Chapter Seventy: The Blood-Eyed Tree

Naru Ger and Li Pingyang walked out of the forest arm in arm, supporting each other, their camaraderie unexpectedly close. No one knew what they had experienced to suddenly bring them together in such harmony.

The night before, when Li Pingyang hadn’t returned, Li Hu grew anxious. He organized a group to enter the forest in search of him and encountered the beast known as the Stone Man. After a fierce battle, everyone was wounded. With darkness falling and only a few torches left, they were forced to withdraw from the territory of the Stone Man, deciding to wait until dawn to resume their search.

What angered Li Hu the most was that bald-headed man from Tubo, Jibule. His selfishness was outrageous!

Eight hours earlier…

Li Hu and Jibule each led a team, entering the forest from different directions to search for Li Pingyang and Naru Ger. According to their agreement, they were all supposed to leave the forest before sunset, regardless of who prevailed. But as evening neared, neither Li Pingyang nor Naru Ger appeared.

“It’s almost dark. They must be in trouble. I won’t wait! If you’re scared, stay here. I’ll go alone,” Li Hu said, worried for Li Pingyang. He snatched a torch from someone, hefted his broadsword, and prepared to enter the forest alone.

“No, it’s too dangerous for one person. You, you, and you—go with him. Stay sharp!” said the Third Prince, who was also anxious, waiting for Li Pingyang. He quickly picked several skilled men to accompany Li Hu.

On the Tubo side, Jibule, bald and imposing, was Naru Ger’s cousin. Though they belonged to different tribes and powers, they shared Tubo blood. Seeing Li Hu preparing to enter the forest, Jibule stepped forward and insisted he would go too, bringing several Tubo warriors along.

The two groups entered the forest from east and west. As they stepped into the seemingly tranquil woods, they found it fraught with danger.

Barely had they begun when Jibule’s team encountered trouble—a member vanished without a trace.

“Has anyone seen Da Mu?” asked a Tubo man carrying a torch, glancing back out of habit. He noticed that the teammate who’d been behind him was gone.

Da Mu was timid but physically strong, the burliest among them. Despite his fierce appearance, he was a good man.

“Da Mu? Wasn’t he just… ah, he’s really gone!” said another teammate, turning and pointing behind the speaker, confirming that Da Mu, who had been at the rear, was indeed missing.

They wondered if he’d slipped away to relieve himself. The group stopped, sat nearby to rest, and waited for him.

As the short Tubo man with the torch sat down, a vine behind him recoiled swiftly upon seeing the flame, unnoticed by anyone. On the trunk of the tree behind him, the bark split open, revealing a blood-red eye. The eye glared forward, spotting Jibule’s group. Like withered hands, vines emerged from underground, crawling toward the short man.

He felt a chill at his back, as if someone’s gaze was upon him. Uneasy, he quickly turned around.

“Hmm? Am I just imagining things?” As he turned, the tree’s red eye closed and the vine halted. Staring at the ordinary trunk, the short man laughed at himself, mocking his own growing timidity.

He had clearly felt someone watching him a moment ago.

“I think Da Mu must have been scared and snuck off while we weren’t paying attention. Let’s not wait for him,” he said, trying to ease the tension. The others nodded, agreeing it made sense.

In truth, he felt something was off and wanted to leave quickly. He suspected Da Mu hadn’t wandered off but had been devoured by some beast lurking here.

Jibule, not wanting to waste time over one person, rallied the group to move on.

The tree’s red eye opened again, and its vine moved swiftly across the ground, nearly grasping the short man’s leg—only for him to move away just in time.

After they left, a figure suddenly dangled from the tree, covered in blood, his face twisted in agony, mouth barely moving as if clinging to his last breath. It was Da Mu.

Suddenly!

Two vines dropped from the tree, seized Da Mu’s head, and, with a sickening crack, twisted it off. Then they grabbed his legs and dragged him away.

The group continued onward. The short man kept feeling as if someone were following them. He repeatedly looked back but saw nothing.

He stopped alone, carefully examining the trees around him. At the base of one, he looked up and spotted Da Mu’s clothing.

Behind him, a vine crept to his feet and tightly snared his legs. As he realized what was happening, his body was yanked down, rapidly dragged toward the treetop.

Sliding across the ground, he finally saw the tree’s enormous red eye on its trunk.

Trying to stay calm, he reached for his Tubo dagger at his waist. After a couple of tries, he managed to grab it and desperately sliced at the vine.

What terrified him even more was that, as he cut the vine, it bled bright red, just like human blood, not sap.

His hands were stained crimson, but he didn’t give up, hunching over to cut at the vine until, just before being hauled up the tree, he broke free and tumbled down.

“Help! Help!” he shouted, scrambling away, not even bothering to pick up his torch, running for his life.

In his panic, he failed to watch his footing, tripped over a stone, and was sent sprawling, twisting his ankle.

He got up, limping, still running, glancing back in terror to see the vine catching up.

All around him, other trees opened their monstrous blood-red eyes, swinging vines toward him. The vines stretched across the ground like black serpents.

“No! Help, ahhh—” he screamed as the vines pierced his body, blood gushing from his mouth. He died standing, head bowed, and his corpse was hauled up to the treetop.

The group, already further ahead, was startled by his scream. They hurriedly looked back and found the short man was gone as well.

In the distance, beyond the reach of their torchlight, one blood-red eye after another opened in the darkness.