Guild Boss's Ambition

In this way, with the support of Ebisu, Anne successfully gained a foothold in the adventure team, and the carriage successfully arrived at Mopolis Forest Park at the moment of sunset. Unlike the square park I imagined, this forest park was indeed on the scale of a forest. The vast space from the large expanse of mottled shadows of the trees was difficult to measure with the naked eye.

but……

In contrast to the solemnity and tension of Ebi and the others,...

There are always tourists coming in and out at the entrance of this forest park...

There are children's laughter here...

Couples cuddling each other...

An old man walking alone...

In such a leisurely scene, I really couldn't imagine the unknown danger that Ebi mentioned.

However, as the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry. No matter how ridiculous the advice of the elderly may sound, it is still of some reference value. And Hai Lao is a wise old man. Since he has always been good at issuing missions to adventurers, his vigilance in this matter is probably not unfounded.

Maybe, Ebi is hiding some information from us.

However, this adventure in the forest park was not my adventure. After waving goodbye to Meng'er and the others at the gate, I took Lian'er to a small hotel at the gate of the park and found a room where we could directly see the entrance to the park.

However, no matter how uneasy I was, my stomach was still functioning as usual.

Amid the noisy sounds of cuckoos, I ordered dinner for two from the store. Then, while eating the crude and tasteless food with Lian'er, I stared at the entrance of the forest park, hoping that those familiar figures would appear inside as soon as possible.

……

……

83. Forest Park (Annie)

(Anne Princeton)

The forest park is a bare forest in winter.

In the bright moonlight, the dry and tall trees exude a mysterious beauty. Because of this unique beauty, even though it has fallen at night, there are still some tourists carrying lanterns and walking at night in the forest. They all come to this park in a leisurely manner, and the three of us who are fully armed seem to be the odd ones out here.

The forest park is very large, and if you don’t have a definite direction, you won’t be able to find the end even if you search for a whole night.

After observing the park for a while, Meng'er said, "Annie, where are the things I asked you to bring?"

"Well, here it is."

What Meng'er asked me to prepare was nothing but a piece of underwear found in Gushan's room.

Fortunately, because she lives alone, the clothes that Gushan has worn will only be washed at once when they accumulate to a certain amount. The small vest in my hand at this moment is obviously full of the smell of Gushan's sweat. With these smells, we can use Xiaoban to try to launch a more purposeful search operation in the forest.

I took Gushan's vest and handed it to Xiaoban for him to smell.

Even though he has not received professional search training, Xiaoban is still a very smart puppy.

"Xiaoban, how is it? Did you smell Gushan's scent?" I asked nervously.

Uh...

My expectation was met with only Xiaoban's shaking head and humming.

Seeing this, Hai Lao said calmly, "The forest is so big, and Xiao Ban only has a dog's nose. Unless that silly girl is near us or just passed by not long ago, there is naturally no way that there will be clues right away. If Gu Shan really disappeared in this park, she is probably missing in the depths of this forest."

Ebi is right.

If Gushan disappeared in this park, then the area near the entrance where there are more tourists will not be our main search area. After all, Gushan is not stupid. Under normal circumstances, if she encountered difficulties, as long as she saw passers-by, she would definitely step forward to ask for directions and help, so there would not be no news until now.

So, after letting Xiaoban get familiar with the taste of Gushan, we headed deeper into the forest.

The deeper we went into the forest, the fewer tourists we encountered, and the surrounding scenery also changed. The dead trees gradually gained more fresh green branches and leaves, and all kinds of wild animals revealed their figures under the illumination of the magic lamps. The rumors of the monster also sprouted in our hearts, making every nerve in our body tense.

"Woo..."

Suddenly, Meng'er, who was walking in front, murmured in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" Hai Lao asked seriously.

Meng'er rubbed the sole of his shoe and said with a wry smile, "I stepped on a slime..."

Hearing this, Hai Lao rolled his eyes in annoyance and said in a deep voice: "Don't waste time, let's keep going. The sooner we find the ancient mountain, the better. I don't know if it's my illusion, but I always feel that the atmosphere of this forest is very strange, but I can't tell what's so strange about it..."

Meng Er started walking again and said with a smile: "The weather in the forest seems to be a little warmer than outside──"

Hai Lao casually touched the tree trunk beside him and said as he walked, "And the humidity is also relatively high."

"Is there anything strange about this?" I asked.

"No." Hai Lao shook his head in annoyance and said, "The terrain of this forest does occasionally produce this kind of weird weather. According to the current situation, the forest should be foggy again later. You must be more careful at that time. Not only must you use your eyes to see, but you must also use your ears to listen carefully to distinguish the movement and stillness around you."

Just as Hai Lao expected, about thirty minutes later, thick fog rose in the forest park. The drifting fog obstructed our vision, and we often walked into a dead end in the forest. We were forced to turn back along the way, which also slowed down our search efficiency. Since nightfall, it took us a total of three hours to walk less than a quarter of the entire park forest.

Moreover, this thick fog has a tendency to become more and more severe.

Because the surrounding scenery was all white, Meng'er, the leader, stopped at a fork in the road.

She complained, "Hey, hey, hey, it's so foggy, could it be that we've lost our way before we even found Gu Shan?"

Our task appraiser said calmly: "Don't worry, I have been making rune marks along the way. Not to mention the thick fog, I am capable of leading you out of this forest even with my eyes closed. Instead of worrying about such trivial matters, it is better to pay close attention to the changes around you. I have to say that the weather changes in this forest are really perfect for committing crimes!"

"So, Hai Lao, which way should we go now?" Meng'er asked.

I don't know how Hai Lao's rune symbols work, he just closed his eyes and thought for a while, then he immediately determined our location and replied: "The road on the right is the way we came, so we should take the road on the left."

"Oh, I see."

So we set off again, and once again we searched every corner of the forest without direction.

however……

We haven't found anything yet.

The little spotted one following behind us didn't make any sound at all.

When they had almost walked half of the park, Meng'er couldn't help but stop again and fixed her eyes on Xiaoban.

"Xiaoban, Xiaoban, can you really smell scents from far away?" asked the young lady president with a wry smile.

"Woof!" The stitched dog barked in affirmative response.

"Do you still remember Gu Shan's smell now?"

"Woof!" The stitched dog barked confidently.

"Uh, well, I shouldn't have questioned you."

After a brief negotiation, the president's daughter had no choice but to return to the front of the team and calmly continue this fruitless search, finishing the half of the forest park that had not yet been walked through.

Since there was no breakthrough for a long time, even though I kept telling myself that I had to wait patiently, I still couldn't help asking this unhelpful question: "If we walk through the entire forest park and still can't find Gu Shan, then where should we look for her? Apart from the forest park, we have no other clues."

Hearing my weak and wavering tone, Meng'er still held an optimistic attitude even though there was no basis for her. Her face was exactly the same as Shalom's, and she had the same cool smile as her father: "We will find her, we will definitely find her. Gushan is a lucky child, and she will be fine."

What Meng'er said was naturally not true.

How can a child who lost his father and mother at a young age be called a lucky person?

It's just that Gu Shan herself is optimistic and positive. Even if she is asked to give up the opportunity to receive education and join the society earlier, she can still maintain a sincere smile. It is precisely because of her character that people around her are infected by her, are willing to get along with her, and worry about her when she is in danger and lend her a helping hand.

Gushan is a blessed and good child.

She earned her blessings by herself.

We found her.

however……

the fact is……

We didn't find her.

After walking for six hours straight, we still couldn't find any trace of the girl.

Because of this situation, we stopped to rest and discuss.

Meng'er was the first to propose such a hypothesis: "Maybe Gushan is not in this forest?"

"Maybe she is there, but we just haven't found her yet."

Hai Lao analyzed, "Although we have almost walked through the entire forest park, we have not actually walked every inch of it. We relied on Xiaoban's sense of smell to search for us, but along the way, Xiaoban did not give us any clues. I think we should use other methods to search the park again."

"What method?" Meng'er asked.

"I haven't thought of it yet, have you?" asked Hai Lao.

Faced with the old man's question, Meng'er and I looked at each other in shame, neither of us having any idea.

Seeing this, Hai Lao rubbed his eyes, looked at the moonlight and said, "It's almost two o'clock in the morning now, and there are still about four hours until dawn at six o'clock. As long as we speed up, we can still search again on those roads we haven't walked on. This method is a stupid method, but given the current situation, it's the only way we can do."

Although he took some action, Ebi's tone was not hopeful.

My body couldn't help but tremble because of this situation.

At this time, Hai Lao and Meng Er had already stood up and were ready to set off.

Noticing my abnormality, Meng'er immediately asked worriedly, "Annie? What's wrong with you?"

"I……"

I was terrified, afraid of losing again.

[If you continue to search blindly, you will only further hurt yourself. ]

That voice slyly sounded at this moment.

I wanted to tell it to shut up, but I couldn't find the words to argue with it.

Maybe it's right. Possession is the prerequisite for losing. If I hadn't owned it, I wouldn't have lost it.

What's more, it's not just humans, everything around me may leave me due to unfortunate reasons.

If I were the only one in the world...

If I had no connection with the world...

I……

"No, there are still four hours left. We still have hope of finding Gu Shan tonight!"

"Besides, even if we can't find her today, it doesn't mean we'll never find her in the future!"

"Courage... I need courage to face it..."

I struggled and gasped for breath, and under the worried gazes of Hai Lao and Meng'er, I took out the secret book from the space ring. The book contained the courage she gave me. I unscrewed the bottle cap like a drug addict and smeared a little of the clear yellow liquid on my neck and cuffs. The scent of the perfume was very strong, and after just a little application, my chest was filled with her breath.

Woof! Woof woof!

But at this moment, Xiaoban, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly started barking violently -

……

……

84. The flower that can fulfill all wishes (Gushan)

(Ancient Mountain)

A strange kappa told me: There is a flower in the forest that can fulfill all wishes.

This sounded like a lie to a child, and more like his drunken ramblings.

However, when a person feels helpless about the difficulties he encounters, even the most absurd fairy tale will become the only option. So, I took advantage of the holiday to come to this forest park.

Unexpectedly, this trip turned into three days of unbearable suffering.

I got lost in the forest park.

Or rather...

I was lost.

That evening, when I was about to return to the stone house after searching in vain, I suddenly got lost.

No matter which direction I go, I will eventually return to a fixed starting point in the forest.

The origin is marked by a tall, thin poplar tree.

As for me, getting lost is a mysterious feeling. I am heading towards the east where the sun is high in the sky, but the scenery I encounter is different every time. Occasionally there are rocks blocking the way, and sometimes there are thorns blocking the way. It seems that there is an invisible force guiding my steps, so that I can only return to the original point of the poplar tree every time.

Very bad…