After a while, the door opened again, and Ru Feng poked her head out. “I told you not to wait here!”
“Okay, I won’t wait,” he nodded.
Ru Feng closed the door and climbed back into bed.
Moonlight spilled across the ground, and Si Tu Qi Wu sat in the shadows of the bamboo forest, muttering to himself, “Really not scared?” He shivered, “But this place is scary!”
Miss Ru Feng is a gentle woman! The face buried in his knees secretly smiled.
Early the next morning, Qi Feng arrived. Si Tu Qi Wu sat on the steps with a basin of water beside him.
“Didn’t you go back to sleep last night?” Qi Feng asked.
Si Tu Qi Wu glanced at the tightly closed door. “I went back,” he replied. “Very late and very early.”
Qi Feng looked behind him. “She hasn’t gotten up yet?”
“No, she was too tired and slept late.”
Qi Feng shifted her gaze without saying more, walking straight forward.
“What are you doing?” Si Tu Qi Wu jumped up, grabbing her sleeve. “She must still be feeling sleepy.”
“The Grand Elder sent me,” Qi Feng replied.
He released her and stood aside. Qi Feng opened the door, and her expression changed. “Where is she?”
Upon hearing this, Si Tu Qi Wu hurriedly crossed her, looking into the room. The bedding was neatly folded, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He looked nervously at Qi Feng, “Could she have left just like that?”
Qi Feng replied, “If she left, she’s not qualified to be the family head.”
Situ Qiwu stomped his foot and ran out.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to chase her back,” came the distant response.
Meanwhile, Ru Feng stood in yesterday’s garden.
When the four elders arrived, Cang Shan was surprised, “You came by yourself?”
“Yes,” Ru Feng bowed deeply. “Just tell me what I need to do. I have no patience to compete with them.”
“You’re saying you came here alone?” Cang Shan reiterated.
“Yes.”
“At the corridor…” He paused, but Ru Feng understood, “My second brother taught me.”
The elders exchanged glances, and Cang Hai stood, “Come with me.”
They passed through a patch of wild grass, and Ru Feng was surprised by the stark contrast to the lush garden.
Cang Hai stopped, “Walk from here to the parasol tree you saw yesterday.”
“If I can walk there, does that mean I’ve passed the test?” Ru Feng asked.
Cang Hai smiled, “Walk first, and then we’ll see.”
Ru Feng took a deep breath, “Will there be any life-threatening danger?”
Cang Hai’s gaze flickered, “What if there is?”
“If there is, I need to consider if my abilities are sufficient.”
“Are you afraid of dying?”
“Yes, I am. There’s someone who values my life more than his own, so I will never risk my life.”
Cang Hai responded, “Don’t worry, if you’re about to die, I’ll save you.” So basically, you’ll just be half-dead.
Ru Feng smiled in relief; as long as she wouldn’t die, she wasn’t afraid.
After she went in, the other three elders emerged. Cang Hai looked at her back, “An unusual family head, isn’t she?”
Cang San remarked, “I want a family head with Situ family blood.”
Cang Shan replied, “We’ll always find a solution.”
Cang Tian straightened his already impeccable clothes, “We still have Qiwu, so we’re not worried.”
After walking a few steps, Ru Feng turned back to find the scenery had changed from a garden to a patch of wild grass.
Blinking, she looked around, feeling confused. Although the scenery wasn’t attractive, it didn’t seem dangerous, quite different from the test she had imagined.
She walked forward casually but soon realized something was wrong.
The wild grass was everywhere, and the landscape was uniform. She couldn’t find her direction; no matter how she walked, the surroundings looked the same.
She squinted and walked towards the sun’s direction. An hour later, she sat down. This wasteland seemed boundless. She had walked for half a day and was still surrounded by the endless dry grass.
Looking down, even the grass at her feet looked identical. She raised her wrist. The compass on her watch pointed towards the sun. She shook it vigorously and turned around, but the compass still pointed towards the sun.
“Could the compass have turned into a sun-pointing needle?” She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked around. How did the elders find such a mysterious place?
She pulled out her father’s notebook, which only documented meeting the guide at the parasol tree. There was nothing further. Rummaging through her bag, she found a bottle of water, two cakes, and a fruit knife. If she couldn’t escape the grass, she could at least dig grass roots to eat.
Calming down, she recalled leaving her accommodation around six, arriving at the garden after the elders had likely woken up, and coming to this place around eight. She had been walking for about an hour, and it was now around ten.
She glanced at her watch: 10:16, confirming the time was right.
She loved reading travel journals and recalled an author with wilderness survival experience who had said, “Halve the time against the sun, 12 points to the north.” She adjusted her watch to 5:08, aligned the hour hand with the sun, and turned to where 12 would point—indicating north.
Walking in that direction, she searched for slightly larger stones. After about ten steps, her eyes brightened, and she crouched to examine a stone covered in dried moss. She frowned slightly; moss typically grows on the north side, but this moss was in the wrong position.
Looking back at the sun, she noted the unusual direction. Checking her watch, the compass pointed opposite the moss’s position. She believed the compass was correct.
Next, she pulled out the map her father had given her. The parasol tree was located shortly after ascending the mountain, at its westernmost point. Confident she hadn’t left the mountain, she decided walking west was the right direction.
She folded the map and put it back in her bag, surveyed her surroundings for any formations, and began walking west.
Having confirmed the correct direction, she felt more confident that she would eventually reach the edge.
When the watch pointed to five in the afternoon, she saw the distant forest.
“Ah, I knew I would get there!” She quickened her pace, but this joy was short-lived. She discovered the forest had no path, only dense branches and intertwined roots.
Rufen sighed, wondering if this was a test of her wilderness survival skills due to her lack of experience. Patting her empty stomach, she took out the cake, looked at it, then put it back, deciding to save it for later. She took a small sip from her water bottle and regretted not eating breakfast first.
Carefully pushing aside branches, she barely walked a few steps when she almost screamed. Ahead was a sea of snakes—on the trees, on the ground, crawling everywhere. Flicking their long red tongues, they seemed to sense her intrusion, and all heads turned in her direction.
Terrified, Rufen wanted to retreat, but her legs felt weak. Snakes were her greatest fear; their cold, slimy touch was far more frightening than lions or tigers. She would prefer a quick death from a tiger than a slow demise from snakes.
Human and snakes faced each other.
She didn’t move, and the snakes didn’t move, but their predatory gaze made her feel they would pounce and wrap around her, leaving no trace of her body.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat. In the cold wind, her body began to tremble – from the cold, but more from fear.
She looked around, finding no way to bypass the snakes. She looked up and shouted, “Elder, are you there?”
No one answered. She felt like crying, “You said I wouldn’t die! You’re lying! With so many snakes, just one bite would kill me.”
The only response was the hissing of snakes flicking their tongues.
