The deeper they ventured, the more disorienting the forest became. Paths that seemed clear moments before would suddenly vanish, accompanied by the faint rustle of shifting branches. Trees appeared to shift and rearrange themselves as soon as they looked away, and the ground beneath them seeming to tremble slightly, as if the forest itself was in motion.
Their surroundings distorted, twisting their sense of direction until they were utterly, completely lost. Tian Hao glanced behind them. The path they had followed had already changed, becoming an almost indistinguishable part of the dense foliage.
“Alright,” Tian Hao sighed, “perhaps you’re right. This might be worse than the last forest, after all, so we need a better plan.” He raised a hand, his fingers brushing lightly against his temple as though focusing his thoughts. “First we… wait, did you see that tree move just now, or did I finally drink too much?”
“Trees don’t move, Tian Hao,” Lin Mei said, her voice tight with barely concealed panic, “at least not without some serious… influence. We’re trapped in some kind of formation, though I still can’t sense anything—no Qi signatures, no power fluctuations, nothing beyond the expected.”
Lin Mei sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to sense the true path through the illusion. “It’s like the forest itself is alive,” she murmured. “Paths shift, trees move, each turn now a deception against what I just witnessed moments before. My eyes are no longer my own. Perhaps this is what it feels like to be in a dream,” she whispered, looking at the shifting path. “Everything now an illusion.”
Tian Hao grinned, emboldened by the wine. For a moment, though, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind—was he underestimating the forest's danger? He pushed the thought aside.
“Ah, so it's a forest party! Sounds like fun!” He waggled his eyebrows, reaching out to grab Lin Mei's hand before she could move. "Come on, Mei Mei, let’s dance!" He tugged playfully at her arm, though she remained rooted to the spot, her expression unreadable as she studied the twisting paths ahead.
“Stop it, Tian Hao! This isn’t a game,” Lin Mei hissed, her eyes darting around as she tried to separate illusion from reality. His touch, usually comforting, now felt jarring, like a sudden shock. His laughter—normally welcome—was an intrusion, breaking her concentration as she strained to distinguish the shifting paths from the true way forward, fighting to grasp what was real in this twisted landscape.
“Perhaps we need a new approach,” she muttered, turning in a circle, her gaze scanning the surrounding trees, her fists clenching tightly as she took a deep breath.
“A new approach? I like it,” Tian Hao grinned, and then, struck by sudden inspiration from tales he had only just begun to truly appreciate, declared, “If this forest is alive, as you say, then perhaps we need to show it some respect, yes? A little… feng shui perhaps?”
Lin Mei’s eye twitched. “Feng shui?” she repeated incredulously, though even she couldn't deny where they now stood and how little she now knew of what might lead them further along. “You’re suggesting we… redecorate the forest? In the middle of a competition?”
“Exactly!” Tian Hao exclaimed, as if the mere idea were brilliant. He started gathering loose branches and fallen leaves, arranging them in what might, charitably, be described as a vaguely symmetrical pattern. “A little balance here, a little harmony there…”
“What in the heavens…?” Jiuwei muttered under her breath, her golden eyes narrowed in disbelief as she watched Tian Hao’s… efforts. “This is beyond absurd.”
Lin Mei sighed as she watched the trees sway around them as though disturbed by Tian Hao’s well-meaning, though possibly misplaced attempts at forest feng shui. The surrounding foliage seemed to ripple and shift, the air itself thickening. The ground beneath them trembled ever so slightly, and the faint whispers of the forest grew louder, the sound closer now, as though something were approaching, answering his call.
The patterns seemed to respond—or perhaps mock—his efforts at redecorating. The whispers grew stronger, their voices now sharper as the trees themselves seemed to sway in rhythm with his movements, the air growing thicker as the very path twisted and folded around him, sealing them in rather than revealing what might lie ahead.
Lin Mei grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Stop it, Tian Hao,” she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. “You’re making it worse. We're about to invoke something far worse than disorientation. It feels like the forest itself is rejecting what you’re trying to do.”
Tian Hao, reluctantly accepting that feng shui was not his forte after all—or at least, not his version of it—tossed the branches aside with a frustrated sigh, his earlier confidence replaced by a gnawing unease.
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“So, now what?” he asked, glancing around nervously as if expecting the forest itself to rise up and swat them like a farmer might swat gnats from a peach blossom, “We're officially lost.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke, their earlier playful banter replaced by the heavy silence of the forest, their playful bickering forgotten as they were confronted with the very real possibility that they might not get out of here, that the test was not for them as individuals, nor as representatives of some sect but was for them as a team.
Each sound, each rustle in the leaves, every subtle change in the dappled sunlight seemed to taunt them now as a reminder of their shared plight.
“We’re trapped,” Tian Hao muttered, and was surprised at how weary, how close to despairing his voice had become. “We’ll never get out of here. We're going to be stuck in this… this maze… forever.”
It was then, as though some ancient power had whispered the thought to him from the stillness of the trees, from those same leaves that had become a twisting cage for his very perceptions of truth, that he remembered something. Big Sister System's words from what felt like long ago echoed in his mind. "Trust your intuition."
“Close your eyes, Mei Mei,” he said. “This formation—it preys on our perceptions, twisting what we see, clouding our judgment. Trust your intuition. Let go of what your eyes show you. Feel the path… breathe the forest… become the air.”
Lin Mei hesitated. His words, though strange, seemed somehow, calming. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, her mind settling into a quiet stillness.
Her fear began to melt away.
She stood there, arms at her side as if at rest, not bracing for some unknown blow from the whispering leaves. She listened to the whispers of the forest, the faint rustling of leaves, and the soft murmur of the wind in the branches. She took a deep breath, drawing the cool, damp air into her lungs, savoring its earthy aroma. She extended her hands, letting her fingertips brush against the rough bark of a nearby tree.
“This way,” she whispered, taking a step, trusting her instincts, and as she did the trees stopped their shifting, the shadows settling into more familiar patterns as the paths began to unravel into one and then another and then, in the distance, she could almost smell and taste where their shared journey would end.
Tian Hao grinned, following closely behind, and whispered. “See, Mei Mei? I told you. Sometimes, it pays to listen to the… unconventional cultivator.”
Lin Mei rolled her eyes, her eyes still closed, as her usual composure began to return, though there was now a hint of gratitude mixing with the lingering amusement. "Show-off," she muttered under her breath.
Tian Hao let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, the tension in his chest easing as his surroundings now felt more normal. A playful grin spread across his face. “Lead the way, Mei Mei,” he replied, his confidence returning, his own weariness now gone alongside the illusions.
Lin Mei paused for a moment, opening her eyes, her brow furrowing. "It wasn't just our eyes, was it? The formation... it messed with our thoughts too. I could feel it, pushing us to give up."
Tian Hao nodded, his expression more serious. "Yeah, it was like a fog in my mind. Every step felt like we were just walking in circles, and the more we tried, the more hopeless it felt." He glanced at her, a small, reassuring smile on his lips. "But we beat it, Mei Mei. Together."
Lin Mei's gaze softened, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Together," she echoed, her voice resolute. "We need to stay sharp. The next challenge might not be so easily outwitted."
Tian Hao grinned, his usual playfulness creeping back. "As long as we keep our heads—and maybe avoid any more feng shui experiments—I think we'll be fine."
As Tian Hao and Lin Mei pressed onward, the forest threw obstacle after obstacle in their path.
They scrambled up steep, jagged inclines, the rocks crumbling beneath their hands, Tian Hao's muscles burning with exertion. They waded through icy, rushing streams that numbed their legs to the bone, Lin Mei shivering uncontrollably from the cold.
Treacherous ravines forced them to leap across, every jump demanding all their focus, each misstep threatening a dangerous fall. Every challenge sapped a bit more of their strength, pushing them closer to their limits.
As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the forest floor, Tian Hao’s attention was drawn to a rustling in the undergrowth. The sound was subtle at first—a faint shuffling, as if something was cautiously making its way through the thick brush. The rustling grew louder, the bushes trembling, leaves shaking as if something large lurked within. Tian Hao tensed, anticipation rising with each rustle and crack of a twig.
Then, slowly, a small, furry form emerged from the bushes—a spirit beast resembling a miniature earth bear. Its fur was the color of dark soil, mottled and tangled, its eyes small and beady, glittering with curiosity. It sniffed the air, its tiny nose twitching, before turning towards them, its gaze innocent yet unflinching, as if sizing them up with all the bravery its little form could muster.
“It’s… it’s so… underwhelming,” Tian Hao remarked, unable to help the disappointment in his voice as his eyes scanned its small frame and clumsy movements, its fluffy fur. “I was expecting something more menacing somehow. I’ve faced more intimidating dumplings.”
The small bear let out a low growl, its tiny paws scraping at the earth as it stood its ground. The growl, though quiet, carried an eerie resonance, and the forest seemed to respond.
Suddenly, the growl escalated into a roar—one far deeper and more menacing than anything that should have come from such a small creature. The forest around them seemed to come alive, the shadows deepening, shifting with a sinister intent. Tian Hao's eyes widened, and he exchanged a tense glance with Lin Mei.
"I guess it's not that underwhelming after all," he muttered, his voice barely audible over the rising cacophony.