The boys were at a loss, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Upon hearing the suggestion, they immediately got up and gathered some dry branches nearby, piling them together. Bruce Smith took out his newly acquired fire-starting tool, struck the flint hard with the fire striker, ignited the tinder, and carefully shielded the flame with both hands as he lit the campfire.

The flames gradually grew stronger, and the heat and light dispelled much of the fear in the boys’ hearts, but still, no one wanted to speak, nor did anyone know what to do next.

“Are you trying to get yourselves killed?” Officer finally woke up, and his first words were full of contempt. That beating seemed to have had no effect on him at all.

“What did you say?” Eric raised his fist and shook it twice.

Officer was already sitting up, his face bruised and swollen. “Last night, it was the firelight that gave away your position. I can’t believe you haven’t learned your lesson at all. Making a fire in this forest can be seen from far away. Are you inviting the snake demon over?”

Eric had nothing to say. Jack jumped up again and kicked over the campfire. The burning branches hit the damp ground and were quickly extinguished.

Just then, a strange sound came from the distance, like bubbling river water or a wild beast’s low growl.

The boys from Wildwood Town no longer split into groups; they nervously huddled together behind a thick tree. Eric gripped his longsword tightly, determined to make everyone acknowledge him as the leader.

Officer hadn’t expected his warning to come true so quickly. He jumped up and, swaying, joined the boys.

The night in the forest was deep and dark; they could only see a few yards ahead. But everyone could feel it—a huge creature was gradually approaching from afar, getting closer and closer, then stopping and making the same strange sound as before.

Jack ran out, and under the others’ bewildered gazes, rushed toward the creature. In a moment, he returned, leading a horse. “It’s the chestnut horse. I was so scared I didn’t even recognize its sound.”

The chestnut horse affectionately nuzzled Jack’s head, and on its back were the two bundles Granny Wind had given to Grace.

The boys all came out and stood around the chestnut horse. Seeing a familiar animal in the dense forest brought them great comfort. When Grace found a few pieces of leftover rations in the bundles, everyone nearly cheered.

The rations were divided equally. Though far from enough to fill their stomachs, their hearts were no longer so anxious.

Jack even gave Officer a piece of ration and used a dagger to cut the rope on his hands. “After you finish eating, lead us out of the forest.”

“It’s too late.” Officer sniffed the unfamiliar ration with a look of disgust, but fortunately, it was too dark for anyone to notice. “The direction talisman can only point the way. It’s too dark to travel now. Let’s wait until morning.”

Jack had no objection, and neither did the others. They were all exhausted, so they sat with their backs against the big tree, not in the mood to chat, and gradually fell asleep.

Before sleeping, Jack said to Officer, “Don’t even think about running away.”

“I don’t know the way, and I don’t have a talisman to help me. Where could I run?” Officer tried to make his voice sound sincere.

The boys from Wildwood Town were all very naive, not very guarded against others. Even in their fear, they slept soundly. Jack and Grace gradually leaned over, eventually resting their heads together.

Officer, however, couldn’t sleep. He was particular about where he slept, and he was also hiding a plan.

In the middle of the night, Officer quietly got up, stretched a little, and tiptoed over to Jack. After observing for a while, he realized it would be too hard to steal back the talisman, so he gave up and turned toward the chestnut horse.

An old horse knows the way—who needs a talisman with a horse like this? Officer secretly mocked the boys’ stupidity.

The chestnut horse was gentle by nature and didn’t mind even when a stranger approached.

Officer grabbed the reins, glanced back at the sleeping boys, and thought that soon these country bumpkins would realize what an unforgivable mistake they’d made—especially Eric, who dared to hit him, and the sharp-tongued Jack.

He skillfully mounted the horse and was about to spur it to escape when he suddenly saw something appear a dozen steps ahead on the left.

It was the boy who had refused to come out of the woods during the day. The others called him “Baldy.” At this moment, he was grinning at Officer as if they’d been best friends since childhood.

Officer felt the blood in his veins instantly turn to ice.

Chapter 9: The Snake Demon’s Gaze

The young Officer held his breath—which wasn’t hard, since he’d completely forgotten how to breathe.

Baldy grinned at him for a while, and when he saw it had no effect, he withdrew behind the tree. Soon, another face appeared from behind the tree. Officer recognized this person as one of the veteran assistants he’d brought along. He couldn’t recall the name, but the face was unmistakable. The only strange thing was that he, too, was grinning and nodding repeatedly, with none of the dignity of a talisman soldier.

Officer still didn’t move, so the faces behind the tree kept changing, as if determined to lure him over in this way.

Earlier, Officer had abandoned his soldiers and fled alone, so he hadn’t seen the scene of the battle. But now he was certain that these faces grinning at him were only heads.

The thought of a dozen or so disembodied heads taking turns smiling at him pushed Officer to his limit. He let out a shrill scream, tumbled off the horse, and startled the chestnut horse, which bolted a few steps before stopping again, completely unaware of any danger.