In an instant, firelight appeared throughout the entire stockade, standing out starkly against the pitch-black mountains. Jiang Cheng immediately thought of the story they had heard earlier: that band of bandits had mysteriously vanished inside the stronghold, only for firelight to suddenly appear there at night.
"It... it moved."
Someone's lips trembled as they uttered those two words.
Indeed, the firelight in the stockade had moved. It writhed slowly like a living thing, first gathering together, then forming two uneven rows. In a rigid column, they marched toward a single direction.
Jiang Cheng didn't know what words could describe how he felt. Eerie, uncanny, stiff... None of them seemed quite right. In any case, the things before them definitely weren't human. They looked more like demons and monsters that had crawled out of some sinister place.
But right now, Jiang Cheng wanted more than anything to know where these ghostly things were going.
They appeared not to have noticed the group, but everyone knew they had been lured here. The things would continue drawing them onward, toward the true destination for tonight.
The firelight swayed as it moved farther away, like a crowd of mindless walking corpses.
No. 13 watched, growing more and more anxious. In a low voice, he forced the words through gritted teeth. "What do we do? Are we following them or not? Someone say something!"
Before anyone could answer, a Hanzi behind them edged closer and reminded them in a trembling voice, "Old Master Luo, we've lost contact with the team ahead. And our communications with the outside of the mountain are down too. The lines are full of meaningless static."
"Switch to the backup line." Mount Luoyun's expression darkened. He didn't even turn around.
The Hanzi swallowed, his voice wary and a little helpless. "We