RNP Page 243
Page 243
After a long silence, she finally sighed, stood up, and picked up the armor, helmet, and giant bow from the ground.
As she said before, losing her memory is a process of dying. Her teammates have already passed away, and her remaining life is actually the last life of the wandering team.
She could certainly continue walking this land carrying her last memories... but she had already buried her teammates, so her journey should come to an end.
After all... the life and death of mortals are like this rushing river, once gone, they will never return.
"Having witnessed so many scenes of life and death intersecting, it seems that with each resurrection, the weight of life gradually becomes less and less impactful on the heart."
She gazed into the unknown distance, murmuring softly with unanswered questions:
"Is the only moment when you first witness life truly moving?"
For her, who was already barely clinging to life, the answer to this question was unknown.
Lanling smiled slightly, and was about to habitually stroke her beard when she suddenly remembered that she was carrying a lot of things and that her beard was long gone.
She shook her head and jumped into the river without hesitation.
The surging white moon passed through her empty skeleton, and her remaining flesh rapidly dissipated bit by bit in the river's wash.
In the brief intermingling of countless unknown memories, she seemed to see the figures of the long-forgotten wandering group, but upon closer inspection, it seemed not to be them.
"That's true. The knights in chivalric novels who love reading chivalric novels are somewhat similar to me, who also loves reading chivalric novels."
Bluebell's serene smile gradually dissipated into an empty skeleton in the river... but fortunately, the skeleton's face also looked somewhat smiling.
"Similar humans will naturally create endless adventure stories for the wandering team, so I have no regrets about it."
……
……
"A lifelike teardrop!"
A phantom body slowly emerged from the bone fragments. Latis looked at the girl with short, dark blue hair and a slightly immature face, and slightly tightened his grip on the small gray flag in his hand.
—Under that crooked and messy message, her signature "Blue Bell" was clearly visible.
"Although I guessed it a long time ago, it still feels a bit exaggerated. What has she been running around for for the past dozen or so months? Being a dead person must be tiring..."
Latis and Seren exchanged a glance. Seren tapped her chin with her pale little hand, thought for a moment, and said:
“There are many skeletons like this in the Bone Spirit Realm, repeating the same thing over and over again with their last obsession, but maybe the thing they wanted to do was vanished thousands of years ago... Tang Keke, well, Miss Lanling at least retains some memories, so to some extent... she can still be considered free, right?”
"Can this be considered freedom?" Latis couldn't help but complain.
"If it were me... I would rather die young."
Haiyue'er, clinging to Latis's back, said:
"If life is too unbearable, it's better to turn into bubbles... or die battling the ocean in the storm, or dying under the scorching sun. I don't want to live such a lonely and long life."
Latis chuckled helplessly twice, reached out and patted Haiyue'er's head, and said:
"We can't be so absolute, after all, everyone carries different burdens..."
He turned to look at Lanling, whose face remained calm, hesitated for a moment, and said somewhat uncertainly:
"I don't know if that will work... After all, it's not her own memory, just some traces of its existence..."
“Give it a try.” Sai Leng sighed and said, “I only learned from the Bone Dragon this time that memories can also be reshaped.”
"hope so."
Latis rubbed the bones in his left hand, hesitated for a moment, then picked up the bone fragment book from the ground and put it into Bluebell's body.
The bone-carved knight novel floated within Bluebell's soul, emitting a faint, vibrant golden glow that slowly filled the soul.
Seeing this, Latis scratched his head, glanced at the scene inside the secret room, and simply went all the way and stuffed all the scattered bone carvings and rock slabs into Bluebell's body.
Different colors leached from the plethora of debris within her body, joining the ranks of those filling her soul. Seeing this, Latis breathed a sigh of relief and muttered with a touch of exasperation:
"This scene... feels so abstract! Can souls be stuffed in like this? I feel like I could fit a human inside..."
After saying that, he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, glanced at Sai Leng and Hai Yue'er's expressionless faces, and was relieved that they didn't know about the "pill swallowing" game.
"Anyway..."
Latis looked around the empty chamber and said:
"At least their story has been preserved. I dismantled the door to this secret room, so Bai Yue will definitely not be spared next time. It can be considered a... rescue."
He shook his head, picked up the door panel from the ground, covered his head, and rushed out of the waterfall.
"Similar humans will lead me to continue writing endless adventures... I feel... so honored!"
The moment he burst out of the waterfall, Latis seemed to hear a soft murmur. He landed steadily on the ground, put down the door panel, reached out to catch Haiyue'er and Saileng, who floated nimbly into his body, and looked at Lanling, who was slowly floating out of the secret room.
She squinted, blinded by the pale reflection of the earth. After a while, she looked up, a faint smile involuntarily appearing on her blank face.
……
……
Although Bluebell doesn't seem to regain consciousness so easily, you surprisingly maintain an optimistic attitude towards it. This might be because of the words you vaguely heard when you rushed out of the waterfall, or it might be because you have faith in such a resilient soul.
[In short, the story of the wandering squad comes to an end. While Bluebell's spirit form cannot yet communicate, it can already give simple instructions. After experimenting with several wanderers, you confirmed Bluebell's ability—a defensive tower!]
Perhaps due to her archery skills, she was extremely adept at target shooting. Even without a bow and arrow, she could accurately fire her soul power at her target. And in your eyes, these waves of targeted soul power shots looked exactly like defensive towers...
[In addition to these experiments, you also tested the horse spirit bone you had previously obtained. However, for some unknown reason, the horse spirit bone did not transform you into a skeletal horse. Instead, it caused your buttocks to suddenly enlarge and you to grow a pair of legs.]
Yes, you've turned into a centaur!
[You were taken aback and immediately canceled the operation of the soul bone. Completely bewildered, you called out to Sai Leng and asked her what had happened.]
【After listening to your description, Sai Leng was also a bit confused, so she asked you to perform a miraculous transformation on her right then and there. You thought about it and figured it shouldn't matter to your maid, so you activated your soul bone again in front of her.】
"Ah, oh, this!" Sai Leng was also surprised. She subconsciously covered her cheek, her eyes darting around as she carefully observed you. Finally, she nodded vigorously and said, "Mr. Bone, you might be calcium deficient!"
You paused for a moment, making sure you hadn't misheard, then, with a slight strain, you forced Sai Leng back into your body.
[It turns out that the dozen or so thick spears you created previously consumed too much bone, so now that you want to create a skeletal horse, you don't have enough bone left!]
[For normal skeleton units, their weapons are usually put away after use, and they also often catch wanderers and cook them into soup when they encounter them, so they rarely suffer from calcium deficiency.]
[Given that you've expended a lot of energy and haven't replenished it, this centaur-like phenomenon is quite normal.]
You sighed, deciding that once you're on your way, you'll need to find some big bones to make soup to replenish your bone density. The centaur form is still a bit too much for a conservative, kind-hearted otaku like you!
However… since you're already here, you kept in centaur form and ran a few steps. After the initial awkwardness, running became surprisingly enjoyable.
[Furthermore, with an additional passenger inside you, your speed has significantly increased. Now, running on the road is almost like riding a high-displacement motorcycle!]
[After running a few steps, you suddenly feel something strange beneath you. You turn around and look at your newly grown legs, your pupils dizzying in shock! Your calf has somehow moved to your rear! Could it be that you've been running naked the whole time?!]
[The image of Sai Leng's shifty gaze flashed through your mind instantly, and a suicidal urge surged within you. You collapsed, howling in despair. Your reputation, your innocence—all were utterly destroyed!]
[After staring blankly for a while, feeling frustrated, you still couldn't let go of the idea of riding a motorcycle in the wilderness, so you activated the last bit of bone in your body to barely create a suit of armor for Brother Niu.]
Although it looked a bit like some kind of sex toy, you couldn't care less. After identifying the direction of "Mount Amadeus," you kicked up and sprinted towards your target.
[In the wild acceleration of five seconds to 100 kilometers per hour, Haiyue'er starts requesting songs for you. You enjoy the thrill of running at full speed, handing the control stick to Saileng and calling Lanling to clear a path for you in the speeding vehicle.]
And so, your four-person team—"bus," "driver," "car CD player," and "car turret"—embarked on your journey once more. This team, this road, then and now.
Chapter 249 A bustling town at the foot of Mount Amadeus
The journey through the Bone Spirit Realm lasted a very long time, and gradually, even Sai Leng forgot exactly how many tens of thousands of steps you had taken.
This stretch of road wasn't as easy as I imagined. Starting from the cliff, the treacherous mountain path was exhausting. When you finally reached flat ground, the net-like streams had converged into several larger creeks.
After simmering bone broth several times, your bone density has returned to normal. However, you're now getting used to the centaur-like movement style, and this "man and machine as one" state makes you feel more powerful than riding a horse.
[At this moment, you are nearly two meters tall and almost three meters long. Clad in full armor of bone spikes, wielding a giant spear and round shield, your aura is imposing and ferocious. When you run, white sand fills the sky; when you leap, you cleave through the air with tremendous force! You can truly be described as "a demon lord descended from heaven, a veritable god of war on earth," this centaur...]
Of course, you're unaware that you really do look like a terrifying big boss. Perhaps it's because your chest, sprayed with white liquid by the bone dragon, has become hollow, making you feel a bit drafty when you run.
[Continue along the less steep mountain path until you are no longer surrounded by undulating mountains, and finally the silhouette of a high mountain appears before you.]
The towering mountains stretched into the vast sky, disappearing into the murky "clouds and mist." But these "clouds and mist" were actually just indistinct white suspended particles. You were curious about what those clouds and mist actually were; fortunately, you should be able to see them soon.
On the way to Mount Amadeus, Seren tells you that she also visited Mount Augusta during her thousandth or so white moons while waiting for you, and watched a bone-driving race from afar at its foot.
[At that time, Void Spirit City still existed, but the mean-spirited, fat city lord had long since disappeared in some competition. Sai Leng guessed that she might have won first place by chance and left the Bone Spirit Realm, but more likely, it was another cruel ending.]
The Bone Spirits are not immortal. In the race to ascend to the stars, if their skeletal mount is shattered to pieces, they too will face the threat of death.
The first threat is that the depletion of soul power will prevent the bone spirit from maintaining its soul body on such a high mountain. In the turbulent flow of soul power, without the protection of its mount, the bone spirit will find it difficult to stabilize itself in that environment.
The second threat is Bai Yue. Even if Bone Spirit manages to protect itself after losing its mount, it may not be able to descend the mountain in time before Bai Yue arrives. In that situation, Bone Spirit's ability to transform into withered branches and take root in the ground will be extremely difficult to activate.
[Saileng didn't watch the entire process before returning to where she was waiting for you, but she already understood how brutal the Bone Taming Competition was. Therefore, she strongly advised you that if you were to climb "Mount Amadeus," you should collect more soul bones; perhaps some obscure soul bone might inadvertently save your life.]
[You thought about it and agreed. Judging from the current surface water flow, the next white moon isn't coming anytime soon, so it's definitely worth spending more time outside.]
However, for now, you still plan to get to "Mount Amadeus" first. After all, you've been running for so long and it's still just a shadow; it really feels like you're looking at a mountain and running yourself ragged.
After a long trek, the mountain finally revealed itself. Jagged boulders almost filled your field of vision; looking into the distance, you couldn't find the edge of its base, as if it stretched outwards for tens of thousands of miles, boundless and limitless.
[Under your feet, stones gradually appeared, eroded and corroded over thousands of moonlit nights, eventually fitting together seamlessly to form the uneven rocky ground.]
[A few rocks occasionally tumble down from the seemingly endless mountain. You carefully dodge the falling rocks, trying to find a path or traces of nearby villages. Then, you see a majestic skull by the roadside.]
Can a skeleton be imposing? You've never thought about this question before, but when you see that skeleton with a scraggly 10-centimeter-long beard, legs spread wide, pelvis arched forward, hands on hips, gazing up at the sky, the word "imposing" does indeed pop into your chaotic mind.
With a desire to try and communicate, you stopped a short distance from the skeleton and tidied your appearance.
Just as you were about to ask a question, the skeleton spoke first, much to your surprise.
"Are you my precious pill?" he said, still gazing at the sky, his voice strong and clear.
……
"?"
Latis's brow twitched suddenly. He was silent for a moment, then reached out and picked at his ear with his fingerbone, chuckled twice, and asked:
"Excuse me, I don't think I heard you clearly. What did you just say...?"
"Oh."
The skeleton nodded calmly to Latis, pointed to its empty crotch, and said loudly with a melodious intonation:
"My ointment is missing. If you are my ointment, please return to me. Thank you."