Wen Feiran couldn't understand his emotions, but the terrifying atmosphere left him little room to concentrate, and he walked cautiously at the back.
The slightest disturbance made him jump up in anger, and behind him was a drafty opening, from which gusts of cold wind blew, like slippery snakes coiling around his hands and feet, crawling towards his heart beneath the thin fabric.
Half of his body was numb, and he was gripped by extreme panic. He stumbled forward, his steps uneven, surrounded by darkness. The passage of time was blurry to him. He felt as if he had been walking there for a long time, as if he were trapped inside and could never get out.
A faint sound mingled with the wind. Wen Feiran instinctively listened, and cold raindrops fell on his shoulder, followed by a low, hellish murmur:
"Wooden Man, don't move!"
"If you move, you'll have to stay and be my ball, hehe."
!!!!
Adrenaline surged, and the instinctive reaction would be to scream and flee from danger, but Wen Feiran's shoulders twitched as words from the diary appeared before him.
Although the tone was childish, it contained a rule: you can't move when playing with the Wooden Man, otherwise the ghost will target you and cut off your head. And the twitching sound mixed in with the footsteps just now might have been the head of a person who died with their eyes wide open.
Wen Feiran bit her tongue, regaining a moment of clarity, and against her instincts, she remained rooted to the spot.
He couldn't move or speak, but the viewers in the live stream screamed for him.
[Ahhh, you fucking director! @*...%￥# I'm so scared! @&...]
[Holy crap, this is terrifying in the middle of the night! I dragged the dog onto the bed, and we're both trembling with fear.]
[Wen Feiran's reaction speed is absolutely amazing. If it were me, I would definitely be cannon fodder who wouldn't last five minutes in a horror movie.]
[Waaaaah, why is my baby so unlucky? He got into this mess and was left stranded. How is he going to get back?!]
[I once got lost in a haunted house, and I was so scared I almost jumped out of my skin. When my friend found me, he said I was disheveled and scarier than a female ghost, lol.]
[!! Has no one noticed Wen Feiran is missing? Help him!]
Although the viewers in the live stream were frightened to varying degrees, there is no true empathy in the world. Separated by a screen, they could not feel the eerie wind, the extreme silence, or the strange sounds tapping on his temples.
Wen Feiran held her breath. Although she was still standing in the same spot, she had actually walked for a while. When she felt dizzy, she came to her senses and started breathing heavily again.
He stood there for an unknown amount of time until the footsteps faded into the distance. He must have followed the rules of the game, and the ghost had let him go.
Wen Feiran let out a long sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders and back relaxed, and her legs felt weak. She staggered a couple of times before she could barely stand up.
Surrounded by absolute darkness, even with his eyes wide open, he couldn't see anything. He could only walk aimlessly forward, searching for Zou Yuxing and the others.
The unknown is the most terrifying thing. Unpleasant fantasies kept popping into Wen Feiran's mind, and as if in response, he heard footsteps again.
Each step was measured and unhurried, exuding a reassuring power. Even though Wen Feiran hadn't seen anything, a name suddenly came to her lips, "Teacher Gu?"
"Yes, it's me."
These words seemed to possess a special magic, unlocking the switch of fatigue and completely relaxing the tense nerves. Wen Feiran let out a long breath, feeling completely alive again.
Gu Suian has a very special scent that cannot be described in words, nor is it a specific fragrance. Instead, it carries a strong sense of warmth, like the scent of the sun.
Are you alright?
Wen Feiran located Gu Suian by his voice, "I'm fine, thank you for coming back to find me."
His voice was extremely dry, with drawn-out pauses, as if he was still in a daze from being frightened and had not yet fully recovered.
The viewers in the live stream were heartbroken, but Gu Suian didn't ask why. "I'll take you back."
Wen Feiran was silent for a few seconds, then tentatively reached out his hand. Before he could even touch Gu Suian's palm, he felt his hand being enveloped by a fiery heat.
The icy fingertips regained feeling, and warmth spread deep into my body, incredibly comforting.
Gu Suian took his hand and led him forward step by step.
Chapter 32: It's over, he self-destructed!
All around them was a deathly silence and an impenetrable darkness. They seemed to be walking on a road with no end in sight, with all sorts of dangers lurking around them, ready to transform into ferocious beasts and pounce with their gaping maws.
Wen Feiran's heart tightened, and all his senses focused on his hands, the only warmth he could draw upon. He subconsciously took two steps forward, but dared not get too close to Gu Suian, following him like a little tail.
Wen Feiran's senses were heightened to an extreme degree as he looked around, hoping to glean information from the darkness and sense danger in advance, but unfortunately, his hopes were dashed.
Wen Feiran's hand tightened uncontrollably. Gu Suian seemed to sense his unease and said at the right moment, "Don't worry, I remember the way back."
The moment Wen Feiran heard Gu Suian's voice, it was as if she had been pulled back to reality, and that they had only been temporarily lost and had already found their way home.
Wen Feiran's attention was diverted, and she asked, "Teacher Gu, how did you know I was missing?"
Gu Suian didn't answer directly, but said, "Zou Yuxing, they care about you too, but they're worried that everyone will get lost if they turn back, so I told them to wait where they are."
Wen Feiran nodded.
Gu Suian kept talking about unrelated topics, never asking Wen Feiran what had happened, and never pulling him back to that terrifying memory.
As they walked and talked, time seemed to fly by, and the deathly darkness no longer felt unbearable.
Wen Feiran took two steps forward, as if her blind eyes had suddenly caught a glimpse of light.