Chapter 5: Black Gold Forest

A single rabbit; Feng Moxi only ate one leg, and the rest was stuffed into Qiuqiu’s little belly.

"Woman, I'm still hungry~" Qiuqiu wiped its oily little mouth, peering at her with its signature watery, wide eyes.

Feng Moxi tore a piece of cloth from the hem of her skirt to wipe her hands, narrowing her eyes dangerously. Just a moment ago, it was calling her "Master" so sweetly it could kill, and now its true colors were showing?

"If you're hungry, go find your own food." Tossing the rag aside, she had no intention of staying here long; the most important thing now was how to leave this place.

Qiuqiu pouted in dissatisfaction, its black-grape-like eyes rolling around. "If I take you out, will you make me something delicious?"

Feng Moxi raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

"There's a forest ahead. As long as you follow the designated path, you can go straight back to the cliff," Qiuqiu said triumphantly. It had been the king of that place for a long time; this little task couldn't stump it~

"A teleportation array?" Feng Moxi picked up Qiuqiu and asked doubtfully.

"Master is so smart~" Qiuqiu enjoyed the warmth of its master's embrace, offering a soft, mushy compliment.

Feng Moxi gently pinched its little ears. "What kind of creature are you, anyway?"

"Qiuqiu doesn't know either. When Qiuqiu first opened its eyes, it was already in a cave in this forest."

"..." Feng Moxi fell silent. *Mm, wild.*

The forest Qiuqiu spoke of was a notoriously dangerous place on the Fengluo Continent: the Black Gold Forest.

The terrain of the Black Gold Forest was not steep, but rather flat, and it was precisely this flatness that dealt a fatal blow to countless people who set foot there. Year-round, teams of adventurers and mercenary academy trainees would lose their way in the Black Gold Forest’s mist. The mist of the Black Gold Forest was famous for being lethal; once you entered, there was no coming out unscathed.

Those so-called flat paths were merely illusions. It was not uncommon for training squads walking through the Black Gold Forest to suddenly fall off a cliff and meet a death without a burial site.

Although the Black Gold Forest was fraught with danger, it grew rare treasures that people on the outside drooled over and wished they could pack up and take away entirely. Spiritual flowers and herbs could be seen everywhere. In other words, anyone who could enter the Black Gold Forest and make it out alive would surely become rich overnight.

Because of this, even though the terrifying reputation of the Black Gold Forest was etched into everyone's hearts, they still couldn't help but be tempted by the benefits within, braving the danger to storm into the forest just for the sake of overnight wealth and endless luxury.

"Human nature." After listening to Qiuqiu’s explanation, Feng Moxi only spat out these two words, as if she had already seen through such things completely.

Qiuqiu led her along, and they walked through the Black Gold Forest smoothly without encountering any danger. There wasn't even any mist; it was as if everything was simply avoiding them.

As they walked, Qiuqiu suddenly stopped, its furry little ears perking up as it listened carefully to the sounds nearby. "Master, something is approaching! It's... above us!"

Before its words had even finished, it was already too late. With a *thud*, accompanied by a low, muffled groan from Feng Moxi, everything came to an instant halt.

"Master..." Qiuqiu shrank its small body and stuck out its tongue. *Uh oh, mistake, a mistake~*

"Could I be any more unlucky?" Feng Moxi suppressed the urge to flip the bird at the sky, gloomily rolling her eyes to look at the white object that had crashed onto her.

"Master, it looks like he was knocked down from the sky~ He's been poisoned quite cruelly, too~" Qiuqiu hopped over to Feng Moxi, curiously examining the man in white lying on top of her.