Chapter 20: Breaking through the mist
The group stood at the edge of the eerie mist, its swirling tendrils seeming almost alive as they stretched toward the travelers like hungry claws. The oppressive silence made the air feel heavy, and even the bravest among them shifted uneasily.
Various talents both magic and Qi tries to come up with ways to get across. After all, this is an excort mission, if they fail half way, then they all came here for nothing, their pay might be cut or in worse case scenario, not go through as this would be considered a failed mission.
Others tries to soar high, some trying to see a way through, an opening while the rest are mulling over the mist trying to analyze and understand what it is exactly.
Feng Jiao Xue isn't idle either as she also stood before the mist in contemplation.
"We can't stay here," Li Mei said, her tone sharp and impatient. "If we linger, the mist might consume us before we even step in."
"Do you always have to state the obvious?" snapped one of the cultivators, a burly man with a greatsword strapped to his back. "Unless you've got a plan, keep quiet."
The tension between the groups were palpable, but it dissipated as Han Qing stepped forward. His calm, icy demeanor cut through the rising panic.
"The mist is not natural" He said, his voice even. "It reacts to movement and sound, but it doesn't advance beyond a certain point." She pointed to the faint line on the ground, marking the mist's boundary. Perhaps previous adventurer has marked that before.
"Why don't we just try to go around it?" someone suggested, his voice trembling.