Chapter 334: Thunderclap

"I looked into that garden and saw a lady in splendid attire, whose radiance surpassed the branches of the summer sun, and whose beauty outshone the lilies of May..."

"What are you muttering about, 'lady' and 'lilies'?" Field turned his head, craning his neck curiously to peek at the contents of the booklet; he had reason to suspect his companion was hiding something good from him.

The mule, lacking in subjective initiative, once again drove the wheel hub into a dirt pit, sending the two men bouncing up and down like beans in a wok, their hips and thighs aching from the impact.

"Damn it, Field, I shouldn't have dragged you out with me!"

Dominic lay miserably amidst the scattered goods, wishing he could slap his morning self twice; how could he have believed the nonsense that this fellow could drive a carriage? Who knew if it wasn't just a made-up excuse to get out for some fresh air?

The short poem he had just recalled vanished without a trace after that jolt, leaving his mind a blank void filled only with surging blood.

He tried hard to recall the context, but gained very little; only fragments like a flock of pigeons scattered in all directions as his consciousness tried to approach them, leaving not a trace, save for one or two feathers symbolizing their existence.

"So what exactly are you muttering?"

"Just a poem." Dominic realized he was about to lose this poem; the original was copied from a poetry anthology temporarily borrowed from the Dunlin Library, and now both the text and his memory were blurred; perhaps he would never have the chance to find it again.

Just like the sensation that had just slipped away, people always permanently lose certain things without noticing. This feeling of irreversible loss made his mood drop for a moment.

"What poem?"

"I guarantee there's nothing in it that would interest you; watch the road!"

The carriage had already entered the mountain path; if the person at the driving seat lost focus again, there was no guarantee the two of them wouldn't be promoted tonight to accompany the Heavenly Father.

It seemed now that the road, which initially appeared to have a slightly wasteful width, was actually quite reasonable; the sunlight in the mountains weakened far faster than on flat ground. While the high cliffs above still reflected blinding light, the tree-lined path below was already too dark to see the road surface clearly.

Where the vegetation on both sides was lush, the boundary blurred with the deep valley, looking at first glance no different from a flat meadow, but as soon as one crossed it slightly, the carriage and its occupants would roll down, their traces lost forever.

The third-rate coachman's nape began to sweat, his knuckles protruding as he gripped the reins, nearly suffocating the horse.

This at least made him feel a bit reassured; when Field worked seriously, he usually didn't cause trouble.

Dominic pushed his heart back down from his throat to his chest and lay down in the carriage bed, using a flattened pumpkin as a pillow.

He made one last attempt to salvage what he had just lost, his consciousness shuttling back and forth between a few short lines of poetry, searching for the exit of his memory.

Like a craft object played with many times, he could recall the metaphors in every line, depicting truth as holy flowers and the summer sun, guiding readers toward the right path to seek enlightenment; upon first reading, one couldn't help but be attracted by its ingenuity.

But just then, he seemed to suddenly comprehend another layer of meaning; something "non-existent" flashed by, as if the paper had a third side beyond front and back, perfectly embedding itself into the handwritten text beyond sentence breaks and punctuation, beyond pronunciation and rhyme, harmonizing even better than the original text.

Brief, yet profound, absolutely not an illusion constructed by his own consciousness.

He almost thought it was a destined revelation, yet the angle it revealed was filled with concepts and scenes he had never seen before.

Like climbing a reachable yet unattainable glorious peak along a set path, suddenly tripped by a mysteriously appearing pothole, his knees striking the ground heavily.

The light overhead dimmed for an instant; as his perspective fell with the loosening stone debris, he realized the abyss was right at his doorstep.

From the horizon to his feet lay a lightless domain; pebbles falling into it stirred up towering waves of darkness that defied reason, rising and falling to break through the limits of the earth, climbing above the field of vision like growing plants, weaving with the dense clouds.

The light of Shanfeng spun like a wheel, speeding down into the dark valley.

All things in the world were quietly and madly categorized into dark nothingness in an incomprehensible form, leaving only that thing which could not even be called a "thing."

It was so vast it was unimaginable, its presence everywhere in the all-devouring void darkness; yet it was infinitely small, small enough to pass through the narrow gaps between words, following the single ray of light that discovered it and drilling into the pupil.

【It sees you】

It was not that he had discovered it, but that it had discovered him.

A shiver like a cold current passed through his body; Dominic opened his eyes, waving his arms frantically in an attempt to escape the darkness before him, until he felt the hard, uncomfortable vibration coming from behind.

His body was still lying in the carriage bed; he seemed to have fallen asleep without realizing it.

The sky had darkened; the weather, which had wavered between clear and cloudy for days, finally reached its critical point. Clouds covered the starlight and moonlight, the darkness overhead as pure as in the dream.

"You're awake? You could actually rest a bit longer; we still have a long way to go."

Field had slowed the carriage to nearly its minimum speed, the lantern hanging from the front of the carriage moving slowly along the mountain path, relying entirely on pride to hold on, refusing to stop the carriage and go back for help.

Dinner time must have already passed; he hoped the cook didn't have any main course ingredients on the shopping list.

"When did I fall asleep?" He reached out and felt around beside him for a moment; the notebook was nowhere to be found, perhaps thrown out during the fright.

While regretting the loss of all the accounts, a part of his subconscious was actually somewhat relieved, feeling that he had temporarily shaken off something indescribable, as if the aftermath of that inexplicable nightmare had left with it.

"Not long; I guess we've probably reached... the middle of the mountain?"

"I swear I will never ask you to come out with me again; imagine how Mr. Kraft would look at two idiots who are late even for buying groceries."

"Sorry, my fault." The culprit admitted his mistake very straightforwardly. "I, Brother Field, a squire of the Order of the Hospital, hereby declare a night of fasting for self-reflection; that late-night snack belongs to my brother."

Although the apology didn't sound very sincere, the late-night snack made up for it well; Dominic was reluctantly willing to accept the repentance on behalf of the Heavenly Father.

With the confusion of just waking up and a throbbing pain at the back of his head, he pondered for a while, then sluggishly remembered to ask if he had said anything strange in his sleep before.

Just as he was thinking about how to bring it up, an extremely violent bright white replaced the darkness; brief and blinding, it outlined the twisted tree branches in perfect detail, while the shimmering silhouette of the distant Shanfeng extended a twisted giant shadow toward them.

Immediately, darkness rolled back like a tide, leaving a burning mark in his vision that lingered for a long time.

Dominic stared blankly for a moment, realized the light came from behind the clouds, spent half a breath leaping to the driving seat, snatched the reins from his companion who was still staring blankly at the sky, and held on tightly.

Soon, they heard the belated rumble, a long, chaotic roar as if the mountain range was waking up in the clouds, the slow friction of rock scales, drowning out the terrified neighing of the startled horses.

The reins burned a scorching, stinging track in his palm before finally being steadied by the combined strength of the two. The sound wave faded away, disappearing at the horizon.

With his heart still racing, Dominic turned his hand over to check the injury, preparing to use his inner lining clothes for temporary treatment.

However, his hearing was once again seized by the booming explosion; the uncontrolled reins slipped from his hand, and the carriage galloped toward the lightless darkness.

It seemed like his companion's panicked shouts were in his ears, yelling as he tried to twist the bridle.

A fear more subtle than falling pierced his mind amidst his thoughts.

【This is the sound of thunder】

What was that just now?