What woke Gu Mengmeng completely was the mystical scene before her. Two rows of trees on each side were visibly weaving together, like fingers criss-crossing, to form an archway.
The archway was filled with a white mist, which felt somewhat familiar.
Gu Mengmeng narrowed her eyes. Would she see her lonely old man sitting on the bench watching television if she walked in through this archway?
With some doubts, Elvis carried Gu Mengmeng into the tree-lined archway.
The mist obscured one’s view, such that Gu Mengmeng couldn’t see anyone—she couldn’t even see Elvis’ face despite being nestled in his chest.
“Hubby?” Gu Mengmeng called out tentatively.
Elvis instinctively tightened his embrace and replied with a voice that sounded very near, “Mmm, I am here.”
Gu Mengmeng looped her arms around Elvis’ neck and called out again. “Lea?”
One hand landed precisely on Gu Mengmeng’s arm. She heard a gentle voice, which soothed her unease. “I am also here.”
Gu Mengmeng heaved a sigh of relief. She then called out again. “What about the rest? Are they also here?”
Gu Mengmeng felt much more secured after receiving responses from Wabei, Peter and Leonard.
Walking in the thick white mist, one could only blindly rely on their body’s spatial awareness to move forward. There was no other way to ascertain one’s direction in the dense fog.
Perhaps it was lucky that Gu Mengmeng encountered this kind of white mist every time she visited her lonely old man, such that she was already used to it. Otherwise, she would have definitely felt very anxious now.
Rumbling sounds resonated from all directions. It was very soft and difficult to discern.
Gu Mengmeng now possessed very good hearing and also Snakel’s memories. There should not be any sound in the Beast World which she couldn’t identify.
But she had no impression of this noise at all…
“Leonard, how much do you know about the Soul of the Forest?” Gu Mengmeng asked.
Leonard replied, “The tribe leaders have passed down through the generations, that there is only one entrance. My people have never tried entering…”
In other words, he only knew how to locate this entrance. He didn’t know much more than that.
Damn, she had brought a bunch of clueless people along.
“Xiao Meng, why don’t you sleep while we guard over you?” Elvis asked.
Gu Mengmeng knew Elvis meant for her to go seek the Beast Deity, to ask him if there was any way to get through this white mist. She replied with, “I already asked him the previous time. Father said I am capable enough to face this challenge.”
The deeper they entered the white mist, the clearer the rumbling sounds became. The sounds also became harsher, as if they were a sort of warning.
Lea and Leonard were the first to exhibit signs of breathing difficulties. But Gu Mengmeng didn’t realize anything wrong because of the white mist. Only when her left ear started aching did Gu Mengmeng instinctively ask, “Lea, what’s the matter?”
Lea shook his head, as he pretended nothing was wrong.
“Lea?” Gu Mengmeng pursued.
Lea then realized that they could not see each other in the white mist, hence Gu Mengmeng naturally could not see him shake his head.
He opened his mouth to tell her that he was fine, but found that he was unable to utter a single word.
Gu Mengmeng held the hand on her arm, pulling him closer. She touched Lea’s face like a blind person feeling an object. She could not see him but she could feel that he was suffering. Worried, Gu Mengmeng asked again, “Lea, what’s the matter? Are you unwell?”
