Chapter Twenty-Two: The Forest

  It was late at night, and the small pieces of wood in the wooden platform had been burned for a while. The crowd's enthusiasm had also dissipated, and there were not many people left on site.

  Lin Fang seems to have had a bit too much to drink, with 7 or 8 empty bottles scattered on the floor. Drinking too much beer makes one easily go to the toilet.

  "What's going on? How did you end up drinking so much? You're really greedy with your drinks."

  Looking around at the few people left who didn't seem to have much spirit and wouldn't notice him, Lin Fang decided to take care of it locally and avoid the trouble of going back to the villa.

  Smoothly.

  Lin Fang seemed drunk at this time, his movements became unstable, and he randomly adjusted his pants, ready to go back to sleep.

  "Lin Fang."

  "Who?" Lin Fang was really drunk, and he comically twisted his body back and forth looking around.

  The person behind him was Zhao Tianyu, his expression exactly the same as when he had just watched the two of them dancing.

  Lin Fang's line of sight was a bit overlapping, this was the alcohol starting to numb his consciousness: "It's you, looking for me with something?"

  "Follow me." Zhao Tianyu said expressionlessly.

  "What right?"

  Lin Fang's center of gravity began to shift, and he was using his last bit of consciousness to maintain his balance. For some reason, he didn't like Zhao Tianyu, whose tone and movements seemed careless.

  "About Ye Wei."

  Zhao Tianyu didn't pay attention to Lin Fang's awkward appearance at this time, and walked forward by himself, towards that even darker and more obscure front.

  Lin Fang originally didn't want to bother with Zhao Tianyu, but after hearing Ye Wei's name, he was taken aback and didn't think much of it, following Zhao Tianyu as he walked away. He didn't know that this decision made under the influence of alcohol would lead him into a trap that had been waiting for him for a long time.

  That bonfire seemed to be guiding people's direction, but two people were getting farther and farther away from the light until their backs couldn't see any light at all, only the dark clouds covering the moon above their heads. No one noticed when Lin Fang disappeared, nor did anyone see him follow Zhao Tianyu into the forest.

  There were many shrubs, and with the obstructed view, it was very difficult for Lin Fang to walk. He would often get his feet tangled in the vines underfoot.

  The temperature in the forest was a bit low, and the coolness slowly dissipated Lin Fang's intoxication, but it didn't help much with keeping up with Zhao Tianyu's pace.

  A few strands of moonlight filtered through the dense foliage, and the trees with long vines were faintly visible, from time to time some branches that had been broken off by Lin Fang.

  Zhao Tianyu seemed very familiar with this forest, walking in front without making a sound. If Lin Fang's footsteps were any slower, he might have lost him.

  "Slap"

  Another branch broke with a snapping sound, which seemed particularly eerie in the silent forest. A slightly intoxicated person, how could he keep up with someone familiar with the terrain?

  "Hey, where are you going?"

  Lin Fang couldn't take it anymore and shouted at Zhao Tianyu in front of him. This shout seemed to break the balance of something.

  Zhao Tianyu didn't respond to Lin Fang's words and instead looked around, seemingly observing his surroundings.

  "Speak up."

  Zhao Tianyu stopped his observing action and suddenly ran in one direction at a faster speed.

  "Damn it, what's going on." Lin Fang cursed loudly.

  People are strange, seeing others run will chase others. Seeing someone chasing oneself, one will run.

  Running in the forest is a very dangerous thing, because the ground is uneven and it's easy to fall down, what's more, it may attract some aggressive animals, especially on such a dark night.

  Lin Fang struggled to pull his foot out of a soft vine, and he continued to chase in an unknown direction. Zhao Tianyu's figure was occasionally blocked by some trees, making it difficult for Lin Fang to see his position clearly, but he could tell that Zhao Tianyu's direction was very clear.

  A branch was in a dark position, and if one wasn't careful, they wouldn't see it. The tip of the branch brushed against Lin Fang's left cheek, leaving a drop of blood on his face. Lin Fang turned around to look behind him due to the burning sensation on his cheek.

  Behind me were some tall trees, I don't know why, there was no light here, the moonlight seemed to be unable to shine in, behind me it was like a black curtain, and inside something seemed to be ready to come out.

  As if afraid of something behind him, Lin Fang's intoxication had dissipated by more than half, and he could barely keep up with Zhao Tianyu, who seemed to be able to see clearly in the dark night and walked without any hindrance.

  The trees beside him quickly fell back, Lin Fang's running speed got faster and faster, but Zhao Tianyu in front of him was getting farther and farther away. He could only see that constantly shrinking black back shadow, Lin Fang became anxious.

  A soft vine was suddenly stretched out under Lin Fang's feet, and he tripped and fell to the ground, but Lin Fang didn't feel any pain at all. The ground was covered with withered leaves, and he lay on a pile of them. In this area below, it was all withered leaves.

  This time, the distance between the two was completely pulled apart. When Lin Fang got up, he couldn't see Zhao Tianyu's figure anymore. He patted the dry leaves on his body and observed the surroundings. Generally feeling the direction Zhao Tianyu went, Lin Fang slowly walked over.

  As Lin Fang walked, the dry leaves on the ground made some crunching sounds. In this quiet and gloomy forest, the sound was unusually clear. Every step he took seemed to be stepping on his own heart.

  There was still some drunkenness, Lin Fang complained: "Is this guy sick or something? He brought me here and didn't say a word."

  In this eerie atmosphere, it's easy to let one's imagination run wild. But Lin Fang's wild thoughts made his intoxication completely disappear, leaving only terror. Even in the cold air, a thin layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

  "Why didn't he make any noise when he walked here just now."

  Another rustling sound, but this time it wasn't Lin Fang who made the noise. The sound seemed to be coming from ahead and was getting closer and closer.

  Lin Fang heard clearly that the sound was getting closer and closer to him, as if it was coming straight for him. In this gloomy environment, whatever was rushing towards him couldn't be anything good, and its speed was very fast.

  Not having time to think much, Lin Fang hastily walked to the side of a tree and squatted down, but when he was walking just now, he also made some noise, hoping that thing wouldn't hear it.

  Lin Fang didn't dare to make a single move, tightly leaning against the tree, his nerves slowly tightening, and the rustling sound getting closer and closer, until the sound stopped, Lin Fang felt as if it had stopped at the spot where he had just fallen.

  He strained his nerves, concentrating all his attention on his ears, but he couldn't hear any sound, only some gentle breeze blowing over, lightly rustling the dry leaves on the ground, and nothing else.

  It was unknown how long it had been, but there was still no sound from that side. Lin Fang didn't dare to make any movements and maintained his squatting posture. Even his breathing became almost imperceptible. Perhaps unable to bear the silence, Lin Fang decided to take a look.

  He slowly poked his head out from behind the tree, the entire movement not big, but done very slowly. His heart was racing fast, he was really worried it would jump out. When his eyes emerged into the space outside the tree, Lin Fang had already forgotten to breathe. He had never felt his heartbeat so loud before, and he also saw that there was indeed something over there.

  A human-like black shadow was standing at the spot where Lin Fang had just fallen, and from his shaking head, he seemed to be carefully observing the surroundings, as if looking for something.

  The light was really too dim, Lin Fang couldn't see the person's appearance clearly. His right hand seemed to be holding something, a strip-shaped thing, and his figure seemed like Zhao Tianyu.

  Lin Fang's body froze, staring at him carefully, not daring to move.

  Not long after, the dark figure seemed to be unable to find what it was looking for and left, heading in the direction that Lin had come from, though he couldn't quite recall. His eyes were fixed on its movement, the dry leaves on the ground rustling with a soft crunching sound, until it disappeared into the darkness, and the sound gradually faded away.

  Lin Fang let out a soft breath, and only when the sound was completely gone did his tense nerves slowly relax. Just for this brief moment, he felt a chill on his back, cold sweat had seeped through his clothes, and as a gentle breeze blew by, an icy sensation transmitted to his brain.

  Leaning against the tree, Lin Fang felt a bit tired and tense for too long. His face was a bit sticky, it was the blood from the wound that was cut earlier. Now that he had relaxed, he could feel the burning sensation from the wound. What should he do now? Go find Zhao Tianyu or go back? Was the person just now really Zhao Tianyu? Why did Zhao Tianyu look for him again? Were the things he said about Ye Wei true, or was it just to lure him out? And what did he want to do by luring him out?

  Lin Fang decided to go find Zhao Tianyu because he mentioned Ye Wei and judging from his expression, Lin Fang felt that something was going to happen.

  Taking a deep breath, Lin Fang stood up and walked in the direction Zhao Tianyu had gone in his memory. He didn't dare to walk too fast, the rustling sound from under his feet was particularly jarring in this quiet environment.

  In front of it was still very dark, the forked branches on those trees were even denser and harder to walk through. In the shadows, they looked like some monsters' claws, stretching towards innocent people.

  He wanted to ignore the sound coming from under his feet, focusing on the environment in front of him, but he couldn't. The rhythmic rustling sound always caught his heart.

  "Hiss, hiss, hiss"

  The sound in front was the dry leaves under Lin Fang's feet, while the sound behind was the one that broke this rhythm. Lin Fang stopped his footsteps and held his breath to listen carefully to this discordant sound.

  "Chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

  The sound started out slow and gradually increased in speed, coming from its own direction.

  Lin Fangcai suddenly found himself in a relatively empty location, with sparse trees around him, and there was no place to hide. Before long, the sound from behind seemed to be coming from right behind him, whatever was making the noise was approaching too quickly, he's here.

  It's no longer possible to hide, and it's bound to be discovered by the things behind. Lin Fang ran, the rustling sound from under his feet and the noise coming from behind broke the silence of the forest.

  While running, he kept looking back, and behind him was still the same blackness. The surrounding trees, soft rattans, and forked branches continuously entered the darkness, just like a wide open mouth swallowing everything in, while the things behind were always invisible, only the sound kept coming, once again grasping Lin Fang's nerves.

  Lin Fang's foot stepped into a small pit, and with an unstable step, he fell down. The place where he fell seemed to be on a slope, and the whole person was thrown down, rolling continuously, causing his body to stick with many dry leaves. Until he bumped into the trunk of a tree, surrounded by dry leaves that buried him.

  Lin Fang's world had come to a standstill, but he didn't faint, he just bumped into something. He tensely felt the surroundings in the pile of dead leaves, and the voices chasing him were gone too. This feeling was like an eerie dream, if not for the burning sensation on his face, he really hoped it was just a dream.

  He wanted to sleep like this until dawn and then find Zhao Tianyu, the forest at night was indeed strange as Ye Wei said, it seemed that there were some things that people couldn't understand existed, his thoughts were good until a voice broke this thought, fear, tension once again occupied his consciousness, and this voice came from right in front of him.

  "Lin Fang."