Volume 9 - CH 2

Chapter 2: The Secret of the Drainage Channel

Atlantis  8:09 PM

We walked along the long drainage channel for quite some time.

In this short period of time, I suddenly realized the reason why people would prefer raising their buildings up higher to live, and why they didn’t really dig down instead; it was because staying underground gave one a rather uncomfortable feeling. Just walking like this for a while gave me an unknown pressure, an uneasy feeling as if the top could collapse at any time.

Ahead of me was an endlessly long path, and behind me was a place that led off into an unseen direction.

“Wait a minute.”

After a moment of silence, senior Gasai took the lead, which broke the calmness, and then he stopped. “Something’s not quite right here.”

Uh…To be honest, I totally can’t tell what’s not quite right here.

Hearing him say so, everyone looked around, and then their expressions seemed to follow suit and suddenly became a bit more serious, as if they’d discovered something.

“This is a guide mark.” Yido walked over to the side, and stopped in front of a wall. “Someone set up guide marks in the drainage channel.” He stretched out a hand, and gently knocked twice on the wall. A strange totem with a diameter of thirty centimeters or so immediately appeared on the wall. It looked something like a winged flea, and beside it was an incantation that I couldn’t read.

“The white and yellow fogs’ guide mark.” Gasai looked at the totem on the wall, and faintly said.

…Which means those things could pop up here at any time, right.

“This at least confirms that the white and yellow fogs are not some sudden phenomena, and we can definitely affirm that there’s someone behind them.” Taking the roll of something that Leido took out from the huge luggage, Yido pulled that thing open. It was a very big piece of white paper. Then he covered that totem with the white paper, and in just a few seconds, the totem was copied down into an exact likeness of it.

“If someone’s behind them, then what could his intention be?” Likewise pondering it, Gasai tilted his head as he thought for a bit. “Forget it, let’s find Icy Flame first. He should have discovered something too.”

This brother, you really are so sure of it.

“That, is there no other way to find Senior, apart from using tracking techniques?” I raised a question, and then was immediately stared at by a bunch of different-colored, shiny eyes.

My hair stood up, my hair really stood up.

Is it necessary for everyone to stare at me like this? Don’t you know that this is going to cause my psychological pressure to increase, which will then shorten my life!?

“I was just giving an example, you guys don’t have to be so intense.” Taking a step back, I instantly added on this sentence.

As if he suddenly thought of something, Gasai hit his palms. “That’s right, there’s still another way to find Icy Flame.”

Everyone immediately looked at him.

“But it’s just that this way is rather shocking.” Senior Gasai commented.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you not to act rashly.” Clearly understanding what the word “shocking” meant, Yido immediately issued what I was thinking. “Yado, take out the Foretelling Mirror.”

The Foretelling Mirror?

Of the ten treasures of the Water Fairies!?

I watched as Yado took out a large box that was half his height from Leido’s huge luggage. It was made of wood, and there was a faint unknown fragrance coming from it. On the wooden box were some silver carvings, mostly totems and the like.

…

Wait a minute!

You guys actually brought the fairies’ treasure along with you and even lost the luggage once!?

I suddenly felt a little dizzy. Sure enough, the people of this world are not compatible with me. Most of the time I have only one conclusion about them: can’t be understood.

“Is it really alright for you guys to bring the water mirror with you?” Likewise having the same thought, Chifuyu finally made a sound. Ever since we entered the drainage channel, he seemed especially untalkative, “After all, the Foretelling Mirror is an important treasure of the Water Fairies. Is this really okay?”

Yido smiled as he shook his head, “The Foretelling Mirror can only be activated by me. If other people come across it, it’ll be just like an useless water mirror; even if it’s lost, we don’t need to worry about it being misused. And the water mirror is connected to my life, so as long as nothing happens to the water mirror, I will definitely be able to retrieve it.”

“So that’s how it is.” Chifuyu nodded.

I kind of wanted to ask: what will happen if something does happen to the water mirror?

But I don’t really dare to casually ask these sort of questions, because I’ve had many lessons in the past; they always love telling me things that shouldn’t be said, and finally, it would conclude with my neck being slit if I let a third person know about it.

Yado opened the box. The interior was padded with a white, soft unknown grass, and in the middle was a round mirror. The mirror wasn’t as big as I imagined. It was kind of similar to the round mirrors from ancient times, with a radius of about twenty-five centimeters in size. It was encircled by a silvery blue metal frame that was engraved with a variety of deep blue totems.

The mirror’s surface was dark, a bit different from my impression of it.

“I thought the Foretelling Mirror doesn’t have a physical body.” Looking at that black mirror, Gasai said the above words.

“Nn, usually it doesn’t, but when we go out, it has to be convenient to bring, so we would temporarily seal it into a physical form, just like the one you see now.” Yido stretched out his palm, and that black mirror seemed to have a life of its own as it immediately emitted a faint glow before it floated, slowly moving toward his palm.

At the same time that the black mirror’s surface was gradually clearing, mist started rising around Yido’s feet, and slowly became drops of water bit by bit. This scene is rather similar to when I first met Minas.

“A shadow still exists around it. In this kind of place, even the water mirror has no effect.” Looking at the blurry surface of the mirror, Yido shook his head.

“Or is someone’s hindering the use of spell-based techniques?” Senior Gasai folded his arms, likewise having a thoughtful expression. “These few competitions didn’t go so smoothly. Looks like it’ll be quite difficult to end this.”

He said what everyone was thinking about.

Up till now, I’m pretty certain that the one who’s been hindering us is that face-changing person, but for some reason, I kept having a vague feeling that he had nothing to do with the white and yellow fogs.

It’s just an intuition that I can’t explain, so I’m not too sure either.

“It did cover the Foretelling Mirror’s vision, but it seems that relatively simple precognitive techniques can still work.” Smiling, Yido immediately closed his eyes, and the mirror floating above his palm emitted a more conspicuous glow. “Shuǐ zhī zé, jìng zhī huá, yǐ wǒ wèi míng, ér jìng shuǐ wèi xíng, yī wǒ yuàn ér xiǎnxiàn zànqiě zhī shì.”

[T/N: The water of the lake, the mirror’s design, with me as your name, and the water mirror as your form, comply with my wish and reveal the present.]

The mirror’s surface suddenly reflected something that’s very similar to ripples.

There seemed to be a shadow within the blurriness, but I was entirely unable to make out what was moving inside.

“The things inside the mirror can only be seen by Yido.” Noticing that I was struggling to see the blurry shadow, Yado, who had been standing beside me for who knows how long, issued in a very low voice, almost giving me a start.

Why didn’t you say so earlier, causing me to look until I nearly went cross-eyed. What a waste of energy.

“I’ve obtained Prince Icy Flame’s whereabouts.” After a long while, Yido suddenly opened his eyes, living up to our expectations as he gave us this good news. “However, he’s some distance away from us. In addition, the water mirror also showed a third person in this place, but it was unable to show exactly who the third person is. In short, this person has a great relevance on the events in this town.”

A third person?

The third person isn’t the face-changing person?

Obviously the water mirror has no way of knowing he exists. Alright, that guy can be demoted to fourth person for now.

“There are two directions, so how do you feel about them?” Having clearly heard those words too, Leido turned around, and asked both Gasai and Chifuyu.

Hey, there’s no need to ask me, huh!

What you trying to imply by actually skipping me automatically!?

“If we first head towards the so-called third person, will we be able to meet up with Icy Flame?” Senior Gasai asked a very crucial question.

Yido closed his eyes again, and after a few seconds, he answered: “Yes, but the time couldn’t be detected. However, Prince Icy Flame will definitely pass through that area.”

Basically, I can already tell what senior Gasai’s answer will be.

“I’ll head towards the third person. Instead of aimlessly searching for someone, it would be better to first head towards the place that has more relevance.” Sure enough, just as I expected, senior Gasai made this decision.

To tell the truth, sometimes their thoughts can be really quite easy to guess. Their process of thinking simply follows a straight line, without any turning at all.

“I don’t mind.” Chifuyu didn’t even have any objections as he shrugged.

“Then it’s settled.” Putting the water mirror flat, Yido’s fingertip lightly drew across the surface of the mirror, and that not-so-small mirror instantly turned into a streak of a silvery blue light. After entering his palm, it vanished without a trace.

Strange, if the mirror could be directly stored inside his body like this, then why did they have to go through all the trouble of bringing such a huge luggage here?

I don’t get it.

Looking around, Yido put his palms together, and bit by bit, drops of water dispersed from his hands. “Let’s wash the walls around us first before we continue.” Once his words fell, those waterdrops instantly hit the surrounding walls. As if they were being cleaned by heavy rain, the walls were immediately washed by violent streams of water, and lines of totems that looked a lot like fleas appeared everywhere.

The entire drainage channel was filled with those whatchamacallit damn guides.

Seeing them, I suddenly had a hair-raising feeling.

There were guide marks all over the place. This means that pretty much the entire underground area of this town is in the blood snake’s range of activity, making them almost all-pervasive.

Just who would be bored enough to go around doodling graffiti!?

***

The drainage channel was very quiet.

Because the others barely made a sound as they were walking, I was the only one who would occasionally make a loud sound when my cloth shoes rubbed against the ground. This gave me the illusion of walking in a group of ghosts.

After determining the location, we were no longer wandering around aimlessly, and it was changed to Yido leading the way. Turning around and around in the complex drainage channel, in the short period of less than an hour, we’ve already turned at a dozen or so big and small corners, to the point where my eyes became blurry from all the turning.

If there was no one leading the way right now, I probably would’ve gotten lost, and then directly starved to death in this damn place.

However, even if my sense of direction was terrible, I could still vaguely feel that we were heading down. The air around us seemed to be getting colder and colder.

This reminded me of the situation last time when we were walking in the Ghost King’s Tomb.

At that time, it also grew colder, but there was a glacier at the end, so it was only natural for it to be that cold. And this place’s coldness isn’t quite the same; it’s the kind of coldness where the deep you go, the damper it becomes, making one feel wet and sticky and not so comfortable.

“…There’s a bloody smell here.” Yido, who was walking in the front, frowned, and then issued a sound, breaking the cold silence.

Bloody smell?

I secretly sniffed twice. Other than the damp smell, I didn’t smell anything else.

Could it be that people with robe levels are able to smell things from a further distance?

“Looks like we’re almost there.” Gasai nodded.

Wait a minute, why are all of you able to smell that bloody smell!?

I started to suspect that maybe my nose was clogged, because it looks like everyone had already smelled it. Their expressions all became serious, except for senior Gasai, whose expression couldn’t be seen under his mask.

“Yang Yang.” Chifuyu motioned to me, and after I got to his side, he stretched out his fingertip and touched my forehead. “If it is the truth, then it can be seen, and the false truths won’t be able to deceive you. You will know what you should know, and what you can’t feel is only a false image; if there should be something here, then it will be revealed to you.”

…I’m quite certain that he should be chanting an incantation instead of talking to me.

The second Chifuyu moved his finger away, some kind of incomparable stinky odor immediately rushed to my nose. If you insist that I describe it, then it’s that kind of…disgusting smell issued by seafood and meat left outside for three days without being refrigerated, and it even has some sort of very strong fishy-sweet odor. The whole feeling immediately caused me to feel dizzy, and made me think that it would be a lot better to go hit the wall until I faint.

You terrible people, to have smelled this and actually be perfectly fine!

I regret it.

I wonder if it’s not too late for me to call Chifuyu right now and ask him to seal me back to the way I was before.

“So smelly that it feels like your nose is about to fall off, right?” Beside me, Leido was actually still in the mood to joke around with me.

I covered my nose. Just smelling this poisonous gas for two more seconds would be enough able to kill a person.

“Since Yang Yang has several different types of talismans protecting you, you won’t be able to sense any dramatic changes in the surroundings. And just now I temporarily weakened the effects of the talismans to let you feel it a little, so don’t worry too much about it. After about five minutes, the talismans’ effects will be restored.” Chifuyu’s tone was very relaxed as he told me this.

To be honest, I don’t even need five minutes. Just staying in this place for five more minutes will make me hallucinate and see the Pure Land.

Ah ah, my grandma who I haven’t seen in a long time is once again waving at me from the other side…

As usual, when Grandma began to move further away, I heard some kind of very familiar roaring sound from the other end of the drainage channel, and then the finger that was still bandaged started to sting.

Even without a sixth sense, I knew right away that things did not look good for us.

According to the convention of light novels and manhuas, usually when this sort of situation occurs, it means that we’ll be able to encounter our enemies within a minute, and the thing that you don’t want to see the most will definitely appear before your eyes.

“It’s here.”

That smell grew even more intense. The five minutes were probably also up, so just as the roaring sound became tremendously loud, my nose was instantly unable to smell that odor anymore; the entire quiet and pleasant air returned back to my side.

This story tells us that humans had better cherish their air, because once it’s gone, you’ll discover just how precious air is.

I fully understand the importance that’s being conveyed in this story.

At the same time that I was experiencing how valuable air is, a certain very familiar old friend had already reappeared in front of everyone at the speed of lightning.

A large amount of white fog surged up from the depths of the drainage channel, and immediately blocked off our path.

The blood snake that eats people.

***

Yado and Leido stepped forward.

“Chu, as soon as they start moving, immediately run straight ahead.” Gasai gave a pat on my shoulder, and said.

“Okay, okay.” I had a tense scalp-numbing feeling.

The white fog eats people. I remembered seeing a white robe disappear in the white fog in the video. It can’t be that if I start to slow down even a little, the next one to disappear will be me?

As soon as I thought of this, I shuddered.

“Don’t worry, this mere trifle is nothing.” Standing in the front, Leido pulled his fingers, issuing “ka ka” sounds. “We’ve already prepared a way to deal with this stuff!”

I was slightly stunned for a moment.

Oh right…We’ve all known what we’ll encounter by coming here, so apart from me, it would be impossible for the others to have not prepared anything.

“We’re ready to start.” Leido stretched out his left hand, and at the other side, his twin also made the same move, though it was the opposite one, his right hand. “Yú de zhǔrén yú cǐ, dì sì jiéjiè kōngjiān wèi xūhuàn de shuǐ zhī tiānkōng, yú fānténg yú kōngzhōng luòxià yú shuǐmiàn, yuèguò kōngjiān tīng wǒ miànqián.”

[T/N: With me as the master here, the space of the fourth barrier becomes an illusory sky of water, writhing in the air, falling on the surface of the water, crossing space to stop in front of me.]

I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t speaking in Mandarin, since his lips were moving in a different way. But it’s as if a singing voice was automatically translated, allowing me to understand it: it’s a song chant that sounded a lot like it was summoning something.

Then, a silver sphere of light appeared above his left hand.

At the other side, Yado opened his palm too, “Yú de zhǔrén yú cǐ, dì sì tiānwài shìjiè wéi wújìn de tiān zhī shuǐmiàn, yú fānténg yú shuǐzhōng yuè shàng chuān tiānjì, yuèguò tiānwài fú wǒ gēnqián.” In less than a blink of an eye, a sphere of light also appeared above his hand, but it was a clear water-like blue.

[T/N: With me as the master here, the fourth outer world becomes the endless sky of the water surface, writhing in the water, leaping across the sky, crossing from far away to prostrate in front of me.]

The two spheres of light flattened into lines, slowly extending and joining together, as if a space that was already in existence had begun expanding up and down.

From there, I heard the sound of water, and then some sort of strange “hu hu” sound of the wind.

“The fourth outer space, Floating King.”

I don’t know whose voice that was, but the instant the white fog swarmed towards us, the space joined together by the spheres of light suddenly distorted forcefully. Before I could notice what that sound was, I saw the legendary earthshaking…

Loch Ness Monster.

…

…

Seriously?

An enormous sea monster’s head sprang out from the light space, and with a “gah” sound, it opened its mouth full of sharp teeth. That entrance, that sound, and that overall feeling clearly showed that it must be related to the Loch Ness Monster; if they’re not siblings, then they’re definitely relatives.

Before I could even take out my camera to get a photo of it as a souvenir, the strange head of the suspected-to-be-Nessie’s-relative sprang out of the entire light frame, nearly filling up the whole drainage channel with its huge body. Its thunderous roar drowned out the noise made by the blood snake. As if completely unafraid of the fact that the blood snake consumes animals, the enormous sea monster simply kept its huge mouth open like this, and then randomly charged ahead.

This reminded me of the idiom, “a wild horse running loose,” but if we were to describe a sea monster, it would have to be changed to “a wild monster running loose” to be more appropriate.

Nessie’s relative’s body seemed a lot like a large-sized lizard. Its exterior looked like it was completely covered with viscous, dark blue scales; its four feet also had sharp claws and scales, and its tail was just like the legendary dragon tail.

Because it charged past too quickly just now, I didn’t get to see how its face looked like.

The summoned sea monster had its mouth wide open as it charged forward wildly with “hong hong hong” sounds. This reminded me of something else, called a “crocodile.”

Speaking of which, was it really necessary to summon something like this just to deal with the white fog?

Just as I was thinking so, a certain very familiar roaring sound once again sounded out behind us.

Without even having to think, there’s only one thing I should do right now.

“Yang Yang! Hurry up and run!” I don’t know who it was that grabbed my hand, and used a kind of speed like we were being chased by some ghosts and dogs that joined forces to beat us up, to dash forward; the entire wind pressure intriguingly pressed on my face.

To be honest, up till now I only have one dissatisfaction.

“Can’t you let me walk by myself!!”

I’ve had enough of being carried whenever we run away!