Cold, it is cold.
With every step that Ling Ye and Bai Da took, the air grew colder. It was a strange, almost unnatural sensation, one that both of them noticed immediately.
Yet despite the creeping chill, it couldn't suppress the fire burning in their hearts. They continued forward without hesitation and behind them, the last traces of sunlight faded.
Only ten minutes after they began climbing the small mountain, night fully arrived.
As darkness settled in, their eyes slowly adjusted. They could no longer see as clearly as before, but they weren't completely blind either. The outlines of the terrain remained visible, just enough to move carefully, still, it is very exhausting.
Seeing in the dark strained their eyes, forcing them to focus harder with every step, with Bai Da handling the darkness better than Ling Ye. As fighting and wandering in the darkness wasn't something new to him, and could adapted quickly.
Ling Ye, however, is different, as this is his first time wandering in complete darkness and with a faint unease crept into his mind, but he swollowed this feeling down, because soon… there was no need to be nervous anymore.
They had finally reached the top of the mountain and what awaited them is far worse and an old saying came to Ling Ye's mind, better to face an enemy in the light… than facing an enemy in the dark.
He now couldn't have agreed more, because now, as they stared into the shadows ahead and saw it, a faint dark silhouette, having the shape of a big predator, resting there in the middle of the Mountain top and in that moment, both of them understood, if they were unlucky, than this resting predator is the enemy that they would have to face.
Lowering his head slightly, Ling Ye came to a stop, and Bai Da did the same.
Both of them slowed their breathing, crouching low to the ground, behind some big stones, hoping the predator hadn't already noticed them yet.
Bai Da kept his eyes fixed on the dark silhouette ahead, watching it cautiously, with his hands on his Sword handl, ready to react at any moment.
This gave Ling Ye the time he needed to quietly took out the Fate Guiding Compass, holding it steady, Ling Ye tried to determine whether their fated encounter is still ahead… or if it was already here.
If they were unlucky, then their "fated encounter" might very well be the predator resting before them. In that case, only by killing it could they reach whatever fate awaited them or perhaps the encounter would only reveal itself after the predator is dealt with, meaning the predator is merely a guardian.
That, too, would be their terrible luck, after all, fighting a predator in the Great Forest is always a matter of life and death for them. It wasn't something Ling Ye or Bai Da would look forward to, but there is still another possibility.
Perhaps they were just overthinking it, blinded by fear, limiting themselves, as if they were truly fortunate, the predator might simply be nearby and unrelated to the encounter itself!
Maybe they could avoid it entirely.
That thought sparked a faint hope in Ling Ye's heart and his gaze fixed on the blood red needle of the compass and checked it, but with more than one confirmation, that fragile hope shattered, as the needle pointed directly at the resting predator.
Annoyance surged through Ling Ye.
His fists clenched, his teeth grinding together, he nearly clicked his tongue in frustration, but he forced himself to stay silent.
Slowly, he calmed himself down.
Looking at the composed and silent Bai Da, Ling Ye realized the predator hadn't noticed them yet, that meant they still had time to think and with a heavy heart, Ling Ye made a few quiet hand signals toward Bai Da.
Even though his earlier hope had been shattered, a tiny, almost nonexistent possibility still remained, perhaps the compass was pointing beyond the resting predator and If that is the case, they might be able to avoid it entirely and if not… then it would simply be fate.
Bai Da, unaware of Ling Ye's inner turmoil, followed Ling Ye's instructions without more questions.
Keeping low, Ling Ye began moving first, taking a wide arc to circle around the predator, the two of them moved in near silence, their breathing is controlled, slow and barely more than one or two breaths every several seconds, their breath is careful and even.
Step by step, they advanced and when they had reached halfway around their path, Ling Ye carefully took out the Fate Guiding Compass again, checked it and for the first time in a long while… relief surged through him.
The needle had shifted, meaning they could avoid the predator!
For a brief moment, Ling Ye almost felt grateful to fate itself and a faint smile appeared on his face, lightly tapping Bai Da on the shoulder and after turning around and seeing Ling Ye smile, Bai Da felt his own tension ease. Though he didn't know the reason, he understood that something had gone right.
So they continued quietly and carefully and successfully bypassed what could have been a disastrous encounter.
As they moved past, Bai Da cast one final glance at the resting predator, letting out a soft breath, relief clear in his eyes as his shoulders finally relaxed, they had fully avoided disaster afterall.
With that, faint smiles appeared on their faces. Even the dark night no longer felt as oppressive as before, as their mindset had shifted, their hearts became calmer now.
With renewed focus, they continued onward, descending from the mountain top toward its base, but as they moved further down, the compass suddenly shifted, pointing back.
Ling Ye frowned and grew confused, he moved around slightly, trying to understand the direction that the compass is pointing to better and after checking again, the answer became clear that they had gone too far.
Which meant that the fated encounter… is behind them.
Excitement surged through Ling Ye's chest. He turned to Bai Da with a faint smile. "The compass is pointing here. The fated encounter should be nearby," he said. "Let's search for it."
Hearing this, Bai Da's eyes lit up. His blood began to stir with anticipation as he eagerly looked around.
Together, they began searching the entire mountainside, checking from the ground, to the rocks, but at the end found nothing, only dirt and stones.
Despite the lack of immiedly results, neither of them gave up, they had already risked their lives to come this far. Now that they were so close, there is no turning back.
They would either leave as victors or not leave at all, after all, if their "fated encounter" turned out to be something dangerous, some powerful beast they had unknowingly disturbed, then death would be the only outcome.
At least, that is what Ling Ye thought, but, Bai Da, on the other hand, is far more straightforward.
His excitement is obvious, almost as if he already accepted that he himself is already some wealthy young master, despite the fact that his clothes were torn and covered in dirt from their journey, not looking like a refined young master from a Wealthy family.
"Hehe…" Ling Ye let out a soft chuckle at his own thoughts. For a brief moment, he felt calmer and became even a little envious of Bai Da's simple nature.
Knowning Bai Da background, being born into a poor mortal family and denied the chance to pursue the Heavenly Dao. Wanting wealth and a better life was only natural for him, but Ling Ye is different.
After all, he had been born into the famous Ling clan; this life had not been forced upon him, as he had chosen this kind of life himself, even though it was not the life he had wished for, he had nevertheless chosen this life.
As that thought crossed his mind, a memory from four years ago resurfaced and in an instant, his heart turned cold.
The calm and faint happiness on his face vanished, replaced by a cold, rational expression. His eyes sharpened, burning with quiet ruthlessness and ambition.
Shaking his head slightly, Ling Ye pushed the memory aside, as there was no need to dwell on the past anylonger.
His gaze grew focused as he carefully scanned the mountainside, unwilling to waste any more time and so, in the early hours of the night, the two young men continued their search, until Ling Ye found something interesting.
A small, hidden opening.
The hole is narrow, only about a meter wide and half a meter tall, barely noticeable in the dark, unless one looked more closely.
He had only spotted it because he had been carefully observing the higher parts of the mountainside, but unfortunately the hole was dangerously close to where the predator had been resting.
Ling Ye's eyes narrowed, they had searched everywhere else and found nothing and now, the compass pointed directly toward this spot, everything pointed here.
He couldn't be certain, but he hoped, hoped that this is his fated encounter, but before moving, Ling Ye took one last look behind him.
In the darkness, he saw Bai Da's large silhouette, still gripping his sheathed sword, carefully searching the lower slope.
As he saw that Bai Da is still searching below, Ling Ye turned his attention back to the hole and crouched down, checking if he could fit through it.
The opening was clearly too small for Bai Da.
Not only was Bai Da half a head taller than him, but his body was also far more muscular. Compared to Bai Da, Ling Ye's slimmer, more compact frame made him the obvious choice to crawl inside.
Without calling out to Bai Da, Ling Ye already made his decision, lowering himself and began to squeeze into the hole.
It wasn't easy. The tight space forced him to move slowly, inch by inch. Dirt brushed against his daopao, and the rough stone scraped lightly against his arms, but thanks to his slim build, he managed to push through.
Fortunately, the tunnel wasn't long, only about two meters and after a short struggle, Ling Ye finally emerged on the other side.
Dust and dirt clung everywhere to his black daopao, and his hair had become messy and disheveled. Normally, that would have annoyed him, but now, he didn't care or is it the time to care.
His eyes were wide as he looked carefully around, ling Ye grew tense, his gaze sharp and cautious as he took in his surroundings, as the hole had led him into this small and ordinary cave.