Chapter 63: The Inescapable Forest

"You mean we're lost?" Shangguan Ruoyun asked.

Qinchuan nodded and said, "I remember this clearly. We've definitely walked through here before. We've just walked in a huge circle."

"Should we try a different direction, then?" Shangguan Ruoyun suggested.

"That's our only option."

With the mountains towering, the woods dense, and a thick fog obscuring everything, telling directions apart was exceptionally difficult. Neither of them had a good solution, so they could only keep walking while leaving marks along the way, hoping to make their way out of this place.

However, things often turned out contrary to expectations.

Two hours later, Qinchuan and Shangguan Ruoyun were back here once again.

Looking at the "big cat" shaped stone marker they had laid out, the two of them fell silent.

Qinchuan had modeled this big cat shape after the prototype of Shen Gongbao. Well... it didn't look like it in the slightest.

After wandering around in circles, they were back right where they started.

"What do we do? It seems we really are trapped here."

The two looked at each other, while Shen Gongbao stared at them with wide eyes.

Then, Qinchuan turned his gaze to Shen Gongbao and said, "Big cat, you at least grew up living in the forest since you were little, yet you still managed to get lost. You're such a disgrace."

Shen Gongbao: "(*゜ー゜*)"

How on earth did such misfortune fall upon it out of nowhere?

"Alright, Qinchuan, stop giving Shen Gongbao a hard time."

Shangguan Ruoyun and Qinchuan sat down on the ground, looking at the surrounding fog and forest, feeling somewhat at a loss.

They were truly lost.

"No way, have they given up?"

"How long has it been, and they're already planning to stop walking?"

"As long as they keep changing directions, I refuse to believe they can't walk out of this forest."

"The forest is so big, how on earth did they have such bad luck ending up right back where they started?"

"They wasted two hours of walking for nothing. I have no idea how they managed to loop back to the starting point."

"This forest must be tiny if they can walk back to the beginning just like that."

Seeing Qinchuan trapped in the forest, Bingbing and the others grew anxious as well. Yu Nan, who possessed rich wilderness survival experience, spoke up: "Actually, everyone doesn't need to worry. An unescapable forest doesn't exist in this world. The reason Qinchuan and the others returned to the starting point is completely normal."

"I've encountered a situation like this before as well. I was trapped in a forest for a full three days, walking back and forth through it countless times, but eventually, I managed to figure out the pattern."

"We've all witnessed the wisdom of Qinchuan and Shangguan Ruoyun, so you don't need to worry. The reason they stopped is actually to think."

"They don't want to waste their physical energy walking the same path again, so they are figuring out how to navigate the road ahead. I believe it won't be long before they try searching for other exits."

Upon hearing this, Bingbing found it quite reasonable. Furthermore, Qinchuan and Shangguan Ruoyun certainly looked like they were deep in thought, so she said, "It's just a forest, everyone rest assured. It won't trap them for long."

"With their intelligence, they'll be able to walk out of here very soon. Everyone, stop guessing wildly."

After the explanations from Bingbing and the others, the netizens finally calmed down. Getting lost in a wild forest was completely normal, so there was no need to worry.

Besides, apart from getting lost, there were no other dangers in this forest anyway, so their anxiety was entirely unnecessary.

...

It wasn't that Qinchuan had no solutions; he was simply tired from walking and wanted to rest.

As for Shangguan Ruoyun, she really was pondering over a solution, thinking of ways to leave this patch of woods.

"Qinchuan, I just thought of a few methods. Let's try them out," Shangguan Ruoyun said.

"No rush. Let's fill our stomachs first." Qinchuan rubbed his belly; he was hungry.

"Fine."

Shangguan Ruoyun began to prepare a meal. After eating their fill, Shangguan Ruoyun said, "We can't waste too much time here. Let's get moving."

"Right, this time we need to carefully examine our surroundings."

Although Qinchuan had a way out, he still needed to survey the surrounding terrain before he could put it into practice.

Thus, he followed Shangguan Ruoyun to continue searching for an exit.

As they kept walking, they didn't encounter a single monster, which spared them some trouble.

Yet precisely because of that, they felt this patch of woods was even more bizarre.

Not even the shadow of a single monster could be seen here.

This was already highly unreasonable.

There might even be greater dangers lying in wait for them, so it was best for them to remain cautious along the way.

The surrounding woods were dense and lush, with extremely complex terrain that was difficult to distinguish. Everything looked nearly identical, and many areas were completely impassable.

"Qinchuan, look, there's the mark I made earlier on this tree. We've walked through here."

Shangguan Ruoyun pointed to a mark on a tree and hurriedly spoke.

"Indeed, we've walked right back."

"Let's take the other side where there are no marks."

They walked in the direction without any marks, making new signs along the way to tell things apart better.

Yet half an hour later, for reasons unknown, they found themselves back on the very first path they had walked.

"We've looped back again."

Shangguan Ruoyun felt utterly helpless.

They realized they were like people trapped inside a turntable; no matter how they walked, they would eventually return to their original spot, which disgusted them to no end.

"Let's walk it one more time and see."

Qinchuan kept walking, and Shangguan Ruoyun had no choice but to follow behind him.

This time, they still headed toward the unmarked woods, and whenever they encountered a path with a mark, they changed direction. An hour later, they still found themselves back at the starting point.

"Qinchuan and the others really are trapped here."

"It's been this long and they still haven't walked out. Is this patch of woods cursed or something?"

"What curse, stop talking nonsense."

"I believe Qinchuan and the others will definitely be able to walk out."

"You guys really must leave this place."

The netizens of Yanhuang naturally wanted Qinchuan and the others to leave, but there were others who didn't want them to escape. Seeing the two trapped here made them quite happy instead.

"Haha, this brat is finally trapped."

"Splendid! As long as they're trapped here, our lucky chosen one will be able to surpass them."

"Let's hope this brat never gets out."

"His strength is formidable, but this forest can't be resolved with sheer strength alone."

"There isn't even a single monster here; these two are going to be trapped to death."

...

Inside the forbidden land, Shangguan Ruoyun also felt a trace of irritation. They had been trapped here for half a day without any progress at all. Were they really going to be trapped to death here?

"Sister Shangguan, don't worry, we'll find the way out," Qinchuan said indifferently.

"We can't waste too much time here. We need to get out as soon as possible."

If Qinchuan didn't have a spatial ring with an ample supply of water and food, they would have panicked to death long ago.