It was such a sudden change that Su Bai was totally shocked.
Luckily, he was well-experienced and wouldn't be affected too much by such stuff. After the surprise, when he saw their smooth practice turn into an embarrassing orgy, he calmed down and noticed marks on those people's foreheads like masses of dark clouds. Those marks weren't there before, Su Bai was sure about that.
Walking through those people's mirage was like walking into a five-dimension film; it felt real but became nothing to enjoy after a little while. Especially, these Taoist ladies looked really plain without their elegant Taoist clothes, probably because they were on a light diet and carried out fasting from time to time.
Even after Su Bai had passed this small pavilion, their orgy was still going on. Actually, those man could not last very long. Su Bai had noticed that they were young and lacking in sexual experience due to their isolated life in the mountains, and therefore would always come really quickly.
However, normally, they should stop after one or two times, while now, they had constantly done that for seven or eight times, which indicated that they were somehow bewitched to be so crazy. Su Bai even wondered if they would send out blood after a few more times.
After the pavilion, he finally arrived at the main hall, a Taoist-styled palace building. Although it was covered with ordinary grey tiles, it naturally let out a sense of Taoism and was harmonious with its surroundings.
There was a wooden bridge between Su Bai and that palace.
Usually, bridges were built so that people could go across some natural obstacles, like a river or a valley. But here, the bridge was just bridge. There were merely rocks under it. As far as Su Bai was concerned, there was no need to build a bridge over here.
And it didn't look like a decoration.
Anyway, there could be a mystery behind every stone in here, and every possible mistake would lead to perdition. Su Bai knew that well. He wouldn't consider himself to be one hundred percent safe, although Fatty and the others might have taken all the risk by going in the front.
The wooden bridge was not very long or high, only about ten meters long, but Su Bai couldn't tell its height because it was not hanging in the air but solid, which was rather weird.
But it was the only way to that palace, no matter what.
After a little while, Su Bai finally stepped onto the bridge. After the first step, there was nothing unusual, but after another two steps, Su Bai noticed a mist rising in front of him.
Instinctively, he stepped backwards and left the bridge.
Then he saw no mist in front of him at all.
He licked his lips and realized that he had no choice but to force himself to go forward even though he knew there was something wrong.
Stepping onto the bridge again, he moved much faster. The mist showed up again and soon enveloped him.
While walking, Su Bai suddenly noticed something strange. The bridge was only a dozen meters long, but he had walked for over a hundred meters and still couldn't see anything except for the floor under his feet and the handrail besides him.
Just then, a figure appeared in front. It was obviously a fat guy.
It was so characteristic that it was definitely Fatty.
"Fatty?"
Su Bai called out.
But that person didn't reply at all.
Even after Su Bai had approached closer, that figure still seemed so blurry.
However, the closer he was to that figure, the heavier Su Bai felt, as if a strong inertia was put onto him that he could not retreat.
Fatty was like a vortex that appealed to him.
When the appealing strength reached to its peak, Su Bai couldn't hold himself up and had to kneel down.
"Boom!"
All of a sudden, the thick mist was gone.
Su Bai saw it was a concrete bridge instead of a wooden one.
He stood up and looked around. There was a small town, a river under the bridge and several old-school boats on the water.
Just when Su Bai was in a trance, a little fat boy came capering, some cash in one hand and an ice lolly in the other.
Judging by his appearance, Su Bai could tell that he must be Fatty when he was young.
Seeing this, Su Bai knew he must be in the memory world or spiritual world of Fatty. As for how this bridge kept a person's memory, Su Bai had no idea.
But he knew that he should be working on how to get away from Fatty's damn spiritual world.
"Sir, you dropped your money."
Su Bai didn't reply to that. He had no money at all. It was a bad trick, but it made sense because the little Fatty was only about ten years old.
Seeing that Su Bai was not falling for his trick, young Fatty didn't say anything, just puckered his lips and walked away.
When he walked past Su Bai, he suddenly knocked against Su Bai with his butt.
Su Bai had already noticed his intention and was really pissed off. Su Bai had a good reason for his anger if it really was Fatty's spiritual world because the concrete bridge had no handrail.
A decade ago, such a bridge could be seen everywhere in the countryside, and many still existed even today.
Young Fatty hit Su Bai, but Su Bai didn't move at all. On the contrary, young Fatty was knocked off by the counterforce and wobbled to the other side of the bridge. He was almost falling off when Su Bai grabbed his neck from behind.
"Ouch… It hurts…"
"You're too young to do such evil things. What is wrong with you? It's murder!"
Su Bai knew that Fatty was never a good person, and he hid a cruel heart under his amiable face. But if he was such a badass since so young, Su Bai would have to reconsider the friendship between them.
Knocking people off the bridge just because they wouldn't fall for his tricks? What if they drowned?
It couldn't simply be explained as a naughty boy's joke. As a matter of fact, a teenage kid would know much more than an adult could ever imagine in such a time of websites, and many of their actions were actually revealing their filthy, evil hearts under the skin of innocence.
"I didn't attack a person! I was attacking a ghost!" Young Fatty yelled.
Ghost?
Su Bai looked down and found his own feet floating in the air, a few centimeters above the bridge.
"You monster! How dare you walk in the daylight! I am the grandson of the leader in Stone Harbor. You should run from my grandpa, or you will be dead!
"Ho, such a badass."
Su Bai smiled, carried young Fatty off the bridge and threw him onto the ground.
The "leader" young Fatty said was not a real gang master. It was a dialectal title for someone in charge of funerals and other concerning activities. It was more like a local Taoist in the old times.
Su Bai was wondering how to get away from Fatty's spiritual world. Maybe he should kill this young Fatty?
When this idea flashed into Su Bai's mind, young Fatty felt his intention to kill from the look in his eyes. Immediately, young Fatty was so scared that he tried to shrink into his clothes. He was no longer so brave since he was caught by a ghost instead of the other way around.
However, before Su Bai worked out anything to do, an adult and a child came from the path on the other side.
Both of them were wearing Tibetan clothes. The little boy had a Roman nose, dark skin and steady steps, while the adult seemed to be quite aged.
"Grandpa, when can we go home?"
"Isn't it good enough here?"
"No, it's not. I miss the high mountains and eagles in my hometown."
"Well, be a good boy and wait for me here, okay? When I'm back, I'll take you home."
"Okay."
The little boy stood there while the old man went onto the bridge and disappeared in the distance.
Su Bai looked at that Tibetan boy. The more he watched, the more similar that boy seemed to be to someone he knew, except for the dark skin.
Just when Su Bai was about to ask something, a young monk came from the bridge. He was cute with a bald head, wearing a green gown, holding Buddhist beads in his left hand and a bowl for mendicity in the other.
But there were coins and cash in the bowl instead of food.
The young monk tried to keep a decent style, but every time he looked at his bowl for Buddhist mendicity, his eyes would twist.
Clearly, even he would consider himself as a poor beggar.