Chapter 24: Lost on the Path
But what was strange...
That voice seemed as if it could burrow straight into your mind. Even if you covered your ears, it would still seep in like water, slipping through your ear canals and drilling into your brain.
The sinister whispers that circled his ears could wear down a person’s will, sending chills all over the body.
A cold sweat coated Ye Da’s back in fine white hairs.
When the wind blew, that cold sweat was icy, as if someone had opened a refrigerator door behind him.
“Where am I?”
Ye Da had run in such a hurry, and now night had fallen completely.
He couldn’t tell where he was.
His analytical glasses needed at least a minute to determine his location.
But Ye Da had a feeling...
If he dared to stand still for a minute in this darkness, he might not survive!
He fumbled desperately in his pocket, wanting to turn on his phone’s flashlight, but his phone was agonizingly slow to start up. All he could do was pull out a box of matches!
Get a flame going first!
He had learned, when he first fought the monster in the mist for the bamboo, that the creatures in the mist feared fire!
He opened the matchbox—only three matches inside.
Ye Da hurriedly struck one alight. The warm, yellow glow illuminated barely two meters around him.
Yet even this faint light gave Ye Da a sense of comfort.
Especially since, the moment the match flared, the murmured whispers, the heart-rending screams, and all those chaotic, maddening noises instantly vanished!
The survival rules for the misty world were not wrong—fire could indeed dispel the darkness.
“Hiss—”
The match burned out quickly, lasting only a few seconds.
He had only brought three matches, afraid that if he carried more, they might get damp.
To him, three matches seemed plenty if all he needed was to start a fire.
Who could have guessed Ye Da would end up relying on matches for light!
This was trouble!
The moment the flame died, the whispers and wailing ghosts returned.
These sinister sounds weren’t just irritating—they gnawed at Ye Da’s mind, dragging him into a pit of negative emotions!
A sudden crash—
Sensing something wrong, Ye Da quickly struck another match.
The feeble light flared up once more.
The noises vanished again, and the negativity clouding his mind dissipated.
This mist was truly terrifying.
Ye Da had thought the monsters within it were the real danger, but now he realized those could be managed—the psychological assault from the mist itself was far more insidious.
Fallen leaves!
He needed something to keep the fire going—he couldn’t let the light die out!
Ye Da searched the ground for anything that could sustain a flame, but all he could find were damp, dead leaves.
The mist had brought with it a heavy moisture.
The tiny flame of a match couldn’t ignite those sodden leaves.
A sharp hiss—
The second match went out as well.
Ye Da was left with just one match. At best, that would give him thirty more seconds of light.
That wasn’t even enough time for his glasses to analyze the situation, let alone find his way back.
“I feel like the little match girl,” Ye Da muttered.
It was as if he were waiting for his grandmother to come take him home!
But just as the last match was about to burn out, his phone finally finished starting up!
Ning: “Ye Da, I want to ask you something. Did you take leave because you found yourself somewhere strange?”
Da Li: “This game is incredible—so real it’s mind-blowing! I found a treasure chest and got a sword, but it’s so heavy I can’t even swing it! By the way, I saw there’s a friends function in the game, but I can’t find you. Why don’t you look for me and see if you can add me?”
Two replies!
The messages Ye Da had been waiting for finally arrived—at the worst possible time!
He was in mortal danger and didn’t have the luxury of reading them carefully, much less replying.
He barely glanced at the screen before switching on the phone’s flashlight.
A wolf’s howl echoed not far away.
Ye Da rubbed his ears, unsure if it was real or just an illusion.
No—it was real!
The match hadn’t burned out yet, and the phone’s flashlight was on.
It wasn’t a hallucination!
Ye Da made a quick decision.
The howls belonged to the wolf pups—they were calling to him!
And the source of the sound seemed close by.
Ye Da didn’t hesitate—he broke into a run toward the howls.
The cries came again and again.
Guided by the sound, Ye Da circled a few large trees—and saw firelight flickering in the darkness!
That was...
The bonfire in his treehouse!
A rush of relief and joy swept through Ye Da. He let out a wild, exhilarated laugh, “I found it! I actually found my way home!”
“Woof woof!”
“Woof woof woof!”
The wolf pup saw Ye Da return and bounded over, barking in welcome.
But Ye Da saw, in the darkness, pairs of red dots moving in toward the treehouse.
Like...
The eyes of some kind of monster!
He dashed to the treehouse door, scooped up the wolf pup in one motion, and rushed inside!
Bang!
The moment he slammed the wooden door shut—
He heard something heavy slam violently into it from outside!
The door shuddered; dust and wood chips rained down from the impact.
Thankfully, the treehouse door was sturdy—the monsters outside hadn’t managed to break through.
Ye Da let out a long breath.
He looked at the roaring bonfire inside, pressing the warm wolf pup to his chest, and finally felt safe.
That had been too close.
For a moment, he’d truly thought he’d never make it back.
“Woof!”
Little White wagged his tail furiously in Ye Da’s arms, licking his fingers in affection.
But something puzzled Ye Da...
Where was Little Gray?
Only Little White had come to greet him at the door when he’d returned. “Where’s Little Gray?”
A whimper sounded.
Little Gray, sensing Ye Da was looking for him, let out a mournful cry.
Ye Da followed the sound...
Little Gray lay by the bonfire, a bamboo arrow lodged in his hind leg, nose pressed to the ground as he whimpered.
A puddle of bright red had pooled beneath him, staining the fur underneath a dull, bloody color.
“Little Gray!”
Ye Da’s heart ached as he gently lifted the wolf pup.
Only now did he understand why he’d heard barking outside the bamboo grove at that critical moment.
It had been Little Gray!
Little Gray had gone to find him, to warn him it was time to come home.
It was also Little Gray who had drawn the goblins’ attention, giving Ye Da the chance to escape.
If not for Little Gray...
Ye Da might have been lost forever in the mist, or smashed to death by the goblins—or else driven to utter despair and met a tragic end.
A pained cry escaped Little Gray when Ye Da touched the arrow.
He must be in terrible pain.
“What am I going to do?”
Ye Da knew he couldn’t leave the arrow in Little Gray’s body. Otherwise, not only would the bleeding not stop, the wound could get infected and kill him!
But seeing Little Gray in such agony, Ye Da couldn’t bring himself to act.
“If only I had some medicine.”
The moment he said it, Ye Da suddenly thought of the trading market!
He didn’t have any—but maybe someone else did?
Without hesitation, Ye Da opened the trading market and began frantically searching through the listings.