Chapter 5771: Playing Tricks
"Princess, we need to be careful entering this village." Qingluo huddled close to Princess Huaizhu, speaking with a terrified expression. "I heard this village isn't very clean."
Princess Huaizhu was still annoyed. Hearing Qingluo's words, she became even more irritated. "What's this about clean or unclean? Are you saying there are vengeful spirits in this small village?"
Qingluo instinctively nodded, leaning closer to Princess Huaizhu and whispering, "I heard that when Crown Prince Mo Yu's previous team passed through here, two people inexplicably disappeared and were never found again."
Huaizhu felt a shiver run down her spine due to Qingluo's secretive manner. She pushed away Qingluo's arm and forced herself to remain calm. "Nonsense. Someone must be hiding in the dark, playing tricks when no one is paying attention..."
Huaizhu suddenly stopped speaking, frowning as she watched the team quickly gather and move forward. The Mo Kingdom soldiers moved quite fast, covering a significant distance in an instant. Qingluo saw that their group was fully prepared and had already entered the Undead Village entrance, so she quickly urged Princess Huaizhu, "Princess, many things are better believed than not. Should we quickly follow them?"
Huaizhu was not very brave. Seeing the main group move forward, leaving her far behind, she couldn't help but feel anxious. "Why are you wasting words? Hurry up and follow!"
She inadvertently glanced back, only to see the path they had come from shrouded in thick, gray mist, with extremely low visibility. She felt a pervasive sense that something terrifying was hidden within the gloomy mist. Princess Huaizhu shivered slightly and quickly told Qingluo, "Hurry up and follow, no more nonsense."
Qingluo was speaking without prioritizing what was important. The main group had already moved ahead, yet Qingluo was still muttering in her ear. Princess Huaizhu glared at her maid reproachfully, then quickly had two maids help her as she hurried to catch up, running along.
On that side, Qiao Lin waved away the thick mist in front of her face, calmly pulling out a thick scarf from her inner realm and covering her entire small face. The visibility was getting lower and lower; it was almost impossible to see figures even within half a meter. Everyone felt a slight heaviness in their hearts and involuntarily quickened their pace, one following tightly after the other, hoping not to fall behind.
Baozi the guard had everyone report their numbers every once in a while. Excluding the princess's group, there were a total of 368 teammates. So far, no anomalies had occurred, but Baozi's expression was exceptionally serious. After all, when they had previously passed through the Undead Village, they had lost two teammates, an incident that was fresh in their minds and still unexplained.
"Everyone keep up," Baozi the guard said intently. "How's the situation at the back?"
"Princess Huaizhu, how many people do you have on your side? Have you counted?"
Princess Huaizhu looked at Qingluo, who was closely following her, with a puzzled expression. Qingluo quickly said, "One hundred and fifteen people."
"Is the number correct?" Baozi the guard asked loudly again. "Remember to count the numbers at all times. Brothers at the very back, pay extra attention to each other."
These words made everyone feel a chill in their hearts, and they couldn't help but want to quicken their pace, huddling together for warmth.
Qiao Lin took out a small butterfly. Its tail flickered, and a streak of light brushed past. This little butterfly flew forward, continuously fluttering ahead. The thick mist could not block its faint, glowing light.
"Can this butterfly pass through the dense mist and guide us in the right direction?" Mo Yu asked curiously.
Qiao Lin nodded. "Just follow it."
Baozi the guard's spirits lifted slightly, and he called out, "Everyone keep up the pace, report your numbers!"
Qiao Lin couldn't help but want to complain. He just had them report numbers three minutes ago. Now again? Is Baozi the guard being too cautious? The frequency of reporting numbers is a bit high.
Disappearing in the Mist
The young men finished reporting their numbers one by one.
Princess Huaizhu said softly, "Then let's report our numbers too, so everyone can feel at ease."
Qingluo nodded and said, "Tundong people, report your numbers. Everyone remember the number you report this time. Be ready to report at any time."
When the Tundong soldiers reported up to 114 and stopped, there was a minute-long pause in the crowd. The Beimo soldiers' group was like a stirred pot, chatting amongst themselves, "They just reported 114 people? Didn't they say their group had 115 people before??"
"Yes, yes, I heard it very clearly, that's what they said."
"One is missing?"
"Yes! One is missing."
"One is missing, quickly check!"
Princess Huaizhu initially didn't understand, but after comprehending what everyone was saying, her hairs stood on end. Qingluo's face turned pale with fright, and she couldn't stop herself from trembling as she asked, "Prin-Princess, what do we do now?"
"Report again!"
"One, two..." The Tundong soldiers quickly reported their numbers again. This time was worse; it stopped at 113.
"Another one is missing."
"Another person is missing?"
Everyone began to panic, especially a few Tundong soldiers at the very end of the group. In their panic, they suddenly let out a strange cry and bolted forward, knocking over several people in quick succession.
Mo Yu said coldly, "Don't panic. Everyone stay in your positions. Take out any available lighting tools you have."
One dim light after another appeared in the mist.
Qiao Lin whispered, "This situation is a bit off. Should we put them into the storage talisman to hide?"
"If they can't even get through such a small setback, how can they become true heroes?" Mo Yu replied in a low voice. Qiao Lin looked up at him. In the dim, misty gloom, she could see star-like brilliant light shining in his bright black pupils.
The young girl pouted and muttered inwardly: What a big man!
"Continue forward, don't let yourselves fall into disarray," Baozi the guard said loudly.
"Someone. There's someone in the mist!" From the back of the crowd, among the Tundong soldiers, someone suddenly cried out tremblingly.
"It's not a person at all, it's a ghost figure."
"Ah! It's flying too fast, we can't even see what it looks like!"
"Don't push! You're going to push the princess!" Qingluo yelled, anxious and angry, shielding Princess Huaizhu with one hand and retreating rapidly.
"Watch out," Mo Yu exclaimed, raising his hand and sending out a divine force that blocked something that had suddenly flown towards Qiao Lin with a "clank."
Qiao Lin's sharp eyes immediately saw what it was.
"A flying claw." The young girl tugged on Mo Yu's sleeve, realizing with sudden clarity, "They're using this flying claw to grab people." It was incredibly easy to drag people away from the end of the group without anyone knowing, given the extremely low visibility through the dense mist.
"How outrageous!" Baozi the guard roared. "Who is playing tricks here? Come out!"