# **Chapter 7: The Forest Path and the Red-Eyed Rabbit**
The Star Dou Forest was quiet again.
Not peaceful.
Not safe.
Just… waiting.
As if the world itself was holding its breath after something important had briefly passed through it.
Neon walked at the front.
Kirck followed beside him casually, stretching his shoulders as if nothing unusual had happened earlier.
Behind them, the clan protectors remained alert—but noticeably less panicked than before.
Because by now, they had learned one simple rule:
If Neon said "it's fine," then reality would usually adjust itself to agree.
---
Kirck sighed.
"So we're really just leaving after I got my first ring?"
Neon answered calmly.
"Yes."
Kirck frowned. "That feels anticlimactic."
Neon glanced at him.
"Most of life is anticlimactic."
"That's depressing."
"It's efficient."
Kirck couldn't argue with that.
---
As they walked deeper along the forest path, the atmosphere slowly changed again.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
But subtly.
The wind softened.
The sound of insects faded.
Even the spirit beasts that usually lingered nearby had gone completely silent.
One of the protectors frowned.
"…This area is becoming too quiet."
Another nodded. "Something is suppressing natural movement patterns."
Neon stopped walking.
Kirck noticed immediately. "Again?"
Neon didn't answer at first.
Then:
"It's not suppression."
A pause.
"…It's hiding."
Kirck blinked. "Hiding from what?"
Neon looked slightly ahead.
"…From us."
---
A few steps forward.
The trees opened slightly into a small clearing.
And there—
Something small was crouched near the center.
A figure.
Furry ears twitching slightly.
A soft red glow pulsing faintly around her body.
She looked up slowly.
Large eyes.
Confused expression.
And a very obvious lack of understanding of what was happening.
Kirck tilted his head. "Huh? A rabbit?"
One protector relaxed slightly. "A spirit beast. Low threat level."
Neon didn't move.
He simply stared at her.
"…So it's you."
Kirck glanced at him. "You know this rabbit?"
Neon replied calmly.
"Yes."
A pause.
"…She's a 100,000-year spirit beast."
The entire group froze.
Kirck blinked. "A what now?"
The protector immediately tensed again. "Impossible… a hundred-thousand-year beast in this outer region?"
But Neon continued watching her.
The rabbit spirit beast—still in her incomplete transformation stage—tilted her head slightly.
She didn't understand their conversation.
She just felt something strange from the boy in front of her.
Something that made her instinctively nervous… but not afraid.
Curious.
---
This was **Xiao Wu**.
Still in her spirit beast form.
Still not fully transformed into human shape.
Still preparing for her cultivation path.
Naive.
Emotional.
Unaware of most danger beyond instinct.
---
Kirck scratched his head.
"So… we're just casually meeting a legendary spirit beast now?"
Neon replied.
"Yes."
Kirck sighed. "Of course we are."
One of the protectors whispered urgently. "Young Masters… we should retreat immediately. A hundred-thousand-year beast is not something we can handle lightly."
Neon raised a hand slightly.
"Relax."
The protector froze.
"…Relax?"
Neon nodded.
"She's not here to fight."
---
The rabbit spirit beast slowly stood up.
She tilted her head again.
Then cautiously stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
She stopped a few meters away from Neon.
Her ears twitched.
Then—
She spoke.
Not in words.
But in emotional instinct mixed with spiritual resonance.
"Who… are you?"
Kirck blinked. "Did it just speak?"
Neon answered calmly.
"No."
"…She's expressing intent directly."
Kirck frowned. "That's the same thing in my book."
Neon ignored him.
He looked at her.
"You shouldn't be here."
The rabbit spirit beast flinched slightly.
Not from fear.
But from confusion.
She didn't understand why those words felt familiar.
Like she had heard them before.
Neon continued.
"This place is too close to human territory."
The rabbit lowered her head slightly.
"…I got lost."
Kirck blinked. "That's… it?"
Neon nodded.
"Yes."
---
One protector whispered urgently again.
"Even if she is not hostile, we cannot just—"
Neon interrupted again.
"She won't attack."
The protector hesitated.
"…How can you be so certain?"
Neon looked at the rabbit.
Then answered simply.
"Because I know her type."
That statement made Kirck sigh.
"You really talk like you've read the future or something."
Neon paused slightly.
"…Something like that."
Kirck stared at him.
"…That was not reassuring at all."
---
The rabbit spirit beast slowly stepped closer again.
This time, she was clearly more comfortable.
Curious rather than defensive.
She sniffed slightly in Neon's direction.
Then tilted her head.
"…You feel… strange."
Neon nodded.
"I get that a lot."
Kirck muttered. "That's our family motto at this point."
---
A soft breeze passed through the clearing.
For a moment, everything felt calm.
Almost normal.
Then—
A faint pressure ripple passed through the deeper forest.
Not aggressive.
Not targeted.
Just… awareness shifting again.
Neon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…They noticed."
Kirck frowned. "Who noticed what now?"
Neon didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the rabbit.
"…You should leave this area soon."
She blinked.
"Leave?"
Neon nodded.
"Yes."
A pause.
"…This place will not stay quiet for long."
---
The rabbit spirit beast hesitated.
She didn't fully understand.
But something in his tone made her instinctively listen.
She stepped back slightly.
Then nodded.
"…Okay."
Simple.
Pure.
Unquestioning.
---
Kirck sighed.
"So we just tell ancient spirit beasts to leave now? That's our life?"
Neon replied.
"Yes."
Kirck groaned. "I need a better hobby."
---
The rabbit spirit beast turned slightly.
Then paused.
She looked back at Neon one more time.
"…You are… not like others."
Neon nodded.
"I know."
That answer made her pause again.
Then she smiled faintly.
Not wisely.
Not deeply.
Just simply.
"…Okay."
Then she turned and left.
Disappearing into the forest depths.
---
Silence returned.
One protector finally exhaled.
"…That could have gone far worse."
Kirck nodded. "Yeah. I thought we were about to fight a legendary rabbit boss or something."
Neon turned away.
"We avoided unnecessary interaction."
Kirck frowned. "That sounds like you just emotionally speedran a meeting."
Neon replied.
"That's accurate."
---
Far beneath the forest, the Silver Dragon King observed silently.
The being known as **Silver Dragon King** narrowed her eyes slightly.
"…So she met him already."
A pause.
"…And he let her go."
Her gaze sharpened faintly.
"That boy does not act like the others."
Not greedy.
Not fearful.
Not controlling.
Just… aware of things that should not yet be relevant.
---
In the Divine Realm.
The God Kings were watching again.
The Goddess of Life spoke softly.
"…He just interacted with a 100,000-year spirit beast without conflict."
The God of Destruction frowned.
"And she left willingly."
The Asura God added quietly:
"…He did not interfere with fate."
A pause.
Then—
"…That is what makes him dangerous."
Not strength.
Not power.
But the ability to *touch key points of fate without disrupting them yet*.
---
Back in the forest.
Kirck stretched.
"Alright, I'm officially done for the day."
Neon nodded slightly.
"Good."
Kirck glanced at him.
"…You're not normal."
Neon replied without hesitation.
"I know."
Then he turned and walked forward again.
---
The forest slowly returned to silence behind them.
But something had changed again.
Not in structure.
Not in strength.
But in *trajectory*.
Because now—
Even the future beings of this world had already begun crossing paths with Neon.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Without fully understanding why.
---
And somewhere far beyond sight…
The world continued adjusting itself around a variable it could not yet define.
---
**End of Chapter 7**