Chapter 32
The mountain path was difficult and slippery. Halfway through, I regretted my decision. This mountain was completely different from the ones back home—not only was it steeper, but it was also incredibly high. I walked along the mountainside and found the ancient path on the map. If I kept going along this path, I would reach the location marked on it.
After walking for a while, a spruce forest began to appear before my eyes. The forest was lush and green, stretching as far as the eye could see. I stood in front of the forest, hesitating whether to go in.
Finally, curiosity overcame reason, and I walked into the forest. The spruce trees were all quite tall, and the weather was already gloomy, and it seemed even darker in this forest.
This ancient path must have been abandoned for many years, and now only the outline can be seen. I groped my way forward, constantly observing the surrounding environment. If a ferocious beast jumped out, my life would be over.
It was already noon, and the sun still hadn't shown up. I was starving, so I dug through my dry food and found it was all gone.
As the saying goes, when you feel sleepy, someone offers you a pillow. Just ahead, a rabbit lay at the base of a tree. I walked over and saw that while it was breathing, it was clearly exhaling more than inhaling, suggesting it was near death. I didn't care. I grabbed the rabbit by the ears and prepared to give it a good beating, just to satisfy my own hunger.
"No!" A child's voice came from behind.
This really scared me.
I jumped off the ground and turned to look at him.
It was a child, about ten years old, younger than me anyway. He had a distinctive look, dressed in brightly colored clothes, even his shoes were colorful, and he had colorful wristbands on his wrists, looking quite flamboyant. The funniest thing about him was his hair, like a hedgehog, each strand standing out distinctly. His eyes, wide and clear, stared at the rabbit in my hand.
When a child like this suddenly appeared in the deep mountains and forests, I knew that I had encountered a dirty creature again, especially since he appeared behind me. After walking so far, there was definitely no one behind me.
I looked at him warily.
He slowly approached me and said in a childish voice, "Sister, can you let it go?"
How could this be possible? If I let it go, what would I eat for lunch? But I didn't understand where he was coming from, nor did I know what his intention was, so I asked, "Why?"
He stopped about four or five inches away from me and said innocently, "It's almost dead."
"Wouldn't it be nice to roast and eat him if he died?"
"Ah?" He looked at me in surprise, as if he couldn't understand.
His eyes rolled around, and I knew he was thinking about his own little thoughts. But at this moment, I suddenly became playful and prepared to cooperate with him to see what tricks he had.
"I'm so hungry now, what else should I eat if not this?" I looked at him meaningfully.
"I'll exchange it with you, sister, don't eat it." After he said that, he took out a handful of wild fruits from somewhere, holding it in his hand.
Looking at the fruits, my stomach rumbled, but I was afraid to take them, fearing I'd fallen into his trap. Suddenly, I broke out in a cold sweat. I couldn't eat those fruits, but what if this rabbit was also a trap he'd set in advance?
The more I thought about it, the more I felt this was possible, so I quickly threw the rabbit away.
When he saw me throw the rabbit, he quickly walked over and squatted in front of it. The rabbit was already dying, and after I threw it, it was already dead.
I stepped back and looked at him.
He seemed very sad and started digging a hole in the ground with his hands. I looked at him puzzled, not understanding what he meant.
After he dug the hole, he picked up the rabbit and blew on it. The mud on the rabbit was blown away. Then he put the rabbit in the hole he dug, covered it with soil, and placed a wild berry on it.
He took out some fruit from somewhere, spread it in front of me, and said, "Sister, please eat it."
I didn't dare to ask for it, but I didn't want to expose him, so I said, "I'm not hungry, you can keep it for yourself."
He looked at me in confusion, as if he didn't understand why I said I wasn't hungry even though my stomach was growling with hunger.
I've noticed a clue. Although he has a strong ghostly aura, he doesn't show any malicious intent. But I just suffered a loss yesterday, so I don't dare trust him anymore. This could all be a disguise.
Seeing that I didn't eat, he didn't say anything and said, "Goodbye, sister."
After saying that, he turned and walked deeper into the woods.
When he came, he came from behind me.
I followed him stealthily, and strangely enough, he was also walking along the same ancient path. After a minute or two, his figure vanished. It wasn't like he disappeared into thin air, but rather, he vanished into thin air.
It's really strange. I know he is not a human being, maybe a wild ghost or a mountain spirit, but he didn't hurt me.
I didn't dare to be careless and quickened my pace, wanting to reach my destination quickly.
"Oh." A familiar voice came.
I also felt that I bumped into something. When I looked closely, I saw that the person sitting on the ground was the child who had just disappeared.
I secretly call upon the energy of the Feather Stone, and if he poses a threat to me, I will take action.
He rubbed his butt and complained, "Sister, why are you following me?"
"What am I doing with you? I just need to take this path."
"Sister, you're lying. No one has been here for a long time. Why are you walking this way?"
"Then don't worry about it, just go away quickly, or don't blame me for being rude."
He was frightened by my harsh tone and ran into the woods and disappeared. His voice came from the empty forest: "Sister, go back. Don't go to the inn ahead."
Inn?
It turned out that the place was an inn.
After this little episode, I became even more curious about the place, but now I am very conflicted about whether I should go or not.
First of all, I definitely wanted to go there, otherwise I wouldn't have come this far. I also knew he was probably a mountain spirit or a wild ghost, and his words were untrustworthy. But there was another possibility, that he was a roadblock.
In reality, we will also encounter road-blocking spirits. When you are walking on the road, an animal blocks the way in front of you and refuses to let you pass. This often means that the road ahead is dangerous. If you force your way through, you may encounter an accident. At this time, it is best to wait for it to make way before moving on.
I am a very curious person, otherwise I would not have taken the map in the clay man's belly to take a look. This time my choice is the same as last time, I decided to keep moving forward.
I didn't want to give up halfway, and I was confident I could handle what happened.
I quickened my pace because I was so hungry. I hadn't been able to roast the rabbit I had just encountered, so I hoped I could find something to eat at the inn. But this was just my hope. There was a high probability that there would be no food in the inn, because inns in this old forest were mostly inhabited by monsters or something.
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