Free Web NovelChapter 1252: Chapter 1252: Stepping Out
Time flies like an arrow, fleeting and unstoppable.
In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed without notice.
Yang Yan’s physique and combat skills have greatly advanced, gradually becoming the strongest presence in the village, taking over from Daniu as the captain of the Hunting Squad.
Though his memory hasn’t been recovered, Yang Yan has always inexplicably wanted to leave this village.
He’s always yearned for a bigger world, instinctively feeling that the forest has trapped him, preventing him from achieving his soul’s deep ambitions.
If not for that accident, Yang Yan might have lived here like a regular person for the rest of his life.
But perhaps due to fate, a misfortune inadvertently occurred.
And it was this accident that solidified Yang Yan’s desire to venture out and find himself.
The village life isn’t as tranquil as it appears; there are always sporadic attacks from the mountain beasts.
During one beast assault, the village’s young people were out hunting, leaving behind only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.
Thus, many died of unnatural causes, leaving the village in chaos.
Even the most respected village elder lost his life in the beast attack.
By the time the Hunting Team returned, it was already too late.
Misfortune struck so suddenly that it was hard for everyone to accept, overwhelming them with grief.
This incident deeply affected Yang Yan, who had become part of this family and had a great appreciation for the village elder.
For the past decade, the elder had been helping him recover his memories, treating him with care despite not knowing his identity.
He even felt that the elder treated him as his own, along with Daniu, planning to pass the position of village chief to him after the elder’s passing.
In this small village, the chief holds absolute power.
Although Yang Yan wasn’t actually interested in being the chief, he was emotionally moved by such trust.
Over the decade, he silently accepted the name Erniu.
On the third day after the attack, Daniu carried his hunting knife and resolutely embarked alone on a path of revenge to Soul-Falling Forest, never to be heard from again.
A month later, villagers reported finding Daniu’s corpse.
Daniu had killed the Wolf King from the invasion, but died from excessive blood loss along the way.
Upon hearing this news, Yang Yan was silent for a long time.
Despite deep sorrow, he finally understood what had been calling him all these years.
It was nothing else but the yearning for freedom, for the freedom of the outside world.
Jiuan Village is tranquil, yet perpetually isolated from the outside world.
Yang Yan wants to break free from these mountains, to find a path to lead the villagers away from this place, no longer living in poverty, backwardness, or constant fear.
With this belief, Yang Yan set out.
He took several days’ worth of rations and embarked on the path from which he awoke.
He believed there was definitely a route to leave from there.
Because he came from there.
After about ten days of walking, Yang Yan reached the edge of the forest.
Over the years, he had become extremely familiar with the terrain here.
Further ahead, a massive stone monument rose up on the mountain path.
Behind the monument was a barrier, completely blocking the mountain path.
The surrounding area is extremely steep, simply inaccessible by human strength.
The path from the village to the outside was thus completely cut off.
The elder once said that Jiuan Village couldn’t connect with the outside world mainly because of this barrier.
Legend has it, someone from the village angered an Immortal, and in his fury, he set up this barrier as punishment, preventing the people of Jiuan Village from leaving.
Behind the barrier lies an Illusion Realm, requiring someone to completely pass through its numerous challenges for the barrier to vanish.
Over the years, many have attempted to breach this area but never returned.
Gradually, the village treated it as a forbidden area, banning villagers from entering.
Now, Yang Yan is about to enter this forbidden ground.
If successful, he would open a path of hope for the entire village.
If he fails, he would become a skeleton among many, finding a sense of release.
With a firm resolve, Yang Yan unhesitatingly touched the monument.
Afterward, a feeling of dizziness and vertigo overwhelmed him.
When he awoke again, before him was a completely dark world.
The sensation... seemed familiar.
For the past decade, similar scenes have appeared countless times in Yang Yan’s dreams.
Though he felt an unusual fear about such an environment, at this moment, Yang Yan unexpectedly felt a bit of anticipation.
Indeed!
This might truly be the road home!
Yang Yan struggled to get up, but for a moment, he couldn’t discern any direction.
He knew well enough that urgent now was to figure out what this mysterious place was.
For now, where he headed today would have to be left to fate.
The people of Jiuan Village believe in fate, and ten years of life have subconsciously led Yang Yan to believe in the existence of deities.
Hence, with this thought, Yang Yan lit his torch, pulling a small sword from his belongings, and spinning it in his palm.
As the sword stopped, it pointed to a direction.
To Yang Yan’s surprise, the sword pointed straight in a direction, its blade seemingly vibrating as if drawn by some invisible force.
Without much thought, Yang Yan got up and strode in the direction pointed by the sword.
Before long, as if triggering some mechanism, suddenly a light bloomed from Yang Yan’s side.
In the glow, faintly, a bustling city appeared.
Inside, people came and went, lively and vibrant.
Yet, everything before him was blurry, like a mirage-like illusion.
The strange scene made the light appear as if it was the Cloud Ascending Ladder to Paradise.
However, the light raised suspicion in Yang Yan, who had just arrived.
In this dark and sunless space, the torch could barely illuminate a three-meter radius around him, how could this light suddenly appear?
Although the light tempted him to move toward its source, his intuition prompted Yang Yan to remain unmoved.
Yang Yan preferred to trust his sixth sense, which had saved him numerous times from life-threatening situations, so he gently closed his eyes.
As he was well aware, under these circumstances, it was better to have his eyes shut.
Only with closed eyes could his judgment remain unclouded, following his heart.
Continuing to gropingly explore a bit further, Yang Yan accidentally heard strange sounds resonating from the darkness.
The sound sometimes resembled a mountain stream, sometimes like a symphony, then transformed into the myriad sounds of the world, similarly enticing him towards it.
