Li Xiu asked with a trembling voice, “Will you be coming with us?”
“No.”
Li Tan replied expressionlessly.
Li Xiu’s face immediately turned deathly pale. “Wh-what? You’re joking, right? I thought you were supposed to guarantee our safety!”
“Your safety will naturally be guaranteed, so just do as I say.”
Li Tan remained expressionless. “So, will you go or not? If you want to back out, now is still the time.”
Li Xiu showed hesitation, but Li Tan didn’t try to persuade him further, completely leaving the choice to him.
“I—” Li Xiu was extremely conflicted, to the point of sweating profusely.
However, in the end, his gaze became determined.
“I want to become stronger. I will participate!”
Li Tan nodded approvingly, then turned to Li Jiaying. “Ying’er, are you scared?”
Li Jiaying nodded, answering with slight unease, “Yes, I’m scared, but it’s okay, Brother will protect me, right?”
“Mm, I will protect you, but only intervene at critical moments. Are you ready? You can still back out if you want, no need to be afraid of losing face. Nobody isn’t afraid of death.”
Li Jiaying hesitated for a moment, then nodded seriously.
“I’m ready!”
“Then, I’ll leave first. You two start off fifteen minutes later.”
As he finished speaking, Li Tan swiftly leaped away, quickly disappearing into the dense forest. Soon, he landed on a large tree, directly beneath which was a fierce beast with a menacing appearance and formidable strength.
With Li Tan gone, the starlit lake could no longer suppress the surrounding darkness. Adding to this, not too far away, wild beasts continuously let out piercing cries, making the place gradually feel eerie.
Li Jiaying squatted on the ground, looking down at the floor while silently counting the time in her heart.
It was very boring and monotonous, but keeping herself occupied prevented her attention from drifting to terrifying imaginations.
“That Jiaying sister, it seems like the time is up,” Li Xiu reminded.
Li Jiaying shook her head. “Still a little short. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
After a while, the time for a cup of tea passed.
“Now it’s time. Let’s go.”
Li Jiaying stood up and walked into the forest, with Li Xiu following.
After a while, Li Jiaying stopped and turned around, saying seriously, “I’ll go east, and you go west.”
Li Xiu asked in confusion, “Why don’t we go together? If we go together—”
He didn’t finish his sentence before being interrupted.
“No, we can’t. Brother said we must go separately. Going together is cheating.”
“Ah, Jiaying sister makes sense. I’m ashamed. Then shall we part ways here?”
“Mm, this spot is fine. Oh, and don’t get lost,” Li Jiaying said as she parted ways with Li Xiu. Soon, she could no longer hear his footsteps and, glancing back, only saw the deep darkness.
Feeling the cold air of the approaching winter in the forest, she couldn’t help but shiver. Suddenly, she regretted being so serious in parting ways with Li Xiu.
Because…
Being alone was really scary! At night, the forest made it impossible to distinguish directions. Above was a crescent moon hanging halfway in the sky, while the ground was pitch black, visibility limited to only three or four meters ahead. Occasionally, roars from unknown creatures in the distance could be heard. Even though she understood those creatures were far away, the fear ingrained in her genes was uncontrollable, as if it wouldn’t stop tormenting her until it drove her mad. To make matters worse, due to the extremely limited visibility, her mind uncontrollably conjured up all sorts of terrifying scenes.
Before the fierce beasts even appeared, Li Jiaying was already nearly paralyzed with fear. If it weren’t for her belief that Li Tan was secretly protecting her, she probably wouldn’t have lasted this long.
“Come on, Ying’er, you can do it!”
Encouraging herself, Li Jiaying slightly quickened her pace, hoping this would reduce the fear’s grip on her.
Spending half an hour in the Zhui Xian Realm usually felt like the blink of an eye, but in this situation, it felt completely opposite—each moment dragged on like an entire year.
“Father said the Zhui Xian Realm at night is terrifying, with many dangerous beasts,” Li Jiaying thought, puzzled. So far, she hadn’t even seen a single fierce beast, let alone any wild animals.
Could it be that the fierce beasts were celebrating some festival yesterday, so they’re all full and staying in today?
Imagining this, Li Jiaying continued walking when suddenly a chilling coldness spread across her neck. Something cool and sticky landed on it. She touched it with her hand and realized it was saliva—undoubtedly, the saliva of a fierce beast.
What could be hanging from the tree?
Instantly, her mind conjured an image of a thick snake the size of a bowl coiled around a branch, flicking its tongue at her. Immediately, she felt as if she had plunged into icy water, too terrified to even breathe, mechanically twisting her head upward to look.
Branches, leaves, and occasionally dripping water.
“Oh, it was just water. Scared me to death,” Li Jiaying sighed in relief. As she was about to lower her head, a sudden, intense sense of danger forced her to dash forward violently.
She felt as though she were being watched—something was definitely staring at her, yet she couldn’t figure out what it was. All she felt was an overwhelming sense of discomfort.
Trees, trees, endless trees; no matter where she went, the scenery was exactly the same.
“Ahh!”
Li Jiaying tripped over a tree root and fell. The impact left a streak of blood on her right forearm from scraping against a tree stump.
“It hurts… waaah!” Holding her wound, Li Jiaying couldn’t help but let tears flow. She looked up in all directions, but all she saw were menacing branches. Her crying grew louder, yet she still couldn’t see the figure she longed to see.
“Ugh…” Remembering the words Li Tan had told her before the trial began, Li Jiaying, though still feeling wronged and scared, stopped crying. Taking a deep breath, she stood up again and continued walking.
The feeling of being watched persisted, but Li Jiaying encountered no danger—everything remained eerily calm, without even the chirping of insects. The moon remained motionless in the sky.
The more she walked, the more unnatural everything felt. Something was definitely off, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Careful observation proved useless; the surroundings always remained unchanged.
When had the feeling of being watched started?
Li Jiaying forced herself to think about this question as she walked.
The answer was obvious—it had started when the water droplet landed on her back.
That didn’t seem particularly suspicious, or maybe she was just too sensitive, and nothing had actually happened?
“No,” Li Jiaying shook her head, murmuring softly, “Half the time for the trial has already passed. It’s impossible for absolutely nothing to have happened, right? Something must have happened already, but I just didn’t notice it?”
Li Jiaying’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, her muscles stiffening.
What had happened without her realizing?
Perhaps she should go back, to the place where the sense of being watched had first appeared?
Deciding on this, Li Jiaying turned around and started walking back.
But…
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