Blood splattered as Bai Da's sword cut through the attacking birds and one by one, they all fell.
After finishing them off, Bai Da swung his sword once more through the air, trying to shake off the blood, but it was already too late, the Sword is stained, and a trail of blood marked the ground behind him. Without proper cleaning, it wouldn't come off easily.
Annoyed, Bai Da frowned at the state of his sword. Instinctively, he reached for his water pouch, intending to wash it, but the moment Ling Ye saw this, his expression darkened.
"Are you stupid?" Ling Ye snapped. "You're going to use your drinking water to clean your sword?"
His voice carried clear irritation. "If you waste your water, I'll have to share mine and I'm not doing that. Clean it when we're back near people."
Bai Da froze. The water pouch remained unopened in his hand and though he cared deeply about maintaining his weapon, Ling Ye's sudden outburst made him hesitate. He flinched slightly, caught off guard.
His gaze shifted between the sword and the pouch, uncertainty written all over his face and for a moment, he struggled to decide, but when he looked up and saw Ling Ye's cold, unwavering expression, he finally gritted his teeth and gave in.
Slowly, he put the water pouch away and instead, he looked around, searching for something else, vines, or perhaps, or tall grass he could use to wipe the blade clean.
Finding tall grass in the Great Forest was easy, but vines were harder to come by. After a brief search, Bai Da found none, and judging by Ling Ye's impatient demeanor, it was clear they weren't going to stay here any longer just for that.
Walking over to a patch of tall grass, Bai Da reached down and began pulling at it, ripping out entire blades along with their roots.
Seeing this, Ling Ye couldn't help but shake his head slightly. Bai Da's movements were far too careless for a place like this. Still, Ling Ye chose not to say anything and simply waited for him to finish cleaning his sword.
Holding the grass in his hand, Bai Da quickly realized that one blade of grass isn't enough. He grabbed several more, tearing out a handful before using them together to wipe the sticky, dark blood from his blade.
It didn't take long and his method was crude, just basic wiping, but it was enough to remove most of the blood. Some stains still clung stubbornly to the metal, but after a moment, Bai Da let out a sigh.
Ling Ye could tell, he had given up on cleaning it completely, with the rest would have to wait until they reached a village.
Though clearly dissatisfied, Bai Da slowly sheathed his sword. His expression tightened slightly as he did, and he muttered something under his breath, soft enough that Ling Ye couldn't make out the words.
If not for the faint movement of his lips, he wouldn't have noticed at all.
"Alright. Let's go." Ling Ye's voice snapped Bai Da back to attention. He nodded firmly once and now ready again, the two of them continued their journey, making their way out of the Great Forest.
Without another word, Bai Da continued walking, with Ling Ye following closely behind.
The Great Forest looked the same as ever, endless trees and scattered stones. So far, they hadn't come across anything unusual like the valley where they had fought the wolf, nor any caves or mountains.
Ling Ye began to wonder.
Perhaps places like that were rare in this part of the forest… or maybe they simply hadn't explored enough. Still, compared to what he had read in books, the reality felt different. The Great Forest had always been described as vast and diverse, filled with all kinds of terrain and vegetation.
Yet here, there was nothing but trees and not even much variety at that. It is as if only a single type of tree grew in this entire area and the thought amused him.
Even now, in such a dangerous place, he still found himself thinking about such trivial things and a faint chuckle escaped his lips.
Bai Da noticed and raised an eyebrow, confused, but Ling Ye didn't explain. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside, his expression turning cold and focused once more.
Another attack was coming and this time, it is a lone goat charged toward them. Its heavy footsteps echoed through the forest, loud and sudden.
Bai Da reacted instantly. His sword was already drawn, his eyes sharp. For a brief moment, confusion flickered across his face, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a ruthless calm.
"Hmph." With a light snort, he didn't even bother to properly look at the animal. He only needed one clean slash and the goat's head is severed instantly, with blood sprayed through the air, spattering across both Bai Da's and Ling Ye's robes.
The goat had appeared and died, just as quickly. As Bai Da lowered his sword, the confusion returned to his face. He turned to Ling Ye.
"Why was a goat alone out here? And why did it attack us? Any idea?" Ling Ye thought for a moment and then slowly shook his head. From what he knew, goats could be territorial and unpredictable, but beyond that, his knowledge was limited.
The books he had read mostly focused on predators, not animals like this and still something felt off, with his eyes grew thoughtful before he spoke.
"Let's be more cautious," Ling Ye said, his voice calm but serious. "If a goat is wandering alone and attacking humans like this… something must have happened."
As he spoke, his tone turned colder, "Stay quiet. Don't stop unless necessary. It's better to be careful than walk into something we don't understand."
Bai Da nodded immediately and without another word, he moved forward, ignoring the blood still staining his sword and they continued walking.
Soon they noticed something strange, nothing attacked them.
Compared to yesterday, the difference was obvious. When they had first entered the outskirts of the Great Forest, they had been attacked several times. Even when they weren't fighting, they had seen plenty of prey animals moving about.
Now, there is nothing, with no small animals and with that the Great forest became quiet.
As Ling Ye thought about the missing prey, his eyes suddenly widened and shock struck him.
A faint sense of fear crept into his chest, making his thoughts spiral. His vision blurred slightly as his mind drifted, no longer focused on the present, but comparing everything from yesterday to now.
"What happened…?" He asked himself, but before he could sink deeper into his thoughts and a loud growl shattered the silence.
Ling Ye's head snapped to the side and from the corner of his eye, he saw something lunging at him.
The attack was too fast and too sudden for him, he hadn't even noticed the attack coming and caught off guard, his body reacted on instinct. He tried to dodge, barely managing to throw himself aside. He hit the ground hard and rolled backward twice before coming to a stop.
Before he could even recover and stand on his legs, It already was over. The attacking animal had already been killed and Bai Da stood nearby, sword in hand, having cut it down in a single swift strike.
"Damn it, Village Head! What's wrong with you?" Bai Da said, his voice filled with concern. "That was way too close!"
Ling Ye didn't answer immediately and he pushed himself up and looked at the corpse of the animal, a lynx.
The moment he recognized it, his expression changed and his shock deepened, because he knew this kind of beast, as Lynxes didn't normally attack humans, with only in very rare circumstances would they behave like this.
Which meant, that something is seriously wrong.
Shocked, the uneasy feeling in Ling Ye's chest only grew stronger, carefully scanned the surroundings, his eyes sharp, trying to make sense of everything, but no clear answer came to him.
Still, after that close encounter with the lynx, one thing became certain and needed to leave, immediately at best.
"I was too focused on my thoughts," Ling Ye said quietly. "Something about this forest… it's getting stranger the longer we stay. Let's just go."
There was no hesitation in his voice, only urgency could be heard. With an unsettling feeling twisting in his stomach, Ling Ye pushed those thoughts aside and began walking forward, unwilling to dwell on it any longer.
They were close now, with only two more hours until they would reach the edge of the forest, with that in mind, his pace quickened.