The moment Ming stepped into Blackwind Forest,the world behind him vanished.The faint drizzle on his hair and shoulders seemed to be sucked up by the thick tree canopy,only leaving a damp chill that seeped through his thin shirt.The distant gurgles of the village stream,the creak of cottage doors,even the rustle of rain on leaves,all went quiet.In their place was a deep silence,as if the forest itself was holding its breath.Ming glanced over his shoulder,but the edge of the woods had blurred into a wall of twisted branches and shadows,as if the trees had moved to block his way back.Panic stung his throat like the doctor’s bitter root paste,but he tightened his grip on his father’s ax until his knuckles turned white.“Brave people take action,”he whispered,repeating his father’s words like a spell.
The forest floor was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves,soft enough to muffle his footsteps but slippery with moss that made him stumble several times.Sunlight never broke through the dense canopy here;light filtered through the web of branches and vines,casting a sickly gray-green hue over everything.Even the nearest trees looked like ghostly shadows.Tall oaks and gnarled pines towered above,their trunks scarred with deep gashes:some from lightning,and others,Ming guessed,from creatures much larger than any he had seen in the village.Vines as thick as his wrist hung down from the branches like stiff arms,swaying slowly even without wind,their leaves glistening with sticky sap that looked like dark red blood.
It wasn’t long before he encountered his first problem:a sudden deep gully blocked his way.The gully’s walls were steep and covered with thorny bushes,and the bottom was faintly visible with rushing black water that gave off a pungent stench of decay.Ming walked along the edge for more than ten steps,trying to find a place to cross,but the gully was at least two or three meters wide,far too wide for him to jump with his height.He picked up a stone and threw it down,and it was a long time before he heard a dull“plop.”Just as he scratched his head anxiously,the vines beside the gully suddenly shook.Several thick vines stretched out in front of him as if alive,their tendrils wiggling gently as if tempting him to grab on.Remembering the doctor’s warning that everything in the forest might deceive him,Ming stepped back immediately,gripping his ax tightly.“I won’t be tricked,”he gritted his teeth and said,turning to continue searching for a way out along the edge.
After walking for another half an hour,he finally found a fallen tree at the corner of the gully.Its trunk stretched across the gully just right,like a natural bridge.But the trunk was covered with slippery moss and crawling with tiny black insects,looking disgusting and dangerous.Ming took a deep breath,slung his backpack over his shoulder,grabbed the protrusions on both sides of the trunk tightly with both hands,and climbed forward carefully.When he reached the middle,the trunk suddenly shook.He slipped,and half of his body hung in the air.The cold wind blew up from the bottom of the gully,making him shiver all over.He clung tightly to the trunk,his nails almost digging into the wood.The image of his mother lying on the bed flashed through his mind,and he stabilized himself again,inching his way to the other side.
As soon as he climbed over the gully,the fog in the forest suddenly thickened.The white fog wrapped around him like cotton,reducing visibility to less than two meters.The surrounding trees turned into vague dark shadows,as if they would pounce at any moment.What was more terrifying was that intermittent crying came from the fog,sounding like a lost child,sad and miserable,making people can’t help but feel sympathy.“Is anyone there?”Ming shouted instinctively,but only clearer crying responded to him.He hesitated for a moment,wanting to follow the sound,but suddenly remembered that Lila hadn’t appeared yet—this was probably another trick of the forest.He quickly stopped,took a dried chestnut from his backpack and stuffed it into his mouth,forcing himself to calm down,and continued walking in the direction where the fog was slightly thinner.
Every few steps,he heard a sound that made him freeze:the rustle of something scurrying in the bushes,the creak of a branch as if a heavy object had landed on it,the distant hoot of an owl that sounded too human to be natural.Once,he thought he saw a pair of glowing amber eyes staring at him from behind a cluster of ferns.But when he raised his ax and held his breath,the eyes disappeared,leaving only the smell of damp earth and rotting things.The doctor had been right about the rivers,after passing through the fog,he came across a narrow stream.Its water was as clear as glass,but when he leaned down to fill his water skin,he saw his reflection twist into something inhuman:a face with sunken cheeks and eyes like black holes.He stumbled back,his heart pounding,and when he looked again,only his own pale,frightened face stared back.“All lies,”he muttered,remembering the doctor’s warning.The forest was trying to trick him into turning back,but he couldn’t not when his mother’s labored breathing echoed in his mind.
As time passed,the gray light grew darker,as if dusk had come even though the sun had just climbed high in the sky.Ming’s legs ached from walking on uneven ground,his stomach growled with hunger,and the palms he had scraped while climbing the tree burned with pain.He stopped beside a gnarled birch tree,its bark peeling like old skin,and pulled his bag off his shoulder.He ate a handful of dried chestnuts,their bitter taste stinging his tongue,and took a sip of water from his water skin.The water was cold,making his teeth chatter,but it helped calm his nerves.As he ate,he noticed something strange:the trees around him were leaning slightly,their branches bending toward him as if curious.The vines that had hung lifelessly before were now swaying slowly and rhythmically,as if keeping time to a song only they could hear.
Then he heard it,a whisper.
It was so soft that he almost thought it was the wind,but there was no wind at all.It was a voice,high and clear,like the tinkle of a stream over stones,but it wasn’t saying real words.It was a sound,a melody,that wrapped around him like a blanket.He stood up,still holding his ax,and looked around.“Who’s there?”he called,his voice a little shaky.“Come out!”
The whisper grew louder,weaving through the trees and leading him deeper into the forest.He hesitated for a moment—what if it was the forest witch the villagers talked about?But the voice didn’t sound evil.It sounded sad and lonely,and…full of hope.He took a step forward,then another,following the sound past tangled bushes and small streams.The trees grew taller,their trunks thicker,and the air cooler,but the whisper kept leading him,like a faint light in the dark.
After what felt like hours,he entered a small clearing.Unlike the rest of the forest,which was thick and dark,this clearing was covered in a soft golden light that seemed to come from nowhere.The grass under his feet was green and lush,not brown and rotting like the rest of the forest floor.In the middle of the clearing stood a tree he had never seen before.Its trunk was silver,its leaves bright emerald green that shimmered in the light,and clusters of small white flowers hung from its branches,smelling of honey and rain.
And under the tree stood a girl.
She was about his age,with hair as black as the forest’s shadows and eyes as green as leaves.She wore a dress made of leaves and vines,stitched with shiny silver thread,and her bare feet were covered in a thin layer of moss.She was smiling at him,a gentle smile with a little sadness,which lightened his heart.“You’ve come,”she said,her voice exactly like the whisper he had been following.
Ming raised his ax,his muscles tensing.“Who are you?”he asked.“Are you the forest witch?”
The girl laughed,a sound as clear as wind through wind chimes.“No,I’m not a witch.My name is Lila.I’m the spirit of Blackwind Forest.”
Ming blinked.He had heard stories of forest spirits,beings made of light and air that guarded the woods and helped people who deserved it,but he had never thought he would actually meet one.“A spirit?”he said,lowering his ax a little.“Why did you lead me here?”
Lila’s smile faded,and her eyes turned serious.“Because you’re looking for Soul-Returning Grass,”she said.“And I’m the only one who can tell you where it grows.”
Ming’s heart beat faster.“You know about the grass?”
“I know everything about this forest,”Lila said.She took a step toward him,her bare feet making no sound on the grass.“Soul-Returning Grass grows in the center of the forest,in a glade guarded by the Golden Lion.It blooms only once every hundred years,and this year is when it will bloom,if you can get there in time.”
Fear twisted in Ming’s stomach.The doctor had warned him about the Golden Lion,saying it was the forest’s most majestic guardian.“The Lion,”he said.“Is it…dangerous?”
Lila nodded,her eyes growing heavy.“Very dangerous.It’s as big as five horses,with fur as golden as sunlight and claws as sharp as steel.It guards the Soul-Returning Grass,and any stranger who tries to get close will be chased away,or even killed.”
Ming’s hands started to shake.He was only twelve years old,a boy with a small ax and no magic at all.How could he ever reason with a Golden Lion?“But my mother is dying,”he said,his voice breaking a little.“I have to get the grass.I don’t have another choice.”
Lila looked at him,her green eyes full of sympathy.“I know,”she said.“That’s why I’m going to help you.The Lion is strong,but it has a weakness.And I can give you a clue to help you gain its trust.”
Ming leaned forward,listening carefully to every word she said.“What’s the weakness?What’s the clue?”
Lila walked to the silver tree and picked a small,glowing leaf from its branch.She held it out to Ming,and he took it in his hand.It was warm,like sunlight,and hummed softly in his palm.“This leaf is from the Tree of Truth,”she said.“It will protect you from the forest’s lies like the river that twisted your reflection,or the voices that will try to lead you off the path.But it won’t protect you from the Lion.To gain its trust,you need to remember:the Golden Lion only recognizes pure sincerity.It can smell the scent of lies.”
“Pure sincerity?”Ming frowned.“What does that mean?”
“Your mother’s love for you,your courage to come here,your willingness to risk everything to save her—these are the things that make your heart pure,”Lila explained.“When you face the Lion,you must not be afraid.You must not lie.You can only speak your true thoughts,tell it why you need the grass.Only sincerity can move it.”
Ming squeezed the leaf tightly,and the warm feeling spread from his palm to his arm.“But how do I find that glade?”he asked.“The forest is so big.I might get lost forever.”
Lila pointed to a narrow path leading out of the clearing,lined with glowing mushrooms that gave off a soft blue light.“That path will take you to the glade,”she said.“It’s the only path not guarded by the forest’s tricks.But be careful even with this path,the forest will try to stop you.There are other creatures here that feed on fear.And the closer you get to the glade,the stronger the forest’s lies will become.”
She took another step toward him,her eyes full of warning.“One more thing.Soul-Returning Grass is not just a plant.It’s part of the forest’s magic,born from sadness and hope.When you take it,you must promise me something:you will never tell anyone where it grows.If humans find out,they will come in crowds,dig up the forest,kill the creatures here,and destroy everything I guard.Can you promise me that?”
Ming nodded without hesitation.“I promise,”he said.“I only want to save my mother.I don’t care about anything else.”
Lila smiled,and the clearing seemed to get brighter.“Good,”she said.“Now go.The sun is going down,and the Golden Lion is most alert at dusk.You must hurry—follow this path straight ahead,and don’t stray.”
She stepped back,and her body began to fade slowly like smoke in the wind.“Remember,Ming.Courage is not having no fear.It’s acting even when you are afraid.And your sincerity is your strongest weapon.”
“Wait!”Ming called.“Will I see you again?”
Lila’s voice echoed in the clearing,soft and far away.“If you need me,just listen carefully.I will be the whisper in the trees.”
Then she was gone,leaving only the smell of honey and rain,and the glowing leaf in Ming’s hand.He stood there for a moment,staring at the path lined with blue mushrooms,feeling both scared and determined.The forest was still dangerous,and the Golden Lion was waiting,but now he had a clue,a protector,and a clear path.He took a deep breath,the warm leaf in his palm giving him strength.He gripped his ax tightly and stepped onto the path leading to the glade.
