Chapter 1133: Chapter 102: A Graceful Figure in the Forest
The team, bathed in faint light, walked quietly through the eerie and desolate Mysterious Dense Forest.
The light from the young trees flowed into their bodies, dispelling fatigue. Those who had felt the malice of the Forest of Terror no longer found themselves repelled.
Like a leisurely outing, after walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at the next cabin in the forest marked on the map.
No fresh footprints, a cold fireplace — this forest cabin had not yet been visited. As expected, they were ahead of everyone else.
Each forest cabin was arranged differently; this wooden cabin lacked a deer head specimen or bookshelves, the only atmosphere-enhancer being the flowerpot on the windowsill.
Orey Lorenzo dug the soil sprouting tender shoots from the doorway and placed it into the flowerpot.
Verilete Marvin unfolded the map of the Mysterious Dense Forest. Ahead, there were still four forest cabins left.
"We should leave." A companion said to Orey Lorenzo who was wiping his palms with a handkerchief, then followed Lu Li out of the wooden hut.
Not far from the forest cabin, they saw deep darkness rising in the eastern forest, quickly spreading.
They retreated into the wooden hut, along with the arrival of the profound darkness. The cabin was completely shrouded, with only the dim light from the Fluorite Lamp on the table.
Nightfall descended upon the Mysterious Dense Forest.
...
Crackle—
The warm fireplace burst into flames, casting flickering shadows on the walls.
With night fervently enveloping the Mysterious Dense Forest, venturing outside was no longer suitable. The blackness wrapped the cabin in void-like isolation, though the fireplace’s light spilling through the window indicated they were not alone.
The forest cabin sheltered those inside. However, rest was not yet an option. They heard distant cries for help coming from the west, and faint firefly lights illuminated deep within the Forest of Terror.
Someone was trapped in the suddenly fallen night.
Lu Li’s expression subtly shifted, as he walked toward the door.
"His Excellency Lulian, I’ll go with you," Verilete Marvin stood up and said.
"No need."
Lu Li stepped into the tangible darkness, heading toward the distant glimmer of light.
This scene etched itself into everyone’s heart. The atmosphere, that silhouette, bathed in glow, remained radiant and undying even as time eroded.
The Mysterious Dense Forest neither rejected nor welcomed Lu Li’s intrusion.
The team wrapped in darkness came from a forest cabin on another route, struggling to hold on. They were too far away, and when Lu Li arrived, only scattered debris and blood on the rotten mud remained.
Flowers and plants emerged from the soil due to Lu Li’s presence, blooming vibrantly.
Lu Li raised his head, the shadows silently surged, as if the canopy dropped from hundreds to a few meters above the ground.
If a stone were picked up and thrown upward, it might sound as though it hit something.
Lu Li returned to the forest cabin faintly glowing in the distance.
Bang—
Soon after he left, a backpack fell from the sky.
...
Lu Li’s return dispelled the oppressive atmosphere in the wooden hut. At least, it was no longer silent.
Verilete Marvin sat in the corner farthest from the fireplace. Too close, and his armor would block its light.
Orey Lorenzo tended to the tender sprouts on the windowsill. The restrained Cursed Title halted their growth.
Anders Stan from Giant Tree Academy, along with three others, were distributing food. Verilete Marvin and Lute also received portions, while the four from the Noble Council did not.
The contestants from the Noble Council were indifferent, the three leaned in the corner, and faint whispers sounded in the tranquil cabin.
"Do you know why the third round is set up like this?"
"This is the second round, Locke," a companion corrected.
"Okay, second round," Locke stole a glance at Lu Li’s back at the door: "Honestly, I don’t get it..."
"I don’t understand either, Locke. But I don’t get why you’re asking this."
"What?"
"Isn’t it easy to understand? Our goal is to escape the Mysterious Dense Forest within the time limit, as long as we achieve that."
"That’s not what I meant, it’s about... purpose. Do you remember the first round? They hid the answer within the puzzle, then made us ponder it as if throwing life’s philosophy our way."
Breathing slowly faded away. Only the "crackle" of damp firewood and conversation remained in the fireplace.
"First round? I don’t even know how I passed it."
"Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you," Locke quietly called out to Orey Lorenzo by the window: "Orey, stop fussing with your flowers."
"I don’t know either."
The conversation ended abruptly as Locke fell silent, though the ripples it caused lingered in others’ minds.
If every round of the contest were imbued with "purpose," what was this round’s "purpose"?
Could it be related to being the second round but called the third?
After a brief silence, whispering resumed; this time it was the contestants from Giant Tree Academy.
"Locke... Locke..."
The conversation gradually faded away, but the gentle voice calling out a name continued, drifting in from outside: "Locke..."
With a hint of disbelief, Locke stood up and walked to the window. In the darkness some dozens of meters away, he saw a woman calling out in a floral dress.
"Mrs. Judith..."
Locke softly uttered a name, slowly moving toward the door.
Orey Lorenzo by the window pulled him back, pointing to the third notice hanging on the wall.
[If anything tries to lure you out of the forest cabin, ignore it. Whether it’s your deceased loved ones or the temptation of power]
"I know, I just want to... look at her once more."
Locke gazed deeply at the woman in the darkness, not moving closer to the door.
With time passing, the woman gradually faded and vanished under Locke’s lingering gaze.
Locke returned to the corner with a silent sorrow, and the cabin’s atmosphere turned quiet as well.
"Lu Li..."
A call echoed again, this time for Lu Li.
A graceful and beautiful girl in a white dress stood far away, gently waving at them.
Lu Li looked at her, confirming he did not recognize her — yet she was indeed calling him.
Quietly observing the girl’s joyous emergence fade into sadness, Lu Li averted his gaze, noticing his companions subtly looking at him.
"Do you know anything?" he frowned and asked.
"Anna... Mr. Luli, have you forgotten? That was your assistant and partner during the Old Era, the Ghost Girl Anna Bessie," Orey Lorenzo sighed and said.
No one was unaware of the tragic story between Lu Li and the Ghost Girl Anna.
A form of artful embellishment without malice for legendary figures?
Lu Li requested them to recount stories about him.
Orey Lorenzo volunteered himself. As a nobleman who had also published literary works, he knew many of Lu Li’s stories.
In the forest cabin, the stories were slowly narrated:
From the Old Era to the Weird Times, through the ongoing Dark Era. Katerina, Puxiu, Ophelia, Andrea — Lu Li remembered every companion recounted by Orey Lorenzo.
Except for the one with whom he spent the longest time and shared a romance, Anna.