Chapter 126: A Classic Case Of Scaring Yourself
Wu Xie looked at Lin Yan, who had suddenly become arrogant from being nervous moments ago, with a blank expression, not quite understanding what had happened. However, based on past experiences, if there were danger, Lin Yan would surely be the first to discover it. If he had confidence, then it was probably… nothing to worry about?
As for Lao Yang, who was walking ahead, he was so engrossed in finding the way that he was completely oblivious to the minor incident happening behind them.
The further they went in, the narrower the cracks above became. After walking for about half an hour, the sliver of sky above them was no longer visible even with a torch, giving them the feeling of being trapped in a deep mountain. Not only was it gloomy and cold, but there was also wind from an unknown source that occasionally brushed past them, making mournful whistling sounds as it passed through the narrow passage.
“These sounds are too scary,” Wu Xie complained involuntarily. His sudden remark startled the other two, causing the light from their torches to shake violently. Unconsciously, they hadn’t spoken for over ten minutes; any words they could say had already been exhausted that afternoon.
Upon hearing Wu Xie, Lin Yan also felt it was indeed a bit frightening. Darkness had always been one of humanity’s fears since ancient times, with countless legends built upon the night. However, at a time like this, he couldn’t help but suspect if Wu Xie’s physique, which seemed to attract zombies, had sensed something.
So, he pulled Wu Xie closer and tentatively shook the bronze bell near his ear.
“Dinglingling—”
The crisp bell sound rang out, and Lao Yang turned back in surprise, seeing such a strange scene: “What, what are you guys doing? Are you, are you performing a ritual?”
Lin Yan’s serious expression while holding the bell was too convincing, and the psychological shadow cast by the previous scene of him biting a bronze tree branch was still quite significant for Lao Yang, making him instinctively think in that direction.
“Performing a ritual? I’m also a shaman!” Seeing Wu Xie shake his head doubtfully, indicating there was no difference, Lin Yan finally relaxed and quipted, “I’m also a shaman!” He didn’t expect that this remark would solidify Lao Yang’s assumption about his identity.
Hearing Lin Yan’s reply, Lao Yang suddenly understood. No wonder Lin Yan’s reaction to the bronze tree branch was so strange; after contacting the “old relative,” he would at most see strange things, not take a bite out of it! In that case, was this bronze tree branch, or rather the entire bronze tree, something that benefited Lin Yan?
In other words, those supernatural things actually existed? At first, Lao Yang had some doubts due to the “old relative’s” behavior, but now he was completely certain that these things absolutely existed, ordinary people just didn’t know about them! Indeed, even when he and Wu Xie went tomb raiding, they were just ordinary people with some knowledge and other means; they couldn’t compare to someone like Lin Yan who possessed inherent mystical abilities!
Didn’t you see? Wu Xie might have been entranced by something just now, and Lin Yan saved him with a shake of the bell! It looked like he just casually shook it, and didn’t he mention having methods similar to shamanistic rituals? Even shamanistic rituals were real… It seemed he should be nicer to the old woman who performed shamanistic rituals at the village entrance from now on; perhaps it could save his life someday!
However, was Lin Yan’s shamanistic ritual the same school as the one performed by the old woman at the village entrance? Lao Yang couldn’t help but fall into thought, completely unaware that his guess was a million miles away from the truth.
Lin Yan, on the other hand, was unaware that Lao Yang was overthinking all sorts of random things, even venturing into feudal superstitions. After shaking the bell and seeing that Wu Xie had no other reaction and the surrounding gloomy and cold feeling hadn’t dissipated, he realized it was purely the natural environment affecting them, causing them to scare themselves.
Just as he was slightly relieved, Lao Yang’s torch… went out.
“Holy crap!”
Wu Xie, who was closest to him, saw Lao Yang sprint over and hide behind him, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes: “Lao Yang, seriously? You’re this scared and you still go tomb raiding, what were you thinking? It’s just a torch going out!”
“It’s not, it’s not just going out! Something blew the torch out—blew it out!”
Lao Yang wouldn’t speak carelessly, so that meant there was indeed something in front of them?
Wu Xie and Lin Yan’s expressions turned serious. Seeing that their torches weren’t very bright anymore and would probably only last a few more minutes, they exchanged a look, and then both turned on their flashlights and shone them forward.
“Shall I test it first?”
Wu Xie glanced at Lin Yan. Seeing that he didn’t object, he held his flashlight in one hand and threw the torch forward with the other.
The nearly extinguished torch arced through the air, illuminating a spot about twenty meters ahead of them. It was still pitch black there, with cliffs pressing in from the middle and a passage so narrow it could only fit one and a half people.
“Th-there! There’s there’s there’s—there’s something!” Lao Yang suddenly exclaimed in panic, gripping Wu Xie’s shoulder so tightly that his fingernails almost dug into his flesh.
“Holy crap, why are you choking me?! Go choke yourself!” Wu Xie almost jumped up from the pain as the man choked him. He quickly grabbed Lao Yang’s hand and threw it off his shoulder, glaring at him fiercely. Lao Yang chuckled sheepishly, still looking nervously ahead.
Wu Xie looked forward in the direction Lao Yang pointed, but discovered nothing. He turned back dejectedly and asked him, “What exactly did you see? I didn’t see anything?”
Lao Yang said, “In, in the front! It, it was when you threw the torch—when you were halfway through throwing it, the light, the light hit it!”
Great, when he gets nervous, his stutter gets worse. What’s more, Wu Xie and Lin Yan had to patiently listen to him, with one sentence stretching into three. Lin Yan couldn’t help but think: Is there any quick and effective cure for stuttering? Otherwise, if they encountered danger, a normal person would give a warning in two seconds. But by the time Lao Yang finished speaking, their ashes might have already been scattered!
Shaking his head, knowing this wasn’t the time to think about that, Lin Yan looked in the direction Lao Yang pointed. He thought he had seen something in that brief glimpse, but only a little bit. In that case, Lao Yang’s eyesight must be pretty good too?
Weighing the torch in his hand, Lin Yan asked Wu Xie to help hold his flashlight together as they illuminated the front. He struck a throwing pose, leaning back, and hurled the remaining torch.
Wu Xie, being weaker, only threw it a dozen or twenty meters. Lin Yan was different; he threw it not only far but also high, which resulted in…
The three of them watched dumbfounded as the torch got stuck in the cliff face above, which had already closed.
Lao Yang and Wu Xie looked at Lin Yan with expressions that were hard to interpret. They didn’t know what to say to him; he was strong, yes, and he could throw things far, but he didn’t throw them in the right place!
Wu Xie looked at Lin Yan, hesitating, “You… sigh, let’s just walk forward and see what thing blew out Lao Yang’s torch?”
“Don’t!” Lao Yang grabbed him, and this time he didn’t stutter, his speech suddenly becoming incredibly fast. “Don’t go, it’s dangerous! If it can extinguish my torch from that far away, it’s definitely not something good!”
Lin Yan looked at Lao Yang’s terrified eyes and combined with what he saw in the fleeting moment the torch flew past, a guess gradually formed in his mind.
“I actually support Wu Xie. No matter what, there’s only one path, we have to go and see!” He turned to look at Lao Yang, his expression gradually becoming strange. “But don’t you think the thing that blew out your torch might just be the wind?”
???
Lao Yang was stunned. So all his long-held fear and anxiety was him scaring himself?
