"Although the curse has spread, the existence of the buildings seems to be able to contain it to some extent. The strangeness in the forest cannot invade our town."

"Of course, we would never approach the forest when we can go ashore."

"In other words, apart from some restrictions, your life here is no different from that on land," Jiang Cheng said slowly, "For example, normal birth, aging, illness, and death. Can I understand it that way?"

"If the days and nights are gone, and you're forever trapped at sea shrouded in black mist, and food shortages and such are nothing in your eyes, then naturally you can." The blond man said bluntly.

"The way to lift the curse is to light the lighthouse and keep it burning?"

"That's right."

"How long will it take?"

The blond man thought for a while, then shook his head, "The priest didn't say. She just told us how to lift the curse, but it certainly won't be long."

Chen Ran rested one hand on the table, looked at the blond man, and said, "Since the priest thought of a way to solve the curse, then she must have recognized who the source of this sacrifice, that is, the curse, is."

"What... is it?" Chen Ran asked.

Hearing this, the fat man's expression became more serious. He had already heard the strange whale song. As for something that could make such a sound...

Curiosity?

No, the fat man instinctively rejected the word.

Because it was too weak and powerless, completely unmatched with the identity of the thing that emitted the whale song, and... the trembling, like a depth charge exploding, mountain-like heavy heartbeat.

It must be an existence beyond their understanding.

Like something that only exists in the drunken ramblings of a bard, or another completely unknown dimension...

To be honest, the fat man didn't quite believe that lighting the lighthouse could lift the curse, but whether he believed it or not, it still had to be done. If he didn't do anything, he was afraid he would be even more panicked.

But fortunately, he still had the doctor. The fat man secretly glanced at the doctor with hopeful eyes, and suddenly found that the doctor's eyes seemed to be seriously listening to the blond man, and was following along with his thoughts.

But his hand... The fat man's throat rolled inadvertently, but he found the doctor was secretly moving the large crab claw he had broken off from the stone table to the edge, and then slowly, slowly stuffing it into his pocket.

Then, taking another one...

Like a squirrel, storing food for the winter.

"We don't know its name, but according to the priest, no one can glimpse its true appearance. Each of the hard scales on its thick body is the size of a small mountain, and its sharp teeth are like the steepest peaks. Standing at its head and tail, you can see the sunrise and sunset respectively. It is an existence beyond understanding. Mortals can only prostrate themselves on the ground before it."

"With a slight tremor of its body, the underwater cliffs would be flattened by it. Every breath it takes would stir up terrifying waves, capsizing all passing ships."

"It doesn't care about joy or sorrow, because all living beings are ants in its eyes."

These seemingly nonsensical words of medieval charlatans stung the ears of several people at this moment, as if in listening to them, they had already experienced a dark, scientifically ignorant era.

Crowds of witches were tied to stakes and burned to death, crows circling overhead, and girls in white dresses were praying and weeping on the streets. Everything was crying softly in the darkness.

Darkness... without light.

Just as the fat man was gradually sinking into the delusion of darkness, that sound appeared again, empty, loud... with the magnificence of crushing everything in its path.

The next second, when he came back to his senses, he was already on the way back.

Chen Ran walked in the front, holding a torch.

The doctor was by his side.

Looking back, the brightly lit Black Stone Town gradually became blurred.

He didn't even know when they left.

A road made of black mist was laid beneath the three people's feet. Unlike when they came, there were no people from Black Stone Town around them.

The fat man thought about it and figured that it was probably because they were worried that the black mist would disappear, and they wouldn't have time to rush back to Black Stone Town.

"Doctor," the fat man lowered his voice, "Do you think what they said is true? Could there really... be something like that?"

Jiang Cheng was also holding a torch in his hand, but he held it very low, so the fat man could only see the lower half of the doctor's face, and not his eyes, which made the fat man feel a little uncomfortable.

"Doctor?" The fat man waited for a while, then asked softly again.

Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped, which caused the fat man beside him to stop as well. The doctor in the shadows raised his head, seemingly looking ahead. The fat man blinked and followed his gaze.

The torch ahead... had somehow gone out. Except for the firelight on the tall lighthouse in the distance, everything ahead was dark.

Chen Ran's voice came from the darkness. He seemed to sigh at the same time, making the voice unclear.

"Mr. Hao has thought of it too, right?" Chen Ran's voice continued, "The Church, the female priest... ha." He chuckled and said, "Only baptized men can effectively receive holy orders. Although many church members don't follow the Bible, the Church has to abide by canon law, especially in... that dark age."

"It seems that we really have touched something terrifying this time." Chen Ran's eyes actually became clear in the dark night, "Mr. Hao..."

...

"Crackle, crackle."

The bonfire in front of him was burning.

Under the firelight was a lithe figure, but at this moment, the figure was tightly curled up, unusually helpless.

Liang Long was squatting alone in the empty hall on the first floor of the building, which was eerily quiet.

After separating from Jiang Cheng and the others, she did not return to the lighthouse, but chose to stay behind.

Although it was dark and silent here, far away from her companions, she felt uncomfortable all over whenever she thought of the old woman with the twisted face.

She was not right.

Liang Long was sure of it.

And if she wanted to go back, she would have to go through the dark stairs alone, and it seemed perfectly normal for something to happen there.

Thinking of this, she threw a few more pieces of wood into the fire. Fortunately, besides the various stone pillars and sculptures in the hall, there were also some scattered dry branches.

Otherwise, she would have to hold a torch and wait for the three of them to return.

Her thoughts were instantly filled with a face, and Liang Long instinctively shivered. It was the man named Chen Ran...

She had heard of this person long ago.

At first, it was from one of her previous teammates.

Although the teammate had survived the nightmare that time, she had gone crazy after returning to the real world, constantly repeating the name Chen Ran.

Any external stimuli would cause her extreme fear. She had completely closed herself off, even curling herself into a small ball and stuffing herself into a small space.