"L-Lao Mo...?" Lin Yi's eyes widened as he stared at Lao Mo in shock. "Just now...?"
Lao Mo nodded calmly. "You were hearing things just now, weren't you?"
Lin Yi was astonished. "You knew?"
Lao Mo shrugged. "I'm all too familiar with it. The same old tricks. See them enough times, and you get used to them..."
"Whenever any creature crosses the Safe Boundary, the differences between layers cause it to sense certain unusual fluctuations. It's perfectly normal that you could hear them... but that aside, could you tell roughly what was calling to you?"
"I... couldn't tell right away." Lin Yi shook his head. Those voices were both strange and familiar, but he hadn't been able to react in time. "Why? Is there something to it?"
Lao Mo patted the Pig Slaughtering Knife tucked behind his waist. "Here's what there is to it. It's fine if you couldn't tell. Come on. This trip will be interesting."
As he spoke, he continued forward. After crossing the Safe Boundary, the entire world around them felt hazy and precarious to Lin Yi's perception, as though he had entered an undersea tunnel. Through its glass, everything in the water looked distorted, like swaying seaweed.
Thick mist piled across the ground like cotton wool. Every so often, loose sand and dead leaves rustled beneath their feet. An occasional gust passed through, and the foliage swayed stiffly a few times, making dry, brittle rustling sounds.
Come to think of it, Lin Yi suddenly realized that they seemingly hadn't encountered a single night-walking species or impersonator sculpture blocking their way.
He didn't know whether, as before, they had all been intimidated by Lao Mo's presence and hadn't dared approach.
And beyond the Safe Boundary, if Lin Yi remembered correctly, they should apparently be entering the Barren