Ch. 29 - Anger

“You're really shameless, like a horse unaware of the length of its face or a cow oblivious to the curve of its horns. I've never seen anyone with such a thick skin,” Pang Bo brushed off his hand, shot him a sideways glance, and took the three fragrant fruits.

“How can you say that?” Li Changqing’s face darkened, feeling embarrassed. “We’re classmates who came to this strange world together. We should help each other. Everyone’s hungry, and when food is found, it should be shared. Are you planning to eat it all yourself?”

“Pfft, you’ve got some nerve saying that,” Pang Bo sneered. “Who was secretly eating chocolate inside the bronze coffin? Did you think of ‘everyone’ then? Now you put on this righteous act? Disgusting. You’re even more repulsive than the divine crocodile. Get lost, I don’t have time for you!”

Li Changqing turned pale with anger. He couldn’t admit to it and argued a bit, but his defense was weak and unconvincing.

Though Pang Bo spoke harshly and bluntly, it didn’t mean he lacked insight. He clearly understood Li Changqing’s intent: if he could get a share of the food, great. If not, he’d try to isolate Pang Bo and Ye Fan. After all, there were many people present, and not sharing would certainly affect how others viewed them.

“Sorry everyone, too many people and not enough meat. We only picked five fruits, not enough to go around. Yi Yi’s health is fragile, I think no one will object if she gets two, right?” Pang Bo didn’t even look at the crowd and began distributing the fruit on his own. “Zhang Ziling, here’s one for you,” he said as he tossed it over. Then added, “These five fruits were picked by Ye Fan and me. Naturally, we deserve a reward.”

Pang Bo stuffed the fourth fruit directly into Ye Fan’s mouth. As for the fifth shiny fruit, he took a big bite of it himself.

Just like that, the five fruits were distributed. Liu Yiyi looked uneasy and said, “I... I can just eat half, let’s share the rest with everyone.” She tried to hand the red fruit back, but Ye Fan pushed it back to her, saying, “Don’t worry, this place is full of vegetation, we’ll definitely find more wild fruits.”

Pang Bo also glared and told her to eat it quickly, not letting her decline. He knew this fruit was extraordinary, eating it restored immense energy and eliminated fatigue. It likely had other unknown benefits too.

“But…” Liu Yiyi was still hesitant, glancing at the others around them.

“Yiyi, you’re too kind for your own good,” Pang Bo whispered. “Several of them had chocolate in their pockets but never offered to share it.”

Seeing Ye Fan nod at her as well, Liu Yiyi finally stopped resisting.

“I still have some chocolate. Let’s share it,” Liu Yunzhi suddenly stepped forward at that moment, handing out a few packs of chocolate for everyone.

“Son of a, !” Pang Bo was instantly furious. This was a blatant slap in the face. He was so angry his teeth itched, but he could only endure it. He had no way to retaliate.

“Yunzhi, you're the real one with integrity!” Li Changqing peeled a piece of chocolate, popped it into his mouth, and said that while shooting a glance at Pang Bo and Ye Fan.

“Only in hardship do you see someone’s true heart…” The female classmate who always followed Liu Yunzhi also added with implied meaning.

This made Pang Bo’s expression even uglier. He cursed quietly, “Hypocrite. Why didn’t he take it out earlier? Now with so many wild plants around, chocolate’s almost useless. He’s just trying to look good now. Damn him!”

“Time will tell a horse’s strength, and hardships reveal a person’s heart. Once we’re out in the real world, Yunzhi, I’ll follow your lead,” Li Changqing declared dramatically, then sighed, glancing again at Pang Bo and Ye Fan.

Pang Bo had just been given a silent slap by Liu Yunzhi, and then mocked by the pair beside him. He was so angry he wanted to beat them up, but with everyone watching, he could only hold it in.

The group looked out at the terrain ahead and identified a direction they believed would lead them out of the mountains quickly and into inhabited areas.

Not wasting much time, they headed downhill and cautiously moved through the forest. Each person carried a wooden stick for defense, just in case of a wild animal attack. Their divine relics were nearly useless now.

But even after walking for half the day, they hadn’t seen any large predators, not even a field mouse or a bird.

“This place really is a forbidden zone. Even birds don’t poop here…” Li Changqing muttered.

Pang Bo mocked, “You should be glad. If a giant beast showed up, you’d be praying to end up in a place where even feathers are rare.”

The forest was lush and green. The group found many wild fruits, easing their food worries for the moment. But as night fell, they still hadn’t left the mountains. Every time they crossed one peak, another appeared.

“Did we go the wrong way? Could we be heading deeper into the forest?” someone questioned, but they ultimately decided to press on.

Darkness came. They had to stop in the forest and plan to continue the next day.

That night was unsettling. Around midnight, everyone heard a terrifying, piercing roar, chilling and loud, accompanied by the sound of rattling chains. It froze everyone to the bone.

In this eerie forest, it was truly terrifying. It sounded like a ghost in chains struggling to escape. The sound was enough to make anyone’s heart race.

“It sounds like… it came from the depths of the Forbidden Ancient Realm.” Many people trembled as they looked toward the giant abyss surrounded by nine mountain peaks.

Late at night, the trees swayed eerily in the wind, casting ghostly shadows.

The roars grew louder, shaking the entire mountain range. The trees nearby shook, and many leaves fell.

A chilling aura swept from the ancient abyss. Even from this far, they could feel its terrifying presence. It was horrifying.

Clang, clang...

Huge clanging sounds echoed in the dark, as if some giant creature was hammering metal, making the forest tremble.

Everyone’s face changed. They instinctively thought of one thing.

“The nine giant dragon corpses and the bronze coffin fell into that abyss…”

“Could it be…”

The deep, forceful banging sounded like something was smashing the bronze coffin, making people feel a bone-deep chill. Their hair stood on end.

“What… is that thing?!”

Everyone was shocked and terrified. The bronze coffin was still a mystery. It had drained the divine power from their relics, what was smashing it now?

“Forbidden Ancient... does that mean it’s been off-limits since ancient times?”

“Since ancient times, no one has dared enter this place…”

Clang, clang...

The deafening sounds continued. The metallic echoes of the coffin resounded through the world. The earth shook. The surrounding forest quivered. Leaves fell like rain.

The roars were full of rage, growing more intense and terrifying. It was impossible to imagine what was in the abyss.

“We should be grateful. If those nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin hadn’t fallen into the abyss and distracted that thing, it might have come out last night. If that had happened, we’d all be dead…”

This could very well be true. This was called the Forbidden Ancient Realm. Even birds and beasts avoided it. It was definitely a deadly place, hiding something terrible.

“Something from before ancient times… it’s terrifying to even think about!”

“Luckily, it seems it still can’t do anything to that mysterious bronze coffin.”

It was a sleepless night. Most couldn’t fall back asleep.

Boom!

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the distant mountains. The abyss spewed out endless black mist, completely blocking the sky. The stars and moon vanished, and a sense of oppression filled the air.

Rumble rumble rumble

Suddenly, all the black mist was sucked back into the abyss. The stars reappeared instantly. But everyone saw a shocking sight.

A vague, shadowy figure, impossible to tell if it was man or beast, roared at the sky while wielding iron chains hundreds of meters long. Its terrifying aura could be felt even from afar. The chains were massive. The roar was deafening. Many in the forest nearly passed out. The shockwaves hurt their ears.

That thing was shackled by massive iron chains. Even so, it stirred the heavens, shaking its bindings! It seemed to be gathering strength. With a fierce roar, it dove back into the abyss.

Clang, clang...

The sound of it smashing the bronze coffin returned.

“Do you think it’s trying to open the coffin within the coffin?”

“Probably. The outer coffin’s already open. There’s no reason to smash it unless it wants the one inside.”

Everyone was terrified and amazed. The noise didn’t stop until late at night. Eventually, it grew quiet. People finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.

By morning, the sun was already high. One by one, the group woke up. They washed by a stream, picked some fruits, and got moving again.

They walked nonstop for two to three hours. No one rested. Everyone was desperate to leave this cursed place before nightfall.

At noon, the sun blazed overhead, but the trees offered shade. Climbing a high mountain, someone heard a distant beast’s roar.

“We’re close. We should be out of Forbidden Ancient before dark.”

“Hey, do you see buildings on that far mountain?” Wang Ziwen pointed ahead. It was a tall mountain, far away, beyond several other peaks, but visible even through the gaps.

“There really are buildings, and it looks like a whole complex!”

Everyone looked thrilled. They’d surely reach it before nightfall.

“Whoa, I see cranes flying around there. Could it be a fairyland? Maybe immortals live there…” Some let their imaginations run wild.

The group quickened their pace. Along the way, small groups began quietly discussing how they’d split up once they reached civilization.

Just then, Ye Fan noticed Liu Yiyi looking upset. He asked, “Yiyi, what’s wrong?”

“Wang Yan took my prayer beads to look at and won’t give them back…” Liu Yiyi sounded both hurt and angry.

“Her? Must be Liu Yunzhi behind it again!” Pang Bo flared up immediately. Wang Yan was the girl always beside Liu Yunzhi, constantly picking on Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

Ye Fan didn’t say much. He strode up and blocked Liu Yunzhi, Wang Yan, and Li Changqing, holding out his hand. “Give it.”

“What are you talking about?” Li Changqing asked defiantly.

“Cut the crap. Give me the beads!” Ye Fan wasn’t usually quick to anger, but once enraged, he was terrifying.

“Oh, you mean that?” Wang Yan said. “I was just playing with them. I liked them, so I traded my copper bell with Yi Yi for them.”

Ye Fan turned to Liu Yiyi. By now, others had also stopped and were watching.

“I… I didn’t agree to trade. She took the beads and forced the bell into my hand…” Liu Yiyi was very upset, looking uneasy under everyone’s gaze.

“Yiyi, you can’t say that. You clearly agreed to the trade,” Wang Yan replied.

“Give it back. I’m done talking,” Ye Fan said coldly, scanning Liu Yunzhi, Wang Yan, and Li Changqing. “We’re about to escape this place, don’t ruin yourselves now.”

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