Chapter 46

“When the sun rises, the Sword and Shield will provide guidance. When the sun is overhead, the Harp will provide guidance. When the sun sets, the Ruler will provide guidance. When darkness falls, the Moon will provide guidance.”

Sun Ningning felt no embarrassment. She dragged a table and chair over, stood on them to gain height, and confirmed the text.

It really was that simple. The stone book could not be turned; there was no other information beyond this.

Zhu Ming was already lying next to the flower pot, basking in the sun. So hungry. Her stomach growled. The sunlight was so warm, but she was still so hungry…

The moment she finished reading the words on the stone book, Zhu Ming knew the following matters had nothing to do with her. Unlike her, the other three continued their investigation.

“Say, this stone book has writing. What about the one outside?” Xiao Lang asked.

“You’re so observant. Why don’t you climb up and take a look?” Sun Ningning giggled, egging him on. “Seems like you’re the only one here who could pull that off.”

Everyone here was either a girl or Wei Yuan, a scrawny bookworm. If they needed someone to climb up and check, Xiao Lang was the most suitable candidate.

Xiao Lang actually felt like going up for a peek, but the outdoor Six-Armed Goddess Statue was extraordinarily tall, even taller than the temple. Even stacking all four exam tables on top of each other wouldn’t reach the height of the book. To see the book held by the giant divine statue, one would have to climb up the statue itself.

Xiao Lang wasn’t sure if that was appropriate, but since Sun Ningning was egging him on, it definitely wasn’t anything good.

So he sneered twice and said, “There’s no distinction between men and women here. Why don’t you climb up?”

The conversation went nowhere. Sun Ningning scoffed and returned to her little table, gripping her shovel, ready to move at any moment.

Although the stone book provided very little information, she thought it over and already guessed what those words meant. The problem was, she was the only one from her group staying on the ground. If she went to look for tools, what if the others took the opportunity to sabotage her group’s belongings?

Unlike the mutual wariness between her and Xiao Lang, Wei Yuan considered the surface-level friendliness the Sword and Shield Group and the Moon Group had maintained. He brought his shovel over and said to Zhu Ming, “Help us keep an eye on our table. When you have business to attend to, I can watch yours for you.”

Zhu Ming was thoroughly warmed by the sun. She slowly got up. “Alright.”

Seeing how agreeable Zhu Ming was, Sun Ningning’s eyes darted around. “Zhu Ming, you’re free right now anyway. How about you stay here and stand guard while we all go out and find things? When you need help later, we can return the favor.”

Zhu Ming lifted her eyelids. “Fine, go ahead. You’ll just owe me one for now.”

The hints on the stone book were easy to guess. They actually referred to the projected positions of the objects held in the hands of the Giant Six-Armed Goddess Statue at different times of the day.

Xiao Lang was a bit slow on the uptake. He shamelessly went to ask Wei Yuan, but Wei Yuan stayed silent while he followed him. Eventually, he discovered the secret behind those words.

Once he realized it, Xiao Lang immediately sprinted toward the Six-Armed Goddess Statue. Hah, their group could finally gain a little advantage. At noon, the harp’s shadow would fall directly beneath the statue—it was the easiest one to find.

The Sword and Shield Group and the Ruler Group, however, had to extrapolate the shadows of the three items at sunrise and sunset. Since the Six-Armed Goddess Statue held each item at a different height, everyone scattered to search on their own.

Only Zhu Ming remained, still spacing out.

So hungry.

…

Inside the Underground Labyrinth.

“Do we open it?”

“Let’s.”

Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan stood in a dead-end passage. A white treasure chest lay before them. The two had already gathered quite a bit of food, but they still lacked materials for the crafting challenge.

After a day of experimentation, they had discovered that the higher the value of the item unboxed, the more likely a monster would appear alongside it.

And wanting materials for the crafting challenge almost guaranteed a monster would spawn. The monsters varied in type; with a limited number of chests opened, the two couldn’t be sure they had seen every type yet.

The items they had already unboxed were wrapped in cloth and slung across Yun Zouchuan’s back. Wenren Tu stepped forward, and with a flick of her wrist, hooked the chest with her silver chain.

“I’m opening it! One, two, three!”

The chest was flipped open, and a puff of white smoke burst forth.

A blur shot out. Wenren Tu’s expression changed instantly. She turned and ran. “It’s a Stone Wolf!”

Unlike the Stone Giant, the Stone Wolf was an extremely high-agility type. Of course, whether wolf or giant, both were made of stone, which naturally countered Wenren Tu’s abilities.

But luckily, Yun Zouchuan was there. The two cooperated; one kited the Stone Wolf while the other seized opportunities to attack, finally managing to kill it.

Compared to the Stone Giant, the Stone Wolf had a much leaner physique, making it easier to destroy. Wenren Tu kicked aside the wolf’s shattered head and headed back toward the treasure chest with Yun Zouchuan.

However, when they returned to the chest’s location, they found it completely empty. Nothing was inside.

“…”

The two looked at each other. Yun Zouchuan said, “Our luck is really terrible.” They spawned a monster but got no item.

Wenren Tu shook her head. “No. Someone else took the item. There are people nearby.”

Based on their experience opening chests over the past day, they could confirm that chests always yielded something. Even the Stone Giant’s chest on the first day must have contained an item; they just hadn’t had the chance to retrieve it while being chased around in a panic.

Yun Zouchuan pouted, a little angry. “Who could be so mean?”

“I have no idea.”

Five gong sounds rang out. The surrounding light dimmed noticeably. Wenren Tu hesitated briefly but, out of caution, chose to head back first.

“Forget it. We’ll continue tomorrow. Let’s go.”

But just as the two were about to head back, they discovered their luck had seemingly plummeted to its lowest point of the day.

Scrape—

That strange sound was very close.

They had heard this sound before. Evading it in time allowed one to shake it off, so neither of them felt panic at this moment.

But slowly, they realized the sound wasn’t coming from just one source—it was coming from two!

Scrape—

Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan were vigilantly navigating passageway after passageway.

They were being cornered—cornered by two invisible monsters.

“Why can’t we see the goddess statue inside the maze?” Yun Zouchuan asked.

“It’s also possible that’s not a goddess statue.” Wenren Tu looked left and right, drenched in sweat from the stuffy underground air. “Who knows what the hell it is.”

Scrape—

Wenren Tu’s ears twitched. She felt the sound coming directly from behind her. She turned and dove into a side passage. Just as she was about to flee forward, she saw that a wall had appeared out of thin air ahead, blocking her path completely!

Crap…

“A-Zou, run back!” Wenren Tu dared not return to the previous path. She turned and yelled to Yun Zouchuan, who was one intersection away, “Avoid its route!”

If they delayed any longer, this place would plunge into total darkness. If they couldn’t bring the food they’d painstakingly gathered back up, Zhu Ming and Deng Yan would starve.

“What about you?”

Wenren Tu rubbed her bracelet somewhat helplessly. “If it comes down to it, I’ll just have to face it head-on. Might as well see exactly what this thing is.”

Leaving Wenren Tu here alone truly made Yun Zouchuan uneasy.

Seeing Yun Zouchuan’s reluctance to leave, Wenren Tu gritted her teeth and prepared to risk leaving this passage.

But the moment she moved, she heard that familiar, heavy sound right beside her ear. Scrape—dangerously close!

Her entire body erupted in goosebumps. Without thinking, she lunged forward. In that instant, her vision blurred. She seemed to see an immensely tall creature. Unlike the Stone Giant, this thing was clad in armor, with eerie blue Ghost Fire burning beneath its helmet. It seemed to have no physical form, yet it was not an ordinary ghost.

Just for a moment, Wenren Tu thought she had hallucinated. Her vision clearly showed the empty passage again!

But she distinctly felt that bone-deep chill, directly ahead! Murderous intent surged wildly, bearing down on her!

Wenren Tu’s expression shifted. She instinctively covered her body in electricity. Her clothes ballooned, her short hair stood on end. Like a fish, she spun around and darted away—only to find a wall ahead!

Damn it. Was there no escape?

Just as this thought crossed her mind, her vision blurred again. There was no wall in front of Wenren Tu anymore; it was clearly another passage!

Wenren Tu looked around in stunned disbelief. No, could everything just now have been a hallucination? She subconsciously clenched her hands. The current in her palms, like blood in her veins, felt undeniably real.

“Sister A-Tu!”

Yun Zouchuan’s voice suddenly rang out right beside her ear. Wenren Tu jumped in fright, instinctively retreating several steps.

“A-Zou?”

Like Wenren Tu, Yun Zouchuan’s face was a mask of confusion. “How did we suddenly end up here?”

It was only then that Wenren Tu remembered to check the Person Pointer on her hand. Looking at it, the direction had shifted ever so slightly. This meant that what they had just experienced was most likely not a hallucination, but rather an instantaneous displacement due to some unknown reason.

Displacement…?

Wenren Tu whirled around. “Yin Yu!”

At the end of the passage, Yin Yu stood there perfectly composed. Two people were beside her: one wearing a mask, the other a newcomer full of curiosity. Yin Yu smiled. “You finally noticed.”

The electricity around Wenren Tu gradually dissipated. She looked at Yin Yu, momentarily embarrassed. “You’re the one who moved us?”

Yin Yu nodded. “Just happened to stumble upon you.”

So they really had been saved by her. Wenren Tu coughed twice, her feelings complicated for a moment. “Well, uh, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Want to head back together?”

Having just been saved, it was only right to treat her a bit better. But every time Wenren Tu recalled how this woman had wronged her best friend, she felt incredibly awkward.

She frowned and said, “Is this because of Zhu Ming? Let me be clear, even if you saved me, I won’t be your mediator.”

Yin Yu chuckled. “I’m not that despicable.”

Wenren Tu sighed with relief. Good, she wouldn’t have to act as a mediator.

“Speaking of which, why are your superpowers so weak?” Yin Yu asked, her tone curious.

“…” Wenren Tu nearly choked to death on her own saliva. It was the first time anyone had called her powers weak.

Yin Yu continued, “With your talent, at your age, you should be much stronger than this. At the very least, you shouldn’t be incapable of external projection.”

In that instant, something flickered in Wenren Tu’s eyes as she looked at Yin Yu—something guarded, hostile. But she opened her mouth and ultimately forced a perfunctory smile. “Your standards are just high. I’m already pretty damn good right now, okay?”

“Is that so.” Yin Yu smiled, not pushing the matter. She merely said, “I know an Awakened with the same ability as you. He’s much stronger than you. If the opportunity arises to meet him, you could learn a thing or two. And Miss A-Zou.”

Yun Zouchuan: “?” She was involved too?

Yin Yu’s attitude toward them was very friendly. She said, “I also know someone with an ability similar to yours. If you need, I can introduce you.”

Yun Zouchuan looked at Wenren Tu, bewildered.

Wenren Tu was shocked. “N-no, there’s no need for that! If you truly want to reconcile with Zhu Ming, you should focus on compensating her, treating her sincerely to move her heart—not trying to win us over.”

Yin Yu tilted her head. “Why would you think that? No, it’s not because of Mingming.”

“Huh? We’ve never even met before.” Wenren Tu was utterly baffled. She was certain she had never seen Yin Yu before, and Yun Zouchuan didn’t know her either. The only connection between them was Zhu Ming. If not for Zhu Ming, what other reason could there be?

“Since we’re splitting up, you’d better head back quickly. The lights are about to go out.” Yin Yu said, “Although you don’t know me, I know you.”

Yin Yu didn’t seem inclined to explain. She waved her hand, turned, and left with the people by her side.

Leaving Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan staring at each other, full of question marks.

“I’ve always lived on the mountain. I definitely don’t know her.” Yun Zouchuan was very certain. “Sister A-Tu, do you remember her?”

Wenren Tu thought back carefully and shook her head. “Though she looks familiar, I’ve definitely never met her… I get it. She’s being deliberately mystifying. She must be trying to use us to pique Zhu Ming’s curiosity and attention. Hah, women!”

Was that it? Yun Zouchuan didn’t quite understand either and could only play along. “Then what do we do?”

“We do nothing. Act like nothing happened. Don’t let her scheme succeed.”