Taking the opportunity of traveling through books

The shadow of the ancient tribe came into view

The western sky, perpetually shrouded in a dark haze, threatened to swallow the setting sun whole. With every step, the dry earth crunched beneath my feet, dust rising like tiny ghosts around my ankles. The air grew heavy, filled with the smell of decay and something ancient, something... unsettling. The buildings around us transformed from modern concrete structures to weathered stone structures, delicately carved yet unfamiliar. It felt as if we were walking backward in time, each breath dragging us deeper into the unknown.

"Yaoyao, are you sure this is the way?" Haoyang's voice, usually filled with confidence, was now tinged with anxiety. He held my hand tighter, his warmth providing a small comfort amidst the growing chill.

I squeezed his hand comfortingly, even as my own heart pounded in my chest. "This jade pendant…it's pulling me this way." I touched the jade's smooth surface, its cool surface a stark contrast to the burning sensation beneath my skin. It flickered faintly, a beacon in this strange, desolate landscape.

Wei Xue followed us, her usually sharp demeanor softened by a palpable unease. "This place... doesn't feel right." She shuddered, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Even her usually confident stride felt unsteady on the uneven cobblestones.

My systems, usually a source of strength and information, failed at this very moment. A glaring error message flashed across my vision: *Insufficient Power. Critical Function Offline. *Panic gripped my chest like an icy hand. Navigation, communications, defense mechanisms—all were affected. "Damn it!" I cursed under my breath, thumping the side of the system interface in frustration. This journey was already fraught with danger, and now, without my most precious tool, I felt terribly exposed.

"What's wrong?" Haoyang immediately asked with concern.

"The system..." I began, my voice strained. "It's...malfunctioning." I didn't need to explain. The fear in his eyes matched mine.

We continued on, the silence broken only by the wind whistling through the crumbling ruins around us. The last rays of sunset had completely vanished, shrouding us in oppressive darkness. I felt a clenching of fear in my stomach. We were walking blindly into the unknown, vulnerable and alone.

Wei Xue stopped short. "Wait," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. She fumbled in her bag, her hands shaking. Then, she pulled out a shimmering crystal, a soft light flickering inside. "This... I found this a while ago. I... I don't know what it is, but..." She handed it to me. "Maybe..." I took the crystal from Wei Xue, its warmth filtering through my fingertips. Hope, fragile yet vibrant, flickered within me. It pulsed with a familiar energy, similar to the energy at the core of my system. "Thank you, Wei Xue," I said, my voice thick with emotion. I hadn't expected her to be so kind, especially after our past animosity. This journey... is changing us all.

I carefully placed the crystal into the designated slot on my system interface. A surge of energy coursed through me, and the screen flickered back to life, albeit dimly. *Partial system recovery. Core functionality online. *A sense of relief washed over me, so intense it nearly brought me to my knees. Navigation, communications... were back online. Not at full power, but enough.

"It worked!" Hao Yang exclaimed, his voice filled with relief. He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. His body warmth dispelled the remaining chill of fear.

We continued on, the faint glow of the system interface illuminating our path. The landscape grew more desolate, ruins crumbling into dust around us. Then, we saw it. A broad, surging river, its water black as ink, stretched before us, seemingly endless. An oppressive silence enveloped the air, broken only by the ominous roar of the rushing water.

The jade pendant pulsed violently, its light reflecting off the dark river water. It must be there, on the other side. But something felt wrong. A powerful force emanated from the river, pushing towards us, forming an invisible barrier. My system, even with its core function restored, could not penetrate it. It detected only an impenetrable wall of energy.

"We can't get through," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, a foreboding quality in my words. The air shimmered with an unusual energy. The river churned violently, as if something stirred deep within.

Wei Xue clutched her crystal tightly, her face pale. "There's...something in the water..." she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

A low roar came from the riverbank, the voice low and full of menace. Hao Yang walked in front of me, his hand instinctively reaching for the worn dagger at his waist. He looked at me with a stern expression. "Yaoyao..." he began, his voice tense with worry. At this moment, the water surface exploded. A strange shape emerged from the dark water, its scales gleaming like obsidian in the dim light. Then another emerged, and then another, until the riverbank was crowded with strange creatures, their eyes flashing with malice. Their roar was deafening, a cacophony of anger that shook my bones. Hao Yang pushed me behind him, the dagger in his hand flashing a cold light. "Stand back, Yaoyao!"

The first creature lunged, its claws extended and dripping with black liquid. Hao Yang dodged with incredible agility, his dagger flashing, but the blade seemed to merely grazed the creature's thick hide, leaving only a barely perceptible scratch. More creatures appeared, their guttural growls filling the air. We were surrounded.

"Their hides are too thick for ordinary weapons!" Wei Xue shouted, firing a beam of energy that dissipated harmlessly on the scales of the nearest monster.

My heart pounded in my chest. Fear threatened to overwhelm me, but seeing Hao Yang fighting so fiercely, I pulled myself together. I focused on my system interface, the faint light a beacon of hope. *Analysis… Weakness detected: Abdomen. *This system, even damaged, is still capable of analysis!

"Haoyang, attract their attention!" I shouted, channeling my remaining energy into my system's enhanced functions. A surge of power surged through me, strengthening my resolve.

He weaved nimbly and precisely among the creatures, drawing their attention away from me. He was outnumbered, the power disparity vastly outnumbered, but he fought with all the ferocity of a trapped tiger. Wei Xue had also found her rhythm, firing energy beams that distracted the creatures and gave Hao Yang a precious moment to breathe.

I saw my chance. One of the creatures, momentarily distracted by Hao Yang's feint, bared its underbelly. I focused all my enhanced strength into a single blow, striking with all my might. The creature screamed, letting out a high-pitched wail of pain, and stumbled back, black ichor oozing from the wound. It worked!

Another creature lunged at Hao Yang, its claws grabbing his arm. He cried out and stumbled back a few steps. My blood ran cold. "Hao Yang!" I rushed to his side, ignoring the other creatures approaching. "Are you okay?"

He looked at me, a faint smile playing on his face despite the wound on his arm. "I'm fine, Yaoyao. It's just a minor cut." His words were reassuring, but they couldn't hide the pain in his eyes. My heart ached.

With renewed resolve, I fought alongside him and Wei Xue, targeting the creatures' weaknesses. One by one, the creatures fell, their bodies dissolving into the dark water. The last monster screamed and vanished beneath the surface, leaving behind an eerie silence. We had won. But the battle had taken its toll. Hao Yang's arm bled, and we were all exhausted, our bodies shaking from the exertion.

We crossed the river, the silence broken only by the gentle lapping of black water against the shore. The ancient family stronghold loomed before us, majestic and... sealed. Strange symbols carved into a shimmering barrier pulsed with an unknown energy. Wei Xue touched the barrier, her hand retracting as if burned. "It's... protected." She looked at me, her eyes wide. "Yaoyao..." The silence after the battle was unsettling. The only sound was the drip, drip, drip of black water on our clothes. Hao Yang leaned against me, his rapid breaths hitting my ear. "Yaoyao, are you sure you're okay?" His voice was low and full of concern.

"I'm fine," I insisted, even though my body ached and my head throbbed with pain. I squeezed his hand tightly, my fingers rubbing against the sticky remnants of the monster's slime. "You're the one who needs to be taken care of." His arm was still bleeding, the wound deep and serious. I tore a strip of cloth from my now-tattered sleeve and began bandaging the wound.

Wei Xue looked at us, her expression unreadable. "We have to keep moving forward," she said, her voice flat. "The fortress is right there."

The fortress... it loomed before us, a massive structure of black stone that seemed to absorb the little light that filtered through the perpetually gloomy sky. It felt ancient, powerful, and utterly forbidding. A shimmering, translucent barrier pulsated around it, engraved with strange, spiraling symbols.

We approached cautiously. Wei Xue, ever impulsive, reached out to touch the barrier. Her hand retreated as if burned. "This is some kind of... energy field," she muttered, cradling her injured hand to her chest.

I stepped closer, peering at the symbols. They were unlike anything I'd seen before, complex and unfamiliar. They glowed with a faint inner light, almost like they were breathing. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. It felt... familiar.

Hao Yang stood beside me, his good arm around my waist, a silent gesture of support. "Yaoyao, what do you think this is?"

I tentatively reached out, my fingers hovering just above the shimmering surface. A faint tingling sensation spread up my arm, and a strange resonance vibrated deep within my bones. I traced one of the symbols with my fingertips. It felt warm, almost alive.

Suddenly, something flashed through my mind—a fragmented memory, a glimpse of a similar symbol… carved in stone… somewhere dark… somewhere… familiar. I gasped and pulled my hand back as if burned. Wei Xue looked at me, her eyes wide with worry.

"Yao Yao? What's wrong?"

My eyes glued to the symbols, my mind racing. Where have I seen this before? The memory is elusive, always just a little off. I feel a pull, a deep, instinctive connection to this place, these symbols…to this power.

"I... I think I know..." I whispered, my voice so low it was barely audible. I reached out my hand again, my fingers trembling...