Chapter 2236: Guidance

The candlelight flickered. After entering the black fog, the flame on the White Fat Candle emitted a dim white light, which, while dispersing the nearby black fog, also brought peace of mind.

The White Fat Candle had two functions: one was to disperse the black fog, and the other was to stabilize the mind. Su Xiao basically didn't feel the second effect; his blade technique was already about cultivating the mind, and coupled with his high willpower attribute, he directly ignored the second effect of the White Fat Candle.

Su Xiao walked in the black fog passage. The passage opened by the White Fat Candle was only two meters high and one meter wide, very cramped. If one had claustrophobia, they would need someone to pinch their philtrum to save them at this moment.

The black fog passage was not only cramped but also quiet. It would be fine if it remained quiet, but after Su Xiao moved forward for a distance, murmurs came from the black fog on both sides. These fragmented sounds made it impossible to tell what was being expressed.

The White Fat Candle could only burn for 20 minutes in the black fog. If Su Xiao couldn't walk out of the black fog or find a wooden house within 20 minutes, he would be trapped here and eventually die from the erosion of the black fog.

However, he couldn't go fast even if he wanted to now. The speed at which the candlelight dispersed the black fog was somewhat slow, and he could only walk at a normal speed.

Wax oil slid from Su Xiao's fingers, dripping onto the ground without leaving any traces. Looking back, there was a trail of wax oil drops along the way, still flashing with a fluorescent white light.

After moving forward for 3 minutes, Su Xiao's footsteps stopped, and he raised his right arm. In Su Xiao's team, this gesture meant silence.

Slight footsteps came from ahead, and an oil lamp appeared in front. A large area of black fog was dispersed by this oil lamp.

A hunchbacked old woman walked over, carrying an oil lamp, wearing an old gray robe, and carrying an equally old square wooden box on her back. Her white hair was messy and split-ended, and her mouth had been completely sewn shut.

*Thump, thump~*

The old woman tapped the oil lamp with the bone rod in her hand, and the thread sewing her lips seemed to have life, pulling away from her lips like a thin black worm, wriggling beside her mouth.

"Young man, do you want to buy a candle?"

The hunchbacked old woman's voice was dry and hoarse. Strangely, it didn't make one feel annoyed.

"What is the price?"

After seeing this old woman, Su Xiao wanted to obtain her oil lamp, but whether he could beat her was a question—no, it was that after provoking her, he wouldn't even have a chance for a strategic retreat.

"One Shadow Stone for one White Fat Candle."

The hunchbacked old woman unbuckled the wooden box on her back. After opening it, dozens of White Fat Candles were neatly arranged inside—very wealthy.

Su Xiao hesitated. The White Fat Candle was too expensive. For the Dead, one Shadow Stone meant a certain degree of freedom; even if they couldn't leave the Death House, they wouldn't be imprisoned in a wooden house of thirty or forty square meters. One could imagine what the Dead were willing to pay for this freedom.

And this hunchbacked old woman asked for one Shadow Stone for one White Fat Candle. Trading would be a loss, but not trading meant that when the White Fat Candle in his hand burned out, everything would be over, and the three Shadow Stones he kept wouldn't even have a chance to be taken to the grave.

Su Xiao's luck was sometimes good and sometimes bad. When it was good, it made even the luckiest people grit their teeth and shed tears of envy; when it was bad, even the unluckiest people would be comforted to the point of laughing out loud.

Therefore, he wasn't sure if he could find a wooden house in the black fog before one White Fat Candle burned out.

"Trade for one."

"As you wish, young man."

The hunchbacked old woman took out a White Fat Candle and handed it to Su Xiao. Su Xiao also took out a Shadow Stone.

As soon as the transaction was completed, the hunchbacked old woman suddenly grabbed Su Xiao's wrist.

"Get lost!"

The hunchbacked old woman's voice wasn't loud, but her eyes widened, and her gray hair flew without wind. Her aura was so strong that the Axe Brothers and the Hunting Dragon Spider were like cute little animals compared to her.

Su Xiao had seen another old woman as strong as this one; that was a Demon old woman. It was said that she was a monster of the Demon race, the kind that even in wars with other races, they wouldn't ask for her assistance.

The hunchbacked old woman's hair slowly fell, and rapid fleeing sounds came from the black fog around them.

The hunchbacked old woman released Su Xiao's wrist and patted Su Xiao's arm lightly.

"They will be attracted by the candlelight. Be careful. When you have fear in your heart, they will devour you completely."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, before the candlelight burns out, they won't dare to come again. Walk in that direction; that will give you more gains. Two White Fat Candles are enough for you to walk to..."

Before the hunchbacked old woman could finish, the black thread beside her mouth passed through the holes on her lips, sewing her mouth shut.

A "Silent One" shouldn't give hints, but once someone bought a White Fat Candle from her, she would endure the pain of soul-sewing to give the buyer a hint, because one White Fat Candle wasn't worth one Shadow Stone—this was the compensation given by her as a Silent One.

The hunchbacked old woman carried the square wooden box on her back and walked away with the oil lamp. As soon as she left, the dispersed black fog around them gathered back, and the passage returned to two meters high and one meter wide.

Su Xiao glanced at the White Fat Candle in his hand and began to move forward in the direction pointed out by the hunchbacked old woman. It wasn't that he trusted the other party, but even if there was danger in the direction she pointed, it was more reliable than wandering blindly in the black fog.

Su Xiao didn't fear danger; what he worried about most was finding nothing in the black fog and eventually dying from the erosion of the black fog—that would be the most uncomfortable.

However, he also worried about another situation: that after he arrived at the direction pointed out by the hunchbacked old woman, she would be waiting there, saying, "Young man, do you want another White Fat Candle?"

The murmurs in his ears appeared occasionally, but after meeting the hunchbacked old woman, the frequency of the murmurs decreased significantly, and they were short, disappearing after only two or three seconds each time.

After moving forward for nearly 16 minutes, the first White Fat Candle in Su Xiao's hand burned out. He lit the second one, and only 20 minutes remained.

"Young man, you've gone off course."

The hunchbacked old woman's voice came from the black fog. Hearing this voice, Su Xiao stopped.

"Trade for another White Fat Candle."

Su Xiao spoke tentatively. As long as the hunchbacked old woman replied, he could at least judge whether she was a friend or a foe.

"Don't waste Shadow Stones; they are too precious."

The hunchbacked old woman's voice disappeared.

Su Xiao's thinking never stopped for a moment. After weighing it for a moment, he said, "You didn't become the master of the Death House. No regrets?"

"..."

The hunchbacked old woman seemed to have walked far away. Seeing this, Su Xiao continued to walk in the direction she had pointed out earlier.

"Of course... regrets. Have a safe journey, young man."

The light of the oil lamp gradually moved away.

After Su Xiao moved forward for another 14 minutes and 22 seconds, he stopped because two meters in front of him, a wooden wall appeared.

As Su Xiao approached this wooden wall, he discovered that it was actually a wooden house.

Following the wall of the wooden house, Su Xiao soon found the door. He placed his hand on the wooden door and pushed it open slowly.

*Creak~*

The wooden door was pushed open, and the candlelight slowly lit up in the room.

When Su Xiao fully pushed open the wooden door, he saw a woman whose neck, wrists, and ankles were all shackled.

And on the wooden table beside this woman, a White Fat Candle as thick as an arm and nearly a meter long was placed. Baha was stunned; it felt that this thing could no longer be called a candle.

Not only that, but beside this super-sized White Fat Candle, there was also a short blade and a gemstone. By visual estimation, this was at least a Saint-Spirit-grade gemstone.

PS: (Promoting a friend's book, title: Life Exchange Game). ===== CHAPTER 2237 =====