Chương 69: Arrival at the Forest

Sun peeked from the horizon, washing the deck in pale gold. Crystal-like dew clung to the hull, and the silhouette of a lone man shimmered at its edge. Ren remained unmoving, only his chest rising and falling faintly. The same couldn't be said about the spiritual energy, though. It was revolving around him in a frenzy, powerless to resist the devouring. He didn't focus on it much and watched the changing scenery absentmindedly. The wide, open hills they were treading on gave way to a dense canopy.

The trees created a colorful cacophony of many different shades of green. All of them were huge, with leaves at exaggerated sizes. You could build a small house on them, and he was sure it would hold strong. With them, the sunlight couldn't pierce their thick shield. A rainforest, huh? He saw a sparrow-like bird, roughly the size of a dog, fluttering above a bright green tree's canopy. Suddenly, something wide flashed and grabbed the bird out of the air.

A pure white serpent with a head bigger than a car swallowed the pitiful creature, then raised its head to stare at the colossal entity in the sky. Their gazes met for a split second. A Foundation Establishment beast? Ren stared straight, and the beast quickly retreated. The forest rules… What a familiar concept. Ren let out a slow chuckle, cold and hollow. He closed his eyes for a moment. The spiritual energy raged for a second before he finished 'feeding' and slowly rose to his feet.

He stretched, waving his arms and legs. Every joint popped and complained.

"I really should stop cultivating outside, ahh," he muttered, cracking his neck.

"I hope you're here with food instead of bad news."

"Duh, then if I show up with food and bad news, wouldn't that balance things out?" Demoness stepped out of a shadow, a sizzling plate in her hand. Ren took the plate without comment. Today's breakfast was an omelet and bacon.

"What's with that look?" she snorted, "Alright, fine. I didn't bring bad news, happy now?"

"Then?" he asked off-handedly while leaning against the rail and began to eat.

"What then?" Ren rolled his eyes. With her eyes glimmering, she was wearing the most smug, 'Want the good news? Beg for it!' look. So he chose to focus on his plate. Anyway, it was time to feed himself. A bit of awkward silence later, Demoness finally couldn't hold it in and burst into a guffaw.

"Well, I'll be generous just for this time! Azure Sky isn't erased, and Grand Marshal returned without shedding blood," she said, then added with a frown.

"The only problem is… the corpse turned out to be not an Azure Sky member. Also, that tattoo disappeared as soon as the man died. Stupid Azure Sky dwarf broke the runes! All my effort went down the drain."

"Father… didn't?" Ren asked, ignoring the Azure Sky part.

"Nope. Though he took their Sacred Tree, but it's better than letting blood rivers flow, right?" she answered, then leaned beside him.

"Oh… alright then. As for the tattoo, did you report its shape?"

"Down to the last detail. But I suspect our men can find anything. And Ancestor Lin took away the corpse, saying something like it's beyond our capabilities." Nodding, Ren finished his plate. Other than Grand Marshal Wang's 'justified' payback and Ancestor Lin's appearance, the corpse matter had played exactly like he expected. After all, which secret power would parade their hidden force with a token? That Sect Master of Azure must have a relation with them.

A man renowned for his cunning wouldn't make such a pathetic mistake, even if an Ascendant holds a blade to his throat. He let out a deep sigh. If I can see that, then everyone can see it. There's no need for me to waste my brain cells over it. Still holding the plate, he planted his elbow on the rail and slowly leaned back until his spine bent tightly and his lower back popped with a clear, satisfying sound. Then he asked, "Any news from Father?"

"What do you think?" He remained in the same position for a while. Then he straightened and clicked his tongue.

"Tomorrow at the latest, he will be here," he said.

"Have the kids had breakfast?" Demoness nodded.

"Good. Let's go on a little hunt, then." He ran a hand through his wet hair. Leave the tomorrow problem to tomorrow. I've got things to do. … If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The kids gathered at the hull not long after. Ren swept a gaze at them, a faint smile surfacing when he noticed Liuxue's face regained color.

"Alright, kids. We officially arrived at the Evernight Forest. Before going over to the outpost, I want you to show the rewards of your training. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Wenhai immediately jumped forward, while Ruolan rolled her eyes.

"You'll never change, huh, Senior Brother?" she said.

"Hmm?"""You have rehearsed this moment, haven't you?" Ren's face fell. That smirk of hers was enough to deflate all the majesty he gathered. And as expected of her, Demoness immediately burst into laughter.

"You noticed already?" she muttered, leaning forward.

"Let me tell you a secret, once we were—""Ahem!" Ren threw a sharp glare, then continued, "We will go one by one. Pup first. And Weed Witch, you're dead last."

"Hell yeah!" Wenhai threw a cheeky glance, while Ruolan frowned. Only Liuxue shrugged, not even caring.

"Here's your weapons," Ren said, dropping two boxes from his ring.

"You'd better get used to them before we return, especially you, Witch." She raised a brow.

"I don't need weapons." She waved a pouch dangling from her waist and even took out her signature straw, placing it into her mouth.

"Wuhu, confident are we?" Demoness chimed in, putting a hand over Ruolan's shoulder.

"Do you know today's target?"

"Whatever it is," Ruolan said, shrugging.

"Demoness, don't spoil the fun," Ren said, his tone amused.

"She'll understand when the time comes, after all. Are you ready, Pup? Let's go then." Wenhai quickly took out the two waraxes gifted to him, but hesitated only after a few steps.

"Um… Senior Brother, why don't we go together first? Three of us can also show our teamwork that way."

"Nope, the first hunt is something sacred. Think of it as your coming-of-age ritual," Ren answered.

"What, scared?"

"I'm not!" Wenhai immediately refused, though his slouched shoulders said otherwise.

"Just…" he trailed off when everyone turned to him, and hung his head at last. Ren remained silent. He didn't reassure him. This was something Pup had to face by himself. Although he felt some pity for pushing a basically fifteen-year-old into a violent fight, he also knew this was the reality of this world. If he can't face such a thing even with his safety guaranteed, it would be better for him to return to his family and live as a mortal. Ren let out a sigh and shot Demoness a glance.

Nodding, she grabbed Wenhai and flew off, ignoring his panicked scream. Ren took a moment to follow as he considered whether to call his armor or not. His heart clenched as Cinderborn appeared at last, a fiery excitement hitting his veins. He didn't inspect it. Heck, he even ignored the sensation and just took off after them. The damp wind hit his face as soon as he passed through the thick canopies tangled together. Lights faded as though they were banished, and he felt his senses restrained.

"H-help… help me…" A whisper clung to his ears, somehow far away yet right beside him. He snorted lightly. The mind polluting starts as soon as you enter, huh?

"It… it hurts, you know?" the voice continued.

"I'm so alone here… always alone, in this lie. Can you understand my pain?" It got clearer with every sentence, and he even felt like someone breathing on his nape. Still, he didn't block it. He wanted to hear and experience what made this different than the usual illusions. He also compared it to what he felt in that figure, Primal King's presence.

"Why are you running too? Why don't you try to help me? You can help me! I know you can do it! Sob… you are just like them… always leaving me…" The voice turned fierce for a moment, then broke down into pitiful sobs. It felt like a man in one sentence, a woman at the next; impossible to distinguish.

"Ren…" He suddenly froze. Cinderborn abruptly halted him in mid-air, completely ignoring the laws of physics.

"Why? Why didn't you try…? I-I waited for you… but you… you didn't even try for me… why…?" The breath on his neck shifted to his throat, and something pecked him lightly— right at the place she loved.

"I missed you…" Ren closed his eyes. A deep breath, then another. He felt a hand slowly caressing his back, drawing a circle, but not lingering much. It was faint, so faint he almost missed it, even while focusing. The touch turned into a hug. He lifted his hands on instinct, yet he stopped right before he hugged. He couldn't. His hands trembled in place, not knowing what to do either.

"You were… my everything. Why? Why? Why?!" Her sobbing turned hysterical, and his chest felt wet.

"You love me… you still love me." Suddenly, the hysteria went away as though it was just his imagination, and the voice softened again.

"But you still left me behind. Ren… tell me. Why did you leave me behind?" He didn't answer. He didn't open his eyes. His heartbeat thundered in his chest, and the Primordial Lifeform erupted, but he forcefully suppressed it. He didn't want to wake up. Just… a few more seconds. I want… I want to remember her voice…

"Why don't you answer? Oh, right, you have a new lover. A princess, even. That's why you don't even want to see me… right? Huh, you've changed, honey." The voice changed, this time deeper. Ren bit his lips, drawing a thin line of blood.

"And you promised me you'd never change. I should've known better than to trust you." The hug got tighter, nails almost stabbing into his skin.

"After all… someone who could leave his family behind…" Another voice, this time venomous.

"…can leave anyone—" A flower bloomed, and the rustle of petals echoed in his ears.

"Heh, a disappointment like him can never change," a firm, grounded voice chimed in. Teacher…

"And I believed in trusting all our future on him… I'm getting senile, haah…" Ancestor Lin…

"Give. Me. Back. My. Son!" Another voice growled, each word forced through clenched teeth, trembling with deep pain. Master… More and more voices followed, each one carrying a different emotion, each one a sharp stab to his heart. The slight touch on his skin remained too, drawing circles on his back or caressing his cheek. And flowers… they continued to bloom, accompanying each voice, their soft rustling no different than a gun going off right beside his ears.

His heart skipped a beat whenever he heard one, but he couldn't move.

"Even you lied to me, huh? I thought you were different…. Better than this, Ren." A tremor ran through him. Baozhai… Ren's face twisted, blood dripping down from his lower lip. Right at that moment, he felt a heat flaring off from his shoulder. His eyes snapped open as a bloody maw devoured all in his sight— Heavenpiercer flashed into his hand as the beast cleanly dissected into two. Blood rained onto him, blocking his sight. His senses quickly spread and scanned everything around. No illusion. No figure. No one.

There was no one around him. Let alone someone, the only thing moving was the corpse crashing down tree brances. Wiping the blood out of his face, he noticed the attacker's identity— it was the same white serpent! A glint flickered past his crimson eyes. He hadn't activated Killing Intent. No, his eyes were so bloodshot that his pupils looked almost crimson in the dim light.

"We will meet again…" the voice came once again as a man, then to a woman.

"You shouldn't have left them."

"And here you are, leaving me again… what a surprise, Ren, what a great surprise." Then, to her voice as the whispers finally faded. A chill he hadn't even noticed disappeared with them, too. Ren let out a deep, turbid breath. He looked up at the thick canopy and refused to lower his gaze for a long while until his blurry sight recovered. He then ran a hand through his soaked hair and muttered, "Damnable forest." An eerie chuckle echoed from far away.