The light-hearted banter between the group continued, though the shadows of doubt still lingered.
After battling strange, mutated creatures and leveling up to level three, the thought that something was off kept creeping into their minds. Du Chen's offhand question about whether fire-breathing foxes existed on Earth only added to their unease. But before they could dwell on it too long, Cang Hai, ever the pragmatic leader, redirected the group's attention.
"The sky's getting late," he said, scanning the canopy above. "We can't keep pushing forward. We need to find a place to rest for the night."
The last rays of the sun slanted through the trees, casting golden edges on the forest's canopy. Birds were returning to their nests, their wings flitting in the dusky light before disappearing into the dense branches. The scene was almost peaceful, but the tension in the air was palpable.
They eventually found a large, solitary tree, its trunk wide enough for four people to wrap their arms around. It stood in the middle of a clearing, with no other trees close by, making it an ideal place for setting up camp. The branches formed a natural platform about two meters off the ground, perfect for a night's rest away from any ground-based threats.
Du Chen, eager to show off his skills, took charge of cooking. He had some cooking tools in his bag, including a fire starter, and began gathering dry wood around the area to build a fire. Despite the spoils they had collected, the group managed to keep Du Chen from cutting any meat for now. They gathered around the fire, munching on scallion pancakes while Du Chen grumbled about not being allowed to cook wolf meat.
"Why won't you let me just cut some wolf meat?" he grumbled between bites. "I've killed pigs back home! Huge ones! You don't trust me to do this?"
Cang Hai, looking exasperated, replied, "We've gone over this. There's no water around here. The smell of blood will attract more beasts. Do you really want to be fighting off animals all night?"
Du Chen, stubborn as always, muttered, "It's always 'no' from you guys! Just because I'm a guy, you think I can't handle it? You know, back in the village, I butchered pigs that weighed hundreds of pounds!"
"Oh, yes, yes," Cang Hai replied, barely paying attention. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Men shouldn't be told what they can't do, right?"
"Right, that's more like it—wait! What do you mean, 'can't do'? I swear you two are…" Du Chen started to argue, but his voice trailed off.
Meanwhile, the other three seemed to pay no attention to Du Chen's constant complaints. They were deep in conversation about who would take watch during the night.
Xiao Yue, smiling brightly as he chatted with the little demon on his shoulder, said, "Great news! OX says he'll take first watch tonight. That way, we can all get some good sleep."
Everyone cheered at the idea, grateful for the chance to rest and rejuvenate. Though there was still an air of uncertainty hanging over them, at least for tonight, they could finally relax.
The forest was completely shrouded in darkness. The sky above, covered in a dull gray, had no moon, and the area without tree branches was dotted with stars. Cang Hai looked up at the sky for a while, then shook his head in silence. Du Chen set up several campfires under the tree, their dim light barely illuminating the ground around them. From the unseen distance in the trees, glowing eyes flashed here and there.
It was getting late. Even though city dwellers like them, who were night owls, usually didn't sleep this early, in this unknown land, with all the dangers of the night ahead, everyone couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. They all felt that the trees would be the safest place, so they formed a human ladder, helped each other climb up, and found a sturdy branch to tie themselves with their clothes. They also pulled out some useless gear to use as makeshift blankets. Xiao Yue even reminded the little ghost on his shoulder to wake Du Chen up if the fire went out. The little ghost nodded.
The five of them leaned against the rough branches, thinking about their comfy beds, warm blankets, and quiet rooms back home. Looking at the current situation, they felt a pang of homesickness. Tossing and turning, sleep didn't come easy. Even Du Chen began to miss his cramped old apartment. The sound of insects calling from all directions mixed into a dense web, making it impossible to escape. It was like they were all competing in a singing contest, endlessly loud without a break. In the dark, beyond the fire's reach, occasional rustling sounds made everyone on edge.
But eventually, despite the chaotic symphony of nature, everyone slowly drifted to sleep. Du Chen's snoring was the first to break the silence. At first, you could hear a few whispered words from Sang Tian, but soon that stopped too. The whole day of walking and fighting had drained their energy, and they were all exhausted.
After everyone had fallen deeply asleep, the little ghost, who had been sitting in the middle, suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze, sharp as lightning, scanned the group briefly before he leapt lightly onto the top of the tree. Standing at the trembling treetop, he formed a series of gestures with his hands and muttered something under his breath. After a moment, a glowing light wrapped around the entire tree, then disappeared. He jumped to another tree, glanced around, and then dashed off in a certain direction.
The next morning, when sunlight filtered through the tree canopy and landed on their faces, everyone slowly woke up. Du Chen stretched lazily and sat up, only to see the bruised and swollen faces of the others across from him. He couldn't help but laugh out loud, but as soon as he moved his mouth, pain shot through his face, and he yelped, groaning.
The group exchanged puzzled glances. Cang Hai checked his system interface and frowned. "We've been poisoned." Sang Tian immediately cast a "Purification" spell.
A few moments later, everyone touched their faces, now back to normal, and let out a relieved sigh. They turned their attention to the little ghost on Xiao Yue's shoulder, who looked unusually drained.
Xiao Yue spoke to the little ghost for a moment, then translated, "OX says no animals came near us last night."
"Then how did we get poisoned?" Du Chen blurted out, voicing everyone's confusion.
Cang Hai had already checked the system messages and shook his head. "The system didn't say what caused the poisoning." After a moment of puzzled silence, they shrugged it off for the time being and went to wash up with some water.
Breakfast was the same as always—scallion pancakes. Du Chen took a couple of bites, clearly displeased, but then had an idea and turned to Tong Xin Fen. "Hey, Little Fen, your mana should be enough to make some level 2 water and food by now, right? Go ahead and try, let's see what you can make!"
The moment he said that, the other three all turned to look at her, and even Tong Xin Fen seemed a little curious. She tried making it, and sure enough, it was still two pancakes. But this time, the shape was different—before they were oval, now they were round. Du Chen grabbed one, broke it open, and grinned. "Hey, it's got meat inside!"
Well, meat-filled pancakes are better than nothing, right? Anything to change up the flavor!
"Ah, it hurts so much!" While everyone was eating, Du Chen suddenly let out a loud scream and jumped about three feet in the air, as if something had burned his butt.
His face twisted into an expression of agony as he quickly began swelling up. He fumbled around his backside for a while, then pulled out a black bug about the size of his thumb.
Looks like we found the culprit.
The team continued their journey. By noon that day, they had found a water source. Du Chen, drawing on his experience of slaughtering pigs back in the countryside, pulled out a knife and started skinning the wolf that had chased him for so long. By the end, the wolf's hide was in tatters and barely enough to make a pair of gloves, but at least they had some grilled meat. The others joked around with him a bit, but they were happy to eat.
In the afternoon, they followed the river's path. They encountered all sorts of bizarre creatures, but fortunately, none of them were above level five, so the team ended up getting a lot of experience. By evening, everyone had leveled up to level four. However, just as they were preparing to camp, it suddenly started pouring rain.
Getting caught in the rain in the forest was a nightmare, especially since they didn't have any rain gear. Sure, the tree canopy acted like an umbrella, but with the heavy downpour, even the water dripping off the leaves was enough to soak them through. On top of that, there were all kinds of creepy things falling from the trees, like insects or their eggs. Fortunately, they had cloaks and capes, which could cover their heads and faces, so at least they didn't have to worry about bugs falling down their necks. But the rain didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon, and they couldn't even light a campfire. Facing such a situation, no one knew how to spend the night.
Just before nightfall, they luckily found a tree hollow. The five of them squeezed in there and managed to make it through the night. The next morning, as usual, they had to use the "Purification" spell to get rid of the bugs, and the priest also cast "Cure Disease" on everyone because they'd all caught a cold from the night's wind and rain.
By the third afternoon in the forest, they finally found a way out.
It was Sang Tian who spotted a hidden path while gathering herbs. After the heavy rain the night before, the path was full of mud and puddles, but clear human footprints were left behind. This surprising discovery lifted everyone's spirits, and they quickly followed the tracks, speeding up their pace. Soon after, they noticed signs of cut-down trees, and the path began to widen.
When they finally made it out of the forest, the group felt like they were about to burst into tears. For these young people who'd never faced much hardship, even these few days felt full of struggle and bittersweet challenges. The joy of seeing daylight again mixed with the relief of surviving, though deep down, there was still an uneasy sense of suspicion. Everyone felt a mix of emotions as they stood in front of the forest, reflecting for a while.
Walking along the slippery, muddy dirt road, they climbed over two small hills. Not far ahead, they could already see the rising smoke of cooking fires. The closer they got to human society, the more nervous they became. Du Chen, trying to lighten the mood, joked, "With all these bumps and pits, we don't even know if we're heading into some remote mountain area. Our roads back home aren't this bad. Hey, look at those houses—looks like some are even made with straw! Could they be the legendary 'outhouses'? Haha!"
It turned out, Du Chen had absolutely no sense of humor. As soon as he said that, everyone's brows furrowed even more. He sheepishly closed his mouth and kept quiet.
As they rounded a small slope, they were met by an old man.
The man appeared to be in his fifties, with graying hair and beard. He wore a brown coarse cloth tunic and a pair of straw sandals, carrying a woven basket on his back. When he saw the group of disheveled, strangely-dressed men and women, he immediately mistook them for bandits or troublemakers and, scared out of his wits, turned and tried to flee.
Du Chen quickly ran after him and blocked his path after just a few steps. Seeing the old man's panicked expression, he forced a smile and asked, "Hey, excuse me, can you tell me where we are?"
The old man got even more frantic, shouting something that no one could understand.
Du Chen was taken aback. He slowed down his speech and asked again, "Do you understand Mandarin?"
The old man wobbled as if he might fall, then mumbled something else.
Du Chen scratched his head and opened the team channel. "I can't understand what he's saying. Can anyone here understand this dialect?"
Cang Hai facepalmed. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at this guy's cluelessness. "Seriously, do you even see what this guy is wearing? Do you think we're on the set of a historical drama or something?"
Du Chen tugged at his hair, troubled. "Wait, does this mean we've really crossed over?"
Cang Hai didn't answer that. Instead, he turned to the old man and said, "You've scared him. Let me try." He stretched out his hand and cast a soothing spell on the old man.
At first, the old man was terrified as Cang Hai raised his hand. But after a moment, he seemed to sense some mysterious power flowing through him, his expression shifting to one of realization. Then, he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of them.
Now even Cang Hai was confused. Was the calming spell not working on this guy? Just as they were wondering, a red line of text appeared before them:
New species language detected. Would you like to learn it? Yes/No