Chapter 48: Into the Forest
"So they died?" Han Defu questioned while looking at Luma.
Luma looked at the horse standing next to him, then looked at Han Defu's carriage and replied, "Let's wait for a few more minutes..."
"And if they don't come back by then?" Han Defu looked at Luma.
"Probably all dead."
Then Luma's gaze moved over to the forest.
And somewhere inside the forest.
Bodies fell.
People died without resistance.
The trembling cultivator was witnessing something that he was barely able to process.
And all of it began a few hours ago...
The carriage of Han Defu halted at the entrance of the Sunset Forest as the special unit followed behind.
"We have arrived."
Luma announced.
"Special unit."
"Be ready."
"Your mission is to go inside and scout for the enemies."
Among the twenty-eight people, some looked at each other, then glanced at the thick forest.
It was full of thick trees whose heights reached the skies.
The ground consisted of grass, sand, and soil.
Birds could be seen moving around the forest, and some monkeys were jumping from one tree to another.
"Go right now," Luma ordered.
The farmers, ordinary people, and some mercenaries hesitated and remembered the words of the old man. "We are bait."
"Go," Luma ordered again.
They started moving inside one by one...
Soon everyone entered the forest and all of them gathered at the same place, a few steps away from the entrance.
And at that moment,
Jia Jain turned around.
He looked straight at the crowd and announced, "If you all want to survive, listen to me."
No one objected but most people glanced at the trembling cultivator, who had saved them, with hopeful gazes.
Noticing all the gazes on him, the trembling cultivator stayed silent for a while and then said, "Let's follow him."
Hearing him, the people immediately looked away.
Some also glanced at Yan, but Yan remained silent.
"Follow me."
Jia Jain said and walked at the front, the group followed behind.
The trembling cultivator approached Yan and walked side by side with him.
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"You know what..." the man muttered after a while, his voice still unsteady. "That... that was an accident."
Yan glanced at him briefly.
"I didn't even realize what happened," the man continued. "One moment he was attacking... the next moment he was falling."
His hands trembled again.
"It was my first time killing someone."
The trembling cultivator paused.
"Everyone has a first time," Yan answered calmly.
The man looked at him uncertainly.
"You did well," Yan added.
"You saved everyone."
The words seemed to steady him slightly, though the tension in his shoulders did not fully fade.
"Back then... when Han Defu himself identified the old man..."
"I did not expect him to be the retired private soldier of Han Defu's father..."
"And he held a grudge against their family from back then..." the trembling cultivator said.
"What if someone from his family holds a grudge against me?" He trembled more.
Yan looked at him and said, "Then they will hunt you."
The trembling cultivator halted and stood there for a second.
He looked around the forest and then at the dried blood on his clothes and remembered the moment the old man fell on his sword.
"No... it was an accident... they will understand."
"An accident," he muttered.
And when he came back to his senses, he realized Yan and the others had already left him behind and were a few steps away.
He rushed behind the group and reunited with them as the group continued deeper into the forest.
The ground here was softer. Grass spread in uneven patches between the trees, bending gently beneath their boots.
Yan studied it quietly.
After a few moments, he spoke.
"We should divide."
The voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone.
Jia Jain halted his steps and glared at Yan. "What did you say?"
"We should divide," Yan said again.
Jia Jain approached Yan as the people around Yan stepped back.
"Why do you think we should?" Jia Jain stood in front of Yan and glared into his eyes.
"We are a large group."
"If there is really an enemy around, we will be easily visible, and..."
Yan stopped.
"What's more?" Jia Jain shouted.
"Say it completely."
"And it's hard to search for an enemy. If we divide and search individually, it will be more efficient," Yan reasoned.
Jia Jain did not speak for a moment.
"Mm... your words make sense." Jia Jain stepped back.
For a moment, he looked at the group.
"Great one, no, we can't do that," noticing his gaze, some objected.
"No, we can't," some stated plainly.
"Shut up!" Jia Jain shouted. "We will divide into groups of three."
"And search for the enemy. If anyone finds any traces, just shout my name. I will be there," Jia Jain said.
Fear surfaced in some people immediately.
"What?" one soldier protested.
"Three people?"
"We only have three cultivators!"
"If we run into enemy cultivators, we're dead!"
The voices rose in panic.
Jia Jain glared at the speaker, stepped forward, then raised his blade.
"I am the one in charge here," he said as the blade moved toward the heart of that soldier.
Then,
Suddenly, his foot came down on a patch of grass.
The grass bent beneath the weight of his step, its roots moving slightly from their original position.
For the briefest moment, his footing shifted.
The movement was small, barely noticeable.
But it was enough.
The blade that should have pierced the protesting soldier's chest slid instead across his shoulder.
A wound formed on the protesting soldier's shoulder as he collapsed with a cry.
Jia Jain stopped.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced down at the grass beneath his foot.
Then he slowly withdrew the blade.
"Three-man groups," he repeated.
No one dared to raise their voice again.
Soon people started to divide themselves into three-man groups.
"Please join us."
A group of two approached Yan and requested.
Yan did not reply, but more people approached him. Soon he was surrounded by people.
The same was the case for the trembling cultivator. Although fewer people approached him, he was still surrounded.
"I am not joining any," Yan declared.
"I am not either," the trembling cultivator said as well.
"Please."
The people around Yan pleaded, but Yan did not budge.
"I don't have patience. Hurry and form the groups," Jia Jain shouted again.
The people around Yan and the trembling cultivator looked at each other and moved away.
Soon they formed three-man groups and one four-man group that did not include Jia Jain, the trembling cultivator, or Yan.
"Go," Jia Jain ordered.
The groups left in different directions.
Jia Jain glanced at Yan and the trembling cultivator. "You guys are no different from these mortals."
"Don't drag me. I will be going ahead." Then he left immediately.
Now only Yan and the trembling cultivator were left at the place.
The trembling cultivator then looked at Yan, who sat on a rock, and asked, "Are you not going?"
Yan did not reply.
He waited there along with Yan.
Five minutes passed.
The trembling cultivator looked at Y
an.
Ten minutes passed.
He still looked at Yan.
Then twenty minutes passed. He still looked at Yan.
Then,
Yan moved.
He stood up and started walking.
"Wait." The trembling cultivator walked behind him.