What a beautiful, well-behaved child!

 

The chief of the Vulture Tribe was not much of a leader.

The other side of Yufeng Mountain was nothing like the Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory, which was buried under heavy snow. The mountain range blocked the wind, and the Vulture Tribe sat in a valley where the ice and snow melted early every year and spring arrived sooner. Whether it was game or crops, conditions there were far better than on the Snow Wolf side.

Yet that good-for-nothing chief had managed to govern the place into complete chaos. The tribe was so poor that even their pockets had nothing to jingle. The chief did not even dare keep the few male sub-beasts he slept with in his own home. He was petty and small-minded to the extreme.

The Snow Wolf Chief had long coveted that land.

However, because the two tribes had once sworn a pact not to interfere with each other, he had never found an excuse to start a war and seize the territory for himself.

Now, though, he had come up with a rotten scheme to slowly swallow them whole.

Marriage alliance.

The Vulture Chief knew perfectly well what the Snow Wolf Chief was plotting.

Still, the two tribes had maintained friendly relations for years. He could hardly bar guests from entering outright.

As a result, the entire tribe treated the visit like an approaching disaster.

For the whole day, nobody was allowed to do regular work. Every able-bodied adult male, whether sub-beast or beastman, had to go out and stand in formation to welcome the visitors. Hopefully such a grand reception would intimidate the Snow Wolf bastards enough to make them leave quickly.

Even someone like Zhe Yan—a half-crippled man who normally never left his house—was ordered to take Chang An and stand outside with the others.

Chang An had just gotten into a fight. Zhe Yan could tell at a glance. The corner of the child's mouth was swollen.

Chang An had always healed poorly. Even the slightest bump or scrape would leave his body covered in bruises.

Quite a few people in the tribe looked down on Zhe Yan, especially the chief's three wives. Naturally, their attitudes influenced the next generation.

None of the children wanted to play with Chang An. Behind his back they invented all sorts of cruel insults. Sometimes they even threw stones at him.

Earlier that day, a young beastman who had already learned to transform had led a group of lackeys to cause trouble for Chang An.

Chang An rarely spoke and almost never cried, but his temper was not nearly as gentle as it appeared.

The young beastman and his followers did not take a sickly little sub-beast seriously. As the boy poked Chang An in the shoulder and shoved him backward while repeating insults about Zhe Yan that he had learned from adults—

Chang An suddenly struck. Without warning.

Using a small saw blade he had stolen from the carpenter, he stabbed it straight into the young beastman's hand. He had attacked with genuine killing intent.

Of course, Chang An lacked the strength to drive it all the way in. But he still drew blood immediately.

The children were not yet old enough to join hunting parties. They had never seen blood before. The sight stunned all of them.

Taking advantage of their shock, Chang An leaped forward, wrapped his arms around the young beastman's head, and bit down hard on his ear.

The young beastman immediately burst into tears. He thought his ear was about to be bitten off.

Instinctively, he transformed into beast form and began charging wildly around, clawing and thrashing in an attempt to throw Chang An off.

Chang An was shaken so badly that he became dizzy and nauseous. He felt like he was about to vomit. Yet there was a ruthless, almost suicidal stubbornness in him. He gritted his teeth and endured. Clinging to the beast's neck, he refused to release the ear no matter what.

A beastman's ears were a weakness. Soon blood began streaming down.

The young beastman rolled on the ground in pain and accidentally exposed his belly. That gave Chang An another opportunity.

A beastman's belly was the weakest part of its body. It should never be exposed to an enemy.

Chang An immediately tucked in his body and drove his bony knee straight into the exposed stomach. The beastman let out a miserable yelp. Whimpers escaped his throat.

He could do nothing to shake Chang An off.

Straddling the beastman's neck, Chang An pressed the little saw blade against his throat and grabbed a fistful of the soft fur atop his head. In a hoarse voice he said: “Do this again, and I'll cut your throat.”

There was no way a throat could be cut so easily. Yet the cowardly young beastman pinned beneath him somehow believed completely that Chang An would really do it.

The children had never seen anyone fight with such reckless ferocity.

And so, miraculously, Chang An defeated ten opponents by himself and won a complete victory.

Only after his enemies scattered in panic did Chang An circle behind a large tree and vomit violently. The bruise at the corner of his mouth burned with pain. But inside, he felt incredibly satisfied. Though he was a little afraid Zhe Yan might scold him.

Fortunately, when Zhe Yan saw the injury on his lip, he only felt guilty and never asked what had happened. Using his single remaining arm, he shielded little Chang An as they walked at the back of the crowd.

Sometimes people would take liberties and touch him inappropriately. He silently endured it. He never made a sound. It was almost as though he was afraid Chang An might notice.

But Chang An was so short. His line of sight naturally angled upward. How could he fail to see the secret things those adults thought they were hiding?

He did not fully understand what they were doing. Yet instinctively he could tell they meant no good.

Silently protected by Zhe Yan, he stared fiercely at the hands wandering across the man's waist and hips.

And he thought: ‘If I had a knife, I'd chop every one of you into pieces.’

Unfortunately, he did not even own a woodcutting knife. The little saw blade had been hidden only after tremendous effort. At home, Zhe Yan never allowed him to do rough work like chopping wood.

The man stubbornly believed that Chang An possessed noble blood. Even if he was a frail-looking ya-beast, he could still become some kind of master craftsman.

Chang An had already been apprenticed to the carpenter for over two months. The carpenter was nothing like Zhe Yan. He didn’t spoil Chang An at all. Every day he simply ordered the child around, making him do this and that, while teaching him nothing.

Besides, carpentry held very little interest for a six-year-old boy.

Still, whenever Chang An remembered that Zhe Yan was doing it for his own good, he quietly accepted it. Learning such things was not unbearable. The only problem was that he could no longer frequently climb the mountain to watch people practice with blades.

That thought alone made standing around here seem utterly boring. So he gently tugged on Zhe Yan's hand and whispered : “I need to pee.”

Zhe Yan lowered his head and glanced at him. The moment the child met his eyes, he immediately looked away. Obviously he was lying, and not even very convincingly.

Zhe Yan chuckled softly and tapped him on the forehead. “Go play if you want. Don't go too far. Don't fight with anyone. Come home by yourself tonight, and come back early. Understand?”

Chang An nodded. Then, without hesitation, he gave Zhe Yan a bright smile. The child slipped effortlessly through the crowd and vanished in an instant.

What a beautiful, well-behaved child.

Zhe Yan suddenly felt a heaviness in his chest. He bent over and began coughing quietly. Whenever the coughing became severe, he could always taste blood in his throat.

He suspected he had contracted some illness. Because of that, he never dared cough in front of Chang An. He was afraid of passing it to him.

That was one reason he had hurried to place the child with the carpenter.

You have to live well, Zhe Yan thought. Pressing a hand against his chest, he silently added: I still have to raise Chang An.

In truth, no sooner had Chang An left than the Snow Wolf Chief arrived with a massive entourage.

Ever since Chang An could remember, Zhe Yan had repeatedly told him about a man named Hua Yi—a man with silver beast markings on his arms—who had once saved his life.

One day, if they ever met, Chang An must repay that kindness no matter what. Unfortunately, fate apparently had not yet arranged their meeting. The first time, Chang An had been too young to remember. The second time, Hua Yi had come looking for him personally— And they happened to miss each other completely.

Zhe Yan was still there. But his eyesight had long since deteriorated. At any significant distance, he could barely make people out.

Across layer after layer of crowds, how could he possibly recognize the half-grown, somewhat foolish boy who had once hunted prey for him all those years ago during a fleeting glimpse?

*

Chang An entered the forest alone with practiced ease. His bare feet made almost no sound against the ground. Avoiding predators and slipping through bushes taller than himself, he eventually reached the place where the hunters and warriors trained.

Filled with anticipation and excitement, he arrived— Only to discover that nobody was there. Then he remembered. Everyone had gone to welcome the Snow Wolf Tribe.

His disappointment deepened.

After wandering around the training grounds a few times, an audacious thought suddenly entered his mind.

A truly reckless idea.

Panting with effort, he climbed through a window and sneaked into the weapons shed.

Beastmen were formidable in full beast form. But when facing opponents larger or more heavily armed than themselves, that advantage could disappear. In such situations, they fought in partial beast form and relied on weapons.

The weapons shed felt gloomy even in midsummer. Everything hanging inside carried the scent of blood. These were genuine weapons, sharper and deadlier than claws and fangs.

Strangely enough, little Chang An—who was shorter than even the smallest knife stored there—felt completely at ease among them.

Soon he discovered a massive saber. It was nearly ten feet long, dominating the centre of the room like a king among weapons.

Its iron hilt felt icy cold. A small smear of dried blood still clung to the spine of the blade. It resembled some terrifying beast.

Chang An crouched beside it and stared. For once, his perpetually pale face revealed obvious admiration. He reached out and grabbed the hilt.

But his hand was far too small. Even wrapping both hands around it, he could not fully encircle the grip, much less lift the enormous thing.

The moment his palm touched the cold iron, a chill spread through his entire body. Yet it felt as though he had found the greatest treasure in the world. Excitement flushed his cheeks with a faint pink colour.

Reluctantly, he rubbed the hilt for a long while. Then he stood and circled the weapon three or four times before finally forcing himself to move on.

In the end, he selected the shortest and lightest blade he could find. It was rusty and long abandoned.

Climbing back out the window, he entered the training yard. Mimicking the movements he had secretly observed countless times, he began practicing. Surprisingly, he looked fairly convincing.

The problem was strength. Before long he was gasping for breath. Sweat poured from him like rain. Yet it seemed to be the most enjoyable game he had ever played. The more exhausted he became, the more excited he felt.

Then—

Someone nearby suddenly exclaimed :“Hm?”

Startled, Chang An stumbled. Both he and the blade crashed to the ground.

Yet he did not panic. Remaining where he had fallen, he simply turned his head.

There stood a middle-aged beastman carrying a basket on his back. Clearly— He was not from the tribe.

 

Translator : DarNan