Overthrowing Fate

Chapter 13 - Building a Lair

Xu Min skirted around the outskirts of the town for a few days; however, just as he decided on a location, he saw yet another town, much like the previous one that had been established. This city seemed to attract mercenaries and young masters from cities other than Honghe City. As soon as it came into view, Xu Min grumbled slightly as he turned back and moved towards the forest between the two towns.

Standing there, he looked to both sides. Seeing that no one was around him, he finally moved into the forest. Being in a forest somehow caused Xu Min to quickly calm down. Previously, he had been excited and worried about the many men he could come across in the forest, but now that he had finally entered the forest, he felt as though he had returned home.

Walking with stealthy, silent steps, Xu Min ventured further and further into the forest, moving from the areas where the trees were sparse to the wilderness where even the sunlight was blocked by the trees above.

As soon as he made it to the thicker parts of the woods, he instantly stopped, took his sword from off his back, and wielded it in his hand, ready to take on any beast or human that decided to stand in his way.

As Xu Min looked around, his eyes didn't look for a demon beast, nor were they looking for other humans, instead, his eyes were constantly looking at the treetops as he tried to determine the best location to build his stronghold. After travelling through the forest for a few hours, Xu Min finally came across an area that lived up to his expectations.

The trees were tall, growing into the sky. Xu Min quickly sheathed his sword before he climbed to the top of these trees. At the top, the branches and leaves were weaved together, blocking the light from above and the eyes from below. Looking at the trees on which he was currently seated, a satisfied smirk appeared on his face as he started to rearrange the branches. He started to make a small nest-like structure. After finishing his construction of the nest and ensuring that neither anyone from below nor none of the beasts that could fly could see him, Xu Min was finally satisfied.

As soon as he had finished his lair, Xu Min sat down for a moment and took a deep breath before laying the sword by his side. He took one deep breath after another, and the golden specks started to appear in the air around him. After only a few moments, Xu Min managed to enter a deep trance-like meditation.

The sun was setting by the time Xu Min woke up from his meditation, and he quickly stood up, stretching his body that had been sitting still for quite some time as his muscles were slightly sore. Standing up, he picked his sword up and sheathed it on his back before he slowly climbed down the large tree in which he had created his lair. He then decided to go looking for some dinner.

The light was already dim when he started walking around the forest. Even the final rays of sunshine were unable to break through the heavy canopy created by the trees that were close by one another. The tree tops were blocking out even the rays of the rising moon.

Xu Min looked around for a moment; however, he quickly found that within the dense forest, the night descended quickly. As the night descended, sounds of the demon beasts increased, and in the forest, bonfires were lit as mercenaries and young masters stopped their daily hunts to start relaxing.

Seeing this, Xu Min quickly retreated back to his lair. Although he was here to fight demon beasts, he had no wish to fight them during the night as they had the advantage when it came to familiarity with the forest, and their night vision was definitely better than that of a human, even a warrior ranked cultivator did not have as good of a view of the night as a demon beast.

Moving back to his lair, Xu Min picked some dried meat out from his bag along with a bottle of wine that he enjoyed while lying down in his nest.

Xu Min relaxed for a moment while listening to the sounds of the forest. Although the forest he had lived in before had neither as many demon beasts nor as many humans as this one contained, the scent and the feel was exactly like what he had been used to. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by nostalgia as he remembered the forest that had been his world for two years.