Kenja cautiously ventured deeper into the forest. It wasn"t that Kenja had a death wish, nor did he enter the forest on a a mere whim. He had always been interested in the forest. Kenja, like most kids who grew up on the western side of Ryuga, had snuck out through the same opening to have a closer look at the notorious "Lost Forest." Several times before, Kenja had come to the edge of the forest and sensed a mysterious air emanating from deep within the forest, but he had never dared step foot inside. While he wasn"t against gambling with his own life, he was not so irresponsible that he would risk leaving his sisters alone to fend for themselves. Now that their future had been secured, he could not resist the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity, especially considering that he got to knock Bolo out as a bonus.As he continued wandering around, he discovered several peculiarities inside the forest.
First, the forest was completely silent. The Freezing Desert normally had Sandhoppers cricketing at night and Arid Doves chirping in the daytime, but he had already been travelling in the forest for several hours, and he had yet to come across the sound of an insect or the sight of an animal.
Second, the air was quite heavy, as if there was a pressure weighing down on the entire forest, and anyone within its vicinity would feel extremely uncomfortable and fatigued. If Kenja had not tempered his body so vigorously over the past few years, he felt that he would lie down and never get back up again.
He continued exploring the forest until the sun had set and the moonlight replaced the sun as his source of light. He heard a rough crack when he took a step over some tree roots. He looked down and saw broken white fragments littering the floor. Upon closer inspection, Kenja realized that he had stepped on a few bones half-buried in the soil.
A normal person might have backed away fearfully or let out a yelp, but Kenja was not a normal person. He had expected to run into a few corpses, and honestly, he was surprised that after a few hours of being in this forest, he had only come across this one. He couldn"t be sure what species these bones belonged to, but nearby, he spotted a helmet with the royal insignia of the emperor.
"This person must have been someone from the castle."
He looked around to see if he could find anything that could tell him the ident.i.ty of this person. He saw a sparkle amongst the white fragments: a gold ring shimmering in the moonlight. Kenja recognized the royal insignia inscribed on the ring. It was a storage ring used by guards and people working directly for the emperor. The ring was handy because it didn"t rely on the user"s Qi to be used, but it came with the drawback that anyone wearing it could reach into it and take anything freely.
Kenja immediately put it on and looked inside. He found piles of gold and silver coins, enough to live a comfortable life for several decades. He also found around fifteen low-tier spirit stones, several rations of rotten food, a few buckets of spirit water, a set of clothes worn by royal family members, a crimson bow with a matching quiver and a few other knick-knacks and tools. Amongst the knick-knacks, he found various papers that looked like official doc.u.ments. Kenja glanced through them and found what he was looking for. It was a hastily-written letter.
"Father,
I have wandered through the forest for a long time now. My appet.i.te is satisfied, my thirst is quenched, but I feel my body losing strength with each pa.s.sing day here. I am writing this letter so that you know I did not abandon you as well as to tell you not to come close to this forest. With the guidance of the stars and royal compa.s.s you have given me, I still cannot navigate to the forest"s edge. Whenever I think about climbing the trees for a better view or burning their leaves out of desperation, I immediately feel a strong drowsiness that results in me losing consciousness only to awake the next day. All members of our group eventually got separated in this manner, and I fear my time is coming to an end.
Your son apologizes for his failure. Father, I implore you to stay far from this cursed forest. May you live long and your rule prosper.
Proud Prince,
Ryu Kaito"
Kenja finished reading the letter and placed it back into the storage ring. He placed his rope and Frederick"s knife inside the ring as well.
"I don"t know of any royalty that goes by that name, but giving this letter to someone from the royal family should suffice."
Kenja did not feel the need to go out of his way to deliver the letter, but if the opportunity presented itself, he would repay the karmic debt he had just accrued. Kenja was thankful to have stumbled upon such a fortune, but if he can"t find his way out of the forest, it would be for naught. He took a shovel from the storage ring and gave the departed corpse a proper burial near the tree. He took out a dagger with the royal insignia on it and stabbed it into the tree after which he hung the corpse"s helmet on it. Having marked the grave and offered a prayer, he continued on his journey deeper into the forest.
The moon could be seen high in the sky at this time, and although it was the darkest hour of the night, Kenja"s vision was not affected. Kenja was beginning to feel a slight feeling of regret over his decision to enter the forest when he noticed a silver trail floating in the air.
Kenja was surprised and cautious, but more than anything, he was happy to see something different. He didn"t want to meet the same fate as Kaito, especially considering that he didn"t have anyone to write to. This silver trail offered something different from the aimless wandering, so he approached the trail and pa.s.sed his hand through it.
"Concentrated Yang particles. Why would this be here?"
Most mortals are unaware of this, but Qi comes from the universe"s amalgamation of Yin and Yang particles. It was rare to see a natural occurence of concentrated Yin or Yang particles. Usually, such an appearance was artificial, so Kenja conjectured, and, more than that, he hoped that a living person was at the end of this trail. While he couldn"t be sure of the potential danger from the source, if it were indeed a person, then that means someone was actually surviving in this forest somehow. Regardless of whether the trail leads to heaven or h.e.l.l, it was good news either way.
He followed the trail for some time which led him deeper into the forest. The foliage of the trees got thicker to the point that Kenja couldn"t see his surroundings. He was able to keep going thanks to the glow of the Yang particles offering him a small amount of light. He saw the trail disappear into a wall of leaves and shrubbery. He pushed through the wall wincing from the poking branches and p.r.i.c.kly leaves.
After five or so steps, he found himself standing in a gra.s.sy glade. In the center lay a rock four or fives times the size of Kenja. Kenja could feel a gentle breeze causing the gra.s.s blades to sway serenely and the silvery trail to dance gracefully. Kenja squinted his eyes and saw that the trail led to a thin object jutting out of the rock.
Disappointed to find no one at the end of the trail, Kenja considered the pros and cons of approaching such a mysterious object. It was completely reasonable to be a little skeptical at this point. What would a normal person think if they saw an enticing trail leading to such a tempting "plate." If not for the fact that it made no sense to place a trap in a forest with no living thing present, he would definitely turned back and exited the glade.
Considering the alternative, Kenja figured it was better to take the risk and approach the object.
"Worst-case scenario, I"ll lose my life and be spared the despair of wandering the forest till I die."
Kenja walked to the boulder and stopped in front of it.
"Actually, the worst-case scenario is that it is nothing, and I would die in the forest." Kenja shook his head and laughed at the fact that a trap would actually be better than nothing.
The boulder was quite big, but Kenja was stronger than the average mortal. He managed to jump and climb onto the top of the boulder. Approaching carefully, he was surprised to see that the object in question was a blade poking out from the stone. The blade was entirely rusted in red; Kenja feared that a simple touch would cause it to collapse into dust. The tip was pointed to the moon, and if Kenja could see the hilt, he would be sure that this was a sword. He continued inspecting the sword when he saw something stuck on the side of the blade.
He brought his face closer for a better look. Glued to the bottom side of the sword, Kenja saw a slightly porous sh.e.l.l. Kenja"s face brimmed with ecstacy as he immediately realized what it was: a snail"s sh.e.l.l.
Snails did not appear in the Freezing Desert, so most citizens of the Ryu Empire were unfamiliar with snails, and they held no real value to mortals in the first place. But to Immortals, snails were invaluable. Snails were animals that start off in the Qi Flourishing stage, and their entire sh.e.l.l serves as an incredibly helpful supplement to cultivators. They were incredibly rare and expensive, especially in the Freezing Desert region since it wasn"t their natural habitat.
First the storage ring and now a snail, Kenja"s luck was truly operating at a new level.
"The lecturer said that the best way to eat a snail is to devour the sh.e.l.l whole while the snail was alive. Perhaps my Qi control will improve with this stroke of fortune."
Kenja pinched the sh.e.l.l with his two fingers and plucked it from the blade creating a small popping sound. He was about to place the sh.e.l.l in his mouth when he heard a yell.
"What the h.e.l.l do you think you"re doing?"