"Life's oldest and strongest emotion was fear, and the oldest, strongest fear was fear of the unknown."
After dinner came Hearthstone Tavern's usual rest period.
Yao Ziyan and Anno sat side by side, both clutching the pillows in their arms, looking nervous yet excited.
Luo Chuan took a sip of hot tea and glanced at the two girls whispering among themselves.
They were clearly scared, yet they insisted on pestering him to continue.
They were terrible at it, yet loved playing anyway—that described them perfectly.
"I didn't know what I was doing. I merely followed the group onward by instinct." Luo Chuan set down his cup, and his voice once more drew the two girls' attention. "Blue moonlight poured down, illuminating the bay ahead."
"We were like worshippers making a pilgrimage, and also like sacrifices being offered up, muddleheadedly advancing toward the bay. Flurries of snow fell from the sky, dyed an eerie ghostly green by the moonlight as well."
"Besides the sound of waves striking the shore, unsettling wails seemed to be coming from the bay. Yet I couldn't control my body enough to stop, and I could even sense the calls of those companions ahead who had already entered the bay."
"Endless freezing cold wrapped heavily around me, and the swirling snowflakes obscured my sight, as though a vortex were swallowing me whole."
At this point, Luo Chuan paused briefly.
"What happened next? What happened next?"
After waiting for a while without hearing Luo Chuan's voice, Yao Ziyan could not help urging him on.
"If you wish to know what happened next, please listen to..."
"Boss~"
Luo Chuan shuddered. "Stop. Don't talk in that tone. I'll tell it, all right?"
It was not just Luo Chuan. Even Anno could not help shivering at that cloyingly sweet voice, and