Chapter 164

But we couldn't find an exit.

I furrowed my brows, feeling things were getting more and more complicated.

After thinking for a while, I turned to look at Kurt.

"What's your deal with Evelyn?" I asked bluntly.

If my hunch was right, Evelyn had something to do with this.

And whether she was a friend or foe was still uncertain, so we had to be cautious.

Kurt hesitated, not answering my question directly, as if he had something he couldn't say.

But finally, he spoke, his tone firm: "Evelyn would never harm me, that much I know for sure."

I frowned, wanting to say something but hesitated and kept quiet.

Kurt pondered for a moment and then asked, "Are you suspecting her?"

I nodded thoughtfully, "If I'm not mistaken, she's in cahoots with the people who took Laura."

Kurt's face darkened, his voice tinged with obvious displeasure, "She's my friend!"

I shrugged indifferently, retorting, "She's your friend, not mine. I'm just saying, if she were really on our side, she wouldn't have shown up at that exact moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Kurt pressed.

I sighed and explained, "Why did she come back just as we were about to leave?"

I looked up at Kurt, "If we had left then and not found her, Laura and the others wouldn't have been able to leave."

"And Evelyn's reason for doing this wasn't to attract us but because she knew Laura had been captured. She wanted to take you to a safe place, but your appearance caught her off guard, forcing her to flee hastily. And you, in your shock, lost track of her."

Kurt fell silent after hearing this.

His emotions were complex and hard to calm.

Although my words seemed a bit far-fetched, he knew the timeline matched up.

Mary and the others had mentioned that shortly after they left the cabin, those people arrived, indicating our actions were being monitored.

"It can't be true," Kurt shook his head, finding it hard to believe.

Even though Kurt said he didn't believe it, I knew he was starting to.

I sighed and comforted him, "It's not your fault. None of us expected this to happen."

Kurt now understood the connection between the two, but this information didn't help us much.

Laura had already been captured, and we urgently needed to find where they were hiding.

I continued to ask, "What exactly happened between you two?"

Kurt gave a bitter smile. The entanglement between him and Evelyn wasn't something that could be explained in a few words.

But now, we didn't have time to delve into the past.

Seeing that Kurt didn't want to answer, I didn't press further. I knew everyone had their secrets.

Now we faced a choice between two paths: one leading into a dense forest, the other to a steep cliff.

I walked to the edge of the cliff, half-jokingly, "Do we have to jump down?"

The cliff was shrouded in mist, so deep it was terrifying.

"You can try," Kurt replied coldly from behind me.

Clearly, he was still upset about what I had said earlier.

I definitely didn't dare to jump. Such a high cliff would be certain death.

I saw a small stone at my feet and kicked it off the edge.

I turned to Kurt and said, "Let's go."

However, just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard the sound of the stone hitting the ground.

I stopped, listening closely, catching the sound of the stone bouncing on the ground.

Kurt had already walked a few steps ahead. Seeing I hadn't followed, he turned and said, "Come on!"

"Wait!" I called out to Kurt, a glint in my eye.

Kurt frowned, sensing something had changed, and walked back, but he didn't see anything.

I listened carefully for a while and confirmed I hadn't misheard.

What did this sound mean? It was obvious.

If the cliff were deep enough, we wouldn't hear this sound.

But the sound came back quickly.

I threw another stone down, this time deliberately changing the direction.

The same sound came again.

Kurt heard it this time, looking at me in shock.

But I didn't have time to explain to him. Staring at the mist, I felt something was off.

I lay down at the edge of the cliff, observing the strange mist sharply.

"What did you find?" Kurt asked.

"What did you find?" I countered.

"This mist is strange," Kurt replied.

I nodded and continued, "What's strange about it?"

Kurt was puzzled but couldn't quite put it into words.

I pointed at the thick mist, "Look at this mist. Why is it so close to the edge of the cliff?"

With this reminder, Kurt noticed the problem.

He had seen cliffs before, but never mist this close.

"It seems like it's deliberately hiding something!" Kurt suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide.

I nodded, picking up a long stick from nearby. I walked along the edge of the cliff, probing the mist with the stick, as if searching for clues.

Kurt watched my actions silently, observing my every move.

I checked back and forth three or four times but found nothing.

But my intuition told me something was definitely wrong.

The more normal it seemed, the more confusing it was.

Seeing my furrowed brows, Kurt also picked up a stick and started checking around like I did.

After a while, he shook his head, finding nothing.

"No, something's definitely wrong," I muttered, frowning, feeling there was still a question I hadn't figured out.

"Did we hear wrong?" Kurt asked.

Though he also felt the mist was strange, he was avoiding the issue because it involved Evelyn.

I didn't answer, instead throwing another small stone down.

This time, the stone seemed to disappear into the air, making no sound.

I raised an eyebrow and threw several more stones, but the result was the same.

Though everything seemed normal now, it only made me more certain that the mist was hiding something.

And it was related to the people who captured Laura.

I took a deep breath and told Kurt, "I'm going down to check!"

Kurt was startled and quickly tried to stop me, "What are you thinking? This is a cliff. If you're wrong, then you—"

Before he could finish, I shook my head and said, "I have to go down!"

I started looking for a safe way to descend the cliff.

Kurt shook his head helplessly, knowing he couldn't change my mind.

But he still couldn't help but suggest, "How about we go back and try again?"

I turned to look at Kurt, knowing he was worried about my safety.

"If it doesn't work, we'll think of another way," Kurt's voice had a hint of pleading.

Thinking it over, I didn't dismiss the idea and returned to where I had stood before.

I thought carefully about the direction I had kicked the stone the first time.

Mimicking my previous action, I kicked hard.

The stone flew through the air and made a collision sound.

Kurt looked at me with surprise.

Then I picked up another stone and threw it in various directions.

Some stones made sounds, some didn't.

This must be a platform-like place, located midway up the cliff. The mist was likely a way for those people to hide it.

I explained my theory to Kurt.

Kurt found it hard to believe, "How could there be people in the middle of a cliff?"

"And even if there were, how did they get down there?" Kurt continued to question.

This was beyond his imagination, but when he looked at me, he saw my calm expression.

He realized he had been influenced by Evelyn, losing his basic judgment.

"So how do we get down?" Kurt asked, trying to calm himself.

I observed for a moment and then said, "Jump down."

Kurt's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? We can't just jump!"

I shook my head, "Not jump-jump. We need to find a way to lower ourselves down safely. There might be a ledge or something we can land on."

Kurt sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, but we need to be careful. Let's find some vines or ropes to help us."

We scoured the area and found some sturdy vines. Tying them securely to a nearby tree, we tested their strength.

"Ready?" I asked, looking at Kurt.

He nodded, though his face was pale. "As ready as I'll ever be."

We slowly lowered ourselves down the cliff, the mist thickening around us. My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my focus.

After what felt like an eternity, my feet touched solid ground. I looked around and saw a narrow ledge hidden by the mist.

Kurt landed beside me, breathing heavily. "We made it," he whispered, relief evident in his voice.

I nodded, scanning the area. "Let's find Laura and get out of here."

We moved cautiously along the ledge, the mist slowly clearing to reveal a hidden entrance carved into the cliffside.

"This must be it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Kurt nodded, determination in his eyes. "Let's go."

We stepped into the darkness, ready to face whatever lay ahead.