"Nothing serious. I think I just sprained my ankle," the old woman replied, stretching out her foot that
seemed to be rather swollen.
"Let me check it. I will identify how severe the condition is." Then, Rocky immediately squatted down
and examined the old woman's foot. However, the moment he saw it, it was already pretty bad. It was
so swollen that he thought even her bone might be injured as well. The problem was that Rocky was in
his spiritual soul form. Hence, he could not treat her directly by using his medical skills. Moreover, there
was also a chance that this old lady was not a living person. After all, she appeared in this creepy place
that wasn't supposed to be a place for the living.
Although Rocky didn't know the real reason why the old woman was there, his instinct was telling him
that she might be able to guide him in this place. "Madam, your injury looks really bad..." Rocky
immediately said without sugarcoating it.
"Oh no! Really? What should I do now? I have to go home by foot." The old woman began to express
her anxiety upon hearing Rocky's diagnosis.
"Hmm. If it is okay with you, how about I carry you home?" Rocky offered at once.
"But I don't think that's a good idea. I live somewhere far from here, so it will be troublesome for you."
The old woman sounded gloomy as she tried to refuse Rocky's kind gesture.
"No, it's okay. Besides, I am also searching for a way to get out of here." After saying that, Rocky
turned his back on the old woman and knelt down to make her hop on his back. "I really appreciate the
thought, young man. But like I said, it is still a long way from my home. Are you going to accompany
me throughout the way?" the old woman asked, trying to give him a reminder before he regretted
helping her.
"Yes. There is no problem. Actually, I am more durable than I appear to be." Although he was just in his
spiritual soul form, Rocky could still perform physical acts such as carrying the old woman. Moreover,
the old woman was just short and thin, so he thought that it would not be difficult even though they had
to go a long way. "Okay then.
But since you insisted on helping me, you cannot give up halfway. This is your last chance. Are you still
willing to do it?" the old woman asked with a serious expression.
"Yes. You can trust me." Based on what the old lady said, Rocky confirmed that this was a form test
wherein he could not quit halfway or he would fail.
Then, he started carrying the old woman on his back. Just like he anticipated, the old woman did not
feel heavy at all. So, he thought that this task would be pretty easy to accomplish.
"Madam, where is your home?" Rocky asked before they set out.
"I will give you the direction along the way. All you need to do is carry me on your back. No matter what
happens, you cannot stop from moving forward!" the old woman sternly instructed, not giving him direct
answers.
At the same time, Rocky understood that all he had to do was be mentally prepared for anything that
might take place along the way.
Not long after they crossed the bridge, Rocky, along with the old woman on his back, entered a narrow
path. It was winding and zigzagging, but Rocky could still walk fast without a problem.
However, soon enough, he suddenly felt that his feet was gradually becoming heavier as if the gravity
in the place were getting stronger. Rocky speculated that an unseen power must be at work, restraining
his feet to make his movements more difficult.
Moreover, since he was in his spiritual soul form, he was unable to gather his strength to counter the
power that was suppressing him. Therefore, all he could do right now was grit his teeth and try his best
to hold on until he could bring the old woman back to her home.
"Young man, are you still fine? Can you go on?" the old woman asked, expressing her concern as she
noticed that Rocky's movements became a little slower than before.
"Yes, of course. Don't worry about me!" Rocky had already experienced far more excruciating
situations than this, so this was not something that would hold him down.
Then, after they got out of the narrow path, a thick fog emerged out of nowhere. His vision instantly
became blurry and his visibility was totally hindered.
Due to the emergence of the thick fog, Rocky eventually lost his sense of direction.
"Young man, it seems that we are caught in a bad time. What accompanies this fog is the appearance
of powerful ghosts. Be extra careful and please do not leave me alone," the old woman kindly reminded
him.
Rocky just nodded and kept moving forward, not really minding her words. After all, he was confident
that he could take care of anything that might suddenly show up.
Not long after, a looming shadow flashed away in the thick fog not far away. Seeing this, Rocky
instantly became wary. However, it seemed that the shadow did not emit any aura.
'Is this the ghost that she was talking about?' Rocky thought to himself. Right now, he was in a place
similar to that of a nether world. Hence, Rocky deemed that if there was really such a thing as ghosts in
the area, it was not really a cause for alarm.
Eventually, more and more shadows appeared among the fog, but Rocky didn't really pay too much
attention to them. His goal was to send the old woman to her home as soon as possible, so he could
not waste his time on them.
Then, a moment later, he suddenly felt that the weight on his back became heavier again. This time, it
was as if the old woman gained a thousand pounds.
"Madam, may I ask you a question? I know this might sound rude, but why did you become so heavy
all of a sudden?" Of course, Rocky was certain that it was not just his imagination. He knew that
something else was happening.
"Well, this phenomenon is called the Ghost Lock. These lonely souls actually want to leave this place,
so they attach themselves to any spirit that has incidentally entered this place, hoping that they could
be taken away from here," the old woman explained while letting out a creepy smile.
"Madam, do you care to tell me who you really are?" Hearing this, Rocky's eyes instantly narrowed.
Since the old woman knew what was going on, he demanded to know who she really was.
"Me? I used to be the leader of this place. I actually manage these lost ghosts," the old woman
answered bluntly.
"Then, can you ask them to stay away from us?"
"No. I don't have the ability to command them anymore. As I said, it was a thing in the past..." The old
woman could not help but sigh, sounding a bit dejected.
"Oh, what happened?" Rocky asked out of curiosity. This was such an unusual place, so he was
intrigued by what possibly happened in the past.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Besides, it was so long ago. Just forget it!" It seemed that the old
woman had a bitter experience from it, so she did not want to have anything to do about it anymore.
Meanwhile, although the weight on Rocky's body was still increasing, he did not dare to stop in his
tracks.
"How is it going, young man? Can you still hold on?" the old woman asked out of concern.
"Yeah, I can. This is nothing," Rocky responded, not showing any sign of weakness despite the difficult
situation.
"All right then. Continue moving forward as fast as you can. My home should be just ahead of us," the
old woman said, finally bearing some good news.
Rocky quickly looked at the surroundings, but they were still surrounded by a thick fog. He actually
wanted to see further down the road so that he could get the feeling that he was getting nearer to his
destination. At this point, he wondered how long it would actually be before they reached the old
woman's house.
However, it did not really matter if he could see or not. He had already committed to helping her, so he
would do whatever he could until he accomplished this task. He firmly believed that this old woman was
not an ordinary person, and he hoped that when this was all over, he could hear some information
about the Holy Heaven Palace from her.
Eventually, four hours already passed. The weight on Rocky's body had become so heavy that he felt
that he was about to reach his limit.
"Madam, it has been a long time since you first said that we were already near your home. How far do
we exactly need to travel to get there?" Rocky could not help but ask. It was a bit frustrating when one
couldn't get a clear answer, so he wanted to be assured that they were getting closer.
"Don't worry. We are almost there!" the woman replied positively.
"Madam, are you really sure? Are you not just making things difficult for me?" Rocky complained a little
while letting out a bitter smile.
"I am not making things difficult for you! Why would I do that?" the old woman said in an innocent tone.
"But it has been so long already. How many times did you say that it should be just ahead? If that is
true, then we should have arrived at your home already." Rocky had become skeptical of the place
because he felt that they were just going in circles. However, he had no definitive proof of it since the
thick fog was blocking his sight.
"Well, you are right. That is rather strange. All right, all right. Can you put me down first?" Immediately
after, the old woman acted as if she was already too old to remember if she was right or not.
Then, as she requested, Rocky instantly put her down.
Afterward, the old woman waved her hand. All of a sudden, some strange things happened in the blink
of an eye. The thick fog completely disappeared, and they were welcomed with a bright scene right
ahead.
When Rocky took a closer look, he found himself in an extremely huge cave. Moreover, the entire
ground of the cave was filled with various flowers and plants. Then, in the depths of the cave, he could
faintly see something peculiar that constantly flashed as if unleashing an inviting aura.
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