It was a group of faint blue light, looming in Gray Mist.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Wen slowed down and cautiously approached the group of light.
As the distance got closer, the light gradually became clear - it was a strange-looking lantern. The lampshade was made of some kind of translucent bone, with a cold blue flame beating inside. The lantern was held by a hand like a dead branch, and the arm extended upward, connected to a tall and thin figure.
Lantern Sprite.
Li Wen has seen relevant records in some unconventional classics. This is an extremely rare race of fairies that resemble dead trees and towering figures. Legend has it that they can guide lost souls on the way to the underworld. The Lantern Sprite in front of me is more than two meters tall. Its bark-like skin is covered with cracks, and a faint blue light seeps out of the cracks. It has no facial features, and there is only a horizontal crack on its head, like the bark of a tree cut open by a sharp blade.
Lantern Sprite seemed to be aware of the existence of Li Wen. It turned around slowly, the lantern swayed, and the blue light drew a winding trajectory in the fog. There are no words, it just takes steps and walks in a certain direction.
Li Wen hesitated for a moment and decided to follow. Although Giant Bell warned her, the metal knocking sound that drove away the unknown existence seemed to be made by Lantern Sprite. According to legend, Lantern Sprite is a friendly and trustworthy fairy clan.
She kept a safe distance and followed Lantern Sprite through the thick fog. From time to time, shadows passed through Gray Mist. Some were human-like in shape, and some were completely unrecognizable. They avoided the light of the lantern, as if the blue fire could burn the soul.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Gray Mist suddenly became thinner. Li Wen squinted his eyes, and a large light source vaguely appeared in front of him, like a group of fireflies that suddenly appeared in the dark night. As the distance got closer, those light spots gradually connected together, outlining the outline of a ruin.
This is a building complex made of black stones, similar in style to the inner city of Amber City, but more dilapidated and decadent. The surface of the building is covered with luminous vines. Those vines pulse like blood vessels, emitting a soft yellow-green light, reflecting the entire ruins like Dreamscape.
Lantern Sprite stopped at the edge of the ruins. It raised its dead branch-like arms and pointed at the densest light source. Then its figure gradually faded, and finally disappeared into the fog together with the lantern.
After pondering for a moment, Li Wen stepped into the ruins alone. The glowing vines trembled slightly as she passed by, and the light flickered on and off, as if conveying some kind of message. The ground was paved with broken black stone tiles, and small fluorescent mushrooms grew in the gaps. When she stepped on it, tiny spots of light would splash out.
"Look what I found, a big living creature!"
A high-pitched voice suddenly came from her feet. Li Wen looked down and saw a giant guinea pig as big as a dog staring up at her. This guinea pig was all white, but its eyes were strange purple. There was a faded red silk scarf tied around its neck. It stood upright, covering its mouth with its front paws in an exaggerated manner, and its beard trembled in shock.
"It's so rare. There has been no intelligent race here for 327 years!" The guinea pig circled around Li Wen, its nose kept twitching, and it made a tsk-tsk sound. "And it's still a human being. You native species of Terra..."
Li Wen stared hard, grabbed the guinea pig's scarf, and lifted it up.
"Can you say Terran Language?"
The guinea pig kicked its short legs in mid-air, and the scarf made it roll its eyes. "Ahem... show some respect! I am a knight of the Lafatia kingdom! Of course I can say Terran Language..."
Li Wen let go of his hand, and the guinea pig fell to the ground with a splat, and rolled twice before he stabilized his body. It adjusted its scarf angrily, its purple eyes rolling. "Rude! How rude! I knew that encountering surface creatures like you would be no good -"
"Lafatia?" Li Wen interrupted its complaint, "A city-state of underground dwarves?"
"Be respectful, you should be called the great and noble Gray Mountain Kingdom Lafatia!" The guinea pig muttered some unorthodox language, which was mostly swear words. "I am the chief scholar, adventurer and bard of the kingdom. Please call me the 'respectable Sir Grendel'."
Sir... a giant guinea pig that speaks human language?
Li Wen looked unchanged, looking around, the luminous vines swaying slightly with her sight. "Do you know where this place is?"
"Of course, this is the gathering place for Gray Mist." Sir Grendel puffed up his chest, "This is the place where all those who mistakenly enter the end of the world will eventually arrive. Well... A brave and fearless great explorer like me will naturally come here on his own initiative."
Gray Mist gathering place? The end of the world?
There was no relevant information in his memory. Li Wen frowned slightly. Isn't this the Outer City domain of Amber City? Or maybe the so-called Outer City refers to this place?
"Tell me, did you come here through Amber City?"
"Amber City... Where is that place?" the guinea pig shook its little head, "I accidentally... ahem, I discovered a mysterious entrance while exploring the ruins of the ancient empire. Out of admiration for the spirit of adventure, I resolutely broke into the unknown and mysterious entrance, and then came here. Are you Mortal World? Do you know what is going on outside?"
Li Wen ignored it and continued to ask, "How many living people are there? In other words, how many beings like you are there that can communicate."
Guinea Pig Lord's beard trembled, and his purple eyes rolled. "A living person? Haha, my dear friend on the surface, your question is really confusing to me -"
It spread its short front paws exaggeratedly, "You must understand that here... in the Gray Mist gathering place, the concept of 'living' itself is questionable."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that when you enter this place by mistake, you will never encounter death... This is not alarmist." Sir Grendel suddenly lowered his voice and approached mysteriously, "Here, you may encounter unimaginable dangers and fears, and you may be torn to pieces, devoured, and tortured until you are invisible, but... you just can't die."
"So there are people in the gathering place..."
"They are all unlucky ones!" Guinea Pig Lord suddenly waved his front paws excitedly, "There are very few explorers like me who come here on their own initiative. Most of them are poor people who were dragged in by Gray Mist. Some of them have been here for hundreds of years, and some have been here even longer..."
"So, is there a guy named 'Short Hand' among them?"
"Short Hand?" Guinea Pig Lord's beard trembled slightly, and his pea-sized pupils narrowed slightly, "I have never heard of such a person. If you are really curious, you can ask Headless Army. They always respond to your requests - as long as you are willing to pay the price."