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Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Island

After a long stretch of silence, they could finally hear the sound of waves crashing . It made them realize they had been on the sea . The edge of the island was covered in rotten ground . The white ship sailed gradually toward it before inching onto the shore . A plank materialized on the side of the deck, and it extended toward the shore . Gu Jun and Wu Siyu were dressed in light gray cotton outfits, looking like Chinese travelers from exotic lands .

When they went behind the cabin door to change, the sound of shrieking from the bottom of the stairs heightened . It sounded like some beasts were struggling to escape from their entrapment . The duo walked out immediately after changing . They did not stay to explore further . That was something they had agreed upon . Now, the pair walked down the plank and stepped onto the island . The clothes that they originally wore instantly dissolved into wisps of smoke . When they turned back to look, the white ship had already sailed away into the world of mist . There went their hope of getting a ride back . How were they going to leave should they complete their mission?

“So, is this it?” Wu Siyu observed their surroundings . When they were still on the boat, Gu Jun had described the basic background of the nightmare to her . The patients would find themselves at an abandoned island in their dream . There would be withered trees, sodden leaves, and a mountain range in the distance . It fit their surroundings perfectly .

“Yes . ” Gu Jun nodded . He could recognize this shore . “This is where the nightmare always starts . ”

They did not sense any human presence around them .

“Perhaps our arrival has been announced or perhaps not . In any case, we should be prepared,” Gu Jun warned . The last words the captain said mentioned an imminent storm, but the sky was as clear as ever . However, Gu Jun doubted the old man would make a joke out of something like that . If they were caught in a storm, it would make their journey that much more difficult .

The two stopped to take inventory . If they rationed carefully, the food and water could last them for a few days . Other than that, they had the medic kit, an oil lamp, and two weapons . The weapons were normal weapons; they did not possess any special power and were not some kind ritualistic relics . The sword was about one meter long, and the hilt was covered in exquisite carvings . The blade was not sharp to the touch, but it could still hack through some tree trunks . The bow was made from wood . It had the same carving design as the sword . For some reason, Wu Siyu reminded him of a cat when she studied these strange carvings . Neither of them had received training in this kind of classic weaponry . In fact, for a girl as slender as Wu Siyu, she had trouble just nocking the bow . The choice of the bow was more for covering all bases instead of their mastery of it . That way, they had one long-ranged weapon should the situation call for it .

With regards to the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, Gu Jun felt like he had learned less than one third of the first chapter . They had not yet unlocked its power .

“I have no idea how long we’ll need to travel . ” He turned to regard the eerie forest head . There was a dreamlike feeling to everything . It felt like he could have floated through the forest if he wanted, but he knew that was not the case . He took out a bandage from the medic kit and twisted it into a rope . He tied it around his waist and Wu Siyu’s to prevent them from getting separated . Then, the two made their way toward the forest .

As they stepped under the dying branches, the world around them submerged into darkness . Gu Jun used the match gifted by the old captain to light the oil lamp . The light was just strong enough for them to find their way through the undergrowth . Just like that, Gu Jun held the sword in one hand and the lamp in the other as he trekked through the forest . When they journeyed for about ten meters, they heard a rustling . They both turned toward the direction of the sound, but all they saw were the withered trees .

“Did you hear that?” he asked softly .

“I did,” she answered . “I managed to sense that it was not a human . It was something else, but I did not get any further information . ”

“Hmm…” Gu Jun tightened his grip on the long sword, but it did not provide him with any security . The island was too unfamiliar for them . Trekking through an unexplored forest with possible threat at every turn would test anyone’s mettle . The two had decided to use the mountain as their guidance . Perhaps lady luck was smiling on them that day because they did not encounter any danger . They journeyed for another two hundred meters or so when they saw bright light breaking through the trees . It appeared like they had almost reached the end of the forest . As they stepped out from the interweaving branches, it was as if they had stepped into another world . Sunlight showered back on them again . Things were progressing exactly as they did in the nightmare .

“That’s it,” Gu Jun said darkly .

At the foot of the mountain about fifty meters away sat an old manor . This time, he could finally get a good look . The manor was three stories tall and seemed to be built from wood . It looked like it was three hundred to four hundred cubic meters . It had a very strange architectural design that reminded Gu Jun of the carcass of some kind of abnormal creature . But this time, there was no Ol Uncle Dog or anyone else waiting for them before the manor door that was thrown wide open . There was only silence .

“What are we to do now?” Wu Siyu looked at him . “Are we going to just walk up to it?”

“I don’t think so . ” Gu Jun contemplated . “We have to consider that this might be a trap . ”

The island was too unfamiliar to them, and thus, it was unwise to go exploring without any guidance . If they still had their armada of firearms, they could have tried to storm the house . Ol’ Uncle Dog might have posed a threat, but there were two of them, and bullets would move faster than spells . Unfortunately, the sad reality was they only had a wooden bow and some arrows, and neither of them had training in archery .

“I have an idea,” Wu Siyu said . “We can bind the arrowheads with bandages and soak them with the gasoline . Then we will light them up and shoot them at the house . The house looks like it is made from wood, so it should be flammable . The whole place will collapse in a ball of fire before you know it . ”

“That… honestly is not a bad idea, but maybe we should consider other options first . ”

After all, who knew what kind of consequence might come from such a drastic move? Perhaps they could find some valuable items inside the old manor . Gu Jun would only resort to destroying the manor when they had no other choice . They only had one chance to do this right .

Gu Jun wanted to wait a little longer . “If there are new patients from Eastern State, they should arrive punctually at 3 am . I wonder if we are close to that time here . ”

Would Ol’ Uncle Dog appear then, casting spells to take those dreams?

Time was a loose concept in the dream world . For now, they decided to go into hiding beside a copse of trees near the manor . Gu Jun had Wu Siyu pay attention to their surroundings while he took the time to brush up the knowledge on the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan . Time was passing supposedly, but the day showed no sign of changing . There did not appear to be a day night cycle in this world .

“Hey!” Wu Siyu suddenly pushed Gu Jun . “Look, quite a large number of people are coming . ”

She had been watching over the forest and the manor . The manor showed no activity, but figures started to tumble out of the forest one after another . They did not seem to notice each other . Their faces were wiped clean of emotion . Their gait was slow and shambling like they were sleepwalking . The group gradually walked toward the manor, and among them, there were familiar faces .

Gu Jun had just turned his head around, and when he saw those faces, his heart scrunched, and his eyes widened .

Wang Ruoxiang and Cai Zixuan, they were both there . Alongside them were his colleagues from Eastern State’s Medical Department .

‘What had happened outside? Why are they here in the nightmare?’