Chapter 6, The Haunted Castle (2)

Do not block the road! Everyone, move aside!

Their bodies seemed to shatter, gradually disappearing from the dark, gloomy mist that enveloped them, ultimately merging with that somber haze.

Like lightning, it illuminated this incredibly dark space for an instant, only to return to darkness once again

Regardless of the decision made, Pei Renli must act swiftly, as he has not moved far forward at all. If there are indeed monsters or ghosts, remaining stationary will lead to a dire fate.

Bang!

And some who were unable to escape the pursuit of the smoke, after being caught by it, began to fade in and out of visibility, their movements slowing down increasingly, ultimately coming to a halt, either collapsing or kneeling down.

By a stroke of luck or misfortune, the place where Pei Renli fell is right next to a staircase. Originally, if he had fallen sideways, he would have only bumped into the wall, but now he fell directly down the stairs.

But move forward

Or rather, both parties felt a slight sense of relief due to the discovery that "the other is human"; however, even so, in such a bizarre environment, no one spoke a word.

As the saying goes, blessings do not come in pairs, and misfortunes do not come alone. Just as Pei Renli was about to hurry forward, the torch in his hand emitted two faint pops and mysteriously extinguished.

Meanwhile, the flash that has just illuminated this darkness lights up once again

The dark mist that flowed through the corridor like a flood did not enter the stairwell, yet it showed no signs of completely dissipating. A low, rumbling sound constantly echoed in his ears, and Pei Renli did not dare to return the way he came.

Even when darkness descends again, if one listens carefully, one can hear the faint sound of breathing or the footsteps made during movement

However, due to running too hastily, coupled with the pitch darkness, when he unexpectedly collided with someone, Pei Renli immediately tumbled into a heap with the person he had bumped into

The entire corridor resembles the passageway of a hotel, with identical rooms lining both sides. Many people are glancing towards the source of the sound, or simply standing in the corridor. Some of them appear to be individuals, while others are difficult to describe in a single word.

In an instant, all the people who were originally watching the performance nearby surged into the corridor, moving towards the distance, and the once spacious corridor immediately became overcrowded

A series of shouts mixed with curses echoed from afar, accompanied by a rumbling, low sound. In the dim light, it was vaguely visible that many people were rushing down the corridor like unleashed wild dogs, prompting some who had originally stepped out to take a look to join in.

... ...

Get lost

So, who closed the door

As Pei Renli, who was running forward with gritted teeth, heard the sound, he felt someone push him hard. Already in a state where he had no time to even look back, this push caused him to lose his balance

Entering that darkness is not a good choice, but Pei Renli had no other option

Staying in place is not safe; Pei Renli has only one path left to take, which is to go down the stairs and take a look.

At this moment, the noise became somewhat louder and clearer.

The swaying torch was engulfed by it, causing the bright flames to appear as if shrouded in an unpleasant veil, becoming hazy and refracting strange lines and terrifying shadows.

The so-called 'Haunted Castle' is actually not as terrifying as one might think. Pei Renli does not have any precise guesses; after a simple search of the rooms, he feels it is probably similar to a horror movie.

This extremely unusual scene made Pei Renli's palms sweat, and the cold air felt as if someone were blowing a chilling breeze on the back of his neck, sending shivers down his spine

The sensation of losing balance and the sudden feeling of falling is quite terrifying. As Pei Renli rolled down the stairs, his hands could only flail about randomly, and he happened to grab onto something that resembled a handrail. He hurriedly tightened his grip to stop himself, ending up in a half-reclined position on the stairs with his waist tilted and hips askew.

Retreat or continue forward

The outcome was met with a harsh backlash

The cold air clung to the skin through the openings of the clothing like a maggot burrowing in, almost as if it had transformed into a living creature that was drilling in. Pei Renli felt as if an invisible tightening band had been placed around his forehead, causing his skin to involuntarily wrinkle, and goosebumps emerged in abundance like waves of wheat in autumn.

The range that the torch can illuminate in this darkness is extremely limited, but having light in hand, even if it is merely a psychological comfort, is still very good; now, even that psychological comfort is gone

Due to the complete darkness, Pei Renli could only use the hand holding the short stick to continuously sweep back and forth in front of him, avoiding colliding with the wall. He felt that the area of this darkness was considerable, as he had taken several steps forward without encountering the edge.

It resembled a layer of grayish smoke, akin to flowing darkness, advancing along the corridor like a tide.

Moreover, it was not only Pei Renli who made the action of stepping out to check.

If he had taken just one wrong step, Pei Renli would likely have ended up like those unfortunate souls who run slowly, becoming "scum". Thinking about it this way, being pushed down actually saved his life, and his luck has finally hit rock bottom and rebounded.

The speed is not particularly fast, falling within a visible range, yet as it traverses the corridor, it clearly appears as a gas, emitting a deep rumbling sound, akin to an exceptionally heavy object crushing through the corridor, causing dust to fall in a flurry from the stairwell nearby

At this moment, a flash suddenly brightened.

- Fear .gif

In addition to being wide, it is also too long. Although there are swaying torches providing illumination at intervals, in such dim light, whether looking to the left or to the right, it is impossible to see where the end of the corridor lies

As his body tilted, Pei Renli saw a hand that resembled one wearing a crocodile skin glove retracting. Just a moment ago, this rascal had pushed his shoulder, yet he had not seen who it was.

Péi Rénlǐ, lying on the ground, widened his eyes. In that moment of brightness, he saw that there were actually quite a few people nearby; some were gathered in small groups, while others were alone, either standing or squatting.

Humans are phototropic beings, instinctively feeling fear when in darkness, especially in such an unusual darkness

In the midst of the chaos, Pei Renli seemed to have bumped into someone. He could be certain that it was indeed a person, as he could feel the warmth of the other party through their clothing

The feeling of fear gripped the nerves like an invisible hand, a chill surged from the tailbone straight to the forehead. Pei Renli hurriedly moved forward, as if running blindly in a panic, literally stumbling through the darkness.

Oh!

In an environment that is completely pitch black, who knows which way to go

At almost the same moment, Pei Renli, who had been struck on the forehead, clearly felt a dense and unpleasant wind pass over him, and the sharp, piercing sound of the wind only then entered his ears, as if an extremely sharp weapon were being swung forcefully.

Ignoring the places that were hurt, Pei Renli was so frightened that he held his breath, genuinely feeling the crisis of life. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to become particularly piercing, and it grew increasingly rapid, as if it were about to leap out from his throat.

The body, stiffened by fear, regained a bit of mobility. Pei Renli attempted to rise by supporting himself on the ground with minimal movement. Due to their proximity, he could sense that the person he had collided with was making similar movements.

Run fast

-- - ーー -- - ーー

The sound of the door being slammed shut behind him sent a chill down Pei Renli's spine, causing the hairs on his neck to stand on end. He was certain that there was no one behind him; after all, those who had run quickly had already fled down the corridor, while those who were slower had, in the blink of an eye, been reduced to mere scum under the swirling gray mist.

Reversing may collide with some object related to the door

Steeling himself, Pei Renli could only silently remind himself not to scare himself, mustering his courage to move forward

But just as Pei Renli had straightened his upper body, an extremely cold presence approached him. This chill was not merely a matter of low temperature; it felt more like an intense cold that penetrated deep into his bones and nerves

Discovering this fact provided Pei Renli with a slight sense of relief, even though he did not know those individuals at all; at least he was not facing this situation alone, which was a positive aspect

Pei Renli immediately swallowed back the exclamation that had slipped out, gripping the handrail of the staircase and daring not to move an inch, as a layer of cold sweat unexpectedly broke out on the back of his neck

The staircase spiraled, with no upward section, only a downward path. Pei Renli attempted to remove a torch from the stairwell, holding it as he descended, taking steps that were sometimes deep and sometimes shallow.

However, the staircase is not particularly long; it feels as though after descending more than ten meters, one reaches the end, where there is a rudimentary wooden door secured with a bolt.

Upon seeing this, Pei Renli thought for less than half a second before also taking to his heels and running away

In addition, the participants are all "new demon kings," totaling six hundred. Although Pei Renli believes that for safety reasons it is best not to have too much contact with others, with so many people present, it should not be too frightening if a ghost were to actually appear.

The back and buttocks that had just been bumped into were sending waves of pain, and Pei Renli was about to curse the bastard who had pushed him. However, when he looked up, he saw something flying past the entrance of the staircase where he had just fallen in.

Cautiously peeking out, the first thing that catches the eye is an exceptionally wide corridor, which appears to be nearly 7 or 8 meters wide, and is similarly constructed from cut gray stone bricks.

The main door of the room was literally unlocked. Pei Renli used a short stick to push aside the latch, applying slight pressure against the door panel. The rudimentary wooden door opened accordingly, making the indistinct sounds of commotion a bit clearer.

While it cannot be ruled out that there is some herd mentality involved, Pei Renli believes that the fact that so many people are running headlong without regard for their backsides should not be attributed to a mere malicious joke

Pei Renli's physical abilities are quite ordinary. Although his youth and vigor prevent him from becoming exhausted after just a few steps, he has never trained in athletics. Moreover, whether they resemble humans or are bizarrely shaped creatures, everyone around him inexplicably runs faster than he does. Despite the increasing number of people joining the frenzied rush in the corridor, regardless of whether they arrived earlier or later, no matter how hard Pei Renli runs, he can only watch helplessly as one after another surpasses him.

Pushing aside the door bolt, I entered, and all that met my eyes was a thick darkness. Even the torch in my hand was completely ineffective in providing illumination; the light emitted by the flame was inexplicably confined to its place, at most illuminating only the hand that held the torch, as if it were being devoured by the darkness.