I stared at the body that was still twitching. It lay prone on the ground, one hand reaching forward, its mouth opening and closing. That earlier "let" had sounded like it had been squeezed out of its throat.
I did not move.
The Bronze Seal was burning hot inside my storage pouch. I knew I could still use it twice, but I did not even have the strength to raise my hand. The spirit beast leaned against the stone wall with its head lowered, its ears twitching from time to time as it kept watch.
Wind blew in from deep within the forest, carrying moisture and the smell of scorched flesh. Several small demon corpses lay crookedly in the distance, their bone blades broken or rusted. I did not look at them. My gaze remained fixed on the dying small demon before me.
It was neither a leader nor the sort that charged at the front. Its clothes were badly torn, and a grass rope was tied around its waist, holding half a piece of dried meat and an empty leather pouch. It was young, and the horns on its face had not fully grown in, with only two short branch-like protrusions on either side.
I slowly moved closer, my knees scraping against the ground. Every movement tugged at the wound on my calf, sending pain through my leg. Once I was close enough, I reached out and checked its breathing.
It was still alive.
Its eyes opened into slits. When it saw me, its pupils contracted. Its lips trembled as it tried to speak again.
Just then, a voice rang out in my mind.
[Interactive NPC detected. Complete the "Benevolent Heart's Pathfinding" quest to receive a Beginner Intelligence Decryption Talisman.]
I did not respond to the system immediately. I merely lowered my head and looked at the small demon. Its chest rose and fell slowly. The wound in its abdomen was deep, half of its intestines exposed. It was barely bleeding anymore, which meant it had lost too much blood and was close to death.
If I ignored it now, it would stop breathing within minutes.
But saving it would use up the last of my healing ointment and require some spiritual energy to stabilize its meridians. My spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Doing that was risky.
Still, the system would not have given me a prompt for no reason.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled out the small porcelain bottle from my storage pouch. Only a fingernail-sized amount of gray-green ointment remained, carrying a faint fishy smell.
After removing the stopper, I dipped my fingertip into the ointment and gently applied it around the edge of its wound. My movements were light, afraid that stimulating its nerves would make it thrash about. Then I pressed my hand against the back of its neck and slowly sent the last trace of my spiritual energy into it.
The small demon's body jerked violently, and a muffled groan escaped its throat.
"Don't move," I said. "If you want to live, stay quiet."
It did not struggle again. Its breathing only became more rapid. After a few seconds, its eyelids trembled, and its gaze seemed to clear somewhat.
I released my hand and stared at it. "Who sent you?"
Its mouth moved, its voice extremely faint. "...King's Order... patrolling the mountain... three days... sacrifice..."
The words were disjointed, but the key details were there.
I pressed on. "Which king? The one from Black Mist Valley?"
It froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting me to know that name. Its eyes shifted before it finally nodded.
"Northern Ridge... Black Mist Valley... the Great King said... all small demons must capture living humans... send them to the valley entrance within three days... otherwise... he'll kill their entire clans..."
My heart tightened.
This had not been a chance ambush. It was an order. Every small demon throughout Northern Ridge had been mobilized, all to capture living people as sacrifices. And this place was not far from the valley exit, which meant we had happened to run into one of their patrol routes.
"Why three days?" I asked.
"Lunar eclipse... on the day of the eclipse... the Great King wants to use the celestial event... to open the formation..." Speaking became more and more difficult for it, and white foam began to seep from the corner of its mouth.
I lowered my voice further. "What is the formation for?"
"Connect... underground... summon something up..." It suddenly coughed violently, spraying a mouthful of black blood over my shoes.
I frowned.
Underground? What was supposed to come up from beneath the earth?
Just as I was about to ask more, its eyes suddenly lost focus. Its hand dropped, and its entire body went limp.
I wanted to pour more spiritual energy into it, but its chest had already stopped moving.
It was dead.
I remained where I was, unmoving. The only sound by my ears was the wind rustling through the leaves. The spirit beast raised its head, glanced at me, and let out a low growl, as though reminding me that the surroundings were still unsafe.
I nodded, straightened the small demon's hand, and removed the belt around its waist. There was nothing inside except that piece of dried meat. I threw the meat away and put the leather pouch into my storage pouch.
Then I got up, dug a pit nearby, pushed the corpse into it, and covered it with dirt. I did not erect a marker or say anything. I merely patted the soil down firmly.
By the time I finished, I could barely stay on my feet.
Leaning against a rock, I caught my breath for a few moments before turning back toward the spirit beast. It could barely stand, its right hind leg dragging along the ground as it staggered with every step.
"Can you still walk?" I asked.
It gave a low cry and took a step forward without falling.
I breathed a sigh of relief, bent down, and picked up a fairly sturdy branch to use as a crutch. My left hand pressed against my storage pouch to make sure the Bronze Seal was still there. With my right hand supporting the spirit beast by the neck, I slowly made my way back.
The sun was setting, and the forest was growing dim. Shadows stretched long across the ground, but I did not look up at the sky. My mind was filled with everything it had said.
Black Mist Valley, the lunar eclipse, sacrifices, underground...
These matters could not be viewed separately. Behind a ritual often lay a greater scheme. And surviving until now depended not only on fighting, but also on judgment.
The system's quest had been completed. I did not feel any change, but the reward should have been credited already. I did not have time to check.
After walking some distance, my foot stepped on something hard. Looking down, I saw half a broken blade. It looked like it had been struck by lightning, its edge blackened and its handle cracked.
I stopped and crouched down to pick it up.
This was not an ordinary bone blade used by small demons. Its material resembled metal, and a pattern was engraved upon it—a downward-facing serpent with a curved body.
I stared at it for two seconds before stuffing it into my storage pouch.
Such a mark would not appear randomly. It was either a symbol of identity or some kind of token. Since it had appeared here, this group of small demons had a deeper connection to Black Mist Valley than I had imagined.
Further ahead, the forest gradually thinned, and the outline of a distant valley came into view. Once we crossed this slope, we would be able to return to our hiding place.
But I suddenly stopped.
The spirit beast sensed something unusual as well, its ears pricking up.
A shallow trench lay in the ground ahead, as though someone had recently dug it up and filled it back in. The soil was a different color, reddish, and carried a faint rotten smell.
Leaning on my crutch, I walked over and used the branch to brush aside the top layer of soil.
A wooden sign was buried beneath it, palm-sized with one corner scorched black. I flipped it over and saw three words written on it:
"Do Not Approach Valley."
The writing was messy, as though it had been carved in haste.
I stared at the sign, my heartbeat quickening slightly.
This was not a warning for enemies. It was a reminder for their own kind. That meant other small demons were unwilling to take part in this ritual, perhaps even opposed to that "Great King."
In other words, there were fractures within the enemy.
I put the wooden sign away and straightened up again.
Night was approaching. We had to get back before it became completely dark. This battle had exhausted every last trump card we had, but the intelligence we gained was important enough.
Black Mist Valley was in Northern Ridge. There would be a lunar eclipse in three days. They wanted to open a formation to summon something from underground. And all nearby small demons were being forced to capture living people.
We were safe for the moment because we had driven back this squad. But they would soon discover that no report had come in about the mission's failure. The next group sent after us would not be this kind of fodder.
We had to hurry.
Supporting the spirit beast, I continued forward, my steps steadier than before.
Before reaching the valley entrance, I looked back at the path we had come from one last time.
The forest had gone completely dark. Wind passed through the treetops with a soft rustling sound. At the place where the corpse had been buried, a corner of the soil bulged slightly, as though something beneath it was pushing upward.
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