The moment they stepped into the wall of fog, all surrounding sounds abruptly vanished.
Even the sound of the wind was completely shut out, leaving only an oppressive, dead silence.
Beneath their feet was soft, damp soil, mixed with the musty scent of decaying leaves.
Only a few minutes had passed.
Eve, who had inhaled a small amount of the mist, was the first to speak, her voice sounding a bit airy:
“My vision... is a bit blurry.”
Lin Gui turned his head to look at her.
“Can you hold on?”
Eve gently shook her head and let out a soft laugh.
“I'm fine.”
“It seems the mist is just as Blackbeard described; it really can disrupt one's mind.”
Curious, she reached out her hand, her fingertips probing the grayish-white mist drifting before her.
The mist felt cool and damp against her skin, dispersing the moment she touched it.
Lin Gui, however, raised his hand at that moment.
【Wind Guiding】 was quietly activated.
An invisible current of air swirled, gathering threads of the surrounding mist to the tip of his nose.
Eve looked at him in confusion.
Why was Lin Gui actively exposing himself to the mist?
She remembered clearly, from the glance she stole before they entered—
He didn't seem to have drunk any potion.
He was exposing himself to the mist completely unprotected.
Yet right now, Lin Gui's expression was perfectly normal, his eyes clear and sharp.
...Could he have secretly drunk it when she wasn't paying attention?
While Eve was lost in thought, Lin Gui quickened his movements.
His other hand traced an arc in the air, causing the wind to swirl around him.
The mist surrounding him grew thicker and thicker, churning and billowing.
It almost completely swallowed the outline of his figure.
Even so.
Lin Gui's mind remained exceptionally clear, his thoughts incredibly sharp.
Instead of being corroded, he felt...
Because of this dense mist, his concentration actually deepened.
His entire body felt lighter, and his consciousness became exceptionally vivid.
Just as Lin Gui confirmed that Clarity was working and relaxed his guard slightly—
Suddenly.
A series of sighs echoed around them.
The sound was hoarse and drawn-out, like the final breath squeezed from a decaying chest.
It crept into their ears, sending a shiver down their spines and raising a sudden chill.
Lin Gui immediately waved his hand to disperse the thick fog around him.
He gripped Eve's hand tightly, pulling her behind him to shield her.
Within his eyes, an icy gray light suddenly swirled.
He pushed the 【Eyes of the Netherworld】 to their limit, his vision piercing through the grayish-white fog.
The Wall of Sighs earned its name precisely because of these omnipresent, eerie sounds.
And the approaching sound, according to Blackbeard—
Meant that the invisible spectral demons were drawing near.
The oak staff on his back floated to the front of him.
Lin Gui sat sideways on it with Eve, hovering a few inches off the ground.
He stared intently in the direction of the sighs, his entire body tense.
Eve instinctively clutched the hem of Lin Gui's robe.
She looked around, a trace of tension appearing on her usually calm face.
Because those sighs seemed to be coming from all directions.
Yet as far as her eyes could see, there was only the empty, swirling gray mist.
“Should we... retreat?”
Eve asked in a low whisper, keeping her voice very soft:
“We don't have a guide.”
“Neither magical nor physical attacks can harm them.”
“And most importantly, we can't see them.”
Without shifting his gaze, Lin Gui replied calmly, “No, I can see them.”
Eve looked at him in astonishment.
He could see them?
She suddenly remembered back in the Carter Royal Capital—
The scene of Lin Gui creating a soul doll with blood to fight the Legendary assassin.
And deep under the Silent Sea, how he had muttered to himself facing that bead.
She blurted out, “Mr. Lin Gui, you can see souls?”
Lin Gui nodded, saying no more.
He held Eve's hand tightly, the steady warmth of his palm transferring to hers.
Eve was right; they lacked the means to fight spectral entities.
Right now, they were like children wandering into a wolf pack's territory.
They could only hide or turn and run.
They weren't far from the exit by the lake, and they could even faintly see the outline of Theia looking in their direction.
Lin Gui was confident that if he sensed danger approaching—
He could carry Eve out of this wall of fog within five seconds.
He focused his gaze toward the source of the sighs, his pupils contracting slightly.
The mist could not block the observation of the Eyes of the Netherworld.
Yet, under his vigilant gaze...
The sighing suddenly vanished.
In Lin Gui's vision, the horn of a pale blue spectral demon had just barely poked out.
But then, as if startled, it trembled violently and quickly retreated back into the mist.
Leaving no trace.
Lin Gui froze for a moment, then suddenly turned his head.
He looked in another direction where a faint fluctuation had appeared.
Through the gray mist, a blurry, pale blue specter was 'looking' over.
Its outline resembled a distorted human form, but it had no facial features.
Where its head should be, there were only two hollow depressions, staring blankly at Lin Gui.
The mana in Lin Gui's entire body instantly gathered, ready to strike.
He adjusted the angle of his staff slightly, prepared to burst with speed and retreat at any moment.
But in the next second—
The spectral demon suddenly shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning.
It let out a short, piercing shriek:
“Awooo—!!”
This sound was the exact opposite of the previous sighs.
It was sharp and panicked, exactly like a wild cat getting its tail stepped on.
Then, it spun around and plunged into the depths of the thick fog, practically scrambling on all fours.
And vanished without a trace.
Lin Gui: “???”
Eve was also startled by the strange shriek, her shoulders flinching slightly and her eyelashes trembling.
She looked at Lin Gui blankly, her eyes filled with confusion:
“Just now... what was that sound?”
Lin Gui remained silent for a long time, not knowing how to describe the scene to Eve.
In his mind, Blackbeard's solemn accounts, the scholar Eli's warnings, and Balin's serious instructions flashed by.
They had all spoken of how terrifying the demons of the Wall of Sighs were.
Invisible, untouchable, and unhittable.
No matter how strong one was, they would be utterly helpless.
And those bizarre sighs would echo in one's ears at any moment.
And yet now.
Before Lin Gui could even witness their terror...
They had actually...
Run away?
And it was a very standard, highly human-like escape at that?
“What the hell?”
Lin Gui frowned and muttered.
Could they be afraid of him? But he was only a High Rank mage.
Or did he have some powerful item on him that could strike fear into spectral demons?
But he didn't have any rare treasures on him, did he?
With doubt in his mind, Lin Gui turned to look at Eve:
“Eve, did you bring anything special with you?”
“Something that would terrify spectral demons?”
Eve shook her head, her tone earnest:
“If I had something like that, I wouldn't keep it hidden, Mr. Lin Gui.”
Helpless, Lin Gui could only put this bizarre incident aside for the time being.
He had already achieved his purpose for this first entry into the Wall of Sighs.
He had confirmed that his Clarity spell could indeed resist the erosion of the mist.
There was no need for him to linger in this Forbidden Zone full of unknowns.
Before leaving, Lin Gui cast one last glance in the direction the spectral demon had fled.
Then, holding Eve's hand, he stepped out of the wall of fog in just a few strides.
Returning to the lakeshore, the sunlight spilled down, and the sound of the wind entered their ears once more.
Theia, who was waiting outside, immediately jogged over, her emerald-green eyes filled with concern:
“How was it? Are you okay?”
Lin Gui nodded and let go of Eve's hand:
“We're fine, everything is good.”
“The potion provided by Blackbeard is indeed effective.”
“The issue with the mist inside the Wall of Sighs is basically solved.”
Theia let out a sigh of relief, then immediately pressed further:
“Then, what about those demons?”
“Did you encounter those invisible demons?”
At the mention of this, Lin Gui's expression became a bit peculiar.
He paused for a moment before replying, “I saw them.”
“But they might have had something urgent to attend to at home. They took one look at us and left.”
Theia: “...Huh?”
She blinked, failing to process his words for a moment.
Then she looked at Eve, seeking confirmation.
Eve shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure either, since she couldn't see them.
She had only heard... a terrified shriek.
As if... they had seen a ghost?
Rate on N.U.
