The Day Everything Changed

The next morning, Mo Hu acted upon his desire to avoid marriage arrangements and early in the morning went to village center to accept the task for herb gathering.

"Mother, I'll return later, I have a few tasks to complete and we can talk more then," Mo Hu said.

Lui Xiaoyue shook her head in disbelief and simply waved back at him as he walked out the door. Mo Hu went to side hut and took out everything he needed: baskets, his weapon, and a crudely made ghille suit he had crafted a few years ago to traverse the forest easily. Most of the foliage was starting to brown so he pulled the out leaves and branches off and packed the suit into his bags. Over the next hour he made his way into the village center, received the task, and walked out to the forest where the herbs for this objective usually grew.

Just before he reached the area where the herbs he sought were located, Mo Hu pulled out his knife and began to cut small shrubbery and branches. He took the foliage and began to remake the ghillie suit and once it was complete, he put it on and slowly made he way to the target location. He used the afternoon and most of the early evening to pick what was needed only taking some time to eat lunch. Once he was satisfied with his haul, he bundled the plants together and prepared to head back when a chill crept up the back of his neck.

Remembering his experience in survival, Mo Hu found a quiet place and began to observe his surroundings. About a minute later, he felt the ground shaking slightly and after another few moments, the shaking intensified. Mo Hu panicked as he could decide if it was a quake or a stampede, but as the latter was more rational, he did a quick search of the area to see a giant tree. Searching his memory, he remembered that this particular tree was called "Sage's breath" and was known for its scent. Mo Hu quickly climbed the tree, doing his best to breathe through his mouth to keep from vomiting. As much as he never wished to up here, he knew that beasts avoided this tree as much as possible. As bad as the smell was, he knew that with the beast's enhanced sense of smell, they would give this tree a wide berth. It's just unfortunate that this true was very difficult to cultivate, otherwise the village could be much safer. About this time, from his perch, Mo Hu watch as a sea of beast came charging into his direction. First he felt them coming closer, then he heard them as large shrubberies and small trees were smashed into the ground, and finally, as he finished securing himself to the upper half of the tree, he saw them coming.

A giant herd of cattle rushed through the trees, but they looked different than the cattle of Earth. Adults were the size of moose, had segmented plated hides, and many more horns than normal. The younger juveniles only had two horns while the largest males had eight. As the first wave approached his position, approximately 200 meters before they reach the tree the herd began to split. Mo Hu let out a sigh of relief as his choice was correct, even during a stampede, these beast refused to approach the tree. A few more waves passed by when Mo Hu noticed smaller beasts running with the herd. At first he thought they were calves but when he noticed their movement, he realized that they were wolves. Packs of wolves slightly larger than dire wolves on Earth were weaving through the stampede, coordinating attacks on venerable targets. From the safety of the tree he watched as five minutes past, then ten, he got curious as to which direction the herd was moving. To his horror, it was moving right towards his village.

Helpless, Mo Hu anxiously waited until three hours later, the herd began to thin and more packs of wolves were chasing the animals that lagged behind. To ensure he safety, he took the materials used in his ghillie suit out and started to cut small leaves and branches from the tree he stood on. After he finished, the dust began to settle on the forest floor, but he still waited one more hour before making his way back down the tree. As much as he wished to run back home, he kept his wits about him and stealthily walked through the forest back to the village. This cautious approach took two hours before he could see the walls of the village and the initial sight shocked him. Large portions of the walls were missing as corpses of the herd, packs and humans were all strewn around. Mo Hu could only be grateful that he was a reborn soul otherwise this sight would have sickened him to the core. He feared the worse and when he approached his house, those fears were realized, his parents didn't make it. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as his last moments he remembered tore him apart inside. He fell to his knees in stunned silence for a few hours before he stood up, wiped his face and hands and decided what to do next.

Mo Hu proceeded to take what tools he could find and dig graves one after the other. As soon as one was completed, he buried a villager and honored the fallen, then went to the next grave. All day he pushed himself, not stopping during the night until the first light of the next morning when he completed the last grave. After counting the fallen, he noticed that specifically eleven bodies were missing and using his memory, he identified that the village chief and the ten members of his team were unaccounted for. It was strange that they were missing as they were the strongest men in the village, something called cultivators. Mo Hu didn't know too much about it, but he told himself that if they had abandoned the village, he would find them and extract revenge for all the souls lost today. He knew that he couldn't stay here an longer as the wolf packs might return or scavengers might appear and he would be too tired to fend for himself. He decided to gather what he could and move away.

Mo Hu was exhausted but continue to pish himself as he made his way through the ruins of the village. He picked a set of the best tools he could find, his ghillie suit, a sword, a blade, bow and arrows, a tents, all the jerky and persevered food he could carry, some skins for water, and all the coins he could find. He set out in the late morning using the ghillie suit made with "Sage's breath" to keep potential enemies away. After calculating that the stampede came from the east and went west, and using shadows to estimate that he was on the southern hemisphere of this world, he grabbed his things and headed why he believed was north. After traveling for the rest of the day, he found a safe spot near a humongous tree, placing his tent and suit strategically amping the root system and surrounding shrubs the camouflage his camp site. No longer able to do anymore, he laid down, closed his eyes, and slept, awaiting whatever tomorrow might bring.