Chapter 16 Chapter 15

"Tristan!" Dylan gasped.She jumped out of bed and nearly fell as she ran across the room in a panic.Tristan was standing there, and she threw herself on him, putting her arms around him in relief.Unknowingly, she began to whimper in a low voice, followed by a trembling in her chest.She nestled her head on his shoulder, basking in endless peace and joy. Tristan stood motionless for a moment, then took her in his arms, holding her tight.She was still sobbing on his chest, and he stroked her back gently with one hand. In the end, Dylan's turbulent mood finally calmed down.At this moment, she felt a little embarrassed, and hurriedly moved her body aside.She was rarely hugged by boys before, but now her heart is full of mixed feelings and chaos.A faint blush came to Dylan's face, but she forced herself to look up into his eyes.

"Hi." She whispered.His back was turned to the firelight, his face hidden in shadow. "Hi." He also replied, with a deep smile in his voice. "I thought,... I thought you would never come back." Dylan's voice was full of affection.But she was eager to know the ins and outs of the matter, so she asked: "What happened? Were you right behind me?" silence.Dylan's eyes searched the darkness, but he couldn't make out the expression on his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He took her hand, pulled her back to the bed, and sat down next to her.

The flames flickered across his face, and Dylan gasped as he saw his face clearly for the first time. "Oh my God, Tristan, what the hell happened to you?" she asked. Tristan's face was almost unrecognizable.One eye was swollen and narrowed into a slit, and the other eye was bloodshot.The bruised chin was swollen high, and a deep and long knife wound across half of the cheek.He tried to look like he was smiling, but he could tell that even moving would hurt.Even in the dark, she could feel his pain in his eyes.Dylan reached out to touch his face, but was afraid that it would hurt him more, so he stopped in mid-air.

"It's all right," he said, "no serious injury." Dylan shook his head slowly.no big deal?Tristan's face was mutilated and horribly mutilated.Is it because of her? "Tristan..." "Hush," he wanted to comfort her, "I've said it, it's no big deal. Are you still sleeping?" He said casually, obviously trying to change the subject. She nodded, "It's just waiting for time." "Do you think I can sleep a little longer?" Before he finished speaking, she shook her head, "Well, at least you should lie down and rest for a while, we still have a long way to go tomorrow."

Dylan stared at him earnestly.She knew he was trying to avoid it, unwilling to tell where he had gone.But it felt like he had nothing to say to her, and she felt left out.Just now she pounced on him and unreservedly expressed her joy of reunion, but now she feels that she is stupid. She felt a sting in her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest.He also seemed to be aware of her emotions, reaching out and gently putting down one of her hands. "Okay, lie down, I'll be with you." "I..." She hesitated, not knowing what to do. He murmured in the dark, "Let's lie down." He said glibly, "Please!" He stepped back slowly, leaning against the wall, and pulled her to his chest.She snuggled into his arms, feeling both shy and at ease.He didn't seem to want to talk, but he was content to have her by his side.Dylan smiled to himself, letting himself relax for the first time in two days.

In the morning light, Tristan's wound looked even more horrifying.His left eye was bloody, bruised and purple, his chin was covered with purple, brown and yellow scars, and the cut on his cheek had begun to heal, but the dried blood stood out against the white skin. There were also a few long scratches on his arms.As dawn cleared the darkness of the cabin, Dylan ran his fingers over a particularly grisly-looking wound on his forearm.She was still lying in his arms, although she felt extremely comfortable and at ease, she was afraid that opening her mouth would break the tranquility. "We should go," Tristan whispered in her ear.His voice was gentle and low, and his breathing made her neck itch, and she couldn't help shivering.Embarrassed, she jumped out of bed, slipped past him, and stood in the middle of the room, facing the window, motionless.

She looked out the window and saw the wasteland again.Her Wasteland is back. "It's all changed," she gasped. "What do you mean?" Tristan quickly looked up. "Yesterday, just before you came back, I looked out the door and...and..." Dylan didn't know how to describe the world she had seen before, "everything was red—the sun, the sky, There is the earth. I can see ghosts, thousands of ghosts, with guides leading them along. I see devils, everywhere.” Dylan was completely immersed in the memory, his voice getting quieter, almost became a whisper.

Tristan frowned.He had never seen a ghost who, after seeing so much on the moor, could still think about it.Without their ferryman, the ghosts are never safe from the attacks of the devil. Dylan should have said goodbye to him forever, and here she was.She was able to stand in front of him in such a good manner, which both surprised him and felt very grateful for it.How could this seemingly ordinary soul be so different? "You just saw the real wasteland after leaving the guide," he told her. "I am the one who created your image." "So it's fake? Everything I see is fake? It's just an illusion in my head?" Tristan told her before that this wasteland was just her mental image, but Dylan didn't really understand the meaning until now. .She doesn't like it.Although yesterday's wasteland was very scary, she still couldn't accept the thought of being deceived by Tristan.

"Dylan." His voice was soft.He had no way to sugar-coat his words, he could only use his tone of voice to soften the lethality of the words, "You are dead, and your heart is all about you. This place, here, is the place you must pass through on this journey Road. That's the truth." Dylan looked at him with despair and helplessness in his eyes.He stretched out his hand to hold her, feeling how small and weak she was, but he knew it would be very dangerous to hold on any longer. "Come on," he said, "let's go." He gave her a warm, relieved smile.Her lips quivered slightly in response.She stepped forward and took his hand, and her heart skipped a beat as soon as she touched him.She was facing the door of the hut, which was both prison and sanctuary for her, and she could not tell whether she was sad or happy to leave it.

Tristan, in his haste to go, left her behind and strode toward the door, out onto the wasteland again. There is no sun to be seen today, and the clouds covering the sky look light and fluffy.Dylan wondered how this reflected his mood.If she had been asked to explain herself, she would have said that she was sad and curious at the same time. Tristan's words about the wilderness and her inner world made her confused. Although she didn't want to be deceived by this unreal place, she still felt safe walking in the familiar mountain scenery now.Of course, Tristan's company also played a key role.She looked again at Tristan leading her, at the back of his head and his strong shoulders.What happened to him?He had been reluctant to bring it up when they spoke last night.But Dylan felt that every bruise and scratch on his body was hurt for her. After all, he was her protector.

"Tristan," she started calling him. He looked back at her, slowed down, and the two of them walked side by side, "What's the matter?" Under his gaze, she became timid again, and asked a question that she was very curious about, "All those Ghosts... I can see them walking, but they're not coming toward me. I mean, not toward the cabin where I'm hiding." "That's right." "Where are they, then? What's the matter?" Tristan shrugged nonchalantly, "Every ferryman has his own safe place and shelter here, but that place has always been my safe house." "Oh." Dylan was silent for a few minutes, and then began to secretly look at Tristan again, wondering if there would be anything wrong with asking this question that he desperately wanted to know.He saw her squinting at him, so he asked tentatively, "You want to know what happened to me, don't you?" She nodded. He sighed.Although he wanted to tell her the whole story, he knew that she should not know too much about the things here except the knowledge necessary to complete this journey.These two thoughts struggled in his mind. "Why is this question so important to you?" He was struggling with what choice to make—whether to obey reason or emotion.This is not so much a problem as it is his plan to delay the attack.The delaying tactic worked, and Dylan thought for a while in silence. "Because, that... because it's all my fault, you're here because of me. If I'd run faster, or let the sun stop setting so early and make it brighter, then...then None of this would have happened.” Tristan looked surprised, he was really surprised.This was not the answer he expected. He thought she was asking these questions just out of curiosity about the world. He thought that human beings could ask questions about everything they need, but she asked them out of concern.A warm current surged into his chest, and he knew what choice he should make. "You didn't tell me they might hurt you," she said softly, her green eyes wide open and filled with sympathetic pain. "Yes," he replied, "they can't kill me, but they can catch me." "Tell me what happened." This time she was not asking, but begging gently.He could no longer refuse her. "There were demons everywhere, and you were petrified. I found out you couldn't move, but you had to run to be saved." Dylan nodded.She remembered this scene, and her face flushed with shame when she recalled it.If she had run away when he said that, if she had been braver and hadn't stayed where she was in fright, they both would have gotten away. "I gave you a push and you seemed to recover. Then, when we ran, I thought we'd be fine." He had a pained look on his face.Out of shame, he frowned, "I didn't mean to let you go." He whispered. Dylan bit his lip, feeling so guilty that it felt like motion sickness.He was feeling bad, he was blaming himself, and it was all her fault. "Tristan..." She tried to cut him off, but he gestured for her not to speak. "I'm sorry, Dylan. I'm sorry. As soon as they saw me let you go, they surrounded me right between the two of us. I tried to catch you, but I couldn't get through them. You I'm running, but the hut is too far away, so it's too late." At this moment, his eyes wandered, as if he was reliving the scene at that time. His mouth tells Dylan that this is a painful experience that cannot be recalled. When he thought that bringing up the past would hurt him again, Dylan's guilt suddenly became ten times stronger.She began to reflect on her motivations for doing so.Is it just to satisfy my curiosity?I hope not. "Ghosts are everywhere. You can't touch them, but I can. You know?" She couldn't bring herself to speak, but she shook her head, not wanting to interrupt him. "I'm chasing after you, trying to pull them back, but I can't force them all back. I've never seen so many evil spirits swarming over like a swarm. It's useless. Although I can touch them, I can't hurt them. They. Every time I just yank them back, they go around and attack from the other direction." He stopped suddenly, as if he was struggling inside.Dylan doesn't know if he's struggling with whether to tell something or trying to figure out how to tell it.She waited quietly.Tristan looked up at the sky—they were climbing a steep mountain now.It takes a lot of courage to look up and look innocent at this time.Dylan focused all his attention on trying to get his feet on the ground while listening to him.There seemed to be the answer he was looking for in the sky, he nodded slightly and sighed. "In the wilderness I can do something... unconventional, you might call it magic." Dylan held her breath, and it was the confession she had been waiting for, and it made all the stupid things she said before. makes sense. "I've brought a gust of wind." He paused for a moment. At this time, Dylan, who was full of suspicion, had already frowned, but he didn't realize it. "You won't feel it. This gust of wind is specially designed to deal with evil spirits." "You changed—gust?" she asked in surprise, "You know even this?" Tristan had a bitter look on his face, "This is hard, but I will." "What do you mean it's difficult?" "It took a lot of energy and exhausted my physical strength, but the wind played a role." The demons couldn't control their flight paths and were blown to pieces by the wind. They couldn't catch her. His eyes moved her deeply.All she could do was look back at him in awe, lost in his deep gaze. As a result, without the guidance of her eyes, she tripped over a piece of grass protruding from the ground and fell. "Oh!" She couldn't help but yelled when she felt herself falling forward.She closed her eyes, waiting for the heavy fall, which immediately made her lungs unable to breathe, waiting for her clothes to be covered with muddy water.She shielded her hands in front of her body so as not to be too seriously injured.However, the worst result didn't happen, Tristan flicked his hand and grabbed her jumper from behind, and just as her body was about to fall to the ground, everything came to a sudden stop. She opened her eyes and took a peek at the road—it was just as she thought, wet and muddy.Before she could catch her breath in relief, Tristan pulled her back sharply, and she was standing there again.He tried to keep his face straight, but despite the tension in his jaw, the laughter leaked out. Exasperated, Dylan strode away with what little pride he had left.She heard the laughter behind her getting louder. "You're too stupid." He deliberately teased her, and easily caught up with her.She continued walking with her nose up in the air, praying silently in her heart that she would never fall again. "It's no wonder, look at this place, can't there be a road paved in the wasteland?" She snorted, still looking angry.Tristan shrugged. "It's your fault!" he reminded her. "You made this place the way it is." Dylan made a face. "I hate hiking," she muttered, "I hate mountains." "Aren't the Scots proud of their mountains?" He asked curiously.This time it was her turn to shrug. "Our physical education teacher puts us in a small bus every year, takes us to the countryside, and then forces us to climb mountains in the biting cold wind. It's just abuse. I'm not a mountain climber." "Ah, got it," he said with a grin. "Well, it'll be easier for you to know we're halfway there. You'll be out of here soon." He originally intended to make her happy, but after hearing the news, Dylan's expression darkened slightly.and then?Where is it beyond the wilderness?Does that mean she will never see Tristan again?The news upset her more than her fear of the unknown.He has become the only one in her world, and she really can't bear to lose this last relative. Thinking about his thoughts, Dylan walked to the top of the mountain, and after several bumps, he entered a natural cave.This is the ideal place to take a break.She looked at Tristan expectantly, and he smiled knowingly, but shook his head. "Not today," he told her.Dylan pouted and stared at Tristan angrily. "Sorry," he said, "we're out of time, Dylan. I don't want us to be caught by them again." He held out his hand in an inviting gesture.Dylan looked sullen, but she knew Tristan was right.They must hurry to get ahead of the night and the demons that come with it.She didn't want Tristan to suffer anymore because of her, so she took his hand.Scratched and bruised, it stood out against the faded scars on Dylan's arm, but it was strong.As soon as he took her out of the cave, Dylan felt the wind blowing.The wind was getting stronger, and the tingling in her ears made it a little difficult for her to hear the sound.Talking became very difficult as they walked down the hill.Dylan had wanted Tristan to continue with the story, about what had happened underground, but now it looked like it would have to wait for quieter times.Stories like this cannot be shouted over and over again. And, though she was eager to hear what happened next, she was afraid to hear more of his torture, for hers.