"We apologize, Great Forest King!" one of the guards said in a trembling voice. His face was as pale as freshly fallen snow, his eyes widened in terror, filled with unspilled tears, and his lips quivered as he spoke.
"Listen to my words!" Yan Xiaobao’s voice carried an unnatural resonance, and using his Earth affinity, he caused the ground to tremble the mont the words left his lips. This left the guards in a state of disarray, their minds swirling and their eyes spinning.
"Return to your City Lord," the words were practically spat out—the shadowy figure clearly held no respect for the noble lord they served. "Tell him that I, the Forest King, have returned to my humble abode. If he or his n dare to venture into my forest, I will not hesitate to kill!"
Yan Xiaobao wrinkled his nose at the growing stench emanating from the guards. There was no doubt that the fear spreading among them was enough to ensure they never dared to return to the forest depths again. "Now SCRAM!"
The final word reverberated through the air like a hamr blow, sending a fresh wave of terror through the hapless guards. Petrified, they scrambled to their feet and bolted away, leaving Yan Xiaobao with a look of satisfaction on his face.
As he’d anticipated, those guards would now rush back to the City Lord’s residence to report their encounter. The City Lord would either be overco with fear and imdiately forbid his citizens from venturing into the forest, or he would gather a powerful force and prepare to destroy this so-called Forest King.
If the City Lord chose to cower within the walls of his city, then Yan Xiaobao’s warnings would have served their purpose. However, if the lord mobilized his army, then Yan Xiaobao would prove he was dead serious when he said anyone entering the forest would perish.
Yan Xiaobao’s determination stemd from witnessing how the Dragon Army treated Sha Yun. She was a law unto herself, and she was clearly sothing they desired to possess. Who knew what might happen if she were discovered by the City Lord’s n?
It wasn’t a question Yan Xiaobao needed to answer. All he wanted was to cross the passage and enter the tunnel without worrying about eting friendly laws that might complicate his plans.
....
"Milod!" a steward burst through the grand hall’s entrance, his feet moving rapidly, narrowly avoiding a mishap on the stone floor, and his face etched with alarm.
"Milod!" he called again, "The guards have returned, but they claim they’ve encountered a monster!"
Upon hearing this, the City Lord arched his brows and eyed the steward with curiosity. "A monster?" he repeated, breaking into hearty laughter. "Do you think they’ve run into a low-grade magical beast?" he mused with a faint trace of sarcasm. "So of those creatures are said to still dwell deep within the forest."
The steward hesitated briefly, unsettled by his lord’s seemingly jovial mood before speaking again. "Milod, I’m afraid this isn’t about magical beasts," he said in a hushed tone, audible only to the lord due to his heightened hearing as a Senior Expert, far above the average citizen.
"Milod, the only ssage they managed to deliver was a warning not to provoke the Forest King. Their minds seem to have been shattered." The more the steward said, the lower his voice fell, finally reducing to an almost indistinct whisper.
Even as a whisper, it was enough to fully ignite the City Lord’s fury. Who dared claim to be king at the forest’s edge?! His eyes were bloodshot with wrath, and with a clenched hand, the cup he held shattered into shards.
"Take to the guards!" he commanded, his voice seething with rage. The steward, anxious for his own life as the bearer of bad news, bowed repeatedly before hurrying out of the room; he moved slowly to guide the lord toward the infirmary where the guards were recuperating.
Upon stepping through the doorway, the City Lord’s scowl transford into a twitch at his nose—the stench was appalling. Nevertheless, his anger did not dissipate easily as he strode inside. He entered only to find his most trusted and highest-ranking experts lying in a pool of tears and mucus.
Fury flickered in his eyes as he contemplated what could have possibly reduced his n to such a pitiful state. Still, even the nurous Wood-affinity cultivators running back and forth seed utterly bewildered and powerless.
The mont the City Lord stepped into the room, its previously busy activity imdiately fell into silence. No one moved to clean the guards or examine their injuries. The only sound was the quiet whimpering of the three guards who had returned.
Scanning the room, the lord identified only one individual—the captain of the guards—who appeared to retain a shred of composure. Even so, he clung to that fragnt desperately for survival.
"He’s not what you think he is." The captain repeated frantically, and upon spotting the City Lord, he stumbled as he rushed toward him, his speech stuttering, words gushing from his mouth like a torrential waterfall.
"Milod, we followed the cloaked n and caught up with them. When we encountered them, they displayed no cultivation base whatsoever." The captain was frantic, his words tumbling out without pause, leaving the City Lord no chance to interrupt. "One man stepped forward and declared himself the Forest King. Naturally, we laughed at him, told him there were no kings near this cave—only our City Lord and his orders. That man grew angry, terribly angry. He ended the world with his thunderous wrath, and the ground trembled from his fury. My lord, his cultivation base is undoubtedly no weaker than yours. If I may say so, he is surely stronger—and then there were the three companions following him, all cloaked in black to conceal their power."
The captain collapsed the mont he finished speaking, his body convulsing as foam bubbled at his mouth. Monts later, he was pronounced dead.
Seeing one of his loyal guards driven to such a state, the City Lord felt anger burning deep in his core, but he refrained from acting irrationally. Instead, he left the foul-slling room and proceeded to his residence to cleanse himself.
"You there!" he called out to a steward standing nearby. The man imdiately bowed in deference upon noticing the lord. "Summon the elders for a eting; I shall be there shortly."
....
While the City Lord prepared for the eting, Yan Xiaobao was traversing the forest alongside Xingye, retracing the path he had walked days ago. This ti, they made the journey in re minutes, with Sha Yun joining them midway, accelerating the team’s travel pace. Sunlight filtered through her black cloak, wrapping their surroundings in a soft golden glow.
"Mother!" A voice called from the distance, and within monts, the entire group gathered around the four cloaked figures.
Recognizing Xingye, Yan Xiaobao halted and removed his own cloak. Upon seeing Yan Xiaobao do so, his companions quickly followed suit, and soon, a reunion unfolded.
"Missed any interesting trails?" Xingye asked Yan Xiaobao, the white-haired youth flashing a bittersweet smile at the smaller man. "I couldn’t bring her. She’s guarding the tunnel, waiting for us." Yan Xiaobao felt a pang of guilt but quickly shook his head. While his decision may have been impulsive, he stood by it.
If they were discovered, moving forward safely would beco impossible. It wasn’t just for his own safety, but for Sha Yun’s and the others’ as well.
As he made yet another choice, determination once again filled his gaze. They would remain within the clearing for a week to observe if the City Lord planned to act. Should he do so, Yan Xiaobao would retaliate as promised; if not, they would make their way out of this place and continue onward without concern.
Ti at Cave’s End passed slowly for Yan Xiaobao as his longing to return to Sha Yun grew. He still felt guilty leaving her to guard the tunnel alone, her only companion an oversized poppy flower. Yet despite his feelings, he remained confident that his decision prioritized their safety during this journey.
The first day passed uneventfully, aside from Yan Xiaobao and the others entering the law’s small cottage. To prepare for a possible attack by the City Lord, Yan Xiaobao assigned Deng Wu the task of placing inscription patterns along the forest’s edge as a warning system.
...
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