"Why... why couldn't I get in?"
Yalpet stared at Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi by the entrance to the ruins, utterly baffled.
It felt strange. The ruins were right in front of him, yet an invisible barrier kept him out.
If none of them could get in, that would have been one thing. But Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi had walked straight inside without the slightest resistance...
Yalpet began to question his entire life as a Lobsterfolk.
"Well, Mr. Yalpet, you should head back," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile. "I have a rough idea why you can't enter... Once we return, we'll visit the Lobsterfolk Tribe again."
Yalpet watched Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi disappear through the entrance, feeling oddly bereft.
After standing there in a daze, Yalpet hurried back to the tribe.
He told Elder Gorick exactly what had happened, but received no encouraging response.
When Yalpet suggested sending a team from the tribe to explore the ruins, Prophet Gorick warned him, "Don't be too curious about things beyond your abilities."
Though the prophet had refused him, Yalpet did not give up. He secretly gathered a group of Lobsterfolk warriors he knew and headed for the ruins in the eastern swamp.
After a long trek...
"Lord Yalpet, we've come so far. Where are these ruins you mentioned?" a Lobsterfolk soldier asked, looking around.
"I... I don't know either."
Yalpet wandered about in confusion. "Strange. We should have reached them ages ago... Why haven't we seen them? I'm sure I picked the right direction..."
The Lobsterfolk spread out to search, but found nothing.
In the end, Yalpet could only lead them back, bitterly disappointed.
"Yalpet couldn't enter."
Bai Xiaowen spoke slowly. "These ruins must have some kind of restriction. Whether it's an illusion or a barrier, the builders'