Chapter 412 (1/2)

Leaving The Forest

“Have you known it all along?” asked Gongjia Heng. How would Shao Xuan be able to tell so quickly? He didn’t believe that Shao Xuan was ‘guessing’.

“Yeah, I knew,” said Shao Xuan.

Gongjia Heng relaxed. Did someone tell him? As Heng was thinking, Shao Xuan said, “This was a conclusion I made this morning, I just had to confirm just now.”

“...You meant you figured it out this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“Just by looking at them, I can tell which is the illusion.” Shao Xuan did not tell him about his extraordinary vision. In his other sense of vision, there was no sun present. That was how he could tell. He was just very surprised there was such a phenomenon here.

Gongjia Heng couldn’t believe Shao Xuan had this ability other than divination!

Heng knew the right answer from secret tools and experience. Yet this was Shao Xuan’s first time here. However, it was a good thing to Heng too. As for how Shao Xuan did it, he did not probe further. Everyone had their own secrets, just like how he had a lot of secrets he would never tell Shao Xuan too. There were a lot of things he would never tell a non-Xia person.

After eating the prey Shao Xuan brought back, Heng rested for half a day before telling Shao Xuan they could leave.

It was already noon by then. One of the suns had disappeared. The illusion was gone.

“Here, the two suns only appear in the morning. At noon, it will return to normal. That is why, if sometimes you encounter a problem you cannot solve, you can just wait. Sometimes, the problem solves itself,” said Gongjia Heng, sounding like an elder giving life advice to him.

Shao Xuan listened. Although Heng was naggy sometimes, he was still a good person. Shao Xuan listened to whatever he had to say. This was an experienced Xia craftsman, it was normal for him to have his quirks.

As they ventured deeper, he understood why Heng was not impressed by two suns. There were many more illusions waiting for them, not just the suns-- sometimes they were mountains, or a simple forest. Taking the wrong path so deep in the forest would result in getting yourself deeper into the problem. While there were not many fierce predators, there were rarely any regular animals too. If you hadn’t prepared dried meat, you’d starve.

However, they were just illusions. They weren’t a serious problem because all Shao Xuan had to do was to use his extraordinary vision. The real problems lay in physical things. There were so many factors that could affect a person’s decision-making skills here.

Just like how Shao Xuan and Gongjia Heng walked for two days in the forest only to realise they had arrived where they started. Neither of them were idiots and were good in pinpointing directions. Yet they still managed to arrive in the same spot two days later. This spelt trouble.

“This is where I got stuck. I haven’t been able to get out of this place,” said Gongjia Heng with frustration, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

The forest looked so normal with no dangerous beasts-- almost tranquil. Yet Gongjia Heng was facing problems here.

“It took me fifteen years to reach here. But that’s it. I have been stuck in this part of the forest for five years.” Gongjia Heng heaved a long sigh, calming his mind. He wasn’t as frustrated and afraid as the first time he was trapped here so his tone was calm.

Shao Xuan stood at the same place he was at two days ago. His eyes swept across the forest as he fished out a piece of straw rope. “I’ll try again.”

Two days ago, when Heng brought Shao Xuan here, he got Shao Xuan to do a reading for them to determine which direction to head next. However, Shao Xuan did three readings and none of them worked. Before the knots were complete, the rope broke.

“It doesn’t matter if it fails.” Gongjia Heng looked at Shao Xuan’s face of determination, knowing that Shao Xuan must be filled with defiance now. But if it were so easy, how would he be stuck here for five years? He had a strong feeling that he’d arrive soon after he left this patch of forest. However, just like a heavy door, this place stood between him and his goal.

However, although that was what he said, he was unwilling too. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got. Whatever calmness he had was gone now.

He turned, wondering when Shao Xuan would stop. However, after a few moments, the first knot on the rope was complete. After a while, another knot formed. Then the third…

Gongjia Heng stood as still as a statue, paralysed. His eyes looked like they were about to fall out, glued to the rope in Shao Xuan’s hands. The muscles on his face shook.

The third knot was done. Then the fourth one. The fifth…

One by one, the knots formed on the rope in his hands. The knots were then combined to form a complicated knot.

Just a little more! Just a little more! Do not break, please do not break!