It stood between the trees like a shadow stitched from the very heart of the Wuhen Forest—tall, lean, and rippling with muscle under, its fur the color of moonless night. Its eyes glowed faintly amber, focused, intelligent. Its claws flexed once. Then it moved.
I ran.
The moment I laid my eyes on that beast, I knew I was no match for it.
No plan, no direction—just instinct. My feet tore through the brush, leaping roots and ducking low branches. I heard it behind me—branches snapping, leaves rustling, the heavy rhythm of pursuit. My heart slammed in my chest, like a caged beast. My lungs burned, but I didn't stop. I couldn't.
"Don't look back," I told myself. "Don't—"
But I did. And that was a mistake.
The beast was gaining on me, more than I'd dared imagine. It wasn't charging blindly—it was hunting. Calculating.
"It's toying with me." I paled at the thought that that beast can overtake me whenever it wanted. My breath caught, and in that split-second of distraction, my foot caught on a root.
I fell.
A sharp cry tore from my throat as I feel weightless and the ground vanished beneath me. I rolled, bounced off a rock, and slid down a shallow hill blanketed in moss and damp earth. Sticks and leaves tangled in my hair. Thorns scraped my arms. When I finally came to a stop, I lay still, face down in the mud, stunned and aching all over.
I groaned, pushing myself up on trembling arms. Blood trickled from my lip. My right ankle throbbed, maybe twisted. I blinked away tears—not from pain, but from the sheer shock of it all.
Oh god no, I just had a second chance at life, am I going to lose it again? How bad is my luck? The heavens must be laughing at me. I cried.
But then I realized something else. It was… quiet.
Too quiet.
I didn't hear the beast crashing after me, no panting breath or snapping twigs. Just the whisper of the wind through the trees above and the distant murmur of the Luoshui River.
Had it stopped chasing me?
Why?
I didn't dare call out. Instead, I held my breath and listened harder.
That's when I heard it—soft, like a bell tolling from beneath the earth. A single chime, faint and eerie, almost musical. It didn't belong here.
I turned slowly, scanning the trees around me. The hill I'd fallen down was shallow, but steep enough to hide me from view. Above, I could just make out where the beast had stood—but it wasn't there now. Nothing was.
I stood, shakily, testing my ankle. It held, barely.
This wasn't safety.
This was something else.
The trees here were older and gnarled with moss, their trunks twisted as if shaped by forgotten hands. Mist pooled at the base of the hill, thick and silver, curling around my legs like grasping fingers. I staggered back, my instincts screaming to leave.
I took a careful step forward. Then turned and ran again, ignoring the pain in my ankle, pushing through the fog that grew colder with each step. My breath steamed in the air.
The beast. That's why it stopped. It wasn't fear of me or was tired chasing after me. It was fear of this place.
I hadn't escaped the beast. I had stumbled into something worse.
In that moment I realized that in my panic, without thinking I had accidentally ventured inside the inner ring of Wuhen Forest. Without knowing where to go I just keep running. Remembering that Wuhen Forest is known for lost traces. Once you go in, you won't be able to trace your way back. Only those experienced cultivators and beast tamers can successfully escape Wuhen Forest.
In the history of Qinglin Village, there are numerous people who accidentally got lost inside or dumb enough to challenge Wuhen Forest, but none of them manage to come back.
And I might be added to that history.
…
My lungs burned. I was tired. But stopping wasn't an option if I wanted to stay alive. I could feel eyes following me—watching me. The sensation crawled down my spine like ice, making the hairs on my neck stand on end.
After what felt like an eternity of running, I spotted light ahead. I staggered toward it and emerged into what looked like a hidden paradise.
"Wow," I gasped in amazement.
There was no more scary mist, no towering trees blotting out the moon. Only soft moonlight illuminating blooming flowers, butterflies dancing through the air, and gentle fireflies flickering like fallen stars. At the center lay a natural pool, its surface still and silver under the moonlight.
Limping forward, I approached the pool and crouched beside it. My reflection stared back at me—dirt-smudged face, small nose, almond-shaped eyes, and tangled hair streaked with twigs and dust. It had once reached my waist, but now it looked like a bird's nest. I must've broken my hair tie earlier when I rolled down the hill trying to escape the beast.
I touched my face, feeling it. "Not bad" I murmur under my breath.
I dipped my hand into the water. The chill immediately latched onto my skin. I scooped a handful and drank greedily, quenching my dryer-than-desert throat. Then, with a sigh, I splashed water onto my face.
"Hah... thank God. So refreshing." I slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Staring at the sky where the moon hung quietly in the corner, I mumbled, "How am I supposed to find my way back?"
It was already dark, and I—
I froze mid-sentence. In the center of the pool, among a cluster of Skydream Water Lilies, bloomed a single glowing flower—radiant and otherworldly. It looked like a queen crowned by her court.
From Duan Yanyan's memories, I recognized the Skydream Lilies as high-level herbs. But the glowing flower remains a mystery. I wanted to harvest it. I needed the money it could bring. The Soulsgade Bloom I found earlier have been damaged after I left it hastily and I can't sell it anymore. But there was a problem—I don't have a technique to use to withstand the Skydream Lilies' effects. As their name suggested, they could induce anyone nearby into an endless sleep, trapped in dreams.
I sigh in regret and walk around the pool limping to look at the other blooming flower to see if there's a medicinal herb. Not all the blooming flower here are medicinal herb, some are just ordinary flower. There is also a flower that is known for its enchanting aroma that is popular among wealthy ladies.
I tore a large piece of my guzhuang and wrap the herbs in it. I left my basket when I ran for my life, so this will have to do.
I also saw a QI-THREAD needles grass, it is used in acupuncture-style beast training. They help tamers stimulate or suppress a beast's inner energy during recovery or bonding phases. Sadly, this grass is highly lethal and sharper than a blade, I'll lose my hand if I harvest that one. So I can only leave it alone.
I sat down near a flattened rock I found near the pool, I decided to sleep here while I wait for sunrise. Since it's night already, it's specially dangerous to run around in Wuhen Forest when I don't even know my way back, so it's better to just leave when sun is up.
Suddenly—pain.
A sharp, brutal pain tore through my stomach like a twisting knife. I collapsed, curling inward as a scream ripped from my throat.
It felt like my insides were being ground into pulp.
Sweat beaded on my forehead, dripping into my eyes, blurring my vision.
*Splash*
I didn't realize I had fallen into the pool until the cold swallowed me whole.
I thrashed instinctively, trying to swim toward the surface, but the pain made my limbs sluggish and my swollen ankle made it worse. My body felt like it was made of lead.
The surface shimmered just above me, but my strength was fading. I kicked weakly, but the air in my lungs had nearly run out.
I'm going to drown.
Damn this weak body.
I had just survived a chase from a ferocious beast but it looks like I'm dying from being drowned to death. What a life I had!
And then—I felt it.
A warm pull.
A gentle tug not from outside, but inside my mind.
Soft. Enchanting.
I swang my arms desperate to reach the surface as I felt danger from the warm pull. Slowly, I can feel the Skydream Lilies affecting me.
My body stilled. The Skydream Lilies were blooming around me, their fragrance seeping into my lungs. My eyelids drooped.
The pain in my stomach dulled... replaced by a surreal calm.
A haze settled over my thoughts.
And everything went black.