Sacrificial Ground

"A De, we're about to become Hunter!"

"Aww!"

Wei Ke opened his eyes to a broken window that revealed a misty night sky outside.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

A familiar voice came from nearby. Wei Ke turned around and saw Bai Wei sitting not far from him, throwing firewood into the campfire.

The flames licked at the firewood, making a crackling sound that echoed the thumping of the Corpse Ghoul pushing open the door outside.

"Aren't you asleep yet?" Wei Ke asked.

"Yes, I'm probably excited because we're almost there."

Wei Ke asked curiously, "Do you get excited too?"

"I'm talking about you," Bai Wei said calmly. "You've been talking in your sleep ever since you fell asleep, and you've woken me up several times."

"...I'm sorry." Wei Ke didn't know if he was talking in his sleep, but he knew he was dreaming. So he sat up straight, looked around the cabin they were in, and said softly, "A De and I also spent our first night here."

"You've already said that."

"Huh? Did you talk in your sleep?"

"No, you already told me when we first got here that you found this house, don't you remember?" Bai Wei said. "You also said that your puppy seemed a little off that night."

"A De is a wolf." Wei Ke was still unwilling to give up on proving A De's identity, but after saying that, he hesitated. "Did I already say that? Well, I don't remember much, but I can slowly recall what happened back then. It was the first night that A De and I spent in this house. A De seemed a little unwell."

Yes, Bai Wei and Wei Ke have arrived at the Sacrificial Ground... or more accurately, they have arrived at the outer perimeter of the Sacrificial Ground.

The Sacrificial Ground of Senra are not simple stands; they cover a vast area and are located in a valley, requiring several days to walk from the outer perimeter to the deepest part.

After all, the Sacrificial Ground is the place to communicate with the Senro God. In a sense, it can be considered half a dwelling place of the god. When the Senro God was still alive, Hunter would have to go through some twists and turns and trials to meet Senro God. This path to meeting the god was definitely not as simple as just going straight to the end.

Now that the Senro God is dead, it doesn't mean the path has become easier.

Otherwise, how could Wei Ke have lost not only his memory but also his dog after going through the whole process?

Before arriving here, Wei Ke couldn't remember anything about his last visit, but after arriving, he immediately recalled some memories and led Bai Wei to this relatively intact house to spend the night and ward off the Corpse Ghoul.

"What's wrong with that Little Wolf?"

"A De isn't a wolf, he's..." Wei Ke started to say, then paused, "Huh? Why are you calling A De a wolf this time?"

"What?" Bai Wei said calmly, "Then shall I continue to say it's a dog?"

"No, no, no, A De is a wolf!" Wei Ke shook his head repeatedly, and then, as if afraid that Bai Wei would continue to dwell on the topic of whether it was a wolf or a dog, he immediately continued, "Before A De came here, it was always normal, but after it came here, it seemed very... anxious."

"Anxiety?"

"Yes." Wei Ke tried to recall the scene. "It was very uneasy, pacing around the house, wagging its tail, and howling at the Corpse Ghoul outside... it just seemed very agitated."

While Wei Ke was speaking, Bai Wei glanced at his legs out of the corner of her eye.

His legs were shaking incessantly, and his tattered shoes made a grating "crunching" noise as they stepped on the dry grass.

But he seemed oblivious and continued speaking.

"I've never seen A De like that before. Its reaction made me think there was something dangerous outside the house, I mean something other than Corpse Ghoul," Wei Ke said. "But I didn't find anything or smell anything strange. Just to be safe, I didn't sleep all night and waited until dawn."

"Did you discover anything after daybreak?" Bai Wei asked.

Wei Ke shook his head. "No, we didn't find anything, but A De was back to normal after daybreak."

"It'll be normal after dawn?" Bai Wei said. "Looks like something was hiding in the darkness."

"But I didn't see anything."

"Don't you know? Dogs can see things that humans can't."

"...I see." Wei Ke subconsciously began to think, and after a while, he realized, "No, A De is a wolf!"

Bai Wei shrugged and didn't argue.

Wei Ke's mood quickly turned somber.

"I clearly sensed something was wrong with A De back then," he said in a low voice. "But I didn't think much of it. If I had taken A De away then, would none of this have happened?"

"You should know that's just fooling yourself," Bai Wei said. "The Wildfire Cultist call you Saint, and they orchestrated your arrival here with that Little Wolf. Do you think they'll let you leave?"

"You mean, they were watching us all along?" Wei Ke asked nervously. "So, it's possible that A De caught their scent and kept barking?"

"I don't know."

Wei Ke hesitated for a moment, then asked Bai Wei, "Father Ulu, do you think we can find the answer on this trip?"

Before Bai Wei could speak, Wei Ke quickly shook his head again, his slightly confused tone instantly turning into a firm one.

"No matter what, I have to find the answer."

Um...

Bai Wei looked at Wei Ke's stubborn face and nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that the Old Hunter and the little girl had a profound influence on her.

"You'd better remember what you said," Bai Wei said with a smile.

"Of course!" Wei Ke shook his fist again, then looked at Bai Wei with slight confusion, "But... Father Ulu, I still don't know why you came here."

"You don't need to worry about that." Bai Wei chose a comfortable position and lay down. "I'm just an observer."

"Bystander?"

"Yes, you can understand it as me just watching from the sidelines," Bai Wei said with a smile. "I won't interfere or change anything."

"Uh." Wei Ke tilted his head. "But back in Yade Town, you wanted to change that pharmacy owner's orientation."

"... You mean religious orientation, right?"

"Yes."

"Remember to finish what you're saying next time," Bai Wei said calmly. "And now shut up, I need to rest."

"...oh."

Wei Ke scratched his head and fell silent.

Bai Wei couldn't rest for long either. Soon after, the Corpse Ghoul's knocking stopped, and a while later, sunlight pierced the darkness and shone in.

Daylight broke.

Bai Wei could only sigh deeply and slowly get up.

Since transmigrating, sleep has been a foreign concept to him.

The night owl from my past life now actually misses the feeling of sleeping.

Bai Wei didn't know if his inability to sleep was because he hadn't regained his body yet. After all, he had always been sensitive to different beds since he was a child, and using someone else's body felt like sleeping in someone else's bed—he couldn't sleep peacefully no matter what.

However, other people's beds vary in quality. For example, He Wei Ni Ya's body is the most comfortable to sleep on, Ulu's body is the most uncomfortable. Jie La Er's is neither good nor bad.

However, after using this body, Ulu could only rank second.

After all, this body was different from the other three. To be more precise, it was a corpse. Sleeping in it felt like lying in a cold coffin, and it was uncomfortable no matter how much you moved around.

In other words, being able to act independently would earn him a few extra points; otherwise, Bai Wei would really want to go back to being an old man and sleeping with other people.

Ah, I miss He Wei Ni Ya's body.

After silently complaining for a moment, Bai Wei straightened up and turned to look at Wei Ke: "It's time to go..."

He paused halfway through his sentence.

Because he noticed that Wei Ke was watching him.

However, those eyes... were a ghostly green.

Bai Wei narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Wei Ke?" he asked first.

Wei Ke didn't react. He squatted in the corner, and the morning mist condensed between the two of them, making them look somewhat hazy and unreal.

Bai Wei called Wei Ke's name again, but Wei Ke still didn't speak. He just tilted his head, and his dark green eyes looked like two green flames that suddenly ignited in the white mist, as if they were about to set everything ablaze.

"A De," Bai Wei changed her form of address.

This time, there was a clear emotional fluctuation in Wei Ke's eyes, as if he were responding to Bai Wei.

"I see, you're A De?" Bai Wei softened his voice so that Wei Ke could hear him more clearly. "Do you know who I am?"

Wei Ke did not respond.

"It seems you don't know," Bai Wei asked again. "Then do you remember what happened?"

Wei Ke still did not respond.

It was as if he didn't react to anything except the name "A De".

Bai Wei waited a while longer, and then suddenly spoke.

"You were eaten by Wei Ke, weren't you?"

Upon hearing this, a change immediately appeared in Wei Ke's usually calm green eyes.

Hatred, anger.

A flood of negative emotions welled up inside.

A gurgling sound came from his throat, as if he were chewing or suppressing a roar.

Bai Wei watched as Wei Ke bent down, as if he wanted to pounce on her.

But the next second, his movements stopped, and the green in his eyes quickly faded.

Before long, Wei Ke returned to his current clear-headed yet foolish self.

"Father Ulu?" He tilted his head and looked at Bai Wei. "Aren't you asleep yet?"

Bai Wei was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, maybe it's because we're almost there, and we're quite excited."

"Uh, really?" Wei Ke looked out the window. "Ah, it's already dawn."

"Yes." Bai Wei didn't repeat the previous conversation, nor did he tell Wei Ke about the change in his behavior. He just smiled and said, "It's time to go find your puppy."

"A De is a wolf," Wei Ke corrected Bai Wei somewhat impatiently. "How many times do I have to say it? A De is a wolf."

"Alright, alright, it's a wolf." Bai Wei Open the door and went out first.

Outside the house was a straight path leading deep into the valley.

Wei Ke hurriedly followed.

Bai Wei pointed to the road in front of him and asked, "You remember this is the road, right?"

Wei Ke nodded. "Yes, because this is the only road into the mountains."

"And then what?"

"After that... I can't remember."

"Tsk, looks like it won't unlock until the next save point."

"Store what?"

"It's nothing," Bai Wei shook his head and said with a smile, "Let's continue on our way."

Half a day after the two left.

"Gurgle gurgle".

A strange sound came from the mountains and forests.

A short while later, there was a "snap".

A pale arm stretched out, its five already festering fingers firmly embedded in the ground.

But the arm was still exerting force, like a drowning person who had finally managed to grab onto a corner of the shore and was desperately dragging it along.

So, a huge "Meat Mass" was dragged out of the woods.

This is a Meat Mass composed of countless limbs, like the result of killing dozens of people, amputating their limbs, throwing them into a lump of mud, stirring it, and finally cooling it down.

"Gurgle gurgle".

The eerie sound emanated from the meat again.

If you look closely, you can see all sorts of heads deep inside the chunks of flesh.

The reason it is described as "various" is because it includes humans, animals, and... half-human, half-wolf monsters.

They looked as if they were already dead, because their heads had long since separated from their bodies, and their faces were so pale that no blood could be seen.

But they seemed to be still alive, because everyone had their eyes open, their mouths agape, and they were constantly making sounds.

It was that "gurgling" sound, and if you listened carefully, you could still make out a few indistinct syllables.

"Ves... Sa... S..."

The piece of meat, carried by one hand, moved little by little to the front of the hut.

Upon reaching the hut, it seemed to smell a familiar scent; all its heads instantly emitted shrieks, and all its severed limbs and broken arms emerged from the chunks of flesh, eagerly reaching towards the hut.

Almost instantly, they tore a large hole in the wall of the cabin and rushed inside.

Soon, the hut collapsed.

But they couldn't be crushed, and they crawled out again.

"Not here! Not here! Not here!"

They all spoke in unison.

So they continued their search and soon set their sights on the only road again.

"Visas! Visas!"

"There! There!"

They said this, and then moved forward again, trying to catch up with Bai Wei.

But he stopped again after taking only two steps.

A few heads were still looking ahead, while others suddenly turned to look behind them.

"Visas".

"Behind! Behind!"

They started calling out.

"Ahead! Ahead!"

Another group of minds answered.

They disagreed.

The disagreement escalated, eventually ending with a tearing sound.

The piece of meat was split in two, just like a rotten apple, from which countless worms "emerged" after it was cut open.

They squeaked and then rushed off one after the other, quickly disappearing from sight.

On the other side, the "Front Tooth," about to enter the Sacrificial Ground, raised its head somewhat uneasily.

"... What happened?"