The Gentleman at the End

Chapter 159: Chapter 158: The Pilgrimage Path

“Whether or not you succeed in obtaining the Relic, I won’t be waiting for you at the base of the mountain all the time.”

“After you have completed this event and come down the mountain, you need to walk back to the previous highway. I will wander there from time to time, for up to ten days. Good luck to you all.”

The Coachman left these words mechanically and drove the carriage away.

The three of them didn’t rush to start their climb; they first made a series of observations on the situation at the base of the mountain.

After standing in the forest area covered by the Grey Zone for five minutes, they neither encountered any attacks from animated trees nor met the rabbit creature that had blocked their path before.

The area that should have been dangerous was unusually quiet.

“The Pathological creatures in the forest at the foot of the mountain, whether or not they are conscious, are instinctively afraid to come near here.

According to the data recorded by the survey team, any animals that come close to the Pilgrim are either blinded or have their eyes gouged out. Perhaps that’s why nearby creatures dare not approach this Pilgrim’s path.

We’ll temporarily set our climbing order like this,

with me leading the way with Little Grape to scout ahead,

and Mr. Reagan, you take the rear. If your Sensing detects that I have taken a wrong path or if you notice that the path we have just passed has changed under the influence of the Grey Zone, just let me know immediately.

Jin, you stay in the middle,

so whether I encounter danger ahead or Reagan is attacked from behind, you can support either of us right away.”

“Sure!”

The small pep on Jin’s shoulder also began to take things seriously; its feathers tightly spread out at fixed angles, revealing its many eyes inherited from its grandmother, which could also serve for precise observation and breaking Illusions.

Yi Chen at the forefront signaled for a moment, “Little Grape seems to have fallen asleep; I’ll go wake it.”

As Thought was transmitted to Lorrian, Little Grape’s Ego was then released from the “Consciousness Ward” Lorrian had constructed.

Trembling all over, it wriggled out from the collar of Yi Chen’s jacket, one hand clutching Yi Chen’s neck, feeling hollowed out.

When officially starting their climb on the rugged mountain path,

Yi Chen was somewhat curious, as Little Grape hadn’t relayed any messages and, true to its nature, should have been constantly complaining.

“Hey, are you okay? I wanted to tell you about Moon Scar beforehand, but seeing you continuously excited about contacting ‘Cold Lake Cemetery’, I just let it be. Lorrian hasn’t done anything to you, has he?”

“No… ”

“We have already started climbing. We’ll soon encounter the special Patients related to ‘Gathering Eye Disease’, and perhaps you’ll get the quality grapes you’ve been dreaming of nights and days.”

“Oh.”

After responding briefly, Little Grape crossed its legs and sat directly on Yi Chen’s shoulder, its state seeming just short of having a cigarette hanging from its lips, appearing depressed.

“Then you might want to take it easy for a bit.”

This state didn’t last long; Little Grape exuded cold lake water from all its pores, splashed its face with cold water, and energized itself.

Then it said seriously, “All the grapes we get during the climb should go to me. If they can help me evolve into a higher form, perhaps there will be a chance for survival.”

Yi Chen smiled faintly, not bothering to explain much further.

After a night of communication with Moon Scar, Yi Chen saw no deceit in the other’s face, and could almost confirm the sincerity of their exchanges.

Even if it wanted his life, as Moon Scar said, it would wait until Yi Chen had grown mature enough, that is, after breaking through the ‘Limit of Man.’

Though there were still some minor threats to consider, for now, what needed to be done was to focus on the climb.

The rugged, winding mountain path before them had only one route, requiring no choices at any forks.

About fifteen minutes into the climb, they finally encountered the ‘Pilgrims’ detailed in the event records.

Their bodies were thin and elongated like withered trees, possibly due to prolonged trekking and lack of nutrition,

Wrapped in only a tattered cloth,

in their hands, they each clutched a small object, be it a glass marble, a metal ring, or a slip of paper—relics from their loved ones, seemingly hoping that the pilgrimage might lead their souls to a world devoid of illness.

They kneeled on the ground, their bodies leaning forward, their heads completely touching the ground, forming a triangular worshipping posture.

There was no need for verification to ascertain that these pilgrims had already died, belonging to those who were eliminated early on, those too weak to even undergo the transformation.

Their corpses were neatly lined up along the ascending mountain path, with one every two or three meters, extending into the dense fog of the mountainside, making it uncertain whether there was an end in sight.

“Little Grape, help me out.”

Trying to approach one of the pilgrim corpses, Yi Chen let Little Grape slowly lower itself down while clinging to its tendrils, like a worker suspended by a safety rope, to peek at the buried face of the pilgrim.

However, the vision returned was quite eerie, making Yi Chen furrow his brows,

The deceased pilgrim’s eyes had been gouged out, which was expected, but he still bore a smile.

This smile was not one of pain or distortion, but a heartfelt relief, even describable as ‘excitement’—as though his pilgrimage had not failed at all and was still ongoing.

Yi Chen observed several more deceased pilgrims, all wearing that same expression.

While he was observing the fifth corpse,

Reagan, at the end of the team, picked up on something unusual and quickly shouted out, “William, watch out for the corpse’s back!”

Almost at the same moment he shouted, the back of the corpse indeed started to move.

Hidden beneath the tattered cloth, it was unclear what exactly was moving, only that there were many, all of different sizes.

Yi Chen didn’t retreat but instead retracted Little Grape, who was ‘suspended in operation’… letting Little Grape alone observe the strange movement on the back while Yi Chen chose to close his eyes.

Meanwhile, with a hand gesture downward toward his teammates on the mountain path below, Yi Chen suggested that they wait and see if they need to help based on how the situation unfolded.

The back of the corpse continued to maintain its granular movement, without further change or threat, as if it was just waiting for someone passing by to unveil the old cloth covering the moving area.

Whew~

With one hand holding the axe, and the other grabbing the corner of the cloth, Yi Chen slowly began to pull.

As the rag slid off the back, a densely packed scene of discomfort was observed by Little Grape’s lone eye and transmitted back to Yi Chen’s brain.

The corpse’s back was covered with grapes of varying sizes from various mountain creatures, notably lacking the eye structures of humans… these eyeballs might have been related to what the pilgrims ate before their deaths.

Right as the rag fell,

All the granular eyes turned their gaze toward the ‘unveiler’, a spiritual pathogen rapidly invading the thoughts of Little Grape.

But then… Buzz!

The spiritual shock from the Lake Bottom Giant Eye reversed its course.

The feeling was quite like ‘counter-waves’, only this clash of mental realms was invisible to the naked eye.

The next second,

Crackling~ As if someone was setting off firecrackers in the mountains, all the eyes on the back of the corpse burst simultaneously, not a single one surviving.

Having done all this, Little Grape, hands on hips, said disdainfully:

“Such low-level Pupil Skills, still trying to be secretive and pose, what trash~ With eyeballs this inferior, I can’t even muster a hint of appetite.”

Having quickly neutralized the target, Little Grape seemed to regain its confidence,

and instantly recovered from its depressed state, standing proudly on Yi Chen’s shoulder, one hand on its waist and the other pointing towards the path up the mountain.

“I’m going to explode all your inferior grapes today; bring it on!”