Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 64 - The Bizarre Howl

64: Chapter 64: The Bizarre Howl

64 -64: The Bizarre Howl

Finally, they reached the bottom.

This was not a large underground secret chamber, many people would excavate such a place where they lived to bury secrets that were best kept hidden.

Gu Fan and Xia Yue had been shining their flashlights around the chamber for quite some time hoping to find something useful.

Unfortunately, it was utterly empty, not even a single chair was to be found.

They couldn’t help but think whether they had gone through all this trouble for nothing.

“Look!” Xia Yue seemed to have found something, appearing a bit excited.

Gu Fan quickly turned to look upon hearing him and spotted a painting hanging on the wall, though its contents were a bit puzzling.

It was a map, marked with lakes, mountains, and cities.

However, as it was written in a foreign language, the things depicted on it were entirely incomprehensible.

Perhaps this was the map they were looking for, so Gu Fan immediately took a picture with his phone.

Xia Yue suggested, “It seems this foreign map would be of great help to us, how about we take it?

There might be more secrets hidden within the map.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan thought it made sense.

He went over and removed the painting from the wall only to discover another painting hidden behind it.

“What?” Gu Fan couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

The painting depicted a figure dressed as a queen standing behind a large door, a commanding posture.

The skies and winds seemed to change color around her as she watched a group of people charging towards her.

From behind the heavily adorned door, a host of ferocious creatures emerged, teeth bared and claws bared, pouncing at the queen’s enemies.

Xia Yue viewed the painting again and again, “What’s this?

Does this painting mean to tell us that this queen can summon ghost soldiers, and hence she is unbeatable in battle?”

“Probably that’s the meaning it wants to express.” Gu Fan contemplated for a while and then decided that they should leave this place as soon as possible.

He intended to take both paintings with him.

He carefully packed the two paintings, folded them neatly, and stashed them in his bag.

He wondered what kind of parchment could remain intact even after a thousand years, putting his worries about damaging them to rest.

Gu Fan and Xia Yue returned smoothly to the surface and pulled out the key, restoring everything to its original state.

They planned to exit the palace quickly.

After all, they had intruded, and it would be troublesome if they were discovered.

Lu Yi kept asking what they had discovered because she could tell from Gu Fan’s delightful expression that they had indeed found something valuable.

However, Gu Fan kept insisting that they needed to leave first.

As soon as they reached the palace gate, Jie rushed over in a panic, reporting that the night patrol was on their way.

If they were discovered, it would be disastrous, so they must take a detour and escape from another direction.

Having no other choice, Gu Fan, Lu Yi, Jie, and Xia Yue decided to deviate from their path and traverse through another palace before rushing to the dancing and singing floor.

This other palace was where the Great Night Country displayed their weapons and battle armors.

Gu Fan had seen the fearsome masks adorned armors when he visited earlier in the day, but at that time he had not paid much attention.

All they needed to do was to pass through this palace.

Although it was late into the night, several palaces were still open to outsiders.

It seemed they deliberately arranged it in such a way so that the people who had come to watch the song and dance performance could visit other places as well.

The weapons display palace was one of them.

The majority of the crowd was preoccupied with the song and dance performances and since most of them had seen the exhibits during the day, there were no visitors inside the weapons display palace when Gu Fan and his peers entered this palace.

Even though there was light inside, the palace was eerily deserted.

As they walked through the palace, they couldn’t shake off an unsettling feeling, particularly when they saw the fearsome masks adorned armors, it felt as if they were being watched.

“I remember there is another exit in this palace.

After I go over there, we can turn a corner, pass through a long corridor and reach the dancing and singing floor,” Gu Fan had just finished saying these words when a cool wind blew by.

The slight whistling sound in their ears made their limbs grow cold.

Gu Fan told himself not to be afraid, but suddenly the door behind them slammed shut, almost causing their hearts to race.

They didn’t know if the gust of wind was the culprit.

“What’s going on, it’s terrifying.” Just as Lu Yi finished speaking, the lights went out and they were plunged into pitch darkness.

“No way, is there a power outage at this time?” Jie was incredibly startled, he could feel his heart beating faster.

Gu Fan shook his head, “It’s not a power outage.

We can still hear the sounds of the large-scale song and dance performance outside which means that the performance has not been interrupted by a power cut.”

At this point, Lu Yi really panicked, “What do you mean?

Don’t tell me that someone is playing tricks and thus the palace suddenly blacked out.”

Upon hearing this, both Jie and Xia Yue couldn’t help but shudder and huddled closer together.

A dense darkness enveloped them.

Gu Fan only said, “We should slowly walk back and check if the door is indeed locked.”

Lu Yi immediately replied, “It’s so dark, I can’t even see where you guys are, where are we supposed to walk to?”

“Don’t we have a flashlight?” Xia Yue asked, pulling out his flashlight only to find its light dimmed, illuminating just a sliver of the darkness.

Gu Fan frowned.

“How did the batteries drain so quickly?

Didn’t you charge it?”

“It was Du Jun who bought it.

He lent it to me without mentioning if the battery was fully charged.

I didn’t check thoroughly either, and I had just used it for some time,” Lu Yi responded.

“It must be a newly bought flashlight with a low battery level.

I have one as well, the battery’s still good.

But we should be cautious, and use one flashlight at a time,” Gu Fan suggested, then looked at Jie and Lu Yi.

Everyone carried a flashlight during their night climb on their last trip to the old town.

However, Jie and Lu Yi shook their heads in defeat.

Since they had arrived in daylight for sightseeing, they found the flashlights unnecessary and left all unwanted items at the hotel.

They didn’t return to the hotel, nor did they anticipate a situation where they’d need a flashlight.

Hence, only Gu Fan and Xia Yue had flashlights now.

“No worries, we can shout for help,” Jie suggested, but Gu Fan immediately rejected it.

“The outdoor music and dance performances are too loud.

We wouldn’t be heard.”

Lu Yi grimaced, “No way, can’t be this unlucky.

I feel like we’re being played, led here step by step.”

“Can you stop trying to scare us?” Xia Yue was slightly nervous.

He was the only one among them who had entered the secret room before.

“Sorry,” Lu Yi quickly apologized, “Don’t be scared.

We’re four strong.

Let’s stick together, hand in hand, we will never separate.”

“Thanks, but it feels strange hearing that from you.” Xia Yue just finished his sentence when he noticed something fleeting behind Lu Yi, which sent a chill down his spine.

He quickly shone the flashlight towards it.

“What are you doing?” Lu Yi was blinded by the sudden burst of light, clueless about what just happened.

Xia Yue’s face turned pale, his body trembling, “I…

I think I saw…

something…

moving behind you.”

“What?” Gu Fan, Lu Yi, and Jie were utterly terrified.

Gu Fan didn’t hesitate to turn his flashlight on and started scouring the area.

Heavy breathing, pounding hearts, tightened nerves.

The four of them were on edge.

Occasionally, a whispering howl could be heard from afar, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Gu Fan knew that wasn’t wind.

The sound seemed to come from everywhere, left to right, with no footstep heard.

It felt as if something invisible was circling them in mid-air.

“What is that thing?

It seems to be moving around us.” Not only did Gu Fan feel it, but the others did as well.

The fear wouldn’t be so overwhelming if it were a person.

After all, they were a group of four.

But the fear of the unknown was horrifying.

No human could likely fly around like that.

Everyone’s first guess was that they could be dealing with some malicious spirits, which was terrifying.

Gu Fan clenched his teeth, trying to steady himself, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

He repeatedly reminded himself that this was all a ploy to shatter their nerves, throwing them into chaos, and seize the opportunity to strike.

“Why don’t we find a way out?

This palace is too big to know where to hide,” suggested Lu Yi.

“Alright, let’s head to the exit.

Everyone stick close, we’ll be safe if we stay together,” Gu Fan suggested.

They moved in two neat lines, with the second line following the first closely.

They could still hear the whispering howl in the background, indicating whatever it was had followed them.

The sudden realization sent shivers down their spines.

Xia Yue felt the most terrified.

He clasped his hands with Jie, both of them feeling the chillness of each other’s hands, underlining their fear.

“Everyone, do not stray away.

Absolutely not,” Gu Fan said repeatedly.

He sensed the stiffness in his voice, which was caused by his anxiety.

Then suddenly, Xia Yue’s flashlight went out, plunging them back into darkness, which sent another wave of chills down their spines.

Lu Yi suddenly remembered something, “Right!

We can use our cell phones to call for help.

Su Hui and Lin Xi are outside.

We can use the flashlight on our phones, too.”

Upon hearing this, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

They had been so tense that they forgot about their phones.

However, when Gu Fan tried calling Lin Xi, he realized the signal was bad and the call wouldn’t get through.

Not just him, Lu Yi, Jie, and Xia Yue also had no signal on their phones.

This could either mean the signal in this area was poor, or someone was deliberately jamming their cell signals.

The situation grew worse by the minute.

Thankfully, they still had the flashlight feature on their cell phones.

Even though the battery was low on all four devices, they took turns using the flashlight, slowly moving towards the exit.