Chapter 20: Journey into the Forest (Part 1)

  The sun shines brightly, a gentle breeze blows, and it's another rare good weather day.

  "Everyone, we will be having a week-long outdoor training. The main purpose is to temper your strong willpower, and in the wilderness, there may also be various unknown dangers. So please everyone must think carefully..." The principal stood on the high platform, speaking loudly.

  Just as someone was about to lose their patience and throw a Coke bottle, the principal, who was as garrulous as Tang Seng, finally stopped talking.

  "Each group of five students will be led by a teacher." After the principal's announcement, everyone formed into twenty-odd small teams under the arrangement of the teachers and set off towards the Xiangnan Forest in an imposing manner. As soon as they arrived at the forest entrance, each small team dispersed and began their perilous and exciting adventure journey.

  Lan Ruoxue and Meilin, Han Fei, Zhao Bin, and Lan Ruotong were in one group, led by Liu Qingfeng.

  They carried lightweight backpacks, as anything too heavy would affect their speed and strength. They slowly set off towards the forest, with its undulating terrain, lush green trees, low shrubs, disappearing into the depths of the woods they first entered, only to be replaced by towering giant trees that seemed to touch the sky, their tops invisible at a glance.

  Golden sunlight filters through the treetops, shimmering threads of gold dancing in the emerald green, that kind of flowing light and color, that kind of lush vitality, is completely unseen elsewhere.

  The forest was full of unknown dangers, and the six people slowly made their way deeper into the woods. Panting, they put down their backpacks, took out food and water from inside, and leaned against a large tree to eat.

  Liu Qing looked around cautiously, and the surroundings were all trees. "This place is safe, let's rest here tonight and continue tomorrow."

  "Great!" Han Fei replied loudly, and now that he was here, not only was the air fresh, but more importantly, he was a person who loved adventure, and his adventurous spirit was stirring.

  Lan Ruoxi lazily leaned against the big tree, admiring the towering trees that reached the sky. This was her first step in deciding to become stronger, she no longer wanted to be a burden to others.

  Mei Lin and Zhao Bin were eating dry rations and drinking water, excitedly chatting away.

  Lan Ruotong was sitting on the ground with his head down, seemingly deep in thought, with a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

  Liu Qingfeng looked at the sun that was about to set and slightly furrowed his brow: "It's almost dark, we need to find some dry branches to start a fire, otherwise it'll be troublesome if we run into snakes, insects, rats, or ants at night. And don't wander off too far, got it?"

  Several people nodded and immediately picked up nearby. Before long, they had gathered a large pile. The sky gradually darkened, and they lit a fire. Several people took turns keeping watch at night.

  Liu Qingfeng sat beside Lan Ruoxue, looking at her extremely restless sleeping face. He carefully placed her head on his lap and gently covered her with clothes. "Ruoxue, no matter what happens, I will protect you. Even if it costs my life."

  Why are you all so good to me? How can I possibly repay the depth of your feelings? In fact, when Liu Qingfeng rested her head on his leg, she was already awake, but in order to avoid awkwardness, she continued to pretend to sleep. At first, she thought that Liu Qingfeng was just being stubborn and clinging to her out of spite, but she didn't realize he had fallen so deeply in love with her.

  The morning sunlight flickered, penetrating the dense forest and shining on their faces. The birds in the woods were singing lightly.

  The person who was sleeping soundly gradually woke up, rubbed their sleepy eyes and stretched lazily.

  A new day has begun, they used water from their luggage to wash up simply. After packing up, they continued on their journey.

  The deeper you go, the taller trees and shorter shrubs become more complex and confusing, with dark green tree vines crisscrossing in the forest, like a heavenly net.

  "Classmates, we need to go find a water source now, otherwise the water we brought may not last till today." Liu Qingfeng announced with furrowed brows.

  "Good! Let's go find a water source now." Everyone replied in unison.

  A group of people walked forward one after another, constantly looking around in all directions. Fortunately, everything had been peaceful along the way so far.

  The flowers in the forest are blooming competitively, colorful and diverse.

  Red, yellow, blue and white, intertwined in the woods, breathtakingly beautiful.

  "Oh! What a beautiful flower." Melinda's bright and shiny eyes sparkled as she quickly ran towards the flowers.

  "Wait, don't go any further. It's dangerous!" Blue shouted frantically to Merin who was picking flowers in the meadow.

  Just as the snake was about to bite Melin, a dagger flew swiftly and shot into the flower-spotted snake that was hiding in the flowers, which was as thick as a baby's arm. The snake twisted wildly on the ground for a few times before slowly coming to a stop.

  Fresh flowers fell all over the ground, Meilin's face turned pale and she sat paralyzed on the ground, her whole body slightly trembling, her eyes staring straight at that large flower-spotted snake.

  Lan Ruoxi suddenly let out a sigh of relief and slowly walked forward to help her up. "Meilin, get up, it's all right!"

  Mei Lin slowly got up from the ground, her face still pale, her lips constantly trembling.

  Liu Qingfeng sank his face, furrowed his brow and came to their side, squatted down and pulled out the dagger from the snake's body, wiped it on the grass. He put the dagger back into his pouch.

  He stood up with a cold face, his black eyes flashing with anger. "You don't want to live anymore, huh? This is the forest, full of danger everywhere, do you think this is your backyard?"

  Mei Lin trembled slightly and said in a low voice: "Teacher, I'm sorry!"

  "Never mind! Just be careful." He said coldly, his face full of seriousness.

  "Yes!" The crowd replied in unison, becoming even more vigilant and looking around cautiously.

  The rustling of grass was faint, a line of people went forward with full vigilance.

  "The rustling of the grass was so light and faint that it was almost imperceptible, a soft susurration carried on the breeze."

  At the sound, the six vigilant men stopped in their tracks. Their hearts were racing like fifteen hanging buckets, going up and down.