Chapter 29: The Carriage (4k)

This was a dilapidated carriage abandoned in the thicket.

The body of the carriage was crafted from a reddish-brown wood, hard in texture with a warm, lustrous hue; the varnish applied to its surface made it appear exceptionally glossy. On both sides of the carriage, hollowed-out circular windows stood half-open. Through the sunlight filtering down from the canopy above, one could vaguely perceive the hollow emptiness within. The roof was slightly curved like a ridge, and the wooden eaves extending to the left and right were carved with intricate patterns, though the specific details of the images had been eroded and damaged by some external force, rendering them unrecognizable.

"This is it!"

Haian stood in a clearing a short distance from the carriage, his expression faintly betraying excitement.

"This traditional design style, revealing sophistication through simplicity, is exactly the same as that piece of wood!"

He gripped the ink-black token in his hand tightly, as if he were one step closer to the truth.

Xianan stood to one side, silent and calm.

Yet, deep inside, waves were surging once again.

His grasp of history was shallow; even the knowledge he had painstakingly memorized from textbooks during his student years had been largely forgotten, swept away by the dull and exhausting grind of his professional life. Therefore, he could not determine the approximate age of an object based merely on design style and material details.

Even so, just as he had with the wooden token earlier, Xianan felt at a single glance the thick "Central Continent" characteristics of the carriage before him.

"This isn't right!"

Just as the few members of the party were lost in thought over the appearance of the carriage, Larry, who was always blunt and outspoken, suddenly spoke up.

"How could there be a carriage in the Mist Forest? It’s surrounded by giant trees—how did it get in here?"

His words instantly jolted the others from their reveries.

Larry was right. The Mist Forest was a gathering place for dangerous monsters. The ground was almost entirely covered in tough, tangled thorns and shrubs, not to mention the towering trees so dense they occupied every corner of one's vision. In such an environment, even an experienced adventurer team could usually only walk through with caution and great difficulty.

Even if there were a "superbly skilled" driver who had managed to steer a carriage into the forest, the immense commotion caused by the vehicle's progress would have been enough to attract monsters from hundreds of yards away.

"And look..." Haian, gradually coming to his senses, began to notice the suspicious points as well. He extended a finger, frowning. "There are no wheel tracks on the ground nearby."

"It’s as if this carriage just fell into the forest out of thin air."

Wood, who had been guarding Haian like a shadow and had remained silent since the beginning, suddenly spoke up to add:

"Ordinary wooden materials would rot and decay quickly under the erosion of the magic-saturated air in the Mist Forest."

"This carriage is not made of enchanted materials, yet there is very little dust and clear signs of use remain. It was clearly left here recently."

"That shouldn't be... if it were recent... how could there be absolutely no traces around it?" Haian’s brows furrowed, his confusion deepening.

The interior of the carriage was empty, with no possibility of monsters lurking inside; the surrounding shrubs and tall grass had also been checked, confirming they were safe.

The group approached cautiously.

Although it looked as if it had been struck by an owlbear, leaving the entire carriage battered and broken, a few details still reflected its originally exquisite and luxurious decor. For instance, the hollowed-out lanterns hanging under the wooden eaves, and the soft, smooth curtains inside the windows, embroidered with elegant patterns...

"Ah!"

A sharp, instantly stifled scream suddenly pierced the air.

Xianan, already on edge due to the high-pressure environment of the Mist Forest, couldn't help but shudder. He looked over with a frown to see Doris, the golden-haired girl at the edge of the team, covering her mouth with one hand while pointing toward the shadows beneath the carriage shafts with the other.

"Scor... Scorpions!"

Larry shielded her behind him, intending to perform a classic "hero saves the beauty" maneuver. As his gaze followed the direction of Doris's finger, the fat on his cheeks trembled.

*Swoosh, swoosh...*

It sounded like countless grains of sand pouring onto the ground.

What Xianan heard first was the strange, collective sound of countless sharp, tiny movements. Then, like a gushing spring, a "black tide" began to pour out from the bottom of the carriage.

It was a swarm of jet-black scorpions, each the size of a finger joint!

"Damn it!"

Xianan felt a chill shoot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head. He recoiled violently, his longsword already held horizontally across his chest.

The half-elf reacted even faster. As his silver hair fluttered, he retreated several steps into the tall grass—as an archer whose primary output came from bow and arrow, gaining distance the moment a battle began was the most correct choice.

Larry’s performance was somewhat unexpected; though his face had paled with fear and he had stumbled over a tree branch while retreating in a panic, he still firmly protected Doris, choosing not to flee the scene.

In the blink of an eye, only Wood remained on the open ground.

Looking at the lone figure in front of the carriage, Xianan gritted his teeth and moved forward again.

Retreating had only been a first instinct driven by survival. Although he was a newcomer, the moment he realized his position in the team, he stepped back up.

He wouldn't be the one to fail at a time like this.

The cold, uneven texture of the sword hilt pressed against his palm. Yet, his heart still felt numb.

He held a fine longsword scavenged from the blacksmith’s shop, carried curative potions with miraculous effects in his backpack, and wore sturdy, expensive leather armor.

His stamina was full.

Xianan was confident that even if he faced twenty goblins alone, he could fight his way through them. But faced with the black scorpions surging toward him like a tidal wave, he felt at a loss for where to begin.

Just then, Wood suddenly held out a hand, signaling for him to stay back.

Immediately, Wood pulled a palm-sized brown clay jar from the pouch at his waist and hurled it forward!

*Bang!*

The jar hit the ground and shattered instantly.

Viscous, opaque black liquid, mixed with murky dust, splashed and flew everywhere.

Then, a spark of fire.

*Whoosh!*

A heatwave surged, and the orange-red firelight reflected in Xianan’s pupils.

Blazing flames erupted suddenly!

In an instant, the countless scorpions, along with the carriage, were completely swallowed. The swirling flames seemed to ignite the fear deep within the creatures' bloodlines. The dense, tidal swarm of insects scattered immediately, turning into countless "tributaries" that vanished into the nearby shrubs and grass.

*Crackle.*

Carapaces burst under the high heat, and a foul, scorched odor filled the air.

"Where did so many scorpions come from? They scared me to death!"

Larry’s pale face was covered in cold sweat, and he spoke with lingering fear. The half-elf Haian also gradually emerged from the grass, his wooden arrow already nocked on the bowstring, his expression grave.

Xianan’s heart hammered, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief. He slowly sheathed his sword, feeling fortunate. It was a good thing there was a professional in the team who carried something like a Molotov cocktail. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known how to deal with so many tiny bugs.

Glancing at the retreating swarm, Xianan fell into thought. He wondered if such throwable items were sold in River Valley Town. Once he returned, he would get a few bottles; they might have miraculous effects on future missions. If all else failed, he could try to research them by referring to his somewhat blurred memories from his previous life—"bottles, alcohol, flammable fabric... what else was there?"

Xianan shook his head, dispersing his wandering thoughts.

He would deal with that later; now was not the time.

He looked toward the firelight. Seeing that the flames, after dispersing the swarm, were continuing to spread along the weeds on the ground, looking as if they might grow out of control, his knowledge from the civilized society of his past life and the worldview formed by an influx of information made him instinctively resist the encroaching natural disaster that threatened to swallow a large stretch of forest.

Without overthinking, he asked subconsciously:

"Is this fire... going to be okay?"

He had just asked it casually, not expecting a response. Surprisingly, Wood, who had maintained a guarded posture since Xianan joined the team, replied quite seriously, contrary to his usual demeanor:

"The Mist Forest is rich in magic; as long as it is a normal flame, it is basically impossible to cause a major fire."

"The scale of this flame, although it looks like it’s expanding, is actually just burning the surrounding shrubs and weeds. It might not even touch a single tree before it extinguishes itself."

Xianan’s proactive behavior in the face of danger seemed to have changed the bodyguard’s opinion of him. Of course, since they hadn't known each other long, that was as far as it went.

After speaking, Wood stopped responding and stepped forward toward the flames. He bent down, used his fingertips to pin a tail, and picked up one of the scorpions fleeing the scene. He examined it with a slight frown.

"What is it, Wood? Did you find something?"

The pungent, scorched smell in the air made Haian uncomfortable, and he asked as he lowered his bow.

"Young Master, there is... indeed something wrong here."

The Mist Forest was vast and boundless, and the abundant magic in its air made it a habitat for countless creatures. Even the most experienced adventurer wouldn't dare claim they could identify every type of monster, let alone the numerous ordinary animals that had many subspecies due to the special environment. Therefore, Wood wasn't surprised by the strange, never-before-seen scorpion.

However, at this moment, as he looked at the black scorpion in his hand, which was still holding its chelae high in a warning gesture, he felt that the party had invisibly been drawn into a massive vortex, sinking deeper and deeper.

Wood suddenly turned his head to look at Haian, who was watching him with concern. For a fleeting moment, he felt a sense of daze.

It was just like the figure who had saved him from the slums filled with sewage and garbage many years ago. The same familiar silver-gray eyes, the same soft, lustrous silver-white hair...

He opened his mouth, countless words flowing through his heart. In the end, he only managed to say dryly:

"Let’s bypass this place first, Young Master."

"It’s time to set up camp."

...

...

Night falls quickly in the forest.

Sometimes, you think it’s still early and you can make some headway while the sunlight filters through the gaps in the canopy. But in just a few steps, the darkness can envelop you.

Wood’s judgment of the timing was accurate.

By the time Xianan and the others had awkwardly set up their sleeping bags, piled up the branches they had gathered from the woods, and ignited a campfire with flint, the previously bright sky had already turned to dusk.

*Crackle—*

The fire burned.

Haian sat by the bonfire, his crystalline eyes reflecting the orange-red flames, his fingers absentmindedly stroking the ink-black wooden token. He looked somewhat dazed.

Wood had long since finished setting up guards and traps around the camp. Seeing Haian’s state, he hesitated for a moment and said slowly:

"Young Master, you know that it was the Matriarch who gave me a second life."

"Although the Matriarch... after you were very young... I have stayed with the Wycliffe family for many years."

"Forgive my bluntness, but the piece of wood in your hand is not the style of the High Elves. The Matriarch used to..."

"Shut up!" Haian’s emotions suddenly flared, his fingertips turning white from gripping the token too tightly. But a moment later, he realized he shouldn't have reacted that way and calmed down.

"I’m sorry."

His tone was once again level and gentle, but Haian’s gaze remained fixed on the fire.

Wood said nothing more, keeping his head down. Just as always, he sat in the half-elf’s shadow.

The air fell silent, with only the muffled sounds of the burning fire.

Xianan sat on the other side, wiping his sword without looking up, his ears, which had been perked, quietly relaxing. He had no intention of getting involved in other people’s family affairs. But since they were in the same party and the other party hadn't meant to keep it a secret, learning a little bit about it in passing was acceptable.

Moreover, Xianan was actually a bit curious. Unlike the reckless Larry, the half-elf clearly had a more meticulous mind, and judging by the attitude of the others toward him, his background was likely higher. Yet, he had dared to venture deep into the outskirts of the Mist Forest with only one bodyguard, even if they were professionals, to find an unknown target. Clearly, they were hiding something.

(As for himself, he knew the location of the fire-garlic vine was in the outermost periphery, basically safe, and the round trip would take no more than a day and a half. Having traveled it before and being under a tight deadline for the quest, he had dared to enter alone.)

Hearing nothing more, he ceased paying attention.

The dusk was dim. It seemed as if even the mist in the air had become lazy, drifting leisurely. Doris seemed to have been badly frightened by the scorpions, and Larry’s soft, comforting voice beside her was indistinct; Haian and Wood sat by the fire, smoke and shadows swirling around them in a heavy silence; Xianan leaned against a tree trunk, sitting alone in a corner, his eyes downcast, holding his iron-gray longsword in his arms.

A day full of twists and turns seemed to be drawing to a close.

But like the final post-credits scene of a movie, as an adventurer walking on the edge of a blade, you must always be ready to face those unexpected "surprises."