"Now, it's peaceful."
The annoying voices were all gone. Hei Qin felt a sense of relief, but it lasted only for a moment because the old voice was still ringing in his ears. Hei Qin didn't know if he should rejoice or not. He continued to walk, acting as if he couldn't hear any noise at all.
"You brat! Now we can have a conversation without anyone disturbing us.
"You want to escape this forest, right? I know the safest route. I can help you. I am different from this useless trash. I am not interested in your body or anything. All I need is a simple favour, something that won't even take a minute.
"Why are you still walking, as if you can't hear me? At least show some expression on that face of yours."
The old voice's pleas all fell on deaf ears.
'Why hasn't this monster shown itself yet? Seeing how all the other voices are scared, it must be a high-level spirit. Maybe it is in a bind—that might be why it is asking for a favor. If it truly knows the safest way out of this forest… No, I can't believe anything in this place.'
"Stop walking!"
The old voice screamed. Even with those jumbled thoughts haunting him, Hei Qin remained focused on navigating his path. After a short distance, he stumbled upon a decayed tree. Upon seeing it, Hei Qin's torrent of steps stopped midway. His pupils expanded in shock, as if he had finally met the one thing he didn't want to.
The tree was covered with a series of cracks akin to wounds from a blade. It still had some leaves, but they were all like burn marks—withered and dead. If that had been all there was to it, Hei Qin would have ignored it like the other trees and moved on. And yet, there was something special about this one—something hanging upside down.
"Hey kid, you finally decided to show up. Judging by the way you walked, I thought you probably wouldn't... but here you are, with a marvelous expression!"
A single eye, kneaded into a paste of flesh with a small hole for its mouth, dangled upside down from the cracked tree, smiling creepily. Moreover, it seemed the rusty, old voice emanated from this very eye.
'How did I come here? I thought I was walking in the opposite direction from where this voice came from. It seems this eye has been playing with my sense of direction… maybe it has some sort of power over the mind.'
As Hei Qin thought this, his ashen eyes narrowed, focusing on the thin layer enveloping the tree.
'What is that? A barrier… so, that's the favor it wanted to ask.'
Once Hei Qin guessed what the one-eyed monster wanted, his mind began working on plans to escape this predicament. Soon, his shocked expression returned to normal, and with a polite smile, he walked toward the tree and stopped a few inches before the barrier.
"Do I know you? How can I help you?" Hei Qin asked.
The eye's smiling arc bent slightly, as if it had heard something unpleasant to its "ears."
"You brat! Still acting as if you didn't hear me before?"
"Forgive me if I acted rudely. You see, I have a small problem with my hearing," Hei Qin said, laughing softly.
"You certainly have a way with words," the eye replied, its eyelids squinting slightly. "Do you want to know the safest route to the exit of this forest?"
"What do you want in return?" Without answering, Hei Qin asked a question in return.
"Hmm… you are clever. Nothing much, just destroy this barrier," the eye said hopefully.
"How did you even end up getting trapped inside this barrier?"
The eye dimmed. "It's none of your concern."
"If you don't want to share it, it's fine." Hei Qin sighed dejectedly.
"Haha, it's not like I don't want to tell you. It's just a rather embarrassing matter." The eye quickly changed its tone, thinking Hei Qin might not help it. "Ahem, my old friend and I made a bet, and whoever lost had to stay here inside this barrier for a week. I lost, so I ended up here. But the problem is… my friend has a bit of a memory problem. So he probably forgot to release me… haha… told you it was embarrassing."
After a pause, the eye spoke again.
"So, how about it now? Can you destroy this barrier?" The eye asked hopefully.
Hei Qin put a finger on his chin, contemplating deeply. The eye's eyelid widened in excitement, waiting for his answer.
"No. I don't want to. I'll figure out the way out of this forest on my own."
"What!?"
The eye was shocked by Hei Qin's answer. "How dare you toy with me? I thought of your well-being, yet you disregard my help like dust."