Chapter 86: The Black Fores
“Xue-er, I have to go out in a bit. Later on, you should go over sister’s place to accompany her and have fun, okay?” Ye Wuchen helped her into the skirt.
“Can I go with you, brother?” Ye Ning Xue asked, longing for an affirmative.
“Not this time. Don’t worry, brother will be back really soon.”
“Okay. I will wait for you to come back.” Ye Ning Xue replied obediently. She would not allow herself become a burden to him.
After having breakfast with Ning Xue, Leng Ya finally came out of his room. His breath was now calm and without any trace of his earlier weeping. The gaze he shot at Ye Wuchen was noticeably warmer, maybe even a little appreciative.
“Your mother’s body is still weak from your long journey, her diet has been unhealthy, along with her depression. However, there are no hindrances anymore, just take good care of her health for half a month, and she will have a complete recovery. There won’t even be any lingering vestiges of the illness.” Ye Wuchen said, “On the other hand, I shall have my people find a place in the madam’s courtyard for your mother to stay. It will be good for her to have interactions with other women of the same age, and they can become companions.
Leng Ya fiercely lifted his head, his gaze fixed on him, “My mother and I are both from the Gale Nation. Your Tian Long Nations hates people from the Gale Nation, and your Ye Family killed the most number of people from the Gale Nation. If you continue to treat us like this, not only your family, though you have yet to inform them, but even other people will despise you.”
“Oh? And I had come to believe you had no sense of forethought,” Ye Wuchen said playfully at him, remembering how he had ruthlessly told Leng Ya of his foolishness yesterday, “Though you are still inexperienced.”
“Hmph.”
“Don’t you worry, I will let you stay here in Ye family. Your mother as well since she is after all, from Tian Long.”
Leng Ya narrowed his eyes, now speaking coldly, “What do you mean? How did you know?”
“I guessed as much.” Ye Wuchen turned around, “You must remember that you promised ten years of loyalty to me. Within these ten years, you should never refuse any task that I have assigned to you. I have already healed your mother’s eyes, you should have no reasons to doubt me! Now, follow me.”
Leng Ya followed after him without responding.
Leaving the house of Ye, they proceeded east, passing through noisy crowds of people until they reached the east gate of the Tian Long City, a first for both of them. Ye Wuchen still did not cease his steps, rather, he passed through the city gate, and continued on eastwards. From beginning to the end he never made any remarks, not even to turn his head, using only his eyes to sweep over the places they passed. Leng Ya followed obediently, keeping quiet. He knew that if they continued to proceed further in this direction, they would reach a certain place. Almost everyone in the Heavenly Star Continent knew that this place was forbidden.
Continuing on eastward, the number of people was significantly less. There had been an expansive road here twenty years ago, and it was now a large neglected area of wild grassland, almost nobody passed by this place anymore. They travelled on foot for another two hours when a pitch-black forest appeared before their eyes.
“Do you know where this is?” Ye Wuchen finally opened his mouth, but did not slow his steps, still proceeding forward.
“......”
“The name of this forest has long been forgotten. Once, the plants here were as green as can be but had turned into this dead-like grey color in the last twenty years. In the deepest parts of this forest lies a tower called Devil’s Trap Pagoda where terrible villains are locked in, but ever since the prison welcomed a certain individual, the entire area transformed into what it is now. This kind of terrible transformation caused people to stay away from this black forest.” Ye Wuchen said gently, his footsteps did not reveal the slightest degree of hesitation, as if the forest they were approaching was not the same black forest he was talking about.
“A Cursed Woman.” Leng Ya said in a low voice.
“That’s right. If I were to bring you to this Devil’s Trap Pagoda, would you dare to enter?” Ye Wuchen said flatly, his manner of speaking did not contain any implications of a joke.
“Yes!”
Ye Wuchen shoots him a glance, shaking his head, “What a boorish fellow! Did you know that numerous individuals exceeding your power by ten or even a hundredfold have entered but never came out. If you have nothing to lose, you may recklessly dash inside, you will only die at the very worst. However, if you died, who would take care of your mother?”
“......”
“If you are not prepared for death, don’t gamble with your life. Even the bravest of men can be despised.”
Advancing a step at a time, Ye Wuchen eventually set foot in this place that would have caused anyone else to flinch back. Nobody had dared to enter this black forest for many years but Leng Ya followed without fear.
This place was strangely quiet; no birds chirping, no beasts roaring, not even the sound of the wind. A murky smell filled the air, weighing heavily in the air making it difficult to breathe.
“An air of death!” Ye Wuchen was talking to himself, his brows lowered.
His charm of immunity to the six elements—water, fire, wind, thunder, earth and death—could easily allow him to manipulate and resist them, the element of death included. Although the death was not so potent in this place, too weak that the life of an ant still persisted, but it was indeed the air of death. According to the rumors, the deeper they went, the denser the air of death became. The very center of the forest emitted the air, which must be coming from the Devil’s Trap Pagoda!
Due the thin presence of the death element, the vitality of the trees in the area was not completely lost. They had twenty years of imperceptible influence to become adapted to the element of death and eventually transformed its hue into this greyish black.
Ye Wuchen’s immunity to the six elements meant he was not afraid of the air in this place. This density would not affect Leng Ya much either.
Ye Wuchen’s eyes were like firelights, sweeping through every tree before him, using his extraordinary memory to remember the position of the trees, silently counting the distance that he had traveled.
The further they proceeded inward, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. It was definitely still daytime, but in here, it already seemed like the beginning of the dusk. The two of them could not help but quiet their footsteps, unwilling to break the deafening silence.
A noise sounded when Ye Wuchen stepped on the dried branch of a tree. All of a sudden the dark underbrush stirred restlessly, and a black rabbit quickly fled, in the blink of an eye it disappeared in the shade of a tree ahead of them.
An animal could not have exist in this place. Ye Wuchen’s mind was somewhat astonished. The life force of the animal fell short of a plant’s, and their reproductive capabilities were much weaker as well. Under the influence of the air of death their life force would have slowly dwindled until death came. Yet the few animals that survived clearly showed natural immunity to the element of death, and would likely be able to pass on this capability, possibly becoming more distinct when they passed the trait on to their succeeding generations.
“Your childhood name is Xiao Feng?” Ye Wuchen, who has been silent, suddenly asked.
“Yes.” Leng Ya answered.
“Your mother’s family name is Leng?”
“Yes.”
“Your father’s family name is Feng?”
Leng Ya abruptly halted his footsteps, both fists clenched tight, and his breath grew as cold as a blade in an instant.
Translated by: Fatty_Uncle
Edited by: seriouspotato and patrick_father_of_dragons