Chapter 15: Forced To Flee

The forest floor crackled beneath hurried feet as morning light threaded through the branches above. The mist had thickened slightly since dawn, creating drifting curtains of white that moved like lazy phantoms between trees. Shadows played tricks on the eye, and even the smallest noise set hearts racing.

The group moved cautiously, Xue Mo at the front, every sense alert, while Liang Fu took the rear. Wei Zhi and Luo Tan remained between them. They had begun following a faint trail that skirted the southern ridge, hugging the less-traveled side of the Ember Hills.

Luo Tan's voice was a low murmur. "I've counted five fresh claw marks on trees so far. Not deep. Could be marking territory."

"Or warning others to stay away," Xue Mo said, adjusting his grip on his sword.

Wei Zhi's eyes darted around the underbrush. "Why is it so quiet?"

"Too quiet," Liang Fu muttered.

Somewhere to their left, the distant snap of a branch echoed. The sound wasn't close, but it wasn't far either.

Then, a rustle. Then another.

A moment later, the brush erupted.

BOOM!

A beast burst through the foliage, a lanky, wolf-like creature covered in black fur that bristled like quills. Its yellow eyes gleamed with intelligence, and a forked tongue flicked from between its sharp jaws. A Thin-Fanged Shadowhound.

"Spirit Awakening realm," Xue Mo said instantly. "It's fast."

Liang Fu darted to the right, sword drawn, while Wei Zhi pulled a talisman from his pouch and threw it into the air. It sparked and hissed.

CRACK!

The explosion didn't hit the beast directly, but it startled it enough to stop its charge.

"Fan out!" Xue Mo ordered.

The group spread, moving with surprising coordination given the tension in the air. Luo Tan pulled a small pouch from his side and lobbed a white powder onto the ground.

"Houndbane powder," he explained, grinning. "It messes with their noses."

The beast's head jerked to the side, confused for just a moment, and that's when Xue Mo struck.

CLANG!

Steel met fur, sparks flying. The beast twisted, narrowly avoiding a deeper wound. Blood splashed, just a line across its shoulder.

Then it lunged at Wei Zhi.

"Watch out!" Liang Fu intercepted, the blade catching the beast's strike.

CLANG-THOOM!

The weight sent him flying into a tree. He groaned, rolling to his feet.

The Shadowhound wheeled toward Luo Tan, only to be struck in the eye with a small dart.

"Sleep venom," Luo Tan muttered, backing up quickly. "Won't last long."

The beast reeled. Xue Mo didn't wait. He dashed forward.

SCHRAK!

His blade carved into the creature's neck, severing a key tendon.

With a final yelp, the beast crumpled.

Heavy breathing filled the clearing.

The group stood amid the quiet wreckage—blood still steaming, tension clinging like fog.

Silence.

Everyone stared.

"That," Wei Zhi gasped, "was harder than it should've been."

"We're still on the edge of the forest," Liang Fu added, wiping sweat. "They'll only get worse from here."

Luo Tan squatted next to the corpse, pulling out a small dagger. "I'll get the core."

"You know where it is?" Wei Zhi asked, surprised.

Luo Tan didn't look up. "You pick up a few things when you hang around traders. Shadowhound cores are near the upper spine."

Xue Mo watched him silently. That level of knowledge wasn't something a casual trader's errand boy would know.

Interesting.

They rested beneath a thick-rooted tree while Luo Tan cleaned the core and packed it. The air was heavy again. Not just with humidity, but tension.

"You did well," Liang Fu said, nodding toward Luo Tan.

The fat disciple grinned. "I told you, I'm a man of many talents."

Wei Zhi was quiet, staring at his hands.

"You alright?" Xue Mo asked.

Wei Zhi flinched. "I… I froze. I should've helped more."

"You helped," Xue Mo replied evenly. "You slowed it down."

Wei Zhi didn't respond.

They moved again, slower now.

After two hours, they encountered a shallow ravine lined with moss-covered stones. Liang Fu paused. "This could be a good choke point. If we needed to trap something."

"Or be trapped ourselves," Luo Tan added.

From that point onward, they began leaving small trail markers, nothing obvious, just subtle notches or patterns in branches. Luo Tan took it upon himself to leave odd ones, twisted cords or acorn stacks only he could understand.

Xue Mo noticed, but said nothing.

Later, they came upon a small stream. The water was cold and fast. They paused to refill their flasks.

Wei Zhi knelt, scooping water, and paused. He stared into his reflection.

"I thought I'd be stronger by now," he murmured.

Luo Tan leaned over. "Nobody's born strong, brother. You gotta act strong until it sticks."

"Is that what you do?" Wei Zhi asked.

Luo Tan only smiled, but Xue Mo's eyes lingered on him a moment longer than necessary.

As night crept in, the forest changed.

Cicadas fell silent. The wind carried something colder.

They made camp beneath a hanging rock formation, high enough to avoid larger predators. Xue Mo stood watch while the others ate dried meat and rice balls.

In the distance, something howled.

Wei Zhi shivered. "I hate that sound."

"You'll hate it more if it comes closer," Liang Fu replied.

Later, while the others slept, Xue Mo stood near the fire. He stared at the trees. Something moved out there. Not close. Not yet.

But it was watching.

He didn't wake the others.

Not yet.

By morning, they were ready to move again.

"We'll skirt the Misted Hollow's outer edge," Xue Mo said. "Not going in. Just close enough to look for beast trails."

"And if we run into something worse than the Shadowhound?" Wei Zhi asked.

Xue Mo gave him a level look. "Then we kill it."

Liang Fu smirked. "Right. Simple."

...

The forest had grown darker, denser. No longer did light drift gently through the canopy. The trees stretched high and close, swallowing the sky above. Each step forward stirred dead leaves that crackled beneath boots, and the air now carried the scent of old blood and rotting bark.

Xue Mo led them through a winding path near a dry riverbed. Their senses had sharpened after their last encounter with the Shadowhound. Everyone was quieter. More alert.

A faint breeze blew past, but it didn't cool their skin. It only carried whispers.

Luo Tan glanced up. "No birds. No bugs. Not even rustling leaves."

Xue Mo narrowed his eyes. "Something's changed."

Wei Zhi paused. "Maybe we should turn back. We can loop west of the Hollow—"

But Xue Mo had already raised a hand.

The silence wasn't natural.

Then, it came.

A single, drawn-out screech from above tore through the silence like a blade through cloth.

KRAAAAAA!

The trees shuddered. Branches split.

"Scatter!" Xue Mo shouted.

The group dove apart just as a massive shadow crashed down into the clearing they had stood in seconds earlier. The ground split with a BOOM, dirt and shattered roots spraying outward.

The creature that emerged was a horror of scale and fury.

It looked like a giant raptor, but not quite. Its feathers shimmered with a metallic sheen. Its beak was serrated like a bone saw, and its talons glowed faintly red, crackling with spiritual energy. Two long, hooked wings spread outward, snapping branches as it roared.

It was a Brightclaw Raptor.

Spirit-level. And an apex predator.

"Move! Get to cover!" Xue Mo barked.

Wei Zhi and Luo Tan sprinted toward the tree line. Liang Fu tried to hold his ground.

SHWACK!

The raptor lashed out with its wing, sending him flying with a sickening crunch. He tumbled into a bush, coughing blood.

"Liang Fu!" Wei Zhi shouted, starting back.

"GO!" Xue Mo roared.

He dashed between the beast and the others, blade drawn. Sparks flew as talon met steel. The force shook his arms, but he held.

The beast let out another ear-splitting shriek. The trees themselves seemed to recoil.

Luo Tan reached for a spike net and hurled it. The raptor slashed it midair, shredding it with one beat of its wings.

Xue Mo parried again, then ducked under a talon, rolling to the side.

"Take him and GO!" he shouted.

Wei Zhi hesitated. "You'll die—!"

"I won't."

His voice was calm.

Then he surged forward.

CLANG!

Steel rang against bones.

Blood sprayed from a shallow wound on the beast's leg. It roared in fury, its talons flashing red. But Xue Mo moved like a phantom, dancing just out of range.

Behind him, Luo Tan dragged Liang Fu up. Wei Zhi, his face pale, threw one last talisman toward the raptor—a flash of golden light that momentarily blinded it.

They ran.

The forest swallowed them.

And Xue Mo stood alone.

Facing a nightmare.

---

Far behind the treeline, the group stumbled into a shallow grove, panting and bloodied. Luo Tan let Liang Fu slide onto a flat rock and knelt beside him.

Wei Zhi looked back in the direction they'd come. He didn't say a word—but his eyes wouldn't stop staring.

He whispered, "We left him."

Luo Tan didn't answer at first. He placed his hand over Liang Fu's pulse, checking it.

"We didn't abandon him," he said finally. "He chose to hold it off."

Wei Zhi's fists clenched. "You saw his face. He wasn't trying to protect us. He just… knew we'd only hold him back."

Luo Tan shrugged. "Maybe. But that's what let us live."

Wei Zhi didn't reply.

The wind rustled through the trees, distant and cold.

For a long moment, they sat in silence. Then Luo Tan stood and began checking the surrounding area, placing small flags—subtle signs only he would understand.

Xue Mo had held the beast off.

But the forest wasn't finished yet.