Helfas also ran in, and just as he entered the forest, there was a loud noise from behind.

"boom!"

Helfas looked back and suddenly saw a thick whip-like tentacle stretching out from under the water, tearing open the entire river.

It flapped and waved wildly on the water surface, splashing layers of water.

The tentacles grazed the raft, and the raft immediately fell apart.

As Helfas stared, a young man's voice came from behind him: "Shock me!"

Helfas looked back at the young man's surprisingly calm face. They were just one step away from being torn apart, but the other man's voice did not even change.

"You know there's something under the water here?"

But as soon as the words came out, Helfas understood how the other party knew.

The other party must have been observing his cloth lantern, felt its changes, and discovered that something strange was quietly approaching them.

He asked again: "Aren't you afraid?"

The young man said: "There is no danger here, so what's the use of being afraid?"

Herfas: "Although this is true, fear is an instinct that comes from the deepest part of my heart. Even if you know it, you can't suppress it. Why can you act so calmly?"

The young man said: "Then just think that I am born without knowing what fear is!"

The two people set off next.

On the way to their destination, they passed a pool where the two of them fetched water.

"There is no problem with the water here. You can fill it with more water. It will be used later."

They passed a swamp, the young man told Helfas.

"There is something scary and strange here. Don't get close to it anyway. Stay away from this place."

Helfas saw a forest with fruit hanging on it. The young man climbed on the tree to pick the fruits, and then threw a few down skillfully.

"This kind of food is edible, but it doesn't taste very good."

On the road, the other party was strolling leisurely, as if walking in his own home.

——

at night.

With the help of the special lantern, Helfas opened his scroll and map, and recorded several strange things he saw along the way. Although he didn't know their characteristics, even some of them were worth remembering.

When these bits and pieces finally come together, a strange world will be revealed in front of Helfas.

Next, Helfas made marks on the map, including marks about dangers, water sources and food places, as well as their tracks along the way.

It can be seen that they are getting closer and closer to their destination, but the destination on the map does not have a temple drawn on it, but is painted in black.

Helfas didn't understand what that meant either.

Because this map was already abstract enough and not accurate enough in many places, Herfas had corrected it many times along the way.

While Helfas was writing and drawing, the young dragon man was standing not far away looking in the direction of their destination.

He knelt on the ground and looked into the distance quietly.

It's like praying.

After Helfas finished his busy work, he looked at the young man who had remained motionless.

It took a certain amount of willpower to kneel for so long without moving, and he suddenly felt that the other person might be a very devout believer.

"Why do you go to see God, because you believe in him?"

When the other party heard the voice, he slowly turned his head and said to Helfas: "Because everyone says that God is omnipotent and can fulfill any wish of man."

Helfas asked again: "I don't know if God is omnipotent, but why does He want to fulfill any wish of man?"

"His omnipotence is only his business, what does it have to do with mortals?"

The young man said: "Since He is so omnipotent, it doesn't matter if He lends a hand to help us, right?"

Helfas: "If you have a lot of food, suddenly one day many people who have nothing to do with you and don't know you will come to you and talk about you."

"There is so much food anyway, so it doesn't matter if you give me some."

"Will you give it to me then?"

The young man was stunned.

Then he laughed, a little dryly.

"I'll probably close the door and keep them all out!"

The topic suddenly became awkward and the scene became very quiet.

Although Helfas blurted it out, it felt wrong after saying it, as if he had personally exposed other people's dreams and obsessions.

Especially when this road has not come to the end, and everything that is right or wrong has not yet been proven.

So, he said something again.

"What I said is not necessarily correct, because I only look at such things from a mortal's perspective. Maybe the gods' perspective on the problem is completely different from ours."

"We are here discussing what gods are like and what they would do. Perhaps they are like insects on the ground imagining the world that birds see."

The young man slowly raised his head and asked Helfas the same question.

"Then why do you want to go to the temple?"

"I've heard about you, a man with black hair and black eyes who possesses the special power to fight against weirdness. Haven't you been searching for news about weirdness?"

"Why do you come here and want to see the gods?"

Helfas: "You know me too?"

The other party: "When the merchants from the Golden Tribe came, I heard them talking about you."

Helfas nodded. He had almost forgotten that when the other party set off, the merchant had already visited the Zhi tribe.

Helfas: "I have some questions I want to find answers to. Whether it's a temple or a god, I want to take a look."

Young man: "If you can't find the answer, what will you do?"

Herfas: "I haven't thought about it yet."

"A traveler on the road only knows where the next stop is. If you ask him where he will end up, most people can't see that far."

"Perhaps all we can choose is to keep walking, and then one day we will stop."

"Because I'm tired, because I can't walk anymore."

"Or maybe dead."

The young man said: "Aren't you also very calm when talking about death?"

"Listening to your story, you must have faced danger many times, right?"

"After experiencing it so many times, are you still scared?"

Herfas: "Yes, I'm still afraid."

"Because when I'm really facing death and making a choice, no matter how hard I try to muster up the courage, I tell myself that death is nothing to be afraid of. What I want to do is very important."

"But my body tells me I should be afraid."

"It will tell the heart that you should beat bang bang bang. It will make the body tired, painful and desperate. It will use countless forces to overwhelm your will and use all kinds of power to make you retreat and avoid death."

Helfas sighed.

"What kind of courage does it take and what kind of people have you experienced?"

"Only by suppressing the body's instincts can we transcend the body's instincts and face death and choices?"

His words seemed to have meaning.

The young man said: "Can't it be natural?"

Helfas: "Maybe!"

The young man lay down and prepared to sleep.

And Helfas finally picked up the map and prepared to roll it up.

However, when he took the last look, he still said with some doubts.

"Why is this destination black and there is an abstract sign somewhere else? What does this mean?"

From the edge of the light emitted by the lantern, the young man's voice came.

"It is rumored that the temple is at the bottom of a huge deep cave."

"So it's also a symbol. The big piece of black painted by the map maker means a hole."

Helfas turned sideways: "How do you know so clearly that you even know what the person who drew the map thought?"

The young man lying on the ground said: "Because the map in your hand was drawn by me when I set out."
To be continued...