Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er followed the tracks forward.
After walking for about an hour, the trees gradually thinned, and the ground was no longer covered solely in rotting leaves and loose stones. A dirt path worn by human feet began to appear.
The path was narrow, only wide enough for two or three people abreast. The bushes on either side had gaps left by years of trampling, their edges neat-nothing Demon Beasts could have made.
Farther along, the smell of rotting leaves faded, replaced by hearth smoke, the charred fragrance of burning firewood, and an indefinable aroma of cooking. Mingled with the damp scent of the woods, it felt almost unreal.
There should not have been hearth smoke deep in the Dark Forest.
Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er slowed at the same time. Neither spoke, but both grew more cautious in their movements.
Shen Fei spread the Shadow Mantis's senses outward, extending them along the ground and through the treetops.
Xiao Ning'er drew her shortsword half an inch from its sheath at her waist, her fingers resting on the hilt, ready for anything unexpected.
After they walked another few dozen yards, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
In a clearing where the trees had been felled and cleared away stood an enclosure surrounded by a wooden palisade. Thick logs, sharpened at the top and lashed together with vines and hemp rope, stood side by side in a ring.
Inside the palisade were several rows of wooden houses. Their roofs were covered with thick layers of thatch and bark, and their walls were built from logs and earth. They looked rough but sturdy.
Paths connected the houses, and people walked along them in coarse cloth clothes, mostly gray, brown, or dark blue-green. Their styles were completely different from those commonly