By the riverside, I drank a little water and sat down. Vincent Swallow's eyes gleamed with excitement as he watched me drink, licking his lips. His wine gourd was already empty, and he swallowed a few times.
"Don't be fooled by Tammy Blade's carefree attitude. Every time a newcomer dies, she gets upset for quite a while. After all, she's a woman, even if her personality is more like a man's."
I nodded, recalling last night, when I saw the sadness in Tammy Blade's eyes.
Vincent Swallow spoke and sighed.
"Sigh, it was about a hundred years ago. There was a girl in her early teens who came in and hit it off with Tammy Blade. In just a few days, they became close. Unfortunately, the girl died in less than a month. Tammy Blade did her best, and that was the first time we were all exhausted to the point of collapse."
I looked at Vincent Swallow seriously. He sat down beside me and began to recount the story.
It was over a hundred years ago. A young girl entered the Forest of Desire, and just as she was about to starve to death, Tammy Blade found her.
Back then, the other four didn't bother with outsiders if they couldn't survive the first day. But Tammy Blade seemed to care a lot about this girl. Not only did she have to fight her own desires, she also watched over the girl every day.
According to Vincent Swallow, he thought the girl wouldn't last a week. Tammy Blade taught her things every day, hoping she could adapt to life here. Eventually, the other four, seeing Tammy Blade's effort, joined in too.
The girl learned how to survive here. Just when everyone thought she had mastered her desires and could live well like them,
"I still remember, it was the 27th day. We once asked the girl if her desires had come looking for her, but she just smiled and said nothing. Sigh, later, seeing how close she was to Tammy Blade, I decided to check on her a bit. That girl, sigh..."
I looked at Vincent Swallow's unhappy face, a trace of helplessness showing.
"What happened? Did you see something?"
Vincent Swallow nodded.
"It was the first time I'd met someone like that. In her heart, there was nothing but endless darkness, not a single ray of light or hope. All I saw was boundless darkness."
I remembered that night, after Vincent Swallow said a few things to me, the next day, the others stopped talking to me.
"That night, did you see something in me too?"
I asked, and Vincent Swallow nodded.
"You and that girl are a bit alike. Inside, it's all pitch black. But you're different from her. I saw something else in you. Back then, when we ignored you, you must've felt anxious, right? But that's necessary. Overcoming desire isn't just talk, or relying on others. You have to cross that threshold yourself. That's why we left you alone."
I thanked him and asked another question.
"So what happened in the end? I sensed that Tammy Blade was deeply saddened."
"Sigh, it was Tammy Blade herself who ended the girl, who had already merged with the Desire Fiend. It was the first time for any of us. The Desire Fiend we saw then—the scene was brutal."
Vincent Swallow spoke, as if recalling that crisis, his face serious.
It’s said that on the 27th night, the girl finally faced her own desire. When desire strikes, no one can interfere. That night, Tammy Blade anxiously waited by the Great Chasm.
But as soon as the red moon rose, a roar from the Desire Fiend echoed from the Great Chasm. According to Vincent Swallow’s long-term observation, the Desire Fiend loves to devour those who lose to their desires. He doesn’t know the exact reason.
When Tammy Blade heard the Desire Fiend’s roar from the Great Chasm, she knew something had happened. When Vincent Swallow went down, he found something strange.
"What was it? Stop keeping us in suspense."
I watched Vincent Swallow clutch his empty wine gourd, tongue out, throat moving constantly—clearly craving alcohol.
"Sigh, I saw the Desire Fiend shrouded in black mist, and the girl was inside its mouth, smiling. I wanted to pull her out, but she resisted and refused. Tammy Blade couldn’t wait any longer and jumped down, saving the girl, but she was already completely lost in her desires."
Vincent Swallow spoke, setting down his wine gourd, his face full of distress.
After saving the girl, the Desire Fiend followed them out, shrouded in black mist. The five fought desperately to stop it. Even though they knew it was futile, Tammy Blade’s determination inspired the others to try their best.
The Desire Fiend, enveloped in black mist, was incredibly powerful—unlike anything I’d ever seen. That night, the group suffered heavy losses. The Desire Fiend seemed to know all their secrets and moved swiftly. Even defeating it once was difficult.
As the battle escalated, Vincent Swallow realized the girl was controlling the Desire Fiend. Old Eccentric had noticed early on that the girl had already been devoured.
The Desire Fiend emerged, but its real targets weren’t the girl—they were the five.
Eventually, after a tough battle, the five joined forces to deal with the girl. In the end, it was Tammy Blade who struck her down inside the Desire Fiend’s body.
"That night was brutal. None of us really understood what happened. After the fight, all five of us were badly injured, but that was nothing. Tammy Blade’s heart was forever scarred that night."
Vincent Swallow seemed to finish his story. He stood up and tossed his wine gourd away. I hurriedly got up and rushed back to camp. After walking about twenty meters, I smelled the intoxicating scent of wine and quickened my pace.
When I returned to camp, Tammy Blade was sitting alone in front of her cabin. I smiled and walked over, but for a moment, I didn't know what to say. Instead, it was the Vermilion Bird in the cage hanging from the tree that spoke first.
"Heh heh, you won't last much longer like this. Things aren't like they used to be—there are more people now, more desires piling up. You’ll need my help, or things will get ugly."
"Shut up, all of you!" I snarled. The Vermilion Bird just laughed and said nothing more.
"Did you hear about the past from Vincent Swallow?" Tammy Blade asked weakly. I nodded.
"Back then, I couldn’t save her. Just like Vincent Swallow said, a person whose heart has lost all hope can’t be saved, no matter how hard you try. But you, Ethan Zhang, since that night, your resolve has grown stronger."
I nodded, looking at Tammy Blade and thinking about myself. If I hadn’t come here, I’d still be stuck in the past, endlessly conflicted. Maybe I would’ve ended up like that girl.
"Keep it up. We’ve all had enough of this place, which seems like it was specially created just to torment people’s minds. There’s nothing here at all."
Tammy Blade got up, smiled again, patted my shoulder, and left.
I continued walking around the camp. Although I wanted a cabin, I’d gotten used to things over the past few days. As I adapted to life here, even on cold nights, I could sleep soundly. After all, cold wouldn’t kill me.
But at that moment, I felt like this world wasn’t just about desire—there was something more. These days, I’d felt an indescribable sensation welling up inside me from time to time.
When night fell, Old Ren carried me and ran quickly toward the Great Chasm. Tonight, Old Ren’s eyes looked especially serious.
In just a few minutes, Old Ren had taken me near the Great Chasm. We waited—Blackmask hadn’t arrived yet.
"Hold on tight, don’t fall off."
I gripped the soft branches tightly. Earlier that afternoon, I’d gathered a bunch. After dinner, I quickly climbed onto Old Ren’s back and lay down. The others used their hands and feet to secure me to his back.
With a roar, the Desire Fiend’s cry echoed from below. By the Great Chasm, the vibration was even clearer. Old Ren started running around the chasm at a steady pace.
A stone hand reached up, and with a boom, the Desire Fiend leapt out of the chasm. Old Ren broke into a sprint.
As soon as the Desire Fiend saw me, it landed and gave chase, closing the distance to just over a hundred meters between us and Old Ren.
I turned my head and watched the Desire Fiend get closer and closer. Old Ren was fast, but the gap kept shrinking.
Not far away, I spotted a figure—it was Blackmask. He’d gotten ahead of us.
"Run faster, Old Ren!" Blackmask called out. As we passed him, I turned to see the Desire Fiend closing in. Blackmask leapt in front of it and kicked its hand.
With a boom, the Desire Fiend’s hand shattered into stone chunks, throwing it off balance and sending it crashing to the ground.
The Desire Fiend kept howling as Old Ren and I ran far away. When we reached the other side of the chasm, Old Ren stopped.
"What if it explodes and comes after us again?" I asked.
"Just watch. Vincent Swallow said that in this big chasm of desire, the stones only fall down. It’s fine."