Silver Blade and Rose

The forest is dark at night, because there are not many tourists coming, so the street lights have not been repaired to this area.Zals parked the car in a clearing under the moonlight, looked around and found no living things, he was somewhat puzzled, but Edwin seemed to believe that this was the place, so he had no choice but to swallow his doubts in his stomach, and The other party walked into the forest together.

This area should have just rained, the grass is soaked with water and slippery, and the treetops are still dripping with water. If you are not careful, your clothes will be wet when you pass by.The clothes on Zals' shoulders were wet, and he subconsciously turned his head to look at Edwin, but saw that the other party was fine, and his body was still dry. He was not wet by the water falling from the tree, nor was he stretched out. The branch hit him, and he looked the same as when he got out of the car. His whole body was elegant and clean, which was in stark contrast to him who was in a state of embarrassment.

Zars froze for a moment, realizing that Edwin might have used some special method to block the dripping water.

He didn't say anything, but Edwin was keenly aware of his gaze, and turned his face to look at him: "What's wrong?"

"……nothing."

Zals couldn't tell him to block this kind of words for himself, so he followed him helplessly and continued to walk forward. After a while, he found that no water drops had fallen on the tree, and his shoulders that were wet before were slowly drying up. .He turned his head to look at Edwin again, but the other party didn't seem to notice, and was focused on finding his way in the forest, as if he hadn't done anything.

He had no choice but to turn the topic to the business: "How long will it take us to get there? There seems to be no way in here..."

From just now to now, both of them have been walking in the gap between trees.There are no traces of human life in the forest, not even a ready-made road. Edwin should know where they should go, and has been leading him with a clear purpose, but as they entered the depths of the woods, he could accommodate people. The "road" to walk gradually became narrower and narrower, and Zals finally asked the exit.

"Almost there," Edwin said.

He led Zals through a particularly densely grown tree, after that, the sound of water flowing and a more intense moist breath came to his face——

There is a waterfall hidden behind the woods.

The waterfall is not too big, but there is no such high mountain in the forest park, and I don't know where it flows down from.The falling water rushed straight into a small pool, forming the sound they heard, and beside the pool was a green field with a wooden house built on it.

There was a little dim light from the window of the house, and smoke was still coming out of the chimney, presumably it was occupied by people.Zals turned his head and glanced at Edwin, who raised his eyebrows and motioned him to look at the wooden house with his eyes: "Let's go."

They walked through the thick grass and walked towards the wooden house, during which Zars found that the grass here was not soaked in water, it felt dry and soft when stepping on it, and it was different from the ground inside and outside the woods, as if it had never rained——

"It seems a little strange here," he said to Edwin in a low voice.

"Ok?"

Zales continued in a low voice: "The weather, the terrain, and the feeling are all incompatible with the environment outside the woods..."

"It's normal," Edwin said, "because after passing through the woods just now, we have reached another place independent of the outside world."

Zars was stunned: "What?"

"The forester's hut." Edwin stood in front of the cabin, reached out to hold the rusted doorknob, and opened the door with a "squeak", "Maybe it's not the one that saved you, but I have to go from here They borrow things from their hands, maybe you can help."

He pushed open the door and walked in first.Zals didn't understand what he meant, but he followed him into the door and saw the situation inside the door.

The furnishings in the room are very simple. There is a wooden table with an oil lamp with insufficient brightness. It seems that it will not be extinguished. There was a tattered quilt on the bed, and no one was lying on it.There was a thin layer of dust on the furniture and floors throughout the room and it looked like it hadn't been lived in for a while.

But how can there be lights on in a house where no one lives?

Zals glanced at Edwin for help, but the latter ignored him, his eyes fell on the air next to the oil lamp, and he nodded at something: "Excuse me, I'm here to ask Mr. Wagner for a favor."

"..."

Zals looked at Edwin and then at the air-filled space, knowingly did not interrupt.

"Mr. Wagner." There was no response, and Edwin was not angry, and continued to speak into the air, "If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't come here to bother you—someone is trapped in the 'Forest of No Return' , his family asked us for help, so my assistant and I came to seek the Ranger's key."

An old voice came from the air: "Are you not an ordinary person, and you also need to ask for help from our insignificant wandering soul?"

Zals was taken aback by the sudden sound, he couldn't see what was in the air, but he could feel the faint fluctuations in it.It's not the same as the "door", it's like some kind of flowing breath, and it's like...

The next second, right in front of his eyes, an old man in a cloak appeared.

His hair is gray and his face has age-appropriate wrinkles. He is wearing an old cloak with fluffy edges, an old one-piece overalls, and old hiking boots. He really seems to be a "forester" impression.But the problem is that he appeared out of nowhere, no different from a ghost, and this move is still a bit scary.

Edwin knew he was there a long time ago, so he was naturally not frightened by his sudden appearance, and said with an unchanged face: "After all, if there is no key, let alone ordinary people, even I may get lost in it, and I haven't dedicated myself yet. Great plans for the cause of aid."

The old man snorted coldly: "I won't lend the key to someone like you. You are cunning and full of tricks, just like those guys in hell who put honey on their mouths, they are completely untrustworthy—"

"You don't need to lend it to me, I don't need to be the custodian of the key." Edwin interrupted his chattering complaints, and dragged Zales to show himself, "You see, this kid was once guarded by the forest guard when he was a child." People who have been saved before, with a pure mind, no bad thoughts, and a passion to save the weak, isn't it suitable for keeping the key temporarily and taking it to the "Forest of No Return" to save people?"

Although these words sounded like compliments, Zals had a bad feeling that Edwin would say something else.He first glanced at the old man standing opposite, and found that the other party was also squinting, and seemed to be looking at him seriously.

Is this verifying the truth of Edwin's words?Zals thought helplessly.

"actually, I……"

He was just about to explain that he was just an ordinary assistant with no special abilities, and he had never heard of the "Forest of No Return". Even if he really wanted to save people, he would have nothing to do with Edwin.But the old man seemed to have discovered something suddenly. He took a step forward, stared at his face for a moment, and asked, "My child, when you were very young, were you almost kidnapped by Lake Goring?"

"..."

Zals was stunned for a moment, and he gestured another height in the air: "About this height, after escaping, he hid in the forester's hut by the lake for the night."

"...Yes." He said so specifically, and Zals couldn't deny it, because it was indeed an accident he experienced when he was a child, and he still told Edwin a story in the hotel in Hope County. But I don't know what's trying to take me into the forest, it looks exactly like my father—"

"It's a monster in the forest. It often turns into a human and abducts children." The old man said, "If we happen to meet, we will help save the children and send them back to their parents."

"But I..." Recalling that day, Zars wondered, "I seem to have found a wooden house by myself and went in to hide for a night."

He also forgot what he thought when he was a child. He probably felt very scared and didn't dare to go back alone, so he randomly found a nearby room and went in to hide.

It happened that the wooden house was not locked, so he could stay in it until Bill found it the next day.If he walked back against the darkness that night, he didn't know what strange things or people he would encounter.

"You have some talents that you haven't discovered by yourself, and you have no bad intentions, so I kept you here, lest that thing follow you back and hurt you and your family." The old man glanced at him again, with a nostalgic tone, as if Recall something, "Although you couldn't see me, the cabin where you stayed overnight was once my residence. I led you there, and you really stayed there with peace of mind."

Zars opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Did you save me?"

It was an unexpected unfolding, and he didn't know if Edwin knew about it before he came, but anyway, it was a good thing that he had found the Forester who had saved him.

"At that time, you looked like an ordinary child with a little talent, and your parents were also ordinary people. I didn't expect to see you in this situation after all these years."

The old man stretched out his hand, and Zals wanted to help him, but he couldn't touch anything. His hand passed through the forester's hand, and the support was empty.

The old forester patted his arm, looking relieved and complicated.Zars obviously didn't feel anything, but he seemed to be patted by an elder, and couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." He bowed solemnly to the other party, "I heard from Edwin that maybe the forest guards saved me, and I wanted to go to the Goring Lake scenic area to find the person who saved me, but found that the place had been demolished. , the forest is gone. I didn’t expect to see you in such a situation, I’m very happy.”

"I didn't expect to see you again." The forest guard raised the corners of his mouth, and a kind smile appeared on his dry face, "I didn't expect that you not only remembered me, but also saw me."

"If you were an ordinary person, you wouldn't see the forest guards." Edwin explained in a timely manner, "They are obsessive wandering souls, guarding the forest and the land. Even if you stood in front of them when you were young, won't see him there."

Zals turned to look at him: "So I'm not an ordinary person now?"

"Of course," Edwin smiled, "You can see Mr. Wagner, which is the best proof of progress."