Nan Yue gave Ga Ya a long, cold look, a thin, mirthless smile playing on her lips before she turned and led Zhu Xi Ning out.
Seeing Nan Yue about to leave, Xie Roufen called out to her several times in a panic, but Nan Yue acted as if she hadn't heard a word. She kept her grip on Zhu Xi Ning and walked away, not even glancing back at Huo Fuyu or Shang Xi.
It took Nan Yue and her companion nearly twenty minutes to trek back to the entrance of the ancestral hall, where Gu Xiang Kai and the others were still waiting.
"Hey, they're back!"
"What took so long? Did you find something?"
The group waiting outside swarmed them, eager for any scrap of information.
Jiang Mingfu, having been thoroughly chewed out by Zhu Xi Ning earlier and likely warned by He Jiang, didn't dare step forward this time.
Instead, Dong Sheng, who had shared a vehicle with Nan Yue's group, stepped up with a smile and rubbed his hands together. "Miss Nan, you've worked hard. We..."
Before he could finish, Nan Yue, who had been walking with her head down, looked up and stared directly at him.
"Get lost."
Without another word, she led Zhu Xi Ning away without looking back.
Since entering the mission, Nan Yue had been relatively pleasant to everyone except He Jiang, and she wasn't the type to be secretive or standoffish.
Her sudden change in attitude caught everyone off guard.
However, even if their minds couldn't keep up, their animal instincts kicked in, and they all sensed that Nan Yue was currently extremely dangerous.
Gu Xiang Kai and Wen Xiang Yuan exchanged a look before quickly following her. It was a while before Shang Xi and Huo Fuyu emerged, only to be surrounded by the clamoring crowd.
While Shang Xi explained the situation inside, Huo Fuyu arched an eyebrow, watching the direction where Nan Yue had vanished.
Dual souls?
What exactly was that?
Back in the stone house, Nan Yue was also grappling with that question. She paced the room like a spinning top until Zhu Xi Ning's head began to swim.
"Anan, don't be so tense. It was just a creepy NPC talking nonsense. There's no need for this."
Zhu Xi Ning, for her part, seemed entirely unaffected, her focus lying elsewhere.
"That place gave me a very bad feeling."
She hadn't activated her foresight awakened ability at the time. She simply sensed an overwhelming danger.
"Especially the ceiling. I couldn't see anything clearly, but it looked like a sea of blood-red."
Zhu Xi Ning felt a lingering dread as she recalled the sight. "We can't stay there. It felt much more dangerous than the ant nest."
The ancestral hall for the sacrificial rite was the most dangerous place?
It made sense. After all, the ritual was set for the final day. Even following the pattern of Multi-fortune Town, that location should indeed be the focal point of danger.
"What a pain."
Gu Xiang Kai crouched by the door, lighting a cigarette. "Multi-fortune Town was troublesome enough, but this mission feels even more perilous."
The sacrificial rite in Multi-fortune Town had taken place at dawn, allowing them to time their departure perfectly.
However, they had asked Luo Liu and learned that the ritual in Antswamp Village would occur after dark, around eight or nine o'clock, leaving three or four hours before midnight.
This meant they would have to endure the entire ritual before they could leave the village.
Gu Xiang Kai sat at the entrance with a gloomy expression, puffing away on his cigarette. Suddenly, someone else crouched down beside him. He turned to see Wen Xiang Yuan, startling him so much he nearly dropped his cigarette on his pants.
"Brother Gu."
Wen Xiang Yuan watched with a curious expression as Gu Xiang Kai frantically extinguished the cigarette. She waved a hand dismissively. "I don't mind."
Realizing he might have overreacted, Gu Xiang Kai held the half-finished stub, looking a bit dazed. "Oh..."
"I wanted to ask... how can I improve my combat skills?"
She hadn't felt it as strongly before, but after truly entering a mission with Nan Yue and the others, she realized her own abilities were severely lacking.
Since Nan Yue was currently preoccupied, Wen Xiang Yuan had no choice but to ask Gu Xiang Kai.
Gu Xiang Kai scratched his head, the extinguished cigarette still dangling from his lips. "They teach the basics systematically at the academy. How were your grades?"
Wen Xiang Yuan lowered her head in embarrassment, and Gu Xiang Kai understood immediately.
It didn't seem like Wen Xiang Yuan was naturally gifted in combat.
"Actually, everyone has their own way of getting through a mission. Not everyone has to be a powerhouse like me."
Gu Xiang Kai tried to encourage her sincerely. "Your strength doesn't have to be an attack-type. I think you're much better at gathering information than we are."
Wen Xiang Yuan touched her face. "That's only because of this face."
Gu Xiang Kai had a strange inkling that Wen Xiang Yuan didn't actually like her own face...
"Well... your face is very beautiful."
Gu Xiang Kai spoke with a hint of awkwardness. Wen Xiang Yuan turned and smiled. "Really? Thank you."
Gu Xiang Kai could tell she was used to being complimented on her looks, as her response was natural.
But in that moment, he felt her sincerity.
She seemed genuinely happy about what he had just said.
Gu Xiang Kai coughed awkwardly.
"Old Gu, this mission will be tough. Look out for Xi Ning."
Nan Yue's voice finally broke the long silence in the room. Gu Xiang Kai, recognizing the gravity of the situation, immediately agreed.
Zhu Xi Ning felt that if she were in any real danger, she would have foreseen it. Since her ability hadn't activated, there was likely no immediate threat to her life.
Nan Yue didn't say much more, but she shared the information Huo Fuyu had given her with the others.
"I'm not sure if it's true, but if any of you need to use the restroom at night, call me and we'll go together."
The sky had turned completely dark. Normally, the temperature would drop at night, but Antswamp Village showed no sign of cooling down. Instead, it became even more humid and oppressive.
"This feeling... it's like being at the seaside."
Wen Xiang Yuan whispered, "I was in a mission once that took place by the sea. It was just as hot and stifling."
"But even at the seaside, the temperature usually drops at night."
The group fell silent. Shang Xi returned soon after. Her wounds had healed, though she was still a bit weak from the blood loss.
This time, Zhu Xi Ning slept between Nan Yue and Gu Xiang Kai. According to Shang Xi, Xie Roufen had ultimately been left alone in the ancestral hall.
Three days left...
This mission wasn't as long as the one at Blooming Media Company, which only made the time feel more precious.
In her hazy half-sleep, Nan Yue felt that sensation of being watched again.
She couldn't tell if it was just her imagination. Ever since she had experienced those hallucinations in the ant nest, the feeling of being observed had grown stronger.
Moreover, she kept hearing that sound.
Rustle.
Rustle.
...
Zhou Jie Feng thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, but the moment he hit the bed, he drifted off and began to dream.
In his dream, he was back in that field of wild cogon grass. He was holding a steamed bun, feeling ravenously hungry, and began devouring it in huge gulps.
But in the next second, the bun in his hand suddenly transformed into a giant ant.
He had bitten off the ant's head, and its antennae were still writhing inside his mouth.
"Aah!!"
Zhou Jie Feng jolted awake, gasping for air, his body drenched in cold sweat.
He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but his mouth tasted bitter and fishy.
Rustle.
What was that sound?!
Zhou Jie Feng sat up, peering into the pitch-black room.
The room was dark, with only a faint, flickering light seeping in through the holes at the bottom of the wall.
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