chsdbacks Page 257
Page 257
[Furthermore, you quickly lost your way. Even though Seren could vaguely determine where you were going through your sense of direction, you inevitably got lost in the thick fog.]
Time ticked by, and your anxiety grew. The dense fog clouded your vision, impairing your senses and dulling your perception of time. This severely hampered your judgment, and you began to worry that the white moon might sweep you away at any moment.
[Or rather, in this thick fog, you can no longer distinguish whether you are still in the Bone Spirit Realm, or whether you have fallen into some other unknown dimensional gap. All your senses are left with the occasional vibrations from your surroundings, like a dream from which you can never wake, running futilely amidst the sounds of construction from the outside world.]
Suddenly, in the light of the lantern-bearing skull, you seem to see a dark figure standing in the thick fog not far away. Although the motionless figure gives you a strange tremor, you still rush straight towards it.
……
"……Who are you?"
Once he got closer, Latis realized that the dark shadow illuminated by the light was actually an illusory spirit.
He recalled the spiritual shock he had experienced when he climbed Mount Sisyphus, and immediately became vigilant. Instead of approaching rashly, he called out from a distance.
The spirit turned around and revealed a face resembling a wolf. It opened its mouth and spoke in a muffled voice:
"I am a wolf spirit."
"Wolf Spirit?" Latis frowned slightly and asked, "What is your relationship with the 'Demon Bone Wolf'?"
"?"
The wolf spirit showed a human-like look of confusion. After a moment of silence, it said in a very vulgar way:
"What the hell is that name?"
“Uh…” Latis chuckled twice and said, “This is a term of respect that a friend of mine uses for the dire wolves of the plains…”
"Don't call me that, it sounds childish."
Wolf Spirit's face twitched, then regained its seriousness, and he said in a deep voice:
"Its name is 'Bigfoot Wolf,' don't give it any random names."
"...This name isn't much better, is it?!"
Latis's face twitched in the same way. He took a deep breath and said:
"Anyway, I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else. I thought you were the lost team member of the Lantern Skeleton."
"Team members? Missing?" Wolf Spirit was silent for a moment, then raised his head and sighed, "This thick fog has lasted for far too long..."
……
After a tense standoff, the wolf spirit pulled out a small device with a wolf's head on it, saying it was called a wolf motion device. You glanced at it; the device looked a lot like a cat arching its back with its legs outstretched, except all four legs were designed like those of a drop tower.
As they spoke, the drop tower-like object on the left front leg of the wolf-like device suddenly sprang up, reaching halfway up the left front leg before slowly falling back down.
You look at this rather exquisite object with some surprise. The wolf spirit tells you that it was made by an old friend and can be used to detect the movement of Bigfoot wolves and estimate your location by the height of their limbs' bounces.
It didn't seem inclined to say much, so you didn't ask further. After a brief pause, the wolf spirit told you that it had a way to dispel the thick fog to help you find the Lantern Skeleton's lost teammates, but only if you delivered it to the demon wolf's head.
[The head of a demonic wolf? You're unsure if this is dangerous, but you're already lost in the thick fog. Even if you keep running in one direction, you might not reach the planned mountain route.]
The wolf-like movement device in the wolf spirit's hand began to bounce rhythmically. Your gaze was fixed on the device until you noticed the subtle differences in the bounce distance and estimated your approximate position under the Bigfoot Demon Wolf. Only then did you raise your head and look at the wolf spirit.
[You already knew from the spirit girl within you that a soul cannot float too high on its own. The wolf spirit's current behavior immediately gave you several guesses. You narrowed your eyes, studied its expression, and then nodded.]
Chapter 262 Two Wicked Soul Girls
[As your party races along the path guided by the wolf spirit, which follows the wolf's left foreleg, an eerie silence descends.]
The spirit maidens have already returned to your body, leaving only Bluebell outside to maintain vigilance. The Lantern Skeleton and his teammates are struggling to rest on the handles extending from your bone armor, their eyes meeting the wolf spirit clinging to your side, their gazes filled with confusion and wariness.
"What are you looking at?" Wolf Spirit frowned, asking rudely, "Never seen a Big-Cut Wolf Spirit before?"
The lantern-carrying skeleton's jaw twitched, and it exchanged a glance with its skeletal spirit. The elderly skeletal spirit stroked its beard and said, "Wolf Spirit, what is your relationship with the demonic wolf in the mist?"
"It's definitely not a sexual relationship." The wolf spirit turned and spat on the ground, then added after a moment's thought, "It's not a romantic relationship either."
"Who asked that?" The old bone spirit choked, then hurriedly said, "I'm asking if there's any contract between you and it! You seem quite familiar with the demon wolf; are you actually controlling it as it roams this plain?"
"I don't understand." The wolf spirit revealed a fanged grin, then instantly regained its composure, pointing a paw at its face and asking seriously, "Do I look like someone who could be related to it? Even driving a big truck wouldn't be enough to make me drive such a big truck, would it? I could slide down its bones."
"Uh..." The elderly bone spirit choked back his words, awkwardly scratching his face. Something about it felt off, but he couldn't quite figure out how to press the matter.
The two spirits stared at each other for a while. The wolf spirit, with its dead fish eyes, saw that the old bone spirit showed no sign of looking away. A sense of awkwardness welled up inside it. After a moment of silence, it couldn't help but speak.
"Old man," the wolf spirit rudely pointed at the lantern-carrying skeleton and asked, "Is your contractor male or female?"
The elderly skeleton spirit twitched its eyebrows, turned its head slightly bewildered to look at the lantern-carrying skeleton, and said uncertainly, "It should be a man..."
Before he could finish speaking, a middle finger appeared on top of the lantern carried by the lantern-bearing skeleton.
"A woman," the elderly bone spirit calmly changed her words.
"Oh." The wolf spirit glanced at the middle finger retracting from the lantern, scratched his furry chin, and asked, "Have you ever done that?"
The elderly bone spirit was silent for a moment, then glanced at the empty eye sockets of the lantern-carrying skeleton, and said in anger and embarrassment, "What the hell are you talking about?! Don't think I can't beat people just because I'm old. Let me tell you, the older you get, the more explosive your temper becomes..."
"What's the big deal? I'd ask the same question even if your contractor was male." The wolf spirit's words left the old bone spirit speechless again. It chuckled and said:
"However, most people probably don't know that it's possible to merge with the spirit of a contractor. This is a good way to enhance soul power, but the main purpose is to make better use of the power of the soul body."
"...What do you mean?" the elderly bone spirit asked, frowning.
The wolf spirit stroked its chin and explained, "Because of the contract, a bridge exists between you and your contractor. You can channel your soul power into her, and she can also transfer her power to you, provided that your spirits have already fully merged."
"Under these circumstances, your combined power will produce an effect greater than the sum of its parts," the wolf spirit laughed and said.
"When working together, you can unleash all your soul power in an instant to achieve a more powerful effect, such as forcibly possessing and controlling a powerful enemy when you encounter them..."
"Of course, you can try to save your contractor when they're dying, even attempting a life-for-life exchange," the wolf spirit shrugged. "Of course, in this world where life is practically immortal, there's no need to do that. Everyone will be resurrected after the next white moon, just with fewer memories."
The elderly skeleton silently stroked his beard, exchanged a glance with the lantern-bearing skeleton, coughed lightly, and said, "Let's not talk about this, let's talk about something else..."
"Hey, you're getting shy now? You look so old, are you still a virgin? No way, no way!" Wolf Spirit laughed heartily, pointing at Bluebell, who was perched on Latis's shoulder keeping watch.
"Look at that young lady, both she and these centaur brothers possess astonishingly strong soul power; they must be experts..."
Before the words were even finished, a sharp arrow flashed past their field of vision with a whoosh, silencing their conversation instantly. They froze on the spot, drenched in cold sweat.
The wolf spirit opened its mouth, only to feel a chill spread across its tongue. The arrow had pierced right between its teeth, missing its tongue by just a millimeter...
It wiped the sweat from its brow with terror, not daring to look at Bluebell again. It stared at the equally panicked old bone spirit for a long time before finally letting out an awkward laugh and saying, "Let's look at Mount Sankturui in the distance, friends..."
……
"What the hell are they talking about? It's so weird!"
Latis muttered a complaint under his breath, the howling wind around him muffled his voice in the thick fog as he ran, but the spirit girls inside him heard him clearly.
“What Wolf Spirit said should be true.” Sai Leng’s icy voice reached his ears. “I can merge with your soul through a contract, but I haven’t tried it because I don’t know what the effect would be.”
"It's always the same old functions, like soul power transfer."
Latis shook his head and said:
"Is it okay if we don't study these things?"
“That’s true…” Sai Leng said hesitantly.
Suddenly, Haiyue'er's voice came from inside Latis. She seemed to mutter a few words to herself, then leaned closer to Seren and said:
“Miss Seren, how do I find that contract? I don’t think Mr. Latis and I signed any contract…”
"Huh?" Sai Leng said, somewhat puzzled.
“But your soul entanglement with his seems to be even deeper than mine… No, it seems that you and Bluebell have already taken root in Mr. Bones’ soul, um…”
A groping sensation spread through Latis's body, causing him to instinctively shudder and mutter:
"Don't interfere with the driver while they're driving!"
"Wasn't I the driver?" Sai Leng muttered to herself, then whispered to Hai Yue'er:
"Haiyue'er, take my hand. Yes... this is the contract between him and me, this is his soul... Eh? How did you just merge into it like that?"
"...No, wait!"
Latis's consciousness suddenly wavered for a moment, and a feeling of perfect satisfaction instantly filled his heart. His entire right arm seemed to be slowly infected by an extreme pleasure, and for a moment it even trembled slightly.
The feeling had the warmth and resilience of the ocean. The moment it entered his body, it seemed as if the sound of ocean waves echoed throughout his entire being. The sensation of being swept by the waves rippled from his right hand across his whole body and then slowly rolled back.
"I'm super, ice!"
After a moment of distraction, Latis quickly shook his head vigorously, swung his arms, and shouted urgently:
"Haiyue'er, what are you doing! Pull it out quickly!"
“…Mr. Bones is calling you.” Sai Leng’s tone was a little hesitant.
"But it's so comfortable in here...wait a minute~"
Haiyue'er's voice carried a hint of coquetry; she seemed to be holding Latis's soul's arm, enjoying the gradually merging sensation, and said softly:
"Miss Seren, why don't you give it a try?"
"No, please stop!" Latis cried out in alarm, as if her chastity was about to be violated.
"Two won't do, two won't do!"
“…I’ll think about it.” Sai Leng seemed not to hear Latis’s call at all, hesitating and considering her options. After a while, seemingly drawn in by Hai Yue’er’s satisfied humming, she finally made up her mind and muttered:
"Mr. Bones, I'm sorry..."
"Wait……!"
Latis tilted his head back instantly, and a cool and soft sensation suddenly came from the fingertips of his left hand, like a lover's gentle nibble. The tingling and itchy sensation and the cool, calming feeling overlapped and alternated, taking over most of his arm before he could even come to his senses.
"Hoo! Whoosh!"
Latis let out a strange cry, his left hand flailing wildly as if hoping to regain his composure. However, the overwhelming sense of security he felt made it impossible for him to control his emotions. He could only sigh and cry out in despair:
"I already said, two people can't do it!"
……
"What is he doing?"
The old bone spirit looked at Latis, who was frantically swinging his arms, and felt that all the confusion he had felt in his life had been used up today.
The wolf spirit observed Latis for a while, then, under Bluebell's murderous and strangely depressed gaze, it awkwardly turned back, stared at the old bone spirit for a long time, and finally stammered:
"My hand is numb! That's normal! Your hand will go numb if you run!"