Chapter 112

Suddenly, from the calm and waveless lake, a bony and blood-stained hand shot out, directly grabbing at Ning Ning’s ankle!

Ever since she heard He Zhizhou’s scream, she had suspected that there was something fishy in this hidden place. Therefore, she had kept her guard up, ready for anything.

Now, upon seeing this terrifying and gruesome blood-stained hand, she quickly steadied her mind. In the instant it leaped towards her from behind, she silently recited a spell and thrust several sharp sword lights directly at it.

The hand couldn’t dodge in time and was swiftly sliced by the lightning-fast sword energy, causing several thick black streams of blood to gush out from its skin.

Clearly in pain, it thrashed about, splashing large sprays of water. What was bewildering was that these water splashes were completely different from the clear and green appearance of the lake’s surface. Instead, they were drops of unbearable stench, tinged with an extremely eerie black-red hue.

What’s… going on?

Before Ning Ning could fully comprehend the scene defying logic before her, the hand, stained with blood from the sword, pushed off the lake shore and leaped into the air. Amidst the splashing water, a piercing and murderous screech rang out.

The owner of the blood-stained hand seemed human, but not quite human. Although possessing facial features and limbs no different from those of an ordinary person, their body structure and proportions were grotesquely abnormal.

Their hollow eyes were three times the size of an ordinary person’s, filled with bloodshot veins like crimson vines, and where a nose should have been, there were only two tiny round holes.

If one had to describe them, they were like a dwarf version of Voldemort. Noseless and hairless, they only reached Ning Ning’s chest in height, with arms and legs as thin as dry branches. Their nails, however, were quite long, resembling knives coated with mud and blood.

Despite being mentally prepared, Ning Ning would never have expected to see such a bald-headed creature emerge from the seemingly calm lake, resembling a freshly boiled egg.

She had never seen such a monster before, and the foul stench emanating from it wrinkled her brow. Beside her, Pei Ji’s expression turned icy. He was about to draw his sword when suddenly he heard a whistling wind by his ear—

An arrow flew out of the woods with lightning speed, carrying visible streaks of bright yellow electricity and piercing the creature’s chest in one swift motion.

The force of the arrow was tremendous, and the electricity spread out like a spider web the moment it touched the creature’s body, quickly covering its entire chest. This caused the creature to tremble violently, emitting a hoarse and desperate scream.

“This is the Mirror Ghost of the lake.”

A voice, unfamiliar to them, drifted in on the wind, calm and unruffled: “Are you people from the immortal sects who have intruded into this place? If you want to live, do not approach the waters.”

Ning Ning turned her head towards the sound and saw a young girl at the entrance of the woods beside her.

She didn’t seem to be one of the disciples participating in the trial. She was dressed in a moon-white short-sleeved outfit, her long hair tied back in a sleek and simple ponytail. She held a large bow with a flaming deep red hue, and the bowstring emitted a faint golden light reminiscent of lightning.

Most notably, there were two furry snow-white fox ears atop her head.

As the breeze stirred, the delicate and long fur swayed gently, giving her a charming and cute appearance, which contrasted sharply with the girl’s mature and wise demeanor.

“The waters?”

The creature was struck by the arrow, stumbling and falling into the lake, after which ripples spread out, and once again, all sound vanished. Ning Ning glanced at the calm surface of the water. “Thank you for your help, miss. Do you know what secrets lie within the waters of this hidden place?”

Pausing for a moment, she added anxiously, “A friend of ours might have been dragged into the water. Do you have any way to rescue him?”

He Zhizhou’s scream was piercingly desperate, indicating that he encountered danger on the way.

From Ning Ning’s recent experience, it seemed he might have been attacked by the same unknown monster. The reason they couldn’t find him was likely because, in his panic, he didn’t have time to escape and was dragged into the lake.

The girl in the sturdy attire furrowed her brow and shook her head.

“You two are unaware that the waters here are exceptionally dangerous, teeming with countless demons and evil spirits. They are constrained by formations and unable to easily escape, but if someone stands on the water’s surface, they can break free by shattering the reflection in the water.”

Ning Ning had never heard of such a sinister formation. She exchanged a glance with Pei Ji and listened as the girl continued, “If one falls into the water, they are essentially pulled into another realm within the Water Mirror… Unless one’s cultivation is profound, the odds of survival are slim.”

He Zhizhou possessed the Whetstone system, which theoretically should have provided system protection. Moreover, even in the original work, there was no mention of him meeting his end so early.

However, the unreliability of the original work was beyond imagination, often throwing unexpected curveballs. Ning Ning couldn’t leave it alone and was about to speak up to dive in after him when suddenly she heard Pei Ji beside her say, “You stay on the shore; I’ll go in and find him.”

—He actually saw through her thoughts in an instant and preemptively took on the responsibility before Ning Ning could speak.

“Are you crazy? It’s life-threatening underwater, and nearly all of my people—”

The girl in the sturdy attire was taken aback by his decisive boldness. Before she could raise her voice any further, she was interrupted by another sudden, desperate scream.

The wailing was mournful and frantic, continuously tearing through the air, turning the plea for help into a wild dolphin-like screech.

Upon careful listening, one would discern not only that voice but also another, more familiar and slightly deeper, also crying out with a hint of sorrow.

Ning Ning fell silent for a moment, a glimmer of brightness shining in her eyes as she blinked at Pei Ji. “Is that him?”

The black-clad youth holding a sword nodded expressionlessly. “Yes.”

=====

He Zhizhou felt that today was definitely his unlucky day.