Hearing this, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"During that time, quite a few people came in, but most couldn't make it past the first day and became part of this place. The longest anyone lasted was barely ten days."
Vincent Swallow spoke as he glanced at me, then continued his story.
Just after tossing in a large stone, Vincent Swallow saw that the strange disappearance stopped. Though he was just trying it out, he spent three days and nights throwing stones from a corner of the mountain into the pit. To his surprise, the hand he had lost started to grow back a little.
After that, Vincent Swallow spent ten years throwing stones into the pit every day, only managing to clear about a third of them. It wasn't until over two hundred years ago, when Old Eccentric arrived and managed to control his desires, that the two of them began clearing the stones more quickly.
Later, Tammy Blade, Mr. Blackmask, and Oddball Moe joined them. The five of them worked together and finally, more than a hundred years ago, managed to clear away all the accumulated stones.
But after that, their daily work was to throw all those big stones into the pit. They tried leaving them alone, but found that if they ignored the stones for even a day, their number would multiply. In just a few days, they themselves would start to fade away, just like the rest of this world.
Helpless, every morning, the five of them would start the day by going over there to throw stones into the pit. Among them, Tammy Blade was the strongest, and she liked to look after others in her own chaotic way. So she volunteered to clean up whatever was left from the morning's work at noon, no matter how much was left. She always managed to finish before nightfall.
"Alright, that's all I know."
I looked at Vincent Swallow in confusion and asked.
"Can you tell me what I need to do next to control my desires?"
"You don't need to do anything. But in your current state, it's very dangerous. Desire will come to you on its own, and if you can't defeat it, you'll collapse and become part of this forest."
I let out a surprised sound and noticed Vincent Swallow staring at my feet.
"Besides, your Vermilion Mantle has already been stripped away by Old Eccentric. Right now, you're just an ordinary person, without any power at all."
I let out another surprised sound, glanced at Vincent Swallow, then hurriedly got up and returned to the camp, where Old Eccentric and Oddball Moe were discussing something.
"Old Eccentric, can you give me back my Vermilion Mantle?"
Old Eccentric glanced at me sideways and slowly spat out two words.
"No."
At first, I didn't react, but then I let out another surprised sound and stared at him.
"That's my thing, isn't it? Give it back to me."
"No," Old Eccentric said firmly.
"Why?"
"If I give it back to you, you'll die, Ethan Zhang. If you want to die early, you should know—the Vermilion Bird may be a holy spirit, but it's also a wicked one. It all depends on your heart. You've already been reborn once, haven't you? If I hadn't acted quickly that night, you would've turned to ashes in less than a minute."
I let out a sound of uncertainty, looking at Old Eccentric with doubt. Suddenly, he stood up and walked over to me.
"What do you think I am? I'm a good person, I wouldn't lie to you, brat. What would I get out of lying to you? I can't leave, you're not a girl, I can't even cop a feel, and you're a weakling. What would I get out of it?"
I stared at Old Eccentric in surprise—he could say something like 'cop a feel' with a straight face. I was a bit shocked, and Oddball Moe burst out laughing.
"Hey kid, just listen to us. We won't hurt you. Now that there are six of us and a dog, when you grow stronger, our daily work will get easier. Damn, moving stones every day is killing me."
Oddball Moe said this, and Old Eccentric gagged.
"I can't take it anymore. Just seeing those stones makes me want to puke. Who moves stones every day?"
"Just now you said the Vermilion Bird is a holy spirit but also a wicked one. What does that mean?"
"Well, that's hard to say. Besides, I've noticed that this power was never really yours to begin with. So I advise you not to use it. With your current strength, using it would be a huge burden."
"So in a few days, when my desires come, what should I do? I heard Vincent Swallow say I don't have any power now. How am I supposed to fight desire?"
"Oh, well, that guy actually told you, huh? Looks like he really wants you to survive. Fine, I'll stick with you these next few days. When your desires attack, I'll give you a little something. If things go wrong after you use it, I'll be there to save you."
I thanked him, then started asking where I could find materials for a simple shelter.
But Old Eccentric told me I'd have to figure that out myself.
I looked up and scanned the area, only to find that all the trees nearby—except for some branches four or five meters up—were bare below that height.
And all these trees were the same thickness, with identical leaves and branches. Most importantly, the branches were only as thick as an arm. I thought for a moment and walked over to one of the trees.
I kicked the trunk hard. "Ow!" I cried out—the tree was as hard as stone. My kick didn't budge it at all, and my foot hurt like hell.
Just as I was puzzling over this, Old Eccentric burst out laughing nearby.
"I told you, you have to learn to control your desires here, Ethan Zhang. Go on, we'll be off to eat."
I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky—it was still daytime. Even though I was hungry, I didn't want to spend another night like last night, sleeping by the fire and tossing and turning. At least I needed somewhere to sleep.
I walked over to a tree, wrapped my arms around the trunk, and felt it. The trunk was soft, not like stone. I slowly cleared my mind of distractions—since I couldn't break it, I'd climb it instead.
I gripped the trunk tightly and started inching my way up. It went smoothly—after climbing more than two meters, I saw the branches. But I was stunned: after climbing two meters, the branches were still four or five meters away. Puzzled, I climbed another meter, already out of breath and exhausted.
I looked up again, my arms aching and feeling like I couldn't hold on. When I looked up, the branches were still four or five meters away. I felt deeply frustrated.
"Damn it, what kind of hellhole is this? Shit."
Just as I cursed, the trunk suddenly bent. I screamed as the whole trunk curved and collapsed, slamming me onto my back. It hurt like hell.
As soon as I let go of the trunk, it snapped back like rubber, swished up, shook a few times, and then returned to normal.
Frustrated, I stared at the trunk—it felt like it was messing with me on purpose. I angrily slapped the ground behind it.
I cried out—why was the ground covered in sharp little thorns? One of my hands was already bleeding, and all around me were sharp brown spikes. I quickly shut my mouth and tried to calm down.
Sure enough, in the afternoon, it was just another bowl of plain rice. After eating, I saw everyone had returned to camp. I watched Vincent Swallow take back the thin cloth he'd given me last night.
"Can I borrow it for one more night?" I asked Vincent Swallow awkwardly. He laughed and shook his head.
"No way. If I let you use it another night, you'll freeze to death. Last night must've been rough, huh?"
I let out a sound, and suddenly the sky turned dark.
"Better get some sleep now. Tomorrow, you can work on your own hut," someone said. I watched the others; even Old Ren lay down to sleep. With no other choice, I sat by the fire, which was out. I sighed.
"No fire tonight?"
Vincent Swallow came out of his hut and walked over.
"Move aside," he said, taking a swig of wine. With a loud puff, a burst of flame shot out, and the campfire sprang to life. It reminded me of the Ruined Precepts Sect, I think?
I stared at Vincent Swallow in surprise. He chuckled and took another drink.
"Get some rest early."
At that moment, I felt calm inside—or rather, I felt broken. It was only the second day, and I was already going crazy. There was nothing to do here except move stones, eat, and sleep. I was so bored I thought about counting the leaves on the ground.
It felt like this forest had a grudge against me—or more accurately, I still couldn't control my own desires.
Sure enough, it was freezing at night—really freezing. I shivered, and although the fire was warm in front, my back was cold. I got up, planning to build fires around me, but when I looked, I was stunned.
How could this campfire keep burning? I wondered. I still didn't understand much about this forest. Looking around, it seemed only my stone leg could be used—if I used my hands, I'd definitely get burned.
I swung my stone right leg, trying to split the burning flames, when suddenly a voice stopped me.
"Don't do that—you'll set yourself on fire."
"Can you come out for a moment?" It was Mr. Blackmask—he stopped me. I shivered and stood up. He came over and whispered to me. I responded, and Mr. Blackmask helped me up. After that, I followed him out of the camp, a bit further away.