In the deep, silent night, a strange figure appeared out of nowhere in the deserted mountain forest!
The figure swayed up and down with the leaves under its feet in the gentle breeze, light and ethereal. Upon closer inspection, it seemed the figure wasn't actually stepping on any branches, but was standing entirely on a single leaf, as if its body had no weight at all.
Hoarse chirping sounds echoed from the surroundings. Zhang Qiling, in the almost stagnant atmosphere, met the gaze of the distant figure.
Just then, a fierce gust of wind suddenly struck! A chirping creature darted out from the bushes, its wings sweeping past Zhang Qiling's eyes!
Its fully spread wings were four to five meters wide, and the world before him was instantly plunged into darkness!
"Holy crap, what the hell was that!"
Fatty, who had been dozing off, was startled awake by the commotion, nearly tumbling off the stone slab. He managed to steady himself and looked up, only to find Zhang Qiling, for some reason, with his hand on his saber hilt, his body tense and alert.
Sensing something was wrong, he immediately got up and moved to Zhang Qiling's side, his hand already gripping his gun.
"What's wrong, Little Brother?" he asked, carefully scanning the surroundings but finding nothing unusual.
"Is there something there?"
"...Wake up Wu Tianzhen."
Zhang Qiling offered no further explanation. Fatty understood that the situation might be troublesome and immediately went to the tent to rouse Wu Tianzhen.
The chirping creature had flown past very quickly, obscuring his vision for only a second or two.
But in those brief moments of distraction, when he looked again—
The figure standing on the leaf had vanished.
The tree was extremely tall, standing a head above the surrounding ones. For the figure to climb down or jump to another tree would have been impossible within those one or two seconds.
Unless... it had fallen.
But was that truly possible?
Zhang Qiling had a vague feeling that something was amiss. The shadows of the trees seemed to sway more frequently than they should, yet when he looked up, there were no signs of animal activity. xxs1
Wu Tianzhen's hurried packing sounds came from behind him, and it seemed he had even tripped inside the tent in his haste.
Zhang Qiling glanced back to assess the situation.
And when he turned his gaze back, about twenty meters ahead, behind the trunk of a tree, a head suddenly emerged!!
Hidden by the darkness, the figure even waved at him! Its arm was twisted and deformed, as if it had been broken and regrown in the wrong place!
...The figure was actually approaching them!
In that instant, the Qilin tattoos on Zhang Qiling's body felt like they were about to erupt!
The Black Gold Ancient Saber was drawn immediately. After a brief moment of gathering energy, he intended to charge forward and send the thing that was playing tricks back to the underworld!
But at that very moment, another cold wind swept through the forest!
Instantly, the rustling of leaves filled his ears, and amidst the clamor, a faint, intermittent, hoarse voice became exceptionally clear!
"Holy crap!" Wu Tianzhen, who had just run over with his gun and flashlight, hadn't seen the strange figure and was just waving his flashlight around aimlessly.
"Why is someone shouting for help in the middle of the night?!"
...That's right, the sound was actually a gloomy human voice crying for help!! The voice was erratic, making it impossible to discern whether it was male or female!
Zhang Qiling remained silent, his senses heightened. He clearly heard that the voice was coming from the figure behind the tree.
Fatty and Wu Tianzhen noticed Zhang Qiling's unusual demeanor and followed his gaze, only to suddenly spot the thing.
"Uh..." Wu Tianzhen tentatively shone his flashlight at it. The figure was a pitch-black silhouette, as if it didn't absorb light at all, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
"Is that... a person?"
Fatty, seeing the figure's slender build and its subtle movements, began to let his imagination run wild.
"Could it be that the mountain closure wasn't sealed properly, and some young girl from nearby wandered in?"
"Damn, how can this be allowed?! Let Fatty save her and let her feel the warmth and hospitality of her kin!"
Saying this, he eagerly prepared to move forward, his gun still held tightly.
Wu Tianzhen knew he was just talking big. That thing clearly didn't look human, and no matter how muddled Fatty's brain was, he wouldn't mistake it. But seeing Fatty still talking nonsense at a time like this, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, you go ahead! When morning comes, Little Brother and I will pack up and leave, leaving you, Fatty, here to rule the forest!"
"So, Little Brother, how about we pack up and leave now?"
After teasing Fatty, Wu Tianzhen casually asked Zhang Qiling.
Normally, Zhang Qiling wouldn't engage in such banter. At most, he would give him a look with his expressionless face, making him realize his own foolishness.
But after Wu Tianzhen chuckled to himself for a while, he suddenly heard a clear and cold voice:
"...Tree."
Wu Tianzhen: ???
"What did you just say, Little Brother?" He was a bit confused about how the conversation was proceeding and even doubted his own comprehension skills.
"What tree? Tree what?"
"Are you saying you want Fatty to stay here and plant trees?"
"No, there are already so many trees here, why plant more?!" Fatty, who had been listening for a while, felt his dignity had completely vanished.
"Then Little Brother must mean that I, Fatty, am as solid and reliable as a big tree, and you two can't do without me!"
"And you want me to rule the forest? Is that polite, Tianzhen?"
"Heh heh..." Wu Tianzhen let out a couple of emotionless laughs, making the greatest effort he could to spare Fatty some face.
Just as he was about to turn to question Zhang Qiling again, the moment he turned, he saw a dazzling flash of a saber!
The Black Gold Ancient Saber slashed down fiercely, almost grazing his side. The air vibrated, and he only caught a glimpse of a pair of cold eyes peeking out from under Zhang Qiling's hood!
With a crisp cracking sound! The soil at his feet suddenly churned violently!
The ground broke open, and a thick branch shot out from within!
The branch was long and flexible. After being cut, it twisted and thrashed on the ground as if in pain. If not for the rough bark attached to it, it would have looked like a strange snake!
The section cut off by Zhang Qiling lay motionless on the ground like a dead fish. Its orientation clearly indicated it had intended to burrow underground and attack Wu Tianzhen!
Wu Tianzhen's mind was a jumble of random thoughts, finally settling on a peculiar point:
...Oh, so it was *that* tree.