The Forest at Night

That night, Xu Shen couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that scene from earlier repeating over and over. That image of the two warriors getting skewered by the giant snake's fangs was as vivid as ever, which really surprised him considering how poor the lighting had been. As much as he didn't want it to, that image would probably haunt him for the rest of his life.

I really need to grow up, he thought, but anxious thoughts continued to nip at his mushy brain, so he jumped out of bed and rushed quietly out the door.

He decided that the only thing that might set his heart at ease was a walk in the forest, so he went downstairs and left the inn through the back door. Since it was immediately adjacent to the forest, it didn't take him long to find a trail and start walking.

In the dead of night, you might think he would have a hard time seeing the road ahead of him, but since a nearly-full moon was hanging overhead like an eyeball, there actually was more than enough light to work with. This took him by surprise. Come to think of it, while he had gone on plenty of night walks in his short life, they were always on urban blocks well-lit by streetlamps; never before had he hiked in the wilderness at night.

A little dangerous, no?

He certainly thought so at first, but then once again he remembered that scene from earlier. If I can survive an encounter with a giant snake, I can survive an encounter with just about anything, he thought.

He had only been walking for a couple minutes when he heard the rustle of undergrowth. The sounds were spaced apart at such an interval that they were unmistakably footsteps. He froze, heart pounding. When he turned around he could still see the lights of the town. If I have to, I'll haul ass, he told himself.

Before long he could make out a figure in the distance approaching him head on. At first it was just a shadowy silhouette, but soon it turned into a person, and after that, a woman.

"Qiu Shujie, is that you?" he called out.

Sure enough, it was just Shujie. Dressed in green and white pajamas, she came carrying a unlit oil lantern in her right hand.

"Xu Shen? What are you doing out here so late?" she said, stopping about two or three paces in front of him.

"Oh, me? I couldn't really sleep, so I came out to walk...Wait a minute, what are you doing out here so late?"

"I couldn't sleep either. I'm afraid that if I fall asleep I'll see a nightmare about snakes..."

Hearing that, he felt a lot of empathy for her. But he was a very awkward young man, so he had a hard time coming up with a suitable reply.

"Why are you carrying around an unlit lantern like that?" he asked next.

"I originally brought it thinking it would be very dark out here. Then I saw how well-lit everything is thanks to the moon, so I turned it off. Didn't need it anymore." After saying that, she took a few steps forward, leaving the shadow of a fat oak tree and entering the moonlight.

Now that he finally had a good look at her, he realized that she possessed something akin to beauty. Certainly she was very beautiful, but on that occasion it seemed as though her beauty had been combined with some other, unknown factor. Whatever it was about her, the moonlight really brought it out. Her shoulder-length hair fell with an indescribable naturalness, and her white skin was practically glowing. She was a very healthy color.

That was made all the easier to notice now that he could see her so clearly:--I mean, he could see a lot of her, mainly because her pajamas consisted of a pair of shorts and a button-up top whose upper three buttons were left undone. The top was definitely too small for her, as was evident from the tiny sliver of flesh that was visible between it and the waistband of her shorts. It showed off just how well-proportioned she was, though.

Xu Shen was a bit shocked that she was comfortable walking around dressed like that. I guess at night it doesn't matter as much, he thought.

In the long moments of ensuing awkward silence, Xu Shen worked out just what it was that made her look so lovely at that moment: it was, without a doubt, the sadness, or perhaps fragility, in her eyes. In her whole figure, really. She looked about as easy to break as the stalk of a reed.

"Are you staring at me?"

"Uh, no." He looked away. "Let's walk."

That's what she came out here to do anyway, so what difference did it make if Xu Shen was there too? The two of them turned their backs to the village lights and decided to follow wherever the trail led them. Because they walked at a fairly quick pace, in no more than ten minutes, the lights had already disappeared and they were, for all intents and purposes, in the middle of the wilderness.

There was no conversation between them as they walked, with the sole exception being the time when Xu Shen told her "watch your step" as they stepped over a fallen log. He was never good at small talk anyway. He was a very introverted type, which meant that unless there was something urgent at hand, he kept others at a distance.

Perhaps that was the reason why, even though those two had been in the same class for almost a year now, it wasn't until the other day that they actually exchanged words.

Now they had to be a few miles from town. They heard the faint sound of trickling water, then saw that the trail came up against the bank of a little stream. The bank was covered in strangely-shaped boulders that were wet from the water splashing on them.

"Why don't we sit down there," she said softly, "I'm exhausted."

They sat on one of the rocks. Not the comfiest of places to sit down, sure, but since it afforded them a spectacular view of the night sky (something hard to come by in a thick forest like this), it was worth it. The stream itself was also pleasing to look at. It was so clear that the only tangible indication that it was even there was the warped reflection of the moon it carried.

"This place is quite peaceful isn't it," she said, turning towards him.

Now, the silence between them had felt much more natural to Xu Shen that it did to Qiu Shujie. I'm not saying she wasn't shy herself, but she was also very meticulous when it came to manners. She was afraid he would think her rude if she passed the whole time saying nothing at all.

"Yeah."

Then, to her surprise, Xu Shen kept talking.

"I had no idea archeology was such dangerous work, did you?" he said.

"No, I didn't," she replied.

"I really don't know if I'm cut out for it. I know he gets knocked for having boring lectures, but Professor Lin really inspired me. I was starting to see a future in archeology. Though now I'm not so sure."

"Yeah, I can relate. Sorta."

"I used to read a lot of novels and manga as a kid. Archeologists are always depicted as badass heroes who fight off monsters and criminals while discovering Artifacts. I always thought that was a dramatized version of archeology though. I thought, in reality, it would be a lot safer and more mundane. I never expected that on my first overseas expedition I would come face-to-face with monsters myself."

"I know exactly what you're talking about. But I don't think it's a reason to give up."

"Eh? Why? I'd rather not be in a line of work where I genuinely risk my life everyday. I'm not strong, and I never will be."

"This expedition has just been an unlucky one. I'm pretty sure that, normally, the work is just as mundane as you think it is. I'm not strong either. Neither is Professor Lin or any of the other professors for that matter. They seem just as shaken up by this as we are."

"Unlucky, huh?"

He thought that was a bit funny. Here was Qiu Shujie--the one who randomly found the oldest coin known to man, and who just happened to find the trap door switch on her first try--complaining about things being unlucky.

"Uh-huh. The probability of something dangerous happening again has got to be pretty low."

"You think so?" he almost laughed, "I'll have to take your word for it. You yourself seem to be a very lucky individual."

"That's what people say about me, isn't it?"

"You must have a lot of good karma."

"I sure do."

"Why is that?"

"Who knows," she shrugged, "I guess it's just fate."

Looking over at her face, Shen noticed a very dim smile. Somehow he had managed to warm her mood, even if just a little. There was something off about that smile though. It looked kinda like a smile a little girl makes when she's keeping a secret, a smile that's both innocent and mischievous.

The thought that she could be hiding something from him, however unlikely it seemed from a logical standpoint, made him a bit uncomfortable. He didn't say anything back to her.

They didn't have a clock out there. Without any way to measure it, time tends to flow faster. The sky was starting to turn purple when they finally decided to head back. And, as crazy as it sounds, they didn't say a single word to each other on the way back. Shen's social battery was empty, and Shujie was convinced that she had somehow offended him. As they walked through the inn gate, both of them silently prayed that no one could see them leaving the forest together at night.