Chapter 316: The Journey Back is Not Smooth
Among us, Sebastian possessed extraordinary insight and vigilance. Sherris was still holding him, Claire had extremely high inspiration, and she discovered Sherris was missing almost at the same time as me.
Jayad’s Evil Perception could always detect Sherris’s location. My Compound Eyes, obtained today, offered excellent vision in the darkness and powerful dynamic visual acuity capable of accurately capturing high-speed moving objects.
However, the four of us, fully aware that Sherris might be restricted by a command from leaving the village, were extremely vigilant even in the dark wilderness, yet we couldn’t even figure out how she disappeared or when she went missing.
“I wish I had kept her in front of me,” Sebastian said with some regret. It was a miscalculation.
“It’s meaningless. She didn’t disappear in a conventional way. Even if she was in front of you, you couldn’t have stopped her. Sherris must have returned to the village,” I said.
“Then let’s go. We’ll return to the village too,” Sebastian said, gritting his teeth. We couldn’t abandon Sherris, especially not knowing where she had returned to in the village. According to the ghouls, she might have been sent back to Oliver’s grave.
Facing the Black Silk Monster, still sealed in the grave, she would surely die. It was our mistake to forcibly bring her out. Although we didn’t know what use it would be, we at least had to go back to confirm her safety. It would be best if we could still help her.
Fortunately, we hadn’t gone far from the village. At full gallop, we could quickly return. In less than ten minutes, we could see the faint glow of firelight from the village.
However, one person stood on the road leading to the village. As we approached and the light shone, it was Sherris, almost startling us.
“I knew you would come back. And just as I said, the ghouls cannot leave the village. Even though I’m a mixed-blood, I can’t leave,” Sherris said. She had stayed here specifically to wait for us.
“We’re sorry. We didn’t expect it to be like this,” Sebastian said somewhat awkwardly. “But it’s great to see you unharmed, Miss.”
“You can go. What’s happening in this village has nothing to do with you. I will avenge my father and the others myself,” Sherris said coldly.
It’s over. This child has gone to extremes. So many ghouls before were helpless against that Black Silk Monster. Her father’s dying wish was for her to absolutely not return to the grave.
“Don’t be impulsive. Only by preserving yourself do you have a chance for revenge. Going there now is just suicide,” Sebastian advised.
“Don’t worry. I won’t impulsively commit suicide until I find a way to deal with them. Before that, I will first find a way to hide,” Sherris said. “Aren’t you leaving yet? Or are you willing to stay and help me get revenge?”
We were helpless. It was indeed as she said. We couldn’t stay, and even if we did, we couldn’t do much.
We didn’t even know what to advise Sherris to do. If we told her to go home, her house might already be targeted by the Black Silk Monster’s accomplices. If we told her to hide in the outskirts, the wilderness was full of dangers.
Moreover, Sherris had always been wary of us. After all, everything that had happened before was based on our word. No one actually knew the truth. She wouldn’t completely believe us until she saw it with her own eyes.
In the end, we could only advise her to take care and then bid farewell and leave. Theoretically, the later it got, the more dangerous it would be, and we had already wasted quite a bit of time coming and going.
Sherris watched us leave until the light could no longer illuminate her. She seemed to still be standing in her original spot, watching us. I didn’t know if I would see her again next time, but I wouldn’t let go of matters here.
The journey back was truly dark. Even though we lit our kerosene lamps, we couldn’t seem to see the road ahead clearly. We could only let the horses rely on their instincts.
“By the way, do you guys feel like it’s too quiet?” Jayad suddenly asked. Now that he mentioned it, it seemed so. When we came earlier, we heard the roars of wild beasts from time to time, but now the surroundings were completely silent. Besides the hoofbeats, there was no other sound, not even the chirping of insects.
“Older Brother Jayad, can you sense anything?” I asked nervously. The forests on both sides were indistinct. Shining a light on them made them feel even more terrifying. The atmosphere was very wrong.
“It seems like there’s something, but also maybe not,” Jayad said, puzzled. However, his expression suddenly changed. “Oh no, something is coming!”
“Heee-haw-haw-haw~!” The horse let out an uneasy whinny and suddenly accelerated, running without any urging. Sebastian and Jayad tried to control the horses, but it was difficult.
It is said that animals have stronger instincts than humans and can sometimes foresee dangers that humans have not yet detected. The frightened horses beginning to sprint might be such a situation, and we were in danger.
“Careful! It’s here!” As we rounded a corner, Jayad shouted. I only saw a white monstrous hand extend from the dark forest, reaching directly for our horse’s head.
“Get away!” Jayad raised his sword and directly slashed at it, the sword glowing with brilliant Holy Light.
His sword strike landed on the monstrous hand, making a clear clanging sound as if hitting steel. The white hand was undamaged, merely blocked by the sword. Otherwise, it could have grabbed the horse and brought it down the easily.
This made the horse even more frightened, and it sprinted at full speed. We brushed past the monster, but the Holy Light still illuminated it.
Oh my god, I’ve truly lived a long life today. I’ve seen all the monsters that previously only existed in nightmares. Even compared to all the monsters I had seen before, this one was still particularly horrifying and bizarre-looking.
It walked on eight hands, like a spider. Each one was the same clawed hand that had just reached out. Like a human, it had five fingers, but the tips were claws. They weren’t fingernails; the entire finger was pointed.
Its body seemed to have no skin or flesh, only ribs. Its heart was exposed and still visible beating. The most crucial part was its eyes; it had neither eyes nor mouths. In fact, it had no facial features or skin, just an exposed brain. The lump behind the brain fluttering in the wind, I no longer knew if it was hair or tentacles.
Even in my nightmares, I had never seen such a monster. It even surpassed my imagination. It was truly disgusting, far more terrifying than the Black Silk Monster before. As I brushed past it, my heart skipped half a beat from fright.
“Ah!!!” Claire screamed in fright. Sebastian quickly covered her mouth. “Don’t attract monsters. What did you guys see?!”
“Behind us! Something is chasing us from behind! Run fast!” I shouted. At the same time, the horse had lost control, and Jayad couldn’t pull it back.
Crucially, he didn’t dare to really yank it to a stop. The monster was closely following behind, its eight legs crawling at high speed.
