Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2777: Chapter 2772: Thirteen Tales (29)

So it’s you, kid.

Fu Qian was still pretty tolerant about it; in theory there’s nothing wrong with what the night guard said.

If your heart’s set on freedom, of course you long for the world outside.

Not to mention he originally came from that outside world, and only got forcibly kept here after something went wrong.

The problem was the tone.

The sudden shift made it feel like a clandestine operative finishing the code-phrase, then dropping the act in an instant.

Even the lighting was perfectly in sync, making you subconsciously believe that what he was saying now was the real truth.

”Leaving here would definitely be nice. I was actually planning to find a chance to sneak out quietly.”

His vision was quietly recovering; watching the guard’s steady, unbroken pace, Fu Qian followed along while replaying the twists and turns of his mission so far.

”Oh? Then why didn’t you go?”

The guard kept that same tone, with no hint of emotion.

”Those thorn bushes look really dangerous.”

Fu Qian still answered honestly.

”You’re seeing it very clearly. Those thorn bushes are indeed dangerous—especially once you’ve gone past them.”

Turns out honesty really does go a long way; after a brief silence, the guard obviously became much more talkative.

”This place is truly outside the real world. There’s a huge area with no humans, and at the same time, a lot of beasts. I’m sure you heard them just now.

”The thorn bushes have a beast-repelling effect. As long as you stay inside their ring, you’re very safe, free to enjoy all of this without being devoured... But once you step beyond that boundary, you won’t survive for long.”

So that’s the kind of danger we’re talking about?

As he spoke, the chief doctor’s office was already receding into the distance, and Fu Qian seemed to be gaining a deeper understanding of the asylum in the Darkness.

It’s not that the thorn bushes harm people; it’s that once you leave, you’re no longer under their protection.

At first listen the explanation even sounded a bit off-topic, since he himself apparently didn’t need to worry much about beasts—as long as he left, the mission was complete, right?

But the other man had brought it up on his own, so there was clearly more to come.

”If you really want to leave this place, there’s only one way: the supply train that runs on the tracks.”

Sure enough, he didn’t disappoint; the guard immediately offered a very particular insight.

”I see. I did catch a glimpse of it earlier... But with your position, you’re not really supposed to be making that kind of suggestion, are you?”

Fu Qian nodded slightly as he listened.

”And with your position, you’re not really supposed to have just ’caught a glimpse’... After all, that’s what you arrived on.”

The footsteps in the dark seemed to falter; the guard turned his head, staring at Fu Qian in silence for a moment before asking back.

...

That tracks.

He hadn’t been making things up earlier; along the way, from certain angles you could faintly see parts of the railway, including a section of rack rails for climbing slopes.

Add in the necessary traction cables, and given the terrain around here, it’s much better suited than any other mode of transport.

And as an approved, visiting columnist, he ought to be more familiar with what appears to be the only access route.

”The pity is, I don’t really remember much of it.”

Fu Qian’s response was to point at his own head, once again answering honestly.

”I thought so... I already had a feeling earlier. Another mark added to Servis’s ledger of sins.”

Amnesia is usually the kind of thing that makes people suspicious, but the night guard seemed to accept the explanation instantly.

And what came next was even more shocking—he didn’t even bother hiding his dissatisfaction with the chief doctor.

”Actually I feel pretty good. After this trip out, I’ve been blending in more and more with this place.”

For a moment, even Fu Qian couldn’t help offering a bit of advice.

It’s perfectly normal for workers to resent their boss; having a sense of justice is fine too. But there’s no need to throw your job away and take a stand for some stranger.

”...Of course you’re blending in. In fact, from where I’m standing, you’re already very much like that lot.”

You could tell the guard hadn’t expected to be lectured in return; his steps came to a complete stop.

After a brief inner struggle, he gave Fu Qian a kind of high praise.

”But as long as you can still feel yourself blending in, and still crave leaving, then it’s not too late yet.

”The real victims are the ones painfully aware they’ve already become part of this place, whose spirit has a piece carved out of it because of that, until they finally can’t leave at all.”

...

”I think I get it. Servis is the true culprit behind all this—what he’s doing isn’t remotely the work of a doctor, it’s the exact opposite, he’s mutilating countless souls?”

As the guard’s words grew more unrestrained, things seemed to be coming into sharper focus.

Feeling his compassion for the victims, Fu Qian said he was starting to grasp the asylum’s true nature.

”And you can’t stand all of this, so you want to get me out?”

And the man’s purpose, too.

Just like he’d suspected earlier—the double agent was right beside him.

The night guard was not only not Servis’s minion, he was openly taking a stand against him, swearing to rescue the victimized columnist.

”Getting you out is the least important part.”

Sadly, that little bout of self-satisfaction was immediately slapped down.

”I need someone to spread the truth about this place, to let more people know that such atrocities are happening, and in turn bring this place to a thorough judgment... Obviously, that’s your specialty.”

The night guard was very straightforward; what he valued was Fu Qian’s identity.

”And I’m sure after all these days of torment, you’d be happy enough to do it, wouldn’t you?”

And the suffering he’d gone through, too.

”Got it. You don’t rescue just anyone, and you’re certainly not some ordinary bleeding heart. You expect a proper payoff from me.”

Fu Qian nodded slightly as he listened, as if he were seeing a man who’d swallowed his rage and gone undercover in the Demon’s nest, finally spotting a chance to slay the Demon.

It’s just the wording... ”bring this place to a thorough judgment”?

Why did that sound vaguely ominous?

Fu Qian thought about the judgment day with only nine days left, shaking his head inwardly.

”A good person? You flatter me. No one good can stay here for long.

”You are lucky, though. If you hadn’t run into me, by now you’d probably already be tied up in Servis’s office.”

On top of that, the man didn’t accept the compliment at all; he deflected it with self-mockery and a cold rejection.

”But I heard he never goes to his office?”

Another interesting angle—Fu Qian brought up a rumor he’d heard earlier.

”So you’re planning to waste our time on questions like that? We don’t have much time. This season the train only comes once, at noon.”

Unfortunately, the guard was in no mood for small talk anymore.

Figures.

Fu Qian didn’t press the question of how, if the train only came at noon, their time could already be running short. He just looked up at the sky.

Unnoticed, daylight had already grown bright.

Judgment day seemed to have crept one day closer.