Chapter 2169 - 60: The Last Expedition

The party moved through the darkness of the Deep Gorge; after leaving the ash‑gray, withered Forest, they did not set foot on the broad road opened by the South Noggnis Guild, but instead took another path—following the miners' memories upstream, plunging all the way into deeper layers of the underground. Their pitch‑pine torches could only light up a small patch of murky gray in the gloom. Tianlan said the glow of the Illumination Crystals felt as if it froze straight into the marrow, making her teeth chatter, and the others more or less felt the same. So they uncharacteristically chose open flame for light, as if only that could slightly disperse the sinister chill.

The swaying firelight pushed forward in the dark, casting their Shadows as trails of ink across the uneven rock. The towering rock walls looked as though they bore marks of the chisel, yet those smooth fractures were nothing but products of some geological upheaval, formed by Nature. The stone surfaces were as still as black ice, like mirrors that could capture human silhouettes. At times those wavering Shadows seemed to walk against them, as if they'd grown wills of their own, but on closer look they were merely distortions born from the rock's rough, uneven face.

A thin veil of gray mist clung to the ground like the dust of time itself, never dispersing through ancient ages. People walked unthinking through the strata of the earth, growing ever smaller beneath Nature's vast power, like a single grain of sand beneath the Giants' feet. It seemed they could hear the pulse of those Giants, a long, sobbing rhythm of inhale and exhale, carried up from the dark. Yet that was only Wind threading through the fractures deep below; those vents were linked to the outer mountains, roaring all year round, and had carved out this world beneath the glacier.

The howl of the Wind rose high at times and sank low at others. Even knowing the cause, it still frightened Tianlan badly. She mustered her courage and murmured to comfort herself: "There's really nothing to be scared of… right…"

But nobody answered her, which only made her more nervous.

Though he had already decided they would leave, Fang Hong still planned one last deep‑delving adventure. It wasn't to satisfy curiosity, but to see for himself the place the miners had described—to look for any trace left by those people the Moenyalit had spoken of as "bearing Dark Aura." Until they found some thread of evidence, unease would not let them go.

Of course, it was also to give the Tree People an account.

Everything that begins should have an ending—that was Fang Hong's view, on the premise of staying within their Limit.

Yet the dark and the unknown were truly disquieting. Even Tang Xin seemed a little nervous, gripping her Magic Wand tight. She glanced at the silhouette in front of her, wanting to draw closer to her cousin like when they visited haunted houses as kids. But then, in the corner of her eye, she caught Hilveld and Miss Maid walking beside him and hesitated again.

Hilveld sensed something, turned his head, glanced at her, and smiled faintly. He tugged Xiesta lightly, giving Tang Xin a place at his side. Tang Xin froze for an instant, then lowered her head and bit down on her lip, determined to pretend she hadn't seen it. Miss Maid, however, chuckled, simply stopped walking, and naturally drew Tang Xin over by the hand, saying, "There are a few things I want to talk to you about, Tangtang."

At that Tang Xin couldn't keep up the act and had to soften, nodding slightly. Fang Hong finally noticed the commotion behind him, turned to look at his younger cousin, and seemed to recall their childhood as well. He asked, "Tangtang, are you scared?"

Tang Xin tried to give a dismissive snort, but by the time it reached her nose it turned into a weak little "Mm." She didn't dare meet her cousin's eyes; her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz.

Fang Hong said with full confidence, "Don't worry. Just stay close to me, same as back then."

Tang Xin thought, You're such an idiot, but she still gave a small nod.

Hilveld kept smiling as he held her hand, whispering little secrets to her. But Tang Xin was somewhat absent‑minded, responding only half‑heartedly.

Tianlan watched from the back, practically dying of envy. Then her eyes rolled, and she ran to grab Gita's hand, not caring whether the latter was pleased or not. Fortunately, our Miss Natural Historian had a gentle temper; she only glared at Tianlan once and then let her do as she pleased.

Parker watched from a distance, and thoughts of Istania came to him again. After a while those memories blurred into the image of some beautiful Papalarian girl sitting in a sunlit Forest. The Big Catfolk beside him eyed the fellow and shook his head.

Springtime for the Papalarians was probably on some bright afternoon, when the grass ran green like a carpet and songs of the woods circled all around—far away, inside a dream. The Lion People thought, The prospects look grim.

Following the spot the miners had described as the last place they'd seen those people, they pressed deeper underground. But the depths were growing sharply more difficult to traverse and cold enough to cut to the bone. Worse, before entering this gorge, the countless branching passages had very nearly made them turn back.

Still, Fang Hong decided to push on a while longer. He wasn't even sure this was the route those people had taken; they had no idea what those folk had actually done down here. Yet since they'd come this far, he didn't want the time already spent to be wasted.

Of course, if they still found nothing at all, they would retrace their steps.

Only now, more than half their allotted time had passed, and nothing seemed to indicate any meaningful progress. Fang Hong's patience was slowly approaching its Limit—one more danger of delving deeper was that the closer they drew to the lower depths, the more likely they were to encounter the Crystal that had withdrawn here along with its henchmen. The path so far had been relatively quiet, yet they had run into disorderly henchmen before and even clashed in one or two Combats.