We kept running, the wild boar seemed to have decided we’d invaded its territory and wanted to drive us out. Uncle Horne and Rachel Lan darted through the woods, dodging the boar’s relentless pursuit.
This massive creature was fierce, completely disregarding Rachel Lan and Uncle Horne.
I watched anxiously, unable to do anything. The two of them were doing their best to lure the boar away. Just then, my eyes widened as a snake as thick as an arm slithered toward me through the grass. All I could do was watch as it crawled onto my body while the others kept distracting the boar.
One fragile tree after another collapsed under the boar’s brute force. The snake in front of me flicked its tongue and began to coil itself around my body, tighter and tighter. All I felt was a chill deep inside, growing stronger as the snake squeezed.
“Ethan!”
Rachel Lan cried out, raising her dagger as she rushed toward me.
“Don’t come over. The snake just wants something warm—it’ll leave soon. Focus on dealing with that brute first.”
Uncle Horne had already drawn his bush knife. The boar charged at him again; he dodged and swiftly swung the blade at its leg. With a clang, the boar slowed and suddenly tumbled to the ground, then scrambled up, roaring even more furiously.
Things were looking grim. Uncle Horne’s movements were nothing like those of a man in his fifties or sixties—he was as agile as a young man, even more nimble than Rachel Lan.
With a loud bang, Uncle Horne suddenly grabbed the boar’s tusks with both hands. The force sent him crashing into a tree. Rachel Lan rushed over, gripping her dagger with both hands, and stabbed at the boar’s head.
With a burst of shrieks, the wild boar went berserk, leaping and thrashing on the ground. Uncle Horne clung tightly to its tusks, his body shaking up and down, already scraped and bruised in several places. Suddenly, with a thud, my heart clenched—Rachel Lan was thrown aside.
All at once, Uncle Horne let go and was flung away. But in an instant, he grabbed the dagger that hadn’t sunk in deeply, seized it with both hands, and pulled hard. The boar seemed to go wild, but gradually, it slowed down.
With a ripping sound, Uncle Horne drove the dagger deep into the back of the boar’s neck. At last, the massive beast collapsed.
Battered and bruised, the two of them looked at each other and smiled. They’d found food.
A fire was soon burning. Rachel Lan’s hands were scraped and blistered, her palms covered in blood blisters. I watched, feeling guilty, as Uncle Horne tended to the boar’s carcass.
Uncle Horne worked skillfully, clearly at home with wilderness survival. He quickly used the dagger and bush knife to carve off the choicest cuts of meat. He found some branches, sharpened them, and Rachel Lan skewered the meat, setting it by the fire. Uncle Horne then took out a cloth pouch, about the size of a fist, and handed it over. I caught the aroma of spices.
Rachel Lan sprinkled a little evenly over the meat.
The meat sizzled, wild boar fat dripping and filling the air with a rich aroma. Hunger gnawed at me, but I couldn’t eat. The other two were even hungrier, still holding back.
Finally, the food was cooked. They ate slowly. Uncle Horne hadn’t finished with the rest of the boar—he just brought over some pieces to keep roasting. Once cooked, the meat would last for days, so food wasn’t an immediate worry.
“Not bad, Little Roxie. You were brave—if it weren’t for you just now, I wouldn’t have been able to take down that brute.”
“Uncle Horne, you’re pretty skilled.”
Uncle Horne smiled, looking genuinely pleased.
“I come here every few years. If I can’t find medicine, I head back. Maybe this is the place I’ve always hoped for. In this forest, you fight to survive—there’s always something to do.”
As he spoke, Uncle Horne went off to gather more firewood. We planned to rest here for a couple of days, so Rachel Lan and Uncle Horne could recover.
The flames burned brightly, and there was a glow in Uncle Horne’s eyes—sharp and full of spirit.
“Uncle Horne, why do you keep staring at the fire?”
“Little Roxie, fire is a wonderful thing. Ever since people had it, we could keep warm at night, drive away beasts, and finally eat cooked food. Fire is truly great.”
For a moment, I stared at the black flames, almost feeling a hallucination. This was their true color. But real fire is beautiful. The warmth and glow of red flames—those are nowhere to be found here.
“The more I look, the colder I feel.”
Rachel Lan said softly, and Uncle Horne chuckled.
Then the two started gathering branches, trimming them and arranging them around our makeshift camp to keep wild animals away while we slept.
Once everything was set up, Uncle Horne headed back into the woods, telling us not to move. Rachel Lan gripped her dagger and kept a wary eye on the bow beside her, watching the surroundings.
Uncle Horne returned soon with some leaves in hand, gave some to Rachel Lan, and explained how to use them. Their wounds hadn’t fully healed yet.
Uncle Horne and Rachel Lan both chewed the leaves and applied them to their wounds.
“So bitter, and a little sour.”
“You’ll get used to it, Little Roxie. This stuff is good—it helps wounds heal quickly. As Dark Residents, our injuries do heal on their own after a while, but during that time, we’re vulnerable. If a beast suddenly attacks, we’d be in trouble.”
Three fires burned, surrounding the three of us. I felt a trace of warmth. Rachel Lan and Uncle Horne fetched large leaves, and we lay down to sleep.
Under the warmth of the fire, Rachel Lan and Uncle Horne soon fell asleep—probably their most peaceful rest in over ten days, and they were finally full.
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All around, strange cries echoed—animals, insects, and loud thumping noises, likely from large beasts. As expected, it wasn’t long before some were drawn to the boar’s carcass.
It looked like a pack of wild dogs—not very large, but they lingered for a while before finally choosing the dead boar. After a frenzied feast, they left. The night passed safely, and Uncle Horne had already finished preparing most of the edible boar meat, roasting it and hanging it up in the trees.
The next morning, Uncle Horne began explaining the three most important medicinal herbs we needed to find. He repeated the descriptions several times until Rachel Lan memorized them.
Their wounds were still healing slowly. Uncle Horne continued, warning that deep in this forest, there were giant beasts. He’d escaped their claws and fangs many times. He kept telling Rachel Lan—if you ever encounter one, run.
The whole day passed peacefully enough.
“Ethan, maybe the residents here have lost the most basic thing.”
I was puzzled, but soon understood what Rachel Lan meant—she was talking about the hope for survival.
In that city, people no longer needed to work for what they needed—everything could be taken directly from the Living World. All they did was repeat the same tasks every day. But for people, the most important thing is the will to resist the darkness. No one here has that anymore—they’ve given up completely.
"You’ve come back here again."
Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head. I was startled.
Who are you?
"Those who cannot be devoured by the darkness—you are the same, Ethan Zhang. Remember, the darkness is always there, within your hearts. The moment you slack off, the darkness will consume you."
The voice vanished. No matter what I asked, it didn’t return.
Uncle Horne began teaching Rachel Lan about medicinal plants. The forest held many herbs and edible plants, and he guided her around, clearly familiar with the area.
I felt happy inside. Seeing Rachel Lan now, she seemed much more at ease. Maybe I’d noticed it long ago—living in that city with her, our days were full, but something was missing. Now, this sense of grounding was different.
I’d once lost my memory in this forest for a short time, living here for a few days. My biggest realization was how fragile people are in the face of nature.
The day ended quickly. Rachel Lan and Uncle Horne both improved, and their exhaustion was almost gone.
The fire burned again. Today, they made more large, sharp wooden stakes and planted them farther out.
Many beasts approached, but some only watched for a while before leaving. Rachel Lan soon drifted off to sleep, while Uncle Horne half-closed his eyes, smiling quietly as he gazed into the distance.
"I really like this feeling, Ethan. If I could, I’d live in this forest forever. But I won’t last long alone—your wife is truly wonderful."
The next day we moved on. Most of the meat was gone, enough for three more days. The mountain began to rise, and the forest grew denser. Uncle Horne led the way, bush knife in hand, clearing a path.
Rachel Lan wandered as if on a sightseeing trip, relaxed and taking in the surroundings. Whenever she spotted medicinal plants, she picked a little.
Gradually, we reached the mountaintop, where the trees thinned out. The two of them rested and ate. Far away, a vast, pitch-black forest stretched on—no end in sight.
Finding the medicine to cure me would depend on luck. Uncle Horne said he couldn’t remember exactly where he’d found the herbs before. He’d tried marking the spots, but when he returned, the marks were gone.