Land of Wraiths

Even though their current stances differed, Buggy still hoped to maintain a good relationship with her. Of course, this wasn't born of romantic feelings; love at first sight was impossible—absolutely out of the question. He wouldn't confess, so he had to rely on the suspension bridge effect to keep his heart racing.

Getting sidetracked...

Having crossed the rope bridge without incident, Buggy used the map on the parchment as a reference, marking the path as he and Robin headed into the primitive, dense forest ahead.

The trees in this section of the forest were even denser and taller, blotting out the sky. Only the sunlight filtering through the dappled shadows allowed them to barely make out the path ahead. Robin, well-prepared, took an oil lamp from her backpack, and Buggy gripped his dagger, ready for any unexpected trouble.

As they pushed forward, the dangers they encountered along the way were far more frequent than in the first half of the journey.

After a few steps, a large, colorful snake lunged from the shadows, flicking its tongue and baring two sharp fangs as it struck at Robin, who was holding the lamp.

"Chop-Chop. Knife Throw." Buggy's hands instantly detached from his body, and the daggers in his palms sliced the snake into two pieces in mid-air.

A few steps later, a Long-Legged Monkey, whose legs were longer than its arms, clawed aggressively at Buggy's red nose, which was reflecting the light.

"Chop-Chop. Emergency Escape." Buggy's head suddenly detached from his body and floated upward. While the monkey stood stunned, Buggy plunged the knife in his hand into its heart, killing it instantly.

Various jungle beasts attacked from time to time. Although these creatures were bizarre in appearance, they weren't quite at the level of being ferociously man-eating, yet their relentless, wave-like assaults still left Buggy with a few scratches.

Eventually, he simply carried the corpse of a crow about the size of a human to warn off the other beasts in the forest. Afterward, the attacks became less frequent, with the animals keeping their distance from these two uninvited guests.

Before they knew it, night fell and the stars began to twinkle. The beasts that had been following them, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment, suddenly stopped in their tracks. It was as if they had touched some eerie boundary, and they slowly retreated, abandoning their pursuit of Buggy and Robin.

The forest grew deathly quiet—unnervingly so. Even the rustling of leaves in the wind vanished, as if this space had been completely cut off from the world.

Robin suddenly spoke up, "The Ancestral Ruins are not far ahead. They say this is a cursed land of wraiths. Once tainted by the curse, both soul and body are imprisoned here, unable to escape for all eternity."

"Don't say such terrifying things with a straight face," Buggy said, scanning his surroundings vigilantly. "There shouldn't... be ghosts in this world, right?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he felt a cold breeze brush against his back, followed by something moist and soft sliding across his neck.

"What was that!" Buggy spun around immediately, only to find not even a ghost of a shadow behind him. There were only tree shadows swaying faintly under the glow of the oil lamp, the surroundings feeling eerie and strange.

"There seems to be something ominous here... be careful, Mr. Red Nose." Robin held her hands in front of her and stood still, surveying the area.

"Damn it... could it really be haunted by wraiths like Chris said?!" Cold sweat beaded on Buggy's forehead, his heart pounding wildly. He knew that human fear was a sharp blade; it could slice through one's inner defenses, letting in endless, extreme delusions that plunged the heart into total darkness.

Especially now, having experienced transmigration, Buggy was even more inclined to believe in the supernatural.

Suddenly, a cold gust swept over Buggy's head. The ribbon tying his hair fell off instantly, leaving his sea-blue hair exposed to the air.

Buggy felt his skin crawl. "Miss Robin, did you see something!"

"What's wrong?" The moment Robin turned, a green afterimage flashed by at a speed the naked eye could barely track.

Bang!

The oil lamp in her hand fell to the ground with an eerie sound, shattering into pieces. The surroundings plunged into absolute darkness, and thick clouds covered the sky, blocking out the starlight. Every bit of light vanished, and everything sank into the void.

"Mr. Red Nose?!" Robin tried calling out.

"I'm here."

Hearing the familiar voice, Robin felt slightly relieved and said calmly, "It's nothing..."

Is she afraid? Buggy looked toward Robin's direction with some surprise, but he couldn't see her expression at all. All that met his eyes was darkness, and... a bewitching green light, like a will-o'-the-wisp, suddenly appeared in the quiet forest.

Buggy's breath hitched, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead, followed by a strange, dangerous sensation rapidly closing in.

"Look out!" Relying on his memory of Robin's position, Buggy reached out and shoved her. As she let out a cry of surprise, Buggy's body was sliced in half at the waist by a powerful gust of air.

Boom!

The trees behind them collapsed in response, hitting the ground with a massive thud.

Buggy was a Chop-Chop Fruit user; this slash caused him no real harm. His body reassembled, and as he looked ahead, the bewitching green light had already vanished.

Having had the slash pass through his body, Buggy actually felt a bit calmer. He muttered to himself, "A slash with a physical form like this... it shouldn't be a curse, right?"

He couldn't be sure, but it helped dissipate some of the unknown fear in his heart. At the same time, a more logical thought occurred to him: if it wasn't a curse or a ghost, but someone playing tricks...

Clearly, with Robin's intelligence, she reached the same conclusion quickly. When the green light flickered again, Robin locked her eyes onto it and crossed her arms. "Seis Fleur. Anchor Fleur."

Her ability required her to have a clear line of sight, and she was currently attempting to bloom limbs around the green light to capture it.

In the silent forest, no strange sounds were heard, but the green light vanished rapidly, and rustling noises echoed through the woods, as if someone were hiding.

"It has a physical form!"

As a Flower-Flower Fruit user, Robin's limbs could provide tactile feedback. She had gained a crucial piece of information from that brief probe.

Hearing Robin's words, a thought flashed through Buggy's mind: if someone was indeed playing tricks, it was very likely Chris, the old village chief of Kodia Village.

He had deliberately claimed the Ancestral Ruins were a land of wraiths to confuse them, and the map he provided might have been a long, roundabout path leading away from the ruins. His goal was likely to send people to take a shortcut, set up traps, and intimidate them into turning back—the motive was obvious: to keep them from approaching this place.

Of course, the mastermind could also be the remnants of the bandit leader's crew, but after seeing the look in the eyes of those fleeing bandits, Buggy didn't think they had the courage to fight back.

The fear in his heart slowly receded. Since there were no demons, monsters, or wraiths, things had become much simpler!