Yang Tao set out for the Twilight Forest once again, but this time, he was alone.
"Sigh~ It's easy to get used to luxury, but hard to go back! It feels a bit lonely by myself."
He had felt the same way before—playing on a server and then returning to single-player always made things feel emptier. Even if he hadn't been living with others on the server, there was still a lively atmosphere.
No point dwelling on it. Alone it is!
Yang Tao soon arrived at the Dark Forest, the place he had discovered while searching for the Hydra earlier.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have come alone! He would have definitely brought Bai along.
He stepped into the pitch-black forest and pulled out a night vision potion. The moment he drank it, the darkness around him brightened, revealing everything clearly.
Without hesitation, he began searching for the Goblin Knight Fortress. It wasn't hard to find—just look for scattered bricks and the remains of buildings, and the entrance would appear soon enough.
He stood before the sealed entrance and placed the Hydra's loot on the nearby altar.
As the entrance activated and opened, Yang Tao quickly took out his tools and retrieved the Hydra loot.
"No way I'm leaving a souvenir here—taking it with me!"
He recalled the first time he had played this part of the game on his computer. No matter what he did, he couldn't open the Phantom Knight's door. He had spent ages researching before finally checking a guide and realizing that he needed loot to activate it.
With the underground fortress now lit up, thanks to the night vision potion, Yang Tao carefully explored room after room in the massive underground structure.
After half a day of searching, he had explored most of the rooms and gathered a ton of loot.
"Damn it!"
Frustrated, Yang Tao threw his weapon to the ground.
"There are only a few places left I haven't checked! The entrance has to be in one of them—this is just messing with me!"
He sighed, picked up his weapon, and made his way to the final boss room. Before long, he stood in front of its door.
"Finally!"
He stepped in cautiously. Inside, it looked just like a graveyard, with coffin-like structures arranged throughout the room.
Floating in the air were six Phantom Knights, each wielding different weapons. The moment they saw him, they launched their attack.
A battle axe flew toward him with a swoosh, hitting him squarely. But Yang Tao wasn't one to back down—he charged forward, striking at one of the Phantom Knights, whose armor had already revealed a skeletal torso.
Fueled by frustration, he relentlessly chased and attacked the bosses. And it definitely wasn't because the underground structure had been so confusing that it had taken him forever to find the boss room.
Definitely not!
…
While Yang Tao fought in the Twilight Forest, three months had already passed in the world of *A Chinese Ghost Story*.
At this moment, Ning Caichen was leading Xiao Qian to the newly renovated Lanruo Temple.
The sun was setting, but the entire temple was brightly lit.
"It's changed so much! The group leader… I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing," Ning Caichen muttered to himself, feeling uneasy about the situation.
Xiao Qian, however, wasn't overthinking it. With gentle eyes, she looked at Ning Caichen and said, "I don't know what that person's goal is, but isn't this situation pretty good?"
Ning Caichen hesitated. "But…"
"No buts! Isn't my husband here? If something really goes wrong, you can always fix it!"
Ning Caichen smiled with confidence. "You're right!"
With that, he took Xiao Qian's hand, and the two stepped into Lanruo Temple.
Since there was no teleportation gate, time in *A Chinese Ghost Story* hadn't been synchronized, and three whole months had passed.
The once-ruined Lanruo Temple was now completely renewed. Not only that, but the surrounding area had expanded significantly. The newly paved roads were bustling with people, even at night.
This was rare in the world of *A Chinese Ghost Story*—daytime belonged to the living, but at night, it became a realm of ghosts and spirits.
Yet here, humans and ghosts passed by each other from time to time, coexisting peacefully.
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