164: Chapter 164 Ghostly Shadows in the Woods

Tuaner sat atop the elephant, swaying along with the chair beneath her perky bottom. She was leafing through "Folk Horror Legends of Miandian," which she had picked up on a whim at the border of the Great Xia Kingdom.

"Mia, what do you think we'll run into this time? And also, that local colleague from the Paradise Lost Coordination Office who came to pick us up just now—why did he look at us so strangely? And also..." Tuaner would never be able to take off her "curious baby" hat.

Mia, sitting in front of her, turned around and treated her to a knuckle sandwich on the head.

"And you said you'd protect me! All along the way, you've been sneak-attacking me from behind every time we sway. I think I haven't hit you enough lately!"

"As for what we'll encounter, I'm not sure either. Isn't it normal for him to look at you strangely? You're so beautiful it's bursting at the seams. Aside from my attributes being broken, who else in this region has higher charm than you?"

"Why was he looking at you? Because your livestream is synced globally. You're an internet celebrity even within the Paradise Lost Coordination Office, get it?"

Mia, suppressing a belly full of frustration, began to knock Tuaner's not-so-bright little head repeatedly. The Coordination Office colleague who had come to meet them and Chen Mo, known as the Southwest's Number One Private Detective, winced at the sight; it looked painful.

"Where did you leave off in those folk horror legends?" Ryan, sitting on the same elephant as Chen Mo behind them, timely intervened to bail Tuaner out. He wasn't like Loran and Luo Xiaoya, who were smiling as they watched the two bicker.

"Nukekubi, water ghosts dragging people down as substitutes, evil spirits in the deep forest, ghost legends in old mansions, Rakshasa Ghosts, evil dragons... anyway, none of it seems particularly scary." Tuaner clutched her head and told Ryan about what she had just read.

"Still, I reckon Xiaoya won't need to look for a specific place to level up anymore; this place can probably cover everything..." Sometimes Tuaner was as sharp as Sister Baoer.

"It's fine, I'm just worried about delaying Mia's itinerary." Loran was a bit hesitant. Luo Xiaoya was pretending to be a good girl and didn't say a word.

"It's alright. The location of that Science and Technology Park is very remote. I think you'll definitely encounter the urban legends you're looking for." Chen Mo was also a bit confused; although adventurers from Paradise Lost all had their own skills, there weren't many who chased after urban legends like this.

"Also, about the previous matter of mailing the letter—it was because emails get tampered with by urban legends, so I wrote a physical letter. But I still ended up getting everyone cursed along with me. I'm truly sorry..." Chen Mo scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"You mean this?" Mia, wearing denim hot pants and a camisole, looked sexy and full of energy. She rubbed a bit of black light from her fingertips and then crushed it in front of Chen Mo's eyes.

"Ah, it's fine. We'll leave one on Ryan and deal with the rest." Tuaner whistled at Ryan, who appeared indifferent. As for curses, the types their team mastered were more than just one or two.

The elephant slowly trudged along the dense forest path, its hooves making dull thuds on the damp earth. Mist drifted among the distant treetops, and the sunlight was sliced into sharp swords by the heavy canopy, having lost its warmth by the time it reached them.

Tuaner's gaze focused back on the "Folk Horror Legends of Miandian." She flipped to a page at random; the illustration showed a woman's head without eyes, floating in the air with long hair writhing like snakes.

"Nukekubi..." she muttered softly, then suddenly looked up at the dense canopy around them. "Do you think this thing will really jump out from somewhere? Also, is it tough enough to take a hit?"

Crack—!

Just as she finished speaking, the sound of a branch snapping came from the nearby bushes. The elephant's steps faltered for a moment, and the mahout whispered a few words of comfort before it continued forward.

Mia narrowed her eyes. Her [Gaze of the Dead] had already been quietly activated, and the world in her vision was shrouded in a faint blood-red mist.

"Tuaner," she called out softly, "if you jinx us again, I'll put the spiders you're most afraid of in your bathtub!"

Tuaner blinked and shivered. Just as she was about to argue, Luo Xiaoya suddenly threw a nut at her and whispered, "Don't talk. Something is watching us."

Everyone's nerves tightened instantly.

Ryan's hand was already on the field knife at his waist, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. Loran closed her eyes, her finger lightly touching her forehead, seemingly establishing a mental link with the surrounding plants.

Chen Mo's face turned pale, but considering that Mia and the others had just paid him an extra 40,000 Xia Kingdom Coins, he forced himself to pull out a very unique-looking pistol. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he murmured, "I shouldn't have mentioned ghost stories..."

The elephant continued forward, but the sense of heaviness in the air grew stronger.

"Rustle... rustle..."

Deep in the bushes, something was moving slowly.

Mia tilted her head, and the blood-red color in her right eye gradually spread—her heterochromatic eyes looked increasingly eerie. She curled her lips slightly: "Since they're being so hospitable, why don't we say hello?"

Whoosh—!

Without any warning, Tuaner unslung the longbow from her back. Several guided arrows shot out like flowing water, flying toward the bushes ten meters away as swiftly as venomous snakes!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A series of soft thuds followed, then the sizzling sound of something being burned.

A non-human shriek echoed from the thick mist, followed by the bushes shaking violently as a blurry black shadow flashed and vanished!

"It ran away," Mia huffed.

Tuaner's eyes widened: "Damn, we actually ran into something?!"

The cold sweat on Chen Mo's forehead slid down his cheek: "Wh-what was that?!"

Loran slowly opened her eyes, her expression grave: "It wasn't an ordinary spirit... it carried a very strong resentment."

Luo Xiaoya pursed her lips tightly. Her [Blessing of Sprouting] had already condensed a faint green light at her fingertips, but it was trembling slightly now, as if sensing some higher level of malice.

Ryan said in a low voice, "Keep moving, don't stop."

The elephant stepped forward again, but this time, everyone's attention was on the shadows around them.

After passing through the dense forest, their vision suddenly opened up—a deserted park lay before them.

The massive metal fence was rusted, the iron gates hung open at an angle, and the electronic locks on the doors had long since failed.

Deep within the park stood several dilapidated buildings with shattered window glass and walls covered in stains and eerie bloodstains.

Mia jumped down from the elephant, her tone carrying an indescribable feeling. "We're here..."