She bounced up and down on the Centaur’s back, as if on a roller coaster, and the speed was fast, which was like a strong emetic for Anna, who had no experience at all.
Fisher looked at Anna, who kept vomiting, with a certain amount of sympathy. He had been considering how cool it would be if Humans fought while riding on the backs of Centaurs, but now it seemed that riding a real horse would not only be more reliable but also more stylish.
He didn’t pay much attention to Anna and stood on the edge of the cliff by the roadside jungle with Moli, looking in this direction. In the distance, obscured by mountains, a river flowed through the dense forest, winding its way toward the distant Ocean.
This place was no longer within the domain of Saint Nali, and that river was quite far from Nali Lake, but since Moli’s hairband turned here, it indicated that there is an underground river beneath this spot connecting Nali Lake with the distant river. The question was, how to find the actual entryway?
"Let’s search nearby to see if we can find the entrance to the underground river..."
Anna came back, her face pale, apparently having almost finished vomiting. She surveyed the surrounding jungle, then her nose twitched slightly, and she said to Fisher,
"I can vaguely smell the scent of water and rocks nearby, that unique cave smell, I’m definitely not wrong."
Fisher had almost forgotten how keen Anna’s nose was; she could even smell his own scent through the faint perfume that Elizabeth had given him.
Fisher asked her to lead the way, and Anna followed the scent forward. In the distance, atop a mountain peak, Fisher could still faintly see the Observation Tower built by the Royal Family. They had enclosed the entire area of Nali Lake, preventing anyone from approaching.
However, it was night now, and they were very far from there, so even if there were any exploration magic, it wouldn’t be able to detect them.
"It should be here..."
Anna’s voice ended their search as they followed her for a while. Soon, Fisher saw a massive boulder before him. She pointed at a crevice between two large stones and said to Fisher and the others.
The crevice between the stones was very narrow, just wide enough for a person to pass through. In the moonlight, the space inside was pitch black. If it weren’t for Anna’s guidance, Fisher and the others would never have discovered this hidden spot.
Standing above where they believed the underground river flowed, Moli’s headband hardly moved, pointing downward, so Fisher couldn’t be sure if there really was a true underground stream below.
"Let’s go check it out..."
With no other options, Fisher squeezed into the crevice between the stones first.
What troubled him was that the Handcane that Renie had given him was lost, so he couldn’t use Illumination Magic to survey the surroundings. Yet Moli, who followed him, had night vision. After walking a few steps in the narrow and humid crevice, Moli suddenly grabbed Fisher,
"Fisher, there is a slope ahead."
Following the light from the glowing hairband on Moli’s head, Fisher looked downward and found that the space opened up considerably, with a huge slope made of rubble leading straight down into the depths. An occasional gust of cold, chilly wind made Fisher realize that the space below might be vast.
"There’s a very large cave below..."
Fisher and Moli looked back to make sure that Anna and Xiayat had caught up. In the darkness, Fisher could only faintly make out the shadows of the two women. Once he confirmed they were following, Fisher continued forward.
Lower down, the sound of the flowing water became more distinct, and the space around them wider. It felt as if Air was blowing from all directions, suggesting a potentially complex underground network. But in the darkness, Fisher could only follow the sound of water, occasionally having to make sure that those behind him hadn’t gotten lost.
"Hold hands, so you don’t get...."
Fisher turned back to issue such an instruction—their group of four in the following order: Fisher, Moli, Anna, and then Xiayat. Fisher counted heads in the dim blue light reflecting off the water flow, looking back along the line.
Counting their numbers, Fisher suddenly realized there was an additional figure behind Xiayat—or, in other words, an extra person had appeared behind them in the darkness?
Fisher’s heartbeat quickened for a second before he stopped in his tracks, staring intently in Xiayat’s direction. However, all he could see were their blurry figures and the shadow behind Xiayat, impossible to discern who it was.
Fisher’s voice suddenly rose. When Moli, sensing something was amiss, also turned to look back, her vision was better than Fisher’s. Upon seeing the figure behind Xiayat, her face stiffened and she instinctively pointed at Xiayat, exclaiming,
"Xi... Xiayat! There’s a woman behind you!"
"A... a woman? Ahhhh! Ghosts!!!"
Fisher couldn’t stop her in time. Startled, Xiayat turned pale and instinctively lifted her hooves, kicking back at the shadow behind her. Whether or not she hit Fisher, he didn’t know, but they were on a massive slope. With that sudden kick, the entire group’s balance began to shift.