, the gold snakes would only revive after each participant had taken a bottle of the Fountain of Immortality. If, however, they did touch the gold, the golden snakes would awaken immediately, with the giant gold snake reviving either when the first small gold snake is killed by the Spear of Destiny or when all participants have taken their share of the water and opened the temple's exit door.

In any case, the giant gold snake was bound to awaken.

Once it did, it would consume all the water from the Fountain of Immortality to sustain its massive body, and then hunt down everyone who had entered the Temple of the Lost Land.

However, it wouldn’t follow participants into the Mummy Forest. Firstly, because it wasn't blessed by the priest, it might get lost in the forest during the day. Secondly, the mummy trees become very aggressive at night. While the golden snake couldn’t be killed by the tree branches, it also couldn’t expel them from its body, leading to mutual torment. The smaller golden snakes wouldn't enter the forest due to their size and slow speed, making it impossible to catch up with participants.

The participants had tried carrying only the Fountain's water and carrying both the gold and the water from the Fountain. Neither condition allowed them to truly leave the Temple of the Lost Land.

Now they wanted to test leaving behind Thirteen, who after drinking from the Fountain, had become immortal, to see if they could exit with just the gold.

With Thirteen's help, the group quickly and safely relocated to the stone door behind the shadow wall. To ensure his presence didn’t affect them, Thirteen didn’t even step out of the temple door this time.

Thirteen didn’t bid them farewell. His last words to them were:

"Go, quickly!"

As the group escaped, they looked back through the closing stone doors and saw Thirteen, standing between them and the giant snake, the golden Spear of Destiny shining brilliantly in his hand. At that moment, he resembled a warrior remembered and celebrated on the walls of the New Temple in Naurota City. He was reminiscent of Ares, the powerful and tireless war god from Greek mythology.

However, while Ares was also associated with bloodlust and disaster, Thirteen only embodied eternal loyalty and protection.

Just before the stone door closed, Thirteen threw his spear, leaving the only weapon that could protect him to the group. The doors then slammed shut, concealing him from view.

Yi Yao picked up the golden spear, eyes red, while others turned away, overwhelmed by emotions. Even Zhan Meng, a grown man, ran with his face covered, looking absurd in his puffy dress, but no one could laugh.

The journey was quiet. With Thirteen gone, there was an extra seat in the off-road vehicle, but those in the back still occasionally looked to where he used to sit, hoping to continue the bumpy adventure with him.

But his empty seat was a constant reminder that his journey had come to an end.

More importantly... his sacrifice had been in vain.

When the group arrived at the entrance of the Mummy Forest for the fourth time, the emotionally fragile Song Quyao broke down.

"It's useless..." she cried, hugging Ying Yiling, "Thirteen sacrificed himself for nothing..."

"Don't be too sad. He drank from the Fountain of Immortality. He should still be alive," Mu Yujie tried to comfort the girls, patting their heads. "Look on the bright side; maybe we can go back to the temple to rescue Thirteen tomorrow?"

Yu Lan, disheartened, discarded her heavy machine gun and said with a resigned tone, "Yes, at least on the seventh day, we can die together."

"Yeah, how fortunate! I no longer have to pay off my Huabei." Yi Yao stretched lazily, placing his hands behind his head. With a wry smile, he remarked, "I splurged an extra month's worth before my demise. What a windfall."

"Enough of this talk about life and death. Isn't the Ferryman NPC still here? If we can't leave by the seventh day, let's seek him out." Mu Jinhai nodded toward Bu Jiuzhao, his tone ambiguous, leaving it unclear whether he was joking or serious.

Zheng Shu didn't believe that Bu Jiuzhao, the cook from the Xie Yinxue household, was the Ferryman NPC. Neither did he place his hope for clearing the level on the Ferryman. He squatted down, intently examining the golden artifact from the Temple of the Lost Land, murmuring, "Where is the issue?"

"Bian Yuchen, didn’t you claim to be a fortune teller?" After a bout of crying, Song Quyao seemed to recall something. Wiping her tears, she looked at Bian Yuchen, "You mentioned this level would be thrilling but safe, that we'd pass it. Can you predict how we can do so?"

"I have indeed made a prediction."

What Bian Yuchen truly foresaw was not a harmless thrill. The real divination indicated a grave misfortune.

His earlier claim of 'thrilling but safe' was merely to stabilize the group's emotions. After all, unstable feelings can easily lead to accidents.

At present, having lost the only loyal follower in this level and without protection, Bian Yuchen looked more solemn and serious than anyone else. He didn't elaborate on the omen but said, "The divination suggests the key is to 'let go.' Yet, I can't discern what exactly we must relinquish."

"Let go of the golden artifacts? Or the Immortal Spring Water?" Zhan Meng speculated wildly, "Does your divination mean if we leave everything behind, we can exit the Temple of the Lost Land?"

Zheng Shu instinctively countered, "Impossible. Yi Nuo urged us not to return empty-handed."

Though Zhan Meng might appear carefree, he was actually astute, especially when analyzing NPC dialogue. "Yi Nuo's exact words were 'hope,' not 'demand.' Many explorers in movies return empty-handed, don’t they? Why must we be burdened with returning laden with treasures? Why not try leaving everything behind? We’ve already attempted numerous strategies. If it doesn’t work, we can always retry."

"Alright, let's proceed with that. We don’t have other options." Zheng Shu pocketed the golden artifact and rose from the ground, heading toward the forest, "It's getting dark. We must quickly find a safe campsite within the woods."

As with previous days, dusk fell when they were halfway to their destination.

The firewood Mu Jinhai had packed that morning came in handy. They discovered that the Mummy Trees were oddly afraid of fire. When participants held torches, these trees barely attacked and consciously avoided them.

"They’re that terrified of fire?"

Roles reversed – from the hunted to the hunter, Zhan Meng playfully taunted the Mummy Trees with his torch, laughing heartily at their twisted branches dodging in fright, "I’d love to roast them with this flame."

"Damn, Zhan Meng, don't lose your mind!" Zheng Shu, alarmed, hurriedly dragged him away, "We're in the middle of a forest. A forest fire could kill us all!"

Zhan Meng pulled back the torch, "I’m aware of the dangers of lighting fires in a forest. I was just joking. Relax."

At this point, Yi Yao chimed in, focusing on a charred twig in his hand, "It's genuinely dangerous. We need to handle the torches with care."

Yun Qian looked back at him, "What's the matter?"

After ensuring the twig had cooled completely, Yi Yao tossed it aside, burying it in the mud for added safety. Only then did he raise his gaze to the group, stating, "These trees ignite too easily."

The Spear of Destiny, once wielded by Thirteen, is now temporarily in Yi Yao's hands. He recently tried to pierce a mummy tree with it, but instead of the tree dying instantly as when attacked by Thirteen, it merely cried out in pain.

Yi Yao speculated that this might be because Thirteen had drunk from the Immortal Spring, rendering him deathless. Consequently, when another wielder possesses the Spear that originally belonged to him, its full capabilities cannot be realized. Thus, in their hands, the spear is little different from a mere cutting dagger.

Lost in thought, he absentmindedly cut a branch from the mummy tree and lit it with Mu Jin Hai's torch. Unexpectedly, the branch ignited like a matchstick, flaring up instantly. Given the density of mummy trees in the forest, a single ignition could result in an all-consuming blaze, endangering everyone inside.

After hearing Yi Yao's explanation, how could Zhan Meng dare to jest any further? He guarded his torch as if it were his own eyes for the entirety of their journey, only relaxing once they reached the safe camp.

"Since we've decided to try leaving the temple without taking anything," Yun Qian suggested, "let's leave all the gold artifacts we've taken from the temple here. We won't bring them with us tomorrow morning."

"Agreed."

Mu Jin Hai promptly discarded the golden shield he had acquired, not waiting for dawn. Zhan Meng set down his golden hammer, and even Yi Yao unhesitatingly discarded his gold emblem brooch.

Only Bu Jiu Zhao, upon entering his tent, refused to remove the plain gold ring from his finger. He not only kept his on but also forbade Xie Yin Xue from removing hers.

An exasperated Xie Yin Xue asked, "Do you want to be seen as a traitor in our expedition?"

Bu Jiu Zhao defended himself, "I believe it holds a special significance. It's inauspicious to remove it."

Xie Yin Xue was relieved she hadn't disclosed the true meaning of the ring on her ring finger to Bu Jiu Zhao. Otherwise, he would be even more adamant about keeping it. Now, to persuade him to take it off, she had to entertain his whims, exploring new adventures they hadn't tried before.

Once the two indulged, they couldn't resist the allure, plunging into days of hedonism and nights of revelry.

After each escapade, while Bu Jiu Zhao felt rejuvenated and tireless, Xie Yin Xue felt increasingly drained, her vitality diminishing with each passing day. She was already frail, and if it weren’t for the occasional transfer of energy from Bu Jiu Zhao, she believed she wouldn't last much longer.

She also realized that Bu Jiu Zhao's reluctance to remove the ring was merely a pretext to indulge in desires and positions she would never have previously consented to.

So, waking up on the fifth morning, Xie Yin Xue concluded that their current path was unsustainable. They had to quickly find the true way out, ending these unceasing debaucherous days.

Author's note:

Xie Lao: We need to clear the stage soon.

Hospitable residents of Na Luo Ta city: Stay a few more days, won't you?

Bu Jiu Zhao: Yes, let’s linger a bit more.