"Thank you for helping me! My good brother!" Yun Ge hugged Luke once again before he jumped out of the window.

  Luke said with a painful smile, "Hey! What's there to thank me for? You're the one who's willing to risk your life for Lily's safety, so you're the one who should be thanked!"

  Luke sighed heavily and continued, "Sigh! Actually, I did this not just to help you, but also to help myself. Because my first love left me in the same way. And I've regretted it ever since because I didn't have the courage to escape and save her."

  Yun Ge looked at Luke in surprise, clearly not expecting him to say such a thing.

  Seeing this, Luke patted Yun Ge and forced a smile, saying, "This is why I can understand your pain, and even though the chances are slim and it's extremely dangerous, I'm still willing to let you go and save Lily. Because I really admire your courage, and I'm a coward who doesn't have the courage to face danger and save a loved one."

  As Luke spoke, he couldn't help but shed tears of regret, "So, go bravely! My dear brother! If you succeed, be sure to tell Lily that I will always love her. If you fail, and if you meet her in the other world before I do, please tell her for me that I will always love her!"

  Then, Luke handed a handmade stone pendant to Yun Ge, "Yun Ge, this is a small pendant I made myself. Wear it! I hope it brings you good luck! Uuu! When they left, I also gave them small pendants, praying for their good fortune. Uuu!"

  Yun Ge took the pendant and hugged Luke tightly once more, then turned and jumped out of the window. After jumping out, Yun Ge said to Luke, "Trust me, Luke! I will definitely find Lily!"

  "Also, you have to promise me that after everyone finds out I've escaped, don't impulsively take all the blame onto yourself! That mayor is not a good person! He's very cunning! ”

  “Don't anger him! No matter how angry he is, let him direct his anger at me! You just protect Jamei and continue to live happily here, dedicating all the emotions you felt guilty about towards your first love to a new love and a new life!"

  Luke nodded and then instructed, "Yun Ge, you must also be very careful! If you really get a chance to enter the Lost Woods, remember to follow the ribbons tied to the trees. However, you must be wary of the mayor's attendants, as they will also return to town along that path. You must avoid them at all costs and under no circumstances engage in conflict with them, for you are no match for them!"

  Yun Ge tapped his forehead twice to show that he had taken Luke's words to heart. Then he turned around without hesitation and left, disappearing into the foggy streets in the blink of an eye. Luke sighed again with mixed feelings as he watched Yun Ge disappear, then he closed a window, made sure it wasn't completely shut, and turned back to his room.

  Yun Ge cautiously made his way through the foggy streets. After making sure there was no one else around, he began to run towards the town's exit. Along the way, he passed the town hall where the residents had gathered, seeing it lit up and filled with townsfolk celebrating.

  Among all the townsfolk, the most noticeable were Lily's family members standing on stage with the mayor—Lily's parents, Uncle Shawn, and Aunt Hui Zhen. All four of them had flower garlands and medals around their necks. Uncle Xing and Uncle Shawn were singing at the top of their lungs, while Aunt Hui Min and Aunt Hui Zhen were dancing with joy on their faces. There was no sign of sadness on any of their faces, only expressions of pride and happiness.

  The reaction of Lily's family clearly angered Yun Ge, but he also knew that now was not the time to hold it against them. So Yun Ge spat in disgust, then turned around and left the lively town hall with a heart full of anger. He silently vowed to himself once again that he must reach the altar before midnight and flee far away with Lily after saving her.

  As for whether his actions would anger the spirit of the forest? Humph! Yun Ge now wished that the spirit of the forest would be thoroughly provoked and vent its wrath entirely on Candy Town!

  Just as Luke had said, although the gate to the forest from the town was closed at this time, there were no guards around it at night. So Yun Ge ran straight up to the town's wall and easily climbed out of the town using a rope.

  Since Yun Ge had not encountered any danger while moving around in the town, it gave him more confidence for the unknown journey ahead. Without hesitation, he ran into the forest and quickly found the newly tied ribbons on the tree trunks with the help of the moonlight.

  Thus, Yun Ge followed the direction of the ribbons deeper into the forest. As he was worried about encountering the returning sacrificial team on the way, he did not dare to proceed along the temporary path that was clearly trampled by passers-by between the two ribbons. Instead, he carefully made his way along the side of the ribbons, walking through the forest.

  As Yun Ge got further away from Candy Town, the temperature around him began to drop significantly, to the point where he could see his own breath as a thick mist. At the same time, the sweet smell that permeated Candy Town gradually disappeared. The damp and cold air became increasingly bitter and pungent, causing Yun Ge to tear up uncontrollably after inhaling it.

  In addition to the changes in the air, Yun Ge also began to sense danger at this point. The faint growls of wild beasts that could be heard in the distance while he was in the town had now become much louder.

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  Judging by the red and green lights that kept flickering in the surrounding darkness, the beasts emitting the roars were now no more than ten meters away from Yun Ge, making him feel as if he was in the midst of a pack of beasts. He hurriedly held his breath, not daring to breathe heavily at all.

  Fortunately, Yun Ge was quick-witted enough to climb up a large tree with lush branches and leaves in time, which spared him from being attacked by the pack of beasts immediately. Then, he squatted on a branch, gripping his sickle tightly, and kept guard against the pack of beasts gathering beneath the tree.

  Yun Ge squatted on the branch and confronted the wild beasts hiding in the surrounding forest for a while. He noticed that the beasts were just circling around the tree he was hiding in, but none of them jumped out from the darkness to launch an attack on him.

  Seeing this, Yun Ge frowned and couldn't help but ponder: Could it be that these beasts are not good at climbing trees? That's why they can only wander around at the base of the tree and are unable to attack me?

  Then Yun Ge had a second thought: No, that doesn't make sense. I remember Uncle Shawn once said that some beasts in the Lost Woods love to climb trees to steal bird's eggs. Moreover, some beasts even like to sleep on thick tree trunks during the day and only jump down to forage at night.

  Thinking of this, Yun Ge realized that something seemed amiss. Since many beasts in the forest can climb trees, why didn't they attack him immediately after seeing him climb up a tree? If they did attack him, wouldn't he be trapped in the tree with no way to escape?

  Could it be that the powerful beasts below have scared away those that can climb trees?

  Yun Ge quickly dismissed this guess and thought of another possibility: Perhaps they do not intend to attack me but are waiting for me to come down, or are protecting me? Or maybe, what seems like a siege is actually just to drive me away to prevent me from harming them?

  Yun Ge didn't know why he had this thought, but after it occurred to him, he didn't want to consider whether it was possible. Instead, he somehow gained a strange confidence that he would not be attacked by the beasts. Coupled with his eagerness to save Lily, he was unwilling to continue entangling with the pack of beasts. So, he made a bold move and jumped down from the tree.

  "Come on! You pack of beasts! If you want to eat me, then come and try! I'll make you pay the price! Whoever dares to stop me from rescuing Lily, I'll surely make them bleed on the spot!" As soon as Yun Ge jumped down from the tree, he immediately brandished his sickle and confronted the surrounding beasts.

  To Yun Ge's surprise, after seeing him suddenly jump down from the tree and assuming a stance for a decisive battle, the pack of beasts roared and retreated into the surrounding jungle one after another. They kept roaring but none of them leaped out from the darkness to attack Yun Ge.

  This led Yun Ge to increasingly believe that the reason these beasts were emitting menacing roars was not to attack him, but because they sensed some terrifying aura from him and wanted to use their roars to intimidate him into retreating.

  After the standoff continued for a while longer, seeing that the beasts were just staring at him with their red and green eyes flickering and still had no intention of attacking him, Yun Ge boldly took large steps and ran deeper into the forest again. The beasts continued to surround him as he moved forward in the dark, as if they were monitoring his movements.

  Yun Ge ran for a long time under the watchful eyes of the terrifying beasts before finally stopping in his tracks. He had caught sight of a row of flickering lights in the forest ahead. Since the lights were coming from the direction of the altar, Yun Ge had reason to believe that those flickering lights were most likely the sacrificial team sent by the mayor.

  After all, the members of this sacrificial team were all the mayor's attendants. Moreover, to ensure they could navigate the forest at night, the mayor had specially cast a protective witchcraft on them. So, no matter how one looked at it, engaging them in direct combat would be disadvantageous for Yun Ge. Therefore, hiding to avoid being discovered by them was his top priority at the moment.

  More importantly, after Yun Ge spotted the flickering lights in the distance, the pack of beasts that had been following him in the dark also became restless. This immediately made Yun Ge realize that something was amiss. So, without hesitation, he quickly climbed back up a tree to secretly observe what was about to happen.

  Sure enough, just after Yun Ge hid well in a lush tree, the beasts' eyes flickering with blood-green light became eerily still. They shifted all their attention to the approaching sacrificial team, and after another brief period of agitation, they all ceased their low growls. Then, the misty forest fell into a deathly silence.

  Seeing this, Yun Ge felt a chill run through his body. Because he knew that the beasts hidden in the darkness had quietly entered a hunting state and had set their sights on the approaching sacrificial team.

  However, Yun Ge had no intention of warning the sacrificial team to be careful. He just wanted to quietly watch the impending struggle. After all, these guys were also accomplices in pushing Lily into the fire pit, and Yun Ge was more than happy to see the beasts punish these evildoers on his behalf!

  As the distant lights drew closer, Yun Ge gradually made out the approaching team, which was indeed the sacrificial team from Candy Town. There were nine people in the sacrificial team, each holding a torch formed by gathering fireflies together.

  Normally, such torches also had the function of dispersing beasts at night. But now, the beasts lying in ambush in the jungle were not at all afraid of these light sources and had instead prepared to ambush the sacrificial team. This further made Yun Ge realize the abnormality of the current situation.

  Yun Ge, realizing that something was wrong, held his breath and nervously watched the sacrificial team about to walk into this jungle. Because he had already anticipated what was about to happen, he also began to prepare to take advantage of the ensuing chaos to leave the area immediately.

  Because he knew that since the sacrificial team had already started their return journey, it meant that Lily, who was tied up alone at the altar, was now in danger. If he didn't hurry to find the altar, Lily would truly be in peril!

  The sacrificial team soon strode into the area where the beasts had set their ambush. It was evident from the state of the sacrificial team that they were not at all apprehensive during their walk, knowing that the firefly torches in their hands could deter the surrounding beasts, coupled with the protective witchcraft cast on them by the mayor.

  It was precisely this careless attitude of the sacrificial team that caused them to completely lose their composure and quickly fall into a dangerous situation of being passively bitten when they saw the beasts charge out from the surrounding darkness.

  Although the sacrificial team was caught off guard and suffered a large-scale surprise attack by the pack of beasts due to their carelessness, it must be said that the protective witchcraft cast on them by the mayor was indeed remarkable.

  Because, not long after a few beasts knocked down the sacrificial team members, these beasts immediately fell to the ground as if they had been electrocuted, all struck by some energy released from the sacrificial team members' bodies. They then began to convulse violently and wail in pain.