pertwk Chapter 366 We can fight side by side again
Chapter 366 We can fight side by side again
The gravel mountain path winds its way up, with wild grass and fir trees intertwined on both sides, their branches and leaves motionless, as if frozen in time.
Scattered along the roadside are human-shaped stone statues, all sitting cross-legged with their hands in mudras, their postures seemingly meditating.
However, their features have long been blurred, with only shallow depressions remaining where their facial features used to be, as if gently erased by an invisible hand from the passage of time.
As Lin Feng passed one of the statues, he inexplicably paused.
He could clearly feel that the eyeless stone statue was "looking" at him.
A chilling feeling of being stared at and remembered crept up the back of my neck.
He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and quickened his pace to walk uphill.
The higher you go, the lower the temperature gets, and a thin layer of snow gradually covers the cracks in the stone steps, making a soft crunching sound when you step on it.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the stone steps finally came to an end.
A giant gate in the Newari style of Nepal stands quietly at the top of the mountain path.
The entire gate is built with dark gray-blue stone and dark red old bricks. The top of the gate has multiple corbelled eaves with slightly upturned corners, and the lines are simple and majestic.
The lintel is shaped like an arched shrine, with a huge stone plaque horizontally embedded above it. Deeply carved on the plaque are four ancient and powerful characters—
【The Temple of Silent Realm】
The main gate consists of two massive, single-piece stone doors that open outwards. They are dark gray to almost black, without door knockers, decorations, or gaps, forming a seamless whole. They do not appear to be for people to enter or exit, but rather for permanent sealing.
On either side of the stone gate stands a stone lamppost, its body carved with spiral and lotus petal patterns, and a cluster of blue and white eerie flames burning at its top.
The walls on both sides of the stone gate are densely covered with strange runes.
Lin Feng stared at them for a while and felt that the runes seemed to be slowly wriggling.
He looked away and took a deep breath.
Just then, footsteps sounded behind them.
Lin Feng turned around.
Below the stone steps, a lithe figure was walking briskly.
Her short, golden hair was tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, with a few stray strands falling across her forehead.
She was wearing a close-fitting gray T-shirt and dark brown cargo pants with the cuffs tucked into her ankle boots. The pant legs were covered in grass clippings and dirt, as if she had just been dragged in from the training field.
Both arms were bare, with smooth and firm muscle lines.
There was a fresh abrasion on my left arm—sloping from my shoulder to my elbow. The wound wasn't deep, but the edges were red, so it must have been from the previous dungeon.
Azure eyes, the color of ice.
Evelyn!
The moment she saw Lin Feng, she paused slightly.
In those azure eyes, the wariness and guardedness melted away like ice, replaced by a restrained surprise.
"Lin Feng!"
She rushed up the last few stone steps in two strides and punched him on the shoulder—the force was not light, but carried the intimacy unique to acquaintances.
"I knew you could definitely get through the Zoo dungeon!" Lin Feng's shoulder swayed from her punch, and he rubbed it with a smile, looking her up and down.
"That look—are they training?"
"Yes, morning training, obstacle course."
"I heard—" she drawled, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes, "that you married twin sisters in the zoo scenario again?"
Lin Feng scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Hey, it's all fate. When fate comes, you can't stop it."
After exchanging pleasantries, their gazes simultaneously fell upon the silent stone gate.
Evelyn took a few steps closer, looked up at the four ancient characters on the lintel, and then looked at the dense runes on the stone walls on both sides.
She frowned slightly, reached out and touched the surface of the stone door, then took a deep breath, pressed her right shoulder against the stone door, and pushed hard.
The stone gate remained completely still.
"No." Evelyn sighed and took a few steps back. "It won't budge. It must be waiting for everyone to arrive before the NPCs come out to open the door."
As she spoke, she crossed her arms and rubbed them together, raising goosebumps on her arms.
"It's quite cold here," Lin Feng said, taking out a military green jacket from his spatial storage and handing it over.
"Put them on."
Evelyn paused for a moment, then took the jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and zipped it up. The jacket looked a little loose on her.
" Thanks."
Lin Feng waved his hand lightly: "Why are you being so polite with me? We're comrades who've fought side by side through three dungeons."
I heard hurried footsteps behind me.
Lin Feng looked back and saw a group of people walking briskly up the stone steps on the rocky mountain path.
There were about a dozen of them, with different skin colors and different clothes.
At the very front of the crowd, a burly figure stood out.
Dark brown skin, a neat buzz cut, and a pair of bright, piercing eyes beneath thick eyebrows.
Wasim.
Lin Feng's eyes lit up, and he immediately raised his arm: "Wasim!"
The burly figure paused for a moment, then quickened his pace, almost jogging up the last few stone steps.
"Brother Lin Feng!" Vassim strode forward, raised his hand and patted him hard on the shoulder, laughing heartily, "I knew you'd be here. I'm counting on you to carry me again this time."
Lin Feng smiled and shook his head: "With your current strength, you're already capable of handling things on your own."
Wasim grinned and patted his chest: "That's perfect, a powerful alliance between us!"
As soon as Wasim finished speaking, his gaze passed over Lin Feng's shoulder and landed on the figure next to him wearing a large military green jacket.
He was taken aback at first, then his eyes widened suddenly.
"Good heavens!" Vassim blurted out, "Evelyn?!"
He instinctively raised his hand and patted Evelyn's shoulder.
He only realized halfway through his movement that the other person was a girl, paused, and awkwardly withdrew his hand.
He scratched the back of his head and coughed lightly:
"Um... I'm used to it, I forgot you're not one of those rough old men."
Evelyn smiled, took a step forward, and patted Wasim's forearm.
"We can fight side by side again."
Wasim paused for a moment, then grinned and nodded vigorously: "Yes, we can fight side by side again!"
He looked around, his brow furrowing slightly. "Where's Anna?"
Evelyn's eyes darkened: "In the zoo instance, she couldn't stop the visitors from feeding that monkey with the middle-part hairstyle..."
She didn't say anything more, but Lin Feng and Wasim both understood the meaning behind her words.
The inability to stop feeding means the rule was triggered, which means—
Wasim opened his mouth, and after a long while, he whispered, "Anna... she's a good girl."
Just then, the heavy stone door suddenly emitted a deep, muffled sound, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
The seemingly seamless and impenetrable giant door slowly cracked open from the very center.
All the chosen ones present held their breath instantly, not daring to utter a sound.
The gap widened, and the stone door opened completely. Three figures slowly walked out from behind the door.
The leader was a young woman dressed in a white, knee-length robe, with a narrow, dark gray cloth belt tied around her waist, adorned with several small silver diamond-shaped pendants that swayed gently with her steps, reflecting a faint, cold light.
She possesses a refined and ethereal beauty, yet carries an inherent aloofness that makes her difficult to approach.
She smiled slightly, her expression gentle, and her gaze calmly swept over everyone's faces.
Lin Feng's heart sank—wasn't this Xia Ning?
Two women followed behind her, their robes similar in style but dark in color, with no belts around their waists, and their faces cold and expressionless.
The three stood still, and Xia Ning, who was in the lead, nodded slightly, her voice clear and cold:
"Welcome to the Temple of Silence."
"I am your guide—Xia Ning."