328: The Mystery of Purple Flower Mountain (2)

The Mystery of Purple Flower Mountain (2)

"Juin…"  0

"Juin…" 

Juin could hear Cyrus and Wolfe calling out for him, but his body remained unmoving, and his gaze seemed to be fixed to a point. 

"Juin, listen to me…"

This time, it was Lucifer's voice. 

"Those things, they won't hurt you. If you are truly afraid, light up a few soul flames. Those spirits are weak, so they would be terrified of soul flames and move out of your way."

Hearing Lucifer's advice, Juin finally found the courage to look away from the black shadows. 

"Would it hurt them?" Juin asked after a long silence. "I don't want to hurt them any further." 

"Not unless you throw it at them," Lucifer reassured him. "Just keep the flames around you and be the human torchlight. After all, it's getting dark soon, so none of your little buddies will suspect much." 

Juin nodded. He lit up a few soul flames in the shape of orbs, and the moment the shadow-like figures saw it, they quickly retreated back to the depth of the forest. When they were completely gone, Juin could breathe better, and he quickly picked up his backpack and jumped towards Luca. 

"What the hell is wrong with you now?" Luca asked, stepping back a little to avoid the orbs of soul flames that were circling around Juin. 

"Err," Juin blinked a couple of times before replying, "I'm volunteering as the human torchlight. Let's go now…" 

Luca rolled his eyes and turned towards the forest. When he walked past Cyrus and Wolfe, he said, "Walk behind him, but keep a close distance. I will get rid of the flowers…" 

"Shouldn't Juin be in front?" 

"What for? You guys are animals. It's not like you can't see in the dark," Luca said. "And I'm sensitive to the changes in the air, so as long as there's wind, I can 'see' clearly. Only that idiot requires a torchlight." 

Using his wind power, he blew away all purple flowers that lay in their way, making sure that the path was clear before taking a step forward. 

"You know…" Wolfe said as he looked at the small animals that were watching them from the dark, "Why are these animals fine?"

"They are probably like those natives…" Luca said as he continued to move forward. 

"How do you know the way anyway?" Wolfe asked again. His ears perked up, but other than the sounds of wind, leaves rustling, and the pitter-pattering of the animals, he couldn't hear anything else.

Luca raised a brow at him. "Wind, of course." 

As the Child Blessed by the Wind Gods, he could "hear" the "voices" in the wind, and with it, he could find the place that Master Shawn mentioned before, the waterfall that was supposedly near the top of the mountain. The portal to bring them home should be behind the waterfall. 

"Less talking," Luca suddenly said and picked up the pace. "If we continue at this pace, we should be able to reach the place by midnight." 

Throughout their journey, they did not meet any resistance or any attacks. The wild animals generally avoided them. Perhaps it was due to instinct, but these wild animals seemed to be able to sense that there were two stronger animals among them. Well, at the very least, just like those shark-like dolphins, they could sense that Cyrus was a unique being and it would not be wise to cross his path. 

Three hours later, Cyrus groaned and complained, "This is boring! Can't I just run straight ahead?" 

"If you aren't afraid of the flowers, then be my guest," Luca said nonchalantly as he continued to lead the team. They were almost at the top of the mountain. 

"Well…" Cyrus glanced at the flowers that were pushed to the side by Luca's wind and said, "What can they really do to us?" 

"I don't want to test it, but you are free to do so," Luca said. He glanced back and saw that Juin' had doubled the amount of his soul flames. He thought, 'That guy has been at it for a few hours. Even though he seems stressed, it doesn't seem to be from fatigue… What exactly is he afraid of?'

When he turned to the front, he glanced around at the thick trees that grew wildly and abundantly in the lack of human interference, yet he did not see anything suspicious.

'Can that guy be even weirder…' he mumbled to himself as he placed his attention back to listening to the wind. 

"Wait…" Cyrus suddenly stopped in track. He raised his chin up slightly and turned around in place. His nose twitched occasionally, and after a while, he stopped and looked in one direction.

"What's wrong?" Juin asked when he saw Cyrus' weird behavior. "Did you smell something?" 

"Seawater… and blood," Cyrus murmured. He pointed in a direction where the trees were so closely packed together that they could not see more than a few meters ahead. Suddenly, his ears perked up. "I know this scent!" 

Without waiting for any response, he just dashed off in the direction. 

"Cyrus!" Juin yelled after him. "No!"

"Stay here, I will go with him!" Wolfe said before running off after Cyrus. 

When Juin took a step forward, he immediately felt someone pulling him back. "Let go!" Juin yelled as he tried to pull his hand away. Cyrus went into an area where a huge group of the shadow-like figures were in. 

When he could not release himself from Luca's grip, he got angry and turned around. "F*ck off!" he yelled as he sent a flaming orb towards Luca. 

PAP!

The flaming orb was sent into the deep forest by a gust of wind that had condensed into a palm. 

Luca grabbed Juin's collar and yelled, "Stop it! Look at yourself! I don't know why, but you are scared of something! You are only creating more trouble for everyone! They have the sharp sense of a predator! If they need help, they will call for us!" 

"Shut up! Let go of me!" Juin pushed Luca away successfully. The emotions of those spirits were still swirling within him, making him constantly be on his edge. Sure, he could keep those spirits away from him with his soul flames, but whatever emotions that had been portrayed upon him earlier remained, like those deep, purplish bruises that remained long after an injury. 

"Juin, control yourself!" Lucifer warned. 

"Even you are telling me to control myself…" Juin growled as he glared at Lucifer. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't chose me to be your goddamn f*cking vessel, this would have never had happened! I would be safe at home, feeling miserable but safe! Why won't you guys let me go? Why?!!" 

His eyes flickered between red and blue, and unlike those other times, Luca saw them clearly this time and quickly jumped back until he was a safe distance away. 

"Juin, what the f*ck is wrong with you?" 

"Arggghh!!!" Juin grabbed his head and fell on his knees as he roared out loud. 

ROAR!!!

Birds that were perching all over the island immediately flew away from fright while the land animals ran as far as they could, until they were all gathered by the beach. 

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