Chapter 4: The Forbidden Forest Encounter (1)

  The next morning, just after dawn, two miles north of Fengjiazhuang Village, on the grassland by the edge of the forbidden forest.

  The air at dawn was a bit suffocating, and the three young men looked serious. Xiao Tian still wore his usual patched gray clothes, but unlike before, he had a pair of woven grass shoes on his feet, and a canvas bag slung over his shoulder, stuffed with dried fish for rations. He also held a fishing spear in his hand. Da Tou had several dry, shriveled up "wotou" (a type of Chinese bread) stuffed into the pockets of his clothes, and was holding a scythe that had been sharpened to a bright sheen. Shou Hua, on the other hand, seemed much less prepared than the other two, with only a rusty chopping knife tucked into his waistband.

  "Big Head, are you sure you want to go in with us?" Little Tian asked again, looking at Big Head who was slowly combing his few strands of hair. "You should know, this isn't a game, that forbidden forest..."

  "Alright, you've asked a hundred times already!" Da Tou flicked his sparse hair back impatiently, interrupting Xiao Tian's questioning. "Are you done yet? I've told you how many times, we're brothers, brothers! Understand? Brothers share good fortune and bad, humph, going into the forbidden forest is such a great adventure, don't even think about leaving me behind!"

  "Good brother" listened to the loud and bold words, Skinny Monkey sincerely praised him. He and Little Sky both understood that Big Head was worried about them two, so although they knew it was extremely dangerous, they still wanted to stick together and go.

  "Haha, okay, okay, brother, I'll shut up. Let's just go through the knife mountain and fire sea together." Xiaotian was also relieved by Da Tou's righteousness and no longer refused, his heart filled with heroic spirit, and he said magnificently:

  "Brothers unite, their strength can cut through metal." A young and determined voice echoed at the edge of the forest, three small hands clasped tightly together, the eyes of the three youths were all resolute.

  "Brothers, let's go!" Xiaotian waved his hand and led the way into the forbidden forest. Da Tou and Shou Hou closely followed behind him. The three figures, not tall but with an air of confidence, gradually disappeared into the dark depths of the forbidden forest. They were just three young men full of vigor and ambition. What nobody noticed was that a small blue figure also slipped into the forest, following them from behind.

  And not to mention the chaos caused by the sudden disappearance of several people in the village: Feng Lao Er frantically searched everywhere, turning over Fengjia Village and several neighboring villages; Feng Qingru's couple worried anxiously, crying with tears; Da Tou Ma wailed loudly, refusing to stop; Shou Hou Ma was on the verge of death... The only comfort for them was that these few young people had disappeared together, so they could still take care of each other. Fortunately, they didn't think that these reckless young people would go to the forbidden forest, which even they feared, otherwise this remaining comfort would also turn into despair.

  And so, Xiaotian and his companions marched into the depths of the forbidden forest, wielding sickles and hatchets to clear a path. The forest was eerily quiet, with an unsettling stillness that seemed to suffocate them. The only sounds were the rustling of dry leaves beneath their feet and the occasional strange cry echoing from within the forest. Not even a single animal crossed their path, yet the air was thick with the stench of rotting flesh, making it hard to breathe. Thin rays of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the treetops, casting an eerie glow on the tree trunks that seemed to stare at Xiaotian and his companions like a multitude of ghostly eyes. A faint mist hung in the air, as if hiding some unspeakable secret, and every now and then, a chill wind would sweep through the forest without warning. There were no paths to be found, only waist-high weeds and wild grasses that grew between the ancient trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky.

  As Xiao Tian and the others walked deeper, the trees became denser, the grass grew taller, and the light grew dimmer. The sunlight filtering down from above also grew weaker, while the strange calls of unknown animals increased.

  "Little... little Tian Ge, this... this place is also too... too eerie" The thin monkey's face was ashen, his teeth chattering, and he stuttered.

  "Is... is that so?" The big-headed man's face turned pale, his lips trembling as he nodded in agreement, his hands tightly gripping the sickle and sweating profusely.

  "Hehe, don't be afraid. Since we've come this far, let's calm down and take a look around. Let's hurry up and find what we're looking for, and then quickly head back." Stopping in his tracks, he waited for the big-headed monkey and skinny monkey to catch up from behind, smiled, and encouraged them by saying that compared to their two companions, Little Tian was much more composed, but would he be able to make it back out of the forbidden forest this time?

  "Niang Niang——" Xiao Tian started calling out softly

  "Brother..." This was Skinny Monkey's slightly trembling voice, soft and likely frightened.

  "Wind Brother... Niu Niu..." was called out in turns by Da Tou, who also didn't dare to speak loudly in this quiet forest.

  Suddenly a rustling sound came from behind them, and the thin monkey and big head's faces turned pale immediately. Their feet seemed to have springs on them, and with a "brush" sound, they jumped to Xiao Tian's side, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

  "Huh?" Xiao Tian immediately raised his fish fork, shielding his two companions behind him, and cautiously looked in the direction of the sound.

  All that could be seen was a plump, pig-like animal standing under a tree, staring curiously at Feng Xiaotian and the others with its round, shiny eyes. What was strange was that this pig-like creature only had two legs, and on its head grew a single horn.

  "Little... little Tian Ge, what... what is this?" Da Tou stuttered, his body trembling non-stop, and Feng Xiao Tian could still hear the sound of his teeth chattering.

  The thin monkey was unbearable, shrinking his head behind Feng Xiaotian's back and tightly grasping the clothes on Feng Xiaotian's back, not even daring to lift his face.

  The wind was small and Tian was also very afraid, but seeing two good friends like this, he had to force himself to swing the fish fork and make a "heh heh" intimidating sound.

  The pig-like animal saw this and spread its two short legs, "whoosh" and ran into the bushes.

  Feng Xiaotian and the three of them suddenly let out a long sigh, plopping themselves down on the grassy ground. Feng Xiaotian felt that his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

  "Skinny monkey, you're really a coward, not even daring to look, haha!" Big Head caught his breath and started teasing Skinny Monkey, completely forgetting that he was also afraid.

  "Hmph, Big Head, you've forgotten your bear-like appearance, haven't you? Your body is shaking like a sieve. Don't think I don't know?" Thin Monkey's face turned bright red as he hastily retorted...

  "You..." Da Tou was about to retort, but suddenly a shrill cry of "Ah" came from the thicket beside them. Da Tou's words were cut off abruptly, and he instantly grabbed Feng Xiao Tian, his body shaking uncontrollably once again. As for Shou Hua, his movements weren't slow either. He didn't care about ridiculing Da Tou, and swiftly pressed his body down, hiding behind Feng Xiao Tian.