New chapter in life

Why did you start reading Reverend Insanity? What were your first impressions?

What would be your favorite arc and moment in the novel?

Also don't forget to check out the discord, we have good discussions about Reverend Insanity there, as well as almost all RI fanfic authors being there and talking routinely for the code : 5efZtawZKC

And don't forget to check my patreon : patreon.com/CreedFollower

---------------------

*Rustle* *Snap* The low sounds of foliage moving and dry, weak branches breaking can be heard in a deep forest untouched by man, with trees blocking almost all sunlight from reaching the ground. A young man with black hair, red eyes, and a handsome face, completely naked, carefully descends from a tall tree with numerous strong branches.

The young man scans the three girls below the tree, who are also naked just like him. They remain silent, with worried looks on their faces. When Chen Wei's gaze passes over them, two of the girls cover their bodies with their hands in embarrassment, displaying hostile emotions in their eyes. The third, which is pregnant, just continues to look at him with conflicting emotions.

"Ahh... just as I thought, we are in the middle of a mountain almost completely covered by deep forest," Chen Wei says calmly, turning his gaze to the forest in the north, lost in thought.

Pointing eastward, he continues slowly, "... given the sun's position, it must be no later than eight in the morning, so that is east."

"So we still have plenty of daylight..." He now points north, where he was looking earlier. "...I saw traces of smoke in that direction."

"The smoke could come from a wildfire in the forest, but since it's not much and isn't spreading, it's probably a campfire made by someone," Chen Wei explains, not looking at the girls as he scans the forest for a sharp branch to use as a temporary spear.

"...how far is it?" Feng Hua tries to overcome the shock of the sudden situation like Is doing Chen Wei and asks in a low voice, still covering her body with her hands even though he has his back to them.

Her reaction is normal since both worlds she has lived in have very conservative societies. The idea of being seen this way by a man is greatly embarrassing, the same goes for Yu Lian, who is even more embarrassed. It would be the same for Wang Mei if the man wasn't her husband, who has probably seen her like this countless times.

But for now, Feng Hua knows that being seen like this by a man for the first time since she was a baby is not a priority. They are in a mountainous forest that could be anywhere in the world, and worse, without any of their Gu, not even their Vital Gu.

"It's a few kilometers away. It would take a few hours to walk in normal circumstances, but we don't know the terrain between here and there, which could delay the journey," Chen Wei says, finding a branch from a small tree no more than two meters tall, perfect for an improvised spear.

"We could also be delayed by wild animals, plants, or injuries," Chen Wei continues as he meticulously breaks off the small irregular branches growing on the branch he intends to use as a spear.

"Anyway, we should start the journey immediately. Even though it's still early morning, we don't have the luxury of wasting a second in our situation," he says, finishing by swinging and thrusting the "spear," more of a strong, pointed branch, to get used to its weight and how it moves through the air and in his hand.

"You three should find a—" Chen Wei is interrupted mid-sentence by Yu Lian.

"Why?!... Why should we follow you after what you did, you monster..." Yu Lian's face is filled with clear emotions of anger and fear.

Chen Wei, who had his back to them, turns and stares directly at Yu Lian, who seems to shrink and tremble, covering her body with her hands under his gaze. Chen Wei wonders if it is out of fear, shame, anger, or a mix of all three, not that he cares much right now.

"Well, because if you don't come with me, you'll die..." Chen Wei sees Yu Lian's body and face freeze, he notices her body language indicating that she's debating whether to run and try to escape.

"Believe me, this isn't a threat, just a statement of my belief that you can't survive alone," Chen Wei says simply and bluntly, wanting to get straight to the point instead of wasting time on stupid conversations.

"Putting it this way, do you think a weak girl without any survival training and who has never killed a wild beast like you will survive alone in this dense, wild forest?" Chen Wei speaks directly to her eyes, not caring to look at her body.

"You'll survive at most a day before a wild beast smells you and comes to kill you..." With each word, he sees Yu Lian's eyes grow more desperate.

"But if you're lucky and that doesn't happen, you'll die of dehydration in three days at most..."

"And even if that doesn't happen, you'll die of hunger since I doubt you can hunt an animal..." Despite Yu Lian's expression growing in despair, he doesn't stop.

In fact, even if she's already convinced, he won't stop, as he's not just talking to her but also to Feng Hua and Wang Mei, who have expressions of helplessness on their faces.

"And if by some miracle you manage to hunt, you'll end up dying of food poisoning after eating raw meat because you can't make fire..." Hearing this, Yu Lian, as if wanting to contradict him, opens her mouth and starts speaking weakly.

"...I...I c-can eat the wild fruits in the forest!" Yu Lian says, ignoring the fact that she would die long before feeling hungry.

Chen Wei, hearing her words, simply points his spear at some fruit trees, all of the same species, with light blue leaves and pale white wood, like magical trees.

"These are the only fruit trees I've seen around us, and since you're an herbalist, I believe you know that they are blue apple trees... and you should know that they only bear fruit at the end of winter, and now it's early autumn," Chen Wei says, while Yu Lian still has reluctance in her eyes, seemingly refusing to go with him, which is a stupid decision but expected from a girl under the emotional stress she's endured in such a short time.

"...we should follow him... even after what he did... we can't survive alone, Yu Lian," Feng Hua says, being less emotional as she never had love for her clan or adoptive relatives, so she isn't in a chaotic emotional state like the other two girls.

Amd mainly also, she has experienced the battlefield and learned to think under the stress of life-or-death situations, just like Chen Wei. So, for her, this is a simple choice because she knows that without their Gu, they can't survive alone, and she believes Chen Wei thinks the same, which is why he wants them to go with him.

And she's highly willing because now, without their Gu, their greatest survival advantages against beasts are combat skills, which he has more of, and physical strength, which, since none of them are strength path cultivators, is also his advantage because men are naturally stronger than women, even among Gu Masters.

"...I... I... how could I when... he killed... everyone..." Yu Lian says, still reluctant to follow Chen Wei, even though it's the logical thing to do.

"Ahh, let's put it this way... if you survive all that, it could be the worst-case scenario," he says and points his spear north.

"That smoke is too small to be from a village, so it must be a group of mortals since Gu Masters wouldn't need to make a fire..." These are his words of experience because Gu Masters always carry weeks of food in their storage Gu, possibly much more, when traversing a forest like this, so they wouldn't need to make a fire during the day and expose their location.

"And since they are in this forest, they are probably hunters, which at least tells us that there are no beasts above rank 2 here, as they wouldn't hunt in such a beast's territory," Chen Wei says aloud, voicing the analysis he has long made in his head.

"So it's very likely that they will find you if you survive... and what do you think a band of hunters will do when they see a delicate, naked and defenseless lady alone in the forest?" Chen Wei speaks slowly, letting Yu Lian fully absorb the meaning of his words, which she probably does, judging by the shock and fear in her eyes.

"After what they would do to you, you will wish it was a bear or wolf that found you... or that you had simply died of hunger or thirst," Chen Wei says without caring about the cruelty of his words, watching as Yu Lian lowers her gaze and nods as if agreeing to follow him.

Seeing this, Chen Wei's gaze shifts to Wang Mei, who has been silent the entire time, though he can see that during this period she tried countless times to start saying something but always stopped herself, her expression constantly changing.

Of course, for him, who knows her like an open book, he understands that she probably fears what response she might receive to her words, as well as her deep thoughts now likely being about justifying what he did and justifying her continuing to follow him even if she doesn't realize she is doing this. He is certain these thoughts are in her mind.

But in the end, he knows she will still follow him due to the fear of being alone in the forest, as well as the emotional dependence she has cultivated for him. Additionally, she is carrying his child, so unconsciously, she is considering the life of their baby too.

"Continuing from where I left off, you three should get some 'spears' like this because, in the end, four armed people ready to fight is better than just one," he says to the three girls while pointing his "spear" at some branches he had observed to be good before deciding on the one in his hand.

"Yes... let's go," Feng Hua says, watching as Chen Wei turns to help them get the branches and make them into spears as he did.

'I was hoping my priority would be to reach Ba Gui Blessed Land, but now I don't even know if I can survive against a common animal,' Chen Wei thinks ironically, having gone from the pinnacle of the mortal Gu Master world with all his plans laid out to now having survival as his only priority, feeling defenseless against everything.

In fact, this is why he wants Yu Lian and Feng Hua to follow him because most of the dangers they would face alone are the same ones he would face, so staying in a group is the best option. Of course, there's no need to mention why he wants Wang Mei to follow as well since she is his wife and is pregnant with his child.

Of course he doesn't want the two girls only to fight, but if by any chance they cannot defend against a predator that finds them by scent, he can easily sacrifice one or both of the two girls since a beast would probably not continue to fight and risk serious injury after obtaining easy prey.

Or if he encounters the potential group of hunters and cannot handle them in a fight, he might try to trade the two girls for supplies like food and water to ensure his and Wang Mei's survival. But he also might not find anyone, forcing him to first find a water source and hunt.

However, he is also considering the worst-case scenario where he could fail in both aspects, putting him in a precarious situation that would force him to make decisions prioritizing his and Wang Mei's lives above all else.

This is the last reason for keeping them with him: if he finds himself without food or water, having Fang Hua and Yu Lian with him could solve that problem with their blood and flesh. But of course, even for him, this would be a decision made only if he had no other choice. If it ever comes to that, he is determined to do whatever it takes.

So in these few minutes, considering what he knows about their situation and weighing the best and worst possible scenarios, he made his decision to keep the group of four together for now.

"Well, now that we've finished making the 'spears,' we should quickly head towards the smoke... but remember to be careful not to reveal our position by making loud noises," Chen Wei says, receiving nods from the three girls.

Of course, he knows that heading towards other humans, who can often be more dangerous than beasts, is not safe and is actually full of risks, but he has no choice because now he is in a situation where there are no good options.

Faced with this, he takes what is probably the safest route: finding other humans who might be good people willing to help, which would be different from wild beasts that would without exception see him as meat on the menu. Even herbivores could attack out of fear or to defend their young and themselves.

"So, let's go!!" Chen Wei speaks with conviction, his heart pounding as he takes his first step, leading the way towards what could very well be his death, but he does so resolutely and without fear..