Chapter 50.2 – Kala Snow Mountain (3)
Ascending from the foot to the middle of the mountain actually didn’t take much time. It was a gentle slope without protruding rocks, simply a continuous upward climb.
Continuing their ascent, they finally reached a place with thick snow. On the mountain’s backside, a familiar jingling sound resurfaced.
Chen Jing immediately instructed the person beside him to put on the earphones again. Jiang Yujin complied without mentioning that his own earphones had run out of battery. Hands in his pockets, he appeared completely normal.
Struggling not to focus on the jingling sound, Chen Jing covered one ear and motioned for Jiang Yujin to stay put as he circled around to the mountain’s backside.
The white sheep stood calmly on the mountain’s backside, observing him without flinching.
Surprisingly, it was quite easy to pluck the leaves from the sheep’s head. However, halfway through, the sheep showed no interest in staying longer, turning and departing.
It walked, and Chen Jing followed until he finished plucking all the leaf fragments, finally stopping in his tracks.
After walking a distance, the sheep turned back, realizing the person hadn’t followed further. It waited for a while but then saw the person turning back.
The sheep’s pure black eyes bore faint traces of dark red as it stared at the spot where the person vanished for a long time before continuing ahead, disappearing into the vast white snow.
On their way back, Chen Jing tucked the leaf fragments into the large inner pocket of his clothes, a place less likely to be compressed, a good spot to stash things.
They continued forward, and the scenery ahead gradually became smoother.
Yuxi—
On the colossal snow mountain, there lay a vast expanse of snow, extending endlessly into the distance.
Right in the center of this snow expanse was a black dot, starkly out of place. Exchanging glances, the two approached it.
Only upon getting closer did they realize the black dot was a monument, evidently crafted from stones found on the mountain, selecting a smoother-looking section of rock.
Carved onto the monument were crude inscriptions, likely done with a knife, bearing a name and a date. Judging by the name, it seemed to be a woman’s monument.
Finding a monument in such a place was surprising, and after a brief observation, they found nothing else and moved on.
From the edge to the center of the snowy mountain, they encountered numerous instances of the antlered white sheep. The frequency of these encounters increased, and each sheep they met was predictably stripped of its leaves.
Jiang Yujin selectively ignored the high schooler’s penchant for plucking leaves from the sheep, saying, “So many sheep here, huh.”
Attempting to ponder, he remarked, “What do these sheep eat here, their own head leaves?”
He lightly tapped his right fist against his left hand, stating, “No, they can’t reach their own head leaves, so they must eat the leaves from other sheep.”
It seemed like he was thinking but not deeply. However, his words sounded reasonable and logical.
For every leaf plucked from a sheep, Chen Jing kept count, and by now, he had plucked leaves from five sheep. According to what he had heard in the game previously, only one sheep was left.
The frequency of sheep encounters increased steadily, indicating that the final sheep would arrive soon.
Indeed, the last sheep appeared—a slow progression down the snowy slope, each step leaving a distinct print, its bells resonating throughout the mountains. Once the leaf was plucked from this sheep’s head, everyone, including those who had previously interacted with the sheep, would be able to leave the area directly.
The white sheep descended into the valley, momentarily disappearing from view. However, before it reappeared, the bell chimes, previously serene, suddenly turned urgent and chaotic, echoing as if urging for action.
Chen Jing instantly sensed something was wrong and rushed forward. As it was a snowy slope, there was quite a distance from the top to the bottom. He slid down directly, snow spraying high and obscuring his vision.
Jiang Yujin acted quickly too but instead ran to the edge of the slope, finding the best vantage point to observe.
Before the high schooler arrived, there was already someone at the base of the slope. It was the man who had run towards the snowy mountains alone earlier. He had actually ventured into the snowy mountain and found this spot. He held a intricately carved knife, stained with continuously trickling dark red blood.
The blood came from a lifeless sheep lying on the ground, its white fur soaked and the blood seeping into the snow underneath.
Accompanying the dead sheep were the leaves from its head. Apparently, the antlers relied on the sheep’s body for sustenance, forming a complete unity. Before the sheep died, it seemed to be trying to draw energy from the antlers. The antlers quickly withered, turned gray, and the leaves on them instantly dried up, becoming brown, withered tree leaves that fluttered in the wind at the slope’s base. Eventually, they were swept away and buried in the snow.
Just as Chen Jing arrived at the bottom, he happened to meet the silent man’s red and bloodshot eyes.
Chen Jing felt his eyebrows twitching rapidly and sensed he might also develop those red streaks in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yujin observed from above for a while, surveyed the surroundings, then descended the gentle slope to approach the man at the bottom.
The man seemed not to have recovered from whatever he had done to the sheep. He was panting, and when he lifted his gaze toward them, there was a strong sense of resentment and bloodlust in his red-streaked eyes. After a significant pause, he finally spoke, asking, “What are you doing here?”
Surprisingly, he still remembered they were part of a tour group.
Jiang Yujin replied, “We followed the sheep here.”
Then, the man slaughtered the sheep.
Somewhat surprised they had followed the sheep here and yet remained conscious, the man didn’t inquire further. He simply stated, “We are all going to die here.”
He seemed resigned to his imminent death, speaking calmly, displaying the acceptance of a person facing their end.
Jiang Yujin asked, “What do you mean?”
The man didn’t hide his identity as a Player, mentioning the leaf crown, and concluded, “The only way out is through this sheep. If the sheep dies, we won’t get out.”
He thought he was the only one here and had never intended to leave alive from the start.
“Don’t worry, leaves can grow back,” Jiang Yujin maintained a positive attitude, saying, “By the way, do you know how many sheep you’ve killed?”
The man responded, “If I’m not mistaken, that should be the last one.”
Jiang Yujin: “?”
Chen Jing: “…”
For a moment, it was hard to find words, but it was alright; Jiang Yujin could still keep the conversation going, “Why did you come here?”
The man’s wrinkled eyes twitched at the corners as he replied, “My wife is here.”
He had exited the Game, but his wife had been forever trapped within it.
The sheep acted as guides and deceivers, messengers for the king here. Every person they led became a puppet without a soul, compelled by the king to kill any outsiders.
Outsiders referred to those unaffected by the sheep’s deception.
When he entered the dungeon, he got separated from his wife. Their last gaze at each other was as she followed behind the sheep, vanishing into the snowy mountains.
He chased after them, only to find her lying on the ground, still tightly gripping the knife in her hand.
She had turned into someone without self-awareness and attacked others, then was killed by others.
After exiting the game, holding onto the possibility that the dungeon might still exist, he had been to too many places, traversed too many snowy mountains, and finally, he had killed the sheep and erected the monument for her.
Chen Jing stood silently on the side without uttering a word.
Jiang Yujin glanced at the man, lifting his eyelids slightly.
The man, obviously not much of a talker, couldn’t say anything more, bending down finally to say, “I’m sorry.”
With a sincere apology, the man turned and slowly walked away.
Jiang Yujin and Chen Jing watched as his figure faded into the white snow.
Chen Jing withdrew his gaze, looking down at his own hands.
The man left, and the two remained standing in their places when a few figures appeared from behind the black mountain.
Jiang Yujin glanced up and saw the individuals who had previously disappeared now reappearing.
He recognized them, and the approaching individuals also recognized them, running over enthusiastically.
Jiang Yujin waved back warmly, while Chen Jing intercepted the overly outgoing person, pulling him back.
The people who came over enthusiastically locked eyes with them, and before they could act, Chen Jing swiftly struck their necks with a chop of his hand, causing them to fall one by one, only to rise again.
They wouldn’t faint, only get back up to continue, and the only way to stop them was to let them perish.
As they charged, Jiang Yujin had already stepped back a few paces, watching Chen Jing deal with them repeatedly. He lowered his gaze and spotted a piece of rope peeking out from beneath the thick snow. He crouched, picked it up, and asked, “Do we need this?”
Chen Jing turned around.
Mahjong friends, along with a young couple, were tied up, still struggling on the ground.
Chen Jing casually clapped his hands, shifting his gaze away from the people on the ground toward the distance.
The Ice and Snow Crown was an S+ dungeon. S+ meant starting at S-rank, no upper limit. Someone had used a different, less risky method to pass the dungeon by taking the leaves from the sheep’s heads. Relatively easier, but in reality, the difficulty of this dungeon wasn’t low.
The possibility of crafting the crown might have disappeared, leaving only the option to obtain it from the king.
Looking at the person crouched down trying to communicate with those lying on the ground, he said, “Stay here and don’t move; I’ll be away for a while, perhaps a long time.”
Jiang Yujin raised his eyes, slightly widening them.
Did this person consider himself as his father?
Chen Jing reiterated, “Be sure not to wander around.”
Jiang Yujin nodded quickly, “Okay, okay, okay.”
He agreed swiftly, Chen Jing remained skeptical, but eventually had to reluctantly trust him and walked away.
After a distance, he suddenly turned back, the people still crouching waved to him, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
The high schooler had completely disappeared from sight.
The person who was initially crouched on the ground lifted the brim of their hat slightly and began to search for a leisurely direction.
