Chapter 17 – Into the Outer Forest
Morning arrived quietly in Blackstone Town.
The sky was pale, washed in a dull gray-blue that promised neither rain nor strong sunlight. Hao Tian left his house early, locking the warped wooden door behind him and pausing for a moment to look at the familiar, broken street.
Today was different.
Not because the town had changed—but because he was about to.
His steps were steady as he walked toward the market district, the simple sword at his waist and a small pouch of silver hidden in his clothes. His body still carried the heaviness of recent refinement, but it was a stable, grounded feeling now, no longer turbulent.
The streets were already awake.
Vendors were opening their stalls. Porters moved goods on creaking carts. The smell of steamed buns, boiled porridge, and cheap tea mixed with the ever-present scent of dust and iron.
Blackstone Town was not rich, but it was busy.
And where people gathered, information always followed.
Hao Tian did not rush. He walked through the market slowly, observing.
There were weapon stalls, though most sold only ordinary blades. Medicine shops with faded signs and dusty shelves. Small stands selling dried herbs, beast meat, leather goods, ropes, and cheap protective gear.
He headed first to a modest medicine shop near the edge of the market.
The shopkeeper was an old man with thin arms and cloudy eyes, carefully grinding something with a mortar and pestle.
Hao Tian waited until he finished before speaking.
"I need wound medicine. The kind for cuts and torn flesh. Also bandages and basic detoxifying powder."
The old man looked him up and down.
"Going into the forest?"
"Yes."
The old man nodded, unsurprised.
"Everyone who buys these is."
He turned and began pulling out small jars and wrapped packets.
"This one stops bleeding. This one prevents infection. This powder is for snake venom—not strong, but it might buy you time. And this…" He hesitated, then added another small packet. "Burn powder. If something is rotting."
Hao Tian accepted them one by one.
"How much?"
The price was not cheap, but it was not outrageous either.
He paid without bargaining.
Before leaving, he hesitated, then asked, "Which areas of the forest are safest right now?"
The old man snorted.
"'Safe' doesn't exist in the forest."
Then, after a moment, he added, "But the eastern outer slopes have fewer beasts lately. Most hunters are pushing west. Too many people have gone missing there."
Hao Tian nodded and thanked him.
That was his first piece of information.
Next, he went to a general supply stall and bought:
Extra dried food
A waterskin
Rope
A flint fire starter
A simple insect-repelling powder
The stall owner was a burly middle-aged man missing two fingers.
When he saw what Hao Tian was buying, he chuckled.
"First time?"
"Yes."
"Then remember this: don't chase prey. Let prey come to you."
He leaned closer.
"And don't go deeper than you can run back from."
Hao Tian remembered that.
As he moved through the market, he listened.
Two hunters were arguing near a meat stall.
"…I'm telling you, it was at least second-rank! Took three of us to drive it away!"
"You're exaggerating again. If a second-rank beast was that close, we'd all be dead."
Another group spoke in hushed voices near a weapons stand.
"…the western ridge again. Three people didn't come back last week."
"…probably Shadow Wolves."
"…no, something bigger."
Someone else laughed.
"You're all cowards. I was there two days ago. The outer forest is still the outer forest."
But even as he said it, his voice lacked confidence.
Piece by piece, Hao Tian built a rough picture.
The forest was unstable lately.
Some areas were becoming more dangerous.
Some beasts were moving.
Some hunters were disappearing.
Which meant two things:
Danger.
And opportunity.
He stopped at a small stall selling simple protective gear and bought a set of thick leather guards for his arms and legs. They were not armor, but they were better than nothing.
Finally, he went to a small weapons maintenance stand and had his sword sharpened.
The old craftsman tested the edge and nodded.
"Good enough for bone and hide. Don't try to cut iron with it."
"I won't."
Before leaving the market, Hao Tian sat at a small food stall and ate a bowl of hot porridge.
Around him, people talked.
Life went on.
No one knew that for him, this was the edge of a different path.
When he finished, he returned home.
The sun was already higher.
Inside the small, broken house, he laid everything out carefully and packed only what he could carry comfortably.
Not too much.
Not too little.
He checked each item twice.
Then he sat down.
He did not cultivate.
He did not sleep.
He closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly.
Not to gather Qi.
But to steady his mind.
The forest was not a training ground.
It was not a market.
It was not a place for mistakes.
For two hours, he sat there, emptying his thoughts.
When he opened his eyes again, they were calm.
Clear.
Focused.
He stood.
Shouldered his pack.
Tied his sword properly.
And walked out.
The town gate was busy, as always.
Merchants.
Travelers.
Hunters.
He passed through without drawing attention.
The road beyond the town was familiar.
He had walked parts of it before.
But today, he did not stop at the foothills.
He kept going.
Past the usual gathering spots.
Past the shallow trails.
Toward the shadowed tree line.
The forest stood before him—quiet, vast, and indifferent.
Hao Tian took one last look back at Blackstone Town.
Then he stepped forward.
And entered the forest.
......
The forest closed in around Hao Tian the moment he left the outer trail behind.
The air grew cooler, heavier with moisture and the smell of soil and leaves. Sunlight filtered down through overlapping canopies in broken shards, turning the ground into a patchwork of light and shadow. The sounds of the town faded quickly, replaced by the distant calls of birds and the faint rustle of unseen creatures.
He did not rush.
Every step was careful.
Every breath was measured.
The first hour passed quietly.
Then he saw movement.
A low, rust-colored shape darted between the roots of two trees.
Hao Tian stopped.
Listened.
Waited.
A moment later, a creature emerged fully into view—a forest rat, but larger than any ordinary one, its body almost the size of a dog, with thick, coarse fur and a blunt snout.
Stone-furred rat.
He had heard of them in town. First-stage body-refining at most. Their bite was nasty, but their bodies were soft.
It had not noticed him yet.
He adjusted his grip on the sword, shifted his weight, and stepped forward.
The rat noticed him and squealed, charging.
Hao Tian met it head-on.
One clean swing.
The blade cut through fur and flesh. The creature collapsed with barely a struggle.
He stood still for a few breaths, listening.
Nothing else came.
He wiped the blade clean and moved on.
Not long after, he encountered another.
This time, it was a long-bodied lizard-like creature with dull gray scales and a heavy tail.
Mudscale skitterer.
Second-stage, maybe low third.
It tried to circle him.
He did not let it.
Two exchanges.
A quick feint.
A downward strike.
The creature twitched once and lay still.
By midday, he had dealt with four beasts in total.
None had forced him to retreat.
None had even truly threatened him.
His movements were calm.
Efficient.
His breathing steady.
"So this is the outer forest…"
It was dangerous—but not beyond him.
Not anymore.
He moved deeper.
Gradually, the trees grew thicker.
The undergrowth denser.
The light dimmer.
The sounds changed.
He began to see fewer small creatures—and more signs of larger ones.
Broken branches.
Scraped tree trunks.
Flattened grass.
Then he saw them.
Footprints.
Large.
Wide.
Deeply pressed into the soil.
They were not wolf tracks.
Not boar.
Not deer.
They were heavy.
Round.
With thick claw impressions.
Hao Tian crouched.
Examined them carefully.
"…A bear-type beast."
He remembered the words of one of the hunters in town.
"Bear beasts don't hide their tracks. They're heavy, lazy, and territorial. Their footprints sink deep, and they often walk the same paths back to their dens."
He compared the spacing.
The depth.
The direction.
They were fresh.
Not more than half a day old.
He followed them.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He did not walk directly on the trail.
He moved to the side, using trees and bushes for cover, constantly checking the wind.
Along the way, he found a cluster of gray-green plants growing near a damp rock. When crushed, they released a bitter, sharp smell.
He hesitated.
Then remembered another thing he had heard.
"Some hunters rub bittergrass on themselves to confuse beasts with sensitive noses."
He crushed a few leaves and lightly rubbed the juice onto his clothes and exposed skin.
The smell was unpleasant.
But not unbearable.
The tracks led uphill.
Then into a denser part of the forest.
Then into a shallow rocky area where the ground turned uneven and hard.
Finally—
He saw it.
A large, dark opening beneath a slanted rock face.
The ground around it was littered with bones.
Old fur.
Scraps of dried flesh.
This was a den.
Hao Tian did not approach.
He retreated instead.
Found a position upwind.
Climbed into a thick cluster of bushes between two trees.
And waited.
Time passed slowly.
The forest shifted with light and shadow.
Birds came and went.
Insects hummed.
His legs began to ache.
He did not move.
After nearly two hours—
He heard it.
Heavy footsteps.
Branches snapping.
The ground trembling faintly.
He tensed.
Then he saw it.
A massive bear-like beast emerged from between the trees.
Its fur was dark brown, almost black in places. Its shoulders were thick, its limbs heavy, and its head alone was as large as a water jar.
In its mouth—
The torn body of a deer-like creature.
Blood still dripping.
It walked with lazy confidence.
No fear.
No caution.
Hao Tian watched.
Counted its breathing.
Studied its movements.
"…Sixth-stage body-refining."
He could tell from the pressure it gave off.
From the density of its muscles.
From the way the ground sank beneath its weight.
This was not something he could fight head-on.
The beast entered the den.
A while later, the sounds of chewing stopped.
Silence followed.
Then slow, heavy breathing.
It was sleeping.
Hao Tian's eyes narrowed.
"…An ambush."
He did not move yet.
He waited.
Listened.
Judged the rhythm of the beast's breathing.
The forest did not care.
The wind shifted slightly.
The leaves rustled.
And Hao Tian began to plan.