Chapter 843 The Storm: Unveiling Smiling Town


    "Muh," Elena pouted, her gaze shifting to Pam. "And where are you going?"


    Pam flinched, her mind racing for an excuse. With a forcedugh, she replied, "Uhm . . . toilet?"


    "You''re not going anywhere," Elena dered firmly, grabbing Pam''s hand and deftly attaching a vine-like bracelet around her wrist.


    Pam''s eyes widened in surprise as she inspected the intricate design of the bracelet. At least it was pretty, but that was hardly the issue at hand here!


    She attempted to remove it, but Elena dismissed her struggles with a nonchnt wave. "That won''te off your wrist until I say so."


    "Guk. You can''t do this to me! I''m a goddess, and you''re just mere souls! You''re out of bounds here!" Pam protested, her voice rising in frustration. But a stern look from Ren silenced her protests.


    "Augh . . . I mean . . . I, uh, like this bracelet. It''s very fashionable," Pam stammered, her resolve crumbling under Ren''s gaze.


    Ren and the others paid no heed to Pam''s outburst, their attention focused on the task at hand. Ren kept a wary eye on their surroundings, his hand never straying far from his staff. "We''ll stay only as long as necessary."


    "Let''s go and find an inn, then," Evie suggested, taking the lead.


    The four of them proceeded to the center of the town, Pam reluctantly trailing behind them, her movements hindered by the bracelet tethered to her wrist. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This waspletely opposite to what Pam had in mind. They were supposed to be her prisoners, not the other way around.


    She could go to the guardians, but she was certain that they would report her actions to the Goddess of Smiles and Happiness.


    Being captured and used as a guide, Pam''s reputation would surely plummet even further, and she would be theughing stock of the Gods and Goddesses once again.


    Pam would rather die than let that happen!


    Resigning herself to her fate, Pam could only sigh in frustration. So much for being the Goddess of Luck and Fortune.


    However, their ns to quickly find an inn were thwarted when they stumbled upon a festival taking ce in the town square. Music filled the air, and townsfolk danced andughed with abandon, their smiles never faltering.


    "What? What''s going on here?" Evie remarked, her curiosity piqued by the festivities. "They''re having a party with the storm approaching?" Elena inquired. Pam exined, "They''re having parties every day,e what may. This is the city of smiles and happiness, and no storm would dampen that."


    "But isn''t it dangerous?" Evie asked, concern evident in her voice.


    Pam looked to the side and sighed warily. "It is. But if you haveints, take them to the management. Just a word of advice, though –– don''tin. Keep a low profile here if you want to pass through without problems."


    Elena approached the souls who were smiling andughing without care while thunder roared in the sky above.


    "Why aren''t you going to take shelter? The storm is about to hit here," she said, her voice tinged with concern.


    The souls looked at her with creepy smiles that seemed frozen in ce. "It''s fine. No storm can make us unhappy and stop the festivities."


    Elena frowned deeply. "But you could die."


    The soul let out augh. "I''m already dead! Besides, if I die again, then I''ll die happy!"


    Elena didn''t know what to say. The soul''s response was beyondprehension.


    "Anyway, never mind that. But why aren''t you smiling? Aren''t you . . . happy?" the soul voiced out, its tone oddly haunting.


    Elena suddenly felt ufortable and forced a smile before slowly retreating back to Ren and Evie.


    "It''s no use. They''re acting like they''re under a spell or something," she muttered, her unease evident.


    Pam took a deep breath. "That''s what will happen to you if you stay in this town any longer than a day. You''ll fall into a trance and only think of happy thoughts. This is the ce where depressed and sad soulse to forget their sorrows. If you want to escape the sadness, then this is the ce to be."


    "That''s why there are so many souls here," Eviemented, her voice hushed.


    "This ce is like a euphoria for souls that just want to be happy," Elena muttered, her tone tinged with sadness. "How sad."


    "Then that means that this ce is like under the spell of the goddess," Ren pondered aloud.


    "Spell?" Pam waved her hand dismissively. "No. No. No. More like this town is her entire domain."


    Ren and the others fell into a momentary silence, processing Pam''s words.


    ". . . Isn''t that bad?" Evie broke the silence, her voice filled with concern.


    Suddenly, the thunder rumbled so loud it felt like the earth itself was shaking. Each boom reverberated through the air, sending vibrations that seemed to prate to the very core of one''s being. It was a deep, guttural sound that rolled across thendscape, filling the air with an ominous sense of foreboding.


    With the thunder came the rain, a deluge that fell from the sky in relentless torrents. The droplets were harsh, cold, and unyielding as they pelted down, drenching everything in their path. The raindrops seemed to have a mind of their own,shing out with ferocity as they hammered against the ground and anything else in their way.


    Apanying the rain was the wind, a fierce force that swept through the town with a fury unmatched. It howled and whistled through the streets, bending trees and toppling anything not securely anchored to the ground. Loose objects were sent tumbling through the air, caught in the tempestuous winds and carried away into the storm.


    Despite the chaos unleashed by the storm, the souls of Smiling Town remained unfazed. They continued to smile andugh as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, their expressions frozen in an eerie disy of eternal happiness. It was as if they werepletely immune to the forces of nature, untouched by the tumultuous events unfolding around them.


    Sensing the urgency of the situation, Ren wasted no time in urging the group to seek shelter. "Let''s get out of here," he said, his voice barely audible over the roar of the storm. Without hesitation, they immediately set off in search of an inn to wait out the tempest, their footsteps quickening as they sought refuge from the relentless fury of the elements.