"Junior Brother, are you ready?" Li Xiaoyan asked after finishing her chicken, brushing off her hands.
"Yes, I'm ready," Chen Li replied, spreading his spirit sense to their surroundings.
"This time, they're late. Last time, they showed up before we even finished eating," Li Xiaoyan complained with a pout.
Chen Li held back a sigh. Last time, you scolded them for coming too quickly, and now you're upset they're late? Oh, women… women… the greatest mystery of the universe, he thought silently, wisely choosing not to voice his opinion.
Their wait wasn't long. The faint sound of swords flying through the air reached their ears.
"They're coming, Senior Sister! Let's run," Chen Li urged.
"No, wait a little longer. I want to see their faces," Li Xiaoyan said, standing tall with a mischievous grin.
"If you really want to see their faces, why not climb a tree and watch from there?" he suggested.
"No, I want them to think they can catch me," she replied, her grin widening.
But then, the forest fell unnaturally silent. The sound of swords cutting through the wind vanished entirely. Chen Li's instincts sensed danger approaching.
"Not good!" he muttered, grabbing his Senior Sister and leaping high into the air.
"Bang!"
The ground where they had stood exploded as a massive black snake, about 20 meters long, lunged at them. Its growing scales hinted at its transformation into a flood dragon.
"A black serpent nearing its evolution? This thing should be in the outer rings of the forest! Why is it here at the edge? We're in big trouble," Chen Li thought, his heart racing.
Without hesitation, he bolted, carrying Li Xiaoyan and weaving through the trees to put as much distance as possible between them and the snake. After running for a while, the forest grew quiet again. Only then, he dared to glance back—there was no sign of the snake. Relieved, he slowed down and came to a stop.
"Junior Brother, can you put me down now?" Li Xiaoyan's voice broke through his thoughts.
Only then did Chen Li realize he was still carrying her. He quickly set her down and noticed her slightly flushed face, he stammered, "Uh, sorry, Senior Sister. I'm…"
Before he could finish, she cut him off. "I know. You don't need to explain. You were saving me. You don't have to take responsibility for me."
Chen Li blinked, utterly speechless. What? Senior Sister, I just carried you! Why would I need to take responsibility?
Li Xiaoyan looked around at unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we?" she asked, her tone shifting to curiosity.
"I… don't know," Chen Li glanced around and answered.
"You don't know?" Li Xiaoyan's eyes narrowed and her voice rose slightly.
"I was focused on getting as far away as possible. I didn't have time to think about direction," he explained, sighing.
Li Xiaoyan crossed her arms and gave him a sharp look. "Junior Brother, you really need to work on your sense of direction."
Chen Li could only groan inwardly. This time they're really in serious trouble.
…..
Elsewhere in the forest, three black-robed figures were locked in a fierce battle with the black snake that had earlier attacked Chen Li and Li Xiaoyan. Despite their fierce attacks, they couldn't inflict significant damage on the snake. Its vital parts were shielded by tough flood dragon scales.
"Brother Yan, if we keep going on like this, even if we win, we'll end up seriously injured," one of the black robed men said frustratingly, "And that damn girl has gone deeper into the forest. If something happens to her, we'll be in serious trouble."
"I know, but there's nothing we can do right now," Brother Yan replied, seemingly indifferent to Li Xiaoyan's predicament. "I've already sent the news to her Sect."
"Senior Brother Yan, her wandering deeper into the forest isn't directly our concern, but we're still at fault for letting this snake evolve in the edge of the forest," the third figure added, his tone anxious. "If that girl's father finds out, we won't escape responsibility."
"Junior Brother Xiao isn't wrong," the second man chimed in. "We should at least try to save her."
"I know that!" Brother Yan snapped. "But this snake isn't ordinary. Even though it hasn't fully evolved into a flood dragon, its venom is incredibly potent. Our antidotes are barely holding up as it is. If the snake goes berserk, its poison will become even stronger. At that point, we will be doomed. That's why we're waiting for reinforcements."
"But—"
"No buts! Our lives are more valuable than anything else," Brother Yan said firmly, his face stern.
…..
"Senior Sister, are you sure your compass is working? The mist keeps getting thicker the farther we go," Chen Li asked, trailing behind Li Xiaoyan.
"This compass was given to me by Second Uncle. It can't be wrong," Li Xiaoyan replied confidently, her trust in her uncle unwavering. "Haven't you heard the saying? The nearer the dawn, the darker the night."
Chen Li's face darkened as he thought, "There's also a saying: The longer the night, the darker it gets."
They continued walking for a while, and suddenly, the thick mist began to thin out and finally disappeared entirely. Overjoyed, both Chen Li and Li Xiaoyan quickened their pace, but their excitement was short-lived. In front of them lay a massive lake, so vast they couldn't even see the opposite shore. All they could see was endless water.
"Senior Sister, don't tell me your compass is leading us to the center of forest," Chen Li said, exasperated.
Li Xiaoyan checked the compass again, only to see the needle shift direction. It no longer pointed toward the lake but instead to a new path.
"I don't know, but the compass direction changed. Maybe the compass is right, and it's our sense of vision that's off," she said.
Chen Li was left speechless but had no choice but to follow Li Xiaoyan. They walked along the lake's shore, following the compass. After a while, they spotted an old man sitting on a stone, fishing. His beard, hair, eyebrows, and mustache were pure white, giving him an air of mystery. He held a fishing rod in one hand and sat silently by the water's edge.
When Chen Li saw the old man, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately realized this was no ordinary person. After all, this lake lay at the heart of the Myriad Forest, a place where ordinary people would never dare to venture, let alone fish. Even the smallest fish in these waters were deadly predators. If not for his dragon scale, Chen Li wouldn't have dared to step foot even near the forest's edge after his first adventure.
Li Xiaoyan and Chen Li continued to follow the direction indicated by the compass, but a strange thing happened: the compass needle pointed directly at the old man. This unexpected phenomenon made the pair glance at each other, whispering cautiously.
"Senior Sister, what should we do? The compass is pointing right at that old man. He's definitely extraordinary," Chen Li muttered.
"I know he's extraordinary," Li Xiaoyan whispered back, "but if the compass is pointing to him, he might be the key to getting out of this forest."
Chen Li thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe it's not him, but the rock he's sitting on that the compass is pointing to."
"In that case, what should we do?" Li Xiaoyan asked. Suddenly, she noticed a fishing rod and basket not far away. "Look there!" She pointed. "How about we pretend to fish and ask him to move off the rock?"
Without waiting for a reply, she strode over to pick up the fishing rod and basket.
Chen Li frowned. The presence of the fishing rod and basket seemed far too convenient. How could such items appear in the middle of this dangerous forest unless they had been deliberately placed there? If this old man had prepared them, then their arrival here might have been arranged by him all along.
The old man, noticing the two whispering, turned his head toward them with an annoyed expression. "You young ones, what are you muttering about? Your noise is disturbing my fishing. If I don't catch any fish, you'll have to take responsibility!"
"Old man," Li Xiaoyan retorted, "if you don't catch any fish, it's because your fishing skills are poor—not because of our whispering! Blaming others for your shortcomings is just unreasonable. Besides, we're here to fish too, and you're sitting in our spot."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "You're here to fish? Well, this spot is mine. Pick another one."
Li Xiaoyan glared at him. "You're being unreasonable!"
"Yes, I'm unreasonable. So what? What can you do about it?" the old man replied nonchalantly, clearly unimpressed.
"You…!" Li Xiaoyan clenched her fists, but then turned to Chen Li. "Junior Brother, let's go fish somewhere else. This old man's brain doesn't seem to be working properly. If we stay near him too long, it might affect us."
Chen Li was left dumbfounded by her remark. He leaned closer to his Senior Sister and whispered, "Senior Sister, we're here to figure out how to get out of this forest, not to fish! Don't tell me you've forgotten."
"Oh!" Li Xiaoyan smacked her forehead gently. "You're right! We're here to get out of the forest, not to fish." She paused, her expression shifting to one of determination. "But you said the compass might be pointing to the rock he's sitting on, right? We need to confirm if it's pointing to him or the rock."
"Yes," Chen Li answered without hesitation.