Tio Forest the great type place
Bai Chen rubbed the back of his black neck, trudging through the woods with viens on it . Damp soil sucked at his boots making it dirty, each step heavier than the last due to low air conditioning here. Fog coiled low, brushing his legs, winding up like ghostly hands that didn't know when to let go.
"This damn forest… big as hell, fog thick enough to choke a beast," he muttered, tone sharp and tired. "Watch me die here, and Heaven'll just write it off like a plot twist."
Something cracked beneath his heel. The air smelled of rot and moss, wet bark, and earth long dead. Then — a growl, low and ugly, drifting through the mist.
He froze.
Out of the gray came a fox the size of a horse, its fur black as oil, eyes burning with hunger. Behind it, four wolves padded forward, huge, silent, dripping saliva like broken faucets.
Bai Chen's lips twitched. "...Really? A welcoming party? System, remind me what sin I committed this time?"
The wolves came first — claws tearing into dirt, snarls shaking the fog. Bai Chen's qi burned through his veins; fists cracked bones, blood spattered across roots. One wolf went down, but another raked its claws down his arm — hot pain, bright blood. The fox's tail slammed into him, sending him stumbling.
"Damn beasts!" He roared in it, the voice echoing through the trees. His punch landed square on the fox's skull — it burst, dark matter spraying. The rest fell after, one by one, until the forest went silent again.
He dropped to one knee, chest heaving. His robe was a mess, hanging in bloody tatters.
"System," he spat blood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "you're cruel as hell. If I didn't have a scrap of cultivation left, I'd be bones by now."
A green shimmer blinked in front of him:
[Survival Chance: 47% if night falls.]
"Forty-seven? That's not a chance. That's a bad joke." He laughed, bitter. "Forget it. I need a cave, or I'll end up as dinner."
He limped on. The forest swallowed him, fog whispering against his ears.
Bits of memory stirred — borrowed from a soul before his.
Tio Forest… a lover's grave.
He saw flashes in his mind — an immortal man, his mortal lover, forbidden love that dared to defy sect law. Her death was brutal, her blood spilled under these same trees. The man, crazed and broken, buried her here — and never left.
Since then, the place turned cold. The mist wasn't just mist anymore — it was grief that forgot how to die.
Bai Chen's fingers tightened around his sword.
"That's why the villagers say this forest swallows people whole. Herbs here are soaked in tears and rot. Everyone comes chasing treasure, but few come back. The rest…" He glanced at the dark soil. "They feed the roots."
A howl rose far away. His jaw locked.
"Perfect," he muttered. "A cursed forest, bad luck, beasts, ghosts — I might as well start narrating my own death."
He walked faster. As the sky dimmed, he searched for shelter — anything. Nothing but endless trunks.
Then he saw it — a tree so big it could've been the ancestor of all trees.
"Wolves don't climb," he said. "Good enough."
He climbed, bark ripping skin, breath sharp and shallow, until he found a thick branch to rest on.
"Great Heaven sleeping on a tree… what irony." He smirked weakly, then closed his eyes.
When dawn came, the forest was quiet — too quiet. Then came the sound. Heavy. Scales dragging against wood.
He peered down. His blood ran cold.
"...Crocodiles?!"
They weren't small. They were massive — their bodies like logs, teeth glinting like blades. And they were climbing.
Bai Chen's hands clenched tight around the branch. Sweat traced down his temple.
"You've got to be kidding me."
He jumped. Branch to branch, tree to tree — bark tearing, breath ragged — until the monsters below lost sight of him.
"Hah! What now, bastards? Try growing wings next time!"
He landed on a thick bough, panting hard, sweat dripping. Through the trees, light finally broke — sunlight tearing through the fog.
For the first time, he smiled. "The sun still exists… good. Maybe the world isn't trying to kill me today."
He stared toward the distant mountain — his way out. He moved.
When he finally stepped out of Tio Forest, the world exploded in color.
Noise, people, market chatter — kids laughing, coins clinking, the smell of roasted meat thick in the air.
Yan Kingdom's market — loud and alive.
Bai Chen walked through the crowd, trying to stay invisible, but people stared. Especially women.
He looked… too clean, too striking, even bloodstained and torn.
A few women giggled, blocking his path. One leaned forward, smile sharp. "Hey, handsome. Going somewhere alone?"
Bai Chen's nose twitched. He turned his face away, but it was too late.
A drop of blood slid down his nose.
"...Still perverted," he muttered, wiping it fast. The old Bai Chen's memories hit — the man had a thing for mature women. That habit still lived somewhere inside him.
But he wasn't that man anymore. He had a son waiting.
He pointed behind them. "What's that?!"
They turned — he bolted.
"Hey! Come back!" they shouted, laughing.
He dove into an alley, heart pounding, crouching behind barrels until the sound faded.
Quiet again.
He exhaled. "Even the Heavenly Dao bows before women… terrifying."
He stood, dusting himself off, gaze falling on the road ahead — the one that led home.
The Chen family.
His face hardened. Fists clenched.
"Time to face it."
He walked on — no fog, no beasts this time. Just the weight of blood and memory waiting ahead.