The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis Chapter 16: Stay On The Path

It had been a few weeks since I painted the village red. By now, the blood had long since dried, the bodies had been burned by a fla not my own, and the blessed silence had returned.

Honestly, I had no idea what was going on in the village. I hadn’t gone back since the day of the bandit attack. As far as I was concerned, I was in the wrong place at the wrong ti. Or maybe they were. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

Either way, I hadn’t gone back, not because I feared them, but because I simply didn’t care. Not really. Whether the villagers lived or died was their choice, their fate. I wasn’t their savior, I wasn’t their queen, their guard, or their anything.

And I definitely wasn’t going to hold their hands every ti soone looked at them the wrong way.

The only reason the bandits had died was because they’d disrespected my territory. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Unfortunately, though, peace never lasted long.

I was in the middle of carving a small animal trap near one of the lower ravines when I heard the distinct snap of one of my traps being set off.

I paused for a second, the knife and wood still in my hand as I waited for what ca next.

The scream ca after a mont, an almost delayed reaction to what had happened. A distinctly human scream.

Letting out a long sigh of disappointnt and annoyance, I stood and strolled toward the sound. I didn’t know who I had caught, but I knew that they weren’t food. I still needed more at and furs if I was going to weather through my first winter here.

I had no idea what to expect, and that was making cranky. Would it be extrely cold? I already knew that if there was snow, it would hit us hard on this side. I wanted to know that even if I didn’t have to leave my house for months, I could still survive just fine.

And dumb humans setting off my traps and scaring the ga away was not going to help with that plan.

It took less than five minutes before I discovered which trap had been set off. Hoping that I was wrong and that deer learned how to curse like a human, I was still disappointed when I found Zhou Cunzhang dangling upside down from one of my less-lethal traps. His leg was bound in a tripwire, the tal cutting into his ankle as he dangled 10 feet above my head. His face was red from blood rushing to his head, and his pride was clearly more bruised than his body.

Mind you, with the tal and his weight, he would lose his foot in less than ten minutes if I didn’t take him out of the trap. And even if he didn’t lose his foot, he was already starting to cut into his tendon.

"Well, well," I said, biting back a smile at the sight of him. "If it isn’t the mighty chief. How’s the weather up there?"

Tilting his head back at an awkward angle, he looked at and scowled. "Can you cut down already?" he demanded, his arms and unbound leg flailing around as he spun in a circle.

"It depends," I mused. "Are you going to wander into my territory uninvited again?"

"We need to talk," he grunted, his face twisting in anger. The only problem was that we both knew who would win in a fight, and it wasn’t him.

I sighed and wiggled my fingers, causing the wire to untangle itself from his ankle. He dropped to the ground with a grunt, groaning as he rubbed his shoulder. "That was lucky," I said. "You stumbled into one of the ga traps. The others aren’t so forgiving."

"I’m aware," he muttered, getting to his feet. "That’s actually why I ca. We need to know where we can walk without... sothing like this happening again."

"Easy," I said with a shrug, brushing dirt from my hands. "Don’t co into the woods, and you won’t have this problem."

"We have to." His tone sharpened as he narrowed his eyes at . "We rely on these woods for herbs, for food, for warmth. We burn the trees to keep from freezing, hunt the deer to feed our children, and gather roots and dicine to heal the sick. Without the mountain, we die."

I stared at him, unblinking. "I fail to see how that is my problem."

"It is," he insisted, stepping forward. "Because you’re part of the village, whether you like it or not. And you’ve made it clear you’re willing to protect it... when it suits you."

I crossed my arms and scoffed. "I don’t want anything to do with your people."

"Then don’t," he said quickly. "But let us survive. Let us live. We’ll protect you like one of our own. You’ll get food, supplies—everything any other villager receives. And in return, you let us into the mountains."

I cocked my head to the side, studying his earnest expression. "Do you really think I need your protection?"

"No," Zhou Cunzhang admitted. "But in order to make a deal, we need to offer sothing, and this is it. Let the others believe you’re just another villager. It’ll keep them from fearing you—or worse, hunting you down."

This ti, I couldn’t help the bark of laughter that ca from my mouth. "Let them try," I sneered. If this man really thought I was scared of a bunch of people with pitchforks and torches trying to hunt down, he had another thing coming.

"Please," he sighed when I didn’t say anything. "Give us a way to survive."

"I’m not moving my traps," I warned. "They’re what keeps Yelan on their side of the ridge and the bandits away from the village."

"Fine," Zhou Cunzhang replied with a quick nod of his head. "Then leave talismans or sothing to let us know where they are—so we can avoid them."

I laughed, sharp and cold. "For an ex-soldier, you’re a bit stupid, aren’t you? If I mark the traps, the enemy will see them too. Then what’s the point of having them in the first place?"

The village head looked frustrated, but not angry. He was determined to get his way. "We need a compromise, then. Sothing, anything. A mark, a flower, sothing that we can recognize easily, but others can’t. We’re not asking for the whole mountain, just a way to move through it safely."

"Fine," I said, crouching down and dragging a stick through the dirt. I drew a single vertical squiggled line. "See this?" I continued, pointing at the mark.

He nodded.

"This ans the path is safe. You’ll find this mark carved into trees or scratched into rocks. Follow it, and you’ll live. Step off it..." I t his eyes. "And it’s your own damn fault."

Zhou Cunzhang nodded solemnly. "I’ll make sure the villagers understand."

"And if they don’t, they’ll make a fine warning."

"I’ll teach them," Zhou Cunzhang promised. "We’ll carve the signs into our mory."

I stood, brushing the dirt from my hands. "Good. Because I won’t be warning them twice."

He hesitated, then added, "So of the villagers... they’re afraid of you. But others... they pray to you. They think you’re a guardian spirit."

I scoffed. "I’m not a spirit. I’m not a god. I’m just soone who’s better left alone."

"Even spirits need food," he said, offering a small wrapped bundle from his pack. "Pork buns. Still warm."

I stared at it for a mont before taking it.

"Stay on the path," I said again, turning back toward the trees. "And maybe you’ll live long enough to bring more."