A vast grassfield stretched endlessly under the open sky, filled with bright green blades of grass and scattered patches of beautifully blooming flowers.
The field looked untouched, as if neither humans nor beasts had passed through it for years. That peaceful stillness was finally broken by two strong, healthy horses making their way across the sea of grass. The horses pulled a black carriage behind them.
They were not alone.
A middle aged man sat at the front of the carriage, holding the reins, guiding the horses forward. Inside the carriage sat a young man who looked as though he had only recently reached adulthood.
The young man wore a bored expression, casually scanning the empty grassland around him. But there was little to see, no animals, no travelers, no signs of life. Eventually, his gaze returned to the sheathed sword resting in his hands, which he held loosely across his lap.
The two men didn't speak.
From time to time, the man holding the reins glanced down at a compass resting on his lap. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary compass, but the needle was blood red, an unusual and unsettling detail. The middle aged man paid it little mind. His only task was to follow the direction the needle pointed, even if it meant traveling through rough or difficult terrain.
After checking the compass once more, the man lifted his gaze toward the horizon.
In the distance, he could see the faint silhouette of a forest.
Turning his head to the left and right, he quickly realized there was no way around it. The forest stretched endlessly in both directions, with no mountains or clear passages visible nearby.
Naturally, the middle aged man knew they couldn't continue with the carriage much farther. because the land before them was not just any forest, it was the Great Forest.
Seeing this, the middle aged man turned his head toward the young man sitting beside him. The youth had been focused on his sword, but when the carriage suddenly stopped, his attention immediately shifted to the driver.
The young man's eyes were sharp and cold, ready for a fight at a moment's notice. But after seeing the calm, untroubled expression on the middle-aged man's face, he quickly relaxed.
"Look," the man said simply.
The young man followed his gaze and soon saw it as well, the vast forest stretching across the horizon. Without exchanging another word, he immediately understood the situation.
"Sigh…" He let out a deep breath, then nodded.
Rising from the bench, he walked toward the door behind him and knocked twice on the carriage door.
Knock. Knock.
Inside the carriage, the knocking stirred Ling Ye from his sleep.
He slowly opened his black eyes and instinctively glanced toward the window. The sun was still shining brightly outside, and from its position in the sky he could tell it wasn't yet time for a meal break.
Realizing the carriage had stopped and that the situation outside didn't appear to be dangerous, he stretched his limbs, taking a moment to fully wake up.
Only after a few seconds did he finally speak.
"Come in."
With that, the young man, still holding his sword in one hand, opened the carriage door.
The young man immediately saluted and slightly bowed his head toward Ling Ye before giving his report.
"Village Head Ye, we have arrived at the edge of one of the Great Forests bordering the Ling Territory. There is no way around it except by traveling to the West Gate Point, which would add roughly a week to our journey."
Hearing this, Ling Ye let out a quiet sigh. He stood up from the bench inside the carriage, and after Bai Da stepped aside, he exited the carriage and stepped onto the grassy field.
Ling Ye took a moment to study the forest stretching before them. Then he turned his gaze to the other directions, scanning the horizon.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Ling Ye couldn't hide his frustration. Before them lay the endless Great Forest, a vast natural barrier that protected the Ling Territory from countless threats, from hostile humans to bloodthirsty beasts.
It was both shield and obstacle.
Ling Ye shook his head slightly and rubbed his forehead, thinking quietly for several minutes. Finally, he let out another sigh and turned to Bai Da, who was casually playing with his sword while waiting for Ling Ye's decision.
"Bai Da," Ling Ye said, "how confident are you about traveling through the Great Forest?"
Bai Da thought for a moment.
Scratching the back of his neck, he replied, "If what the books say is correct and if we don't encounter any of the infamous powerful beasts, I believe I could guide us through the outskirts of the forest, though it wouldn't be easy. Still… I can't give you a definite answer. I don't know much about the Great Forest myself."
Nodding to himself, Ling Ye stepped back into the carriage and picked up the dagger that had been lying on the bench where he had been sleeping.
Holding the sheath firmly, he slowly unsheathed the dagger and looked at his reflection in the blade for a moment. After a brief pause, he slid it back into the sheath, nodded to himself, and fastened the dagger to his leather belt.
Once the dagger was secured, Ling Ye took out six small water pouches. He handed three of them to Bai Da and kept the remaining three for himself.
After that, Ling Ye opened a small chest inside the carriage that contained all of their food supplies. He quickly examined the contents before deciding which rations they should take with them. Wrapping the selected food in pieces of cloth, he tucked the bundles into the inner pockets of his daopao. Bai Da was given similar cloth wrapped rations.
With that, their preparations to travel along the outskirts of the Great Forest were complete.
Even so, Ling Ye wasn't confident.
The compass might guide them along the edge of the forest, but it could just as easily lead them deeper, into the inner part… or, in the worst case, toward the forbidden depths beyond.
Even traveling along the outskirts would already depend heavily on their luck and survival skills, but the inner forest and the regions beyond?
Those were places neither Ling Ye nor Bai Da even considered survivable. If they ventured that far, they both silently believed the same thing, they would die without even having the chance to struggle.
With their decision made and nothing left to prepare, Ling Ye walked over to the middle aged man who was still holding the compass.
"We'll continue on foot from here. Give me the compass back," Ling Ye said calmly.
He didn't bother explaining why they were heading toward the Great Forest, and the middle aged man didn't ask. After all, he had already been paid. Without questioning anything, he handed the compass back to Ling Ye, the rightful owner, then turned the carriage around and left, abandoning the two of them in the middle of the vast grassland.
As the carriage rolled farther and farther away, Ling Ye examined the compass carefully. Seeing no cracks or damage, he allowed himself a faint smile. The compass was the most important item he possessed.
Holding it firmly in his hand, he followed the direction indicated by the blood red needle.
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Bai Da couldn't help but sigh.
"Village Head Ye, wouldn't it have been wiser to ask the driver to wait here for us?" he said. "The next village is still about half a day's walk from here."
Ling Ye stood there calmly. After hearing Bai Da's concern, he simply shook his head.
"Maybe," he said. "But would he really wait for more than two days before assuming we were dead? To him, we're just two fools walking into the Great Forest while following a compass that points to heaven knows where. It's better to let him leave. We can simply hire another carriage at the next village."
Bai Da immediately saluted and bowed, this time more deeply than before. He realized that his question had been rather foolish.
With no further questions from Bai Da, Ling Ye looked up at the clear, sunny sky.
"Good thing the weather is calm around this time of year," he said. "If it weren't, traveling through the Great Forest would be far more difficult."
With those words, Ling Ye began walking toward the Great Forest without hesitation. Bai Da quickly followed close behind him.
As they drew nearer to the forest, both of them grew increasingly cautious. Bai Da kept one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment. Ling Ye held the compass in his left hand, while his right hand hovered near the dagger at his belt.
Step by step, their vigilance grew stronger as they approached the towering trees. Even after they finally crossed the boundary and entered the Great Forests outskirts, the tension did not ease.
With sharp eyes and attentive ears, they carefully followed the direction indicated by the compass.
So far, luck seemed to be on their side.
They had not encountered any dangerous beasts since entering the forest. The only sounds around them were the occasional cries of birds overhead and the rustling of small rabbits darting through the undergrowth, but no true predators had appeared, at least not yet.