The Wisteria Train 21

“You saw him in the dining car just now, didn't you? Where did he go?” Violita asked.

Arbiter was still a bit bewildered. She didn't understand how this man could completely change his tune after just one sentence from Lora. Was this the power of a Mary Sue female lead's aura?

But since they had agreed to cooperate and were now talking business, Arbiter adopted an appropriate attitude.

“My subordinate, Yan Zheng, possesses a mind as meticulous as a spider's web. He has already taken his assistant to pursue his trail. This foray will surely bring that man back in one piece; we shall not fail.”

Violita raised an eyebrow, seemingly not fully trusting Yan Zheng's capabilities, but he didn't argue. He merely said flatly, “In that case, all we can do is wait.”

“It's getting dark.” He looked out the window. The torrential rain was still pouring, and the sky was gradually darkening.

Outside the carriage, the visibility was so limited that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as pitch-black.

It was by no means a good time for humans to be moving around.

“The strangeness of this train might become even more pronounced at night,” Violita warned.

Bai Ci and Arbiter both nodded, saying nothing more. Silence fell over the carriage once again, save for the pitter-patter of rain pelting against the windows.

The group waited in silence for news from Yan Zheng.

Time ticked by. Outside, the sky grew darker and darker until it plunged completely into pitch darkness, leaving only the warm lights inside the carriage to barely illuminate a small area.

Marg remained by Violita's side, keeping a watchful eye on the carriage door and windows. His combat firearms were placed within arm's reach, ready to handle any sudden emergency at a moment's notice.

Both Arbiter and Violita chose to close their eyes and rest.

It was just that the former was using the time to deal with the effects of her backlash, while the latter was simply in poor health and resting.

Compared to them, Bai Ci was the only one with nothing to do.

Leaning back in her seat, Bai Ci glanced out the window from time to time. However, in such dim conditions, there was very little her ordinary vision could perceive.

As if reaching a certain critical point, the ring on her middle finger suddenly flared with a burning sensation.

Some spooky thing was on the move.

Bai Ci instantly grew alert, looking all around her, but nothing seemed any different from before.

Yet the ring remained hot. Not only did the temperature not drop, but it also showed signs of rising, indicating that danger was right before her eyes and drawing closer.

Where was it?

Outside the window?

That was the only area she couldn't observe clearly with the help of the carriage lights.

Bai Ci turned her gaze to the window. Looking out from inside the carriage, there were still only a few scattered green wisteria leaves along the frame, seemingly no different from before—still just as inconspicuous.

But the ring's abnormal reaction made her not dare to be careless in the slightest.

Gritting her teeth, Bai Ci simply reached out and forced the window open.

Wind carrying freezing rain instantly rushed in, soaking her sleeves.

Bai Ci's sudden action naturally caught the attention of the other three in the carriage, and their eyes darted toward her.

But she had no time to explain. Enduring the freezing cold and the lashing rain, she poked her head out and looked along the side of the train, utilizing the dim light from the carriage.

What she saw made her instantly gasp in cold breath.

The entire body of the train was completely enveloped by a dense mass of wisteria vines.

The vines were much thicker than those she had seen during the day, appearing dark brown, and their green leaves looked even more vibrant under the washing of the rain.

Entangled and crisscrossed, the vines resembled a massive net, tightly binding the entire train.

This was only what could be seen clearly in the nearby area illuminated by the light; she didn't even want to imagine what the carriages further away looked like.

Bai Ci abruptly pulled her head back inside, shut the window, and said to the others, “The wisteria vines outside have completely overrun the train. It's so dense that you can't even see the train's body.”

Due to both the cold and her anxiety, Bai Ci's voice trembled slightly, but she managed to steady it after her initial sentence.

Upon hearing this, the vigilance in Violita's eyes instantly spiked. After a brief moment of thought, his face fell dramatically.

“We must evacuate the carriage immediately. If we stay here any longer, we will all be trapped.”

Marg reacted with extreme speed, instantly bending down to hoist Violita securely onto his back with practiced ease.

Arbiter did not hesitate or ask questions, immediately springing into action to pull the carriage door.

“It won't open.” Arbiter shook her head. Something outside had wrapped around the door, sealing it shut; she couldn't budge it at all.

Leaning on Marg's back, Violita coughed while speaking urgently, “Jump out the window!”

Bai Ci nodded, stepped onto the small side table by the window, took a deep breath, and shoved the window open before leaping out.

Freezing rain instantly drenched her to the bone, and with the muddy ground beneath her feet, she nearly face-planted.

Fortunately, Arbiter, who jumped out right after her, gave her a hand and helped her steady herself.

Compared to Bai Ci's disheveled state, although Arbiter was also soaked, her landing was relatively effortless—the points she had allocated upon leveling up had not gone to waste.

Marg chose the adjacent window. Carrying Violita on his back, he leaped and landed firmly on the muddy ground beneath the train.

His movements were crisp and clean, showing not a hint of clumsiness despite carrying another person.

After landing, the group did not stop, continuing to run forward.

Almost the instant they leaped out, the wisteria vines that had been tightly wrapped around the window frame seemed to be provoked, suddenly becoming highly active.

The vines twisted like venomous serpents, writhing their bodies nimbly as they surged toward the escaping prey at an astonishing speed.

Bai Ci glanced back. As the vines writhed, they actually began to entangle and twist around each other, gradually forming several humanoid shapes.

These figures were distorted and deformed. Tattered pieces of human skin clung between the vines. In some places, the skin had peeled off to reveal the underlying tangled vines, while in others, blurry facial features still remained.

Rather than the vines turning into human shapes, it was more like they were wearing human skins, and were now slowly shedding them to reveal their true vine forms.

The vine figures closed in rapidly. Writhing along the muddy mountain path at incredible speeds, they dragged long vines behind them, leaving deep muddy tracks in their wake.

Outside, the torrential rain poured and the night was pitch-black, with visibility under a meter. They were surrounded by dense mountain forests with complex terrain, mud, and rocks everywhere. There was absolutely nowhere to hide immediately.

For humans, this environment was nothing but negative debuffs.

The rain pelting their faces blurred their vision, and the path beneath their feet was slick and treacherous. Every step required extreme caution; a single misstep would result in a fall.

Yet those vine figures were completely unaffected by the terrain or the rain, continuing their frenzied pursuit and drawing closer and closer.