Emperor Yan and Rachel Lan remained still. I quietly observed the traces left behind from the battle between the Wraithlord and Emperor Yan; they had nearly vanished. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but the damaged forest had already recovered.
I lay silently on the ground, reflecting on what Emperor Yan had told me, and the conversations between the Wraithlord and the others.
This world is far deeper than I imagined. As for my catatonic symptoms, I have no idea when or if they’ll ever be cured.
Gradually, a sound reached me. I looked over—it was Emperor Yan. He and Rachel Lan began to move at the same time.
“Ah, I slept so well. Wait, how did I fall asleep? Rachel, let me handle the rabbit.”
The rabbit Rachel Lan had hunted was still there. Emperor Yan walked over, picked it up, and began to skin and prepare it. I noticed Rachel Lan looked excited, rubbing her eyes and staring in surprise at the tear marks on her fingers.
“Maybe we’re just too exhausted.”
It seemed neither of them remembered anything from before. Only now did Rachel Lan notice I was lying on the hard, uneven stones.
“Ethan, why are you sleeping over here?”
Emperor Yan turned his head with a puzzled expression.
“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep just now. The wind blew you over there. Sigh, Ethan, if your weight keeps dropping, a gust of wind might carry you off. Rachel, you’ll have to keep an eye on him.”
Rachel Lan smiled and carried me to the edge of the mountain, placing a soft animal pelt underneath me so I could lie down comfortably.
“By the way, Old Yan, what are those three medicines you mentioned for treating catatonia? Tell me about them—I might’ve seen them while hunting.”
Emperor Yan nodded. After working for a while, he finished preparing the rabbit, sprinkled it with spices and salt, and hung the meat on a tree.
“Water, earth, and fire.”
Rachel Lan let out a sound of surprise and looked at Emperor Yan in confusion. I was also puzzled.
“These are the three things that nurture life. The reason I named the medicines after them isn’t just that—they’re easy to identify. If you see blue, earth yellow, or fiery red, those are likely the medicines. In this Shadowwood, they’re the easiest to spot, but still hard to find.”
At night, we camped on the mountainside, backs against the stone wall, with two fires burning before us. Tonight, Rachel Lan and Emperor Yan ate fresh rabbit meat. They looked genuinely happy.
After eating, Emperor Yan began explaining all sorts of things to Rachel Lan.
Late at night, Emperor Yan fell asleep beside the fire. Rachel Lan leaned against me, eyes open, seemingly unable to sleep.
“Ethan, how much longer do you think we’ll have to live in this darkness?”
I couldn’t answer her. All I could do was watch and listen in silence.
“Just let me ramble, Ethan.”
Rachel Lan spoke, leaning against my chest, close to my heart.
“It’s still beating, Ethan.”
I could feel my heart too. It really was still beating.
“Turns out, this darkness can’t nurture life. It’s a little disappointing, isn’t it, Ethan? Otherwise, we could have a son or daughter, and maybe our lives would be full of surprises, hope, and joy. What do you think, Ethan?”
Rachel Lan smiled happily as she said this, then paused to think before continuing.
“What do you think, Ethan? Let’s give our future son or daughter a name. Maybe that will give us a goal. What should we call them? Just now, Old Yan said the three things that nurture life are water, earth, and fire.”
I gazed at Rachel Lan in contentment. She sat up, resting her chin on her hands and staring into the distance.
“If it’s a girl, then her name will be...”
Suddenly, Rachel Lan’s expression changed drastically, but quickly turned to surprise. She immediately began shaking Emperor Yan awake.
“What is it, Rachel?”
“Old Yan, look over there.”
I saw it too—a faint blue light moving through this pitch-black world. Emperor Yan immediately got up and started packing everything.
“We’re really lucky.”
Emperor Yan quickly finished packing. Rachel Lan was already carrying me, following the blue glow. Soon, the light stopped moving.
“It’s a beast, just as I thought.”
It was a small animal, seemingly a fox, poking its head out of the grass—food. The fox had caught a small creature and was looking for a place to hide it. On its body, there was a faint blue glow—a fragment of some kind of plant.
“We have to follow that thing, Rachel. That animal must have passed by the water and brushed against the medicine, so it brought a bit with it. I’ve seen this happen before. Foxes don’t roam far from their territory, and they’re timid by nature—they won’t walk paths without their own scent. Be careful not to scare it.”
The fox was about fifty or sixty meters away from us. Emperor Yan had said this was the safest distance, so we could only move slowly. It was nighttime, and many animals were active. The fox, out hunting, was especially cautious—if it ran into a predator, it would be doomed.
Sure enough, after digging for a while, the fox began to move carefully. Rachel Lan carried me, and together with Emperor Yan, we crouched low and crept forward, trying not to make a sound and risk startling the fox.
I had no idea how long we’d been following it. This way of moving was exhausting, but both Rachel Lan and Emperor Yan looked excited, as if the fatigue didn’t matter.
The fox kept weaving through the forest, always cautious. Every few steps, it would sniff the air, confirm its direction, and continue on—never moving quickly.
Rachel Lan and Emperor Yan kept a close watch on everything around us. We’d lost track of time. Rachel Lan began to sway from exhaustion.
“Rachel, take a break. I’ll keep following.”
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But Rachel Lan quickly shook her head, gritting her teeth.
“It’s fine. We finally found it.”
“It’s water.”
Emperor Yan suddenly stood up, and Rachel Lan followed. The distant fox immediately darted into a burrow.
Emperor Yan grabbed his machete and quickly cut away a mass of plants. As we approached, we saw a cluster of faintly glowing blue plants, their appearance like flowing water.
To be precise, the leaves of this plant looked like flowing water—transparent, emitting waves of blue light. Emperor Yan, holding a small knife, carefully lay on the ground, gently brushed away the soil, and lifted the plant, which was only twenty to thirty centimeters tall.
Seeing this long-lost pale blue, the three of us felt a surge of contentment.
We had no idea how to get back to the mountainside. Emperor Yan didn’t bother taking anything extra; some pelts were left behind in the rush—after all, missing this chance meant it was gone forever.
Suddenly, the sound of wolves howling echoed around us. Emperor Yan became alert, scanning the surroundings.
“Over there, Rachel.”
Emperor Yan quickly stowed the medicine in his backpack. Both of them ignored the plants blocking their way and started running through the forest.
The forest to the left was more open, and we could already see shadows darting through—it was a wolf pack, dozens of them, surrounding us from all directions. A hungry wolf pack at night is the most dangerous.
“Rachel, you run first. I’ll distract them.”
“No way, Old Yan. There are too many of them.”
“It’s fine. Carry Ethan over to that big tree and climb up. Here, take this.”
Emperor Yan quickly handed his bow and arrows to Rachel Lan. He led the way with his machete, then stopped and turned around.
“Be careful, Old Yan.”
Rachel Lan sprinted to the thick tree, climbed up with me on her back, and crouched on the sturdy trunk. She nocked an arrow, while the wolves howled below. Emperor Yan was already fighting them, retreating and swinging his machete.
Rachel Lan started shooting arrows. I watched in surprise—Emperor Yan had only taught her a few times, but now her arrows flew true and hit their marks.
Gradually, Emperor Yan retreated to the tree, and the wolf pack watched us for a while before finally leaving. Rachel Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Old Yan, come up here.”
“Looks like we won’t have anywhere to sleep tonight.”
We stayed on the tree trunk, watching the forest in the distance. We didn’t plan to go any further or climb down—it was too dangerous now.
Tomorrow, we’ll have to start searching for food, or else we’ll go hungry.
“Not bad for your first time shooting, Rachel.”
Emperor Yan said, and Rachel Lan smiled, handing the bow back to him.
“Keep it, Rachel. Practice whenever you can. That’s how you’ll survive in this Shadowwood.”
A faint blue glow—Emperor Yan took out the plant he’d named Water. It was beautiful. He handed it to Rachel Lan, who took it and smiled excitedly.
“Strangely, this plant doesn’t wither after being uprooted. Even with just this little bit of light, it’s wonderful—a glow full of hope.”
Rachel Lan nodded.
I quietly watched Rachel Lan holding Water, my heart full of excitement. After our brush with danger, this feeling was even more precious. Emperor Yan had seen this sight countless times—this is what we should seek in this darkness, not the bleak life under city lights.
“Why not take it back, Old Yan? If you did, maybe you could...”
Emperor Yan shook his head helplessly.
“These three medicines wither and die as soon as they leave the Shadowwood. That’s why, every time I come to look for medicine, I can only bring the catatonic patients here myself.”