1. Exploring the village

The next day he woke later than usual. Today, for once, he didn't have to go to the fields so he decided to go out. Despite living in the village his entire life, he didn't really go out to explore often. His train of thought the previous night led him to this decision. He was becoming really tired with his normal routine.

He walked out of the slightly dilapidated house in his dirty and ragged clothing. Although his expression didn't change from the usual, a sense of anticipation could be felt from his small self.

He had decided to walk around the entire village today. He would explore until he felt like he was going to be sick. Who knows? Maybe he would come across some good luck too.

He spent the entire afternoon exploring the area while quietly humming a tune. He walked around the shops despite the dirty and suspicious looks he would receive from the owners. However, no one said anything to him, nor did he purchase anything.

The village was fairly small, so he managed to finish exploring a few hours before the sun would begin to set.

Mao Yin stood by the outskirts of the village, debating whether or not he should go out. There was still several hours left until the sky would darken and he didn't quite feel like returning to the dreariness of his dilapidated little home.

In the end, he decided it couldn't hurt to look around a little more. He promised himself that he wouldn't stray far and would return home before the sun set.

He walked around for a bit, but the area was bare and dusty. Nothing caught his attention. A little further out was a forest. He remembered hearing some of the villagers saying that although the village chief forbid them to enter, there didn't seem to be any threatening wildlife in there. With that thought in mind, he went inside.

The forest was eerily silent. Not a single animal or even the rustling of leaves could be heard. As he walked, twigs and fallen leaves crunched underfoot.

As he continued onwards, he noticed that the trees began to change. The bark on the trees turned into a deep red and the leaves went from green to black. How unusual, he thought.

He remembered overhearing once that trees can get sick too. He wondered if that was the case with these trees. Nonetheless, he did think they were rather pretty looking and without another thought, he continued on.

However, not all the trees had this appearance. Upon closer investigation, he noticed that the black trees increased in number the further in he went. They all seemed to cluster in one area.

His interest was piqued as he moved towards the cluster. As he continued his approach, he began to see that some of the trees seems to be oozing a red substance.

He dragged a finger across the substance. It wasn't as viscous as sap; it felt closer to water. He sniffed his finger which was now coated with the substance and even gave it a small lick.

He stuck his tongue out in disgust. It tasted metallic. Mao Yin felt that the taste was familiar but he couldn't seem to put his finger on what it was.

He stood by the tree as he pondered. His musings were suddenly disturbed by the echoing sound of something clattering to the floor.

He turned towards the direction of the noise but didn't see anything.

The curiosity he had regarding the trees were completely forgotten as he looked for the source of the sound. He completely failed to notice the bloodied hand sticking out of the tree, right atop where his head was at a moment ago.

Mao Yin searched and finally found a cave entrance hidden away by overgrown foliage and vines.

Could the sound have come from here?

Did that mean there was someone was inside?

Well he wouldn't know unless he went in to find out. He came looking for an adventure and he found one right before him. How could he not go in?

He quietly entered and looked around with widened eyes.

The cave was littered with black stalagmites hanging down threateningly and clear purple crystals. Mao Yin was taken aback by the scene before him. But the surprise was soon overtaken by a calculative look.

These crystals have little to no impurities in them. Not even a tiny cloudy area to be found. They could definitely be sold for a high price.

His eyes darted around the cave with a scheming look in them as his mind began to make calculations. He was loaded for life! But how was he to take all these away? He had no tools and no way to hide them from the greedy villagers.

He examined the crystals and even tried to pull them out, but to no avail.

His full attention was on the crystals and how to remove them, so when the rounded object rolled towards his feet on its own, he didn't take any notice.