The bone fragment continued to relay Jian Xiaolou's mockery of Suhe.
"I used to worry whether the Night Wanderer might mess things up, but who would've thought you'd be the first to cause trouble? You're worse than the Night Wanderer!"
Suhe glanced around nervously at the empty surroundings, a chill running down his spine. "Xiaolou, you're really—"
Before he could finish, the Night Wanderer sent a sound transmission to stop him. "Don't say anything just yet."
Suhe closed his mouth, swallowed hard, and responded with a transmission of his own. "Lousy Dragon, what's going on here? I only wrote a word on this stele. If the stele she's referring to is this one—it's three zhang tall and can't move—then Xiaolou should be standing right here with us. So why can't we see her?"
Night Wanderer looked just as puzzled. "When Xiaolou passed through the second gourd and fourth lodging before, others couldn't see her either. Could she really be right next to us but invisible to us?"
Suhe shook his head repeatedly. "Impossible. She was in soul form during her journey through the fourth lodging, akin to a ghost, so being invisible made sense. But now, we're all in our physical bodies—"
"Could it be something peculiar about the Sighing Forest?"
"You're missing the point, Lousy Dragon."
"Huh?"
"The point is, I didn't finish writing!"
Suhe crouched again, his right hand forming claws as he completed the character "到" (arrived) and added "此一游" (visited here). His expression was now tightly furrowed, a stark contrast to his earlier smugness. "Lousy Dragon, don't call me a jinx, but I really have a bad feeling about this..."
The Night Wanderer circled around to the back of the stele.
It was entirely clean—devoid of any writing.
He reached out, running his hand over a spot on the left side of the stele.
The surface was rough and uneven, untouched by any carving. Jagged stone spikes pricked his palm.
Even in this moment, Night Wanderer's composure remained intact. His palm turned clawed, scratching five vertical marks into the stele.
"Xiaolou, check the back of the stele."
"Suhe carved something on the back too?" After a brief pause, her voice rose. "Night Wanderer, this must be your doing! I just praised you, and here you are, worse than Suhe, clawing at the stele directly!"
Night Wanderer's golden eyes narrowed, his back stiffening.
His claw remained on the stele, frozen in disbelief.
Although Jian Xiaolou berated him, she reached out to touch the scratch marks.
Her two fingers could easily fit into one of the claw marks.
She was momentarily distracted. Then, resigned to the antics of these troublemaking demons, she sighed.
Before the Shenmu Tribe could discover this vandalism, she tried to erase the scratches with a spell. After struggling to no avail, she was speechless. "What's wrong with you two? Did you place some sort of protective spell on this mess?"
The bone fragment fell silent, offering no response.
At least they realized their mistake, so Jian Xiaolou moved on. "It seems you've already visited the ninth layer of the forest to see the Spirit-Gathering Tree. So, tell me, which layer are you in now?"
Still no response.
Odd, she thought. She glanced at the bone fragment—its starlight remained active.
While she pondered, she spotted over a dozen Shenmu clansmen dressed in beast hides approaching. She quickly sealed the six-star bone fragment, dispelling its sound barrier, and moved to stand beside Li Jianzhao.
One of the clansmen, a tall woman with distinctive attire, stepped forward and asked, "I hear you've come to worship the Sacred Tree?"
"Worship a tree...?"
Li Jianzhao, seated cross-legged on the ground, nearly burst into laughter before Jian Xiaolou kicked him. "Exactly."
The woman replied curtly, "If you've finished worshipping, you can leave now."
Jian Xiaolou hesitated. "Actually, we—"
The woman's eyes flashed with disdain. She glanced back, prompting a clansman to present a jade box. "Here are two Longevity Fruits. Take them and leave immediately."
Her arrogance and overt disdain were palpable.
Jian Xiaolou frowned. "How should we leave the Nine-Layered Forest?"
The woman sneered. "The same way you came in."
Li Jianzhao rose, towering over the woman. He raised an eyebrow and sneered, "I was invited here by your Young Chief. If you want me to leave, he'll have to come himself! Who do you think you are, you ugly hag? Stop wasting my time and scram!"
The woman's face darkened. "Who are you calling an ugly hag?!"
Behind her, several Shenmu clansmen roared in unison. "How dare you insult our Third Lady!"
Before the situation escalated further, Shen Canghai and Liuli appeared in a rush. Shen Canghai scolded sternly, "Yinzhu, they're my honored guests. What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Despite her clear fear of her brother, Yinzhu muttered under her breath, "Honored guests? They're just here for our Longevity Fruits..."
Ignoring her, Shen Canghai turned to Jian Xiaolou and Li Jianzhao, bowing slightly. "My sister is spoiled and ignorant. I hope you'll forgive her."
Jian Xiaolou hurriedly replied, "It's nothing."
Shen Canghai continued, "I'm about to leave. Would the two of you care to join me?"
Jian Xiaolou was startled. Leave again?
Yinzhu protested. "Brother, you just returned. Why are you leaving already? The clan has prepared a feast—"
"I'm not interested."
Their ensuing sibling quarrel revealed hints of Shen Canghai's recent conflict with their father, which Jian Xiaolou quietly connected to prior suspicions about the clan's mysterious actions.
Just as the situation grew tense, the Shenmu Clan Patriarch, Shen Xing, arrived...