It felt like I had been flying for a long time. I stopped, turned around, and looked at the city behind me, now reduced to a single point of light. Ahead, there was nothing but endless black mountains and rocks—no change at all.
I held up the green charm pouch in my hand. The peculiar sensation from before had vanished. For a brief moment, I felt a breath of energy flowing out from it—likely belonging to the man Poison Dreadstar wanted me to find.
I resumed flying, moving even faster. Suddenly, I stopped and looked ahead—it seemed like there was a village.
With a whoosh, I sped over and landed in the village nestled in the rocky basin.
Rows of tiled houses looked old and broken, many already collapsed. The village had around a hundred houses, scattered across the basin, but about two-thirds were damaged.
I approached a house and glanced inside. The main beam was so rotten that it crumbled into dust at a touch. Instantly, the house in front of me collapsed.
I searched the entire village but found nothing strange. This was a village from an unknown time. Even in a place where time had completely stopped, things like food and houses still decay as time passes.
On my way here, I saw some houses under construction. I reached the center of the village; the ground was covered in messy footprints. It looked like people had once gathered here before leaving in a panic, though I had no idea what had happened.
With a whoosh, I floated upward, continuing toward the village. As I rose, a faint ripple of air trembled, and the decaying houses below instantly turned to dust.
I kept flying forward, and soon I saw another village just like the last. The architecture was almost identical, with no real difference—these small villages clustered across the black mountains.
There were about thirty of these villages in total, but now they had disappeared, replaced again by vast stretches of black stone. I pulled out the clock from my coat—three hours had passed since I set out. There was still plenty of time, but with nothing to be found, I could only keep flying straight ahead.
Gradually, the scenery ahead changed, and I felt a glimmer of hope. A vast, dense forest appeared before me. I swallowed nervously and stopped. The forest was broad and deep, stretching out of sight. I landed at its edge, with a range of rolling hills behind me.
The trees all looked the same, with diamond-shaped black leaves that had rounded, not sharp, edges. The trees grew in neat rows. I took a few steps into the forest, glancing around—nothing. I quickly floated up, drifting slowly above the trees.
I skimmed above the treetops, not wanting to miss anything. Suddenly, I stopped and looked at the charm pouch in my hand. This time, I clearly sensed that energy. I spread out my Specter Web and began searching every inch of the land around me.
I sat cross-legged on the treetop, quietly sensing everything in this forest, hoping to find a useful clue.
Suddenly, my eyes widened. With a whoosh, I shot to the left, feeling something different in the forest. With a thud, I landed on a patch of obviously cleared ground.
It was a grave. My eyes widened—a round grave with a tombstone. I hurried over and took a look. A string of bright red characters was carved on it.
Charlie Wu is buried here.
Just six short words, but they left me confused. I could only sigh helplessly.
"Sorry about this."
One by one, my Specter Web threads pierced into the semicircular grave. Gradually, I sensed a pile of bones inside, which surprised me. As I probed further, I noticed something odd—the bones didn't feel ancient, but recent, with traces of vitality still lingering.
My eyes widened in shock. With a whoosh, I floated up and spun in midair. Below me, a black tiger lunged straight at me.
Bang—a white claw shot out, striking the ground with a tremendous noise. The tiger was nearly three meters long, about the size of a tiger in the living world, but its fur was black with white stripes. It stared at me silently.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?"
I muttered the question. With a roar, the tiger suddenly leapt at me. Helpless, I dodged to the side, hooked its neck with one hand, and in an instant, Deathbane Aura surged as I slammed the tiger to the ground. Sitting down, I wrapped both arms around its head, binding it tightly with Deathbane Aura until I subdued it.
"I mean no harm. I'm just here looking for someone. If I've offended the owner of this grave, I apologize."
The tiger, which had been struggling, stopped moving.
"What's your name?"
"Ethan Zhang."
"And you?"
"Charlie Wu."
I stared in disbelief at the grave, then released the Deathbane Aura binding the tiger. After it stood up, it sat in front of me. I was still in shock. I sent out my Specter Web to check again. It really was a beast, but it could talk and called itself Charlie Wu—the same name as the one on the grave.
"That's my body. Not long ago, I was accidentally eaten by this tiger—my flesh was devoured. But when I woke up, I was like this. I buried myself here and carved the tombstone with my own claws."
I made a sound of acknowledgment and quietly watched Charlie Wu. It was hard to believe, but what I wanted to ask about was this place.
"What is this place, really?"
"The Shadowwood."
I made a sound of acknowledgment just as Charlie Wu began to speak.
"If you want to know what this place is, I can tell you—it's a place of exile, where the Dark Residents banish people."
"Why?"
Charlie Wu shook his head and sighed helplessly, then stood up.
"Come with me first—come to my house."
I followed Charlie Wu. Not far from the grave was a small wooden cabin with its door open. He went straight in and squatted in a corner. I peeked inside—there was quite a bit of wooden furniture.
"What is really going on here?"
"Let me put it this way: even though you can live here, I was always lazy and useless in the living world. Here, I'm the same—doing nothing, just lazing around all day. Eventually, I was driven out and exiled here."
I thought about it carefully—people in this world still need to eat.
"How do you make a living?"
I asked. Charlie Wu replied.
"Hunting. This forest has birds and beasts just like the living world, but the wild animals never come to the edge—only deep inside. I was chasing a rabbit into the depths when I ran into that tiger."
"Were you forced out?"
I asked, thinking this world seemed pretty free, but after hearing what Charlie Wu said, I wasn't so sure anymore.
"Not exactly. It's just that nobody needs me anymore. There's a rule here: if you're no longer needed, you'll be driven out of the city and exiled to this place."
"What about those villages over there?"
Charlie Wu lifted his head, as if recalling something.
"It's been a long time, I can't remember exactly. Those places were built for residents exiled here, but they were abandoned later. I was one of those residents."
"Did the others in the village go back?"
Charlie Wu shook his head.
"They're all dead—died in the darkness. With no food, we could only wait to die. If you can't do anything, you starve. I don't remember when I learned to hunt, maybe it was when I was almost dead."
I left Charlie Wu for now—there was no need to worry about him. In his current tiger form, hunting was easy, and he hadn't gone hungry for a long time.
But based on what he said, I couldn't help but feel confused. Not being needed... He said he couldn't remember when he came here, only his name, Charlie Wu. Ever since he learned about this world, it was as if he was born here. When I mentioned the Dark Banquet, he said it was just an annual festival in the city—nothing special.
But when I asked why he had memories and knowledge from so many different eras, he said he didn't know anything.
Going deeper into the forest, I saw many animals—beasts and other creatures, and birds that occasionally took flight. It was just like a forest in the living world.
There were also familiar flowers and plants from the living world. Floating above, I looked out over the forest, unsure where to start.
If the forest had been quiet and empty before, my Specter Web would have detected anything unusual and I could have gone straight there. But now, with so much here, I was at a loss.
I raised the charm pouch in my hand and checked the time—six hours had passed. Time was flying, and I couldn't keep searching aimlessly.
With a rush of wind, my eight Ghost Souls flew out.
"I'm counting on you all. I'll fly to the depths of the forest, and we'll search in eight different directions."
The Ghost Souls nodded and flew up with me. The forest ahead was incredibly dense, and I saw many familiar trees from the living world as it grew thicker and thicker.