Chapter 13
The sun peeked shyly over the clouds, its warm amber glow spreading over everything.
Liang Chen saddled his horse as it fed on some grass. He stroked its mane gently. The fight the previous night had been rough, his shoulder was still a bit sore from where the scorpion had stung him. At least his bloodline had awakened.
Now this bloodline was completely different from the one Liang Chen had in the previous timeline. From what he could deduce, The Heaven-Eater Lineage allowed him to control blood. Be it his, or that of his opponent.
He swung his legs over the horse and sat comfortably, then he rode towards Yu Miaoran. She was dressed in a light blue robe, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"Still alive, I see," she said, tilting her chin upward. "Shame, I thought some beast would take you in the night."
Liang Chen didn't say anything. His horse snorted softly as he came to a halt beside her.
"Morning to you too, princess," he said dryly.
Yu Miaoran clicked her tongue. "You look like you were chewed on by a bear and spat out."
Liang Chen smirked. "Close."
"Oh?" She eyed his shoulder. "You're limping in your saddle, your robe's still damp, and there's blood on your collar. What happened? Trip over your own ego?"
He stretched his neck until it cracked. "No. Just busy saving everyone from a giant scorpion while they snored through the night."
She blinked. That was totally unexpected. The insult she was preparing seemed to have died in her throat.
"And you expect me to believe that?"
Liang Chen reached into his sleeve and tossed something down at her feet. It was the familiar dark shape of a demon beast core.
Yu Miaoran's nose twitched as the poisonous residue from the core filled the air. Her eyes widened in shock.
"That's… from a demon beast," she muttered. "A high-grade one at that.…And you killed it alone?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Would've invited you, but you seemed busy being pretty and unhelpful."
She scoffed, but the corners of her mouth twitched. She stepped forward, toeing the core with her boot.
"Why didn't you wake the others?"
"I didn't want to waste time explaining to them how to not die."
Yu Miaoran folded her arms. "You're arrogant, you know that?"
"Comes with the trauma. You know"
"Or maybe just the ego."
He met her gaze perfectly. He had the look of someone who'd faced death and wasn't impressed by it.
"I didn't ask for praise," he said. "Didn't even ask for thanks. I just did what needed to be done."
A second past. The cool morning breeze swept between them.
"…Still reckless," she muttered. "You could've died."
"But I didn't, did I?"
Yu Miaoran stared at him. She hated the way his voice never cracked even under pressure. She hated the fact that he had saved them.
She clicked her tongue and turned away.
"You're lucky I don't report you for insubordination."
"I'm lucky for a lot of things," he said. "Living in your head rent-free is just a bonus."
Liang Chen kicked his heels gently and rode off, the hooves of his horse muffled in the dirt.
…
Their journey continued as planned. It would still take them a full day to leave the Lianshou forest, and an extra two days to arrive at the Jade Veil Sanctum.
The journey was becoming a bit boring now. So far, there had been no deaths and they hadn't encountered any beasts. This was wrong.
The Lianshou forest was too dangerous. They hadn't even lost a single person. In the Lianshou forest. That's what put Liang Chen on edge.
He glanced over his shoulder at the group trailing behind him. A dozen disciples, maybe thirteen, all too happy to realize they were walking inside a coffin with the lid still open.
They laughed, talked, complained about their rations, wiped sweat from their brows, and let their hands stray too far from the hilts of their weapons.
Even Yu Miaoran was less tense, after their brief argument that morning, she seemed relaxed. It seemed as if Liang Chen was the only one feeling paranoid.
Soon, the sun was beginning to set. The setting sun dyed the clouds with different colors, the sky above almost resembled a kaleidoscope.
Soon night fell, they had set up camp in a meadow. It was a vast expanse of green grass, the silhouette of the last parts of the forest were visible from afar.
Liang Chen sat on a log, holding a barely touched bowl of food, staring at the campfire. He wasn't hungry. There was a sinking gut feeling that something bad was about to happen, but he didn't know when or where.
Around him, the others were already turning in for the night. Soft murmurs echoed from the tents, the occasional chuckle or whispered tease. Some were meditating. A few were fast asleep, snoring with zero shame.
By now, Liang Chen's food had already grown cold. He fed his horse the food. He stretched and entered his tent.
…
The sound of screaming woke Liang Chen up.
His eyes snapped open. There was another scream, this time followed by a gurgling sound. Liang Chen could only imagine that the worst was happening.
He bolted upright, grabbing his saber in the same movement and dashing out of the tent, barefoot and shirtless, the cold night wind smacking him in the face like a slap.
The camp was in utter chaos.
The camp was under attack from creatures. They were around seven feet tall, their bodies were made of wood, grass and dirt. Many rode horses, some walked. They carried weapons forged by the earth itself.
And they were killing people.
Liang Chen watched as one of the woodland creatures smashed the head of a female disciple with a massive log. Her head was smashed and brain matter flew everywhere.
Some fought, but it was utterly useless. Their weapons glanced off their wooden bodies. Their horses were made of moss and earth as they trampled over disciples. In just a few minutes, at least 10 disciples were dead.
[System Notification]
Emergency Battle Encounter Triggered!
[Ambush: Wooden Barbarians - Tier 3 Savage-Class Entities]
Estimated Enemy Count: 31
Current Camp Defenders: 17
Auto-party management has been disabled. Command functions restricted to [Liang Chen] and [Yu Miaoran].
Liang Chen stared at the system notification for a little too long, trying to comprehend what he was seeing.
He spun on his heel just in time to dodge a swing from a wooden axe the size of a tree. The creature in front of him growled low.
SLICE!
Liang Chen's saber shot upward, slicing clean through the creature's arm. But instead of blood, sap and splinters flew.
"Fine," Liang Chen growled. "You bleed weird, I'll still drain you."
He flicked two fingers, and the sap exploded out of the creature like a geyser, pulled toward Liang Chen's outstretched hand.
One down.
And yet…
All-Seeing Eye: ACTIVE
Visual Priority: Tactical View
Threat Level Analysis: Compiling…
Alert: 1 Unknown Presence Detected at the Forest's Edge
Suspicious Aura Detected, Druidic Binding Protocols Found
[Do you wish to zoom in?]
"Yes"
The camp froze for a moment. His vision narrowed throughout the entire camp. Faces getting cut down were shown in slow motion, people dying, people getting trampled, all in slow motion as Liang Chen zoomed in.
And at the edge of the forest was a humanoid figure half-shrouded in fog. The figure was dressed in moss-colored robes. Antlers sprouted from its skull like a crown. Green fire sprouted from its hands, and roots moved like serpents under their feet.
That was the leader of the barbarians.
All-Seeing Eye Insight (Advanced) Unlocked!
▸ Identity: Verdant Hand of the Forest God, Warden of the Old Bark
▸ Rank: Tier 5 Beast-Speaker
▸ Current Spell: [Mass Enrage - Wooden Kin]
Objective: Extermination of all human invaders.
"Found you," Liang Chen muttered.