The Demon Forest

Ryan observed the middle-aged man as he burped loudly, shouting, "You all better stop drinking so much! Don't let this little girl escape because we've spent a lot of money on her. If anything goes wrong, we won't be able to handle the consequences, got it?"

The round-faced burly man, unbothered, replied, "Don't worry, big bro. This much alcohol isn't enough to even make us slightly tipsy. Besides, the girl is still shackled. I don't believe she can grow wings and fly away."

The burly man's words were met with nods of agreement from the others, "Yeah! Big bro, don't worry, she won't escape."

They didn't believe that the blue-haired girl, shackled and restrained, could actually escape, especially since she was just an ordinary girl.

However, as the middle-aged man suddenly felt something was off, his mind grew dizzy. Before he could speak, he collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

Seeing this, the round-faced man mocked, "Big bro, your drinking ability is..."

Before he could finish, he too began feeling dizzy and collapsed, followed by everyone else one by one, all dropping unconscious to the ground.

From behind the bushes, Ryan clenched his fists in excitement and swung them in front of his chest, whispering, "Yes! It worked!"

He rushed to the middle-aged man's side and kicked him hard, muttering, "Hmph! What do you think you are? My alcohol is that easy to handle?"

Ryan then walked over to the blue-haired girl, but she didn't react to his approach at all. She continued eating a dry, shriveled bun, as if nothing had happened.

The girl's indifference struck Ryan as strange, but now was not the time for questioning. He flipped his hand and Silver Moon's dagger appeared, effortlessly slashing the shackles from the girl's wrists.

"I'm here to save you. Come with me," Ryan whispered softly.

However, the girl's vacant gaze showed no response.

Ryan, now confused, sent a mental message to Silver Moon. "What's going on? You're not making me save a fool, are you?"

Silver Moon replied, "Stop asking so many questions. Just drag her, and she'll follow you."

Taking Silver Moon's advice, Ryan didn't hesitate, grabbing the girl and quickly pulling her deeper into the forest. After all, this wasn't a place to linger—if the middle-aged man woke up, it would be hard to escape.

The girl followed without resistance, just as Silver Moon had said, walking closely behind Ryan.

After traveling through the forest for a while, Ryan found a small creek and decided to rest. He was both thirsty and exhausted.

He took some food from the pendant around his neck and handed it to the girl. She took it in a daze, her eyes still empty.

Just as Ryan was about to ask Silver Moon what was going on, Silver Moon appeared, "There's a needle in her head. You need to remove it."

Ryan stepped behind the girl and, sure enough, found a silver needle about an inch long hidden in her blue hair. The needle emanated a faint black glow.

He carefully pulled out the needle. As soon as it was removed, the girl's vacant eyes gradually regained clarity.

When she saw the needle in Ryan's hand, she immediately recoiled in fear, retreating several steps.

Seeing this, Ryan quickly explained, "Don't be afraid. I saved you. I noticed this thing on your head, so I took it out."

Despite his reassurance, the girl continued to back away, her terrified eyes locked onto the silver needle, her face full of dread.

Silver Moon spoke up, explaining, "She's likely afraid of the needle in your hand. It's called a Soul Lock Needle. It locks a person's soul and consciousness. Anyone who gets stuck with this needle becomes a walking corpse, completely controlled. Once removed, she'll be fine."

Hearing Silver Moon's explanation, Ryan was angered. "To do this to a child, shackles and a Soul Lock Needle... no humanity whatsoever."

He glanced at the silver needle in his hand and, without effort, snapped it in two.

The girl's expression softened slightly when she saw what Ryan had done.

Noticing this, Ryan didn't approach further but instead stood still, asking, "What's your name? Where do you come from? I can take you home."

But no matter how much he asked, the girl remained silent.

Her silence made Ryan frustrated, and he blurted out, "Are you deaf or something?"

At his words, the girl shot him a glare, clearly angry. She could hear everything Ryan said. Before Ryan could speak again, Silver Moon interrupted.

"Don't ask her. She's not deaf. She can hear you. She just can't speak because she's been poisoned."

"Can you cure her poison?" Ryan asked eagerly.

Silver Moon smiled slightly. "Of course I know how to cure it. But it's a bit complicated, so whether she gets cured depends on her future opportunities."

At this point, Ryan understood. The girl's silence was due to the poison. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. As he looked at the blue-haired girl, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. What had she gone through? Compared to her, he considered himself lucky.

"No wonder Silver Moon insisted on saving her. If I knew all this, I'd have done the same. I'm just glad I could help the girl."

Just then, Ryan suddenly noticed the girl's gaze was fixed on the spot where Silver Moon had appeared.

Ryan noticed the girl's unusual behavior, and even Silver Moon was surprised. Despite her high-level ability to stay undetected by demon beasts, the girl seemed to sense Silver Moon's presence.

Silver Moon, noticing Ryan's surprise, casually said, "Her keen senses are quite surprising. Even though she can't see me, she knows there's more than just you here. Interesting indeed."

Then, Silver Moon added, "From now on, she's your responsibility. Take good care of her." With that, she vanished into the pendant around Ryan's neck.

Ryan rolled his eyes in frustration, muttering under his breath, "That old hag... not only does she refuse to help, but now she's making my life harder. And I still don't know who's supposed to take care of her."

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man who had been knocked out earlier had regained consciousness. Upon realizing he had been outsmarted, he clenched his teeth in fury.

For three days, his group scoured the forest. They only found the broken soul-locking needle on a rock by a small stream, but no sign of Ryan or the girl. They had no idea that, guided by Silver Moon, the two had left the forest a day ago.

Defeated, the group returned, heads hung low, to report their failure.

Ryan, on the other hand, continued his journey with the girl. Over the days, she became slightly less wary of him. After all, both of them were still young, and children often form bonds quickly. Since the girl couldn't speak, Ryan didn't know her name, so he nicknamed her "Mute Girl," which felt a little more personal.

At first, she had been angry, but as time passed, she grew indifferent. She couldn't argue, and Ryan had been kind to her, treating her like a little sister.

Despite the exhausting journey, Ryan was fine; after all, he had trained his body. But the Mute Girl looked worse for wear. Her already tattered clothes had been torn further by the forest, making her appear like a beggar.

Yet, Ryan never saw any complaints on her face. The more resilient she appeared, the more his heart ached.

Determined to do something for her, Ryan found a small town and bought her some clothes. He then led her to a nearby river and told her, "You should wash up and change."

Ryan turned away and sat down on a large stone to rest. As he was about to drift off, the Mute Girl gently tapped him.

Ryan opened his eyes in surprise. The sight before him took his breath away.

The Mute Girl now looked entirely different. Her large, clear eyes were full of innocence, her skin as smooth and white as jade. Her blue hair cascaded down her back, and her simple yet elegant dress clung to her small frame, making her seem like a porcelain doll, pure and untainted.

When the Mute Girl noticed Ryan staring at her, she blushed and quickly looked away, lowering her head.

Ryan realized he had been staring and awkwardly laughed, "Heh... I didn't expect you to be so cute under all that dirt."

After a long silence, seeing that the girl didn't move, Ryan walked over to her and gently led her onward.

Under Silver Moon's guidance, they reached a forest several hundred miles away from Sweet Spring Town.

Silver Moon instructed Ryan to stop, sending him a mental message: "This is the outskirts of the Demon Beast Forest. The entire forest is the domain of demon beasts, with the outer areas being where the lower-tier demon beasts roam. The deeper you go, the stronger they become. People rarely come here, though some monster hunters pass through to hunt lower-tier demon beasts. But they never stay long, as they're not interested in the weaker ones. Find a place to settle for now. You can use this time to train here."

Ryan was confused. "Here?" He had expected Silver Moon to take him to a bigger town or city, not this isolated place.

Silver Moon seemed to sense his thoughts and answered with disdain, "I think this place is perfect. With so many low-tier demon beasts around, it's a good place for you to practice. And, let's be honest, a couple of kids like you—one ten years old, the other fourteen—no one will take you seriously. With your current abilities, you're barely capable of protecting yourselves, let alone the girl. Stop dreaming of flying before you've grown your wings."

Though Ryan was irritated by Silver Moon's words, he knew she was right. They were too young to be flaunting their presence out there, and attracting unnecessary trouble was something they couldn't afford.

Despite his thoughts, Ryan still retorted with frustration, "You old hag! You tricked me into coming to this godforsaken place to suffer."

Silver Moon simply chuckled, "Oh? If you regret it so much, then leave. I won't stop you."

Ryan was so mad he could barely breathe. He collapsed onto the ground and sighed heavily, feeling defeated. After a long pause, he reluctantly stood up.