Whose Hand Is This?

Although he was near the border of Sichuan and Myanmar and had seen every kind of insect imaginable, he had never seen a centipede this massive—its head was larger than his own fist.

In his shock, Captain Wang was yanked back violently. At that very instant, the centipede, which had been some distance away, suddenly lunged forward.

It opened its sharp mouthparts and sprayed a jet of ink-colored liquid.

"Sizzle..."

Where the venom touched the ground, black smoke immediately rose, accompanied by bubbling green foam. Captain Wang's heart skipped a beat; had no one pulled him back, that spray would have surely hit him square in the face.

Disfigurement would have been the least of his worries; he likely would have lost his life right there.

He turned to look and saw that it was Xiong Tao who had saved him. Captain Wang felt a bit embarrassed, considering how much he had mocked the man earlier.

Fortunately, this was no time for pleasantries. In the woods, those red-headed centipedes were writhing and crawling out, as if they had caught the scent of a delicious feast.

"Run!"

Xu Tong roared, leading the group as they scrambled back the way they came.

But after running only a few steps, they were stunned. Behind them lay a pine forest and stone towers, but it was not the path they had taken to get here.

Even more bizarrely, rows of monk corpses sat neatly within the pine forest. Just like the mummified remains they had seen outside, each body was frozen in a posture of worship.

Anyone would find this bone-chilling, but they had no time to dwell on it; the rustling sound of crawling behind them was enough to make their scalps tingle.

"This way!"

Yang Guanjin pointed ahead, toward the direction the monks were kneeling. Logically, that was the most likely place to find what they were looking for.

But as they looked, they saw no buildings, only a narrow, winding trail leading into the unknown, with a deep valley visible below.

The valley was hidden beneath a thick canopy of trees, and if one listened closely, the sound of flowing water could be heard. Without a careful look, one would never guess that such a hidden world existed here.

Yang Zixuan walked in the lead, his palm opening to reveal a glowing orb of light that instantly illuminated their surroundings.

The deeper they descended into the valley, the darker it became, and a faint, putrid stench began to permeate the air. Strangely, the centipedes did not seem to be following them down.

"Do you guys really think this is some kind of auspicious geomantic site?"

Xiong Tao stared at the bottomless path ahead and couldn't help but voice his doubts.

In everyone's mind, auspicious sites were usually famous Taoist mountains—places like Wudang, Shaolin, Longhu, or Laojun—soaring into the clouds and touching the heavens.

Why, then, did this "Ascension Bureau" lead them underground, like some light-shunning grave?

No one could offer him an explanation.

As they spoke, the five of them reached the valley floor. A gust of cold wind blew past, chilling them to the bone; the temperature seemed to have plummeted by over ten degrees, as if they had stepped into a giant freezer.

Yang Zixuan raised his glowing orb to illuminate the path ahead. The scene shimmered with silver light: a small stream flowed from the mountain ravine, with icicles hanging along its banks.

The temperature here was biting, which explained why the centipedes hadn't followed them down.

They had only taken a few steps before a thin layer of frost began to coat their eyebrows.

"We can't keep going like this. We need to find a way to warm up, or we'll suffer from hypothermia."

Xu Tong called out to Yang Zixuan. He and Xiong Tao both possessed powerful prop cards, but he, Captain Wang, and Yang Guanjin did not.

The temperature had dropped below freezing, and their thin clothing could not retain their body heat. Once symptoms of hypothermia set in, they would be in serious trouble.

"I have two sets of clothes here. You guys put them on first."

Hearing this, Yang Zixuan pulled two thicker garments from his Prop Catalog and handed them over. Xu Tong gave one to Yang Guanjin and the other to Captain Wang.

He himself donned the deerskin coat he had originally given to Yang Zixuan. It was ironic; the coat had traveled a full circle only to end up back on his own shoulders.

Wrapped in the coat, he felt much warmer. Following the bright glow of Yang Zixuan's orb, Xu Tong scanned the surroundings. Suddenly, he noticed something and pulled Yang Zixuan forward a few paces.

As Yang Zixuan shone the light onto the solid ice before them, a woman's face appeared beneath the surface.

The two men stared at each other in shock. Yang Zixuan swallowed hard and lowered the light; the woman was naked, her pale skin clearly visible through the ice.

Before Yang Zixuan could reach out, Xu Tong grabbed his wrist and shifted the light to the other side.

The ice there revealed yet another girl, who appeared to be underage.

"Why are there women here?"

Captain Wang leaned in, took a closer look, and frowned, cursing, "I knew this place was a cult den. They don't even spare children this young."

"Stop talking and keep moving. My Mystic Light Technique is about to run out."

Yang Zixuan pushed past Xu Tong and Captain Wang, urging them forward. Sure enough, they hadn't gone much further when the light suddenly dimmed.

The duration of the Mystic Light Technique had clearly expired.

Fortunately, even without the spell to light the way, the icicles reflected a faint glimmer, allowing the group to adapt and barely make out the path ahead.

The weak light refracted through the ice and onto the water, creating an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere within the ice cavern.

What truly made them uncomfortable, however, was that as the light faded, they could see even more clearly the women sealed within the surrounding ice—one appeared every few steps.

They had no idea how long they had been walking along the path when the light ahead suddenly vanished entirely.

No matter how good their vision was, they could only vaguely perceive the flickering shadows on the water.

"There's a breeze ahead, and it feels warm. This might be the exit. Everyone be careful, hold hands, and whatever you do, don't get separated!"

Yang Zixuan walked at the very front, taking a deep breath. He could feel a current of heat blowing from the depths of the cave ahead; although the warmth in the breeze was faint, it was still perceptible against his icy face, even leaving a slight ticklish sensation.

It felt just like being out in the dead of winter with your skin frozen pale, only for someone to suddenly blow a puff of warm air directly onto your face.

As he spoke, he reached out his palm and took hold of Yang Guanjin's hand behind him, while Yang Guanjin reached back to take Xiong Tao's, and Xiong Tao turned around to grab Xu Tong's hand.

However, just as Xu Tong turned around and reached his hand out toward Captain Wang behind him, he suddenly froze.

The sensation wasn't right. He turned his head to look at Captain Wang behind him.

He saw that blurred shadow in the darkness slowly extending a hand toward him. When he reached out to touch it, it was... ice-cold. Upon closer inspection, there were even tiny shards of ice clinging to the fingers.