Chapter 11: The Light Source
"Where have we ended up? I want to go home..." Some of the female classmates couldn't help but sob.
"Another five-colored altar..." Pang Bo stood together with Ye Fan. The two exchanged glances, then both shook their heads. They had been best friends since university and still met frequently after graduation, knowing each other better than anyone. Now both felt that the situation was dire, that everyone's circumstances were precarious, filled with unknowns and variables.
At this moment, the others also withdrew their gazes from the empty wasteland, anxiously and frantically surveying their surroundings.
The massive bronze coffin lay overturned behind them, and beneath the coffin was a grand five-colored stone altar, very similar to the giant altar they had seen on Mount Tai, constructed from five different colors of giant stones.
The five-colored stone altar occupied an extremely vast area. One could imagine that its construction must have been a colossal project in ancient times. But after years of wind and sand erosion, the once towering altar had been almost completely buried underground, now level with the reddish-brown sandy ground.
Today, the nine dragons pulling the coffin had crashed down, their heavy impact shaking away the surrounding sand and gravel, revealing the altar's rough outline. Not only was the giant bronze coffin lying across the altar platform, but the nine massive dragon corpses also pressed down upon it, demonstrating the altar's immense scale.
"We're... lost. We can't find our way back." A fragile female classmate wept, her body swaying. If not for someone supporting her, she would have already collapsed to the ground.
Many people's faces turned pale. At this moment, all kinds of possibilities flashed through their minds. The scene before them looked exactly like an unfamiliar world. No one wanted to accept this reality, but Mount Tai had vanished, and the empty wasteland lay before their eyes, forcing them into silence.
"Don't panic, don't be afraid. There will be a way out," Ye Fan shouted loudly.
"How? How do we get back? How do we... leave this strange world?" Even some of the male classmates now had trembling voices, filled with intense fear and unease.
The unknown fills some with awe and fear, while it ignites a desire for exploration in others.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo avoided the nine massive dragon corpses and walked forward, wanting to see what the surrounding area was like.
Li Xiaoman was not far away, seemingly feeling cold. She hugged her arms, her beautiful face somewhat pale, yet still appearing very calm, like a pure lotus blooming in the dimness. As Ye Fan passed by, he took off his jacket and handed it to her, but she only said "thank you" and shook her head in refusal.
Ye Fan didn't say much. He wasn't trying to win her back. Putting his coat back on, he continued forward with Pang Bo. Circling around the massive dragon corpses and the bronze coffin, they saw Li Xiaoman's American classmate, Kaide, also observing the surroundings, occasionally exclaiming "god" under his breath.
Not far from the five-colored stone altar was a huge rock lying horizontally, its height alone reaching over twenty meters. But the slope wasn't very steep, so it could be climbed.
Ye Fan was about 1.79 meters tall. Although he looked quite gentle, he was actually very strong. In college, he had been a main player on the school football team, often called a "barbarian" on the field.
As for Pang Bo, his name suited him—he had a "majestic" presence. But he wasn't fat; he was genuinely strong, a burly big guy with arms nearly as thick as an ordinary person's legs.
Both had excellent physiques. They quickly ran toward the giant rock without carefully climbing, charging straight up. Standing on the rock and looking into the distance, they saw faint points of light shining through the dimness, which surprised them greatly.
"We probably can't go back." Since there was nothing he couldn't say to his best friend, Ye Fan directly stated his speculation and judgment: "This place definitely isn't the same time-space as ours."
"It really isn't our time-space anymore." Although Pang Bo was usually carefree, he never joked about serious matters. Gazing at the faint halo of light in the distance, he frowned and asked, "Do you think gods really exist in this world?"
Ye Fan also stared at the faint, flickering light in the distance. "We've already seen dragon corpses. I think even if a living deity appeared before us, I wouldn't be surprised."
"A living deity appearing before us... what would that be like?" Pang Bo murmured.
A sound came from behind. Kaide, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, also climbed onto the rock. When he saw the light in the distance, he let out a cry of surprise.
"Praise... merciful God, I... see light," he said in broken Chinese, then turned and waved vigorously, shouting to Li Xiaoman in the crowd, "I see... light!" Then he climbed down from the rock and rushed toward Li Xiaoman.
Kaide's shout immediately caused a commotion among the crowd, and many people ran over.
Pang Bo glanced at Li Xiaoman and Kaide standing together not far away, then said to Ye Fan, "Is that foreigner really Li Xiaoman's boyfriend?"
"How would I know?"
"Are you really just giving up like that?" Pang Bo glanced at him sideways.
"Some things, even if you can start over, it's hard to return to the original point. Even if you walk the same path twice in life, you won't feel the same way. Those are all things of the past. People have to move forward." Ye Fan shook his head, then, as if remembering something, smiled and said, "You're the one who's carefree, with a colorful nightlife."
"I despise you. How is that richer than your life?" Pang Bo looked at Ye Fan, then at Li Xiaoman not far away, and said, "Based on a man's intuition, I feel like something is still going to happen between you two."
"Don't ruin my reputation." Ye Fan chuckled. "Do you have a sixth sense like a woman too?"
At this moment, they were probably the only two who could still laugh. Neither of them was a pessimist; no matter the situation, it was hard to make them frown.
Soon, many people climbed onto the giant rock and looked into the distance. The faint light flickered like fireflies, piercing through the dim space and entering their view. Though the light source wasn't bright, it seemed to ignite everyone's hope, and many female classmates cheered.
Ahead was faint light. Though still full of unknowns, everyone wanted to move forward. Perhaps this was human nature—fearing darkness and longing for light.
"Don't let us down."
"Hope there will be a miracle."
One by one, the crowd climbed down from the rock and gathered before the five-colored altar to discuss their next move.
"Everything here is strange to us. Even if there's light ahead, we should still be careful," Wang Ziwen suggested cautiously.
Zhou Yi had remained calm all along. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "Right. Let's first select a few people to scout ahead. That light doesn't seem too far away, but we need to be prepared for the worst."
Everyone else agreed. The unknown path ahead was unpredictable, and in an unfamiliar environment, caution was necessary.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the five-colored altar, and the bronze coffin let out a metallic clang.
"What happened?"
"I feel like the sound came from inside the bronze coffin," said a female classmate closest to the coffin, her face pale.
Hearing this, everyone's expression changed. After all, inside the giant coffin was a smaller bronze coffin used to hold a corpse!