Chapter 190: Living Space

To cook the shepherd’s purse, they needed fire. Many students had lighters, so that was not a problem. Also, the students’ bags contained various things that could be used to start a fire. Once a fire was lit, the wet shrubs could be dried and used as firewood.

After getting firewood and fire, they still needed a pot to cook the wild vegetables. There definitely were no pots in this wild mountain area. However, some students soon suggested that they had found many broken earthen pots and even water vats in the Mountain Peak Village. Although they were damaged, many only had broken rims. The remaining parts could definitely be used to cook vegetable soup.

Some brave students, who did not take Lin Yin’s warning too seriously, volunteered to go into the village to find suitable earthen pots and water vats. Other students went to gather firewood, dig for wild vegetables, or pick mushrooms.

For the students, this kind of picnic did not feel hard. Instead, it felt fresh and exciting.

The situation gradually got out of control. Maybe because there were many people encouraging each other, many students unconsciously entered the village. After entering the village, they found nothing unusual, so everyone became braver and completely forgot Lin Yin’s previous warning.

Half an hour later, the students who went to find earthen pots brought back more than ten large earthen pots and large water vats that were not too badly broken. They even found dozens of bowls, spoons, and some small earthen pots. This not only solved the pot problem but also solved the bowl problem.

Chopsticks were even simpler. The students used the fruit knives they carried to peel the bark off some cut branches. After washing them, they became chopsticks.

The students who went to dig for wild vegetables also had a big harvest. Indeed, the water and soil near the Mountain Peak Village were good. Even without planting anything on purpose, just digging for wild vegetables was enough to feed many people. They easily dug up a large pile of shepherd’s purse. Besides that, a few boys picked many soft and plump wood ears from the rotten wood in the forest. The girls also dug up many mushrooms of different thicknesses and varieties from the damp ground.

Many hands make light work. Many problems that seemed hard to solve earlier were all resolved easily.

When the wild vegetables were washed and ready to be cooked, looking at the sky getting darker and more overcast, the group disagreed again. They were mainly worried that if it rained again, it would put out the fire they had started. Staying inside the village houses would allow them to keep warm by the fire and avoid the rain, which was definitely much better than being outside in the wind and rain.

The hunting team happened to return at this time. They had found nothing. The three boys and two girls had become two boys and two girls. These four people had looks of fear and confusion on their faces. According to them, a very thick fog, a black mist, had suddenly appeared on the way. It was fierce and threatening, covering everything in front of them. They could not see anything.

One brave boy from the five of them went into the black mist to explore and never came back. It seemed like he even screamed, but it was not very clear. They shouted for him but got no response. After waiting for a while and he still did not return, they had no choice but to come back first. They wanted to ask the two Counselors for instructions before deciding whether to go into the black mist to search for him.

“That black mist is a ghost mist! If you go in, you will definitely die! Everyone, once you see that black mist, you must stay far away from it! You must not go in!” When Lü Yang heard the words ‘black mist’, he was greatly shocked. He quickly told this to the few students and the two Counselors.

That black mist was of course not a ghost mist. But Lü Yang wanted to scare the students in a way they could easily understand, so he could only use the term ghost mist.

“Ghost mist? You are all university students in a modern society, yet you promote feudal superstitions. How ridiculous!” The male Counselor Chen Jinhu did not take Lin Yin’s words seriously at all.

“I only said that the black mist is very dangerous. Believe me, do not go near the black mist! If you do not believe me, once you enter the black mist, do not expect to come out alive!” Lü Yang ignored Chen Jinhu and continued to emphasize this loudly to the surrounding students.

Whether the Mysterious Domain opened followed a rule that had been effective at least until now: the black mist. Once the mysterious black mist that killed people appeared, it was almost certain proof that the Mysterious Domain had opened.

“Xu Yan and I will go wait for him again. We just won’t enter that black mist.” A girl named Ye Zijng from the hunting team suggested this to the two Counselors.

Ye Zijng wore glasses. She was a bit thin and quite tall. She looked like the clean and pretty type. But her personality was relatively more like a boy’s. She also held a position in the student council. Usually, among the students, she had a bit of a big sister vibe.

The idea for the hunting team earlier was hers. Xu Yan was her boyfriend. The two of them were quite familiar with the missing boy. She was the one who brought the people out. Now that someone was missing, it did not feel right emotionally not to go look for him.

“Be careful.” Chen Jinhu nodded to the two of them. Then he called for the students to follow him into the village.

Although Lü Yang repeatedly tried to stop them, about half of the people still followed the male Counselor Chen Jinhu into the Mountain Peak Village. Most of the students who entered were from Chen Jinhu’s class. They were the relatively braver students or the ones who listened to Chen Jinhu more.

The remaining half were mostly from Gong Xue’s class. There were also some from Chen Jinhu’s class who were more timid and stayed outside the village. Of course, there were also people like Gong Jian who stayed outside because the person they liked or were in love with stayed outside.

“Staying in the village will definitely cause problems. Although the mudslide did not happen last night, it did happen today. Believe me, I have no reason to lie to you. Do not gamble with your lives.” Lü Yang repeated his statement to those who stayed. In weather that could have torrential rain at any time, he certainly did not want to be cold and wet either. But he had to guard against what happened in the nightmare last night.

Thirty-one people. Besides the missing boy and the boy and girl who went to wait for him, the remaining twenty-eight people split into two teams. The team inside was led by the male Counselor Chen Jinhu. There were sixteen people in total.

The team outside had twelve people, led by the female Counselor Gong Xue. The guide uncle and the two young female guides also stayed outside. Although Gong Xue now also leaned towards going into the village, her brother Gong Jian stayed outside. Plus, the students outside needed someone to look after them. In the end, she had to stay.

The students who entered the village did not go too deep. They set up camp in the tiled house not far from the village entrance. The two teams were separated by the collapsed main gate of the village. They were within each other’s sight, and they could hear each other when shouting.

Several campfires were lit outside and inside the village one after another. The large and small broken earthen pots and water vats were washed and then placed on frames made from thick branches they had cut. They were placed over the fires and began to cook the wild vegetable, mushroom, and wood ear soup.

With the firelight and the noise from the students, the quiet and dark Mountain Peak Village no longer seemed so scary at this moment…

However, the ominous feeling lingering in Lü Yang’s heart grew stronger and stronger as the sky darkened.

He knew very clearly that once the Mysterious Domain opened, if he could not find a way to end the Mysterious Domain or find the Path of Survival that could lead everyone away, so many students might all be brutally killed in this Mysterious Domain, including Lin Yin and Yi Ya.

…

A sudden, shrill scream shattered the temporary peaceful atmosphere both inside and outside the village. It also shattered the sense of safety that had just emerged in everyone’s hearts.

The noise in and around the Mountain Peak Village instantly quieted down. Everyone looked at each other fearfully and uneasily. Although the male Counselor’s materialist views could temporarily help people feel brave, the students, trapped in isolation and despair, could easily fall into panic again because of some sudden events.

“It’s Ye Zijng! Ye Zijng who went out with Xu Yan to wait for him!” The students immediately recognized whose shrill scream it was.

“Are there wild animals here?”

“I haven’t heard of any wild animals around here.”

“Which direction did Xu Yan and Ye Zijng go earlier?” Gong Xue’s voice.

“That way…” A student pointed out the direction to everyone.

“Who will go take a look?”

“…”

Lü Yang had already stood up. He took a fire poker from the fire as a torch and walked toward the direction the scream came from. He had clearly heard which direction the scream came from. It was not far behind him, toward the direction of the scenic area’s Mountain Peak Hotel.

After Lü Yang got up, Gong Jian immediately followed him, calling Lin Yin’s name anxiously.

Lü Yang waved his hand at Gong Jian. Then he held the torch in front of him to light the way and walked forward step by step carefully. After walking forward several dozen meters, when Lü Yang saw clearly what was happening, his face changed dramatically. He immediately turned back and shouted to the students still outside the village: “Go into the village! Quickly, go into the village!”

The one who told them not to enter the village was Lin Yin. Now the one telling them to enter the village was still Lin Yin. The dozen or so students staying outside were completely confused now, or rather, scared out of their wits. They all looked at Gong Xue, apparently waiting for her to make a decision.

“Quickly, go into the village! Everyone work together! Carry the earthen pots and water vats in too!” Gong Xue glared at Lin Yin and Gong Jian who came running back, and shouted to the group of students.

Fortunately, the vegetable soup earthen pots and water vats were not hot yet. With everyone working together, they quickly moved them all into the village.

“What exactly did you see?” After entering the village, Gong Xue looked in the direction outside the village and asked Gong Jian.

Gong Jian shook his head. He had not seen anything clearly when Lin Yin started shouting and turned to run back. He had no choice but to run back with her.

Lü Yang did not say a word. He just kept staring intently in the direction outside the village. Earlier, in the direction the scream came from, he not only saw the black mist he was very familiar with, but he also saw that the black mist suddenly advanced several meters forward in an instant, almost swallowing him.

The menacing black mist was step by step approaching this way, compressing everyone’s living space. It seemed to want to force all people into the range of this Mysterious Domain in the Mountain Peak Village!