Chapter 7: Advance and Retreat

“I’ll go take a look.” The Wise Star raised his left hand outward, signaling the others to stay put, then took small, careful steps toward the skeleton.

Qian Cangyi also wanted to approach, but after some thought, he decided against moving, especially since the other three actors remained still.

Once Wise Star was close enough, he slowly crouched down and began examining the skeleton. Then, as if noticing something, he reached out with his right hand to lift the skeleton’s right hand, while his left hand moved beneath it.

Because Wise Star’s back was to the group, Qian Cangyi couldn’t see exactly what he was doing.

Gradually, Wise Star stepped back without turning around, his gaze fixed on the skeleton.

“What did you find?” Qian Cangyi asked softly.

Wise Star turned around, raising his right hand to reveal a black notebook.

The notebook was thickly coated in dust, its pages stuck together, resembling something carelessly discarded by the roadside.

“A notebook, pressed beneath the right hand.”

He began to carefully flip through the pages.

Due to the severe damage, turning the pages was extremely difficult, a challenge that couldn’t be overcome simply by having more people.

“Xiao Tian, keep watch around us to prevent any accidents,” Wise Star instructed. Then he crouched down again, placing the notebook on the ground and gently brushing away the dirt with great patience.

Once most of the dust was cleared, he opened to the first page.

Most of its content was missing, with only a few fragmented phrases barely discernible.

[Why is it still (missing), afraid (missing) truly lost (missing).]

[(Missing) is simply not enough, (missing), Duan Ling also (missing), cold medicine (missing) effect.]

Wise Star read these aloud, pausing over the obscured parts covered by dirt.

“Lost… lost?” Qian Cangyi glanced around nervously.

“Duan Ling? Why Duan Ling? That’s the character I’m playing!” Ning Jing pointed at the words on the notebook.

“Indeed, very strange,” Wise Star frowned deeply.

A chill crept down Qian Cangyi’s spine, as if he was slowly stepping into the realm of the dead.

“Don’t rush. Let’s write this down first, then check the next page.” Wise Star pulled out his red notebook and copied the content from the first page before carefully cleaning the dirt from the first and second pages.

However, the results were poor. Despite his careful efforts, much remained missing.

[(Missing) died, (missing) tent (missing).]

Most of the middle portion was gone.

[We will all die.]

[(Missing) the body is gone, can’t find it at all.]

[(Missing) regret.]

The second page still offered only scattered fragments, but piecing them together, although the exact events remained unclear, it was unmistakable that the skeleton beneath the camphor tree was in grave danger.

Qian Cangyi felt his heart tighten; he was eager to see what was next.

“I’ll write this down first, then check the next page,” Wise Star said without hesitation. After recording the text, he continued flipping.

The third page was worse—only one clear character, “head,” was visible; the rest was either blank or covered in dirt.

Still, Wise Star wrote it down.

He then moved to the fourth page, but most of it was buried under dirt, and the uncovered sections were blank.

“Looks like these are all the clues we have.” Wise Star handed his notebook to Qian Cangyi.

Qian glanced over it, admiring the neat handwriting. After copying it, he passed it to Ning Jing.

A minute later, Wise Star took back his notebook and spoke:

“The biggest clue is the name Duan Ling. If the Duan Ling written here is indeed the character Ning Jing is playing, then things are probably far more complicated than we thought.”

“Perhaps we have entered a cycle—a never-ending loop—and the five of us are merely one set trapped within it.”

He looked at Ning Jing.

“Don’t look at me—I have no memory of Duan Ling,” she said with a bitter smile.

“If what you say is true, then their fate must have been total annihilation,” Qian Cangyi muttered, staring intently at his black notebook, his brow furrowed.

“Cangyi, your notebook is black. Could this skeleton be you?” Rou Guang glanced at him.

“Huh? I just picked it randomly. Mo An’s choice isn’t necessarily the same as mine. Besides, Xiao Tian’s notebook is black too.” Qian Cangyi quickly shook his head.

“By the way, could it be that we ourselves are lost now?” Ning Jing suddenly wondered.

“How about we turn back?” Xiao Tian offered his suggestion.

“Turn back?” Rou Guang echoed the word.

“I mean retrace our steps. If we can return, it means we’re not lost. If we can’t…” Xiao Tian trailed off.

“Worth a try,” Wise Star nodded solemnly.

The five retraced their path. Since there was only one road, there was no fear of wrong turns.

Xiao Tian led the way, with Wise Star trailing at the rear.

Along the way, Qian Cangyi flipped through the notebook once more. Aside from the name Duan Ling, the character “head” on the third page caught his attention.

He believed it referred to a human head, matching the eerie shadow he had seen the previous night.

Minutes later, the path suddenly opened into a clearing. Xiao Tian quickened his pace and began to run.

“Looks like we’re not lo—”

His words abruptly stopped.

Qian Cangyi caught up and stopped beside him.

The clearing was indeed spacious, but it was neither the sandy beach of He Fang Island nor the blue ocean—only a circular open ground.

At the center, five tents were pitched in a pentagonal arrangement, each a different color. Around the tents, packaging bags were scattered everywhere; some were contained in trash bags beside the tents, but most were carelessly discarded.

Nearby, the dense forest had multiple small paths—four in total—not just one.

“Looks like we’re lost,” Ning Jing murmured, staring blankly at the clearing.

“There’s one good thing—at least we have enough food.” Rou Guang patted the backpack on his right shoulder.

“The crack has widened a bit,” Wise Star pointed at the ground.

Being in the clearing allowed the sunlight to fall directly on them, casting clearer shadows that made the widening crack more visible.

Qian Cangyi glanced back; as Wise Star said, the crack at the shadow’s head and neck had indeed grown wider.

Growl, growl!

A stomach grumbled loudly.

Qian Cangyi looked toward the source—it was Xiao Tian.

He found it odd.

Given Xiao Tian’s physique, his energy consumption was higher, but it shouldn’t make him hungry so soon; after all, he had just eaten breakfast during the cleanup.

“I’m hungry too.” Wise Star clasped his left hand over his stomach.

“I... me too.” Ning Jing looked down at her belly.

Qian Cangyi felt the same sensation.

“I take back what I said earlier,” Rou Guang said, his face grave.