I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 72

As Jin Cheng finished speaking, Guan Xiaoxuan noticed the surroundings start to change. A damp chill crept in, and even the light from the oil lamp on the table seemed to dim.

Guan Xiaoxuan knew—they had entered the Inner World.

She looked around and soon heard footsteps approaching the door. The steps stopped outside, followed by two knocks.

“Knock knock—”

A deep male voice came from outside. “Boss Jin, everything has been arranged.”

Jin Cheng responded with a grunt and said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “Let’s go out now.”

Jin Cheng walked ahead, holding Guan Xiaoxuan’s hair and bl00d in his hand. When he reached the door, the man outside opened it. Guan Xiaoxuan recognized him—the strong man who had opened the door for her earlier.

Was he one of the Weirds?

She glanced at him twice, unconsciously. Although his face looked pale, he didn’t really seem like a Weird.

Normally, Weirds stay in the Inner World, and even if they appear outside, they can’t stay long or leave their own territory. So how could one serve a person?

Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t understand but didn’t ask either. Some things are better left unknown. Besides, her main goal now was to sacrifice half her soul to save her life. She didn’t want to think about other things.

They walked back down to the ground level. Guan Xiaoxuan looked at the once grand villa, now dilapidated and nothing like before.

So, this was the villa’s true state.

Jin Cheng stopped and looked at Guan Xiaoxuan. “You’ll carry this lamp, hold your bl00d and hair, and keep walking into the fog. Don’t look back. When you reach the deepest part of the fog, you’ll see an altar. Pour your bl00d and hair at the center of the altar. Then kneel down and listen to the whisper of the gods. When you’re done, carry the lamp back.”

“Remember,” Jin Cheng said seriously, “No matter what appears around you, or whatever is behind you, don’t stop. Keep walking until you reach the altar.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was scared by his words. “What happens if I stop?”

Jin Cheng smiled lightly. “Then you’ll be trapped in that fog forever. Understand?”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked at the thick fog outside the villa and nodded seriously.

She knew the fog was dangerous, but she had made up her mind. Either she’d die at that woman’s hands or at this Jin guy’s hands.

So far, Jin Cheng seemed mysterious, but strangely reliable. Even if she died, that red-dressed ghost would come after him anyway, so at least he’d get some trouble for her.

Besides, if Jin Cheng could really help her get rid of that red-dressed woman, why would he bother to mess with her?

If he couldn’t, framing her would be the same as provoking that woman.

No matter how she looked at it, Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t losing out. If she won, she’d survive. If she lost, at least she’d take someone down with her. Either way, not a bad deal.

She took her hair and bl00d from Jin Cheng and picked up the lamp with her other hand.

The lamp’s light was faint, flickering like it could go out any moment, but somehow it burned steadily.

“What if the lamp suddenly goes out in the fog?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked, looking at the weak flame.

“If it goes out, you’ll be stuck in the fog,” Jin Cheng shrugged. “So protect this lamp like your own life.”

Guan Xiaoxuan understood: once she entered the fog, Jin Cheng wouldn’t care whether she lived or died.

What a sly merchant.

She sighed softly. She didn’t really have time to prepare. She had thought about sending a message to Xing Tianqing before entering, but then decided not to.

First, if she sent any last words, Xing Tianqing would know what she was about to do, and explaining it later would be complicated.

Second, if she really died and couldn’t come back, Xing Tianqing wouldn’t be too upset.

So after thinking it through, Guan Xiaoxuan decided not to say goodbye. It would be good to survive, but if not…

She didn’t want Xing Tianqing to be too sad.

With that settled, Guan Xiaoxuan picked up the lamp and stepped into the fog.

Jin Cheng watched her leave so decisively. His eyes flickered as he smiled, “No hesitation at all? I haven’t seen someone this brave in a long time. I hope my master likes her.”

Carrying the lamp, Guan Xiaoxuan walked through the thick fog.

Visibility was very low—she could only see about three meters ahead. Beyond that, everything vanished. The fog was also wet; walking inside it felt like wading through water.

The dampness clung to her skin and made her uncomfortable.

But compared to the naked, hungry stares, the sticky fog felt almost gentle.

Guan Xiaoxuan looked straight ahead but caught shadowy black figures in her peripheral vision. Sometimes when they got closer, she could see they were twisted, deformed monsters.

Those monsters’ eyes were greedy, and they let out eerie growls, as if they wanted to rush and tear her apart immediately.

But they didn’t dare.

She guessed they must be afraid of the light she carried, not of her.

Was there something added to the lamp?

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned. She couldn’t think about that now. She just had to follow Jin Cheng’s instructions and keep moving forward.

Keep walking. Keep walking.

Even though she was in thick fog and should have lost her sense of direction—like when people unintentionally stray off a straight line in darkness—she clearly knew where to go.

It felt very strange. With more and more monsters gathering around, Guan Xiaoxuan felt the lamp in her hand was truly magical.

Guan Xiaoxuan also realized that what Jin Cheng said wasn’t a joke—if the fire went out, she would be trapped here forever.

She didn’t know how long she had been walking. The monsters around her snarled and circled, but they never dared to get close. Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t meet their gaze either; she just kept staring straight ahead.

The low growls behind her grew louder and more frequent. She guessed that if she looked back now, there would be at least a hundred monsters crowding behind her.

It was a bit like a parade of a hundred ghosts, or like she was leading those monsters through the mist.

Her legs started to feel sore from walking. By her guess, it had been over an hour. She thought she should be near the deepest part of the fog by now, but she still hadn’t seen the “altar” Jin Cheng had mentioned.

As she kept going, Guan Xiaoxuan occasionally passed some buildings, but she didn’t dare look closely. Every time she walked past, she could feel something watching her from inside, which gave her chills.

After almost another hour of walking, she finally saw a stone stairway ahead.

Calling it a stairway wasn’t quite right—it was just a single step raised from the ground, stretching endlessly to both sides into the fog. It looked like a part of something very large.

Guan Xiaoxuan realized this must be the “altar.”

She stopped walking. The monsters behind her were still growling, but as she got closer to the altar, their voices grew quieter. When she stood at the stone step, she felt the monsters moving farther away.

Were they afraid of the altar?

Guan Xiaoxuan wondered what the monsters feared.

Without thinking too much, she held her lamp tightly and stepped onto the stair.

After stepping up, she walked about ten meters and found another step. She kept going like this until she reached nine steps in total. When she stepped onto the ninth step, a huge altar made of stone appeared before her.

There was no fog around the altar. It had a massive stone base, surrounded by seven stone pillars.

The pillars looked man-made—Guan Xiaoxuan could feel they were carved and placed here. But who would carve such huge stone pillars?

She frowned slightly and walked to the nearest pillar. Not only was the altar large, but the pillars were huge too.

From a distance, it didn’t seem that big, but up close, the pillars were about one meter in diameter—equally thick from top to bottom—and gave a strong sense of pressure.

Passing through the seven pillars, Guan Xiaoxuan reached the center of the altar, just as Jin Cheng had described.

The stone floor here was deeply sunken in a large spot, surrounded by a ring made of small stones, as if to prevent anyone from falling in.

Who would randomly pile stones here and worry about someone falling?

Who would fall in?

Those monsters outside the altar?

She stepped closer to the pit and saw it was also quite large—slightly wider than the pillars, about one and a half meters across, and about a meter deep.

Inside the pit, Guan Xiaoxuan saw hair and some dried bl00d.

The bl00d had turned black with age, showing it was very old. But at least it proved Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t the first person to offer a soul here.

Click.

Guan Xiaoxuan put down her lamp and threw the lock of hair she’d cut into the pit. Then she poured the red bl00d from the glass bottle into it.

“This should be enough,” she whispered, then pressed her palms together and knelt down.

Jin Cheng said she had to listen to the whispers of the gods.

Guan Xiaoxuan closed her eyes, feeling the quiet atmosphere around her.

With the lamp and the altar, and no monsters nearby, she finally felt a rare moment of calm.

What were these whispers of the gods? Guan Xiaoxuan wondered if someone would speak in her ear, or if a god would appear like in movies and dramas, saying something grand.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard a soft, rustling noise all around.

The sound was sticky, like something covered in glue crawling on wet stone slabs.

Guan Xiaoxuan tried to open her eyes, but suddenly she found she couldn’t control her body!

The rustling grew closer, and she even felt something brushing against her. Those things were winding around her like a cage, trapping Guan Xiaoxuan tightly inside!