"Clack, clack."
That sound was getting closer and closer, like whatever was making this eerie noise was slowly approaching them; Jasmine felt goosebumps rise all over her body just hearing it.
Each rhythmic collision tapped steadily against her tense nerves.
Was it an Undead creature living in the Dry Wood Forest? Did it bear hostility towards them? A series of questions popped up in her mind.
For a fleeting moment, Jasmine had intended to lead her people to run out into the wilderness, staying far away from the Dry Wood Forest.
But the wilderness, dark as ink, was also not safe; if they accidentally rushed into the hunting range of some large predator, the outcome wouldn't be much better than staying put.
At the end of the day, it was because their group's strength was too weak; whether fleeing or fighting, they had to weigh the consequences before and after. If the Temple Knights were here, regardless of whether that eerie sound was made by an Undead creature or not, the Temple Knights could directly purify it for her, and she wouldn't have to be afraid at all.
The guards were encountering this kind of situation for the first time; some were shaking with fear, their teeth chattering loudly against each other, but even so, they did not retreat a half-step, still blocking tightly in front of Jasmine.
The moonlight penetrated the dense canopy, casting a soft streak of light onto the ground, and a gloomy blue flame suddenly emerged from the darkness.
It floated, ghostly and cold, completely opposite to the warm fire at their camp.
A guard was so scared he screamed aloud in a panic; Jasmine, conversely, thanks to this scream, reluctantly calmed down. She focused her gaze, and relying on the dim moonlight, she saw only a stark white skeleton walking slowly and unsteadily out of the forest.
Its every bone joint moved stiffly, emitting ear-piercing creaking sounds.
And that gloomy blue flame was emitting from the location of the skeleton's heart, dancing as if it had life.
The reaction of the skeleton was even greater than Jasmine's group; seemingly not expecting so many living people near the Dry Wood Forest, the skeleton's head was so scared it fell right off. The head rolled on the ground for a few rounds, clattering against stones, and finally hit the carriage wheel before it was willing to stop.
The guards, who were originally guarding against the Undead creature that suddenly appeared, simultaneously lowered their heads to look at that skull. The atmosphere was momentarily a bit silent; the extreme tension suddenly turned into an indescribable astonishment.
"Excuse me, could you help me pick my head up?" A long while later, the skull that had intended to feign death moved its lower jawbone, using an eerie tone, like in an opera, sighing and gasping as it let out a soft voice, its empty eye sockets looking up at the crowd of people who were gaping wide-mouthed.
"Oh, okay."
The body of the Minotaur acted faster than his thoughts; following the natural reflex of a helpful person, he bent down and picked the skull up from the ground.
Because it had just finished raining, the skull rolling on the ground was covered in sticky mud, looking quite miserable.
"Oh, you are truly a good person." The skull exclaimed, its lower jaw clacking against the upper jaw: "Could I trouble you to help install my head back onto my neck? The view down on the ground really isn't very good."
"Wait a minute." Jasmine finally reacted and stopped the movement of the Minotaur. She leaned her head out of the carriage, curiously observing the skull in the hand of the Minotaur, not understanding how this frame of bones was actually talking.
There was no larynx, no tongue, yet the sound was still emitted clearly, carrying a strange, undulating cadence.
Furthermore, is this actually an Undead creature? It looks quite knowledgeable in etiquette. Perhaps because the tone of the skull wasn't bad, and it didn't show clear malice, Jasmine looked at it without the apprehension from that glimpse earlier.
The white bones, yellowed in some places due to time, had no foul smell or killing intent as she had imagined.
Hearing this, the skull rotated its head a few times in the hand of the Minotaur, as if wanting to see who the speaker was. It wasn't known if there was actually vision within those deep, empty eye sockets of his. A long while later, the skull seemed to have finally determined the identity of Jasmine, using an operatic tone to praise Jasmine first.
"Oh, where does this noble adult come from? Your beauty is as radiant as the moonlight tonight. Please allow your faithful servant to do a small, insignificant thing; my head cannot leave the body for too long, as that would make me feel uncomfortable, like a poem missing its final rhyme.
If a benevolent person like you could permit it, please let this kind Minotaur Excellency install my head back onto the body. I will pray to The God of Darkness to bless the benevolent noble adult with a safe journey."
Jasmine was not used to hearing the way the skull talked, which was strangely flowery and cumbersome, but determining that the other party seemed not to be dangerous, Jasmine was a bit curious about this type of Undead creature: "Who are you?"
The skull was very easy to talk to; ask and he would answer, his attitude extremely cooperative: "I am a Wandering Poet who is traveling."
"Traveling? You can leave the Dry Wood Forest?" According to the words of the old Butler, Undead creatures could not leave the range of the Dry Wood Forest, being bound by an ancient curse.
Hearing this, the skull fell silent for a moment. Clearly just a skeleton frame without a bit of flesh or blood, yet Jasmine seemed to see a trace of sorrow from the surface of that mud-stained bone.
The blue flame in the chest of the body in the distance also seemed to sway according to the mood of the owner.
"My dear noble adult, although I cannot walk everywhere on the wilderness like you, inside the Dry Wood Forest there is also different scenery; every Wandering Poet who wants their name to resound throughout the continent should step into the Dry Wood Forest to take a look."
"What is inside?" Jasmine narrowed her eyes, trying to extract more information.
"Hmm... how about you take a look at my poetry? Everything I have seen lies within these wonderful verses."
The body of the skull still stood at the edge of the Dry Wood Forest, about fifty meters away from their camp area, standing motionless like a strange sculpture.
Although Jasmine was chatting with the skull, she was actually always observing the movement of that skeleton; she discovered that they had been talking for so long, yet that body did not take a half-step further towards this side, as if there was an invisible boundary stopping it.
It wasn't until the skull started introducing the poetry it wrote itself that the skeleton body reached behind, taking out a piece of old, tattered parchment paper with frayed edges, raising both hands high from afar, seemingly hoping Jasmine would take it to look.