"Lady Hong, given the situation, I’m afraid there’s no way to resolve it. Moreover, the Water Ghost is about to emerge. Why don’t we just do nothing and let the Water Ghost drag all these guys away? How about that?"
"Can the Water Ghost drag away these guys?" Red Fox asked. Her reaction was swift, and she immediately added another question, "This isn’t the first time this has happened, right?"
"Yes," Lady Lie said, her voice sincere yet tinged with helplessness. "These creatures can never be truly killed. They keep coming, endless and fearless. In their eyes, you and I are no different from the living. They’ll wear us down until we die. Only by letting the Water Ghost take them all can we hope to survive."
Red Fox remained silent, having clearly grasped the meaning behind Lady Lie’s words.
Either she dealt with all those creatures herself, or she waited for the Water Ghost to appear and pull everyone here into the water. It was one or the other.
Red Fox merely glanced over the area within her view and gave up on the former option.
Meanwhile, Wen Yan was still making his way toward the pond, having deliberately calculated his entry time today.
According to his calculations, by the time he reached the grassland next to the pond, the Water Ghost should have already appeared and departed.
Lady Lie was certain to be here every night. If no one else arrived, she would take the initiative to enter the pond and complete the Domain’s required procedure.
Wen Yan would arrive just as Lady Lie emerged from the pond, his timing perfect.
He just hadn’t expected today’s Domain to be different from what he anticipated.
He had a very bad feeling.
He checked the time. It was almost when the Water Ghost had appeared previously.
Looking up, he first heard the sound of surging water. Then, as if a flood had erupted, water gushed out from the river, spreading indiscriminately.
"Sparrow Cat, fly higher," Wen Yan quickly instructed, taking a light breath.
"What are you standing there dazed for? Run!" Sparrow Cat flapped its wings in panic and screeched.
"Unless you can fly, there’s no escape. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine," Wen Yan said.
Watching the water surge, waves two to three meters high picking up speed, Wen Yan grabbed Sparrow Cat. He stamped his foot, twisted his waist, drawing Power from the earth, and with all his might, flung Sparrow Cat high into the air.
Sparrow Cat flapped its wings frantically, soaring upwards as the waves leaped a dozen meters high, almost catching it.
It watched the wave crest pass, and Uncle, Little Zombie, and Wen Yan all vanished from sight.
Sparrow Cat was so anxious tears welled in its eyes. It chaotically followed the waves, circling nearby in search.
"Hey... hey, don’t scare me! Show your head! This joke isn’t funny at all! You... come out! Please come out..." Sparrow Cat cried out in the air, its voice choked with sobs. But even after the waves had washed over, sweeping across the entire Domain and then receding, there was still no sign of Wen Yan.
It dared not lower its altitude, forced to circle dozens of meters up, following the receding waves towards the pond.
However, it saw nothing. After the water, which had been enough to cover the entire Domain, receded, the small pond remained its original size.
The entire Domain fell deathly still. Aside from Sparrow Cat, not a single thing moved.
Whether Walking Dead or specters, or even Lady Lie, Red Fox, Wen Yan, Little Zombie, and Uncle—all had been indiscriminately swallowed up.
Wen Yan felt himself falling into a lightless expanse within Dark Waters City, as if something gripped his foot, pulling him through the water.
A sensation of weightlessness emerged. When he looked down, he saw Wang Xueqi, transformed into a Water Ghost, dragging his foot through the water.
He held his breath, twisted his body, and reached out to grab Wang Xueqi’s hand. With his other hand, he extended a finger and touched it to her forehead, imparting a Blessing of Yang Energy.
A spark of life returned to Wang Xueqi’s previously vacant and somewhat chilling gaze; her consciousness began to awaken.
The next moment, Wen Yan felt light emerge from the surrounding darkness.
Everything before his eyes began to change.
He felt as if he were floating in mid-air. He saw the stretch of cliff.
He saw Wang Xueqi and three others arriving here together.
They climbed the mountain and, having finally found a somewhat flat area, planned to rest for a while.
Then, unexpectedly, their surroundings began to flicker and change—a Domain was emerging.
Frightened by this transformation, they immediately tried to move away from the cliff. But after a flicker, Wang Xueqi found herself at the cliff’s edge. The moment she took a step, she fell.
As she fell, her surroundings continued to shift and flicker.
After one such flicker, she vanished.
When she reappeared, she was falling from that cliff face towards the surface of a pond below.
She plunged into the pond. A bloated Water Ghost lurked within, long bereft of consciousness, operating on pure instinct. The moment it sensed someone fall into the water, it grabbed Wang Xueqi’s foot, dragging her to the bottom and drowning her.
With Wang Xueqi taking its place, the bloated Water Ghost vanished into the water.