Since the sky was covered, the heavens began to show their holiness

The black fog of Shadow Island is like solidified ink, and the surging undercurrent has completely separated the island from the outside world. The strange rumors recorded in ancient books in the past have eventually become legends that are difficult to verify.

The once overwhelming army of the undead no longer roams around as freely as before. Only a few scattered souls are visible in the mist, as if telling us that this kingdom of the dead is undergoing an unknown upheaval.

"We've almost finished studying the black fog, but Zoe is so good, she's gone wild again." Zhou Xian stroked the glowing Human Emperor Banner in his hand, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the mottled stone table. The thick asphalt fog coiled up along his neck, condensing into fine water droplets on his pale skin, like a silent mockery from the Shadow Island.

This island shrouded in death has no distinction between day and night, only the thickness of the black fog indicates the passage of time. Zhou Xian put away the Human Emperor Banner. He counted silently in his heart. It has been more than two months since he traveled to this forbidden land where the undead are entrenched. With Zoe's eccentric temperament and almost unreasonable strength, she should have come to meet up earlier. At this moment, the island is empty, only the rotten bones are whimpering in the fog. Either the girl is having fun somewhere, or he tightly grasped the black fog short blade suspended at his waist, and the blood oozing from his palm dripped onto the ground and was instantly swallowed by the black fog.

"If you keep wasting time, you'll really become a new 'resident' of the Shadow Isles."

Zhou Xian let out a self-deprecating laugh, and the soles of his boots crushed the skeleton's finger bones at his feet. The crisp sound startled the blue will-o'-the-wisp curled up on the rotten wood. He shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of those uneasy thoughts about Zoe. The metal wristband hit his forehead with a dull sound, which was particularly harsh in the dead silence of the mist.

Gwen's voice, wrapped in the damp mist, floated from behind, with a fragile tremor: "Are you leaving the Shadow Isles?"

When Zhou Xian turned around, he saw the girl's translucent skirt rustling in the cold wind. The soul fire entangled between her silver-blue hair flickered, making the watery light in her eyes look particularly clear.

This Ling Luo doll, who always quietly cuts the dead, is now as flustered as a startled butterfly. Her fingertips unconsciously tug at the ribbon around her waist, and the fabric embroidered with roses is wrinkled. The facial expressions that should have been frozen forever are actually spreading tiny ripples on her porcelain-white cheeks. The damp black mist flows over her ankles, blurring the distance between the two people.

Zhou Xian's Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he lowered his eyes and said, "It's time to go."

His voice seemed to be soaked in the black mist of the Shadow Isles, with an imperceptible hoarseness.

"If we stay any longer, we might really be assimilated by this damn place." As he said this, he raised his eyes to the inky sky, but when he caught a glimpse of Gwen clutching her skirt out of the corner of his eye, his movements paused imperceptibly.

Gwen's fingertips unconsciously stroked the rose embroidery on the hem of her skirt, the thread of which had long been dampened by the mist of the Shadow Isles. A heart made of porcelain should not throb, but at this moment it felt like a tangled spider silk was stuffed into her chest, and every breath was accompanied by a slight sting.

She looked at Zhou Xian's back, his long blue hair covering half of his face, and the surging emotions were also hidden in the shadows. The silence that she thought would last forever was shattered the moment she knew he was leaving. Even the whispers of the dead floating in the air became sharp and piercing, making her almost want to tear off the ribbon wrapped around her chest.

Zhou Xian's Adam's apple rolled up and down, breaking the stagnant air. He curled up and loosened his hands hanging by his side, and finally raised his head, his eyes falling on Gwen's glimmering eyes: "Instead of staying in this black fog that never dissipates all year round..."

He paused, and his voice unconsciously softened, with an anticipation that he himself was not aware of, "Would you like to go for a walk with me to the mainland? See the sunshine outside, and the fields full of flowers?" The black fog rolled between the two of them, but it could not conceal the rare warmth in his words, as if a cluster of swaying flames suddenly ignited in the dead silence of the Shadow Island's thick fog.

Gwen's eyelashes trembled violently, and a faint halo appeared on her porcelain-white cheeks, like a candle flame that was suddenly lit. She subconsciously took a half step forward, and the rose pattern on the hem of her skirt almost swept over the corner of Zhou Xian's clothes, but her toes froze the moment they touched the ground. Her silver-blue hair fell with a sigh, covering the complex expression in her eyes.

"I" Gwen tightened the ribbon around her waist, and the touch from her fingertips brought back broken memories. "Forget it, the master needs me." When the words fell, she raised her face and showed a shallow but bitter smile, like a pale flower blooming in the fog, which was swallowed up by the thick darkness in an instant.

Zhou Xian's throat moved slightly, and finally turned into a sigh wrapped in mist. He looked at the faint light lingering around Gwen and the thick black fog of Shadow Island. In a trance, he seemed to see the faint chains behind the girl - that was the obsession of Isolder's love, and also the invisible shackles that trapped her in this land of the dead. She was destined to help Isolder free, so as to break free from this fate and leave Shadow Island.

"Take care." Zhou Xian stretched out his hand to touch Gwen's shoulder, but stopped the moment he touched the halo. His fingertips hung in the air and finally fell down weakly.

"I'll come to see you often when I'm free." Zhou Xian's voice was a little weak due to the mist, like a promise, but also like self-consolation. He didn't look back, the sound of his boots rolling over gravel mixed with the whimpering of the undead in the distance, step by step crushing the gaze behind him. The thick black fog immediately filled the gap left by his departure, but it couldn't cover the faint warmth left in the air, just like the short-lived glimmer of light he brought, which was about to dissipate in the eternal underworld of Shadow Island.

Gwen was immersed in the indescribable melancholy when Zhou Xian's familiar voice came through the thick black fog. She raised her head suddenly, and the loneliness still remained on her face.

"By the way, Sarah and the others should stay here. You shouldn't be too bored with their company."

Although the voice was far away, it clearly fell into Gwen's heart. She was slightly startled, and a glimmer of light appeared in the gloom in her eyes.

Thinking that she would not be alone in the days ahead, Gwen gently clenched the ribbon in her hand, and the emptiness in her heart seemed to be filled a little. She looked in the direction where the voice came from, and although the fog was thick, she seemed to be able to see Zhou Xian's back gradually going away.

Zhou Xian took a deep breath and suppressed the melancholy in his heart. He stepped into the camp, and the thick black fog rolled and dispersed around his feet. Compared with more than a month ago, this place has indeed changed dramatically. The ruins that were once scattered everywhere have now been pieced together into simple but solid houses. The crooked wooden fence enclosed a small open space, and various supplies brought from the outside world were piled in the corner.

A few wisps of smoke rose from the roof. Although the camp still looked a little simple, the well-arranged houses and the occasional human voices made it look like a village, as if a hole full of life had been torn open in this dead Shadow Island.

(End of this chapter)