CHAPTER 12 "Silence After the Kill"
The forest went quiet.
Not the normal kind of quiet.
No wind brushing through leaves.
No distant chirping.
No insects.
Nothing.
Wei Liang stood where he was, unmoving, the blade still hanging loosely in his hand.
"I… killed it."
The words left his mouth slowly, like they didn't quite belong to him yet.
No response.
No echo.
Just silence pressing in from all sides.
---
Then his fingers twitched.
A small movement.
Barely noticeable.
Then another.
The tremor spread—into his hand, his arm, his shoulders—until he felt it fully.
His whole body was shaking.
---
"…what the hell…"
The words came out low, unsteady.
Not fear.
Not yet.
Something in between.
---
His gaze shifted.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Toward where the beast had fallen.
It wasn't at his feet.
It had collapsed a short distance away, its massive body lying twisted between broken grass and crushed shrubs.
Too still.
Too quiet.
---
Wei Liang swallowed a full mouthful of saliva.
Slow.
Dry.
His throat felt tight.
"I really… did it…"
A weak laugh escaped him.
"Ha—"
It cracked halfway and died in his chest.
Didn't sound right.
Didn't feel right.
---
He didn't move immediately.
His eyes lifted instead.
Scanning.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Above.
The forest.
Every shadow suddenly looked deeper than before.
Every tree felt like it was watching.
---
"I made noise…"
The thought came sharp.
Clear.
Immediate.
---
His expression tightened.
That fight wasn't small.
Branches snapped.
Ground tore.
The beast had howled.
If something else was nearby—
---
Wei Liang inhaled slowly through his nose.
Held it.
Then let it out.
"…don't stand here."
---
He shifted his weight.
Took a step back first.
Instinct.
Creating distance.
Not from the corpse—
From the open space around it.
---
Then his eyes returned to the beast.
Still there.
Still real.
Still valuable.
---
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
Leaving it here…
didn't sit right.
---
"…meat…"
The word slipped out quietly.
Not greed.
Not hunger.
Practical.
That thing could feed him for days.
Maybe more.
---
But staying here longer—
was dangerous.
---
Wei Liang clicked his tongue softly.
"…damn it."
---
He looked around again.
Harder this time.
Listening.
Really listening.
---
Nothing.
Still nothing.
---
"…fast."
He muttered it to himself.
A decision.
---
His focus dropped to his hand.
Then shifted slightly—
to the ring on his finger.
---
For a brief second, he paused.
Thinking.
Not fully sure.
---
"…it should…"
He hesitated.
Then shook his head slightly.
"…no time to think."
---
He extended his hand toward the fallen beast.
Focused.
Intent.
---
Nothing happened.
---
Wei Liang blinked.
"…what?"
---
He tried again.
This time with more intent.
More focus.
Trying to "push" the idea into the ring the way he remembered.
---
For a split second—
something flickered.
Then—
the beast vanished.
---
Wei Liang froze.
His hand still stretched forward.
Eyes slightly widened.
---
"…it worked?"
A breath escaped him.
Sharp.
Disbelieving.
---
He looked down at the ring.
Then back at the empty patch of crushed grass where the beast had been.
Then back to the ring again.
---
"…it actually worked…"
A short laugh slipped out.
This time lighter.
Still strained—
but real.
"Ha… ha…"
---
It didn't last.
---
His head snapped up suddenly.
Eyes scanning again.
---
"…move."
---
No hesitation this time.
Wei Liang turned and left immediately.
Not running wildly—
but fast.
Controlled.
Putting distance between himself and that place.
---
Only when the forest changed—
when the trees grew denser, the ground less disturbed—
did he finally slow.
---
Then stop.
---
His chest rose and fell.
Breathing heavy now.
The shaking hadn't fully left his body.
---
He listened again.
Carefully.
---
Nothing followed.
---
"…good…"
He exhaled slowly.
---
A few seconds passed.
Then—
his gaze dropped to the ring again.
---
This time, there was no rush.
No pressure.
---
Just curiosity.
And something sharper beneath it.
---
"If what was written… is true…"
His brows drew together slightly.
"…then there should be something inside it."
---
He lifted his hand slowly.
Focus narrowing.
Wei Liang exhaled once, slowly.
Then he focused.
A faint pull answered his intent—
and the beast dropped out of the ring.
It didn't land gently.
It hit the ground with a dull, heavy thud, the weight of it pressing into the soil, bending grass flat beneath it.
Wei Liang's eyes flicked around immediately.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Nothing moved.
Still safe.
For now.
---
He stepped closer.
Slower this time.
More deliberate.
---
Up close, it felt… different.
When it was alive, it had been overwhelming.
Danger.
Pressure.
Now—
it was just a body.
But not harmless.
Not really.
---
A faint smell hit him.
Warm.
Metallic.
Thick.
Wei Liang's nose wrinkled instantly.
"…ugh…"
He turned his head slightly, exhaling through his mouth.
"That's… bad…"
---
But his eyes didn't leave it.
Couldn't.
---
"If what was written is true…"
His brows pulled together.
"…then there should be something inside."
---
He crouched.
Not too close.
Still cautious.
---
His hand tightened around the blade.
For a moment—
he didn't move.
---
"…where?"
The question came out under his breath.
Real.
Uncertain.
---
He scanned the body again.
Head.
Chest.
Abdomen.
---
"…they said beasts store it…"
He tried to remember.
Not clearly.
Fragments.
"…core… something like a core…"
---
His gaze slowly lifted toward the beast's head.
The skull.
Eyes now dull and empty.
---
"…head?"
He hesitated.
Then nodded slightly.
"…makes sense…"
---
He shifted position.
Closer now.
Kneeling beside it.
---
The blade came down.
Carefully.
Testing.
---
It didn't go in.
---
Wei Liang froze.
Blinking.
"…what?"
He pushed harder.
The edge pressed against the hide—
then stopped.
---
"…you've got to be kidding me…"
---
He adjusted his grip.
This time, he used more force.
The blade dug in slightly—
just slightly—
before sliding off to the side.
---
Wei Liang's expression twisted.
"…this thing…"
He exhaled sharply.
"…it's not normal flesh…"
---
Of course it wasn't.
It had almost killed him.
---
He clenched his jaw.
Shifted his position again.
---
"…again."
---
This time, he didn't just use his arm.
He leaned his weight into it.
---
The blade pressed in—
slow—
tight—
resisting—
then finally—
gave a little.
---
A shallow cut opened.
Dark blood oozed out slowly.
---
Wei Liang sucked in a breath.
"…finally…"
---
But it wasn't enough.
Not even close.
---
He tried to widen it.
The blade dragged.
Caught.
Slipped.
---
"…damn it—!"
His voice came out sharper than he expected.
---
He paused.
Breathing slightly heavier now.
Frustration rising.
---
"…think."
---
His eyes lowered to the blade.
Then to his hand.
Then inward.
---
"…I'm not… just normal anymore…"
---
That thought lingered.
Then sharpened.
---
The cave.
The energy.
That strange force he had felt inside his body.
---
"…right…"
A faint realization flickered across his face.
---
"…use it."
---
He adjusted his grip again.
But this time—
he didn't move immediately.
---
He focused.
---
It wasn't clear.
Not like in stories.
No glowing light.
No obvious flow.
---
Just—
a faint sense.
Inside.
---
Wei Liang frowned.
"…come on…"
---
He tried to "push" it.
Like earlier.
Like with the ring.
---
At first—
nothing happened.
---
Then—
a faint warmth stirred in his arm.
Weak.
Unstable.
But there.
---
His eyes sharpened instantly.
"…there—!"
---
He didn't hesitate.
---
The blade drove down again.
---
This time—
it went in deeper.
---
Not clean.
Still rough.
Still resisting.
But—
it worked.
---
Wei Liang's breath caught.
"…it works…"
---
A short, breathless laugh escaped him.
"…ha—"
It broke halfway.
But the excitement was real.
---
"…I'm such an idiot…"
He muttered under his breath, half-laughing, half-annoyed.
"…I had this the whole time…"
---
He didn't stop.
---
Again.
He pushed.
Focused.
Forced that faint energy into his arm.
---
The blade cut deeper now.
Slow.
Messy.
But steady.
---
The skull resisted the most.
Hard.
Dense.
Unyielding.
---
Wei Liang gritted his teeth.
"…open…"
---
He struck again.
And again.
Each hit sending dull vibrations back into his arm.
Each one painful.
Each one necessary.
---
Time stretched.
---
His breathing grew heavier.
Sweat gathered along his forehead.
His injured shoulder throbbed with every movement.
---
But he didn't stop.
---
Crack.
---
The sound was small.
But clear.
---
Wei Liang froze for half a second.
Eyes locking onto the point of impact.
---
"…did it…"
---
He drove the blade in again.
Harder.
---
This time—
the structure gave way.
---
A deeper split formed.
---
Wei Liang quickly shifted, using the blade to pry it open further.
---
Inside—
something faintly glimmered.
---
He stopped.
---
His breath slowed.
Just a little.
---
"…so it's real…"
---
Carefully—
very carefully—
he reached in.
---
Warm.
Wet.
Unpleasant.
---
His fingers brushed against something solid.
Smooth.
Round.
---
His eyes sharpened.
---
"…this must be it…"
---
He pulled it out slowly.
---
A small core.
Dull in color.
But unmistakably different from flesh.
---
Wei Liang stared at it.
Silent.
---
"…so this is…"
He swallowed once.
"…the beast core…"
---
For a moment—
he just held it.
---
Then a thought surfaced.
Clear.
Heavy.
---
"…that one in the cave…"
His brows drew together slightly.
"…was nothing like this…"
---
This one felt—
raw.
Rough.
Unstable.
---
Wei Liang's grip tightened slightly.
---
"…so that one…"
"…was already purified…"
---
The realization settled in quietly.
Naturally.
---
"…if I had eaten something like this back then…"
A small breath escaped him.
"…I might have died."
---
He looked at the core again.
More seriously this time.
Wei Liang exhaled slowly, tightening his grip around the core.
"So it's real…"
He lifted his head—
and froze.
The forest had gone silent again.
Not the normal kind.
The kind that meant…
something else was already watching.