Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Xu You’s expression turned serious as she looked at Wei Sen. “The direction of the cave is dangerous, but we still haven’t gotten the Snow Lotus. No matter what, we have to keep moving forward.”

Before Wei Sen could answer, Lin Xiaoxue spoke up in a daze. “Snow Lotus? How did you know there was a Snow Lotus at the cave entrance?”

“The Snow Lotus is right at the cave entrance?” Xu You said in surprise. She had originally thought the Snow Lotus might be inside the cave, or perhaps farther east. She hadn’t expected it to be sitting right there at the entrance. Wasn’t that convenient?

“Yeah. I was about to pick one, but Xia Susu stopped me…” Lin Xiaoxue pouted.

Xu You sighed. “Ah, what a shame. But it’s fine. As long as we know where it is, that makes things easier.”

Lin Xiaoxue blinked. “But…”

“But?”

Lin Xiaoxue pulled a Snow Lotus out of her pocket. “Ta-da! I didn’t care what she said, I picked one anyway! My sixth sense told me this thing would come in handy! I didn’t expect it to actually be useful!”

Wei Sen and the others all looked at her with approving gazes.

“Xiaoxue, nicely done!” Xu You patted Lin Xiaoxue on the shoulder.

Huang Xinze asked in confusion, “What do you need the Snow Lotus for?”

Chen Lin gave a brief explanation. “We met the village doctor in the village. She said if we brought her a Snow Lotus in exchange, she would tell us the story behind the village.”

Huang Xinze said, “Then we can go find the village doctor now!”

“Wait. I don’t want to miss the clues in the cave. I’ll go take a look,” Xu You said.

Huang Xinze flicked the Huang Mao bangs on his forehead. “How about this? You ladies go to the village and find the village doctor. As for the cave, I’ll give it a try!”

Xu You folded her arms over her chest. “You? Forget it. I’ll go.”

“There’s no need to go to the cave for now.” Wei Sen looked toward the eastern side of the forest. “Someone has already gone in our place.”

“Huh? Who?” Huang Xinze froze.

Chen Lin glanced at Wei Sen, then suddenly realized something. “Sister Lan!?”

Huang Xinze and Lin Xiaoxue only caught on afterward.

“No wonder she told me to take Xiaoxue and run first. So she went back by herself!” Huang Xinze said.

Wei Sen’s gaze grew heavy. In a situation like this, Guo Lan, as an old hand, would definitely seize the chance to investigate the cave.

But… whether she would share every bit of information she found with everyone remained to be seen.

“Then let’s go back to the village,” Xu You said.

Wei Sen checked the time. The innkeeper would leave the inn at three in the afternoon, and it was already close to one. It would take around forty minutes to return to the inn. If they went to the village first and then back to the inn, they wouldn’t make it in time.

Wei Sen looked at Huang Xinze. “Let’s briefly share what we’ve found so far, then split into two teams. One team returns to the inn and waits to go up to the fourth floor at fifteen hundred hours. The other takes the Snow Lotus to the village.”

“Got it!”

The two sides exchanged the clues they had gathered over the course of the morning.

Huang Xinze and the other two had spent the morning wandering around the forest and discovered a cliff to the west.

Standing on the cliff and looking into the distance, they saw endless stretches of forest. Although everything was covered in snow, they could still make out the steep slopes and scattered rocks below the cliff.

It was also very obvious that there were no animals at all in the dense forest where Aurora Village was located. However, in the woods below the cliff, they could vaguely see branches trembling, and there were animal tracks in the snow over the rocky ground.

Wei Sen also told Huang Xinze and Lin Xiaoxue everything she had learned from Meiya, the village chief, and the village doctor.

“Okay, the situation is clear now. Going to the fourth floor of the inn is extremely dangerous, but I can’t do it alone. At the very least, I need someone to keep watch.” Wei Sen looked at the others.

Lin Xiaoxue and Chen Lin tried their best to hide it, but they still couldn’t conceal the fear on their faces.

Just thinking about that ghostly innkeeper was enough to make them shudder, and now they had to go to the fourth floor. Who knew what terrifying things they would see there?
But…

“I’ll go!”

“I’ll go!”

Chen Lin and Lin Xiaoxue spoke almost in unison.

Afraid or not, from the moment they chose to enter the Instance of their own accord, retreat was no longer an option.

They couldn’t hide behind others forever. Besides, neither of them wanted to keep being useless.

Wei Sen and the others were surprised. The two most timid people were actually the most eager.

“Sister Sen, let me go. I can do it!” Lin Xiaoxue clenched her fists, her eyes unusually firm. “I may not be as smart as you all, but I can definitely keep watch!”

Chen Lin also took a step forward. “I can go too. I’m… I’m not scared.”

A faint curve lifted the corner of Wei Sen’s mouth.

In the year since she had woken up after the car accident, she hadn’t interacted with many people. The person she had spent the most time with was Li Chang.

But Li Chang’s emotions had been far too stable, and his personality had been too perfect. From him, Wei Sen had never experienced what “complex human nature” meant.

The group before her, however, gave her an entirely different feeling.

Compared with Li Chang, they possessed a more vivid vitality. She could see their flaws, but in the process of getting along with them, she could also feel everyone changing in subtle ways.

So this was what real ordinary people were like?

“How about this…” Huang Xinze stepped forward and said, “Xiaoxue and I will follow Sister Sen back to the inn. Youyou, you and Linlin go back to the village.”

Xu You looked calm. “Anything works for me.”

Wei Sen agreed. “Mm. Let’s do that. Just don’t let anyone end up alone.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, then began moving separately.

By the time Wei Sen, Lin Xiaoxue, and Huang Xinze returned to the Aurora Inn, it was already past two in the afternoon.

The three of them were just about to find a place to sit so they could observe when Lili left the inn, when they first saw Lili slowly “walking” down from upstairs.

Because they knew Lili had no legs and was a vengeful ghost, both Huang Xinze and Lin Xiaoxue couldn’t help looking at her with wary eyes.

A smile hung on Lili’s pale face. She didn’t seem to care about their strange looks.

“Did you have fun while you were out?” Lili’s gaze swept back and forth over them.

Wei Sen said mildly, “It was all right.”

On the way back, Wei Sen had already asked Xu You whether Lili would lose control if they directly asked her about Ether Group.

Xu You’s answer had been: if Lili’s death had been caused by Ether Group, then mentioning Ether Group in front of her would very likely provoke her and cause her malice to spiral out of control.

But if Lili’s death had nothing to do with Ether Group, asking directly wouldn’t be a problem. It would simply depend on whether she was willing to answer truthfully.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.” Wei Sen stared straight into Lili’s eyes.

Huang Xinze’s eyes went wide as he looked at Wei Sen. “Sister Sen, watch what you say.”

Right now, they didn’t know the cause of Lili’s death. Asking rashly would be gambling with all their lives!

Lili revealed her ghastly white teeth and smiled. “Oh? What is it?”

Seeing that Wei Sen was about to speak, both Huang Xinze and Lin Xiaoxue broke into a cold sweat. If Lili went berserk, where could they run to die a little slower?

“The people in the village don’t seem to welcome tourists very much?” Wei Sen asked.

Huang Xinze immediately let out a breath of relief. So she wasn’t asking about Ether Group.

At that, Lili tilted her head, her eyes gradually going unfocused. “Why? Why is that?”

The others were a little puzzled when they saw her reaction. Could it be that she didn’t know either?

A moment later, Lili’s eyes returned to normal, as if she had thought of an answer. “Perhaps they’re guarding against something?”

“What thing?” Wei Sen pressed.

Lili curled her lips into a smile. “How would I know? It couldn’t possibly be me, could it? Heeheehee~”

Lili’s cold, sinister laughter sent a chill down their spines.