AUTHOR POV
The journey was silent. No one tries to speak up. Everyone was busy with the talk in their mind. The silent surrounding them all in the strange place they were in.
CRACK!
Suddenly there is a cracking sound for the first time since they left the border. The four of them promptly stopped the walking. They turned to each other and look at each other, eyes asking each other about the sound. They shook their heads, signalling that the sound wasn't come from them.
CRACK!
Again, the sound presented. It wasn't come from them, though. It came from the left side, where the trees stood close to each other. They snapped their attention to the thick trees. They sharpened their gaze to the dark forest.
There was something white came out. Zhan's heart sunk when he thought it was something else. But he heaved a sigh between a relief and disappointment. It was a dog with white fur.
"A dog? Can a dog lives in the forest? It's not a wild dog, ma? It looks like own by somebody!" Cried He Peng.
Zhuo Cheng glared at him and suddenly smack He Peng's head.
"It's immortal....!" Hissed Zhuo Cheng.
"Fuck!" He Peng cursed and glared at Zhuo Cheng. He was holding the back of his head that just smacked by Zhuo Cheng .
"Can you stop running your filthy mouth?" Snarled Zhuo Cheng.
He Peng wanted to talk back at Zhuo Cheng. But he quickly realize where he is now. If he ended up arguing or even fighting with him, it was not possible if he'll be left alone in this strange land. So he swallowed his world back before he was able to spit them out.
The dog walked closer to Zhan. All of them looked at the dog. Zhan took a step backward, didn't put his guard down when the dog comes closer. But the dog seemed tamed in front of him. It looked at Zhan with tongue sticking out.
"He's waiting for your command, Zhan Ge....!" Said Yibo.
Zhan turned his gaze at Yibo.
"How do you know it's a he?" Asked Zhuo Cheng.
Yibo didn't answer Zhuo Cheng's question, makes Zhuo Cheng sends a death glare behind Yibo's back.
Meanwhile, Zhan turned to the dog which still staring at him. Zhan crouched down. Hesitantly, he pats the dog's head. And the dog suddenly sits down with eyes never leave Zhan. Zhan smiled faintly.
"Do you know where is Lan Wangji?" Asked Zhan to the dog.
"Zhan! You should ask him, where we can find the food that edible?" Zhuo Cheng interfered with a scowling face.
Zhan ignored him.
"Great! Everyone's ignoring me now..!" Grumbled Zhuo Cheng.
The dog got up. Then it turned around and ran slowly into the forest.
"Wangji is there!" Cried Zhan. He makes a move to follow the dog.
"Zhan! No!" Zhuo Cheng caught his hand.
Zhan looked at him.
"How do you know if it will lead you to find your Lan Zhan? We don't know this place, Zhan!" Zhuo Cheng tried to reminds Zhan.
"I know this place! I was here before!" Yibo butt in.
"And how do we know if you're not gonna harm us?" Zhuo Cheng snarled at Yibo.
"If you think that I will harm you, you won't follow me this far until we are here!" Replied Yibo with a firm voice.
Zhuo Cheng glared at Yibo.
WHOOP!
The bark of the dog stopped them from the argument. They turned their gaze to the dog who waiting for them in front of the entrance to the deep forest. It looked at them.
"It's not the time for suspecting each other, Cheng. We have to make a move now!" Said Zhan. He put Zhuo Cheng's hand away from his.
Zhan ran forward to the dog. Yibo followed him. Left Zhuo Cheng and He Peng who still stayed on their spot, watching them leave.
"I don't know about you. But I think, follow them is a better option. Even if I have to meet the hungry spirits again, at least I won't be alone. Or I won't die alone without someone who fight them with me....!" Said He Peng. Then he ran, catching up with Yibo and Zhan.
Zhuo Cheng seemed hesitant to follow them, but he knows that he had no choice. He didn't want to die alone, like He Peng said. So, he decided to join the three human in this spirit's world.
The four boys were following the white dog who leading them to the place which the boys aren't sure where. But they decided to trust the dog, the first creature they met after so long they've been in this place. Well, the dog wasn't the first creature that He Peng has met since he reached here, though.
They ran deep into the forest which getting darker with more trees. They had to step.on the muddy soil. Worms and leeches are crawl on their legs, and some of them even sucked in the boys' blood which made them screamed in pain and disgust. They helped each other with everything they got in through.
The way wasn't always even. Sometimes they have to face the narrow path in the high rise, sometimes the lower rise. Their pants and clothes got dirty with the mud and soil, some parts were torn. But they couldn't care less. They need to reach what they were up to before they could go back to their world. When any of them needs to stop,.they'd patiently wait for them to recharge their exhausted energy. Even the dog also never left them too far.
After a few hours fought with the challenging journey, they finally met the big meadow on the top of the forest. Maybe it was a hill.
Zhuo Cheng and He Peng immediately threw themselves on the thick green grass that spread in the meadow. While Zhan was sitting down. Only Yibo who still standing up, looking at the surroundings.
"Why are we here?" Zhan asked between his panting breath to Yibo.
"I think Lan Wangji must be around here...!" Replied Yibo.
"Are you sure? It's all meadow. All grass. No trees. No caves. Here doesn't even have a rock...!" Said Zhan.
WHOOP! WHOOP!
The dog barked at them. Zhan and Yibo turned to it. Zhuo Cheng and He Peng got up from lying position. They looked at the same direction. To the dog.
"Guo Guo! What is it?" Yibo voiced out.
"Guo Guo? You named him Guo Guo?" Zhuo Cheng snorted.
"Why?" Yibo glanced at Zhuo Cheng who snorting.
"Everyone knows that is a dog. Se guo! Yet, you call him guoguo!" Said Zhuo Cheng.
" Bai Guo, then!" Said Yibo.
Zhuo Cheng burst into a laugh.
"I didn't know you like to joke around, Dude!" Commented Zhuo Cheng.
"He's running!" Cried He Peng when he saw the dog was start to run again .
"Zhan! I can't go on anymore. I think here is safe. Can I stay here and wait for you?" Asked Zhuo Cheng when Zhan was about to run following the dog.
Zhan glanced at Yibo, asking for his opinion.
"I think here is safer. But when it turns dark, you better find a place to hide from the hungry spirits...!" Said Yibo.
"I'm coming with you!" Cried He Peng,.earned the attention from Zhan and Zhuo Cheng.
"No! The journey will be at a big risk. You better wait here with him. I can't protect all of you at a time. That will suck a lot of my energy which I don't know if we can survive. But here, you can hide somewhere. Go into the forest when it's getting dark and climb on a high tree. By that, the hungry spirits won't be able to reach you...!" Yibo said.
Zhuo Cheng nodded. Reluctantly, He Peng agreed to stay with Zhuo Cheng, although he preferred to join Yibo and Zhan, instead.
Yibo turned to Zhan. He grabbed Zhan's hand and said, "Let's go!"
Then they ran away, to where the dog has run off.
As long s they ran, Yibo never le Zhan's hand go. He was scared if he ever let him go, he will disappear in the dark.
Now they entered another forest, where all the trees had the leaves are red in color. This forest look like a forest of flame, makes the surrounding became so bright. Yibo who had his soul has wandered around this world never know about this place. He never entered this forest before. He was unfamiliar with this forest, so he tried to focus on the dog who leads them in front and not to lose its trace.
Yibo felt something crawled up his arm and grabbed it. He glance on his arm and found Zhan's hand was gripping on it. Yibo knows that Zhan was scared. Zhan was an ordinary boy who being liked by a spirit. Unlike Yibo, he has no spiritual energy in him. That's why Yibo dared not to bring Zhuo Cheng and He Peng to look for Lan Wangji further into this place, since he might lose all his spiritual energy to cover all of them.
"I'm here..." Yibo muttered to comfort the older boy.
Zhan glanced at him. His pursed his lips into a thin line and nodded.
Suddenly they saw the white dog ran super fast like a blast. Yibo and Zhan was confused. They lost the dog in a blink of eyes.
"Akh!" Yibo screamed lowly and staggered backward a few steps. Zhan who was in his holding eventually being dragged, too.
"What happened?" Zhan asked.
"Those leaves are as hot as fire...." hissed Yibo.
Zhan creased his eyebrows, didn't get what Yibo means, because even though he kept clinging on Yibo's hand, he didn't feel any heat burning him like Yibo has felt.
"Lan Wangji is being tortured by the God of Hell for escaping the AfterLife...!" said Yibo.
"What??? No!" Zhan cried. He released Yibo's hand and ran again to the direction of the dog has disappeared.
"Zhan Ge! NO!" Yibo shouted when he saw Zhan was about to crash the invisible border.
Yibo knows, as an ordinary human, Zhan won't survive from the burning heat of the forest of flame. He didn't know that the red leaves are created from the Hell's flame.
Yibo ran to chase Zhan, but he was late as Zhan suddenly disappeared when he entered the invisible border.
"Zhan Geeee....!!!!" Yibo screamed.
He kneeled down on the ground. He wanted to plunk into the forest to after Zhan, but he remembers about Zhuo Cheng and He Peng who waiting for them in the meadow. He needs to bring them back to their world, too. If he died there, they surely won't survive, as well.
Yibo cried in dilemma. He cried sadly that the man he has a crush on was died for nothing. Until there was something ruptured out as if there was a glass mirror door. Two pairs of legs cracks out the thin air.
Yibo stopped wail as his eyes kept looking at the legs.One pair of the legs were have a pair of blue jeans and using sneakers and another ones was wearing a pair of funny black shoe, covered by the black long gown.
Yibo lifted his head to look at the owner of two pairs of those legs. He seemed relief but also surprised at the same time when he saw those people.