The landscape rose and fell unpredictably, and from all around came the occasional cries of birds and beasts. I stopped atop a tall tree in The Shadowwood, quietly feeling the air. My Specters had already gone far away.
It was a near carpet-style search, but the sachet in my hand showed no reaction at all.
The Specters still found nothing. I was starting to get anxious—twelve hours had already passed, and there were only a little more than four days left.
What we desperately needed now was to know what the Earth Soul had told us—the whereabouts of Lydia Luo, who was taken by Wraithshade. Poison Dreadstar would never directly reveal where Wraithshade was hiding.
"This Shadowwood is terrifying—it can slowly change the thoughts of anyone who enters, turning them into part of itself. Whether bug, bird, beast, or plant, staying here is dangerous. If we remain, I'd estimate at most three days before we're all assimilated by The Shadowwood."
Even relying on instinct, I couldn't sense any aura from this small lock of hair.
Suddenly, Deathbane Ghost doubled back at incredible speed, and the other Specters began rushing toward me as well. Puzzled, I closed my eyes and asked:
"What exactly is going on?"
"Don't worry, Ethan. Wait for us to come back."
After a while, my Specters all returned. I stared at them, confused.
"What's wrong, Deathbane Ghost?"
Deathbane Ghost looked troubled. Then Curse Ghost stepped forward and said coldly:
"Stop searching. Let's go back."
I let out a startled cry and immediately stood up. The Specters all looked unsettled.
At that moment, I looked at them helplessly. Going back now was no different from giving up our deal with Poison Dreadstar, and we'd lose our chance to understand the true nature of those at the Dark Banquet. If we waited any longer, we might never find Lydia Luo again.
"Why?"
"You should be able to feel it, Ethan. If you stay in The Shadowwood much longer, you'll become one of its own."
I swallowed. The other Specters nodded in agreement. I felt helpless, but strangely, my mood was eerily calm—no ripples, no anxiety, just quiet.
"You can feel it, can't you?"
I nodded and said.
"It's strange, this feeling right now—quiet and alone, but not annoyed at all."
Deathbane Ghost nodded and said.
"We're feeling the same way now. It's Thought Ghost who sensed it."
I looked at Thought Ghost, who wore a wicked grin.
"The Shadowwood is terrifying—it can slowly change the thoughts of anyone who enters, turning them into part of itself. Whether bug, bird, beast, or plant, staying here is dangerous. If we remain, I'd estimate at most three days before we're all assimilated by the Shadowwood."
I looked at Thought Ghost in confusion. He didn't seem to be lying, and lying wouldn't benefit him at a critical moment like this.
"Once we're assimilated, it's terrifying. We won't even recognize ourselves anymore—we'll just know we're part of the Shadowwood. We'll never remember who we were, only the present. No past, no future."
My eyes widened, and I thought of Wu Changwei, but the current situation left me torn.
"Are you sure it's only three days?"
I asked again to confirm, and Thought Ghost nodded.
"The maximum is three days, minimum could be one or two. That means you can only stay twelve more hours, and it takes at least two hours to get out of the forest. So if nothing changes within ten hours, we have to leave."
"Alright, ten hours."
There's no time left for me to think slowly—I have to decide quickly. Ten hours, but judging by how I feel now, I might not last even five.
I and the Ghost Souls started searching frantically, spreading our ghostly networks across the forest to sense every inch of ground.
But maybe I still underestimated how serious things were.
........
When I woke up, I opened my eyes, rubbed the corners, yawned, and my stomach grumbled.
Someone reached out and lifted the big leaf I used as a windbreak for my little tent. He was a man dressed in black-and-white animal skins, his hair tied up—Joe Joss, the leader of our forest tribe.
"Come on, Ethan Zhang, get up and get ready for the hunt."
There were thirteen men and twenty-eight women in the tribe. Of the small group, less than ten were capable hunters, and they had to go out to feed everyone.
I was confused. After stepping outside and looking around, I grabbed a stone spear and followed Joe Joss. There were about sixty single-person huts in the tribe, and three larger ones for storing food.
I didn't understand why I was doing this, but my growling stomach told me I had to join the hunt to survive.
There were too many old, weak, sick, and disabled in the tribe. In such a harsh forest, a single accident could mean death or injury—and once injured, you lost the ability to hunt.
Our tribe was built against the mountain, surrounded by wooden spiked fences to keep large beasts away at night.
I felt listless today. For some reason, I kept feeling like I'd forgotten something, but it wasn't true—my sense of self told me I'd been born in this tribe.
We skirted the mountain and entered a broad-leafed forest, far from the tribe now. In search of food, we'd traveled a long way. In the forest, we found a herd of deer—if we could hunt a few, it would feed the tribe for a long time.
Those who couldn't hunt relied on catching rodents, snakes, or birds, but these weren't easy to catch. Even with traps, luck was needed.
Lately, those people had been unlucky—food ran out. We used sap from leaves to mask our scent. We spotted the deer herd, resting quietly in the forest, seemingly full, but vigilant stags kept watch.
This part was tricky. There were only eight of us, and the only way was to use ropes—slowly approaching the deer, tying ropes to trees around the herd to form traps, then pouncing when a deer was caught. It was our only method.
But a single mistake could spook the herd and ruin our plan. We spread out, tying ropes to trees in all directions.
Everyone moved cautiously, afraid even the slightest sound would scare the deer.
Looking at the plump herd—maybe seventy or eighty head—we couldn't afford to miss this chance.
I stared at the rope in my hand, confused. Why was I doing this here?
"Of course, it's for the tribe's survival."
I muttered and kept working carefully.
We finally surrounded the herd without incident. Suddenly, Joe Joss shouted, startling the deer into a stampede.
Quickly, I watched a stag trip in the trap and leapt, smashing my stone spear into its head.
It was a big haul—seven deer. But it came at a cost; one tribesman was knocked down by a furious stag and trampled by the rest. He didn't make it.
The haul was good, but as I ate venison roasted over black flames, many looked happy. I felt uneasy, and so did Joe Joss—he came over to me.
“There are fewer and fewer people left. The situation is getting worse. Maybe we really can’t hold out any longer, Ethan Zhang.”
I let out a sound of surprise. Jiao Zuo handed me a large chunk of venison—enough for three or four days.
Lying in the small hut, I closed my eyes, but immediately opened them again. I couldn’t sleep—no matter what I did, I just couldn’t. It was strange; sleep should come easily, especially after a day of long travel. I should be exhausted.
But no matter what, I couldn’t fall asleep. I could only stare wide-eyed through the cracks at the darkness outside.
“What’s happening?”
I muttered, closing my eyes again, hoping to drift off after a moment of quiet.
Soon after, I fell asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I rose groggily and pulled off the animal skin covering me. Suddenly, I caught the scent of blood and rushed outside, greeted by a chorus of sobbing.
I had no idea what had happened, but many people in the tribe were gone, and several huts were destroyed.
“You’re still injured. Rest for a while, Ethan Zhang.”
Jiao Zuo looked at me in a daze and spoke.
I glanced at my right hand—it hurt, and was indeed wounded.
“Turns out a pack of wild beasts attacked the tribe last night.”
I muttered to myself. The tribe now had fewer than thirty people left, with heavy casualties. Only Jiao Zuo and I were fit enough to hunt, and there was a little food left—barely enough for twenty-nine people to survive three or four more days.
The situation was dire.
Yet I realized there wasn’t a trace of fear in my heart—not a shred of dread about our predicament.
“Let’s go. Even if it’s just the two of us, we need to head out and hunt early.”
Jiao Zuo spoke as I picked up my stone spear and followed him out of the tribe.
“By the way, Ethan Zhang, what do you think we should do next?”
Jiao Zuo’s voice was somber.
“We can only keep hunting.”
“I’m tired.”
Jiao Zuo spoke, then sat down, leaning against a tree, his eyes looking at me with helplessness.
“Let them fend for themselves. What do you think?”
For a moment, I felt stirred, but inside, there was no excitement, not even anger. Instead, I felt light, agreeing with Jiao Zuo—after all, we could barely survive ourselves. How could we worry about others?
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before my eyes.
“Ethan Zhang...”
A furious shout echoed. I looked around in confusion, but saw nothing.