"Go away," Lin Kai said firmly. He pointed toward the deep forest. "You are healed. You are free. You don't need to follow me."
The beast didn't move. It lifted its head slightly, its green eyes confused. It nudged Lin Kai's hand with its wet nose. It couldn't understand the human words, but it could read the intent—and the intent confused it. Why is the Alpha rejecting the pack?
Lin Kai sighed, frustration bubbling in his chest.
"I don't need you," he said, his voice dropping to a cold, jagged whisper. "I have the Clan hunting me. I have a fox to feed. I have a destiny to carve out of stone. I cannot carry a cripple."
The beast's ears dropped flat against its skull. It let out a low whine. It understood the rejection now.
Lin Kai saw the hurt in its eyes, and it stung him. But he knew he had to be cruel to be kind. If it followed him to a human city, the guards would skin it for a rug before they even reached the gates.
He had to make it leave.
"LEAVE!" Lin Kai suddenly shouted, his voice cracking like a whip.
He stomped his foot and flared his aura—drawing on the cold, heavy Aether Qi he had used in the fight. The air around him distorted.
"If you don't go, I will kill you right here!" Lin Kai roared, his eyes flashing with a feigned murderous intent. "I will rip that leg off again and take your core! GO!"
The panther flinched violently. It scrambled backward, terror flashing in its eyes. It saw the "monster" return to the boy's face.
It stood up on three legs, casting one last, longing look at Lin Kai. Then, realizing the human was serious, it turned.
It began to limp toward the thick bushes, its head hung low, its tail tucked between its legs. A king of the forest, dismissed like a beggar.
Lin Kai watched it go, his heart heavy. He kept the scowl on his face until the beast was almost swallowed by the shadows.
But as the panther's tail was about to disappear, Lin Kai's resolve cracked.
"Hey!" Lin Kai shouted, his voice losing the edge of anger, replaced by a desperate helplessness.
The panther paused, its ear twitching back.
"Don't die!" Lin Kai yelled, his voice echoing through the trees. "Hide somewhere! Heal up! Wait... just wait until I am strong enough!"
He didn't know why he said it. It was a stupid promise. He might never come back here.
The panther didn't turn around, but its tail gave a single, sharp flick of acknowledgment. Then, it vanished into the undergrowth.
Lin Kai let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping. The adrenaline faded, leaving him exhausted.
"Smart decision," the ghost said.
Lin Kai jumped slightly; he had almost forgotten she was there.
"Smart?" Lin Kai scoffed, rubbing his face. "I just threw away a Rank 2 bodyguard. I feel like an idiot."
"This forest is its playground," the ghost corrected him, floating back to his side. "But you... you are human. You will likely go to the City. A beast like that walking into the city gates would be a death sentence for you both. You saved its life twice today."
Lin Kai nodded slowly. "I suppose... wait."
He looked up at the ghost, a sudden realization hitting him.
"You said 'The City'. Which city?" Lin Kai asked, looking around at the endless green trees. "I don't even know where I am. I fell out of a portal from the sky. I don't know North from South."
The ghost smiled, floating a few feet higher to look over the canopy.
"This is the Western outer rim of the Bone-Eating Forest," she explained, pointing a pale finger toward the setting sun. "About fifty miles in that direction lies Black-Iron City. It is a border fortress controlled by the minor sects and merchant guilds."
"Black-Iron City..." Lin Kai tested the name on his tongue. It sounded rough. Dangerous. Perfect for disappearing.
"The outer area here is relatively safe," the ghost continued. "You will mostly find wild beasts. Occasionally a Rank 3 Spirit Beast, but nothing above Rank 4. The deeper you go, the older the horrors become."
Lin Kai nodded, absorbing the information. Rank 4 was currently god-tier compared to him, but if he stayed on the edge, he could survive.
He looked at the ghost. She was enigmatic, helpful, and clearly knowledgeable about the geography.
"You know a lot," Lin Kai said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You knew the herb. You know the geography. You knew about my affinity."
He took a step closer to her translucent form.
"Why help me so much?" he asked directly. "Spirits usually want something. Revenge? An offering? But you... you taught me a lesson on nature. You saved that beast through me. Who are you really?"
He paused, glancing at her ethereal robes.
"And which race are you from? You look human, but... your ears are slightly pointed."
The ghost's smile faltered. A look of profound, ancient grief washed over her face, making her translucence seem to flicker like a dying candle. It was a look that gripped Lin Kai's heart, resonating with his own feelings of loss.
"Follow me, child," she whispered, her voice heavy with the weight of centuries. "It is a long story. And mere words cannot describe the fall of my house. I can show you the answer... if you have the courage to see the bones of the past."
She turned and began to drift deeper into the woods, away from the river, toward a dense cluster of rock formations that looked like jagged teeth jutting from the earth.
Lin Kai stood frozen for a few seconds.
Go with her?
She was a ghost. She could be leading him into a trap, into a nest of undead, or off a cliff. Every instinct he had developed in the Lin Clan screamed 'Trust no one.'
"What do to..." he whispered to himself.
Yip.
On his shoulder, Xiao Bai barked softly. She wasn't looking at the ghost with fear. She was looking at the spirit with a strange, recognition in her golden eyes. She nudged Lin Kai's cheek with her wet nose, urging him forward.
'Trust her,' the fox seemed to say.
Lin Kai looked at his companion. She was the only family he had. If she trusted this spirit...
"Fine," Lin Kai nodded, adjusting the fox on his shoulder. "Let's go then."
He jogged to catch up with the drifting spirit.
As they began to walk side-by-side into the deepening shadows of the forest, the ghost glanced sideways. She didn't look at Lin Kai. She looked directly at Xiao Bai.
Her gaze wasn't the curiosity one has for a pet. It was a knowing look which maybe contains deeper secret.
"The spirit is thin," the ghost murmured, barely audible, "but the eyes... the eyes are unmistakable."
"Did you say something?" Lin Kai asked, stepping over a root.
"Nothing," the ghost replied, facing forward. "We are almost there. Prepare yourself, child. My resting place is not for the faint of heart."