The howling wind and blizzard suddenly ceased, leaving the peak in silence. Xiao Bang Chui suddenly felt something was amiss. Looking around, she realized that all the people who had crowded the peak were gone. The snow-covered summit now held only her.
Startled, she couldn’t help but call out, “Ge Lin? Lei Xiuyuan? … Ye Ye?”
There was no response. Countless tiny snowflakes, like summer mosquitoes, obscured her vision—this strange occurrence might be another mystical technique she didn’t understand.
The only place left to go was the thatched cottage with its wide-open door. Xiao Bang Chui hesitated for a moment before decisively walking into the cottage. Just like boarding the carriage yesterday, as soon as she stepped inside, her surroundings transformed again. The snow-capped peak changed into a misty forest.
She stood beneath an enormous locust tree. The light was extremely dim, and the sky, hidden by dense foliage, was a gloomy gray. A haze, whether fog or miasma, permeated the entire forest, making it difficult to distinguish colors.
A figure flickered behind the locust tree. The long-absent woman in a black veil appeared silently from somewhere, speaking softly, “You have one day and one night. If you can safely exit this forest before noon tomorrow, you’ll pass the second selection.”
As she finished speaking, a small blue floral cloth bundle suddenly appeared before Xiao Bang Chui. The woman in the black veil continued, “You must find water and food on your own. The bundle contains three talismans each of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Use them wisely. Remember, the time limit is before noon tomorrow.”
Before her words faded, her figure dispersed like smoke. Xiao Bang Chui opened the blue floral cloth bundle and found a stack of talisman papers inside. They were different from those her master usually used, being larger and of various colors. The talisman patterns seemed to shimmer with flowing light, clearly much more powerful than ordinary cinnabar talisman papers.
Xiao Bang Chui packed away the talismans and surveyed her surroundings. In this gloomy forest, it was impossible to tell the time. The mention of “before noon tomorrow” was perhaps also a test of their judgment. She didn’t know where the others were; only she stood beneath the locust tree. There were no paths in the forest, and without a sense of direction, one could easily go in circles. Fortunately, she had grown up in the mountains, and compared to the vast forest where she lived, this gloomy woods before her was merely a front yard.
She put her finger in her mouth, moistened it, and quickly felt that the faint wind was coming from the east. The wind meant that heading east would lead to open terrain. Xiao Bang Chui set off with light, quick steps.
The forest was very quiet, with occasional sounds of unidentified birds calling. Among the tangled trees, there occasionally grew grass with extremely long, thin leaves. When cut at the base, this grass yielded a large amount of clear water. Xiao Bang Chui spent a long time gathering enough to fill a water skin, sufficient for day and night.
Judging by the color of the tree leaves, there were likely no fruits to be found. She could only search for edible roots and tubers. Xiao Bang Chui thought of the unfinished plate of tofu from breakfast and regretted not bringing it along. She was hungry.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes, followed by a large gray rabbit jumping out. Its hind legs were bloodstained, apparently injured. In its panic, it hopped towards Xiao Bang Chui.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” a voice suddenly rang out from the bushes. With a “whoosh,” a talisman shot out like an arrow, sticking to the rabbit’s back. In an instant, several golden beams descended from the sky, piercing the rabbit’s body. It rolled over and died on the spot.
“Hey! That’s my rabbit!” The voice from the bushes was arrogant. The branches were forcefully pushed aside, and a richly dressed boy walked out. They came face to face, both exclaiming “Ah!”—it was the boy she had slapped with silver coins.
Seeing Xiao Bang Chui, his eyes first showed a hint of panic but quickly changed to horror. He pointed at her, almost jumping up, “You’re pretending to be a girl?! How disgusting!”
With a face full of disgust and disdain, he quickly stepped forward to pick up the rabbit, emphatically stating, “This is my rabbit!”
Xiao Bang Chui didn’t want to bother him and turned to continue on her way. Unexpectedly, he called out urgently from behind, “You, you wait a moment!”
Xiao Bang Chui turned back. The boy seemed to want to come closer, but seeing her in women’s clothing, he retreated a few steps in disgust. “You, you, you, are you a man or a woman?! Answer me… answer me!”
“Your eyes aren’t blind,” Xiao Bang Chui coldly replied.
The boy’s expression suddenly became strange. He looked her up and down, his disgust seeming to intensify. After a while, he spoke again, “Have you seen anyone else?”
Xiao Bang Chui shook her head and turned to leave.
“Wait a moment!” he called again.
“If you have something to say, say it all at once,” Xiao Bang Chui said impatiently, cracking her knuckles.
The boy quickly retreated a step, waving his hand, “Alright, don’t get violent! I’m almost out of talismans. Do you have any? I’m willing to buy them!”
“I don’t need silver,” she flatly refused.
The boy’s expression dimmed slightly, and then he waved the gray rabbit in his hand, “I’ll trade this for them!”
“I don’t eat meat.”
He was utterly speechless. From childhood, Ji Tongzhou had never been treated this way. Under normal circumstances, he would have whipped this commoner half to death. But since entering the forest, he hadn’t encountered a single person. Those sycophants who usually surrounded him, flattering and pleasing him, had disappeared. Finally meeting someone, and it turned out to be this ambiguous commoner—it was truly infuriating!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He turned to leave, refusing to believe his luck could be so bad that he’d meet no one else but her.
He hadn’t gone far when he realized his luck had turned. A little girl was hurriedly running towards him from the opposite direction. He quickly called out, “Hey! Over there! Come here for a moment!”
The running girl seemed not to hear. As she ran, she was wildly waving her hands, looking quite eerie. As she got closer, her faint cries became clearer.
“Help! Mother! Help…”
This bizarre scene made Ji Tongzhou draw in a sharp breath. Unexpectedly, Xiao Bang Chui quickly ran past him and grabbed the little girl’s shoulders.
“Hey…” he instinctively wanted to stop her. Xiao Bang Chui held the girl’s shoulders and turned her around. Horrifyingly, purple-black smoke was billowing out from the girl’s facial orifices, looking extremely terrifying. The girl’s cries grew fainter and fainter until finally, her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
“…What was that?” Ji Tongzhou asked tremblingly.
Xiao Bang Chui didn’t speak. She laid the girl flat on the ground. The purple-black smoke continued to billow out, quickly turning into the colorless mist of the forest—was this miasma? The girl couldn’t resist the miasma!
Xiao Bang Chui instinctively held her breath and jumped away like a rabbit. Soon, the girl’s body emitted a faint blue light, gradually becoming transparent, and finally disappearing before their eyes. Was this what being eliminated looked like? The forest was filled with miasma, and children who couldn’t resist it would be deluded by the miasma, eventually falling into a coma and being eliminated.
The two children standing nearby couldn’t help but exchange glances. Ji Tongzhou suddenly spoke, “…Shall we go together?”
Xiao Bang Chui didn’t say anything. Whether it was because of the mysterious breathing technique taught by the old gentleman or not, she felt no effects from the terrifying miasma. The arrogant child opposite her was also not simple; he didn’t seem to be just a pretty face but had some real ability.
She took out several talismans and handed them to him: “One of each of the five elements. Use them sparingly.”
She tacitly agreed to their traveling together. A forest with miasma would surely have monsters; two people would be safer than one.
“…What’s your name?” Ji Tongzhou asked awkwardly. Deep down, he didn’t want to associate with commoners like Xiao Bang Chui, but circumstances forced them to travel together, so they had to exchange names.
“Xiao Bang Chui.”
“…Really?” Was she joking? Could anyone have such a stupid name?
“Really.”
Ji Tongzhou still didn’t believe it, but he couldn’t bring himself to make up a name like “Little Hammer” or “Little Mallet” for himself, so he had to tell the truth: “My surname is Ji, the ‘Ji’ from ‘discipline’. My given name is Tongzhou, the ‘Tong’ from the ‘paulownia tree’ and the ‘Zhou’ from the ‘cycle of heaven’. My courtesy name is…”
“No need to explain so clearly. I won’t have a chance to write your name,” she interrupted mercilessly.
“You!!” Forget it, no point in arguing with a commoner. He’d endure!
After walking for who knows how long, the trees became increasingly dense, leaving barely any space to step. The breathing and footsteps of the boy behind her grew heavier and heavier. Surprisingly, he showed considerable perseverance, never complaining about being tired or demanding to rest.
Xiao Bang Chui wiped her sweat. She was exhausted too. She had underestimated this forest earlier; they had walked for so long without seeing any sign of an exit. By her estimation, it should be getting dark soon, but here it was still gray and misty, impossible to tell the time. At this rate, they might have to continue through the night.
A cry came from the distance, sounding strangely familiar. Xiao Bang Chui looked back at Ji Tongzhou, who nodded, “Let’s go take a look.”
As they got closer, the crying sounded increasingly familiar. Xiao Bang Chui pushed aside the annoying branches in front of her, and suddenly the view opened up. Opposite them seemed to be a clearing in the forest. Three or four dead monsters lay there, their bodies emitting black smoke. The source of the crying was none other than the crybaby Lei Xiuyuan. He sat opposite the monsters, crying so hard he could barely breathe. Anyone unfamiliar with the situation might think it was his father who had died.
“Lei Xiuyuan.”
Xiao Bang Chui called out to him. Lei Xiuyuan turned his head in confusion. When he saw it was Xiao Bang Chui, he cried even harder.
“Big Sis… wuwuwuwu… these monsters… these monsters wanted to eat me…” he complained, heartbroken.
Xiao Bang Chui couldn’t help but sigh, “…They’re already dead. Did you do this?”
The corpses emitting black smoke must have been struck by lightning. He had used the talismans quite well and killed the monsters, so it wasn’t clear why he was crying so hard. And he was crying with such vigor, seemingly able to resist the forest’s miasma quite well.
Lei Xiuyuan rubbed his eyes and nodded. He finally stood up, and when he caught sight of Ji Tongzhou behind Xiao Bang Chui, he choked up again, mumbling, “You… you…”
Ji Tongzhou had long lost patience. Constrained by Xiao Bang Chui’s presence, he didn’t dare to act out, only frowning and saying, “What?!”
Lei Xiuyuan looked at him, then glanced at Xiao Bang Chui, stammering, unsure what to say.
“The forest is filled with miasma and possibly monsters. It’s safer to go together,” Xiao Bang Chui confirmed he wasn’t injured, then said, “Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s find a sheltered place to rest for a while before continuing.”
Ji Tongzhou urgently asked, “Aren’t we going to sleep?”
“If we sleep, we might not make it in time.”
Ji Tongzhou grumbled a bit, but could only reluctantly continue following behind.
Lei Xiuyuan quietly walked up to Xiao Bang Chui and whispered, “Big Sis, are you hungry?”
She was hungry, almost starving, but she still hadn’t found any edible roots or tubers.
Lei Xiuyuan secretly slipped her a piece of dried tofu, “Here, this is what I didn’t finish this morning and secretly packed away.”
Dried tofu! Xiao Bang Chui couldn’t help but swallow. The thick piece of dried tofu in her hand would certainly make her empty stomach feel much better if she ate it, but…
“What about you? Do you have anything to eat?”
“I’ve already eaten, and I have this.” Lei Xiuyuan pulled out a gray goose from his bulging sleeve. “We can roast it when we rest later and eat together.”
Xiao Bang Chui shook her head, “I don’t eat meat.”
She looked back at Ji Tongzhou. His face was a bit pale, probably exhausted too, and he was clutching the rabbit tightly, his eyes looking like he wanted to eat it raw.
She tore the dried tofu in half and handed a piece to Ji Tongzhou, “Eat a bit, to keep going.”
Ji Tongzhou looked incredulous, but seeing the dirty dried tofu, he felt disgusted. Moreover, it was given by two little beggars. But he was so hungry he was seeing stars. After a long pause, he suddenly snatched the dried tofu and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing without chewing.
“Ugh…” The dried tofu had a strange taste, surely from these two beggars. Ji Tongzhou’s stomach churned—the dried tofu indeed had a miraculous effect. He didn’t feel hungry anymore. Not only was he not hungry, but he also felt a bit nauseous…
After walking a bit further, Xiao Bang Chui suddenly quickened her pace. She had spotted a huge maple tree. Maple sap was edible. Although not as filling as roots and tubers, it could at least alleviate their hunger a bit.
“Let’s rest here.”
She circled the tree once, chose a sheltered spot, and bent down to gather dry grass, fallen leaves, and twigs. She quickly arranged two small piles. Ji Tongzhou generously took out his flint and lit both piles. The rabbit and goose were hastily plucked and skinned before being placed over the fire to roast. The children sat leaning against the tree, with the soon-to-be-ready food in front of them, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Xiao Bang Chui took out a small knife and began carving into the tree with effort. After a while, she had dug out a hole. Soon, pale golden sap began to slowly ooze from the hole. Xiao Bang Chui cupped her hands to catch it and lowered her head to drink a few mouthfuls—it wasn’t the overly sweet taste of ordinary maple syrup, but rather mild with a fresh fragrance. Xiao Bang Chui felt invigorated. She drank a belly full of tree sap, then used leaves to dab the sap and spread it on the rabbit and goose.
“What are you spreading on my rabbit?!” Ji Tongzhou was startled and hurriedly snatched his rabbit away.
“Maple sap,” Xiao Bang Chui tossed away the leaf. “You’d better turn it over, or it’ll burn.”
He looked down and indeed found that half of the rabbit was almost charred. He hastily and clumsily flipped it over. As the maple sap-coated skin and meat roasted over the fire, a sweet and rich aroma gradually spread. Even he, accustomed to fine cuisine, felt his mouth water. He had never smelled such a delicious aroma… Damn it, how could such a crude thing smell so good? It must be because he was too hungry!
The goose was soon roasted. Lei Xiuyuan tore off a leg and offered it to Xiao Bang Chui, “Big Sis, you can’t not eat meat. You won’t have enough strength. This is for you.”
Xiao Bang Chui still shook her head, “I don’t eat meat.”
She had never been able to eat meat since she was little. Whether it was a matter of constitution or something else, as a child, any meat she ate would make her vomit everything she had previously consumed. As she grew older, she forced herself to eat meat, but each time she put it in her mouth, she experienced an instinctive revulsion and had to spit it out immediately. She couldn’t control it at all. Fortunately, despite only eating vegetables, her health was robust, even more so than other children. Over time, her master stopped caring about her peculiar eating habits. Whenever he wanted meat, he had to eat it outside, as no meat or greasy food was allowed at home.
So, she didn’t eat meat, not just to oppose him… Ji Tongzhou, munching on a rabbit leg, had never eaten this way before. He hoped no one he knew would pass by; otherwise, he would never live it down.
Xiao Bang Chui rolled a leaf into a tube, filled it with water, and gave one to each of them. Ji Tongzhou had been surprised too many times today and was too exhausted to be shocked anymore. He drank the water in large gulps. It tasted quite sweet and was refreshingly cool.
Xiao Bang Chui divided the remaining water in the skin between the two of them and continued to dig for roots and collect clean water. It took a while before she filled another skin with water. When she looked back, Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou were both full and asleep against the tree. Despite the hidden dangers of the forest, they managed to fall asleep. She, however, couldn’t afford to rest; she needed to stay alert.
“Sister…” Lei Xiuyuan suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her quietly. “May I ask you a few questions?”