Chapter 32: Snow Mountain Specter 02

Chapter 32: Snow Mountain Specter 02

The wooden sign instructed them not to form teams. Yet, they thought they could circumvent this by walking in front or behind each other, unsure if this would violate the rule.

Finding loopholes was one thing; being scared was another.

To be safe, they decided to split into groups of four: Pei Yi and Chen Mo, along with Xiao A and Xiao C.

According to the map below the sign, there were attractions in all four directions – east, south, west, and north. Yingjun and his group had gone north, so Pei Yi chose east, and Zhouyou's group went west.

And so, they set off, one after another.

Pei Yi led the way, not because he wanted to lead but because everyone looked at him with adoration, treating him like a god. He wasn't afraid, but he also wasn't as divine as they thought, so he just went ahead bravely.

The snow mountain at three or four in the afternoon was incredibly quiet, with roads flanked by snow-covered dead trees. They all wore thick clothes provided by the system. Pei Yi, being slim, looked like a telegraph pole in his bulky coat, moving with an effortless grace, unlike the others who resembled chubby bears trailing behind.

The sun shone dimly on them, and after about half an hour, they reached one of the ski spots.

This was a rather high snow cliff, with a long and winding snow path leading down. From afar, the view was incredibly open, with the pristine white snow and dark green trees either smeared or dotted around, resembling a painting.

Beside the snow path stood another wooden sign, more straightforward this time.

It bore just four bold characters – "No Skiing Allowed!"

Such a lengthy snow path! Pei Yi had skied before and could tell this was a premium slope, but why was skiing prohibited? Was it due to an accident, or some other reason?

He called out to the group, "Everyone, search around and see if you can find any clues! Let's regroup here in ten minutes."

The four of them dispersed. Pei Yi examined the snow path thoroughly but couldn't find anything unusual. Afterward, he looked back at the terrain they had come down, finding the snow mountain quite intriguing with its protruding edges and deep central depression – a layout allowing tourists to embrace the entire scenery from the summit.

However, the downside was that venturing deeper into the snow mountain felt like entering the gaping maw of a monster. This layout was considered an ominous gravesite formation in geomancy, with the wooden house as the coffin.

He decided not to mention this point. After all, it smacked of feudal superstition and wasn't to be taken seriously. Plus, mentioning it would only cause panic.

As he contemplated this, the others returned to his location.

Chen Mo called out, "Pei Yi, I saw some abandoned ski equipment over there, but it's obviously been rusting for a long time. It seems this place has been deserted for a while."

Xiao A shouted, "Pei Yi, there's just a mountain on my side, nothing else!"

Xiao C also called out, "There's an open space over there. Should we go check it out?"

An open space? Worth a look.

Everyone headed towards Xiao C's direction, with Xiao C leading the way. Upon arrival, they indeed found an open space.

As Pei Yi walked past Xiao A towards the open area, he asked, "Have you checked it out yet?"

Xiao C shook her head, "I didn't dare to go there."

When Pei Yi saw the open area, he understood why Xiao C was hesitant. This wasn’t just an open space; it was a snow-covered cemetery. Half of the mountain was a graveyard, the tombstones blanketed with thick snow.

Xiao A commented, "This is so ominous. So many graves... There probably aren’t any clues here, right?"

Pei Yi replied, "Who knows? Since it's 'Snow Mountain's Malevolent Spirit,' any corner of the snow mountain could hold a clue. Let’s split up and have a look around."

With Pei Yi saying so, everyone reluctantly proceeded.

Chen Mo also walked into the graveyard, the sight of which inexplicably reminded him of Xiao Hui, who died in the novice instance. He had harbored a secret crush on Xiao Hui for a long time. If only he had been able to save her back then, she might have agreed to be with him.

But ever since he exited the instance, there had been no news of Xiao Hui. His classmates had disappeared too. But wasn’t this just a game? Why would people vanish? He was always troubled by this question.

Lost in thought, Chen Mo wandered aimlessly, his mind not on the graves. When he reached a fork in the path, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at a relatively new grave adorned with yellow chrysanthemums.

Looking at the photo on the tombstone, he saw a familiar radiant smile. Wasn’t that Xiao Hui’s photo?

Had she died? But why would her photo be here? Chen Mo felt dizzy and, taking a step back, ran to regroup with the others. He relayed the situation to Pei Yi, causing everyone’s heart to skip a beat.

However, when they returned to the site, not only was Xiao Hui’s photo gone, but they also couldn’t find the grave.

Pei Yi questioned, "Could you have been mistaken?"

Chen Mo shook his head, "No. I couldn’t possibly forget Xiao Hui’s face."

The other two suggested, "Regardless, we should head back. It’s almost five o’clock."

Indeed, the sky had grown overcast, with snowflakes gently falling, hinting at an approaching snowstorm. It was dangerous to wander the snow mountain at night; time to return. They headed back to the wooden house together.

Arriving at the wooden house, Zhou You, who had arrived earlier, let out a scream, "Everyone, come and see this!"

When everyone arrived, they were startled to see a blood-red "6" painted on the wall outside the cabin, written in red paint.

"What does this mean?" Zhou You asked, his face pale with fear.

"Or perhaps, it's a warning?" suggested Little A.

Pei Yi said, "Let's wipe it off first; it's quite unsettling to look at."

Several boys took responsibility for cleaning the wall. After the cleaning, everyone entered the house and felt a wave of warmth from the lit stove, a sense of safety enveloping them.

Counting the number of people, Chen Mo noted, "Yingjun and Meili haven't come back."

Pei Yi looked around and realized it was true. It was already past six in the evening. He glanced outside to see light snow falling, and the sky was dark and gloomy. Why hadn't they returned?

Zhou You speculated, "Ah, I guess they probably teamed up, just him and his wife, and got caught by something."

His words cast a solemn mood over everyone in the cabin, regardless of gender.

Little A couldn't help but say, "Zhou, please, can you stop talking?" They all regretted entering this instance now.

Pei Yi also said, "Let's not scare ourselves."

At that moment, Doctor Feng and his wife placed bread on the table. Aunt Wu said, "Everyone, please make do with this for now. We don't know when this instance will end, so let's conserve food."

Aunt Wu was very kind, and everyone thanked her profusely.

After dinner, everyone shared what they had observed.

Pei Yi was the first to speak, sharing his observations.

"That's all for now. I didn't notice anything unusual, but Chen Mo saw something strange."

When Chen Mo was mentioned, he hummed in acknowledgment, "Yes. I really saw it, though it might have been an illusion."

"Hallucination..." Pei Yi tapped on the table, "Uncle Feng, Aunt Wu, your turn." He turned to face Doctor Feng Chun across the table.

Dr. Feng spoke, "We went to another ski point, but there was a 'No Entry' sign, so we didn't proceed. Instead, we went towards Yingjun's direction to check out the cable car. There's a smaller ski slope near it, seemingly for descending the mountain. The exit is blocked by heavy snow. As for the cable car..."

The doctor paused here.

Everyone knew about the cable car's many taboos mentioned in the rules.

"Nothing unusual, I noticed the cable car's wires are all rusted," the doctor said. "The ticket booth has been abandoned for a long time, with no staff in sight."

Little B added, "There's a restroom near the cable car. We just glanced at it from afar; it's just an ordinary public toilet."

After listening, Pei Yi jotted down some key points. His deductive skills weren't that strong, so he had to rely on this clumsy method.

Seeing him do this, several others also started to take notes, as if this would somehow solve the case.

Pei Yi felt awkward; this was a clumsy method he had to resort to due to his poor reasoning skills. He coughed and closed his notebook.

Zhou You said, "Car god, give us a summary."

Pei Yi had indeed noted a few points, but ended up doodling a cartoon character in his notebook after that. He couldn't let them see this.

But a summary? There were no clues at all... It was clear that someone would have to die before any clues surfaced. He just didn't know who would be the first to go. However, he couldn't say that; it didn't fit the demeanor of a leader.

"Hmm. So, uh... cough. Let me say... I have one feeling, quite sinister. Three bizarre points: the wooden sign's rules, hallucinations, and the countdown on the cabin, all tell us one thing: this place is very dangerous. Moreover, this place must have been deserted for a long time, but everything in this cabin is new, as if someone lives here, someone who loves life a lot, you see, with fresh flowers, oil paintings, and so on. Finally, the most crucial point. Who owns this cabin? Aren't you all curious?"

After finishing, Pei Yi thought for a moment and then said, "I'm not some big shot. Everyone should speak their mind. At worst, we fail the mission and lose 5 points." That was his way of consoling himself.

The doctor suggested, "Then let's search the house more carefully tomorrow. Let's see if there's anything in the house, and make sure we don't miss any crucial clues."

Little A said, "We have a theory about the number, the countdown. Maybe it's a warning? It wants us to complete something within six days, fulfill some desire of Its, or else, we all die."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou You was terrified. "Why would you say that? Little sister, don't scare me; I'm faint-hearted. How can we all just die? That's too frightening."

Little A seriously said, "I'm not scaring you. We three usually love watching horror movies, like from Japan, Korea, and so on. Some horror movies also feature such countdowns. Generally speaking, if it's not completed within seven days, the outcome is the same for everyone: death."