Half a Year

He stepped through a golden curtain of light, and the Ash Fog around him instantly vanished.

"Finally back!"

Another ten kilometers ahead lay the site of their old camp. Gazing at the rolling hills before him, Lin Shan couldn't help remarking, "With the Ash Fog and without it-two entirely different worlds."

The sky was gradually darkening. There were anomalies inside the circle at night, too; the Specter Thread Fish was proof of that. Lin Shan remained vigilant as he walked, never letting his guard down just because the Ash Fog had been dispelled.

He had only walked five kilometers when he suddenly heard a beast's cry. It sounded a little like a horse's neigh... Could it be a horse from this other world? He could faintly hear human voices as well.

The voices drew closer.

"Xia Xuan, slow down! My horse won't listen to me."

"Xiao An, the Red Moon will be out soon. It might be dangerous then. We need to hurry back."

The second speaker was a woman who looked not quite thirty, with a rosy, almond-shaped face, large dark eyes, and glossy black hair falling loosely over her shoulders.

Both women wore green silk robes, somewhat like the clothes the Green-Robed Cat Girl had worn that day.

Zhao Xiao An and Xia Xuan were riding otherworldly horses they had acquired somewhere, galloping toward Lin Shan from behind.

Zhao Xiao An's horse was rather unruly and kept disobeying her. All she could do was cling tightly to its head to keep it from throwing her off.

Perhaps her grip was making the horse uncomfortable; it kept shaking its neck, tossing her back and forth.

Fortunately, these horses were trained. Even though her grip was uncomfortable, hers didn't refuse to move and continued running after the horse ahead.

Suddenly, Zhao Xiao An sensed something wrong. Wisps of sinister cold kept swirling around her. Having lived in this other world for half a year, she immediately realized there was trouble ahead!

"Xia Xuan, stop a moment! Do you feel cold?"

She didn't explicitly say there was an anomaly, but Xia Xuan understood immediately. There was indeed an unusual, sinister chill. They had taken this road many times, and it had always been safe, so she hadn't paid it any mind at first.

Xia Xuan patted her horse's back. "Big Black, stop! Turn around. We'll take another route!"

At her words, the horse beneath her quickly stopped and began turning around under her guidance.

The instant she turned, a red human figure suddenly coalesced beside her! Xia Xuan's heart shuddered, but there was nothing she could do.

The red figure lunged straight at her, its hands passing through her body.

In an instant, a bone-piercing chill engulfed Xia Xuan. Her consciousness began to blur, and everything around her sank into darkness. Moments later, she passed out.

At the same time, Zhao Xiao An also lost consciousness.

Two minutes later.

Lin Shan stared speechlessly at the two unconscious women on the ground. He had heard their voices and planned to wait for them up ahead, but he had forgotten about the Red Lantern. They had been fine while approaching from behind him, but the moment they turned around, they fulfilled the Red Lantern's attack conditions. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late. This thing made no distinction between friend and foe. Within its rules, even a god would get a chill straight through the heart.

He knew how to counter it: put the lantern somewhere high. As long as someone wasn't at the same height, it wouldn't attack.

Now that it had happened, there was nothing he could do but wait beside them until they woke before continuing on.

Just then, Lin Shan noticed the two horses standing beside them. A spiritual glow flowed over their bodies. These were two Transcendence creatures!

How had they managed to control Transcendence creatures with their mortal bodies? Lin Shan was puzzled. Apparently, a great deal had happened while he was advancing to Transcendence.

There was something else, too. The Red Lantern had only attacked the riders, not the horses. Did that mean anomalies wouldn't actively attack Transcendence beasts? He made a mental note of it. Perhaps it would prove useful later.

Half an hour later.

Zhao Xiao An groggily woke. When she opened her eyes, she saw a red lantern and a dark figure behind it.

"Is this the anomaly that attacked us?"

Zhao Xiao An calmly recalled what had just happened, only to discover that the anomaly was actually walking toward her.

Zhao Xiao An froze. Hey, this isn't what the books taught me! Didn't they say anomaly attacks inside the barrier followed set patterns? Why is this thing moving on its own...?

"Xiao An."

This anomaly can even talk? And it knows my name! Zhao Xiao An's eyes widened in terror.

"It's me, Lin Shan."

Seeing how frightened Zhao Xiao An was, Lin Shan realized she had gotten the wrong idea. He stepped forward and waved.

This anomaly even took on Lin Shan's appearance. He's been dead for half a year... Could it have peered into my memories?

Zhao Xiao An grew even more frightened. This anomaly was terrifying-it could even deceive people.

Sure enough, everything in those books is a lie... All that talk about anomalies having no intelligence, only instinct-it's all false!

Seeing Zhao Xiao An become even more terrified, Lin Shan felt helpless. Why is she making such a drama out of this? If I really were an anomaly, she'd already be cold. "It really is me, Lin Shan!"

As he spoke, he flicked her forehead.

"Ow! That hurts."

Zhao Xiao An grimaced in pain.

Only now was Zhao Xiao An convinced that the person before her wasn't an anomaly, but a real human being. After all, he had just used a physical attack! She felt incredibly clever for catching such a tiny detail.

"Lin Shan, why did you take so long to come back? It's been over five months. We all thought you were dead."

Once she confirmed that this was the first person she had met upon arriving in this other world, Zhao Xiao An's eyes instantly reddened. Tears fell one after another like little beans.

Knowing him for two days wasn't long, but those two days had felt like two years to her. All along, it had been Lin Shan's composure that gave her the confidence to keep going.

While Lin Shan remained missing, she had secretly cried several times.

"What are you crying for?" Lin Shan didn't wipe her tears, only saying, "Over five months? It's only been a few days for me. Some things happened and held me up."

Just then, Xia Xuan woke beside them. Rubbing her head, she looked at Lin Shan. "Weren't we attacked by an anomaly? Who are you? Did you save us?"

Lin Shan gave an awkward smile and looked at Zhao Xiao An, signaling for her to explain. He couldn't exactly say he was the one who had attacked them.

Zhao Xiao An wiped away her tears, her expression caught somewhere between crying and smiling. "Xia Xuan, he's Lin Shan."

"Lin Shan? You made it back alive?" Xia Xuan rubbed her eyes and took a closer look. Though his features were indistinct beneath the Red Moon, she could just make out a face that felt unfamiliar yet faintly familiar. It was unfamiliar because half a year had passed, and he hadn't left as deep an impression on her as he had on Zhao Xiao An. Still, they had lived together for two days, and she retained a faint memory of him.

"Let's talk when we get back," Lin Shan said.

"All right, sit behind me." Zhao Xiao An struggled onto her horse and hugged its neck. "We'll ride back. You don't need to control this horse. Just sit tight."

Lin Shan was speechless. You're hugging the horse's neck, so what am I supposed to hold? You?

Zhao Xiao An thought of this too. Her face reddened slightly, but she still said nothing and even gave him a grin.

Looking at Zhao Xiao An, Lin Shan felt that she had changed by about a billion little degrees.

"No need. I'll walk back. Riding isn't convenient for me right now," Lin Shan replied.

Riding while carrying the Red Lantern was too dangerous. If his horse accidentally ran ahead, the rider on the other horse would suffer again.

"Then we'll walk with you. It isn't far now anyway," Zhao Xiao An said.

Xia Xuan nodded. "Let's walk together, then. You've been away for a long time. Our camp has completely changed. This will be a good chance to fill you in."

"That works." Lin Shan nodded in agreement, then added seriously, "If you don't want to pass out, make sure you stay behind me."