Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1342 - 128: Night in the Mushroom Forest

Chapter 1342: Chapter 128: Night in the Mushroom Forest

Just as Pannis had guessed, when the silhouettes of the Three Ladies of Moonlight fell into the horizon of the desert, the World of the Dead was plunged into absolute darkness. Under the starless, moonless sky, everything within sight was enveloped in the night; the desert, the lake, and the night sky were all invisible. The only thing still burning was the fire pit, preserving the sole light in the darkness.

The fire had considerably diminished, and the circle of light had shrunk to a small area between the lakeshore and the mushroom forest. Huge mushrooms flickered in and out of visibility under the fire’s light, difficult to see in their entirety anymore. Dozens of undead, completely lacking any sense of vigilance, lay scattered near the fire pit. After a day’s labor and playing around the whole evening after dinner, they claimed that though they lacked physical strength, they were mentally exhausted. After lying down, they entered a deep sleep. These undead slept soundly, for in the World of the Dead, aside from the undead themselves, no living creature posed a threat to their safety. Thus, the weaker, civilian-like undead did not understand danger, much less the concepts of night watches or guards. As long as the location was comfortable enough, they could sleep soundly, just like now.

The sleeping method of the undead was quite particular; they had no intention of setting up a camp. Instead, next to the fire pit, each chose a mushroom over a meter tall, burrowed under its cap, dug out a sandy nest suitable for themselves on the sandy ground, and then comfortably lay down. For the Bone Mushrooms, growing over a meter tall meant that the caps were quite large, easily extending over the length of an adult. Thus, the sandy nest combined with the mushroom cap was like a natural room, the only drawback being that it was open on all sides. However, in the mushroom forest near the Lake of Sand, the omnipresent desert wind was much weakened. Even a fierce desert storm would slow down here, so resting in such a breezy natural room wasn’t too troublesome.

However, the undead could sleep without any worries, but the members of the adventure team would not do so. In a completely unknown environment surrounded by a group of completely unfamiliar beings, anyone with a sane mind would never do such a thing. Moreover, as humans, the members of the adventure team were not accustomed to sleeping directly on the sandy ground like the undead. Therefore, the girls declined the undead’s offer to help them arrange these natural rooms and chose other methods of camping.

The choice of the adventure team was also interesting; after all, this was their first time spending the night in such an environment, and everyone lacked experience. Moreover, because they had set out light and did not carry tents or similar equipment, they had to make do with what was available. Thus, Pannis’s gaze fell on the most conspicuous Bone Mushrooms. Choosing a Bone Mushroom seven to eight meters tall, whose cap was nearly ten meters in diameter, they climbed to the gentle slope at the top of the Bone Mushroom, cut off a piece of the outer wood-like shell with their weapons, then hollowed out part of the mushroom inside, creating a soft, wind-shielding bed. Crawling inside, one could feel as if lying on a comforter of goose down, surrounded by mushroom flesh continuously emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance, creating the illusion of lying amidst a sea of flowers.

Of course, the strength of the Bone Mushroom wasn’t very high. A cap with a ten-meter diameter could at most accommodate one or two people. Fortunately, the adventure team, including two small undead, only numbered eight people, and there were enough Bone Mushrooms in the forest for everyone to use.

The fuel in the fire pit was running low and the flames were weakening. Gradually, the mushrooms inhabited by people also disappeared one by one into the darkness. In the dark, only the even breathing of the young girls could be heard, each breath long and slow, indicating that the girls had entered a peaceful sleep. However, it wasn’t possible for the girls to sleep completely without guard, and the reason they could rest so easily was that the first to keep watch was Pannis. Propping his chin with his hands, he sat cross-legged on the cap of a mushroom, camouflaged by the darkness, with only his eyes sparkling brightly.

Pannis had volunteered to be the first to keep watch. Being the only male in the adventure team, he usually placed himself in the second watch because being woke up for watch duty during the deepest part of sleep was not a pleasant matter. So the male members of the adventure team often gave the female members such little considerations, also acting as a way to display their gentlemanly side. However, today, Pannis had uncharacteristically chosen to be in the first watch. Everyone found it unsurprising, considering that many strange things had happened today. As the only one who had been to this world before, these strange occurrences had the greatest impact on him, and he needed some time to gather his thoughts or calm his mind.

"Whoosh," in the darkness, Pannis gently waved his hand, tossing several pieces of soft bark in a perfect arc into the fire pit, injecting a bit of new life into the dim flames. Staring at the reinvigorated flames, Pannis fell silent for a long time, releasing a sigh whose meaning was unclear.

Rustling sounds emerged from behind Pannis, followed by a shake of the canopy beneath which he sat, as someone landed behind him. Pannis already knew who it was without turning around. Whether it was the degree of the canopy’s tremble or the faint metallic scent that emanated from behind him, it all pointed to one person. Catherine, who spent most of her time adventuring in chainmail, couldn’t shed the metallic scent that had seeped into her skin even after taking off the armor. All Pannis needed to do was take a deep breath to recognize her identity.

"Why haven’t you slept? You’ve got the second watch, and if you don’t rest now, be careful you might fall asleep on duty," Pannis asked Catherine, still facing away, "Or are you worried I might take off in the night?"

"Hah, don’t be silly. Since we’re here there’s no way you could escape," Catherine carelessly patted Pannis on the back a few times as a form of punishment, then sat down behind him. The two supported each other back to back, and the knightly young woman rested her head backwards on Pannis’s shoulder, whispering, "Suddenly, I couldn’t sleep and felt like moving around."

"What is it?" Sniffing the familiar scent from behind, Pannis’s expression softened as he asked quietly, "Something on your mind?"

"It’s nothing major." The knightly young woman shook her head, her black hair brushing against Pannis’s cheek, "This is a place where you all once fought, and thinking of Lady Nellie once galloping across this desert, thinking of you commanding the warriors to defeat countless Undead, my heart just can’t settle."

"Heh, that’s all in the past," Pannis shook his head with a wry smile, "Besides, we haven’t even reached our old landing spot yet."

"Things of the past..." Catherine said wistfully, "Tell me about it, I’m curious. What happened when you faced the Deity, and what did the Deity look like?"