Chapter 2 - Spark

Soon, they were all paired in either twos or threes. Those who looked unharmed or were still alright helped out those who were injured, and with this they slowly made their way out of the forest.

The faint light of the forest entrance shined towards the group of twenty and there was a few specks of black dispersed around the shining glow. As they neared the entrance, the specks of black grew bigger and taller as another group of people entered the wilderness and rushed towards the injured party.

A majority of the group of twenty gave out some low sighs of relief as they witnessed the shadows drawing closer to them before completely lowering down their guards and letting themselves succumb to the pain that had been gnawing at them.

While there were sounds of shuffles and muffled groans heard from the sides, an imposing figure walked towards the two group heads with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Elaborate"

A voice that sounded soft like the flowing river but still having that obvious sound of sternness in it overlapped the many sounds of chattering that was around the trio.

At this point, Tao Xiulan looked at the figure and she seemed hesitant about something. With her eyebrows creased, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times but all she could muster up to say was just one word.

"Weimin.." Tao Xiulan looked up at the young man who was just 3 years older than her but still had an eternity of a gap between them.

She couldn't bear to mention that they haven't gotten anything useful during this trip. She looked down and was nearly tearing up. She did not know why her tears threatened to fall, but they did. It may be because of the hope that they brought everyone before they began their journey in the forest or maybe because she felt that it was right in their grasps, but they missed a great opportunity to get it.

She was trying to form coherent words in her mind but nothing could be clicked together. The sadness she felt was nearly at its brim before she heard someone speak.

"Yellow and Green Dive didn't have it" Mao Huan said upfront as he saw how Tao Xiulan was hesitating to do so. He gave her a side glance and looked helplessly at Zhong Weimin before shaking his head, implying once more that they failed.

Zhong Weimin looked at both of the people in front of him with a tinge of surprise, but it was quickly concealed. He couldn't let them know he was hanging onto that thread of hope as well. Even though he felt like something important had just passed through their fingers. The emotions in his eyes were incomprehensible, but he still gave out a smile.

He reached his hands out to ruffle Tao Xiulans hair who was still looking down and then turned his head to look at Mao Huan.

"Thought so." He let go of Tao Xiulans nest of a hair and clasped his hands behind him once again. "We have a better chance next time. At least we wouldn't be hiding with our visits" giving out a low chuckle, he looked at them one last time before he turned around and started to walk back towards the entrance of the forest.

"Don't overthink Lan'er, we still have time." Convincing himself or Tao Xiulan, he himself was not sure who this sentence he said was directed to.

Tao Xiulan looked up at the fading silhouette of Zhong Weimin as she tried to pull her tears which were on the verge of falling, back up.

"I told you so Little Flower. Let's go now, they would probably be doing their rounds by now"

Mao Huan hooked his arm around Tao Xiulan and started walking away, leaving the vast forest behind them.

Tao Xiulan treaded slowly, allowing Mao Huan to guide her away from the forest as all she was feeling right now was incompleteness.

Slowly, the group of people disappeared from the view and the forest that was bustling with small amounts of energy a while ago, turned back into the vast emptiness and stillness that it was.

Throughout the group's entire journey out of the Lei forest, no one noticed a particular shadow that was sitting atop a tree branch.

Her clothes resembled a uniform from a particular academy.

Her inner red top was covered up with a black cape and along the side there were three silver colored lines. At the back of the cape, there was clearly an emblem of two serpents circling around each other forming a shape around a small drop of silvery dew. Along its centre, was a qilin in the same silver color.

"Hmm"

Sitting comfortably on the top of a branch with one of her arm propped up in her thigh holding her chin, she began to think of something.

She was at her usual stop in the forest, when she saw a group of people gathering in front of the oddly shaped stone and her curiosity piqued.

It was usual for people to enter the forest, but only at times the academy lets them in.

Therefore, this group of people that came at a time when no one was allowed in, tugged on her curiosity which led her to follow them during their route and she did so by hopping across the tree branches while they walked on the muddy ground.

"This did not happen during my rounds, so I don't have to report it right?" She tried to convince herself of her own reasonings as she threw away her responsibilities and followed them all the way. "They should have seen this coming if they were asking me to do work"

After the group exited the forest and she was sure no one else was present, she jumped down and after stalling for a few seconds, started walking towards the exit as well.

A young woman around the age of twenty two was seen going out of the dark forest walking into the bright light. It may be due to the effects of the light contrasting with the darkness that was the forest, but as the young woman walked out, it was as if she was some ethereal being.

Her features were not those that were uncommon in the world, but the combination of each of them onto her small heart shaped face, made it seem like the most perfect mixture of features that would have been possible.

Her long raven colored hair that slightly passed her shoulders, with small pointed but not too upturned nose matched with her eyes that were like that of a doe while having a slight spark and copper-golden color of her iris and her lips which were unmoving but still seemed like she was smiling, made her look like an unapproachable beauty.

"Things just got quite interesting"