CURSED AND LOVE

TO THE FORBIDDEN MOUNTAIN

When Leonardo Boras, who was a distance further up front, heard the repeated shouts calling him "Uncle", a corner of his mouth began to twitch. He subconsciously felt the beard on his own face, and he increased his pace another notch, thinking to ditch the person behind him. However, after about four hours, when he stopped and turned his head behind to peek, he saw the thin-figured beggar still following behind him about ten steps away, and his heart was rather shocked. For someone who had not done a sliver of cultivation, how did he manage to keep up with him?

Jocefie Abad was panting heavily as she ran up to him, her back bent over with her hands resting on her knees, wheezing.

"Hayst! That was so tiring, I'm ready to drop. Uncle! Why were you walking so fast?"

Leonardo's brows creased closer as he sized up the filthy little beggar for a long while before he said in a deep voice:

"Do not follow me anymore. The place I am headed to is the forbidden mountain. That place is filled with endless dangers, and you will only be killed if you go in there."

"You've got it wrong, uncle. I wasn't following you, but it was originally my intention to go to the forbidden mountain anyway. But since you are going there too, isn't it better if we go there together?"

Leonardo Boras completely ignored the person behind him and just widened his strides to continue walking. He was thinking that the little beggar was actually some young master from some rich family who had secretly run away for fun.

From the moment the little beggar had latched onto his leg, he had not sensed the lowly humility of the beggar, and he had a pair of eyes that showed wit and were sharp and astute—nothing like what a beggar would have. After hearing that he was intending to go to the forbidden mountain, he was even more certain that the young beggar was just going there for nothing more than fun. If the beggar really did not fear death and followed him blindly into the forbidden mountain, he would not be a busybody to go save him if anything happened.

Seeing that the uncle in front was ignoring her, Jocefie Abad did not say another word after that but just jogged to keep up a few steps behind. However, if one were to look a little closer, they would notice that her steps were a little queer, as the speed she was moving at wasn't much slower than Leonardo Boras before her.

The two of them moved, one behind the other. Leonardo in the front did not once stop for any rest, and neither did Jocefie Abad behind him.

As time was running out, Jocefie needed to get to the forbidden forest to find the necessary herbs to dispel the poison within the body of Felisa Adonis, or her life would really end senselessly in this world just like that. In her memory, she can see that the body of Felisa Adonis was lying in a secret place, like under a cave, where dark shadows of energy embraced her body. She was lying under the rock-cast trunk; after all, the young lady is from a rich family.

After running for a whole day and night without any food or drink, the body had reached its limits. Jocefie's legs were sore and heavy; her strides were gradually slowing down; and the figure of Leonardo Boras in front was getting further and further away from her.

However, she still managed to come to the edge of the forbidden mountains at the break of dawn the next day, and she did not see any sign of the uncle anywhere.

"Hayst! I'm bushed!"

She crashed back down onto the ground, panting heavily. Sweat ran in rivulets, and she was starving. She was feeling a little lightheaded and rather nauseous. From yesterday until now, the only thing she had was the apple that she had swiped from the fruit stall; it had long been digested, and not even the juice was left. Her stomach was ravenously empty, and she wished endlessly for a scrumptious chicken leg to eat at that moment. She rested awhile to catch her breath, and after wiping off her perspiration, she stood up and stared at the forbidden mountain before her, a smile of anticipation showing on her face.

"I have to eat. Then, I should be able to catch myself for some wild meat in the forbidden mountain." Just thinking about it made her swallow with a big gulp, and she immediately moved her feet to go into the woods. The trees were dense, and the vegetation was abundant. The sun's rays from above her head were half shielded, and the damp smell of the dirt and the fragrance of grass wafted past her nose, carried by the light breeze.

Jocefie Abad held a sprig broken off from one of the trees and swept it left and right before her as she walked. By doing that, she could, on the one hand, sweep away some of the weeds in her path and, on the other hand, drive away any venomous snakes that might be hiding in the grass. Her progress was slow as her eyes carefully scanned for any herbs covered under the weeds.

Then she renewed the memory of Felisa Adonis. Felisa Adonis had studied the poison in her own techniques, and it might be difficult for others to study it, but for someone like her who was highly skilled in medicine and poisons, it was relatively easy. Of course, Jocefie Abad was on the premise that she must first find the herbs she needs, or even if she were a medical deity, she wouldn't be able to undo the poison to Felisa's body with nothing.

Perhaps it was because she was still on the outer edge. Although she had managed to find some herbs, they were all of the more common variety. And as for the wild fare that she was salivating over, it was almost utterly hopeless. Even after having walked for more than an hour, she had not seen a single sign of an edible live animal, but quite a number of lizards rested upon the branches of the trees.

Jocefie was so hungry that it was making her feel weak. She saw some edible creeping wood sorrel herb growing among the weeds, and she picked out a big bunch of it and chewed on it as she walked. Although the stem of the herb was sour, its flowers tasted lightly fragrant. It might not be much, but it was nevertheless better than her well-emptied stomach. In a few seconds, her eyes widened.

"Hey, the goddess really guides me. I finally find the root of the magical tree here." She ran over in pleasant surprise when she saw the herb growing at the foot of the magical tree, which was one of the herbs she was seeking on this trip for her antidote.

Biting off the last leaves from the bunch of herbs she held in her hand, she threw the stems to the side. Carefully digging out the root of the magical tree, the enchanted tree seemed to spring to life as she tilled the soil; its leaves lit up with lightning energy without Jocefie witnessing it. For some normal people, they can see the tree as berries. From the dirt at the base of the magical tree, she was squatting on the ground focused on the task, and she failed to notice that a black and white venomous snake was slithering through the grass towards her.

"Hissshh. hisshhh." As the snake neared her, its long body pushed its head up, and it spat out its forked tongue, hissing softly. At that moment, the venomous snake struck, and its jaw widened to bite into Jocefie's calf.

A sudden change came over Jocefie's expression, and an austere, murderous chill pervaded her entire being. Her eyes suddenly turned bitingly cold. Her body pivoted lightning quick as her hand grasped onto the snake's head, and the other hand clasped around the snake's seven-inch vital point. Her fingers tightened, and with a snap, the fingers grasping the seven-inch vital point were driven deep into the snake's body.

"Hisssssss!" The snake let out a loud hiss, and its body spammed before it fell limp.

"Oh, a Piton snake?" The chillingly cold aura from just a moment before now felt like it had just been a momentary hallucination. She had immediately reverted right back to her appearance of languid laziness as she eyed the snake and laughed.

"I haven't seen any boars and not even a tiny rabbit. You will have to do for the time being when I roast you to fill my empty stomach." But, as she finished her statement, the smile on her face froze. She had just discovered one big problem. "How do you make a fire?"

Under these damp and highly humid trees, starting a fire through friction would not be easy at all. She didn't have matches with her, not even a Flintstone or a stick of ember. She wouldn't be able to have a roast snake after all!

"Never mind! Just hold out for a little while more! I will have to at least find a dryer place before I think of some way to start a fire." She mumbled to herself in a low voice in regret as she held the snake carcass in her hand, thinking it would be such a waste to just throw the snake away. So she proceeded to clean and process the meat.

She first cut the head off, then skinned it before removing the snake gall. She then hung the now-unidentifiable piece of meat on a tree branch and wiped her blood-drenched hand on the grass. She picked some stronger-smelling plants and vigorously rubbed her hands with them to remove the stench of blood from them before carrying on with her search.

"You really knew this, huh?" Jocefie murmured.

"Yes, you will know and learn more from me," Felisa Adonis answered as if she whispered in Jocefie's ear.

Consequently, on this day in the woods, a filthy little beggar in ragged clothing could be seen going alone within this dangerous, forbidden mountain while skipping along with a tree branch over his shoulder and a skinned snake dangling from it. She wandered the entire day by herself, looking for herbs. She had unintentionally traversed the outside limits of the forbidden mountain to travel far inside of them, but she was able to find all the herbs she required before dusk.

She located a dry branch and started a fire in the most basic manner possible by making use of the little remaining light that still enabled her to see. Though the environment was damp and wet, she spent almost two hours tirelessly trying to start the fire. Her hands had blistered badly from her efforts, but when she sank her teeth into the roasted snake meat, everything she did suddenly seemed worth it.

Having found all the herbs, she needed for the antidote and her stomach filled, she proceeded to mash up the herbs she had found in the afternoon and put them together in a small rattan bag.

"I need a coconut!" Felisa said. She looked up at the tree. She summoned her mystical strength and opened her eyes to face its results. Jocefie's dark eyes began to glow green. After a while, the ten knuckle parts that were stuck together got loose.

"What will you do with the knuckles?" Jocefie asked. Thinking about mystical cultivators, they didn't eat any natural food or fruits for humans.

"I'm going to make "Lana." The special juice from the coconut is one of the ingredients mixed with some herbs. The solid albumen can be used as soap when you bathe in the river to help you remove the dirt in your body. While the outer part of the fruit, the mesocarp and epicarp just burn it so that the smoke increases and the mosquitoes stay away from you."

"How did you know all of this?" Jocefie wanted to know.

"I am a cultivator who makes various types of poison, including natural medicines. That is why I have memorized all the plants that grow on the ground."

"Felisa one more question, are you afraid in mosquito?"

"I have a mystical power, even mosquito is afraid on it. I just thought of making "Lana", since you need mosquito repellent in this wild forest.

"Okay, since I've already eaten, I'll begin to prepare this so that I may rest," Jocefie suggests.

Jocefie set the coconut juice aside with the other herbs after collecting it, then she extinguished the fire and climbed up a tall tree to find a comfortable spot to get a good night's rest. Being in a place like this and all alone, she could not afford to keep the fire burning. If not, when night fell, she could easily become the target of wild beasts, and she wasn't exactly brimming with energy at that moment to take them on. So, even when the branches high up in the trees were cold and she did not have the fire to warm her, she would choose safety over comfort without a thought.

As expected, as the darkness fell, the howling of wolves reached her ears, ringing through the woods, reverberating chillingly in the darkness, and driving fear into the hearts of people.

As for Jocefie Abad, her eyes were closed as she had fallen into a deep sleep, seemingly treating the long, ringing howls in the woods as her nighttime lullaby. Naturally, she would also not notice that high up on a tree not too far away, a dark, shadowy figure had observed every single action in these very dangerous forests.

A brief flash of astonishment showed in Leonardo's penetrating jet-black eyes for a fleeting moment, surprised that he would see the little beggar once more at a place like this. He had thought that the little beggar would have run away at the first sign of danger he would undoubtedly encounter in the forbidden mountain, and he had not for a moment expected to come all the way so deep into the inner reaches of the forest.

He had spotted the little beggar in the early afternoon. The beggar had been bent over, digging up an herb from the ground. The herbs that he had thought to be useless were instead picked by the little beggar one by one, and he was seemingly extremely carefree and at ease within the inner reaches, looking completely oblivious to all the dangers surrounding him.

"This beggar is so brave; he manages to stay long in these dangerous forests? Hmm. Let's see..." Leonardo reminds himself. Based on his cold and indifferent personality, he would not have paid the little beggar any attention. But somehow, for no good reason, he did not leave. Instead, he secretly observed from a distance, watching the little beggar intently as he picked up a piece of deadwood and dug out a small hole in it. He then found himself a small dead branch, and he sat down, placing the point of the branch into the small hole in the bigger piece of wood and staring, turning the branch furiously, held between his palms, seeming like he was trying to bore a hole in the wood. He did not know what the little beggar was doing, and it was only after watching him for about more than two hours that he saw a thin wisp of smoke emanating from the piece of wood that he was thoroughly in shock.

"He was able tobuild a fire? How smart he is!"