Chapter 277

The two rested in place.

Lang Ze studied the nearest tall tree.

“The ground gives us no way to judge direction. I’ll climb to the top and take a look.”

The trees in the Misty Forest were towering and straight, most thick enough that it would take two people to encircle the trunk with their arms. From beneath, it was impossible to see the branches.

For antelope beastmen or others not skilled in climbing, reaching the crown was nearly impossible.

But such trees posed no challenge for Lang Ze.

He removed his boots, shifted his hands and feet partly into beast form, and sank his claws easily into the bark. With little effort, he scaled the trunk and quickly emerged above the canopy.

All around him stretched an endless sea of trees. Only behind him, far off in the distance, could he see the direction of the Holy Antelope Tribe.

Being able to see the land they had come from was not good news—it meant they, like Ling Ping before them, had spent nearly the entire morning walking in circles.

When Lang Ze descended, Qi Bai asked, “How is it?”

Lang Ze relayed what he had seen. “Though the forest makes directions confusing, the Mana Mountains to the west are clear enough. If we climb to correct our bearings every so often, finding our way out won’t be hard.”

Qi Bai rubbed his cheek. “But we’re not trying to leave—we need to find people inside. The forest is so vast… where would beastmen live?”

“Find water,” Lang Ze said simply.

Qi Bai’s eyes lit up. “Exactly. If there really is a tribe here, they’d need a large water source to survive.”

“There’s an area where the trees grow thicker and taller. Let’s head that way first.”

With a direction set, they ate a bit of food and continued on.

No one else was around. Since Lang Ze often had to climb to re-check directions, he slung his fur boots to his pack and kept his wolf’s claws out for traveling.

They continued carving marks on tree trunks, but now oriented toward the mountains instead of relying on their own instincts.

The Misty Forest, perpetually shrouded in fog, was cold and dark. Even time itself felt disordered. By now, it had been three days since they entered.

The campfire crackled. Two rabbits roasted above the flames.

The two sat by the fire, cutting slits into the meat with bone knives, sprinkling ground spices. Soon, the rich scent of roasting meat spread through the woods.

Behind a tree some distance away, two beastman youths of fifteen or sixteen swallowed hungrily.

“It smells amazing. That rabbit must taste so good,” the round-faced one whispered. He had never in his life felt meat smell so mouthwatering.

The curly-haired youth shoved a black strip of dried meat into his arms. “Don’t think about it. Eat. Then sleep. I’ll keep watch. Tomorrow, we’ll lead them out of the forest.”

The round-faced boy chewed fiercely at the jerky, as though it were the roast rabbit. “Why are these two so hard to fool? If they were antelope folk, we’d have driven them out long ago. We’ve been tailing them all day. If you hadn’t changed their marks, they might really have found our territory.”

Wu snickered. “They made the marks too obvious. Changing them was child’s play.”

The round-faced one, named Dou, hesitated. “But that one climbs trees. He’s tough to deal with. You think they’ll leave quietly tomorrow? Shouldn’t we warn the elders?”

Wu leaned back, inhaling the aroma. “Relax. As long as we’re here, they’ll never find the water source. Their carried water will run out soon enough. Then they’ll want to leave even more than we want them gone.”

If the captain hadn’t taken the hunting party out, these two would never have been given the task of driving away intruders. This was a rare chance—Wu had no intention of retreating early.

Dou mulled it over. “You’re right. Wu, you’re clever. If we succeed, we’ll be the strongest cubs in the territory.”

The two basked in visions of glory, oblivious to the fact that Qi Bai and Lang Ze were already discussing them.

“They’ve been following us all day, herding us away from water. That must mean their tribe lives near the lake,” Lang Ze noted.

As they neared the forest’s heart, he had glimpsed through the trees the sign: a hidden lake surrounded by unusually lush growth.

Passing Qi Bai a roasted rabbit, he said, “Saves us the trouble of searching. Tomorrow, we’ll have them lead us there.”

Mouth full of meat, Qi Bai mumbled, “They only want us out, not enemies. Tomorrow we’ll reason with them.”

Lang Ze’s eyes reflected the flames. His lips curled. “Yes. We’ll reason.”

The next morning, as Qi Bai was packing their bedrolls, Lang Ze returned—holding two squirming adolescents, one in each hand.

Qi Bai tilted his head, baffled. What happened to reasoning?

Lang Ze lifted the round-faced boy in his left hand. The cub flailed. “Put me down! I’ll never lead you to our tribe!”

Then he raised the curly-haired one in his right. This boy was less noisy, eyes red as he puffed out his chest. “Kill me if you want! I’ll never betray our secrets!”

The round-faced one found courage in his friend’s words. “That’s right! Kill me too! We’ll never tell you!”

Lang Ze: See? I tried reasoning. They’d rather die. Your turn.

Qi Bai bent forward with a gentle smile. “We mean no harm. We only wish to speak with your elders. Can’t you take us there?”

That smile had charmed every child in Blackfire City—but these two fought the dazzle, then blushed in shame for wavering. Their shame turned to fury as they bit and clawed. “Lies! We’ll kill you!”

Lang Ze, calm: “Even in ten years of training, you won’t kill me. And you’ll never even scratch him.”

Qi Bai: …Lang Ze, do you have to lean so hard into the villain role?

Clearly, talk was useless. Qi Bai slung on both packs. “We’ll stick to plan A.”

---

In the beastman settlement

A burly horned beastman scowled. “Since yesterday, I’ve not seen Wu or Dou. Where are they?!”

Two other youths glanced at each other, panic on their faces.

One twisted his fingers nervously. “Y- yesterday, we went out. We met intruders in the forest. Wu and Dou said they’d lead them away. I don’t know why they haven’t returned… sob…”

The burly beastman slammed a palm on a stone, shattering its edge. “You’ll answer for sneaking out later.”

“Sheng!”

“Here!”

“Summon the tribe. Find Wu and Dou!”

“Yes!”

---

Back in the forest, the four bickered their way toward the lake.

For cubs, Wu and Dou had some skill. Using the fog and poison mists, they had nearly fooled Qi Bai and Lang Ze yesterday.

But it hadn’t taken Lang Ze long to notice the altered marks. That afternoon, they weren’t lost—they were tracking the two boys.

So by now, Qi Bai and Lang Ze already knew most of the way. The rest wasn’t difficult.

Though the cubs refused to cooperate, their bodies gave them away—when the pair walked the wrong way, the boys stopped struggling. When they walked right, the boys fought harder.

Qi Bai sighed inwardly. Such honest children. Lucky they met us—what if it had been someone cruel?

By late afternoon, around four or five, they reached the lake. Qi Bai carried two extra rabbits besides.

The tribe must be close. Lang Ze scouted. “Signs of activity. Too scattered to trace easily.”

The boys jutted their chins defiantly. They were careful—no way these intruders would find the camp.

But night fell fast in winter. They were all tired. With water here, Qi Bai said, “Let’s rest. Tomorrow we’ll search again.”

He dangled the rabbits. “Roast or stew?”

The round-faced boy blurted, “Roast!”

The curly-haired one glared. “We’re not eating!”

The first shrank, silent.

Qi Bai only nodded and began cooking.

To bring out the flavor, he even used a dab of butter—normally too precious to waste on travel meals.

The smell was stronger than yesterday.

The curly-haired one opened his mouth to refuse—but only drooled.

The meat crisped golden, tender inside, fragrant with forest woodsmoke. The boys, who had never tasted such food, nearly swallowed their tongues.

And that was the scene the burly horned beastman and his search party walked in on—two cubs, grinning ear to ear, gnawing happily on roast rabbit.