Chapter 35: Dark Forest
Despite her teasing, Song was like a pillar in her life, someone she had never needed to question. She sometimes wondered if he had been born this calm, or if years of polishing had simply worn away everything that could be stirred. She also didn’t know what made him act so calm and mature, being 6-7 years older than her right now.
What she liked best, perhaps, was that he never asked more than what she gave.
He didn’t pry into her secrets, and he didn’t see her like she was fragile.
Because for Song, his world began and ended with her orders, and he was happy to serve. That was all.
That night, as moonlight flooded the dark garden, Ling Yu slipped outside with a blanket and a thermos of hot wine. She leaned against the old plum tree and looked at the stars, eyes following the familiar constellations.
Even now, the faint tug of the system interface pulsed quietly inside her consciousness. It whispered about the coming shifts, the points of divergence she had to grasp, and the anomalies she had to avoid.
She had already activated several nodes in this life. Her foundation was solid. Qingxue was growing stronger by the day. Strong awakeners like Ye Qingxue, He Xun would be drawn into the chaos eventually.
Xie Linzhou, the so-called Movie King, was still playing his role on stage, but Ling Yu knew what would become of him, too.
Her fingers curled around the cup as her lips curved, almost wistfully.
This life, she was aiming for a different ending. And no matter what, Ling Yu will see the end of this.
***
By the time Monday came, Song had already prepared everything for their departure.
Two modified all-terrain vehicles carried their supplies. Qingxue sat beside Ling Yu in the passenger seat, full of anticipation for their "training vacation," as she called it.
Even though there were plenty of things she needed in her space, she couldn’t expose it to Song just yet. That’s why she could only go through the motions, bringing a lot of things just to satisfy his mind and put him at ease.
They left early. Fog covered the valley roads as they drove toward the East, the forest looming in the distance like a slumbering beast.
Song had packed everything: medical kits, emergency communication relays, high-grade defensive products disguised as charms, and even a portable medical box with various medicines for injuries.
Though he didn’t understand the true scale of what Ling Yu planned to face, he prepared for every possibility he could imagine.
And as she waved him goodbye at the estate gate, Song stood there as he always did: dignified, unshaken, and watching until the car disappeared beyond the ridge.
Inside the vehicle, Qingxue had already fallen asleep, lulled by the rhythm of the engine.
Ling Yu kept her eyes on the road.
Ahead of them, the Dark Forest stirred beneath the morning wind.
***
The air changed the moment they crossed the boundary.
It wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but Ling Yu could feel it in the shift of the wind, in the way her skin prickled and the faint metallic taste that filled her mouth. The forest before them wasn’t like the tame woodlands on the outer edges of the province. This was a remnant of one of the poisoned zones that were sealed off decades ago due to chemical waste and unchecked pollution. Or at least, that’s what the government claimed. Though everyone knew that it wasn’t the truth.
In reality, nobody achieved the success of invading the forest, reaching the other side, and returning alive. That’s why the Dark Forest became a taboo area of short.
The trees here were unnaturally tall, their bark twisted and blackened as if fire had once scorched them from the inside out. The deeper they walked, the darker the sky seemed, although it was still mid-afternoon.
"So far, there are no beasts in sight. Did we come to the wrong area?" Ye Qingxue doubted as she looked around with a confused expression.
"Don’t worry, we are in the right place." Ling Yu assured Ye Qingxue as she leaped over one of the tallest branches of trees. "You’ll get it soon, be prepared."
Just as Ling Yu said, the moment she stopped her words, the sound of munching dry leaves came to Ye Qingxue’s ear as she stanced herself, ready to fight at any moment.
The beasts that came out and leered at Ye Qingxue were grotesque things, feral and malformed, mutations of regular forest creatures that had survived for too long in toxicity. Some had extra limbs, some frothed at the mouth with acidic saliva. Their fur was patchy, their eyes wide and bloodshot, and their aggression was immediate and absolute.
Ye Qingxue drew her knife as the first one lunged.
It looked like a wild boar, but three times the size. Its spine curved wrong, protruding with sharp, bone-like ridges. She barely dodged its first charge and slashed downward, cutting into its flank. It squealed, enraged, and charged again.
From above, perched silently on a thick, knotted branch, Ling Yu watched. Her eyes didn’t reflect fear or even concern, just calculation.
This was necessary.
If Ye Qingxue couldn’t handle these malformed beasts now, then what chance would she have six months later?
Ling Yu knew what was coming. She had seen it before. The fall of cities, the screams in the night, mythical creatures that no human had believed existed, tearing through streets like paper. She had seen awakened fighters crushed by one swipe of a beast’s claws, had watched old friends die because they’d underestimated what was coming.
Back then, Ling Yu hadn’t been ready.
This time, she would be.
And Ye Qingxue, this loyal girl who insisted on staying by her side, would not be left behind.
Below, the forest erupted in chaos.
Another beast leapt from the bushes, a feline-like creature, black-furred with elongated claws that gleamed with venom.