Because she was too nervous and anxious, Shen Yue didn't hear any strange sounds. After taking two steps, the sound came again from behind her, a little louder than before.
"Ying."
This time Shen Yue was sure she hadn't misheard. Her back was already drenched in cold sweat, her fingertips weakly gripping the corner of the table.
The unclosed window let in the wind, carrying a chill. Coupled with the eerie sound, it inexplicably sent shivers down her spine.
Shen Yue swallowed a small gulp.
[This place isn't haunted, is it?]
Upon hearing this, the system was so scared it couldn't even watch TV anymore. Its electronic voice cracked in fright: [Ghosts?!! Where are the ghosts! Ahhh, I'm so scared!]
Shen Yue: [......]
Meeting you is my bad luck.
If she had known the system was unreliable, Shen Yue would have faced this situation alone.
It was bad enough that this system was useless, but it also had to build up the atmosphere.
[I, I just now! I think I saw a figure float past there!]
The wind blowing in from outside the window seemed to turn sinister. Shen Yue shivered involuntarily.
The next second, the window slammed shut with a bang.
[Ahhh! The window closed by itself!]
The half-burnt candle suddenly relit.
[Ahhh, the candle lit up by itself!]
Her ears were filled with the system's cracking electronic voice. This made the already weak Shen Yue even more uneasy. She vaguely felt that the atmosphere in the wooden house was strange, and then one bizarre event after another occurred.
The window closing by itself, the candle suddenly igniting, and then... a fleeting figure.
Shen Yue unconsciously adjusted her stance, her fingers clenched tightly, her palms already clammy with cold sweat.
At this moment, she was even thankful that she couldn't see; otherwise, she would have been scared to death.
But even though she couldn't see, Shen Yue couldn't stop her mind from imagining things. The more she forced herself not to think about those scenes, the more they emerged.
Eyes filled with bloody water, a decaying face, chilling white teeth, long and messy hair—
Shen Yue's face turned slightly pale. Her thoughts grew increasingly outlandish. She even felt she could no longer maintain her stance. Her body swayed subtly, her lips pressed together silently, the corners of her eyes reddened, looking on the verge of tears.
"Ying ying ying."
This time the sound was clearer than before, as childish as a child's. To Shen Yue, it sounded like it was crawling out of hell to claim her life.
Shen Yue's hands and feet felt soft from being scared by her own imagination. She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Her ink-black hair, spread out behind her, was slightly disheveled. With the flickering candlelight, one could clearly see a shallow watery sheen appearing in her beautiful, gem-like pale red eyes. Her nose tip was even reddening, and she unconsciously curled herself into a ball, looking wronged and pitiful.
"Ying ying ying."
The sound was getting closer, as if it were right beside her.
Shen Yue's face was as pale as paper. She even had the presence of mind to make a dark joke, wondering if fainting by closing her eyes would break her character.
"Ying ying ying."
This time it was truly by her ear. Shen Yue closed her eyes, about to faint from fright, when she suddenly felt something soft touch her face.
It was gentle and careful, touching the exact spot of the red mark she had accidentally scratched earlier.
Shen Yue's heart, which had almost stopped beating from fear, slowly returned to its normal rhythm. She squeezed her damp fingertips and then opened her eyes.
"Ying."
That red mark was rubbed by something soft, leaving a wet trace.
Shen Yue didn't feel any danger, or perhaps there was no danger from the start. It was just that she had been imagining things, trapping herself in danger.
Her tensed body slowly relaxed. Shen Yue bravely pulled away the soft thing stuck to her face.
Feeling the shape of the small thing, Shen Yue finally realized that this little thing was just a simple, ordinary tree spirit.
Fengyan Valley had very dense spiritual energy, and there were also various rare and strange species in the valley, so it wasn't strange to have tree spirits.
This little tree spirit was soft all over. It was only as big as her palm, completely vibrant green, with large eyes that always seemed to be filled with tears.
In the short time it was stuck to Shen Yue's face, that part of her face was already almost completely wet.
"Ying ying ying."
It seemed to be crying, its tears flowing uncontrollably like a faucet, wetting Shen Yue's hands and sleeves.
This little tree spirit seemed to be leaking water from somewhere, as its entire body was damp but still emitting water.
Shen Yue's expression instantly became very subtle. The soft sensation remained on her palm, water droplets falling one by one from her fingertips.
Shen Yue wrung out the water from her sleeve and gently nudged the soft, damp little tree spirit with her finger.
"Why are you leaking water? Is something broken?"
Besides this, Shen Yue couldn't think of any other reason for it to leak water, as only broken places would leak.
This little tree spirit seemed to understand what she was saying, "Ying ying ying—"
It leaked water even more severely.
Shen Yue: "...I don't understand."
The little tree spirit struggled to pull at the clothes on her chest, trying to climb up, but then it fell back into her palm with a plop.
Shen Yue touched the damp fabric on her chest and said helplessly, "Why are you leaking so much water?"
The system couldn't bear to watch: [Leaking what? It's crying! Have you ever seen any living creature leak water from a specific spot?]
Shen Yue, being blind, was quite shocked when she heard the system say this, not expecting the little tree spirit to be such a crybaby.
"Don't cry..." Shen Yue coaxed stiffly.
Ying ying ying—
Shen Yue really didn't have the ability to discern anything from this "ying" sound, but she could feel that the little tree spirit seemed very anxious, so she could only use her soft fingertips to rub its soft body.
"Okay, I understand. Are you very scared too?"
Upon hearing this, the little tree spirit's tears flowed even more happily. Shen Yue's fingers couldn't hold back the tears, and they dripped down from between her fingers one by one.
Shen Yue thought it was genuinely scared.
"Don't be scared, don't be scared, I'll take you away."
Ying ying ying.
Whether it was Shen Yue's illusion or not, she felt that the little tree spirit's "ying" just now carried a hint of grievance and joy.
It finally stopped its tears and clung to Shen Yue's finger affectionately, soft and yielding, somewhat like a cool jelly.
Shen Yue hadn't forgotten her main objective; she still had to rush back to Qingyun Sect. However, for someone who had gone blind, leaving Fengyan Valley was incredibly difficult. She might even wander for a month and still not find her way out.
As Shen Yue walked, she kept replaying the route Changsheng had used to lead her out in her mind. She could only vaguely recall a general outline.