It had been almost two weeks since they had become stranded deep within the forest of the Xu Empire. The Xuemu Tribe still attacked the village from time to time, but Wu Zhen had always managed to defeat them.
Jing Lei was helping wrap bandages around the wounds of one of the villagers when he finally asked Baba, "Why do they keep attacking the village? Aren't they after the power to see destiny? If I were them... I would just kidnap Qing Li and get rid of Baba to obtain the power to see destiny."
Baba merely snorted at Jing Lei's answer.
"You think the villagers here wouldn't risk their lives to protect this power? Everyone in the village has already agreed to protect Qing Li so she won't be taken by the Xuemu Tribe."
Qing Li, who was tending to another injured villager nearby, suddenly spoke with frustration.
"Maybe I should just leave the village... Then no one would get hurt because of me."
Baba immediately brought her staff down on Qing Li's head.
"Ouch!"
Qing Li rubbed the spot with a pained expression.
"You foolish girl. No one would be able to save you if the Xuemu Tribe captured you. Besides, we can't even imagine what they would do if they obtained this power. The consequences could spread throughout the entire empire."
"Is the power to see destiny... really that dangerous?" Jing Lei asked.
Baba glanced at him and remained silent for a moment. She let out a long sigh, as though what she was about to say was difficult to put into words.
"This power is somewhat similar to the ability to see the future... but everything is still very vague. I can see the fate of a person... or even an object, simply by looking at it. I never wanted to possess this power in the first place."
"Seeing the future? Isn't that an incredibly powerful ability?" Jing Lei asked, confused.
Baba walked a little farther away, leaning on her staff as she stared toward the trees.
"What I see in the future is dark... as if this world is slowly heading toward destruction."
Jing Lei was startled. He stood and approached her.
"Destruction? What do you mean by the world heading toward destruction?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
Baba shook her head.
"I cannot see it clearly. But this fate is enormous. It could affect the entire world... Something great is going to happen. I simply don't know what."
Baba then turned toward the two villagers who were still unconscious.
"Boy, bring some clean water from the lake."
Jing Lei looked at the basin beside him, the water inside already stained red with blood.
"Ah... alright."
Jing Lei carried the basin toward the lake. He jogged lightly through the forest, the only sounds accompanying him being the wind and the rustling leaves swaying overhead.
Eventually, he reached the lakeside.
There were no fireflies this afternoon like there had been before, but the sunlight reflected beautifully across the surface of the water.
"Looks like my shoes are going to get wet."
Jing Lei removed his shoes. The moment his bare feet touched the ground, he froze.
The earth beneath him was warm.
"Warm? Is it because of the sunlight? But it's already afternoon."
He placed the basin on the ground and crouched down, pressing his hand against the soil.
"This warmth... isn't normal."
His instincts as a merchant immediately told him that something valuable might be buried beneath the ground.
Jing Lei dug into the soil with his hands, but soon his fingers met a layer of hard stone that was impossible to dig through.
"How is this possible...? The heat is reaching through such a thick layer of stone. Is there another way?"
He stood and looked around.
Then he walked closer to the edge of the lake and dipped his hand into the water.
"Warm..."
The water was only slightly warm, so faint that an ordinary person might not have noticed it at all.
Jing Lei removed his outer robe, tied his hair back, and prepared to dive.
The deeper he swam, the warmer the water became.
Then he noticed something.
Water was being gently drawn through several cracks between the rocks, directly beneath the spot where he had been standing earlier.
Jing Lei swam closer.
There was a small opening between the rocks, barely half a meter wide, yet the water seemed to be slowly flowing into it.
Jing Lei hesitated for a moment before finally gathering his courage and swimming through the narrow opening.
The passage twisted in several places and was incredibly cramped, but Jing Lei's smaller and flexible body allowed him to squeeze through without much trouble.
When he finally emerged from the other side, he realized he was inside a cave buried deep beneath the earth.
Jing Lei climbed out of the water and looked around while wringing the water from his clothes and hair.
"It's so hot and stuffy in here... I need to hurry."
The cave was almost completely dark. Jing Lei could only rely on his instincts and the faint reflection of sunlight shimmering on the water behind him to see where he was going.
He placed one hand against the cave wall and slowly walked deeper inside.
The cave was completely silent.
There wasn't a single sound.
Yet the deeper he went, the hotter and more suffocating it became, as if some enormous source of heat was hidden somewhere within.
Suddenly, Jing Lei stepped on something.
"Ah!"
The object was scorching hot, almost enough to burn his skin. Jing Lei stumbled backward and fell onto the ground.
He looked down at what he had stepped on.
It was a stone—or something that looked like one.
It was circular, with half of its body buried beneath the ground.
Jing Lei reached out, intending to pull it free, but the moment his fingers came close, he immediately withdrew his hand.
It was far too hot to touch.
Jing Lei stood and returned to the water. He scooped some water into his hands before rushing back and pouring it over the scorching object.
The moment the water touched it, it evaporated.
"What is this thing...? Why is it so hot?"
He stared at it thoughtfully.
"I guess I need to cool it down before I can take it out."
Jing Lei sat beside the object and began using his power to cool it.
Water began to flow and float through the air around him. Little by little, he directed it toward the scorching object, trying to lower its temperature.
However, the moment the water touched the object, clouds of steam began filling the cave.
Jing Lei started sweating.
The air became even more suffocating.
He continued using his power for several minutes. His breathing became heavier, and he was beginning to run out of air.
Just as he was about to give up—
Crack.
Jing Lei froze.
"What was that?"
He looked toward the object.
Tiny cracks had begun spreading across its surface.
The cracks grew wider.
Then he heard another sound.
Chirp.
"Chirp?"
Jing Lei stopped using his power and leaned closer, peering into the cracks.
Inside was a small red bird.
"Was this... an egg?"
The object he had mistaken for a stone suddenly cracked open.
The bird burst out from inside what was actually an enormous eggshell and landed directly in front of Jing Lei.
It stared at him.
Strangely, the little bird seemed to emit light on its own, glowing almost like a small campfire.
Its feathers were a brilliant crimson. Its eyes were bright red and glittered like rubies.
Suddenly, the bird flew closer to Jing Lei's face, hovering in front of him as if trying to memorize every detail of his appearance.
"Is this some kind of spirit beast? But spirit beasts haven't been seen in this world for ages... except inside the realms."
Jing Lei carefully observed the strange creature.
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
The bird chirped repeatedly, almost as if it were trying to have a conversation with him.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Suddenly, the bird pecked at the necklace around Jing Lei's neck.
"Hey! Don't peck that! Don't peck it!"
Jing Lei tried to pull the necklace away.
"This was a gift from Senior Wu!"
The bird continued pecking at it as though it wanted to eat the necklace.
When Jing Lei finally touched its feathers, he felt warmth beneath his fingers. It was warm, but still comfortable enough to touch—nothing like the scorching eggshell from earlier.
As though it understood Jing Lei's words, the bird finally stopped.
It flew down and settled on Jing Lei's thigh.
"We need to get out of this cave first. Staying here without enough air, in this heat, could kill us."
Jing Lei looked at the bird.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Chirp, chirp.
The bird chirped as if agreeing.
"Alright... but we have to dive again to get back to the surface."
As if understanding him, the bird flew up and slipped beneath Jing Lei's clothes, settling against his chest.
"Hold your breath for a little while, alright?"
Jing Lei returned to the water and dove down, swimming through the narrow passage until he finally reached the surface.
The moment he emerged, he let out a relieved breath.
Fresh air had never felt so wonderful.
The little bird that had been hiding beneath his clothes suddenly flew out and landed on top of Jing Lei's head.
Jing Lei reached up and touched it.
Strangely, not a single feather was wet.
"Did the water around you evaporate? Your feathers are completely dry."
The bird simply chirped again, sitting comfortably on top of his head.