The suction from the glowing portal vanished in an instant, and in the next second, the group landed heavily on a pile of dry straw mats.
Arbiter, having entered in a rush, couldn't stop herself in time and crashed straight into Bai Ci, who hadn't yet found her footing.
Thrown off balance, Bai Ci was carried forward by Arbiter's momentum, toppling right onto Violita's back.
Violita had managed to stand firm initially, but in his weakened state, the sudden impact from Bai Ci sent him tumbling forward as well, making him the cushion at the very bottom.
A three-person stack, achieved.
“I'm glad you're all alright,” came Yan Zheng's voice.
Yan Zheng looked as composed as ever. Though he was covered in a bit of dirt, he didn't look disheveled in the slightest.
Zhou Caiwei's hair was a mess, and there were a few shallow scratches on her face. She quickly stepped forward, grabbing Bai Ci's arm with one hand while reaching out to help Arbiter up with the other.
“Boss Arbiter, thank goodness you're all okay,” Zhou Caiwei said, her voice filled with urgency. “We were worried sick over here. Thank goodness Boss Yan Zheng's skill came through in time, or we'd really be done for.”
Yan Zheng's gaze swept over the group, lingering particularly on the wound on Arbiter's back, his expression filled with clear worry and self-reproach.
“Don't just stand around here. The basement is damp and cold; you'll catch a cold. Let's go upstairs to warm up by the fire first, then we can talk about what happened.”
Following Yan Zheng up a rope ladder, they finally got a full view of the building.
It was a wooden cabin, clearly not built recently. A thin layer of dust covered most of the items inside, indicating that no one had been active here for quite some time.
As they stepped into the cabin, a wave of warmth washed over them.
The interior was sparsely furnished and easily taken in at a single glance: a worn wooden table, a few chairs, and a crackling fireplace.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, keeping the entire cabin cozy and warm.
A pot was suspended over the hearth, serving as a makeshift kitchen.
A tightly closed wooden door separated the bedroom from the main area, leaving the state of the room inside a mystery for now.
Zhou Caiwei nimbly found some clean cloths and handed them to the group. Then, she turned around to pour several cups of hot water from an iron kettle warming on the fireplace and brought them over.
“Drink something hot to warm up. The rain is pouring out there, and it'll be trouble if you catch a chill.”
Bai Ci accepted the hot drink, cupping it in her hands. She took a few small sips. Though it was just plain hot water, it was exceptionally effective at warming her body at a time like this.
Arbiter leaned back in her chair. Her outfit had already reverted to her original pink Lolita dress, which was now soaking wet.
For once, she quietly sipped her water while Yan Zheng used a cloth to dry her hair. Managing long hair was always a chore.
Arbiter squinted slightly. The wound on her back still throbbed with a dull ache, but it was bearable, and her exhaustion was rapidly fading.
Yan Zheng's skill had not only provided them with a way to escape but had also granted her a rapid recovery buff, allowing her to bounce back quickly.
“We have restored Our strength and gathered Our thoughts. We are now ready to hear the full sequence of events.”
“Speak. What manner of crisis did you encounter? The assistance sent in our moment of desperation was a hair's breadth away. It was truly a heart-stopping ordeal.”
“I'm sorry. I was overconfident this time and made a bad call,” Yan Zheng said as he sat down at the wooden table, crossing his hands in front of him. He began with an apology.
Then, he slowly began to recount what they had experienced after tracking Vigi.
“We followed Vigi out of the train. At first, we thought he was going to check on the landslide. But after following him for a while, we realized things weren't as we had assumed.”
“He was carrying one of those detection instruments, using it to navigate as he ran through the mountain forest with all his might. From the looks of it, he seemed to be running for his life.”
“Yes, yes, exactly!” Zhou Caiwei chimed in immediately, nodding in agreement.
When it came to riding on coattails, she was a professional. Her hyping skills had long been honed to perfection.
“That guy ran so fast! Even with the ground being so slippery from the rain, he didn't slow down at all. If Boss Yan Zheng hadn't reacted quickly, he would've slipped right past us.”
Yan Zheng was clearly still not used to Zhou Caiwei's enthusiastic hyping. He paused for a moment before continuing, “Considering he knows the layout of the forest much better than we do, we risked losing his trail if we just kept tailing him.”
“To prevent him from vanishing completely, we took the initiative to intercept him.”
“After we stopped him, he was extremely uncooperative at first. His attitude was very stubborn, and he refused to utter a single word of information.”
“Seeing how terrified he seemed of the train, I threatened him. I told him that if he didn't explain what was going to happen, we would drag him back onto that train.”
“After all, if we didn't know what was coming and couldn't prepare, we'd likely die anyway. We might as well drag him down with us as a cushion.”
“That's right, that's right!” Zhou Caiwei slapped the table, looking incredibly pleased with herself.
“The moment Boss Yan Zheng said that, the guy chickened out. His face went pale, and he immediately folded, spilling everything he knew.”
It had to be said that Zhou Caiwei was an excellent hype-woman and mood-maker.
“Naturally. My subordinate, Yan Zheng, possesses an intellect that far surpasses the mundane. He is not someone mediocre fools can hope to compare to,” Arbiter praised, opening her eyes with a proud expression of her own.
“...” Yan Zheng let out a soft chuckle, but immediately composed himself, returning to a serious expression.
The hand drying her hair pressed down slightly harder—they were discussing serious matters here.
“According to Vigi, when the engineers built this railway years ago, they destroyed a vast amount of the mountain forest's vegetation and logged massive areas of trees to carve out the path. This angered the Mountain God residing in this region.”
“Since then, the Mountain God laid down a curse. Every so often, when a wisteria flower appears in the train's cab, the next train will become a blood sacrifice to appease the Mountain God's wrath.”
“A blood sacrifice? Meaning a sacrificial offering?” Bai Ci confirmed.
Although she didn't know the exact details, a name like that made it obvious it was nothing good.
“You can understand it that way,” Yan Zheng nodded. “Everyone on this train must die to appease the Mountain God's fury.”
“The station master and others have known about this for a long time. Every time, they would deliberately leave one conductor behind to act as the escort for the blood sacrifice, while the rest of the crew would be replaced by the Mountain God's thralls.”
“Does this place have something to do with how that designated conductor survives?” Bai Ci caught on and asked.
“Ding! Spot on!” Zhou Caiwei chimed in.
“When the landslide occurs, one must escape the carriages and find the place where the Mountain God once resided—which is this very area where the wooden cabin stands.”
“Only by staying here can one escape the Mountain God's curse and survive.”
Yan Zheng added, “Once I got this information, I threatened Vigi again to make him lead us here.”
“Navigating the mountain forest at night was indeed difficult. As soon as we arrived, I immediately started preparing for your transfer. Fortunately, we made it in time.”
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