As he walked deeper into the forest, about fifteen minutes later he heard a faint, distressed voice drifting through the trees.
A frown immediately creased his forehead.
It was a woman's voice, trembling with fear, carrying a desperate plea for help.
Xue Wen halted in his tracks, narrowing his eyes.
He closed them briefly and focused, tuning his senses to the sound.
It echoed faintly, weaving between the trunks, until he finally caught the direction.
Following it cautiously, he soon arrived before a small cave, its entrance half-hidden by thick vines and cruel, thorny growths that clung to the rocks like barbed chains.
Embedded into the stone wall above the entrance was a massive beast skull, weathered and cracked, but its jaw full of jagged, fang-like teeth still radiated menace.
It was not the skull of some simple animal, its size alone suggested a creature that could have swallowed a man whole.
The woman's voice came again, weak and sorrowful, from deep within the darkness of the cave.
"Someone… please save me…"
Xue Wen's heart stirred against his will, the instinct to protect rising.
But almost immediately, his other senses screamed at him.
He looked around and froze. The forest was utterly silent.
Not even the rustling of leaves, the chirp of birds, or the distant cries of beasts could be heard.
The entire wilderness held its breath, leaving only that lonely voice echoing from within.
A chill crawled down his spine.
This isn't right.
"Hell no," he muttered under his breath. With decisive steps, he spun around and dashed in the opposite direction.
His instincts, sharpened from years of danger and his battles as a Bonebearer, screamed that this was no ordinary cry for help.
There was something wrong with that cave, something vile.
He ran hard, using the full power of his peak Bone Awakening Realm to accelerate. Branches snapped around him, the forest blurring past.
All he wanted now was distance between himself and that cave.
But after a few minutes, his heart almost leapt out of his chest.
He was standing in front of it again. The vines. The thorns. The beast skull. The cave.
And the voice had stopped.
Xue Wen's breath hitched, his pulse thundering in his ears.
"What… what is happening?"
Without wasting another second, he spun again and ran, faster, harder, burning his essence to sprint through the forest.
His lungs ached, his feet hammered against the ground. But when he finally slowed, gasping for air…
The cave awaited him.
Panic gripped his chest.
His mind raced, but his body refused to believe what his eyes told him.
He growled, forcing himself forward again, refusing to yield.
Yet every path, every direction, every attempt… ended here.
The cursed cave swallowed the horizon, pulling him back without mercy.
His strength bled away into frustration. Finally, Xue Wen dropped to the ground, leaning against a tree as sweat dripped down his forehead.
He tilted his head up, gazing at the sun through the canopy.
It hung high overhead. He had maybe five, six hours before sunset.
His promise to Ding Mei pressed heavily on his heart.
"No matter which way I go… I end up here," he muttered, voice tight. "And there is no way I'm stepping inside that cave. It screams trap in capital letters."
He sighed, dragging a hand across his face. His gaze drifted back to the skull.
The longer he looked, the more wrong it felt.
The sockets seemed deeper than before, the teeth sharper, as if it were subtly shifting when he wasn't paying attention. Fear gnawed at his heart, chewing away his calm.
"What if I never get out of this place?" The thought struck like a dagger.
His chest tightened, his hands trembled. "No! I can't think like that. I have to return. For Ding Mei!"
Forcing himself to his feet, he approached the cave slowly, step by step.
The vines seemed to twitch in the corner of his eyes, and the skull loomed larger the closer he got, its monstrous teeth casting jagged shadows across the cave mouth.
Just as he reached the edge, the voice came again. This time weaker, trembling, filled with pitiful despair.
"Please… save me… I'm trapped inside…"
Xue Wen froze. His brows twitched.
His instincts screamed once more, warning him away.
He had watched enough horror movies in his past life to know exactly how this scene ended.
"No thanks, lady," he called toward the darkness, his tone half-nervous, half-mocking. "But if you'd be kind enough to tell me the way out, I can bring some reinforcements back for you."
A pause. Then the voice grew sharper, almost desperate.
"No… no reinforcements. Just you. Please, just come inside and save me. I only need you to show me the way…"
Her words dripped with pleading sorrow, but Xue Wen's gut twisted even tighter.
He exhaled and shook his head. "Yeah… no. That's not suspicious at all."
As he muttered, his eyes wandered back to the skull.
On a whim, he reached out and brushed his fingers against the ancient bone. Immediately, his canines pulsed, resonating with the object, vibrating as though alive. A shudder rippled through him.
The woman's voice changed instantly. From within the cave, a scream burst out, twisted and inhuman.
"You! What are you doing?! Stay away from that skull!"
Her tone warped, cracking into something guttural, something monstrous, the false veil of innocence falling away.
Xue Wen stumbled back, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
"Shit… this is way out of my league…" His thoughts spun wildly. "But the skull… it's connected to her. It's important. If I destroy it, maybe I can break free. But what if…"
He backed away and sank to the ground again, raking his brain for options.
Then, as if nothing had happened, the woman's pitiful voice returned.
"What are you doing? Please… please come inside. If you don't, the demon will eat me alive. Please… help…"
Her voice cracked with sobs, every syllable tugging at his heart, digging at his conscience.
But Xue Wen clenched his jaw and ignored it. He couldn't afford to be swayed.
Time dragged on, heavy and suffocating. The cries grew sharper, more desperate, more corrupted.
From sorrow to pleading, from pleading to shrieking. The hours stretched, his nerves frayed.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the mask shattered completely.
"You bastard!" she howled, voice layered with hatred and venom. "Come inside right now! I'll skin you alive! I'll tear the marrow from your bones and make you scream until your throat splits! You are mine! Mine forever! You'll never escape my domain!"
Her laughter followed, high-pitched, guttural, inhuman. "Hehehe… hahahaha!"
The cave mouth seemed to grin with her, the jagged teeth of the skull forming a macabre smile.
Xue Wen's fists tightened around the hilt of his saber.
His entire body trembled, not from weakness, but from the weight of the situation.
His mind screamed to run, yet every direction was sealed. His only way out was here.
And he knew it.