Chapter Twenty-Five: Entering the Graveyard

Because the wall was quite high, we went out of our way to find a few bricks to stand on, making it easier to climb over. With a running start, Chen Chen and I both managed to get over the nearly three-meter wall.

Once we'd landed on the other side, I realized the atmosphere in this grove was completely different from inside the school. The air was thick with the scent of freshly turned earth, and there was a faint, unpleasant odor lingering beneath it all.

I squatted by the wall and said to Chen Chen, "Do you really think that old man's information is reliable? What if there's nothing here at all?"

Chen Chen squatted beside me, imitating my posture. "If it's just ordinary spirits, the two of us should be able to handle it. But if we run into something out of the ordinary, that's probably proof we're in the right place."

I thought it over carefully—he had a point. My only concern was whether it would be dangerous; after all, we were still just students.

"Let's just start walking and see," I said, gritting my teeth and stomping my foot. After everything we'd already been through, what was there left to fear?

The pale moonlight cast eerie shadows across our faces, our own shapes stretching and swaying behind us as we moved. It made the whole scene even more unsettling. We advanced cautiously through the gloomy woods, feeling our way forward.

The deeper we went, the darker it became. Eventually, the towering trees blocked out the moonlight completely, and we were plunged into darkness so profound we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces.

It wasn't until Chen Chen handed me the flashlight that I could slowly make out the shapes of the things around us.

"Do you think there might be wild animals in here?" Chen Chen's voice quivered as he spoke.

"I... I don't think so," I replied, not entirely confident myself. I could only offer a vague reassurance.

Whether from fear or something else, I began to see things that surely couldn't be real. I kept feeling as though someone was following us, and in the depths of the woods, I could have sworn I saw countless pairs of green eyes watching...

Sweat broke out on my forehead as tension mounted. The atmosphere here was stifling. Desperate to ground myself, I bit the tip of my tongue, forcing a jolt of pain to clear my mind.

"Lin Yao... there seems to be something up ahead," Chen Chen said, eyes fixed on a distant spot.

Following his gaze, I noticed a faint, glittering point of light in the distance. Now that we had a direction, our pace quickened. The light grew brighter as we hurried toward it.

Though it seemed close, it took us nearly ten minutes of brisk jogging to reach it. Parting the underbrush, I peered inside—just as I suspected, it was an enormous graveyard.

Chen Chen patted my back, urging me to go in. Although I'd tried to mentally prepare myself, standing face-to-face with so many graves for the first time still made my heart pound with dread.

But I decided to go all in—after all, I couldn't just leave empty-handed. Once I stepped inside, I noticed the air was oddly fresh, the previous stench entirely gone. It was just very cold...

Chen Chen crawled through the brush behind me and said, "Do you think that old man tricked us? What could possibly be here?"

I nodded lightly, then suddenly thought of something. I dashed back to where we'd entered and looked in again—the light was still there! Yet, once inside, everything was pitch-black.

Chen Chen seemed to realize something too. He frowned and said, "I've heard that in this world, there are not only cultivators but also great masters who study formations, alchemy, beast taming, and artifact forging."

"My guess is, this place is the handiwork of a master of formations."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sigh. "There are so many experts in the world, yet why are there so few willing to help us deal with the Ghost King..."

Back to the matter at hand, after another sigh, I became more convinced there was something hidden here, waiting to be discovered.

Chen Chen and I split up, each with a flashlight, searching the eerie graveyard. The elders always said graveyards were the safest places, for those who lay in graves had already gone to the underworld to be reborn—so most graveyards were empty, devoid of ghosts.

But I suspected this place was an exception.

From my past experiences, whenever the temperature in an area dropped below normal, it usually meant something unclean was nearby. But here, the cold was intense—I was shivering.

When I looked up at Chen Chen, I saw three or four fierce-looking spirits lurking behind him.

"Chen Chen, behind you!" I shouted urgently.

He froze for a moment at my warning, then swiftly drew a purple curved blade from his sleeve and slashed behind him.

I'd thought these spirits would be formidable, but I was wrong. The one in front was split in two the moment it touched the blade, as if it were nothing at all.

Noticing this, Chen Chen fought with growing confidence. In less than a minute, all the spirits had turned into piles of black dust.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" I hurried over to ask.

"No, I thought they'd be stronger," Chen Chen replied, swallowing hard as he sheathed his blade. He was clearly tense.

Just as we started discussing our thoughts, the temperature around us dropped even further. I thought to myself, This isn't good. Usually, the colder it gets, the more spirits appear—and the more dangerous they are.

I quietly drew my white staff. Though I couldn't fully control it yet, I hoped it would cooperate with me in a pinch.

Seeing me draw my weapon, Chen Chen quickly closed the distance between us, standing by my side.

"What is it? Did you sense something?" he whispered, hand on his weapon.

I told Chen Chen all my thoughts and suspicions. He remained calm and said, "If things get bad, we'll just have to make a run for it."

As we lifted our feet to head for the exit, the temperature dropped again, and suddenly, rows of expressionless spirits materialized before us.

I started in fright, stumbling back a couple of steps, thinking, Snowblade, you have to help me...

To my surprise, the blade flashed twice in response, just as it had before.

"So... does that mean you agree to help me?" I murmured.

"What do we do now?" Chen Chen was clearly anxious, his tone tense.

"We'll have to try to break through. If we can't, just fall back and protect yourself," I said, glancing at the Snowblade in my hand.

Chen Chen didn't speak this time, but nodded firmly, determination in his eyes.